A tragic plane crash in Venezuela has claimed two lives and left two others injured after a Piper Cheyenne I aircraft erupted into flames shortly after takeoff on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

The incident occurred at Paramillo Airport in Táchira State, with the aircraft crashing within the vicinity of San Cristóbal National Park moments after takeoff.

A shocking video circulating online shows the aircraft struggling to gain altitude before tilting sharply, striking one of its wings on the ground, and exploding into a massive fireball.

Witnesses nearby can be heard screaming in horror as the plane hit the ground and burst into flames.

According to Mail Online, local authorities identified the deceased as Toni Bortone and Juan Maldonado, while two other passengers survived but sustained serious injuries.

Preliminary reports suggest the pilot may have lost control after one of the aircraft’s tires exploded during takeoff.

Emergency services, including firefighters, Táchira Civil Protection, and the Bolivarian National Police (PNB), responded swiftly to the crash site around noon, battling the blaze and rescuing survivors from the wreckage.

Officials confirmed that the aircraft was being used for government logistics operations, although further details about its mission remain under investigation.

The ill-fated plane, identified as a Piper Cheyenne I (PA-31T1), is a twin-engine turboprop model manufactured by Piper Aircraft in the late 1970s. The aircraft type is widely used in both civilian and governmental operations due to its reliability and performance.

Aviation authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash, focusing on potential mechanical failure or maintenance issues.

This latest tragedy follows another aviation accident in Venezuela last month. In September 2025, a Learjet 55 crashed near Simón Bolívar International Airport outside Caracas during takeoff amid adverse weather conditions, leaving two passengers injured.

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Nepali government was overthrown in 48 hours and I think i just witnessed the first internet native revolution a social media user from Nepal Wrote…

In what may be the world’s first internet-native revolution, the Nepali government collapsed in less than 48 hours after TikTok protests and decentralized organizing on Discord and Reddit spiraled into mass demonstrations, street violence, and ultimately the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The uprising, dubbed the Nepal Gen Z revolution, has already reshaped political discourse in South Asia and beyond.

From the Fall of the Monarchy to Digital Disillusionment

Over two decades ago, Nepalis toppled the monarchy, ushering in multiparty democracy with hopes of a brighter, more equitable future. Yet, the same leaders who once claimed to fight for the people ended up living in lavish mansions, while ordinary citizens struggled to afford daily meals.

By the late 2010s, however, everything began to change. Widespread internet access exposed government scandals in real time. Citizens could see how much faster other developing nations were advancing, and frustration mounted. The digital public sphere became the real opposition party.

The “Nepo Babies” TikTok Movement

In August 2025, the tipping point came. Nepali youth launched a viral TikTok trend called “Nepo Babies”, contrasting the glamorous lifestyles of politicians’ children with ordinary Nepalis who couldn’t afford a proper restaurant meal. Instagram and TikTok lit up with reels, memes, and exposés.

The backlash was immediate and vicious: elite children were cyberbullied nationwide, becoming living symbols of inequality.

The Social Media Ban That Sparked a Firestorm

On September 4, 2025, the Nepali government abruptly banned TikTok, Instagram, Discord, and Reddit, demanding that platforms register in Nepal and submit to government censorship.

But the move backfired. More than 20% of Nepalis live abroad, and the ban cut off communication between them and their families back home. Coupled with the growing anger around “Nepo Babies,” the timing was seen as both authoritarian and deeply out of touch.

September 8: Peaceful Protest Turns Deadly

By September 8, calls for protest had spread across every platform still accessible. Over 12,000 demonstrators gathered in Kathmandu for what began as a peaceful rally.

But by afternoon, police opened fire. More than 20 protesters were killed and 300 injured, their final moments livestreamed and shared across banned networks via VPNs. The grisly images ignited nationwide rage.

September 9: Burn Their Mansions

The very next day, protests escalated beyond imagination. Fueled by anger and coordinated through Discord and Reddit, demonstrators launched real-time “mimetic actions” across Nepal.

The day’s rallying cry “burn their mansions” spread like wildfire online. Politicians’ homes were set ablaze. Ministers were dragged into the streets, beaten, even humiliated by mobs. Police forces, demoralized and outnumbered, largely stood down.

By nightfall, Prime Minister Oli resigned and sought army protection.

The World’s First Discord Vote for a Prime Minister

But with the old guard gone, one question remained: who would lead Nepal?

Unlike past uprisings, there was no central revolutionary figure. Instead, thousands of Nepali youths gathered on Discord and Reddit, debating and polling in real time. For hours, usernames argued, meme-posted, and finally voted on who could represent the revolution.

Their choice? Sushila Karki, former Chief Justice, respected for her incorruptibility. Within days, negotiations with the army and president confirmed her as Nepal’s first female prime minister the first leader in history effectively chosen by a Discord poll.

A Glimpse Into the Network State Era

The Nepal Gen Z revolution marks more than just a political transition. It may be the first time a national government was toppled and replaced through internet-native coordination.

As one protester put it on Discord:
“The protest happened on the internet for years. The government just didn’t listen.”

The implications stretch far beyond Kathmandu. The experiment in digital democracy has shown young people worldwide what’s possible: that governments can fall, and leaders can rise, based on the viral will of the networked crowd.

Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia.

It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim.

Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world’s ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point above mean sea level on Earth.

Kathmandu is the nation’s capital and its largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

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Nepal Gen Z Revolution: How Discord Polls and TikTok Protests Overthrew a Government in 48 Hours

Nepal’s Gen Z Digital Uprising Installs First Female Prime Minister

Elon Musk Reclaims Richest Person Title After Larry Ellison’s $100 Billion Wealth Surge

Norway Oil and Gas Exploration Round Attracts 20 Bidders, Including Equinor and TotalEnergies

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In a historic turn of events, Nepal’s Gen Z-led movement has reshaped the nation’s political landscape by leveraging online platforms to drive regime change. Frustrated by entrenched corruption and widening inequality, protesters mobilized both digitally and in the streets to oust former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

On Friday, Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court, was sworn in as the country’s first female prime minister. Her appointment followed a groundbreaking leadership vote conducted on Discord, marking the world’s first transition of national power influenced directly by digital platforms.

The dramatic shift was not without cost: at least 51 people lost their lives during clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Yet, for many young Nepalis, the movement signals a new chapter in governance one blending grassroots activism, digital democracy, and generational defiance.

Regional powers including India and China are closely monitoring developments in Kathmandu, wary of potential instability in the Himalayan republic.

Analysts say Nepal’s experiment could inspire similar digital-driven uprisings elsewhere, challenging traditional systems of power.

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Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s richest person, after briefly being overtaken by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whose fortune surged by a record-breaking $100 billion in a single day.

Ellison’s wealth jumped to $392.6 billion on Wednesday, propelled by Oracle’s stunning quarterly results and a wave of new multibillion-dollar AI cloud contracts. The surge momentarily placed him ahead of Musk, valued at around $385 billion at the time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

But by the close of trading, Oracle’s share price dipped from its highs, allowing Musk to reclaim the top spot with an estimated net worth of $384 billion.

Oracle’s AI-Fueled Boom

The dramatic swing was driven by Oracle’s transformation into a major player in AI cloud infrastructure. The company reported:

12% revenue growth year-on-year, reaching $14.9 billion.

Cloud revenues up 27%, to $7.2 billion.

Cloud infrastructure revenue up 54%, to $3.3 billion.

Oracle also revealed contracts with OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and Musk’s own AI venture, xAI. Its pipeline of future business is unprecedented: Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO), or contracted revenue yet to be delivered, soared to $455 billion, up 359% from the previous year.

“Demand for Oracle’s AI cloud services is overwhelming,” said CEO Safra Catz, projecting that infrastructure revenues could hit $18 billion this fiscal year.

A Historic Wealth Surge

Ellison, who owns about 41% of Oracle (1.16 billion shares), saw his fortune balloon as the stock peaked at $345.68 per share.

The gain marked the largest single-day wealth increase ever recorded on Bloomberg’s index, surpassing Musk’s previous record of $63 billion in December 2024.

The spike also highlights Oracle’s remarkable pivot from traditional database software to a core provider of computing power for AI, with OpenAI alone contracting 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity. Oracle’s close partnership with Nvidia, the leading supplier of AI GPUs, has further cemented its position.

Musk’s Grip on the Summit

Despite Ellison’s dramatic rise, Musk’s diversified empire helped him regain the crown quickly.

His wealth, still heavily tied to Tesla stock, has been pressured this year by weaker electric vehicle incentives and ongoing political controversies. Yet Musk also commands significant holdings in SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and xAI, giving him a broader cushion against market swings.

Musk has now held the title of world’s richest person for nearly four years, with only brief interruptions.

Market Volatility and Billionaire Rivalries

The back-and-forth underscores the volatility of modern billionaire wealth, where fortunes can rise or fall by tens of billions in a matter of hours. In the AI-driven era, stock valuations are increasingly tied to big cloud contracts, technological breakthroughs, and shifting market sentiment.

Oracle shares are up 45% year-to-date in 2025, far outpacing the broader market and even some of the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants. The company’s momentum signals that traditional software firms can reinvent themselves as critical AI infrastructure providers, challenging incumbents like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

Ellison’s Enduring Legacy

At 81 years old, Larry Ellison remains one of Silicon Valley’s most enduring figures. Since founding Oracle in 1977, he has turned the company into one of the world’s largest software and cloud infrastructure firms.

READ ALSO: Larry Ellison Overtakes Elon Musk as World’s Richest Person After $101B Wealth Surge

Beyond Oracle, Ellison has expanded into media, politics, and philanthropy — with his family leading the acquisition of Paramount Global and his continued influence in Republican circles.

His brief moment as the world’s richest person underscores not only his company’s resurgence but also the high-stakes race among tech titans to dominate AI infrastructure.

The Bigger Picture

Ellison’s one-day ascent and Musk’s quick recovery highlight the unpredictability of wealth rankings in the tech age, where AI and cloud computing have become the defining drivers of economic power.

As investors pour billions into AI infrastructure, the competition among the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs is set to remain fast-moving, volatile, and closely tied to the future of artificial intelligence.

For now, Musk is back on top, but the contest is far from over.

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Norway’s Ministry of Energy announced on Thursday that it has received applications from 20 oil and gas companies for exploration acreage in its annual Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) licensing round.

The 2025 round features expanded acreage in the Arctic Barents Sea, part of Norway’s strategy to sustain long-term oil and gas production amid Europe’s shifting energy landscape.

According to the ministry, the number of applicants matches last year’s round, when exploration rights were awarded to 20 firms. Energy majors including Equinor, Aker BP, ConocoPhillips, and TotalEnergies were among those submitting bids.

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“It is gratifying to see that there is still great interest and that companies have faith in the opportunities that lie in further exploration,” Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.
“This will enable Norway to continue to be a stable and predictable supplier of oil and gas to Europe.”

The APA licensing round remains a cornerstone of Norway’s petroleum policy, ensuring access to new acreage in mature regions while balancing environmental concerns and economic interests.

Results from the latest bidding round are expected to be announced in early 2026.

Read more here

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