Kathmandu - The number of tourists visiting Nepal has continued to grow steadily and is expected to pass the half-million mark for the second year in a row, officials said Wednesday.

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said 344,599 tourists arrived in Nepal by air in the first 11 months of this year, an increase of 4.3 per cent from the same period in 2007.

NTB said an estimated 100,000 visitors had arrived in the country through land crossings by the end of November.

The growth came despite fears that the tourism industry would be affected by the global financial crisis.

Kathmandu  - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Wednesday promised to increase aid and security cooperation with Nepal, but raised concerns over the activities of Tibetan exiles in the Himalayan nation.

The promise of increased assistance to Nepal came during bilateral talks between Nepalese Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav and the visiting Chinese minister in Kathmandu.

The Nepalese foreign minister told reporters that the two countries had signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation.

Kathmandu - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi arrived in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu Tuesday at the start of a three-day official visit.

The visit is the first by a Chinese foreign minister since the Nepal's politicians voted overwhelmingly to abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic in 2007.

During his stay in Nepal, Yang, who leads a 10-member delegation, will hold talks with his Nepalese counterpart Upendra Yadav on a range of issues including Nepal's peace process, Chinese assistance and border issues.

Nepalese media reports said Yang was likely to raise the issue of Tibetan exiles living in Nepal.

HETAUDA, Nepal, Nov.

Kathmandu  - Nepal strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai Thursday, describing them as cowardly.

In his first reaction, Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said the attacks were directed against innocent people and to terrorize the industrial and commercial centre of India and deserved unequivocal condemnation from all over the world.

"We are profoundly shocked at the unprecedented and brutal terrorist attacks in multiple places in Mumbai," Dahal said in a message to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

India and Nepal have decided to work together to restore the embankment of Kosi river in their border region that ruptured and flooded hundreds of villages in August. The deadline for this work has been set as March 2009.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited the region with his Nepalese counterpart, Upendra Yadav on Wednesday to review the repair work of the breached portion of the river banks.