Nepal's new prime minister announces Cabinet

Nepal 's new prime minister announced a seven-member Cabinet on Tuesday that faces the daunting tasks of cementing the return of democracy and negotiating peace with Maoist rebels. The extremely lean Cabinet the outgoing one had 34 members will be expanded later, according to an announcement from the royal palace.

Photo: Nepal's new prime minister announces Cabinet

It includes four members from Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's Nepali Congress party, and one each from the Communist Party of Nepal , the Nepali Congress Democratic and the United Left Front. Three other parties in the seven-party alliance that led weeks of bloody protests which forced King Gyanendra to hand over power to an elected Parliament last week are expected to get appointments later.

The ailing 84-year-old Koirala named Khadga Prasad Oli of the Communist Party Nepal as deputy prime minister and foreign minister in an apparent compromise after negotiations for the crucial No. 2 slot bogged down on Monday and threatened to divide the seven-party alliance. Krishna Sitaula was picked as home minister, while Ram Sharan Mahat was named finance minister. Both are from the Nepali Congress party, reports the AP.

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