Flashpoint: Police fired warning shots at a crowd of 20,000 who were protesting an enforced six-day general strike
Weight of support: The 20,000 protesters were backed by the U.S. which has called for the strike to be aborted
Clashes: Friends carry an injured man away for treatment after he suffered a head wound during scuffles over the strike, enforced by the country's Maoists
Violence: Protesters flee the riot police wielding long batons and shields
Police used tear gas to break up the crowd of protesters
Police in Kathmandu fired warning shots today as thousands of protesters gathered in Nepal's capital to demand an end to a crippling general strike imposed by former communist guerrillas seeking the government's resignation.
The crowd of 20,000 - including doctors, lawyers, business executives, singers, teachers, and labourers - demanded a halt to the six-day strike that has shut down transportation, businesses and schools in Kathmandu and other cities.
It was the largest protest against the Maoist-imposed strike since it began on Sunday.
The Maoists want Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to resign and hand power over to a Maoist-led administration. The government has said it won't bow to the demands.
Top of the world: Oh Eun Sun, 44, celebrates on South Korean television after reaching the top of Mount Annapurna in Nepal
Achievement: Miss Oh has become the first woman to climb all 14 of the world's mountains higher than 8,000m
Record: The climber had to turn back hundreds of yards from the top of Annapurna in a previous climb after bad weather and high winds
A South Korean mountaineer became the first woman to scale the world's 14 highest mountains, officials have said.
Oh Eun Sun, 44, was captured on live television as she reached the summit of Mt Annapurna in the Himalayas to claim the record.
But her closest rival, Edurne Pasaban of Spain, has accused her of cheating by failing to reach the highest point on one of her climbs.
Miss Oh crawled on all fours to reach the summit of Mt Annapurna yesterday, before pulling out a South Korean flag and shouting 'victory!'
Officials said the mountain was the last of the 14 peaks above 26,247ft (8,000m) she needed to climb to set the mark.
She reached the summit - 26,545ft above sea level - 13 years after she scaled her first Himalayan mountain, Gasherbrum II, in 1997. She scaled Everest in 2004.
Footage on KBS showed her breathing heavily after each step in -29C temperatures at the top of the mountain.
She said after reaching the top: 'I'm so happy, and I would like to share this joy with the South Korean people. Thank you, thank you.'
Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal (C) waves as he attends the cabinet meeting at the foothills of Mt. Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) Base Camp at Kalapatthar which is approximately 5,164 meters high above the sea level on Dec. 3, 2009. The Nepali Government's historical high-altitude cabinet meeting, attended by altogether 24 ministers, is held on the base to draw the global community's attention toward climate change and its impact on melting Himalayas
The historic high-altitude cabinet meeting of Nepali government held to draw the global community's attention toward climate change and its impact on melting Himalayas has come up with a 10-point "Everest Declaration" Friday.
The cabinet meeting presided by Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was held at Kalapatthar, the Base Camp of Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) at a height of approximately 5,164 meters.
"We have successfully conducted our historic cabinet meeting. We would like to thank all the people who have assisted us, supported us and given us help and support to make this event a grand success," said Prime Minister Nepal in a press conference organized at Syangboche near Everest Base Camp after cabinet meeting.
"Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) is an icon of world environment. The 2,700-km East-West range of Himalayas and 1.3 billion people's civilization, their culture and tradition, natural heritage and tourist development has contribution."
He added that he would urge the developed countries to look at the impact of the climate change on the poor countries while attending the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen.
Global issue of climate change has negative impact not only on Himalayas and millions of lives living in this arena but also the environment, social-economic development, natural vegetation and tourist development sector, said Nepal addressing the press conference.
Due to climate change, threat of natural calamities like drought, flood, landslide, famine, and glacial outburst is increasing, he added.
"Through Everest Declaration-2009, we would like to express our collective commitment to climate change and open the financial support sector," Nepal said.
To protect the Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) and rest of the Himalayan range from melting down due to the global warming, Nepali government has declared "Everest Declaration-2009".
To conserve the vulnerable Himalayas form climate change, to draw the attention of global community, Nepal will cooperate with South Asian nations and the rest of the world, the prime minister said reading the first point of "Everest Declaration-2009".
To launch a public awareness campaign in the national level to highlight the adverse impact of climate change on local habitants and life style, especially the marginalized people.
The cabinet also decided to extend the territories of Api-Nampa conservation area in Darchula district, Gauri Shankar conservationarea in Ramechhap and Dolakha districts as well as to extend Bardiya National Park.
With the Everest Declaration, the government has committed to increasing the conservation areas in the country from 20 percent to 25 percent and consolidating 40 percent forest area. It also focuses on raising awareness on climate change issues and seeking international commitment and support to address the issues.
The cabinet also decided to add the Banke National Park as a new national park.
A team of around 110 people comprising the 24 Nepali ministers including Prime Minister Nepal, national and international journalists, health and technical teams attended the event.
