LOS ANGELES: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday he regretted Meta&#39;s slow progress in identifying underage users on Instagram, as he faced stinging criticism at a landmark social media trial over accusations that his company deliberately hooked under-13s. Asked to comment on complaints from inside the company that not enough was being done to verify whether children under 13 were using the platform, the 41-year-old head of Meta, which also owns Facebook and WhatsApp, said improvements had been made. But &quot;I always wish that we could have gotten there sooner,&quot; he added. Zuckerberg was the most hotly anticipated witness in the California trial, the first in a series of cases that could set legal precedent for thousands of lawsuits filed by American families against social media platforms. The trial marked the first time the multibillionaire addressed the safety of his world-dominating platforms directly before a jury and under oath. Zuckerberg was very reserved at first, an AFP journalist in the courtroom reported. But he grew animated, showing signs of annoyance, shaking his head and waving his hands as he turned toward the jury. The 12 jurors in Los Angeles heard the increasingly testy testimony as plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier pressed Zuckerberg on age verification and the tycoon&#39;s guiding philosophy for making decisions at the vast social media company he controls. Zuckerberg faced a barrage of internal emails, including warnings from colleagues that age verification was not fit for purpose and others that seemed to plainly display that encouraging more time spent on Instagram was long a central goal of the company. The trial is set to last until late March, when the jury will decide whether Meta, as well as Google-owned YouTube, bear responsibility for the mental health problems suffered by Kaley GM, a 20-year-old California resident who has been a heavy social media user since childhood. Kaley GM started using YouTube at age six, Instagram at nine, then TikTok and Snapchat. Under-13s are not allowed on Instagram, and Lanier pressed Zuckerberg on the fact that Kaley had easily signed up for the platform despite rules that were buried deep in the user agreement, which he said a child could not be expected to read. &#39;Right place now&#39; Zuckerberg was confronted with an internal document that said Instagram had four million users under 13 in 2015, at the time of the plaintiff&#39;s adoption of the app, and that 30% of all children age 10 to 12, or &quot;tweens,&quot; in the United States were users. Zuckerberg said that &quot;we&#39;re in the right place now&quot; when it comes to age verification, and that new tools and methods would be added over time. The platform now uses identification tools that help it verify a person&#39;s age, particularly based on content choices and interactions. Lanier went on to argue that young people like Kaley were subject to Meta&#39;s efforts to increase time spent on its wildly popular apps, despite Zuckerberg having told the US Congress under oath that this was not the case. Faced with emails displaying internal targets for usage, Zuckerberg admitted that &quot;we used to have goals around time,&quot; but that the company&#39;s aim was always to &quot;build useful services&quot; that connected people. Zuckerberg was also read an old email from his former head of public policy, Nick Clegg, that said &quot;the fact that we say we don&#39;t allow under-13s on our platform, yet have no way of enforcing it, is just indefensible.&quot; The trial is set to determine whether Google and Meta deliberately designed their platforms to encourage compulsive use among young people, damaging their mental health in the process. The case, along with two similar trials scheduled in Los Angeles this summer, aims to establish a standard for resolving thousands of lawsuits that blame social media for fueling an epidemic of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide among young people. TikTok and Snapchat, also named in the complaint, reached settlements with the plaintiff before the trial began.

Americas

The trial is set to last until late March, when the jury will decide whether Meta, as well as Google-owned YouTube, bear responsibility for the mental health problems suffered by Kaley GM, a 20-year-old California resident who has been a heavy social media user since childhood.

Zuckerberg grilled over underage users at social media trial

PARIS: French lawmakers have passed a bill that would ban social media use by under-15s, a move championed by President Emmanuel Macron to protect children from excessive screen time. The lower National Assembly adopted the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session from Monday to Tuesday. It will now go to the Senate, France&rsquo;s upper house, ahead of becoming law. Macron hailed the vote as a &ldquo;major step&rdquo; to protect French children and teenagers in a post on X. The legislation, which also provides for a ban on mobile phones in high schools, would make France the second country to take such a step, following&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/meta-urges-australia-to-change-teen-social-media-ban" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australia&rsquo;s ban for under-16s</a>&nbsp;in December. As social media has grown, so has concern that too much screen time is harming child development and contributing to mental health problems. &ldquo;The emotions of our children and teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American platforms or Chinese algorithms,&rdquo; Macron said in a video broadcast on Saturday. Authorities want the measures to be enforced from the start of the 2026 school year for new accounts. Former prime minister Gabriel Attal, who leads Macron&rsquo;s Renaissance party in the lower house, said he hoped the Senate would pass the bill by mid-February so that the ban could come into force on Sept. 1. He added that &ldquo;social media platforms will then have until December 31 to deactivate existing accounts&rdquo; that do not comply with the age limit. &lsquo;Destiny of our country&rsquo;&nbsp;In addition to combating the impact of screens and social media on the mental health of young adolescents, Attal stressed that the measure would counter &ldquo;a number of powers that, through social media platforms, want to colonise minds&rdquo;. &ldquo;France can be a pioneer in Europe in a month: we can change the lives of our young people and our families, and perhaps also change the destiny of our country in terms of independence,&rdquo; he said. France&rsquo;s public health watchdog ANSES said this month that social media platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram had several detrimental effects on adolescents, particularly girls, though they were not the sole reason for their declining mental health. The risks listed include cyberbullying and exposure to violent content. The legislation stipulates that &ldquo;access to an online social networking service provided by an online platform is prohibited for minors under the age of 15&rdquo;. The draft bill excludes online encyclopedias and educational platforms. An effective age verification system would have to be put in place for the ban to become a reality. Work on such a system is underway at the European level. The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party&rsquo;s Arnaud Saint-Martin criticized the ban as &ldquo;a form of digital paternalism&rdquo; and an &ldquo;overly simplistic&rdquo; response to the negative impacts of technology. On Monday, nine child protection associations urged lawmakers to &ldquo;hold platforms accountable,&rdquo; not &ldquo;ban&rdquo; children from social media. Macron has also backed a ban on pupils having mobile phones in high schools. In 2018, France banned children from using mobile phones in colleges, where they attended between the ages of 11 and 15. Former prime minister Elisabeth Borne expressed reservations about the measure on Monday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more complicated than that,&rdquo; she told broadcaster France 2. &ldquo;We first need to make sure that the ban is properly enforced in middle schools.&rdquo;

Members of parliament attend a debate on legislative process for a social media ban on under-15s at the Assemblee Nationale, France's lower house Parliament in Paris on January 26, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

The lower National Assembly adopted the text by a vote of 130 to 21 in a lengthy overnight session. It will now go to the Senate, France’s upper house, ahead of becoming law.

French lawmakers pass bill banning social media use for under-15s

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia says it is planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, in a move to tighten access over child-safety concerns. Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said Sunday the government was looking at how Australia and other countries dealt with imposing online age restrictions. &ldquo;We hope that by next year, social media platforms will comply with the government&#39;s decision to bar those under 16 from opening social media accounts,&rdquo; Fahmi said in a video posted online by Malaysian daily The Star. &ldquo;So I believe ... if the government, government agencies and parents each play their respective roles, we can ensure that the internet in Malaysia is not just fast ...but most importantly, safe, especially for children and families,&rdquo; he added. Rising cybercrime&nbsp;Malaysia in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime. This includes requiring platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in the country to obtain a license under new regulations that took effect in January. Several MPs in October backed the government&#39;s plan to ban under-16s, calling for proper mechanisms to verify the ages of users when they register for accounts. A survey by Ipsos Malaysia Education Monitor 2025 released by local media in September, revealed that 72% of respondents in Malaysia agreed that the use of social media should be restricted among children. New Zealand to introduce bill&nbsp;In Australia, social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, will be forced to remove users under the age of 16 from December 10 onwards or face hefty fines. New Zealand&#39;s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a similar bill to restrict children&#39;s social media use. And the Dutch government advised parents this year to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat. Meanwhile, five EU countries -- Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain -- are testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users&#39; ages.

Viral

The country in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime; New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a bill to restrict children's social media use.

Malaysia mulls social media ban for under-16s

SYDNEY: Snapchat has begun asking teenage Australians to verify their ages, a company spokesperson said on Monday, just weeks before Canberra enforces sweeping laws banning under-16s from social media. From December 10, Australia will force social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, to remove users under the age of 16 or face hefty fines. &quot;Starting this week, many users will be asked to verify their age to continue accessing Snapchat,&quot; the company said. Users will be able to do so using an Australian bank account, government-issued identification, or by taking a photo of their face, which a third party will then use to provide an estimated age range. From December 10, users under 16 will have their accounts locked. Snapchat, like other social media platforms, has advised teen users to download their data as soon as possible, as it may be tricky to do so once the ban starts. The messaging app said it strongly disagreed with being included in the government&#39;s ban, but &quot;we will comply, as we do with all local laws in countries in which we operate.&quot; &quot;However, disconnecting teens from their friends and family doesn&#39;t make them safer &mdash; it may push them to less safe, less private messaging apps,&quot; it warned. So far, 10 platforms, including Discord, WhatsApp, Lego Play, and Pinterest, have avoided being included in the landmark legislation. But Australian authorities have reserved the right to update the list of banned platforms as required. There is keen interest in whether Australia&#39;s sweeping restrictions can work as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media. New Zealand&#39;s Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, will introduce a similar bill to restrict children&#39;s social media use. And the Dutch government advised parents this year to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat. On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world. But some experts are concerned that the law will be merely symbolic because of the difficulty in implementing and policing online age verification.

From December 10, Australia will force social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, to remove users under the age of 16 or face hefty fines.

Snapchat begins age checks in Australia ahead of social media ban

MELBOURNE: The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect in December. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Friday that information on her agency&#39;s website, esafety.gov.au, explained the new laws and how to navigate them. Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they don&rsquo;t take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts. Messages raising awareness will also be shared starting Sunday across digital channels, television, radio and billboards. &lsquo;We want children to have childhoods&rsquo;&ldquo;We want children to have childhoods. We want parents to have peace of mind and we want young people &mdash; young Australians &mdash; to have three more years to learn who they are before platforms assume who they are,&rdquo; Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters, referring to the current de facto 13-year age limit for social media accounts based on US privacy legislation. The Australian age restrictions have already proved polarizing, with some experts warning the changes will harm as well as protect children. More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to the government last year opposing a social media age limit as &ldquo;too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.&rdquo; Despite that warning, the laws passed with resounding support last year. The platforms had a year to figure out how to comply without foolproof technology available to verify ages. &lsquo;Very monumental event&rsquo;Inman Grant said the social media age restriction would be a &ldquo;very monumental event for a lot of young people.&rdquo; Her agency offered checklists and conversation starters about ways to make the transition, such as following an online influencer through a website rather than a social media account, she said. &ldquo;How do we start weaning them from social media now so it isn&rsquo;t a shock on Dec. 10? How do we help them download their archives and their memories and how do we make sure that they&rsquo;re in touch with friends and are aware of mental health support if they&rsquo;re feeling down when they&rsquo;re not tethered to their phones over the holiday period?&rdquo; she added. Australia&rsquo;s move is being watched closely by countries that share concerns about social media impacts on young children. &lsquo;A global challenge&rsquo;&nbsp;Denmark&rsquo;s Ambassador to Australia Ingrid Dahl-Madsen said her government would use its current presidency of the Council of the European Union to push the agenda of protecting children from social media harms. &ldquo;This is something that is a global challenge and we are all looking at how we can manage it best and we are looking to Australia and we will be looking at what Australia does,&rdquo; Dahl-Madsen told Australian Broadcasting Corp in Melbourne on Monday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so important that Australia and Demark and the EU &mdash; we share lessons, we compare experiences and we can push forward hopefully practical progress on this,&rdquo; she added. It was about &quot;protecting our children in this digital world that is increasingly complicated.&quot; The Danish government last week proposed legislating an age limit of 15. But Dahl-Madsen said Denmark would consider letting parents exempt their children who were 13-14.Australia has no similar exemption.

Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube could be fined up to $33 million if they do not take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts.

Australia begins education campaign ahead of social media curbs for children 

Romesa Umar

<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nepal enforced a citywide curfew in Kathmandu on Wednesday as soldiers patrolled streets and armored vehicles guarded parliament after protests left at least 22 people dead and more than 600 injured.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli stepped down after youth-led protests over a government move to block major social media platforms.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&ldquo;In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution,&rdquo; Oli wrote in a letter to President Ramchandra Paudel.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The protests began in early September as a Gen Z-led online campaign targeting the lavish lifestyles of political elites&rsquo; children, known as &ldquo;Nepo Kids.&rdquo;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">This comes amid deep economic challenges in Nepal, with more than 20% of the population in poverty and youth unemployment exceeding 22%, according to the World Bank.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Transparency International ranks Nepal 107 out of 180 in its Corruption Perceptions Index.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The movement spilled into the streets after the government blocked platforms including Facebook, citing the spread of fake news.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Activists accused officials of attempting to silence an anti-corruption campaign, Reuters reported.<h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Street violence</h3><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Crowds of students, some in school uniforms, joined demonstrations that spread across Kathmandu and other cities.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Protesters reportedly entered the parliament complex, set fire to an ambulance and damaged government buildings, including the President&rsquo;s Office.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">A Gen Z protestor spoke to Pakistan TV to explain that they were protesting peacefully.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The protester claimed that &ldquo;some third party who are politically involved&rdquo; &nbsp;started &ldquo;destroying public property&rdquo;.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">They claimed that there is &ldquo;video footage where you can see people over 40+ age, they were not allowed in the protest.&rdquo;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Burnt vehicles and smoke filled the streets as authorities deployed water cannons, batons and rubber bullets to contain the crowds.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">BBC also reported that amid the turmoil, authorities reported that 900 inmates broke free from two prisons located in Nepal&rsquo;s western regions.<h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Army warnings and appeal for calm</h3><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Nepali Army warned on X that groups were committing looting and arson and said it would remain &ldquo;steadfast&rdquo; in controlling the situation.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Army Chief Ashok Raj Sigdel appealed to demonstrators to end the violence and join talks.&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Nepali Army issued a statement on X warning of further intervention if violence continues: &ldquo;Some groups are causing extensive damage, looting, and arson to civilians and public property&hellip; all security agencies, including the Nepali Army, will remain steadfast in their primary responsibility to control the situation.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1965437953297277361&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=374227bbfb47cc7875cf1710ca27e8f36a375704&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 801px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> <h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Airport disruptions</h3><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Kathmandu&rsquo;s international airport was partially closed due to disruptions, the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed, based on local Nepal media outlets.&nbsp;<iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1965728467678564838&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=374227bbfb47cc7875cf1710ca27e8f36a375704&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe><div class="fr-embed"> </div><h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Voices from the streets</h3><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">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 didn&rsquo;t expect such a large turnout in Kathmandu..<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">&quot;Every single citizen of Nepal was done with the corrupt government of Nepal,&quot; said the 31-year-old, based in the Lalitpur district near the capital, Reuters reported.<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The protests included slogans and banners of &ldquo;Youth against corruption&rdquo; and &ldquo;We pay, you flex&rdquo;.&nbsp; Handmade protest placards in English and Nepali lie on the ground in Kathmandu during youth-led demonstrations, Sept. 9, 2025. Photo courtesy of a protester. <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Local political opposition&nbsp;<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/a8de291d-1dc7-432b-8c4a-467431496125.png" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"> <span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Balendra Shah, the mayor of Kathmandu wrote after the resignation: &ldquo;Dear Gen Z, your murderer has resigned. Now be patient!!&rdquo;

Asia

Kathmandu under curfew after deadly youth-led protests; PM Oli resigns amid social-media-ban backlash, corruption anger, and economic strain.

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