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> Prince Regent Gyanendra is the de facto King of Nepal as King Dipendra is still in critical condition at a hospital in the capital with gunshot wounds. In an address to the nation read out on state radio and television on Sunday morning, Prince Regent Gyanendra for the first time told the Nepali people that the dead at the shootings at the royal palace on Friday > night included three of King Birendra's sisters, and his brother-in-law. But the Prince Regent said the deaths were caused by an "accidental discharge of an automatic weapon" during the weekly family dinner. Gyanendra, an environmentalist and Chairman of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, is the middle brother of King Birendra. > Youngest brother Dhirendra, who lost his royal title after marrying a foreigner, was also injured in the shoot-out, family sources said. Gyanendra was appointed King in 1950 by the then Rana prime ministers after his father King Mahendra and grandfather King Tribhuvan fled to India. A few months > later, King Tribhuvan returned triumphantly to Kathmandu to restore the Shahdynasty. King Birendra married Aishwarya in February 1970 and had three children, he ascended the throne on January 31,1972 after the death of King Mahendra. > Nepal heads towards another period of instability after King Birendra's death. One political analyst told Nepalnews: "King Birendra was a known personality. He helped institunalize democracy in the last ten years. Icannot predict the future right now." > A day after the funeral, Nepalis were still in shock and reading the morning newspapers in disbelief. The night had echoed with loud canon booms from Tundikhel as the funeral pyres of King Birednra, Queen Aishwarya, Princess Sruti and Prince Nirajan were lit at Pashupati. Prince Regent Gyanendra and former King Birendra's brother-in-law Kumar Mohan Bikram Shahi attended the > state funeral. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, whose effigy was burnt during the funeral procession, was also present at the cremation site. The government announced all offices will be closed for five-days, and a period of national mourning for 13 days. > Ghorahk SJB Rana, husband of Princess Shruti, is critically injured with lung wounds. Queen Mother Ratna and Princess Helen, aunt of the King,survived the shoot-out as they were not in the dining room when the firing took place > Kathmandu, June 3: Some form of normalcy returned to the capital Sunday as a shocked nation recovered from the assassination of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya in a shoot-out at the Royal Palace Friday night during a weekend party. Six other members of the royal family were injured and Crown Prince Dipendra, who has been declared King, is struggling for his life at the Birendra Military Hospital; six others have been injured, published reports said. > Shops reopened after a voluntarily closure Saturday and vehicles were again plying the busy streets. The King, Queen and other members of the royal family were cremated Saturday night with full state honors at Pashupati's Aryaghat Saturday night as the biggest crowd in recent memory gathered along the streets to bid a tearful adieu to the royal couple. The crowd shouted slogans for the King and against Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala whose car was pelted with stones as police restored to firing in the air at several points during the funeral procession Saturday. > World leaders continued to mourn the death of a popular monarch. Pakistan's Chief Executive Gen.Pervez Musharraf said: The late King was a popular monarch who made a singular contribution to the democratic evolution of Nepal and will hold a very special place n the history of his country. > The Secretary General is profoundly shocked by the reported killing Friday evening of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya as well as other members of the royal family. He is deeply saddened tragedy. The Secretary General extends his heartfelt condolences to the people of Nepal and calls for calm and stability," a statement issued by UN headquarters in New York said. > Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, Pope John Paul II and others also expressed their condolences. A regional meeting of seven foreign secretaries of SAARC to be held in Colombo this week has been postponed