Nepal ? Nepal’s royalist government detained dozens of activists Thursday and extended a curfew in an attempt to stop a planned demonstration against King Gyanendra’s assumption of direct rule over the Himalayan country last year.

A coalition of Nepal’s seven main political parties planned to have the mass rally today in the capital of Katmandu to demand the king restore democracy.

But the government announced a curfew would be imposed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. today in Katmandu and the nearby suburb of Lalitpur.

Nighttime curfews already have been imposed in the last three days. Government workers were asked to report for duty before the start of today’s curfew.