prime

March 28 (UPI) — Nepal’s former prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, was arrested on Saturday for crackdowns during protests last year, which more than 70 people being shot by police.

Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested for the response to the so-called Gen Z protests, which started after the government shutdown access to social media sites and inspired larger protests across the country over government corruption and a faltering economy.

Oli, whose administration deployed the Nepali Army after violence as police employed brutal tactics to quell the initial rallies, including shooting people in their teens and early 20s, resigned as a result of the protests.

Oli and his attorneys have accused the new government of Balendra Shah and his cabinet has said that the arrests were unnecessary and illegal because neither is likely to flee the country.

“No one is above the law,” new Home Minister Sudan Gurung wrote on Instagram, The Guardian reported.

“We have taken former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak under control,” said Gurung, who was a significant figure in the protests. “This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of Justice.”

Shah, a former hip hop artist, ran partially on promises of holding former government officials accountable for the crackdowns and allowing police to shoot protesters, The BBC reported.

The day after police shot protesters at the youth-led rallies, the protests spread, with government offices set on fire, even more protesters killed and Oli’s resignation.

A government panel that investigated the protests recommended that Oli, Lekhak and other officials be tried for their roles in the deaths.

Although the panel’s report does not show that police were ordered to fire on protesters, it said that “no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives.”

If convicted, the men face up to 10 years in prison.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said any talks with Iran must aim to end the war, not serve as a “tactical advantage” or temporary pause. He reaffirmed Iran’s right to defend its sovereignty while urging restraint to avoid wider regional fallout. His comments come as the US warns Iran to accept defeat or face being “hit harder”.

Despite the show’s approach to make their actors unrecognisable you might remember some from big series

A Prime Video series that was dubbed ‘best show ever’ is finally returning with a whole new cast and approach, although there are still some faces that you might recognise.

Jury Duty is returning with a second season and a new set up, with the first episodes available to stream from March 20. Part social experiment, part reality series and part sitcom, the show is unlike most of what you’ve seen before.

According to its synopsis, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is a comedy series that captures a corporate offsite event at a family-owned hot sauce company from the perspective of Anthony, a recently hired temporary worker.

Unbeknownst to Anthony, the entire experience is staged. Every colleague around him is performing a role and each moment whether in conference rooms or during downtime has been meticulously orchestrated. As the founder prepares to step down, the getaway transforms into a clash between big corproate ambitions and small business values, with control of the company hanging in the balance.

While the premise of the show means that all the actors involved have to be unrecognisable to the one non-actor, there are actually a few faces you may have seen before. But who are they and what have they starred in that you may remember them from? Here’s all you need to know.

Jerry Hauck plays Doug, the CEO of Rockin Grandma’s Hot Sauce. He’s described as “a lovable papa bear with Big Dad Energy who cares deeply about the company he’s built and the people that work for it.” Hauck has had memorable small roles on huge shows including ER, Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Paradise.

Alex Bonifer stars as Doug’s son and heir apparent to the business, Dougie Jr. He is “well-meaning but directionless” who is suddenly handed huge responsibilities. Eagle-eyed viewers will recognise Bonifer from Kevin Can F*** Himself where he played the role of Neil.

Amy, of customer relations is played by Emily Pendergast who has a lot of experience in comedy TV. She starred in multiple episodes of Veep and Netflix sitcom Leanne. Meanwhile the eventually nicknamed Other Anthony, who is he company’s Assistant Sourcing Manager, is played by Rob Lathan who previously appeared in Inside Amy Schumer and has served as a writer on other sketch shows.

Comedian Rachel Kaly plays remote worker and web designer Claire. While her character might be obsessed with the series Bones, she herself has appeared on animated comedy Digman! and High Maintenance.

Straight talking Helen, from accounting who has been at the business from the very beginning alongside Doug, is played by Stephanie Hodge. She is one of the most experienced cast members with past credits including NCIS, Young Sheldon and Scandal. She also had starring roles in the 90s on Nurses and Unhappily Ever After.

Jackie, who works in distribution and logistics when not taking charge of her kids at home, is played by LaNisa Renee Frederick. She’s previously appeared in smaller roles on Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Goldbergs and Mom.

Jim Woods, who was a writer on The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan, and starred on Reno 911!. takes on the role of warehouse manager Jimmy. He may have once been the non P.C. employee but he’s working maybe a bit too hard to be a better version of himself.

Erica Hernandez plays Kate from sales and marketing, who often gives the impression she should have a leadership role herself. Hernandez previously starred in the drama series True Lies, based on the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger film as well as New Amsterdam.

The other half of Team Skate (Steve & Kate), Steve is a “confident salesman that plays the calmer yin to Kate’s high-strung yang.” He is played by Warren Burke who has appeared in 13 episodes of Family Reunion and eight episodes of Bigger.

Snack obsessed receptionist PJ, is played by Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur who you may have seen before in Steve Carrell starring Netflix comedy Space Force or his brief appearances in Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Good Place. There’s also HR manager Kevin who is the one who seemingly hires Anthony to be his assistant.

He is played by Ryan Perez. Perez is actually a seasoned comedy actor, writer and director. He has written for Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon while he has also directed Funny or Die shorts with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.

Ranch manager Marjorie who is looking after the company workers while on retreat is played by Blair Beeken. She most recently appeared in Apple’s hit sci-fi series Pluribus.

Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat is streaming on Prime Video.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website

The outgoing Director General for the BBC, Tim Davie, has spoken out in the defence of the licence fee, which has risen to a huge £15 a month, making it more expensive than multiple streaming services

The BBC is in “crisis,” departing Director General Tim Davie has said. The broadcaster has been criticised for its planned increase to the licence fee, which will rise to £180, from April 1.The increase, required by the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement, will rise by £5.50 for the year. This means a standard colour TV licence will now cost each home £15 a month, more than a subscription to various streaming platforms.

Speaking on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Davie insisted that the BBC – and other institutions – are certainly in “crisis”. He says: “Trust is built and I’m semi-obsessed by this – trust is built by people absolutely believing that someone is acting in their interest and that they listen to them. And if you think about an old-school broadcaster, it broadcasts….

“I think there have been too many instances where institutions and the BBC is definitely not exempt from this – where, call it what you will, metropolitan, a certain lens on life.”

According to Davie, as long as the BBC is providing value, then there should be no problems about an increase in the licence fee.

“We’re at a consultation phase, but we have set out a very clear preference which is and I would do this to the point about restarting where we’re at – I think there is a model which says: look, if we can deliver value for every household and really work at that, then everyone contributes fairly, and I think that is a model that’s worth fighting for,” he says.

“I don’t see it as something potentially trapped in the past. I actually think it could be something exciting for the future – quite enlightened. You don’t have to go exactly where the market is going currently. You have to make markets, and I think we can do that.”

The BBC have been hit by serious allegations that one of their Panorama documentaries misled viewers by editing a speech by Donald Trump. The BBC’s director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness both resigned in November.

It had been alleged in a leaked internal BBC memo that those working on the Panorama programme edited two parts of the speech together so that Trump appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riot back in 2021. Trump has since launched a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the BBC, which is scheduled to go to trial in February 2027.

He did not explicitly reference any specific errors the BBC had made under his tenure but he said the world was in an age of “weaponisation”, where the broadcaster was under strict scrutiny over one thing – but not referencing all the good work they’ve done.

“We’ve made mistakes, sometimes serious mistakes, which we regret. But weaponisation is selectively taking one fact – it may be a fact, so you’re standing on a fact – but what you’re not standing on is any effort to be proportionate,” he says.

“You’re not saying, look, a thousand stories run, we’re running, and one didn’t get it right, or overall this is where there’s no balance of data. It’s literally just selecting a fact to make a case.”

*Watch or listen to The Rest Is Entertainment however you get your podcasts.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

March 8 (UPI) — Former rapper Balendra Shah appears poised to be Nepal’s next prime minister, after his party won the general election by a landslide.

Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party, or RSP, captured 117 out of the 165 directly-voted seats in the Federal Parliament of Nepal and is currently leading in eight more contested seats. Final results, including seats appointed by proportional representation, are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Shah, 35, transitioned from a rapper to a politician in 2022, when he was elected mayor of Kathmandu.

The former musician became a figurehead of the September 2025 movement that saw young people take to the streets to protest Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma KP Oli’s law banning social media use. The protests expanded into criticism of government corruption and the country’s political system as a whole.

A government crackdown on the protests resulted in the deaths of 19 protesters, and led to public unrest resulting in 70 deaths and the resignation of Oli’s government.

Shah’s party has pledged to create 1.2 million jobs, reduce forced migration, raise the per capital income from $1,447 to $3,000 and provide social safety nets including health insurance.