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When Nepal banned major social media platforms including Facebook last week citing a tide of fake news, activists like Sandip saw it as an attempt to silence their growing online anti-corruption movement. Stung into action, they turned to still-accessible apps such as Viber and TikTok to rally thousands, sparking protests that left at least 19 protesters dead and ultimately forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli from office on Tuesday. Their success came 13 months after similar youth-led protests in nearby Bangladesh forced out Sheikh Hasina, who had been prime minister since 2009. Sandip, a social media influencer who uses one name, said he had made several online appeals, some using virtual private networks to evade the ban, but had not expected so many to pour into the streets in Nepal's capital Kathmandu and elsewhere. "Every single citizen of Nepal was done with the corrupt government of Nepal," said the 31-year-old, based in the Lalitpur district near the capital. "The anger against this government had been brewing for many months, but the call for this protest was very spontaneous." Transparency International ranks Nepal 107th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index, highlighting persistent governance challenges. Young activists said frustration with inequality and a lack of job opportunities also played a part. ONE IN FIVE NEPALIS LIVE IN POVERTY Over 20% of Nepal's 30 million people live in poverty, according to the World Bank, while unemployment among those aged 15-24 stood at more than 22% in 2022-23. The richest 10% earn more than three times the income of the poorest 40%, underscoring stark economic divides. Gaurav Nepune, a 34-year-old from Kathmandu who led some of the protests, said young people had been running an online campaign for three months to contrast the lives lived by ministers and their families with those of ordinary people. "The youth are against corruption but the government resorted to violence, trying to silence the movement," said Nepune. "We have been continuously urging our people not to indulge in any violence or arson. We now want a government that thinks independently, is corruption-free and does not play into the hands of any neighbours," he said. India and China are widely seen as jostling for influence in Nepal. Last year's protests in Bangladesh ushered in an interim government, with some students in de facto ministerial positions under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. In Nepal, one of the protesters' popular choices to replace Oli is 35-year-old Balendra Shah, a former rapper and composer who became mayor of Kathmandu since 2022 after a campaign to clean up the city's streets and waterways. "Dear @ShahBalen, we're eagerly waiting your leadership in Nepalese politics," wrote Bimal Pokhrel in response to a post on X by Shah. "You are the last hope for our nation. Please ... step forward to take the leadership as prime minister to guide Nepal toward a brighter future." After the protest deaths on Monday, Shah called Oli a "terrorist" who did not understand the "pain of losing a son or daughter". On Tuesday, after Oli's resignation, he urged his nearly 784,000 followers on Instagram to remain calm. "Dear Gen Z, the resignation of your harassers in politics has already come! Now please be patient," he wrote. "You and we now need to be restrained! Now your generation will have to lead the country! Be prepared!"

Shares of Jane Street Group-backed Nebius Group N.V. surged 52% to hit the day's high of $97.87 on Nasdaq in the initial trade on Tuesday reacting to the company's announcement of a multi-billion dollar agreement with Microsoft for AI infrastructure.The Amsterdam-headquartered and Nasdaq listed AI infrastructure company on Monday said that it will deliver AI infrastructure to Microsoft. "Under this multi-year agreement, Nebius will deliver dedicated capacity to Microsoft from its new data center in Vineland, New Jersey start"ing later this year," the company filing said.Jane Street, which holds 687,953 shares in the company which are worth $44.07 million is among a clutch of marquee investors which also include Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Jpmorgan Chase & Co and Citadel Advisors Llc. The shares were trading amid high volumes where 11.75 million shares changed hands around 10:33 AM ET (8 pm India Time).Commenting on the development, Arkady Volozh, founder and CEO of Nebius, said that the company's core AI cloud business is serving customers from AI startups to enterprises, and is performing exceptionally well. "We have also said that, in addition to our core business, we expect to secure significant long-term committed contracts with leading AI labs and big tech companies. I’m happy to announce the first of these contracts, and I believe there are more to come. The economics of the deal are attractive in their own right, but, significantly, the deal will also help us to accelerate the growth of our AI cloud business even further in 2026 and beyond,” Volozh said.Nebius expects to finance the capital expenditure associated with the contract through a combination of cash flow coming from the deal and the issuance of debt secured against the contract in the near term, at terms enhanced by the credit quality of the counterparty. The company is also evaluating a number of additional financing options to enable significantly faster growth than originally planned and will update the market on its financing strategy in due course.Shares of Nebius Group N.V have delivered multibagger returns of over 330% in the past one year with the company's share rising by over 180% in 2025, so far.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The U.S. economy likely created 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than previously estimated, the government said on Tuesday, suggesting that job growth was already stalling before President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on imports. Economists had estimated that the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics could revise the level of employment from April 2024 through March 2025 down by between 400,000 and 1 million jobs. The level of employment for the 12 months through March 2024 was downgraded by 598,000 jobs. The reading is a preliminary estimate of the BLS' annual "benchmark" revision to closely watched payrolls data. Once a year, the BLS compares its non-farm payrolls data, based on monthly surveys of a sample of employers, with a much more complete database of unemployment insurance tax records, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data. A final benchmark revision will be released in February along with the BLS' employment report for January. Government statisticians will use the final benchmark count to revise payroll data for the months prior to and after March. The payrolls benchmark revision followed on the heels of news last Friday that job growth almost stalled in August and the economy shed jobs in June for the first time in four and a half years. In addition to being hobbled by uncertainty stemming from trade policy, the labor market has also been pressured by the White House's immigration crackdown, which has undercut labor supply. A shift by businesses to artificial intelligence tools and automation also is curbing demand for workers. Economists saw little impact from the employment growth revision on monetary policy, with the Federal Reserve expected to resume cutting interest rates next Wednesday after pausing its easing cycle in January because of uncertainty over the impact of tariffs. 'ACCURATE, INDEPENDENT AND TRUSTED' The monthly employment report is based on data derived from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program, which surveys about 121,000 businesses and government agencies, representing about 631,000 individual worksites. The QCEW data is derived from reports by employers to the state unemployment insurance programs, and represents about 95% of total employment. Sharp downgrades last month to May and June employment figures totaling 258,000 jobs angered Trump, who fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her, without evidence, of faking the employment data. Trump has nominated E.J. Antoni to replace McEntarfer. Antoni, who has penned opinion pieces critical of the BLS and even suggested suspending the monthly employment report, is viewed as unqualified by economists across the political spectrum. The National Association for Business Economics on Monday urged "policymakers, business leaders, and the economics community to stand with BLS and ensure that America's statistics remain accurate, independent, and trusted worldwide." Economists have attributed the revisions to the "birth-and-death" model, a method the BLS uses to try to estimate how many jobs were gained or lost because of companies opening or closing in a given month. These companies are not initially available for sampling.

NDA’s candidate CP Radhakrishnan on Tuesday won the Vice Presidential election, defeating the INDIA bloc’s nominee, former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy, by a sweeping majority.The NDA-backed candidate secured a clear majority in the election and won a total of 452 votes. By comparison, Dhankhar had won in 2022 with 528 votes, while Venkaiah Naidu claimed victory in 2017 with 516.Polling for the election began at 10 a.m. in Parliament, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi casting the first vote of the day. Voting continued through the afternoon before counting commenced in the evening. The outcome, announced late on Tuesday, reflected the NDA’s numerical advantage in both Houses of Parliament.Also Read: NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan defeats INDIA bloc's B Sudershan Reddy to win Vice Presidential pollRadhakrishnan’s win was expected, with the NDA commanding support from well over the majority mark of 391 MPs. His margin over Justice Reddy has sent a message on the ruling bloc’s strength in Parliament, even as some regional parties chose to abstain from the contest.Who is CP Radhakrishnan?Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan has spent over four decades in public life and politics. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and began his career as an RSS swayamsevak, later joining the Bharatiya Janasangh in 1974 as a state executive member.Also Read: VP Elections 2025: Who is Sudershan Reddy? Meet the INDIA bloc candidate who lost to NDA's RadhakrishnanRadhakrishnan entered national politics as a BJP Member of Parliament from Coimbatore, elected in 1998 and 1999, and served on key parliamentary committees including the Standing Committee on Textiles and the Committee on Public Sector Undertakings. He was also part of the Special Parliamentary Committee probing the Stock Exchange Scam and represented India at the UN General Assembly in 2004.At the state level, he served as President of BJP Tamil Nadu (2004–07), undertaking a 19,000 km Ratha Yatra over 93 days to promote causes like river linking, uniform civil code, eradication of untouchability, anti-terrorism measures, and anti-narcotics initiatives. Later, he was Chairman of the Coir Board, oversaw record export growth, served as All-India BJP in-charge for Kerala (2020–22), and held gubernatorial roles in Jharkhand, Telangana, Puducherry, and Maharashtra.Known as a sports enthusiast, he was a college champion in table tennis, a long-distance runner, and enjoys cricket and volleyball. Radhakrishnan has also travelled extensively across Europe, Asia, and North America, reflecting a blend of grassroots activism, parliamentary experience, and administrative leadership.The Political Battle: NDA vs INDIA BlocThe Vice Presidential election Tuesday was marked by a significant contest between the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc. Prior to the election, the NDA held a clear numerical advantage, with 427 MPs supporting Radhakrishnan—well above the majority mark of 391. In contrast, the INDIA bloc's candidate was backed by 354 MPs, comprising 249 in the Lok Sabha and 105 in the Rajya Sabha. Several parties, including the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), chose to abstain from the election, further consolidating the NDA's lead. The INDIA bloc positioned the election as an ideological battle, emphasising the need for a Vice President who would uphold democratic values and institutional independence. Justice Reddy's nomination was seen as a move to counterbalance the NDA's influence. However, the opposition's efforts were hampered by internal divisions and the NDA's overwhelming support base, as was suggested by MPs, politicians representing the ruling base.