Nepal nationalises royal properties

Nepal's government has decided to nationalise five more palaces and eight private parks and forest reserves owned by the country's king and his family, an official said yesterday - the most recent in a series of steps that have undercut the power of the world's last Hindu monarchy.
"We have decided to nationalize five more palaces outside Kathmandu and eight parks and jungles," said Prithvi Subba Gurung, minister for culture, tourism and civil Aviation.
Last week, the government nationalized the Katmandu palace and six other royal homes and said they would be handed over to the state's archaeology department.
Among the recently confiscated properties are Gokarna Forest, a reserve in northeast Katmandu, the Nagarjun Palace, a beautiful hilltop bungalow in northwest Katmandu and Ratna Mandir in the resort town of Pokhara, Gurung said.
Despite its nationalization, the royal family will be allowed to live in Narayanhity Royal Palace - the site of the 2001 massacre that left nine royals dead and brought current King Gyanendra to power - until a special assembly is elected and decides whether to keep the monarchy.
The election, now scheduled for November, has been repeatedly delayed.
Gyanendra assumed the throne in 2001 and four years later seized absolute power, saying he would bring order to a chaotic political scene and quell a Maoist insurgency that has killed nearly 13,000 people in the past decade.