Nepal ex-chief justice Sushila Karki to be next PM

Nepal's former chief justice Sushila Karki will be sworn in Friday as the country's next prime minister, the president's office announced after deadly protests ousted the government.

"President Ram Chandra Paudel will appoint former chief justice Sushila Karki as the prime minister," presidential press adviser Kiran Pokharel told AFP.

"Karki is scheduled to be sworn in as prime minister at 9:00 pm (1515 GMT)."

Karki, 73, was Nepal's first woman chief justice, and has spoken out about ingrained corruption in the country.

The Himalayan nation of 30 million people was plunged into chaos this week after security forces tried to crush rallies by young anti-corruption protesters, culminating in widespread violence on Tuesday.

At least 51 people were killed in the worst violence since the end of a civil war and abolition of the monarchy in 2008.

KP Sharma Oli, the 73-year-old leader of the Communist Party, quit as prime minister on Tuesday. His whereabouts are not known.

The military took back control of the streets on Wednesday, enforcing a curfew, as army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel and Paudel held talks with key figures and representatives from "Gen Z", the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.

Nimesh Shrestha, who was part of the Gen Z protest, told AFP that the demonstrators backed the former judge.

"We have an agreement," he told AFP. "The parliament will be dissolved. Sushila Karki will be the prime minister."

Pokharel, from the president's office, said that "a council of ministers will be formed after, and other processes will be taken from there".