Nepal jails minister in graft case

Nepal's highest court Tuesday jailed a serving government minister for corruption in a first for a nation fighting an ingrained culture of graft. The Supreme Court handed information and communications minister, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, an 18-month sentence and an 8.4 million-rupee fine after he failed to account for a vast portfolio of property accrued while in office. Gupta, 52, has held a number of ministerial posts and was appointed to the information ministry after his party struck a deal with the Maoists to form a coalition government in August last year. Chiranjibi Wagle, a former government minister, was jailed for corruption last year in Nepal but Gupta is the first serving cabinet secretary to be handed prison time in a graft case.