Page last updated at 16:15 GMT, Monday, 12 May 2008 17:15 UK
Deadline looms for Nepal's king  King Gyanendra King Gyanendra
has given no sign he will step down willingly  The first meeting
of Nepal's constituent assembly is to be held on 28 May, the
government says.  According to the interim constitution, the
assembly must abolish the monarchy on the first day it meets.
However one of the main parties is saying that the constitution
must be amended first to clarify how much power the presidency
will have.  Former Maoist rebels, now the biggest party in the
government, have been urging King Gyanendra to step down.  They
waged a civil war for 10 years, fighting for a communist
republic, before signing a peace accord in 2006.   King
Gyanendra seized absolute powers in February, 2005, saying the
civilian government was failing in the fight with the Maoists.
The rebels and the main opposition parties then agreed on a
programme to restore democracy.  In April 2006 the increasingly
unpopular king agreed to reinst