Large crowds have greeted Nepal’s former king in the capital, Kathmandu, calling for the reinstatement of his abolished monarchy amid dissatisfaction over the state of the country.
An estimated 10, 000 supporters of Gyanendra Shah on Sunday gathered near the main entrance to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport as he arrived from a trip to western Nepal.
“Vacate the royal palace for the king. Come back king, save the country. Long live our beloved king. We want monarchy”, the crowds chanted.
Passengers were forced to walk to and from the airport, with hundreds of riot police blocking the peaceful demonstrators from entering the premises.
Many Nepalis have grown frustrated with the republic, saying it has failed to bring about political stability]Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]
Gyanendra, 77, was crowned in 2001 after his elder brother Birendra Bir Bikram Shah and his family were killed in a mass murder that wiped out most of the royal family.
He ruled as the constitutional head of state without executive or political powers until 2005, when he seized absolute power, saying he was acting to defeat anti-monarchy Maoist rebels. The king disbanded the government and parliament, jailed politicians and journalists and cut off communications, declaring a state of emergency and using the army to rule the country.
The moves triggered huge street protests, forcing Gyanendra in 2006 to hand power to a multi-party government. That government signed a peace deal with the Maoists, ending a decade-long civil war that caused thousands of deaths.
In 2008, Gyanendra stepped down from the throne after parliament voted to abolish Nepal’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy, transforming the country into a secular republic.
But since then, Nepal has had 13 governments, and many in the country have grown frustrated with the republic. They say it has failed to bring about political stability and blame it for a struggling economy and widespread corruption.
‘ Incompetence of politicians ‘
Rally participants said they were hoping for a change in the political system to stop the country from further deteriorating.
“We are here to give the king our full support and to rally behind him all the way to reinstating him in the royal throne”, Thir Bahadur Bhandari, 72, told The Associated Press news agency.
Among the thousands was 50-year-old carpenter Kulraj Shrestha, who had taken part in the 2006 protests against the king but has changed his mind and now supports the monarchy.
“The worst thing that is happening to the country is massive corruption and all politicians in power are not doing anything for the country”, Shrestha told AP. “I was in the protests that took away monarchy hoping it would help the country, but I was mistaken and the nation has further plunged so I have changed my mind”.
Gyanendra has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite the growing support, Gyanendra has slim chances of returning to power.
Political analyst Lok Raj Baral told the AFP news agency that he did not see any possibility of the monarchy being restored because the institution had been “a source of instability”.
“For some disgruntled groups, it has become a retreat due to incompetence of politicians who have grown increasingly self-centred. This frustration has manifested in such gatherings and demonstrations”, he said.
An estimated 10, 000 supporters of Gyanendra Shah blocked the main entrance to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport]Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]
Israel’s Energy Minister Eli Cohen has ordered an immediate halt to electricity supply to Gaza, threatening the functioning of the enclave’s desalination plants amid an ongoing aid shortage in the holy month of Ramadan.
In a post on X, Cohen said he has signed an order to “cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately”.  , “Enough with the talk, it’s time for action”! he added.
Sunday’s announcement comes more than a week after Israel cut off all supplies of goods to the territory to over two million people after reneging on the ceasefire deal that ended the 15-month-long Gaza war. Nearly 50, 000 Palestinians have been killed and vast swathes of Gaza have been turned into rubble after non-stop Israeli bombardment.
Israel wants to extend the first phase of the three-phase deal, while the Hamas group wants the deal to move to phase two, as initially agreed by both sides. Analysts say Israel’s refusal to enter phase two shows its unwillingness to withdraw its troops from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land that separates Gaza from Egypt.
Hamas has accused Israel of “cheap and unacceptable blackmail” over its decision to halt the electricity supply to war-ravaged Gaza in an effort to pressure the group into releasing the captives.
“We strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine, and water”, Ezzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau said in a statement, adding that it was “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics”.
Aid groups and rights campaigners have accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity and violating international humanitarian laws for cutting off aid.
Two Palestinians, killed in an Israeli drone strike despite the ongoing ceasefire, are brought to al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza]Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency]
People in Gaza are struggling to get bread and basic supplies as Israel’s total blockade has forced the closure of several bakeries and shops.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, said that despite the end to the devasting air strikes on Gaza, civilians continue to suffer due to more than one week of Israeli blockade in place.
“Many Palestinians are unable to buy these products, and most of Gaza’s population is currently relying on food assistance.
” Food, water and electricity, all aspects of Palestinian life are being affected by Israeli actions, “Khoudary said, adding that the situation on the ground remains” catastrophic”.
Hamas has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase.  , A Hamas source stated on Sunday that its delegation had now left for Doha, Qatar after talks in Cairo, Egypt.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Khan Younis, said the Hamas representatives were in Cairo to hold meetings with Egyptian officials on the possibilities of implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
” Hamas issued a statement agreeing to the establishment of a technocratic independent committee that will run the Gaza Strip and reiterated calls for the entry of humanitarian aid, “Azzoum added, saying that the group is also calling for Israel’s full withdrawal from the territory as part of any future deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, meanwhile, said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday.
Palestinians killed in Gaza
Earlier on Sunday, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent, as fresh truce talks are set to resume in Doha from Monday.
The attack on Sunday in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood wounded several others, with doctors at al-Ahli Arab Hospital describing the condition of some of the injured as critical.
Israel’s military said its air strike targeted fighters who” were identified operating in proximity to]Israeli] troops and attempting to plant an explosive device in the ground in northern Gaza”.
Al Jazeera’s Khoudary said that Israel has continued to violate the ceasefire that came into effect on January 19″. According to official sources, since the beginning of the Gaza ceasefire, at least 116 Palestinians have been killed and at least 490 others wounded, “she said.
” This is why Palestinians are waiting for phase two of the ceasefire, when all Israeli soldiers are supposed to withdraw from all parts of the Gaza Strip. “
The six-week first phase saw the release of 25 living Israeli captives and eight bodies in exchange for some 1, 800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
(Al Jazeera)
During the second phase, Hamas is expected to release all the remaining living captives, mostly male soldiers, in return for the freeing of more Palestinians held in the Israeli prison system. In addition, according to the document agreed to in January, Israel would initiate its” complete withdrawal “from Gaza.
The third phase will see the bodies of the remaining captives handed over in return for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan for Gaza to be conducted under international supervision.
On Sunday, United States President Donald Trump’s envoy Adam Boehler told NBC News that direct US meetings with Hamas in Doha on the release of captives in Gaza were extremely” helpful”.
Boehler stated that he believes something could” come together on Gaza within weeks”, but did not elaborate.
Trump had previously floated a widely condemned plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, prompting Arab leaders to offer an alternative.
Their proposal would see Gaza’s reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern the territory.
” We need more discussion about it, but it’s a good-faith first step, “Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, told reporters in Washington in response to the Arab plan.
Witkoff will be returning to the region this week as he travels to Saudi Arabia for talks on the war in Ukraine.
Israelis rally
Meanwhile, family members of Israeli captives have demanded the government fully implement the ceasefire.
” The war could resume in a week, “Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, told a crowd in Tel Aviv.
” The war won’t bring the hostages back home, it will kill them. “
Yoni Ben Menachem, an analyst based in West Jerusalem, says Israel’s return to ceasefire negotiations is a” genuine decision “by the government because it wants to secure the release of the remaining captives.
However”, the military option “remains on the table and that could be decided on Sunday evening when Israel’s cabinet meets, he said.
Hamas has said that it was ready to abandon its governance role in Gaza but refused to lay down arms.
Meanwhile, Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank have continued unabated. On Sunday, Israeli tanks entered areas in and around the village of Wadi Burqin, according to local media reports.
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Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland
A quick scan of Celtic forward Daizen Maeda’s social media accounts tells you two things about him. He loves football. And he loves his family. That’s it.
His endearingly short interviews in English, and even his native Japanese, give the impression he is a quiet, understated man.
Those who know the 27-year-old best might say differently, but to the outside world that’s how it seems.
His compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi often took the headlines at Celtic, before his January departure for Rennes, due his knack of scoring big goals, and lots of them.
But coaches have described Maeda as a “machine” and a “physical beast” for his seemingly unlimited stamina, and now he is having the best season of his Celtic career, scoring 27 goals so far and 13 in his last 13 games.
Five of those have come in the Scottish Cup, with the latest in Sunday’s quarter-final win over Hibernian.
‘ World’s best ‘ at pressing
After Celtic opened their Champions League campaign with a thumping 5-1 win against Slovan Bratislava, manager Brendan Rodgers heaped praise on Maeda.
Former Celtic and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had used a clip of the 27-year-old thwarting a Slovan counter-attack on BBC Sport’s Champions League highlights programme.
Maeda hounded Slovan’s right-back and centre-back, winning possession.
Rodgers cited that moment and said he doubted “there’s anyone better in world football” at setting the tone from the front.
There are numerous examples of the Celtic forward doing just that.
In the League Cup final this season, he ran down Rangers defender Leon Balogun, stole the ball and ran through to score.
Strangely, the moment which sums up his attitude and speed came near the end of a 6-0 drubbing of St Johnstone in September, when Celtic lost the ball in the final third and he sprinted the length of the pitch to win it back with the game long won.
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His former coach at Yokohama F Marinos John Hutchinson knew exactly what was coming when Ange Postecoglou recruited him from his old club.
“I have never seen a more physical player, in terms of speed and repeat sprinting, than Daizen”, he said in 2022.
“Daizen is a physical beast. You’d have no issues sending him anywhere in Europe because it won’t be a problem to him. He’s a machine”.
Rodgers was equally complimentary after yet another critical contribution, one which drew the danger from a potentially tricky cup tie with an in-form Hibs.
“Daizen is so honest. His anticipation and the ground he makes up… he’s an amazing role model for young players with his work and his intensity”, the manager said.
‘ Don’t know where we’d be without him ‘
Maeda’s close-range effort against Hibs took his tally to 24 in 41 games this term, his most productive in Scotland to date.
Not bad for a player who played out wide for much of the season until Kyogo left.
Four of those goals have come in the Champions League, including a brilliant curling effort to snatch a critical point against Club Brugge and one in Munich against Bayern.
Finishing was always a criticism of Maeda. Not that he lacked the ability to score good goals, but that he was guilty of some glaring misses.
But this season his shot conversion rate has gone up significantly, and his strikes have come in all different forms.
SNS
It was perhaps with that in mind that Rodgers has often opted to play Maeda through the middle in 2025 in preference to Adam Idah.
And the Irish striker, who came on himself to score the late second against Hibs, was unsparing in his praise of his team-mate.
“I don’t know how many games that is in a row that he’s scored”, he told Premier Sports.
“It’s not just his goals, his performance on the pitch is amazing. He’s the first name on the teamsheet, I don’t know where we’d be without him”.
After his kick out late on against Young Boys earned him a red card in Celtic’s penultimate Champions League group match, Maeda apologised to fans.
“I’m really sorry for causing trouble to the team in such a wonderful atmosphere”, he posted on X.
There were plenty of responses which were along the lines of: ‘ Do whatever you like, pal, ‘ which suggests how plenty feel about him and his performances.
Likewise, rare glimpses of him away from playing endear him to supporters and are making him a much-loved figure.
Whether it was having his young children as mascots, or recent cameo appearances in interviews alongside team-mates.
Even ditching his previous routine of shaving his head before matches to grow his hair – apparently to appease his daughter who said she did not like him being bald – has added to the hero status.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland
A quick scan of Celtic forward Daizen Maeda’s social media accounts tells you two things about him. He loves football. And he loves his family. That’s it.
His endearingly short interviews in English, and even his native Japanese, give the impression he is a quiet, understated man.
Those who know the 27-year-old best might say differently, but to the outside world that’s how it seems.
His compatriot Kyogo Furuhashi often took the headlines at Celtic, before his January departure for Rennes, due his knack of scoring big goals, and lots of them.
But coaches have described Maeda as a “machine” and a “physical beast” for his seemingly unlimited stamina, and now he is having the best season of his Celtic career, scoring 27 goals so far and 13 in his last 13 games.
Five of those have come in the Scottish Cup, with the latest in Sunday’s quarter-final win over Hibernian.
‘ World’s best ‘ at pressing
After Celtic opened their Champions League campaign with a thumping 5-1 win against Slovan Bratislava, manager Brendan Rodgers heaped praise on Maeda.
Former Celtic and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had used a clip of the 27-year-old thwarting a Slovan counter-attack on BBC Sport’s Champions League highlights programme.
Maeda hounded Slovan’s right-back and centre-back, winning possession.
Rodgers cited that moment and said he doubted “there’s anyone better in world football” at setting the tone from the front.
There are numerous examples of the Celtic forward doing just that.
In the League Cup final this season, he ran down Rangers defender Leon Balogun, stole the ball and ran through to score.
Strangely, the moment which sums up his attitude and speed came near the end of a 6-0 drubbing of St Johnstone in September, when Celtic lost the ball in the final third and he sprinted the length of the pitch to win it back with the game long won.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
His former coach at Yokohama F Marinos John Hutchinson knew exactly what was coming when Ange Postecoglou recruited him from his old club.
“I have never seen a more physical player, in terms of speed and repeat sprinting, than Daizen”, he said in 2022.
“Daizen is a physical beast. You’d have no issues sending him anywhere in Europe because it won’t be a problem to him. He’s a machine”.
Rodgers was equally complimentary after yet another critical contribution, one which drew the danger from a potentially tricky cup tie with an in-form Hibs.
“Daizen is so honest. His anticipation and the ground he makes up… he’s an amazing role model for young players with his work and his intensity”, the manager said.
‘ Don’t know where we’d be without him ‘
Maeda’s close-range effort against Hibs took his tally to 24 in 41 games this term, his most productive in Scotland to date.
Not bad for a player who played out wide for much of the season until Kyogo left.
Four of those goals have come in the Champions League, including a brilliant curling effort to snatch a critical point against Club Brugge and one in Munich against Bayern.
Finishing was always a criticism of Maeda. Not that he lacked the ability to score good goals, but that he was guilty of some glaring misses.
But this season his shot conversion rate has gone up significantly, and his strikes have come in all different forms.
SNS
It was perhaps with that in mind that Rodgers has often opted to play Maeda through the middle in 2025 in preference to Adam Idah.
And the Irish striker, who came on himself to score the late second against Hibs, was unsparing in his praise of his team-mate.
“I don’t know how many games that is in a row that he’s scored”, he told Premier Sports.
“It’s not just his goals, his performance on the pitch is amazing. He’s the first name on the teamsheet, I don’t know where we’d be without him”.
After his kick out late on against Young Boys earned him a red card in Celtic’s penultimate Champions League group match, Maeda apologised to fans.
“I’m really sorry for causing trouble to the team in such a wonderful atmosphere”, he posted on X.
There were plenty of responses which were along the lines of: ‘ Do whatever you like, pal, ‘ which suggests how plenty feel about him and his performances.
Likewise, rare glimpses of him away from playing endear him to supporters and are making him a much-loved figure.
Whether it was having his young children as mascots, or recent cameo appearances in interviews alongside team-mates.
Even ditching his previous routine of shaving his head before matches to grow his hair – apparently to appease his daughter who said she did not like him being bald – has added to the hero status.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke called for calm after his Championship leaders dropped points for the second weekend in succession.
The Whites ‘ promotion hopes suffered a setback on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 at Portsmouth just eight days after being held at home by West Bromwich Albion.
They remain top but are now level on points with second-placed Sheffield United – with third-placed Burnley just two points back.
Leeds missed out on promotion to the Premier League in a three-horse title race with Leicester and Ipswich last season after fading during the run-in.
But Farke insisted he will not overreact to taking just one point from the past six available and said his side must continue to “prove themselves” in their remaining matches.
“If you want to finish in the top positions in this league you have to show consistency – the title is not won in February or March, it always goes to the wire”, Farke told BBC Radio Leeds.
“You have to prove yourselves every single game, we have some difficult matches coming up and we don’t take anything for granted.
” I know we can be better and much more effective.
“It’s a long road and it’s tough – overall this season we have been impressive, we just have to make sure we are a bit more effective in our upcoming games”.
At Fratton Park, Leeds had a number of chances to score but it ended up being a frustrating day.
They struck the woodwork, missed some big chances and were denied on several occasions by impressive Portsmouth keeper Nicolas Schmid.
They also had a big shout for a penalty waved away as Dan James appeared to be kicked in the box in the first half.
According to Opta, Portsmouth recorded an XG (expected goals) of 0.66 and Leeds 2.27.
“In terms of expected goals we were by far the better side”, Farke told Sky Sports after the game.
“We had one-on-ones with the keeper, missed chances, hit the bar – you have to take your chances.
” Sometimes you have a day when everything comes together, on others not. We have to accept it. It was not our day. We had enough chances to win the game. “
Watch Ireland’s Sarah Healy win the women’s 3, 000m gold, with Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant taking silver at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.
