Nepal’s PM dismisses senior minister

Nepal’s prime minister has dismissed a senior government minister for allegedly issuing licenses to job recruitment agencies that did not meet government standards. Ganga Shrestha, the personal assistant to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, said Friday that Minister for Transport and Labor Sarita Giri has been dismissed and will be replaced by Malbar Singh Thapa. Shrestha did not elaborate, but Giri has been accused of pressuring the Labor Department to grant licenses to agencies that recruit Nepalese to work in foreign countries despite not meeting government standards. Thousands of Nepalese head abroad every month to work, mainly as laborers. They pay the agencies an average of 100,000 rupees ($1,250) to get them to the foreign countries, mostly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.