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First Bangladesh. Then Indonesia. And now, Nepal.

The Himalayan nation is the latest in the region to be rocked by violent anti-government street protests, led mostly by young people. The demonstrators took to the streets after Kathmandu banned dozens of social-media services including Facebook, X and YouTube for failing to meet a government-imposed registration deadline.

By today, authorities had reversed the ban, but the damage was done: With some 19 people dead and hundreds injured in the wake of the demonstrations, local media reported that the prime minister resigned.

Nepal’s KP Sharma Oli is now the former prime minister, according to local reports. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

Protest movements can be ignited by a spark, but they often uncover vast stores of fuel. In Nepal’s case, the grievances grew to include corruption and a lack of economic opportunities.

The Nepal demonstrations come just days after protesters spilled into the streets of Indonesia. The trigger there was a $3,000 housing handout for lawmakers, but the unrest eventually exploded into a broader movement against graft and impunity among Indonesia’s ruling class.

And it was only last year that young protesters rallied across Bangladesh, culminating in the ouster of longtime leader Sheikh Hasina.

Is there a regional movement afoot?

A commuter at a vandalized bus stop following protests in Jakarta on Sept. 1. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg

In all three countries, those on the front lines were young, economically frustrated and indignant over corruption and the privileges of the elite. In Nepal, they’ve become known as the “Gen-Z protests,” fueled in part by frustration over so-called Nepo Kids flaunting their wealth at the top of a society in which annual income averages around $1,400.

Nepal isn’t a stranger to violent upheaval, having suffered a decade-long Maoist insurgency that left more than 17,000 dead and prompted the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.

It’s not yet clear whether the government’s backtrack and prime minister’s departure will be enough to calm the demonstrators.

What is sure is that youths across parts of Asia are angry and demanding change.— Dan Strumpf

Global Must Reads

Israel ordered Gaza City’s 1 million residents to leave in advance of a major military offensive, with top officials vowing devastation unless Iran-backed Hamas surrenders. Global outrage has grown since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced last month that it would take over the city, home to half the enclave’s population, with longtime European allies threatening to cut trade ties and planning to back Palestinian statehood at the United Nations in two weeks. 

Israel drops leaflets today urging people to evacuate from Gaza City. Photographer: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images

French Prime Minister François Bayrou will formally present his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron today after losing yesterday’s confidence vote in the lower house of parliament as expected over opposition to his minority government’s plan to trim the fiscal deficit. Whoever Macron picks as Bayrou’s successor in coming days will need to assemble a government and then find a way to pass a budget in a splintered National Assembly, a task that’s toppled the last two prime ministers.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto abruptly replaced his longtime finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati — a former World Bank executive who won the respect of international investors — with Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, chairman of Deposit Insurance Corp. since 2020. Purbaya described himself as “a market person” who will keep Indonesia fiscally healthy, but the move risks stoking renewed market turmoil for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

The incoming and outgoing finance ministers at a handover ceremony in Jakarta today. Photographer: Rosa Panggabean/Bloomberg

US House Democrats released an alleged birthday note yesterday that they said President Donald Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein as part of a trove of documents received by the House Oversight Committee, raising pressure on the president over questions about his past interactions with the late disgraced financier. Trump has denied composing the message to Epstein and White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said the image is fabricated.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Puerto Rico and touched down on an amphibious assault ship deployed to the Caribbean, a fresh show of strength as the US steps up counter-narcotics efforts that have provoked concerns about an attack on Venezuela. A top Venezuelan official warned “everything is fair game” after last week’s US strike on an alleged drug boat that killed 11 people.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre declared victory in a close election where his Labor Party played to voters’ fears of uncertainty regarding taxation and welfare policies.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ordered by a Thai court to serve one year in prison to complete a past sentence, the latest in a string of setbacks for the two-time ex-prime minister whose daughter was ousted as premier last month.

Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decried the use of tariffs as a tool of “blackmail” while China’s Xi Jinping said trade wars were disrupting the global economy during a virtual BRICS summit that took place against the backdrop of Trump targeting the bloc’s members.

Turkish riot police clashed with protesters in Istanbul yesterday as a court-appointed trustee tried to take over the local headquarters of the main opposition party.

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Chart of the Day

The shock immigration raid at a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery venture in Georgia exposes a major contradiction in the Trump administration’s plans to force foreign companies to create jobs and production to the US. Trump said that he wants to find a way to bring in battery-plant experts to train US workers, but the crackdown sends a chill across companies that have similarly committed billions to investment in the US. Images of South Korean workers in chains have meanwhile sent shock waves through the nation and plunged Lee Jae Myung into the biggest diplomatic challenge of his young presidency.

And Finally

Ethiopia will today inaugurate Africa’s biggest hydroelectric dam, a colossal feat of engineering capable of powering homes and industries across East Africa — while deepening a years-long dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the flow of the Nile river. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a source of national pride, intended to address chronic energy shortages and sustain the manufacturing sector in Africa’s second-most populous nation. Downstream, though, Egypt and Sudan say the dam violates international law, and are demanding a binding agreement over how to manage the Nile — the main source of fresh water for more than 100 million people. 

WATCH: Bloomberg’s Jennifer Zabasajja reports on the contentious inauguration of Africa’s biggest hydroelectric dam.

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