Kathmandu - A child was killed and three people were seriously wounded when a powerful explosion ripped through a stage at a cultural festival in southern Nepal, police said Friday.

The bombing in the town of Gaur in the Rautahat district, about 100 kilometres south of Kathmandu and close to the Indian border, killed an 8-year-old boy, police said.

Police said the explosion targeted a dance stage at a festival attended by thousands of people.

The blast occurred when no shows were being presented, and there was no large crowd at the stage, the district police office said.

Kathmandu - A general strike over the alleged murders of two youths by Maoist cadres shut down the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Thursday.

The crippling strike closed main markets, educational institutions, offices and halted private and public transport.

The strike was called by various groups, including those supported by the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninists, which is part of the coalition government.

The groups claimed two youths were abducted and killed by members of the Maoist youth wing, the Young Communist League (YCL), in Dhading district, about 50 kilometres west of the Nepalese capital.

The bodies were recovered by police on Tuesday, nearly a month after the two were abducted.

Kathmandu, Nov 20 : Nepal Government has decided to immediately kick-start dialogue with armed groups operating in Terai.

A cabinet meeting held at Singha Durbar on Wednesday reached the conclusion after being briefed by Minister for Peace and Reconciliation Janardhan Sharma on the achievement so far in this regard.

Prime Minister Prachanda directed the talks team to initiate discussions as soon as possible while the cabinet members pledged their full support for it.

Kathmandu - As Nepal marks the second anniversary of the end of civil war, there are yet painful reminders of the bitter conflict that left thousands of people dead and missing.

For many people who lost their loved ones in the fighting or were driven from their homes, their struggle for justice continues.

"It has been two years since the government and the Maoists signed a peace deal, but in reality, life hasn't changed that much for us," said Ram Bahadur Karki, who fled his home in eastern Nepal with his family after Maoist rebels accused him of supporting the government.

Kathmandu - A leading international human rights organization asked the Nepalese government Wednesday to take urgent steps to end what it called the widespread abuse and torture of children in police custody.

US-based Human Rights Watch said it had documented more than 200 cases of torture or abuse by Nepalese police against boys and girls detained on suspicion of crimes in the first 10 months of 2008.

The group said some of the children were as young as 13.

"Sometimes, the torture is inflicted to extract confessions from the children while at other times it appears to be carried out purely for the entertainment of the official," said Bede Sheppard, a researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Kathmandu, Nov 18 : Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) chairman Subhas Nemwang today urged the nation to actively participate in the constitution-making process, saying that "only the constitution prepared with the participation of the people will be a true people''s constitution".