Nepali police opened fire and used teargas today to confront more than 100,000 anti-monarchy protesters who defied a curfew and marched towards King Gyanendra's palace in the centre of Kathmandu.
The police opened fire in at least two places and fired teargas repeatedly to push back protesters from the palace, witnesses said.
Political parties said about 150 people were wounded. About 100 were brought to one hospital alone.
Marchers, waving branches and red communist flags, broke into the city as a seven-party alliance spearheading a democracy campaign rejected overtures by the king to form a government.
'The proclamation has no meaning,' said former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in the alliance, referring to Gyanendra's broadcast on Friday saying he was restoring political power to the people and asking the alliance to name a new prime minister.
The king appeared to rule out any change of the constitution to curb his powers.
Political parties have demanded elections for a constituent assembly, which would draft a new constitution.
