In Nepal, the interim Parliament passed the eighth Constitutional Amendment Bill late on Friday extending the term of the Constituent Assembly by a year. Announcing the passage of the amendment in the House, the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subhash Nemwang said out of 585 members present in the House, 580 members voted in favour of the amendment and five against.The passage of the amendment Bill by a two-third majority was made possible following a crucial deal struck by the top leaders of the Unified CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN(UML) just hours before the expiry of the term of the constituent assembly.Nepali Congress Vice-President Ram Chandra Poudel told media that three-point agreement included concluding the peace process and expediting the process of drafting the new Constitution, resignation of the Prime Minister at an appropriate time to pave way for formation of a national Government on the basis of consensus among the political parties and to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly.AIR Kathmandu Correspondent reports that the passage of the constitutional amendment Bill has saved the country from plunging into a major constitutional crisis and political uncertainty as the two- year term of the Parliament was to end at midnight last night.The agreement followed several days of failed negotiations between the leaders of the three major political parties. The failure to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly which functions as Parliament would have left Nepal without a functioning legislature, plunging the nation into fresh political chaos just four years after a decade-long civil war came to an end. The extension of the term of Parliament gave the political parties more time to write the Constitution and complete the peace process. The three parties will now begin negotiations on key issues of completing the peace process, writing of the constitutions and power sharing before a national unity government is formed. It will also trigger a new race for leadership of a new national Government with the Maoists demanding to lead the new Government.