Nepal's president has ordered Parliament to meet in early January to elect a new prime minister, officials said Tuesday. Nepal has had a caretaker government since last June when Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned bowing to pressure from the opposition Maoist party. Parliament has held 16 unsuccessful votes for prime minister since then, and ended its last session in November in a brawl over the annual budget. President Ram Baran Yadav said in a statement that he has summoned the Parliament to start a session Jan. 9. The country's winter Parliament session usually begins in February, according to a report of foreign news agencies.
