Nepal King names new cabinet
Kathmandu: A day after Nepal's King Gyanendra dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government, King Gyanendra named a new 10-member cabinet comprising mostly of his loyalists.

In an announcement carried by state television and radio, the monarch named Ramesh Nath Pandey as foreign minister. The cabinet also includes a communist member, Radha Krishna Mainali, as sports and education minister. The new line-up also includes Pravatar Shumsher Rana as finance minister and Dan Bahadur Shahi as home minister.

The king had dismissed the Deuba government saying it had failed to make peace with Maoist rebels and hold elections.

Meanwhile, the United States has asked Nepal to make an immediate move towards the restoration of multi-party democratic institutions under a constitutional monarchy. The move has also been condemned by India. "These developments constitute a serious setback to the cause of democracy in Nepal and cannot but be a cause of grave concern to India," the MEA statement said.

The king has suspended several provisions of the constitution, including the freedom of press, speech and expression, the freedom to assemble peacefully, the right to privacy, and the right against preventive detention.
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Google Q4 profits up seven times
San Francisco: Google Incorporation has reported a sevenfold increase in fourth-quarter profits earning $204.1 million, or 71 cents per share, during the final three months of 2004.

This compares to net income of USD 27.3 million, or 10 cents per share, at the same time in 2003. Revenue for the period totalled USD 1.03 billion, more than doubling from USD 512.2 million in the prior year. If not for a USD 60 million charge to cover stock compensation paid to its employees, Google would have earned 92 cents per share, unadjusted from income taxes.

This marks the second consecutive quarter that Google has left analysts' earnings estimates behind since the company's closely watched initial public offering of stock nearly six months ago. The shares have reached a high of $205.30 since Google's IPO, which was priced at $85.
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