THE impoverished Himalayan nation of Nepal entered a new era yesterday as Maoist insurgents and the central government signed a peace deal ending a decade of civil war that has claimed at least 12,500 lives.

Nepal’s government and communist rebels signed a peace deal today to end a decade-long insurgency, paving the way for the guerrillas to join the country’s interim government.

A Nepalese government commission has found King Gyanendra responsible for a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in April that left at least 19 dead and several hundred injured, officials said today.

Nepal’s prime minister said today he took a major political gamble partnering with communist rebels, which has resulted in peace being restored.

Nepal’s Maoist rebels, who have waged a decade-long war to seize control of the Himalayan nation, will join an interim government to be formed shortly, the rebels’ leader said today after meeting with top government officials.

TENS of thousands of communist rebels and their supporters held their first big rally in the Nepalese capital in recent years yesterday, waving red flags and yelling slogans against King Gyanendra.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the centre of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu today, protesting against the delay in a parliament vote on a proclamation that would curtail the king’s powers.

Nepal could rewrite its constitution within 18 months to meet a key demand of communist rebels who joined the political opposition in a campaign that forced King Gyanendra to relinquish power, the new deputy prime minister said.

Maoist rebels today agreed to peace talks with Nepal’s government, raising hopes for an end to a decade-old insurgency that has killed 13,000 people.

NEPAL’S new prime minister announced a seven-member Cabinet yesterday, designating a communist as his deputy and foreign minister.

Nepal’s new prime minister announced a cabinet today that includes a communist party leader as his deputy, and he faces the daunting tasks of negotiating peace with Maoist rebels and cementing the return of democracy.

Nepal’s Parliament reconvened today for the first time in four years, after weeks of often-bloody protests forced the king to give up absolute power and return the country to democratic rule.

Nepal’s communist rebels today declared a three-month halt in attacks, lifting a key burden on the new government poised to take control after weeks of bloody protests forced King Gyanendra to reinstate Parliament.

COMMUNIST rebels withdrew a blockade of Nepal’s highways yesterday but gave the country’s political parties a two-day deadline to begin the process of rewriting the constitution, their leader said.

Communist rebels withdrew a blockade of Nepal’s highways today but gave the country’s political parties a two-day deadline to begin the process of rewriting the constitution, their leader said.

Nepal’s opposition alliance called off weeks of devastating pro-democracy protests today after King Gyanendra gave in to a demand to reinstate Parliament, but Maoist insurgents quickly rejected the royal announcement.

Nepal’s communist insurgents today rejected King Gyanendra’s order for a reinstatement of Parliament, calling it a conspiracy to defend the monarchy and warning their opposition allies not to accept it.

Nepal’s embattled King Gyanendra tonight reinstated the lower house of parliament, which was dissolved in 2002, and offered his solace for those killed in weeks of pro-democracy protests.

Nepalese security forces fought back a communist rebel attack today, as foreign diplomats sought to halt the country’s political crisis and officials placed the capital, Kathmandu under curfew for the fifth day due to anti-monarchy protests.

Nepal’s capital began its fifth consecutive day under curfew today, as opposition parties planned a massive rally to demand an end to King Gyanendra’s rule and a new constitution.

NEPALESE police were last night struggling to enforce a curfew imposed to keep persistent thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators off the streets as the Himalayan country’s political crisis deepened.

Nepal’s King Gyanendra today vowed to bring multiparty democracy back to his Himalayan nation, 14 months after he seized control and set off a bloody political crisis that has engulfed the country.

Tens of thousands of protesters marched on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu today, again defying a government-imposed curfew a day after security forces opened fire on demonstrators.

Nepal’s royal government imposed a new curfew today in the capital Kathmandu and surrounding areas where clashes between security forces and tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters a day earlier left at least three dead.

NEPALESE police opened fire yesterday on tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied a curfew and marched toward the capital, killing at least three and wounding dozens more.

Nepalese police opened fire today on tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters who defied a curfew and marched toward the capital, killing at least three and wounding dozens more, witnesses and hospital officials said.

Soldiers and police patrolled Nepal’s capital today as thousands of protesters from surrounding areas marched toward the city limits, where troops had orders to shoot on sight anyone breaking a curfew.

Soldiers and police patrolled Nepal’s capital Kathmandu today to enforce a shoot-on-sight curfew aimed to keep anti-monarchy protesters off the streets, but opposition leaders said they would still hold a planned rally.

THOUSANDS of people roaring “Down with the monarchy” demonstrated, while state employees were arrested for the first time in the two-week wave of anti-royal protests shaking Nepal.

SECURITY forces in a southern town shot into a crowd marching on the main highway to protest Nepal’s royal dictatorship yesterday, killing one and wounding five, a local administrator said.

Nepalese police fired rubber bullets at hundreds of pro-democracy protesters on the outskirts of the capital today, wounding at least six demonstrators.

Pro-democracy activists vowed to hold a mass rally today in Kathmandu despite the royal government’s ban on demonstrations in Nepal’s capital, as protests escalated against King Gyanendra’s rule.

NEPALESE police battled protesters shouting “Down with King Gyanendra” as officials clamped a curfew on the capital for a fourth day to foil demonstrations which have left three dead.

Police fired on stone-throwing protesters in the Nepalese resort town of Pokhara today, wounding two people just kilometres from where King Gyanendra was on holiday, police said.

POLICE fired rubber bullets at anti-monarchy protesters as clashes erupted yesterday in Nepal’s capital, where many residents spent most daylight hours cooped up at home on the third day of a government curfew.

THOUSANDS defied a curfew and shoot-on-sight orders in Nepal yesterday and marched in city streets demanding that King Gyanendra restore democracy.

Nepal’s government announced tonight that a dawn-to-dusk curfew would be extended for a second day in the capital Katmandu in an attempt to foil a planned rally against King Gyanendra’s direct rule.

More than 25,000 pro-democracy activists rioted in the streets of a southern Nepalese town today, prompting police to fire shots that injured at least three people, an official said.

Communist rebels attacked two towns in south-western Nepal, prompting a fierce overnight battle in which at least nine rebels and three members of the security forces were killed, officials said today in Katmandu.

POLICE battled protesters in Kathmandu's narrow alleys yesterday, using batons and tear gas to beat back stone-throwing students on the second day of a strike called by adversaries of Nepal's King Gyanendra.

Police in Nepal fought frenzied street battles today with activists during their four-day general strike against the king’s rule, and 150 people were reported arrested in a crackdown that has sparked international condemnation.

Communist rebels bombed government buildings and raided security bases in a southern Nepal town, taking hostages and engaging police in gunbattles that left 13 people dead, officials said today.

ROYALIST candidates who dominated local elections called by Nepal’s king duly cleaned up in the violence-plagued poll, according to official partial results.

Communist rebels killed at least 17 policemen and three soldiers in an overnight assault in western Nepal ahead of today’s one-year anniversary of the king’s absolute rule, officials said.