Nepal's top court orders rescue of stranded workers

The Nepali government has banned them from returning home for fear they could spread the virus in a country that has so far registered only 30 cases and no deaths and is ill equipped to deal with a major epidemic.

KATHMANDU: Nepal's top court has ordered the government to bring back vulnerable migrant workers stranded abroad in the coronavirus crisis after the country barred its own citizens from returning.

Up to 2.6 million Nepali migrants are estimated to be in the Gulf, Malaysia and South Korea and labour rights activists say many have lost their jobs due to coronavirus lockdowns in those countries, leaving them highly vulnerable.