Pandemic Compulsions

Various forms and lengths of lockdown, massive use of facial mask and a large degree of social distancing fail to be a choice but a circumstance of compulsion. Initially berated, downgraded and initially much-condemned by the West, lockdown proved to be the right approach also in this particular part of the world. Had COVID-19 hit only the communist countries or Venezuela, Syria or Turkey, among others, the West would have cried, “crime most-foul”, and clamped stringent sanctions on the “pariah”...

Intellectuals Must Speak The Truth

Fifty-four years ago, on 23 February 1967, the New York Review of Books published a long political essay by Noam Chomsky, who was until then known to the public, if at all, only for his work in linguistics. The essay – The Responsibility of Intellectuals – was an attack on the American intellectuals of the day, especially the Harvard professors serving, as experts and advisers, the administrations of President Kennedy and President Johnson while shrugging off the atrocities, such as those committed...

Tourism Still In Limbo

Like many other countries, Nepal is also grappling with COVID-19 pandemic for about one and a half years. The pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the country's health as well as economic sector. With the outbreak of a more ferocious second wave of the contagion, the country has recorded an alarming increase in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths. As Nepal does not have a better healthcare system, it found itself in a difficult situation in handling the virus.

Knowing About Post COVID-19 Syndrome

There are increasing reports of persistent and prolonged effects of acute COVID-19 on humans. Several reports of a constellation of symptoms following COVID-19 infections have been published. In most cases, coronavirus symptoms may pass quickly, some people are showing long-term effects following COVID-19 infections. It has been seen that for some people, coronavirus infection can cause symptoms that last for weeks or months even after the infection has gone.

The Court Calls The Shots

As Nepali politics is losing its autonomy, the court comes in the scene to set its direction, thanks to fractious politicians devoid of common vision and goals to consolidate federal republic and put the country on robust path of development. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed our health and economic vulnerabilities but the ongoing political crisis threatens to upend the entire constitutional project vaunted as the most viable means to ensure lasting stability and overcome structural injustice facing...

Ensure Integrity Of The Judiciary

Situations sometimes become so critical that judiciary, one of the three organs of state, should undergo rigorous test. Activity of public scrutiny happens in the democratic countries across the globe because such debates rarely happen in authoritarian states. It means a country should have democratic practice to criticise judiciary and other state organs like the executive and legislature. Criticism is an important tool to make an institution more reliable so that they can deliver service in an...

Bhrikutimandap Sans Statue Of Bhrikuti

Names of certain places do not match perfectly. Bhrikutimandap of Kathmandu is among such places. Located in the heart of Kathmandu, Bhrikutimandap is an open air park. It is a popular venue for various national and international events such as trade fairs and political gatherings. The place is named after our national luminary Bhrikuti. But there is no image or statue of Bhrikuti, who was the daughter of Amshu Verma. He was the most influential King of Nepal (605-621AD) during the Lichhavi period....

Leadership Crisis Plagues The Nation

Leaders are remembered for their valuable contribution to society. Those with transformative aspirations usually look for ways and means to push dynamic sector of society for progress and pull the backward ones so that the gap between the two does not become a cause of conflict. Their source of greatness lies in capturing the aspirations of average citizens more than power and position they occupy. Their faithful response to societal challenges keeps them in close bond with them.

Decoding Nepal’s Development Vision

The notion of development remains a highly contested agenda globally. The euro-centric model of development characterised by individualism, competitiveness and economic rationality has come under a huge crisis over the past seven decades coming up to

Waning Influence Of Influencers

The era of “influencers” may soon be coming to an end – at least on the international stage – with data showing that Gen Z prefers people with established talent and substantiated authority or those taking actions on the ground over people brandishing their lifestyle on social media.

China's Global Communication

Osmo Antero Wiio, a Finnish academic and journalist, used to state that communication usually fails, except by accident. He argued that if a message could be interpreted in several ways, it would be interpreted in a manner that maximised damages. The late Finnish lawmaker further cautioned: “The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds.” This line of thought reflects a serious nature of communication and its impacts in the society.

Why The Mining Should Go Ahead

In a recently unveiled budget for 2021/22, the government made public its plan to lift the restriction imposed on mining of construction materials like sand, aggregates and boulder, among others. Included in the plan is the opening of hills and mountains for the extraction of their deposits, which are essential for a range of construction projects. The rationale behind the plan is to reduce the ever-growing trade deficit of the country by exporting the materials, stated the budget document.

Incentives For Vaccines

While developing nations have been scrambling to find a COVID-19 vaccine for their citizens, the developed ones seem to be applying every possible means to ensure a rise in the number of vaccinated population. The 'Joint for Jabs' is a very popular campaign that is now making trends in the US. 'Joint' here refers to marijuana, a well-known psychoactive drug around the world. In many states in the USA, bills have been passed, giving the citizens a freedom to use marijuana. The Washington State is...

Oli’s Proposal On Party Unity

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has inducted the Mahantha Thakur faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) into the cabinet, replacing his own party leaders and close aides. It was a tactical yet compulsive move to bring the JSP faction on board so that there will be effective government to run the country. Such decisions are normal in politics. But the alliance between Oli-led CPN-UML and JSP's Thakur faction is not just marriage of convenience, it is a coalition based on agenda. Both the parties...

Budget And Its Governing Principles

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel read out the budget statement promulgated through ordinance last week. The budgetary principles and allocations have been appreciated from different sectors though there is objection from the opposition on the ground that the caretaker government should not have promulgated the budget of the scale of please all expansionary type since the election is on the card, of course, subject to judicial review. The budget has envisaged some targeted...

Budjet's Focus On Ending Pandemic

The federal government has recently unveiled an ambitious budget of Rs 1.647 trillion for the fiscal year 2021/22, which mainly focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring vaccination for all citizens and boosting education and physical infrastructure. However, the opposition political parties have accused the government of bypassing the parliament to introduce the ‘populist’ budget. As the House of Representatives (HoR) has been dissolved, the government has

Mind Of A Winner

When we grew up, our strongest communication tool was radio. So I grew up listening to various radio channels, and my favourites were BBC World Service, All India Radio and Radio Nepal. The habit of listening to BBC World Service stuck on and it has become an almost round the clock habit during lockdowns. One of the comments “mind of a winner” made by a reporter while in an interview regarding Naomi Osaka’s announcement that she dropped out of attending press conference after her game competition,...

Agro-strategy Tailored To Protect Ecosystem

This year’s World Environment Day was recently observed with the theme ‘ecosystem restoration.’ Every nation had their own slogans appropriate to their specific need and priority. The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-30) has envisioned mitigating the catastrophic climate change. The UNEP and FAO marked the decade as “a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature”.

Quest For Valuable Art

The world's present most costly painting The Salvator Mundi has come into limelight in a billion dollar art feud. The Salvator Mundi which means, saviour of the world, is credited in whole or in part to the renowned Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. In 2015, the Russian fertiliser tycoon and oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev accused Yves Bouvier of swindling him off $1 billion on 38 highly prized artworks including The Salvator Mundi. Yves Bouvier is a Swiss art dealer who also happens to be a freeport...

All Eyes On Supreme Court

As the nation's politics passes through many twists and turns, the Supreme Court (SC) has found itself in the thick of things, for it has been compelled to hear the House of Representatives (HoR) dissolution case for the second time within five months. The SC had on February 23, 2021 reinstated the House that had been dissolved on December 20, 2020. An intense tussle between the ruling and opposition parties saw the HoR dissolution again on May 22, sending the opposition in a scramble to file the...