WORLD IN BRIEF : NEPAL : Communist Premier Asks New Elections

Nepal’s Communist prime minister, seeking to stave off a no-confidence vote, said he had asked King Birendra to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections. Parliament is slated to debate on Friday a no-confidence motion sponsored by the centrist Nepali Congress Party, a move aimed at toppling the 7-month-old Communist government. “I have recommended to the king to dissolve the present House of Representatives and hold fresh elections within six months,” Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari told reporters, adding that no dates for midterm elections in the Himalayan nation had yet been fixed.