Kathmandu, Feb 27 : The visiting Chinese delegation led by Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi has handed over the draft of ''Peace and Friendship Treaty'' to acting Foreign Secretary Suresh Prasad Pradhan here on Thursday.

China proposed for a new Friendship Treaty in order to address the changed political situation after the abolition of monarchy in Nepal. The first Friendship Treaty between Nepal and China was signed in 1960.

The delegation said China hopes that the treaty could be signed during the Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda''s upcoming Chinese visit.

Prachanda is scheduled to visit China in the second week of April.

Kathmandu- Nepal's Maoist-led government on Thursday formally reopened the former main royal palace in Kathmandu as a museum.

The Narayanhiti Palace was inaugurated as a museum by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal whose Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, waged a 10-year insurgency to abolish the monarchy.

Officials said only 19 of the palace's 52 rooms would be open to the public as of Friday.

Kathmandu, Feb 26 : The Rapid Response Teams (RRT) deployed to control bird flu in Sharanmati area Jhapa district has completed its culling operation on Wednesday.

The RRTs killed 2891 chickens, 29 ducks, 265 pigeons and destroyed 8257 eggs belonging to some 446 households of the bird flu affected area during the four day operation that begun on Sunday.

According to District Livestock Services Officer Dilip Sapkota, the 45 technicians of the five RRTs will be stationed at Sharanamati area for a week for health check up.

Kathmandu, Feb 26 : Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda today reiterated Nepal's commitment on one-China policy.

During a meeting with visiting Chinese delegation led by Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi at his office, Prachanda proposed that the Chinese government should support the construction of 400 MW Narsinghgad hydro-power project in Jajarkot.

He also urged the Chinese government to help Nepal in infrastructure building and development of Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Kathmandu, Feb 26 : Keeping in view the disasters caused by the Koshi River over the years, the Nepal Government has come up with a pilot project to manage its basins.

A joint initiative of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) and the World Wildlife Fund, the Koshi River Basin Management (KRBM) programme had launched on Wednesday to make optimum use of Koshi basin's water.

Kathmandu, Feb 25: Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala today cautioned against adopting federalism without first giving serious thought to its pros and cons.

Speaking at a programme organized by Nepali Congress State Restructuring Advisory Committee here, Koirala said, "It is dangerous as treading on a sword's edge."

"There is a danger that the country may face disintegration if decisions on the issue of federalism are taken on whims. We have to take our decisions very carefully," he added