Nepal parties to discuss peace tactics

The Nepalese Government has called an all-party meeting on Friday ahead of its proposed peace talks with Maoist rebels.

No date has been set for the peace talks, but the home minister, Khum Bahadur Khadka, said the aim of the meeting was to reach a consensus on how to proceed when they do begin.

A BBC correspondent in Kathmandu says the government's comfortable majority in parliament means it doesn't need such a consensus, but its negotiating position with the rebels would be strengthened if it had all-party approval.

There has been general agreement that dialogue with the Maoists is needed to bring their long-running insurgency to an end, but the parties differ on how to respond to the rebels' demands.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service