People take to streets after king’s climbdown

TENS of thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Nepal yesterday as weeks of pro-democracy protests were called off after the king gave in to a key demand to reinstate parliament.

But communist insurgents who had supported the protesters rejected the king's offer, a sign that the turmoil in this Himalayan country is not over.

King Gyanendra's concession on Monday night handed power back to elected politicians and cleared the way for the creation of a new constitution that could leave him largely powerless, or even eliminate the monarchy.