US, China, Australia alert nationals

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Kathmandu: The US State Department on Monday ordered all non-emergency U.S. Embassy staff and family members to leave Nepal amid weeks of protests against royal rule, an embassy spokesman said.

The order will reduce the staff at the US mission by about 50 per cent, said embassy spokesman Robert Hugins. On April 12, the US State Department allowed non-emergency staff and families to leave at their own discretion.

Those ordered to go will leave Nepal as soon as possible, said Hugins, who declined to say how many have already left the country, or how many were expected to leave.

The order came after almost three weeks of anti-monarchy protests that have largely paralyzed Nepal, and one day before a planned demonstration in Katmandu that organizers say will bring out hundreds of thousands of people demanding a return to democracy.

Leave, China, Aus tell citizens

The Australian and Chinese governments on Monday warned theur citizens not to travel to Nepal, citing dangers linked to widespread civil unrest.

"We advise Australians against travel to Nepal because of the dangerous security situation created by widespread civil unrest," the government's www.smartraveller.gov.au Web site said.

It also cautioned Australians already in the mountainous nation to leave if they feel unsafe or stay indoors.

"A large demonstration in planned in Katmandu for April 25 and may turn violent," the site said.

The Chinese government asked tourists from the country to leave Nepal quickly and urged its citizens living there to take care of their personal safety following the political turmoil in the Himalayan Kingdom.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reminded its nationals in Nepal of personal safety and suggested tourists there to leave Nepal as soon as possible.

The foreign ministry called for the Chinese citizens in Nepal to enhance awareness of self-protection, given the unstable safety situation there. It also suggested its nationals not to travel to Nepal if there is no special need.

It requested Chinese citizens to contact the Chinese embassy in Nepal in case of emergency.