Nepal police fire rubber bullets and use water canons as hundreds protest against a $500-million US grant going before parliament that has become a bone of contention between China and the United States. Nepal signed the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) pact in 2017 to fund infrastructure projects but its ratification has been in limbo because of divisions within political parties, including the ruling coalition. Several people were injured in the latest day of angry demonstrations outside parliament as the government put the bill before lawmakers ahead of a deadline of February 28 to pass it. IMAGES