February 25, 2026 12:44 PM
Nepal’s rapper-mayor in pole position to become prime minister
After Nepal's historic youth-led uprising last September killed 77 people and forced then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician posted a typically terse message to millions of followers on social media. "Dear Gen Z, the resignation of your killer has come," Balendra Shah - popularly known only as Balen - wrote. "Now your generation will have to lead the country. Be prepared." Five months on, the musician who cut his political teeth when he became the ...