Baton-wielding police beat journalists who were protesting against a media clampdown in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu today, as a general strike called by the opposition to demand the king’s departure shut down the Himalayan nation.

Nepal’s king has promised to restore democracy in three years, and insists that he upholds democratic principles despite his power grab earlier this month, a newspaper said today.

WITH Nepalis living under a state of emergency, civil rights suspended and dissent against the king banned after he seized power, they are reading some bizarre things in their newspapers.