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The young activists who overthrew Nepal's government are now choosing new leaders
Former DJ and his Nepalese nonprofit used an obscure social media app popular among video gamers to spark massive protests, and became the unlikely power brokers that installed the country's interim leadership. Sudan Gurung, 36-year-old founding member of Hami Nepal (We Are Nepal), used Instagram and the Discord messaging application to mobilize massive protests that forced K.P. Sharma Oli resigned in the deadliest crisis of politics to have hit the Himalayan country in decades. A dozen demonstrators said this. They said that the group used VPNs in order to access blocked platforms and to issue calls to action which reached tens thousands of young people. No one from Oli's team was available to comment. "I was asked to join a Discord group with about 400 members." The group asked us to take part in a protest march just a few kilometers from the Parliament," said 18-year-old Karan Kulung Rai. Hami Nepal's first social media posts made on Discord were so influential, they were cited on national TV. The group shared phone numbers of hospitals and identified "fake" news as the protests became violent. Hami Nepal members who requested anonymity because they used proxy names for security purposes online, stated that Gurung and other group leaders are now central to important decisions. This includes the appointment of a new interim leadership until elections on March 5th. Three members of Hami Nepal said they had already convinced the president and army chief that former Chief Justice Sushila Karaki, who is known for her strong stance against corruption as Nepal's interim prime minister, would be appointed. Gurung's first press conference after the protest on Friday said, "I will ensure that the power is with the people and I will bring every corrupt politician before the justice." Hami Nepal members said that Gurung and his team met on Sunday to discuss key cabinet positions. They proposed the removal of some government officials who were appointed by the previous administration. Meetings between Karki, the members of the group and others are in progress. One of the group members stated that the cabinet would be finalised soon. Gurung and Karki didn't immediately answer questions sent via their mobile phones. Hami Nepal posted on Instagram that the "process" was being carried out carefully to ensure that there are only young people who are capable and skilled. From DJ to Revolutionary The Monday protests by young adults, loosely categorized as "Gen Z", as most of the participants were in their 20s at the time, quickly turned deadly and brought down government. Protests against perceived government corruption erupted after a ban was imposed on social media. This directive has since been reversed. At least 72 protesters were killed and more than 1,300 others injured in clashes between protesters and authorities. Gurung and his team, which is older than Gen Z, have pledged not to hold any cabinet posts but to remain involved in future decision-making. "We don’t want to become politicians." Sudan Gurung only helped the "Gen Z" group, and we're only interested in being the voice of the country and not taking on leadership positions," Ronesh Pradosh, a volunteer with the group aged 26 said. Gurung was a DJ prior to founding Hami Nepal. He organised civic relief during the COVID-19 epidemic and the 2015 earthquake, which caused the deadliest earthquake in Nepal history. The team running the Instagram account has over 160,000 followers. Ojaswi Raj Thapa, 24, is a cafe owner. Rehan Raj Dangal, a law graduate, also posts on Discord alongside Gurung. Thapa, a leader of the protest movement who rose to prominence quickly, said in an interview the judiciary wasn't independent and that ensuring its independence was a priority after the interim government had been put in place. He said, "We might need to make some changes to our constitution, but we do not want to dissolve it," on Thursday. Reporting by Aftab Ahmad in Kathmandu, Editing by Saad sayeed
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Irish Government moves to abolish passenger cap at Dublin Airport
The Irish government plans to remove a cap on passengers at Dublin Airport that, according to the aviation industry, prevents new routes from being added and hinders economic growth. The Irish Independent reported on Sunday that Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien will send a memo in the first weeks of October to Cabinet and will begin the process of writing legislation to remove the 32 million passenger limit at the airport. Dublin Airport, which is home to 80% of all air travel in the country, had a passenger limit of 32 million passengers when the second terminal was approved in 2007. This was partly done to reduce local traffic. The airport exceeded the limit by more than 1 million passengers by 2024. In April, the High Court extended an earlier ruling which prevented regulators from reducing the number of seats for summer travelers during the period between March and October with a temporary suspension. By the end of next summer, Dublin Airport will be free of the cap if the legislation is passed.
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Citi's bill for London Tower renovation hits $1.5 billion
Citigroup, the Wall Street bank, has revealed that the cost of refitting the tower at its London headquarters is $1.5 billion (1 billion pounds). This highlights the high costs associated with updating outdated offices as companies try to attract employees back to the office. Citi confirms the figure for the first. It is very close to the 1.2billion pounds that the bank spent in 2019 to purchase the 42-storey Canary Wharf building. Citi executives declined to reveal the original budget, but said that the bank increased its budget after deciding to upgrade the tower and take up more space to accommodate a larger workforce. Citi said that the investment showed the company's commitment in Britain where it employs 14000 people, with 10,000 of them in London. Citi CEO Jane Fraser, along with other U.S. executives, will travel to Britain during the state visit of U.S. president Donald Trump. Fraser and her colleagues will meet with Trump as well as British ministers. The renovation of the tower at 25 Canada Square will include new gardens and amenities. It will also link teams between multi-leveled "villages" and upgrade energy and water systems. In January of this year, The Financial Times reported that the cost of the entire project exceeded 1 billion pounds. Citi, under CEO Fraser, has defied Wall Street's trend and adopted a hybrid work policy that allows staff to work from home up to two days per week. The bank stated that London-based employees will begin moving in during the second quarter next year. Citi reported that the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in 2025 was still on schedule according to their latest schedule. Office property prices plummeted after the COVID-19 epidemic led to an increase in home-based work. Property owners were forced into rethinking older buildings located out of town, and business districts such as London's Canary Wharf were particularly hard hit. Canary Wharf Group, a landlord in London's Canary Wharf, has revealed plans to renovate a 45-floor tower that HSBC is vacating. Citi's competitor JPMorgan is considering options for its tower in Canary Wharf. These include renovating the building, building a tower nearby or moving to central London.
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Il Sole 24 Ore reports that Snam's acquisition Open Grid Europe stake has been delayed.
Il Sole 24 Ore, a financial newspaper published on Saturday, reported that the acquisition by Italian gas grid group Snam of a stake held by Germany's largest independent transmission operator Open Grid Europe would not be completed as planned at the end of September. Snam, a subsidiary of Snam Group, signed an agreement in April with Infinity Investments in Abu Dhabi to purchase a stake in OGE owner Vier Gas Holding for 920 million euro ($1.08 billion) in equity. This marked the entry of the group into the German Gas Market, the largest in Europe by volume. Reports state that the agreement signed by former CEO Stefano Venier, and expected to be closed in the third quarter, is being reviewed now by the new CEO Agostino Scrnajenchi, and the shareholders of the company. The financial daily reported that it was "hard to predict where these assessments will go" without citing any sources. Snam declined comment. Reports also stated that the German government's concerns over the share of CDP Reti (which owns a little over 30% of Snam) held by China’s state grid weighed on the decision. The German Economy Ministry declined to comment on this report.
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Modi launches development projects in Manipur and calls for peace
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for peace in Manipur, the state that has been the scene of ethnic violence for two years. He unveiled development projects worth $1 billion. Since May 2023, when clashes broke out between Manipur’s dominant Meitei and Kuki tribes over economic benefits and employment quotas, more than 60,000 people have been displaced. Modi's government has been criticized for failing to maintain order and security in Manipur, where he met with members of the two communities who were displaced by the violence. "The land is Manipur a land full of aspirations and hope." He said, "Unfortunately, violence has cast a shadow over this beautiful region", addressing residents of the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur Hills. He said: "I appealed to all organizations to take the road of peace in order to realize their dreams and ensure the future of their kids." Modi opened women's hostels and indoor stadiums as well as road infrastructure projects, totaling $963 million, during his visit to Imphal and Churachandpur. He said that the government is doing everything possible to restore peace. Modi announced in Imphal, a city with a majority of Meitei people, that the government would support the construction of 7,000 homes for families who had been displaced due to the conflict. He encouraged both sides to engage in dialogue. He said, "We need to strengthen the brotherhood bridge between the hills and valley." Manipur's government is led by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Biren Singh resigned as the state's top official in February, despite mounting pressure by the Kuki, who accused him of favoring the Hindu Meitei community. He also faced opposition from his own BJP supporters. Since then, the state is governed by a federal governor who has been appointed by New Delhi.
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Il Sole 24 Ore reports that Snam's acquisition Open Grid Europe stake has been delayed.
Il Sole 24 Ore, a financial newspaper published on Saturday, reported that the acquisition by Italian gas grid group Snam of a stake held by Germany's largest independent transmission operator Open Grid Europe would not be completed as planned at the end of September. Snam, a subsidiary of Snam Group, signed an agreement in April with Infinity Investments in Abu Dhabi to purchase a stake in OGE owner Vier Gas Holding for 920 million euro ($1.08 billion) in equity. This marked the entry of the group into the German Gas Market (the largest in Europe by volume). Reports state that the agreement signed by former CEO Stefano Venier, and expected to be closed in the third quarter, is being reviewed now by the new CEO Agostino Scrnajenchi, and the shareholders of the company. The financial daily reported that it was "hard to predict where these assessments will go" without citing any sources. Snam declined comment. Reports also stated that the German government's concerns over the share of CDP Reti (which owns just under 30% of Snam) held by China’s state grid influenced the decision. The German Economy Ministry did not respond immediately to a comment request.
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Nepal holds elections in March after the interim premier is named
Ramchandra Paudel, the president of Nepal, has dissolved the parliament and announced new elections for March 5. This follows a week-long period of violence which culminated with the appointment of Nepal's first female Prime Minister. Paudel made the announcement just hours after he appointed former Chief Judge Sushila Karaki as the new leader of the country. This was in response to the violent anti-graft demonstrations led by "Gen Z", which forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned. According to a press release from the President's Office, the president "dissolved" the House of Representatives and set the date for elections on March 5, 2026. Karki's appointment came after two days intense negotiations between Paudel and Ashok Raj Sigdel, the army chief, and protest leaders who were behind Nepal's most violent uprising in years. At least 51 people died and over 1,300 were injured. India, Nepal's southern neighbor, expressed its hope that these developments would foster peace and stability. "Heartfelt congratulation to the Honorable Sushila Ji for assuming office as Prime Minister of Nepal’s interim government. India is committed to peace, progress and prosperity for Nepal's sisters and brothers," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a X post. The protests across the country were ignited by a ban on social media, which has now been lifted. Violence subsided after Oli's resignation on Tuesday. Since 2008, Nepal has been plagued by political and economic instabilities. A lack of employment is driving millions of young people abroad to find work, such as in the Middle East, South Korea, and Malaysia. On Friday, the country of 30,000,000 people nestled between China and India began to return to normalcy. Shops reopened and cars were back on the roads. Police replaced the guns that they used earlier in the week, with batons. (Reporting and editing by Aftab Ahmad and Himani Sarkar; Reporting by Gopal Singh)
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Southwest Airlines requires that mobility devices be de-batterized before boarding.
Southwest Airlines announced on Friday that it would require its passengers to remove the lithium batteries from their powered wheelchairs or scooters prior to boarding. The airline cited fire hazards as a reason. Southwest will introduce new lithium battery size limits in January. The new rules go into effect on September 25. The Federal Aviation Administration sent out a safety warning to airlines on Tuesday about the risks of lithium batteries inside aircraft passenger compartments. "Lithium battery fires and smoke incidents are becoming more common on airplanes." Southwest stated in an employee note that while these incidents are rare, visibility and quick access are essential to keep everyone safe onboard. Southwest Airlines will become the first U.S. carrier to adopt higher standards by taking proactive measures now. The FAA recommended Tuesday that airlines adopt risk-mitigation strategies. This includes clear messaging addressing potential fire risks related to lithium batteries carried in the luggage of passengers and crew, and reviewing firefighting training and procedures. The FAA reported that 50 incidents of lithium-ion batteries causing extreme heat, smoke or fire have occurred in the U.S. this year. Some of these have caused accidents or injuries. Southwest announced that all batteries will have to be less than 300 watt hours as of January 11, 2019. The company said it understands the importance of mobility devices for many customers. The airline stated that the update was designed to prioritize travel safety without causing unnecessary obstacles.
Morning Bid AMERICAS - Megacaps mixed with Fed pause; ECB cuts and GDP next
Mike Dolan gives us a look at what the U.S. market and global markets will be like today. With Federal Reserve policy likely to be paused until next year and megacaps delivering mixed results, overnight stock markets were calm as they shifted their attention towards European interest rates and an assessment of U.S. GDP for the fourth quarter.
Microsoft's and Meta's quarterly results after the bell Wednesday attracted different reactions. China's DeepSeek disclosure this week has thrown the artificial intelligence topic into flux more generally.
Microsoft shares fell 4% overnight due to their heavy AI spending, which was defended by the respective CEOs. Meta, however, jumped 4%. The cloud business outlook of the former was a concern for traders, but Meta's performance was taken at face value.
Tesla's stock rose 4% in the meantime as it appeared that plans to release cheaper models next year had offset a disappointing earnings report. Apple and Intel topped another busy earnings report on Thursday.
Before Thursday's opening, index futures were up to a half-percent higher. This was despite the Fed's decision on Wednesday to hold rates while it assessed the impact of Washington's new policies.
Jerome Powell, the Fed's Chairperson, said that the Fed is not "hurried" to change its "well-positioned" position even though President Donald Trump blasted the central bank as doing a terrible job in tackling inflation and claimed it was spending too much time on climate change and diversity.
Fed futures are largely unchanged. They price in another cut for mid-year. There is only a 20% probability of an earlier March move and two cuts in total in 2025.
Treasury yields, however, have fallen since the decision. This is partly due to signs that the economy weakened in the last quarter of 2014 and the fact that interest rates fell elsewhere.
Bank of Canada reduced its policy rate by another quarter-point on Wednesday. The Bank cited in part Trump's tariffs as a threat to the economy. It is widely expected that the European Central Bank will slash another 25 basis points from its key interest rate on Thursday.
TRADE DEFICIT
As traders awaited Thursday's release of U.S. gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter, the news on Wednesday of a dramatic increase in the international trade deficit re-calibrated some estimates about how fast growth will be this year.
The U.S. trade deficit in goods reached a new record in December. This prompted the Atlanta Fed’s closely watched "GDPNow” model to recalibrate its estimate to 2.3% from an earlier estimate of 3.2%.
Prior to the release of the trade report, the GDP growth forecasts were based on a rate of 2.6% annualized for the third quarter. This was down from the 3.1% pace during the period July-September.
The economy will have grown by 2.8% for the entire year, just shy of the 2.9% growth rate recorded in 2023.
The yields on ten-year Treasury bonds fell to near the lows of the year, around 4.5%. This was helped by the fact that U.S. crude prices have fallen to their lowest level since January 2, with crude falling as much as 7.0% year-on year for the first month.
The dollar index remained steady while the euro dipped slightly before the anticipated ECB rate reduction.
The ECB has every reason to continue easing its policy despite the disappointing German and French GDP figures for Q4.
Germany's economy shrank more than expected during the fourth quarter of 2013. Europe's largest economy is struggling with trade concerns and uncertainty ahead of federal elections next month. The GDP dropped by 0.2% compared to the previous three months in the fourth quarter. France also contracted unexpectedly, amid budget and political impasses.
Italy stagnated as well, leaving Spain the only big country in the Eurozone with a positive Q4 growth rate.
The reports contained a sliver optimism from a rise in the economic sentiment of the euro zone in January. Also, thanks to ECB easing measures, stocks in the euro zone rose another 0.5% Thursday.
This was despite some major European companies suffering losses on earnings days. Deutsche Bank dropped 6% following a larger-than-expected decline in profits for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. STMicroelectronics, one of Europe’s largest chipmakers fell 8% after a bad forecast for the first three months.
Trade worries are high, and the possibility of Trump's first tariffs being implemented as early as next week is still very real - even if officials have indicated that they will continue to review the situation until April 1 despite expressing optimism about a possible deal.
Howard Lutnick, Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, said Canada and Mexico could avoid Trump's threatened 25 percent U.S. tariffs on imports if both countries act quickly to stop allowing illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the United States.
He said: "And from what I can tell, they're acting quickly, and if the execute, there won't be any tariff."
The following developments should give U.S. stock markets more direction on Thursday:
(source: Reuters)