Saturday, 12 October, 2002, 14:41 GMT 15:41 UK

Kathmandu blast kills one

An explosion in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, has killed at least one person and injured at least another eight.

Meanwhile, the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, repeated his offer to resume peace talks with Maoist rebels, who, according to the police, carried out the attack.

The blast destroyed a statue of the late King Mahendra, the father of the present monarch, King Gyanendra.

The attack comes a day after the king appointed Mr Chand, a monarchist, as prime minister after sacking his predecessor.

Shortly after being sworn in, Mr Chand said he was willing to resume talks with the rebels with a view to restoring law and order.

Over 5,000 people, most of them rebels, have been killed in political violence in Nepal in the past six year, more than 3,000 of them since peace talks collapsed last November.

Motorcycles

Police said that three men on motorcycles had been seen putting the explosive device beside the statue of the king in the city's Kalimati district, outside the main vegetable market.

"The sound of the blast was so loud that it jolted me out of my bed around 0530 (2345GMT Friday)," said Narayan Manandhar, a local resident.

"Blood is splattered everywhere around the statue after the blast," he said.

"The blast completely destroyed the statue of late King Mahendra, nothing remains now," he added.

Defiance

The new cabinet under Mr Chand was sworn in on Friday.

Lokendra Bahadur Chand Chand is from the pro-monarchist party He belongs to the pro-monarchy Rashtriya Prajatantra Party.

The move comes in defiance of six main political parties in the country, who had urged the king to include them in any new administration.

Only two political parties have so far been given portfolios in the new cabinet.

The king sacked the government last week after the then Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, asked for November's parliamentary elections to be postponed.

Mr Deuba had expressed concerns about attacks by Maoist rebels who had threatened to disrupt the vote.

The king said he had acted in accordance with the constitution in dismissing Mr Deuba, but mainstream political parties described the move as undemocratic.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2002