Crowds Increase Risks

Looking at the staggering traffic jams and crowds of people at major thoroughfares and marketplaces of the Kathmandu Valley, it seems as if fears for the COVID-19 pandemic is now gone. In the evening, New Road, Ratna Park, Jamal, Asan, New Baneshwor, Tripureshwor, Maitighar and numerous other business areas are overcrowded with people. Many of them are not seen so much concerned about their health safety. But the reality is that the capital valley has already turned into a coronavirus hotspot, with...

Big Leap In Health Sector

On Monday, Nepal made a historic stride in the health sector. The government laid the foundation stone for basic hospitals in 309 local units and communicable disease hospitals in three states. It was the part of the setting up five to 15-bed hospitals in all 396 local units. The construction of the hospitals in the remaining local units will start once they acquire the land for the same. These new health facilities will ensure quality and affordable health services to all people. The programme and...

Wei’s Significant Visit

Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe’s visit to Nepal on Sunday, leading a 21-member delegation, may have been short but it was very significant. In his day-long working visit, Wei met with President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is also the Defence Minister, and Chief of Army Staff Purna Chandra Thapa and reaffirmed China’s commitment to implementing various agreements reached in the past. The Nepal Army also stated that there were discussions...

Cine Industry In Slump

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to most of the businesses and service sectors in Nepal and worldwide. The film industry, which is one of the key creative sectors, has faced a turbulent time since the outbreak of the contagion. Film production has come to a grinding halt and cinemas have remained closed globally with the continued spread of the coronavirus. A drastic change in the media technology was hitting the global film industry even before the emergence of the contagion. This showbiz...

Diplomatic Ice-breaking

Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla returned home Friday after completing his two-day visit to Nepal. Shringla’s visit remained highly fruitful in enhancing meaningful communication between the two nations at the diplomatic and political level. Just a few months back, a big uncertainty hung over the bilateral ties between the two nations following the release of new political maps by both sides. Indian foreign secretary held talks with his Nepali counterpart as well as the President,...

Zero Tolerance To Gender Violence

Our constitution has maintained no individual should be discriminated owing to his or her gender, caste, creed, colour and position. Despite this, there are circumstances wherein some members of our society are singled out, as the authority often cannot effectively execute the clauses that our constitution has consecrated. Women are the worst hit victims of gender-based violence and inequity. The savage and medieval practice of untouchability, trafficking, labour exploitation, sexual abuse, ra

On Way To Vaccine

The fresh achievement made by some of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies like Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech in the development of a vaccine against the COVID-19 has created rays of hope among the people worldwide. Many other companies are also in the process of developing vaccines against the viral contagion that has emerged as a major global public health emergency. Once the vaccines come to the market, they may help ease the existing crisis. Developed nations such as the United States...

Shun The Rumours

With near two-thirds majority in the federal parliament, Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is leading the government considered strongest in decades. The NCP had pulled off a resounding victory in three-tier elections held in 2017. The historic elections were conducted in line with the new constitution that converted Nepal into a federal republic. The Himalayan nation witnessed seismic political changes on the back of April Uprising in 2006. It became federal from unitary, secular from Hindu state and...

Credibility Of PCR Reports In Question

The credibility of some hospital labs has been questioned after the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test reports of COVID-19 they issued were found to be false. The dubious test reports came to light after some air passengers with virus negative PCR reports tested positive upon being re-tested in the destination country. Actually this may not be the case related to the air passengers alone. There may be many other infected people moving around with virus negative reports. Such an anomaly must be...

Scale Of Joblessness

The economic sector in Nepal has remained the most affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing restrictions, including the strict lockdowns. Like many other countries, Nepal had to opt for safety measures to contain the contagion after its outbreak. The restrictions resulted in the loss of many jobs and sources of livelihood. Although the government has already lifted lockdowns and allowed most of the economic activities to resume, the local job market is yet to recover. As per a study conducted...

Loan Flow To Rescue Businesses In Trouble

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented economic crisis with the abrupt cessation of public mobility across the globe. Onerous lockdowns and other stringent measures, adopted to control the spread of novel coronavirus, disrupted supply chains and caused the closures of small and big enterprises. Like other South Asian nations, Nepal also suffered the economic shocks from the virus outbreak. However, Nepal’s condition is more precarious compared to its neighbours becau

At Last, COVID Vaccines!

Even as the entire world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the world since almost a year ago, a piece of news on a successful trial of coronavirus vaccine has buoyed the governments around the world.  Apart from claiming tens of thousands of lives and afflicting several millions across the globe, the dreaded disease prompted the world economy to its knees, pulverised business, industry, tourism, transport, education, employment and the government works. Authorities imposed...

Regulate Alcohol Sale

Much has been written about the negative effects of over alcohol consumption. Despite the fact that excessive alcoholic drink is detrimental to health, many people lush up on one pretext or another. They get drunk as a fiddler in the name of celebrating festivals, reunion with family and friends or toasting their achievements. Like smoking, alcoholic drink is considered bad on moral ground though there has been tradition of offering drinks to the visiting guests from abroad as a gesture of friendship....

Respect People's Mandate

No one denies that the internal squabble in the country's ruling party has cast a dark shadow in the overall welfare of the party that has been reveling in a near two-thirds majority in the Parliament. A section of the party leaders, including most Secretariat members, is egging on the Prime Minister to listen to and act on their demand, which the NCP Chair and Prime Minister has kept warding off. As the disagreements among the comrades have aggravated, there is a wider fear that the party may be...

Govt's New Strategy Against Coronavirus

With continuous surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in Nepal, the Federal Government has come up with a new strategy to rein in the pandemic in a more effective manner. Since Monday (November 9), the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has launched tele-medicine services across the country. The coronavirus patients in home isolation stand to benefit from these services. The MoHP has made public the names and contact details of the tele-medicine focal persons from the eight main hospitals...

Keep Party Unity Intact

Now the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is reeling from severe intra-party dispute which has obviously put a crimp in the image and performance of the government that has won sweeping mandate in the federal and state elections held in 2017. The NCP-led government has espoused the lofty goal of Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali. The snappy slogan carries the spirit and aspirations of Nepalis who were fed up with chronic political instability for decades. The NCP was created thr

Joe Biden’s Victory

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., more commonly known as Joe Biden, has won the US presidential election. It wasn’t a landslide as many had predicted but was enough to get the veteran democrat over the line and limit incumbent Donald Trump to a one-term presidency, making him the first American president since George Bush senior to leave office after the first term. Biden’s victory comes at a crucial time for America and the world. His country faces a serious lack of credibility. Under Trump, the US...

Export Trade On Track

About 11 months have passed since the emergence of the coronavirus disease in Wuhan City of China. The virus-induced lockdowns and other restrictions have had an unparalleled impact on the global economy. Since the pandemic has spread as rapidly as a wildfire globally, the entire production system has remained stagnated and the supply chain disrupted. This has left millions of people jobless across the world. As projected by scientists, several European countries have now experienced second wave...

Naravane’s Visit Boosts Bilateral Understanding

Nepal and India enjoy multidimensional relations. The people from both nations have been sharing common border, culture and social traditions since the time immemorial. Even when there was no existence of nation states in South Asia, the people, traders and leaders from both nations used to visit each other’s territories without any obstacles. The two nations have open, porous border. This is rare in the contemporary world. Even when there is tension at the h

PM's Resolute Stance

For a nation, without political stability, it is next to impossible to achieve the exalted objectives of all-out progress, economic prosperity and the wellbeing of its people. Also true is the fact that a secured political environment is a prerequisite for a strong and stable government, whereas a stable government always promotes and benefits the stability of any nation's politics. It may serve well if one recalls that before the present government assumed office with the promulgation of the new...