Looks like the king is set to duplicate Burma. (1) Stay the military course. Shun democracy. (2) Forget international pressure. Domestic rule and revenues are enough, and there will always be a few that will play ball: Pakistan, China, North Korea, Burma. From day one he has been in the game of expanding his power base. (1) Get rid of the parliament. (2) Split Congress, RPP, Sadbhavana. (3) Induct a Mainali bro to see if that splits the UML. (4) Call Maoists for talks with an aim to split the Maoists between the military wing and the political wing. (5) Split the international community based on democracy and autocracy buffs. Also the king seems to bring in all the prime ministers he "missed" after he was kiing and no longer king at age 4. Fillng the gaps, sort of. - http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=82620 The six leaders included Sekhar Koirala (Nepali Congress-D), Pradeep Giri (NCP-UML) Gobind Prasad Koirala (NCP-U), Chandra Dev Joshi (NCP-Mashal) Chitra Bahadur KC and Rajendra Mahato (NSP-A). ........ six Nepalese political parties came together, for the first time on Monday, to form a united front for fighting the emergency ...Regarding recruiting Maoist support for their cause, he said that would be decided at a later date. .. ?In Nepal?s 240-year history, the most destabilising factor has been the king,? he said. - http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4799970,00.html The United States recalled its ambassador .......... Britain and France have also recalled their ambassadors. .....``We have to deal with whatever government is in office, but our sympathies lie with the democratic forces in that country,'' Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said......Kritinidhi Bista, 79, and Tulsi Giri, 78, were named vice chairmen of the 10-member Cabinet .....Rebel leader Prachanda said the king's action has ``ended any and all possibility of peace talks.'' - http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2005/02/15/58272.html - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4266767.stm Mr Giri told Reuters that Nepal was acting no differently from the US after the World Trade Centre attack in September 2001, or from India in its fight against militants in Kashmir. ....The king moved to ease some restrictions on Monday, when he freed former premier Surya Bahadur Thapa, a prominent lawyer and a senior leader of the country's biggest communist party. .....the kingdom's biggest party, the Nepali Congress, is calling for a nationwide, non-violent struggle for the restoration of democracy from this Friday .........A transport blockade launched by Maoist rebels entered its fourth day on Tuesday, with traffic movement reported to be lower than normal and prices rising in the capital, Kathmandu. ..........The rebels say that the royal coup has forced them to abandon earlier negotiation demands and implement the blockade as a means of abolishing the monarchy. - http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news/press/15936.shtml Amnesty International?s Secretary General Irene Khan said: "Our first meetings with human rights defenders have highlighted a picture of insecurity, deepened by uncertainty in the wake of the state of emergency, and fear, particularly for those who remain inaccessible in remote parts of the country. "We are here to express our solidarity and support to them, and to explore practical means of ensuring their protection and that of other groups who are at risk." ....possible widespread human rights abuses, including the killing of civilians, committed by the Maoists during the ?bandh?. - http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=72496 India under no obligation to supply arms to Nepal: Pranab - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1022129.cms Britain and several other European Union countries have recalled their ambassadors in Kathmandu, in what's being seen as a somewhat delayed, but deeply significant global diplomatic frown at King Gyanendra's bloodless coup of a fortnight ago. ...British diplomatic sources told TOI that arms exports contracts with Nepal could be reviewed ......The EU continues to judge that there can be no acceptable military solution to Nepal's problems and that any search for a solution by military means by either side will only add to and prolong the suffering of the Nepalese people - http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=64761 Giri, who was brought out of decades of political obscurity ....Giri said the government would have no choice but to go after the guerrillas if they kept rejecting peace talks. - http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=72487 VHP sources said the outfit's supremo Ashok Singhal was likely to visit Nepal shortly and meet King Gyanendra