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A year after hundreds of thousands
of street protesters forced King Gyanendra to recall Parliament,
Nepalis have taken giant strides to creating the "new
Nepal". The multi-party government and Maoist rebels
signed a peace deal ending 10 years of war that killed 14,000
people; a UN mission has been installed to monitor arms and
fighters of the Maoist and Nepal armies; and an interim constitution
and temporary parliament are in place to lead the way to June's
constituent assembly elections. But as rioting in the Terai
plains region in January demonstrated, those historically
excluded from power that has been hoarded by an upper-caste
Hindu elite still feel left out of planning for the future.
Righting that power imbalance so that poverty can be tackled
will be the biggest challenge for policy makers in the year
ahead.
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