British star Lumley to open school in Nepal

British actress and activist Joanna Lumley was due to arrive in Nepal on Monday to open a school built by her Gurkha charity, the British embassy said. The 65-year-old star of television show "Absolutely Fabulous" is on her second visit after leading a successful campaign for Gurkha soldiers who serve in the British army and their families to be allowed to settle in Britain. Lumley will touch down in Kathmandu before heading to the country's western hills to open a school built under the supervision of the British-based Gurkha Welfare Trust, the embassy said in a statement, without giving further details. The actress is vice-patron of the charity and her impassioned lobbying in Britain earned her the adoration of the Gurkhas, who turned out in their thousands to greet her when she toured the country on her first visit in 2009. The British government had announced ahead of that trip that all Gurkha veterans who had served at least four years in the army could apply for residency after a climbdown in the face of Lumley's campaign. Previously, only those who retired after 1997 had been eligible to apply.