Kathmandu, November 21
Maoist supremo Prachanda suffered a double blow today as he was handed a humiliating defeat in one of the two seats he contested and his party trailed at a distant third with Nepali Congress taking a lead in trends in counting of votes to choose Nepal's new Constituent Assembly. Prachanda said he did not accept the results of an election his party appeared to be losing.

The Sushil Koirala-led Nepali Congress (NC) was leading in 74 constituencies while its rival CPN-UML was ahead in 54 seats. The Unified CPN-Maoist (UCPN-M) was third, leading in 20 seats.

According to official results for 40 seats, the NC and CPN-UML both won 19 seats while the UCPN-M bagged two seats. The polls held on Tuesday will lead to the formation of a 601-member assembly that will draft a new constitution aimed at ending years of political uncertainty and turmoil in Nepal.

The UCPN-M opened its account by winning Sindhuli constituency No 3, where Maoist candidate Haribol Gajurel defeated NC candidate Khadga Waiwa, the Election Commission said.

NC won in five of the 10 seats in the capital while CPN-UML won two, officials said. The Constituent Assembly will have 240 members elected under a direct voting system. Proportionate voting will elect members to 335 seats and the remaining 26 members will be nominated by the government.

In what came as a setback to Prachanda, he and his daughter were handed down humiliating defeats in the polls.

Nepali Congress candidate Rajan K C beat the first post-war Prime Minister, securing 20,392 votes and restricting Prachanda to 12,859 in the Kathmandu Constituency 10. Third candidate in contention CPN-UML's Surendra Manandhar also secured more votes than Prachanda (13,619 votes). Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known as Prachanda, had won from the same constituency in 2008 by a big margin. Rajan was his nearest rival then. Prachanda, 58, is also contesting from Siraha Constituency 5, where he was leading the vote count.

In Kathmandu constituency No 1, Nepali Congress general secretary Prakash Man Singh won the election by defeating his nearest rival Renu Dahal, daughter of Prachanda, by a huge margin.

Unified CPN-Maoist today demanded a suspension of the vote count, alleging conspiracy and poll-rigging— PTI

Tehran, November 21
Iran's chief negotiator warned today of a lingering "lack of trust" and "major differences" at nuclear talks with world powers in Geneva, saying it was hampering progress over a deal.

Abbas Araqchi, a deputy foreign minister, said Iran would not sign up to an agreement on its controversial nuclear programme unless the so-called P5+1 group accepts what Tehran considers its right to enrich uranium.

“No deal that does not include the right to uranium enrichment — from first (step) to final (step) -- will be accepted," Araqchi said on his Twitter account.

The remarks came as political directors from the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany resumed talks with Iranian negotiators in the Swiss city over a deal that had seemed within reach in early November.

"The main obstacle is the lack of trust because of what happened at the last round," Araqchi told state television, referring to last minute toughening of terms to a mooted accord in the previous round of talks. — AFP

As the trial of two ethnic Nigerian Muslim extremists accused of killing an off duty British soldier in London gets underway, other British Islamic fundamentalists have boasted of bringing jihad to the streets of Britain.

Father of one Lee Rigby, a drummer and machine gunner with the Royal regiment of Fusiliers, was returning to his barracks in South London earlier this year when he was attacked by Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, who attempted to decapitate him in broad daylight and in front of children.

Adebolajo, who has asked to be known as Mujahid Abu Hamza, and Adebowale, who wants to be called Ismail Ibn Abdullah, have denied murdering Rigby, conspiring to murder a police officer and the attempted murder of a police officer.

But Adebolajo with bloodied hands was filmed at the time by a bystander saying, “The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers…We swear by almighty Allah, we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone…leave our land and you will live in peace.”

Meanwhile, sources in the British security services have expressed concern that several hundred British Muslims and Muslim converts fighting in Syria could cause security problems when they return to their homes in Britain. This week alone four British Islamic extremists fighting alongside Al-Qaida allied fighters are thought to have been killed near the Syrian city of Aleppo.

The head of Britain’s domestic security service MI5, Andrew Parker, warned in a speech last month, “There is good reason to be concerned about Syria. A growing proportion of our casework now has some link to Syria, mostly concerning individuals from the UK who have travelled to fight there or who aspire to do so.

“Al Nusra and other extremists Sunni groups there aligned with Al-Qaida aspire to attack western countries.”

Since then British Muslims interviewed by Vice News have said in video interviews that they intend bringing their war to both Britain and the US.

One of the men told how the intention is “to bring back the honour of Islam from Filastine (Palestine) to Al Aqsa to all over the Muslim world, and Britain will be next. From this land we will march toward the Al Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem) in the name of Allah. Allahu Akbar.”

Another man told his Vice News interviewer, “I say to the United States that your time will come and we will bleed you to death and, Insha Allah, will raise the flag in the White House.”

Washington, November 21
The White House has celebrated the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, in the presence of eminent Sikh-Americans from across the US.

Led by Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, senior officials from the Obama administration turned up to welcome Sikhs who were dressed proudly in their traditional Punjabi attires, colorful turbans and business suites. Charge d'affaires of the Indian Embassy Taranjit Singh Sandhu conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the occasion of Gurpurb.

The meeting was also addressed by Congressman Joe Crowley, Co-Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans, and Gautam Raghavan, advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement, among others. Last week, President Barack Obama had extended his best wishes to Sikhs across the US and around the world on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru.

"This sacred time is an occasion to reflect on Guru Nanak's timeless teachings and the principles that are at the heart of Sikhism, including the equality of all human beings, the pluralism we cherish in diverse societies and the compassion we owe one another," he said. — PTI

Dhaka, November 21
Thirty ministers were today dropped from the multi-party interim government formed to oversee Bangladesh's general election amid a political deadlock pitting the Awami League against main opposition BNP.

According to a gazette notification, 30 of the 51 members of the cabinet were dropped during a redistribution of portfolios. The interim government was formed recently to conduct the polls due to be held by January 25 next year.

High-profile ministers who lost their status included Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Home Minister Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir, Civil Aviation Minister Faruq Khan, Telecommunication Minister Sahara Khatun and Health Minister Ruhal Haque. Two technocrat ministers who were dropped, Shafique Ahmed and Dilip Barua, were made the Prime Minister's advisors. — PTI