KATHMANDU: Nepal flew flags at half-mast during a national day of mourning Wednesday for the 73 people killed during youth-led anti-corruption protests that toppled the government.
An interim government, which took over after two days of protests last week, declared the day of mourning “in honor of those who lost their lives during the protests,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
Protests began on September 8, sparked by a short-lived ban on social media, but fueled by anger at corruption and long-standing economic woes.
At least 19 people were killed in a crackdown on the first day.
Anger over the deaths escalated, triggering an outpouring of rage nationwide, with government offices, a Hilton Hotel and other buildings set on fire.
“The changes we are witnessing today would not be possible without the courage and sacrifice of those who gave their lives during the protests,” Hami Nepal, a key organization in the protests, posted on social media.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a 73-year-old former chief justice, has been tasked with restoring order and addressing protester demands for a corruption-free future ahead of elections in six months.
Karki has declared the victims martyrs, promising state honors at their cremations.
Shopkeeper Pooja Shrestha, 22, said that the day of mourning would bring people together.
“Everyone is sad about what happened, the loss of lives — all young people like us,” she said.
“Things have improved now, and we hope the new government will bring the changes we need.”
A fifth of people in Nepal aged 15-24 are unemployed, according to the World Bank, with GDP per capita just $1,447.
Police spokesman Binod Kharel said Wednesday that the number killed during protests had risen to 73, including police officers and prisoners as they staged a mass breakout.
More than a third of the 13,500 prisoners who escaped from two dozen jails during the protests have been recaptured or surrendered themselves, he added.
“So far about 5,000 prisoners who had absconded have returned to the prisons, many voluntarily,” Kharel said.
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Nepal mourns its dead after anti-corruption protests
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Nepal mourns its dead after anti-corruption protests
- Nepal flew flags at half-mast during a national day of mourning Wednesday for the 73 people killed during youth-led anti-corruption protests that toppled the government
Hundreds of migrants land in Greece after search operation at sea
ATHENS: Greece’s Coast Guard rescued about 545 migrants from a fishing boat off Europe’s southernmost island of Gavdos on Friday, one of the biggest groups to reach the country in recent months.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, a Coast Guard statement said. They are all well and are being taken to the port of Agia Galini on the nearby island of Crete, it added.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa landed on its shores before moving on to other European countries, mainly Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, but both Crete and Gavdos — the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast — have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected asylum seekers will be a priority.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos, a Coast Guard statement said. They are all well and are being taken to the port of Agia Galini on the nearby island of Crete, it added.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa landed on its shores before moving on to other European countries, mainly Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, but both Crete and Gavdos — the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast — have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected asylum seekers will be a priority.
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