Nepal PM agrees to step down – party leader

KATHMANDU – Nepal’s prime minister has agreed to step down after less than four months in office to secure opposition support for an extension of parliament, a leader of his party said Sunday.

Bhim Rawal, a senior leader of the ruling UML (Unified Marxist-Leninist) party, said Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal would resign to make way for a new power-sharing government.

No timeframe for the move has been decided, he said in a press conference broadcast live on television ahead of a crucial vote on whether parliament’s term should be extended.