Nepal's king makes democracy pledge

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.

In his first comments to the Nepalese media since he sacked the government and declared a state of emergency on February 1, King Gyanendra also urged Maoist rebels to join peace talks and shrugged off the suspension of military aid by India and Britain.