NEPAL’S Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa quit yesterday — brought down by weeks of pro-democracy protests in the kingdom that has been wracked by political instability and a bloody Maoist insurgency.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa quit today, apparently forced out of office by mass street protests in the Himalayan kingdom.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL appealed yesterday to the Nepali government and the international community to prevent a “human rights catastrophe” in the country where security forces are battling a Maoist revolt.