Opposition politicians have thrown chairs and attacked the parliamentary speaker during a violent general strike in Nepal that was aimed at blocking the government from pushing through a draft of a new constitution.

NEPAL’S prime minister resigned yesterday amid a power struggle over his firing of the army chief, saying he was stepping down to “save the peace process” that brought the Himalayan nation out of a decade-long civil war.

Nepal celebrated the end of a bloody 10-year insurgency by declaring a public holiday today, as the international community hailed the deal under which communist rebels will join an interim government.