KATMANDU, Nepal — The main palace in Nepal's capital lowered the flag of the country's royal family today, a day after lawmakers, led by former communist insurgents, abolished the monarchy that had reigned over the Himalayan land for 239 years.

Palace staff took down the small red standard with a flag-waving lion and replaced it with Nepal's national flag, a red banner of two triangles adorned with a sun and moon.

The changing of the flag was "a decision by the government to show that Nepal is now a republic," said a palace official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of palace rules.

An overwhelming majority of the assembly declared Nepal a republic Wednesday, sparking celebrations across the country. Thousands marched, danced and sang in the streets of Katmandu, setting off firecrackers, waving hammer-and-sickle flags and denouncing King Gyanendra as a thief.

Gyanendra now has 15 days to quit the 1970s-era palace and move to his large private residence in the city — or face the possibility of being removed by force.

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's military regime has approved visas for dozens of relief workers but also took a swipe at the international aid coming into the country, with state media saying today that cyclone victims "can stand on their own."The last 45 pending visas were granted to U.N. staffers, a United Nations statement said Thursday. Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and the U.N. Children's Fund have sent more than 14 aid workers in recent days into the Irrawaddy delta, which took the brunt of the cyclone that landed May 2.Commentary in the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said that while the country welcomed international aid, "Myanmar people are self-reliant and can stand on their own without foreign assistance."The storm left an estimated 2.4 million people in desperate need of food, shelter and medical care, according to the U.N. Myanmar's government says the cyclone killed 78,000 people and left 56,000 missing.Myanmar's leaders are leery of foreign aid workers and international agencies, worrying they could weakened the junta's grip on power. The generals also don't want their people to see aid coming directly from countries like the U.S. that the junta has long treated as a hostile power.

UPPLANDS VASBY, Sweden — Iraq's prime minister called today for neighboring countries to forgive debts and war reparations, saying they are hindering the nation's recovery despite a reduction in violence.Opening a U.N. conference on Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also praised his country's security and economic progress. He said his government had kept Iraq from descending into the "abyss of civil war."Iraq has at least $67 billion in foreign debt — most of it owed to fellow Arab countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.