Police in Kathmandu thwarted a pro-democracy rally by about 200 tourists in the Thamel area on Tuesday afternoon and took nine tourists into custody.

Pamphlets signed by a group calling itself the \'Free International Tourists\' had said it wanted to \'show solidarity with the Nepali people in their struggle for peace, democracy and human rights\'.

Earlier on Wednesday, police went hotel-to-hotel telling owners to warn tourists to stay away from the protests because there is a curfew and that it would tarnish Nepal\'s image abroad. But the tourists went ahead with the rally anyway.

Elsewhere in Kathmandu, the daytime curfew was further reduced to 12-5 PM and there were more public transport and and vehicles on the roads in the morning. Portesters were still out in hotspots like Gongabu and Chabahil and it has also flared up in new areas like Nakkhu. In Kirtipur, residents continued for the third day with their sit-in in defiance of the curfew and were keeping security forces out of their town.