King cedes power
The week's news at a glance.
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tens of thousands of Nepalese marched through Kathmandu in a victory parade this week after King Gyanendra agreed to reinstate the parliament. Opposition parties had been holding huge pro-democracy rallies every day for the past three weeks, since the anniversary of the day the king took absolute power in a coup last year. They have now named former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, 84, as the new head of government. But it’s still unclear whether calm will return to the country. Maoist guerrillas, who have been fighting the government for a decade and control much of the northern countryside, rejected the deal and called for the abolition of the monarchy.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Chemnitz: an 'unlikely renaissance' for the 'forgotten' town
The Week Recommends The birthplace of Germany's industrial revolution is hoping to reinvent itself
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Maha Kumbh Mela: world's largest religious festival gets under way in India
In The Spotlight Politics of Hindu nationalism has cast a shadow over event touted as biggest ever gathering of humanity
By The Week UK Published
-
North Carolina Supreme Court risks undermining its legitimacy
Under the radar A contentious legal battle over whether to seat one of its own members threatens not only the future of the court's ideological balance, but its role in the public sphere
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published