Ex-Nepal communist rebel elected prime minister

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s parliament on Wednesday elected a former communist rebel leader to lead a coalition government as the country’s new prime minister, a move that will probably mean the continuation of political instability in the Himalayan nation.

Parliamentary speaker Onsari Gharti Magar announced that Maoist party leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal received 363 votes from lawmakers, with 210 voting against him.

In the years that followed, the Maoist revolt spread to many parts of the country, and thousands of Dahal’s supporters fought government troops.