News Service from House Harris

ASIA: Nepal's 'Buddha Boy' is back

KATHMANDU, Nov 11 AFP - A Nepalese teenager reputed to have Buddha-like powers has reappeared in the south of the country to preach to thousands ofsupporters, witnesses said today.

Ram Bahadur Bomjam now aged 18 - dubbed the Buddha Boy - rose to fame in 2005 after his family claimed he could sit for months on end without sleep, food or water.

In March 2007, Bomjam's supporters said he was planning to meditate for three years in an underground bunker, although he was spotted on two occasions.

Now Bomjam has appeared again to preach for around 45 minutes and plans to continue addressing the public daily until November 18, said a local policeofficial for the Bara district, 100km south of Kathmandu.

"The whole jungle area where he has appeared has turned into a festival andaround 10,000 people came to see him," the police officer said.

Local volunteers have collected thousands of dollars from people who visited the Buddha Boy in the past, prompting accusations that he was merely at the centre of a money-making scam.

During the height of his fame a French television journalist filmed him nibbling on fruit while supposedly starving himself.

An AFP correspondent also found him curled up sound asleep while he was supposedly meditating in private.

AFP jj =0A