KATHMANDU, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Nepali King Gyanendra is to address the nation at 9 a.m. local time (0315 GMT) on Wednesday, an official announcement said.

    The state-run Nepal Television Tuesday quoted the press secretariat to the King as saying that the monarch is addressing the nation upon the completion of the first year of his takeover.

    Through a royal proclamation in the morning of Feb. 1, 2005, King Gyanendra dismissed a coalition government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, jailed hundreds of activists across the country, declared state of emergency and imposed harsh press censorship, cut telephone and mobile services across the country.

    The state of emergency was lifted three months later.

    The country's municipal polls are scheduled for Feb. 8. Enditem