The moderate communist politician Madhav Kumar Nepal has been sworn in as prime minister of Nepal

He heads a weak coalition of 22 parties who have the support of 350 of the 601 members of parliament. The inauguration ceremony in Kathmandu was boycotted by the Maoists.

Earlier this month the Maoist government fell. The Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was forced to resign after President Ram Baran Yadav reversed his decision to dismiss an army general. One of the conditions for peace after a decade of fighting was that communist rebels would be allowed into Nepal's army. This condition has not been met. The dispute led to street protests in the capital Kathmandu.