Strike shuts down Nepal

A strike called by Maoist rebels has shut down Nepal as businesses closed and vehicles stayed off the road for a second day.

Thousands of people are stranded in the capital Katmandu but no violence has been reported.

The army claims to have killed 37 rebels overnight in Achham and five neighbouring districts, nearly 400 miles to the west.

Those killed included 13 guerrillas in a rebel training camp destroyed by the army, a military spokesman says.

The rebels called the nationwide two-day strike to celebrate the sixth anniversary of their insurgency.

On Friday, the rebels bombed a bus in southern Nepal for defying the strike call. At least five people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed and five injured in that attack.