KATHMANDU (Nepal): Police arrested 57 opposition protesters yesterday, while the royal government plunged Nepal into a communications blackout, cutting phone service to thwart efforts to organise nationwide rallies against the king's seizure of power.
In the capital, Kathmandu, the call for demonstrations to recognise Democracy Day, which marks the 1951 end of autocratic rule in Nepal went largely unheeded. Opponents had called the rally as a first show of defiance since King Gyanendra seized power on Feb 1.