Nepal's deposed king looks for new home with astrologers' advice

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Nepal's deposed monarch is consulting astrologers to decide the most auspicious time to leave Katmandu's main royal palace, newspapers reported Saturday. The Gorkhapatra newspaper, citing unnamed palace officials, said the ex-monarch's son, former Crown Prince Paras, has already moved into the family's private palatial Katmandu compound with his wife and children, but former King Gyanendra is looking for another place to live. Gyanendra, whose throne was officially abolished Wednesday by Nepal's newly elected Constituent Assembly, had been expected to move into the compound, the "Nirmal Niwas," where he had lived before assuming the throne in 2001. The palace has made no public statements since Nepal was declared a republic Wednesday, and had no reaction to the newspaper report. The king, who is a Hindu, is consulting astrologers about the best time to move out, reported the independent Naya Paktrika newspaper. The staunchly republican Maoists, former rebels who are now Nepal's dominant political party, have threatened to remove him by force if he does not go peacefully.