Nepali PM steps down amid protests

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday offered to resign in furtherance of a political resolution of the problems facing the country.

"Keeping in mind the abnormal situation of the country, I have resigned from the post of prime minister with effect from today" in order to take further steps toward a political solution and resolution of the problems, Oli said in a letter submitted to the president.

President Ram Chandra Poudel has accepted the resignation, the president's press advisor, Kiran Pokharel, told Xinhua.

Protests broke out on Monday in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, and curfews have been imposed in all three cities in the Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

(Cover: Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the president's residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 15, 2024. /VCG)