No end
The second round of closed door negotiations on power sharing and the peace process ended inconclusively on Wednesday. Top leaders of the three parties met at Gokarna Forest Resort to discuss the protracted political deadlock, the delayed budget, the peace process and constitution writing. But they were unable to agree on anything except on continuing dialogue in the days to come.

Maoist leaders insisted on the formation of a government first while the NC reiterated its stance on first finalising issues related to the peace process. The UML proposed that the current government be allowed to introduce the budget. The next round of talks has been scheduled for 15 November.

End impasse
A division bench comprising justices Kalyan Shrestha and Girish Chandra Lal of the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed CA chair Subas Nembang to take the necessary steps to make the PM election fruitful. The court said the CA chair has the authority to find a way out of the current deadlock. CA regulations currently state that elections have to be repeated until a candidate wins the required majority or withdraws his candidacy. Ram Chandra Poudel, the lone candidate in the prime ministerial race, has lost the elections 16 times in a row. The next round of voting is slated for 15 November.

Rescue chopper crashes
A Fishtail Air rescue helicopter crashed near Ama Dablam on Saturday, killing two crew members. The Eurocopter AS 350 had flown to the 6,812m high mountain near Mt Everest to rescue a team of Japanese climbers. The helicopter rescued two climbers and brought them down to Lukla and had returned to the mountain when it appeared to "fall out of the sky", according to eye-witnesses. The aircraft was piloted by Capt Sabin Basnyat, an experienced helicopter pilot with over 4,500 hours of helicopter flight experience. Also on board was Purna Awale, an aircraft engineer.

Another extension
The high-level task force formed to resolve disputed issues of constitution drafting has been granted an extension for the second time until 11 December. The term was to expire last Thursday. A meeting of the 27 parties represented in the CA reached the decision as it has yet to settle important issues, including the governance structure to be outlined in the new constitution.