KATMANDU, Safar 30, 1432, Feb 03, 2011, SPA -- Nepal's parliament has elected a new prime minister in its 17th attempt since the last government resigned last year. The parliament's speaker announced Thursday that Jhalnath Khanal, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), secured 368 of 601 votes, AP reported. Khanal's party is only the third largest party in the parliament but got support from the largest party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The last government resigned in June, but candidates were unable to get the required votes to win in the 16 previous elections held since then. -- SPA 18:10 LOCAL TIME 15:10 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/861757