Strike over media curbs in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Seven major political parties in Nepal have called a 24-hour shutdown here on Friday to protest a controversial decree by Nepal’s King Gyanendra that seeks to tighten curbs on the media.

The opposition announced the shutdown after the ministry of information and communication sent a letter to Kantipur FM, the biggest private radio station in the kingdom, giving it 24 hours to explain why it had not stopped airing news programmes or face the withdrawal of its license.