Kathmandu - The Nepalese government has intensified its efforts to bring some 21 armed rebel groups in southern Nepal together for talks aimed at ending two years of violence in the region, media reports said Tuesday.

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Janardan Sharma met leaders of five armed rebel groups in Saptari district, about 400 kilometres east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, on Monday, as part of efforts to bring them to formal negotiations, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

The meeting was the second round of informal talks by a minister in the Maoist-led government with armed groups since the beginning of November.

Kathmandu, Nov 17 : Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) has unanimously endorsed the proposed calendar of events, according to which the new constitution will be endorsed by April 2010.

According to Kantipur, the calendar plans to promulgate the new Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal by May 28, 2010, immediately after all Constituent Assembly members sign the final draft and the chairman authenticates it.

Kathmandu  - Nepalese politicians Monday vowed to draft the country's new constitution by May 2010.

The announcement came after the country's powerful constituent assembly adopted a programme of schedules to draft the constitution showing rare signs of cooperation among the political parties on Sunday.

Chairman of the assembly Subash Nembang said the schedule lays out plans spread over 82 weeks leading to the formal promulgation by May 2010.

Kathmandu, Nov 14 : Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subash Chandra Nemwang today said that the constitution drafting process will be initiated within a couple of days and completed on time stipulated.

Speaking at a programme here, Nemwang said,"The new constitution will be drafted within 18 months, nobody needs to worry about that."

He further underscored the need for high-level consensus among the political parties for the drafting of a new Constitution.

Kathmandu, Nov 14 : UML General Secretary Jhala Nath Khanal has alleged that the Nepali Congress and the CPN (Maoist) were extremists as far as their views on integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants into the national army were concerned.

Nepalnews quoted Kanal as saying that the Nepali Congress''s stance not to allow PLA integration into the Nepal Army and Maoist''s stressing to induct all of them are extremist ideas.

He asked both the parties to work as per the agreement reached in the past so as to find solution to the problem amicably.

Kathmandu  - Nepal's former royal family has sought a waiver to avoid millions of rupees in unpaid electricity bills following threats to cut off their power supply, officials said Friday.

Utility officials said former king Gyanendra's daughter, nieces and nephews wrote to the government seeking the waiver for unpaid bills up to May when the country abolished monarchy and declared itself a republic.