Nepal arrests 25 scribes, 5 rights activists

KATHMANDU: Nepalese police rounded up 25 journalists and five human rights activists who staged pro-democracy protests on Wednesday in the latest crackdown in the kingdom shaken by days of demonstrations.

“Around 25 journalists and five activists have been detained from two separate protests in the Kathmandu valley on Wednesday morning for protesting in a restricted area," a police officer said.

It was not immediately known whether the royal government would reimpose a curfew for a fifth day in a bid to head off more protests.

The opposition party alliance, spearheading the protest drive with the backing of Maoist rebels, said it planned to hold a rally later Wednesday to mark the deaths of three demonstrators shot dead by troops on the weekend.

"The seven-party alliance is holding a gathering to pay tribute to those martyrs who were killed in demonstrations," said Kashinath Adhikari, a protest leader from the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist)