An organisation of retired Gurkha soldiers has filed a lawsuit in the Nepalese Supreme Court challenging changes in the way the Britain distributes army pensions in Nepal.

The members of the Gurkha Army Ex-servicemen's Organisation (GAESO) say the British embassy in Katmandu has stopped allowing pensions to be paid at Gurkha area welfare centres.

Retired soldiers now have to go to a bank to get their money - an arrangement they say is far less convenient.

GAESO which has long been fighting for Gurkhas' pensions to be on a par with their British counterparts.

Its president said a number of former Gurkhas were also preparing to file cases in the British courts over the racial discrimination they suffered in the British army.

He said a delegation had been attending the United Nations conference on Racism in Durban, to highlight the Gurkha cause.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service