Nepal parties fail to finalise constitution

Nepal's warring political parties said on Sunday they had failed to narrow their differences sufficiently to agree on a new constitution for the Himalayan republic before a midnight deadline, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil. "It is not possible to promulgate the constitution within the deadline now. That possibility is out, 100 percent," said senior Maoist leader Post Bahadur Bogati after a meeting with other political parties. Negotiators said the cabinet would now have to decide between various courses of action, including declaring a state of emergency under which the life of the current parliament would be extended for six months and calling a fresh election.