Eight dead in Nepal clashes ahead of controversial polls
Nepal’s Maoist rebels killed at least seven security force personnel in new clashes, the army said on the eve of local polls called by King Gyanendra as part of a pledge to restore democracy. One guerrilla also died in the violence, the army said on Tuesday, amid tight security as a nationwide general strike called by the Maoists entered its third day. The municipal elections are the first to be held in seven years in the impoverished Himalayan nation which has been wracked by political turmoil. Full Story