Quotes of the Day

Nepal's 12-year-old democracy is on the ropes. A string of corrupt governments has failed to tackle the country's poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. A brutal Maoist rebellion has claimed 5,000 lives, including 3,000 since last November. And on Friday the elected government got a stark vote of no confidence: the country's constitutional monarch King Gyanendra—who took the throne 16 months ago after the Crown Prince massacred most of the royal family—went on national TV to say he was firing 'incompetent' Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, postponing next month's parliamentary elections, and temporarily assuming executive powers. Gyanendra says his actions pose no threat to democracy, and promises elections as soon as he sets up a new council of ministers 'with clean images.' Nepal's politicians decried his power grab as unconstitutional, but his beleaguered subjects may give Gyanendra the benefit of the doubt. And if the monarch proves more successful than the pols in quelling the Maoist violence and restoring order, Nepalis might be in no hurry to reclaim the elusive fruits of democracy.

• ILYA GARGER
• Nepal's 12-year-old democracy is on the ropes