ASIA: Soldiers carrying automatic rifles patrolled key highways in Nepal on Tuesday but normally busy roads were all but deserted as an indefinite blockade of the capital by Maoist rebels began. Piling pressure on King Gyanendra, who seized power last year, the rebels are attempting to cut hill-ringed Kathmandu off from the rest of the country, a move criticized by political parties who have said it will only hurt ordinary Nepalis. Full Story