Nepal head tells general to stay

The President of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav, has ordered the head of the army to remain in office despite his dismissal by the prime minister.
President Yadav said the sacking of General Rookmangud Katawal, who refused to integrate former rebel fighters into the army, was unconstitutional.
The Communist UML party pulled out of the government saying the majority Maoists acted unilaterally.
The withdrawal leaves the Maoists with only a slender parliamentary majority.
"Being the head of the state and the supreme commander of the Nepal Army I order you to continue with your duty," the president told General Katawal by letter.
The dispute between Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and General Katawal centres on a plan to integrate thousands of former Maoist rebels into the army - a move resisted by military commanders.
Correspondents say the row could undermine the peace process which ended the civil war in 2006.

Maoist protesters marched in support of the prime minister's move
Communist UML general secretary Ishwar Pokharel said: "The party has decided to leave the coalition and withdraw support to the Maoists."
The government wants to integrate former Maoist rebel fighters into the army, and accused Gen Katawal of defying government orders to stop hiring new recruits and to get rid of eight generals.
The army chief has been refusing to integrate former Maoist fighters that he views as politically indoctrinated.
The Maoists fought the army for more than a decade before giving up their armed revolt, and the relationship between the two sides has been tense since the former rebels came into power last year.
During the conflict, 13,000 people died.

Gen Katawal is nearing the end of his career
In March, the Nepalese Supreme Court ordered the defence ministry to put on hold its decision to retire the eight generals from the army.
Several coalition representatives walked out of the cabinet meeting in protest at the proposed sacking, but a vote went ahead.
"We have been insisting that the decision on the army chief should be taken through consensus among all political parties but the prime minister decided to ignore us," said Deputy Prime Minister Bamdev Gautam, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Gen Katawal is due to retire in four months. link...