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KATHMANDU : Dozens of Nepalis living in British Capital and other parts of the country on Thursday protested visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to London, accusing the latter of imposing an unofficial blockade on Nepal. The protesters clad in traditional Nepali dresses including the Dhaka Topi resorted to street protests, holding Nepali national flags and placards with anti-India and anti-Modi messages and slogans. The agitators accused India of imposing an blockade on Nepal to express its dissatisfaction over the newly promulgated Constitution. They claimed it was against Nepal’s transport rights as a land-locked nation and related international trade laws and treaties. They had gathered in front of the British Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street from the early afternoon. Various organisations of Nepali diaspora had led the demonstration. Modi embarked on the three-day official visit to Britain on Thursday.

LONDON:  Online retailer Amazon has stepped up the pressure on Britain’s traditional supermarkets with the nationwide launch on Friday of a packaged groceries offer for Amazon Prime members. The move is the ecommerce giant’s most ambitious foray into Britain’s growing online grocery market but stops short of replicating its broader US Amazon Fresh service, which offers about 20,000 chilled, frozen and perishable products and items from local shops. Retail analysts have speculated the US company is gearing up for a launch of Amazon Fresh in Britain next year. The new “Amazon Pantry” service offers Amazon Prime members, who pay an annual fee of 79 pounds ($120), the choice of more than 4,000 “everyday essentials, in everyday sizes”, including major brands of food and drink, household supplies, baby, child and pet care, health and beauty. Members can fill up as much of a 20 kg Amazon Pantry box as they wish for one-day delivery, with a 2.99 pound fee for the first box and 99 penc

ISLAMABAD:  Days before Pakistan’s powerful army chief was due to visit Washington for talks on regional stability and fighting militancy, General Raheel Sharif engaged in thinly veiled criticism of the nuclear-armed country’s civilian government. A terse statement from the army’s PR wing underlined the tension between Pakistan’s military and its civilian government, just as the United States prepares to receive Sharif weeks after the prime minister held talks there. After top generals met to review a major crackdown on extremists, the Pakistani military said it would be “undermined” if the government did not take “matching governance initiatives”. That was taken to mean police reform, action on militant financing and better governance of restive tribal areas. “He (Sharif) is foreign minister, prime minister, president and army chief all rolled into one,” said a Pakistani newspaper editor, while also questioning the military’s motives. “His greatest achievement is that he ha