Key Nepal leader Koirala rushed to hospital

Kathmandu, Nov 10

A day before he was to fly to Singapore for medical tests, Nepal's former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala and chief of the republic's second largest party was rushed to hospital Tuesday for emergency treatment after he complained of breathing difficulties and chest pain.

A team of seven physicians, including two of Koirala's personal doctors, began treating the 84-year-old who was rushed to the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre in the capital where he has been admitted to the intensive care unit.

Leaders of Koirala's Nepali Congress party, the largest in the ruling alliance and the second biggest in parliament after the Maoists, rushed to the hospital after he was diagnosed to have accumulated water in his lungs.

Koirala, once a heavy smoker, had been admitted to the same hospital last year with similar trouble. On Wednesday, he was supposed to leave for Singapore for medical treatment.

But the flight was postponed after the emergency admission Tuesday.

Despite failing health and his age, Koirala remains Nepal's kingmaker whose support is necessary for any party to come to power.

Enjoying a stranglehold on his party, the octogenarian this year succeeded in getting his daughter, Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, appointed deputy prime minister.

He also enjoys close ties with India's Congress party.

Last updated on Nov 10^th, 2009 at 12:26 pm IST--IANS

Possibly related news:

Other News Headlines

Four killed in suicide attack in Pakistan

Islamabad, March 21

At least four people were killed and a dozen injured Sunday when a suicide bomber riding on a bicycle hit a police van in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.

Virtual stonewall around Headley's former 'connections'

Chicago, March 21

Even as the Department of Justice (DoJ) continues to dismiss as "absurd" the freshly mounting claims in India that Mumbai terror plotter David Coleman Headley was a double agent gone rogue, there is now a virtual stonewall around what his covert connections might have been.

US House expects showdown over vote on health legislation

Washington, March 21

Democrats in the US House of Representatives were preparing for a showdown over a critical vote Sunday on a sweeping overhaul of the health care system.

Lindsay Lohan 'unwelcome' in India

New York, March 21

Twitter tirade has made actress Lindsay Lohan unwelcome in India and Los Angeles, says the tabloid New York Post.

Women's blood inspires rebel art in Nepal (Feature with images)

Kathmandu, March 21

As a young girl brought up in a conservative household in the Nepal capital, Ashmina Ranjit remembers how her mother used to scold her for touching things during menstruation. "I used to hate that," the artist says adding her anger inspired her to create and "celebrate womanhood and the feminine force".

Enter Your Name and Email below and Post your comment
Name	Email:
Comment:

Please login to use this service
Usermame :
Password :
Quick signup \| Forgot Password