Nepal
The Maoist rebellion in Nepal, and the efforts to suppress it, have had a profound impact on the media. Media rights groups say attacks on media workers have been perpetrated by both sides in the conflict. It is reported that in 2004, for the third consecutive year, more journalists had been arrested in Nepal than in any other country. Press freedoms were suspended under a state of emergency invoked by King Gyanendra in February 2005. The restrictions were enshrined in a media law in October. As a result, some newspapers have left their editorial pages blank, or have published editorials on deliberately bland topics. Up to 60 private FM radio stations have been ordered not to broadcast political news and to restrict their coverage to sport, education, environment and health matters. The government publishes a Nepali-language daily and an English-language newspaper. It operates national radio and TV services.
Press: English-language newspapers available in Nepal are The Himalayan Times (website: www.thehimalayantimes.com), The Kathmandu Post (website: www.kantipuronline.com) and Rising Nepal. Other dailies include Kantipur and Annapurna Post. The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek and Time can all be found in Kathmandu. State-owned Gorkhapatra is Nepal's oldest newspaper.
TV: Nepalese Television Corporation (NTV) is state-run. Private channels include Kantipur TV, Image Channel TV and Channel Nepal.
Radio: Radio Nepal is state-run. HBC 94 FM is operated by the Himalayan Broadcasting Company. FM station Radio Sagarmatha is a public, community station. Kantipur FM, Image FM and Hits FM are commercial stations. BBC World Service is available on FM in Kathmandu.
