Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns Amid Mass Protests Over Social Media Ban, others.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns Amid Mass Protests Over Social Media Ban, others.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, has stepped down following days of violent anti-corruption protests that left at least 19 people dead.

“The PM has quit,” Oli’s aide, Prakash Silwal, confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday. In his resignation letter to President Ram Chandra Paudel, Oli said he was leaving “with immediate effect in order to take further steps towards a political solution and resolution of the problems taking into account the extraordinary situation currently prevailing in the country.”

The president’s office has now begun consultations to appoint a new leader, according to officials. Oli’s departure came as demonstrators defied a city-wide curfew in Kathmandu, torching politicians’ homes, clashing with riot police, and shutting down the capital. Kathmandu’s international airport was also forced to close on Tuesday afternoon amid escalating unrest.