A Nepalese soldier ended an argument with a group of villagers by spraying them with bullets, killing at least 12 people, officials and eyewitness said today.

A soldier killed about a dozen civilians returning from a festival near Nepal’s capital Katmandu, apparently after an argument broke out between him and local villagers, officials said today.

Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers will sit at the same table tomorrow for the first time since the dispute over Islamic militant attacks on India’s Parliament pushed the nuclear neighbours to the brink of war.