Time to rewrite the constitution
“It is time to move beyond the idea of political stability to the idea of constitutional stability.” Prime Minister KP Oli’s move to dissolve Parliament has unleashed a phase of political uncertainty which could devour more than the legislative body. Oli’s political endgame is not clear; it has brought into play internal political conflict, foreign…
Is Nepal Prepared to Take On the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19?
The Scare of COVID-19 The Nepal Embassy in Beijing has reported that as of February 2, 2020,[i] 180 Nepali students in the Hubei province of China including 62 from the Wuhan City have applied for immediate evacuation from the province that is currently reeling under the scare of coronavirus.[ii] The worldwide death toll continues to…
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Overambitious Campaign
With the share of foreign tourists standing at 49 percent, the target of two million is doomed. Visit Nepal Year 2020 targets two million international tourists. However, looking at the decreasing rate of incoming tourists in 2019, the campaign may be at a great disadvantage. The tourist growth was merely 2 percent last year. For…
Donor Complicity: A troubling Emergence in Nepali Politics
Donors and multilateral institutions must not continue to ignore corruption to fulfil their own objectives. Nepal currently has unprecedented opportunities for economic development along with establishing practices of good governance. These opportunities include a changing demography, the availability of cheap resources, political stability, federalism, geopolitical competition, and remittance. But this window of opportunities will last…
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Cyber Insecurity: Catastrophe in the Waiting
The vulnerabilities of Nepal’s banking system came to the fore on the night of August 31, 2019,[1] when five Chinese nationals were arrested in the capital, who were on ATM hacking spree in different places in Kathmandu. The hackers had come to Nepal on August 20 and had planned to return on September 2; their…
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News Digest – National Security & Climate Change (February 18 – February 24, 2021)
Photo: RSS Nepal’s Covid-19 tally reaches 273,666 as death toll reaches 2684: According to the health ministry, as of February 17, Nepal’s COVID-19 tally stands at 273,666 and the death tally has reached 2684. There are 1533 active cases of infection in the country while 270,068 people have made a recovery. Officials have said that…
Continue Reading News Digest – National Security & Climate Change (February 18 – February 24, 2021)
News Digest: National Security & Climate Change (February 11 – February 17)
Image: RSS Nepal’s Covid-19 tally reaches 272,945 as death toll reaches 2030: According to the health ministry, as of February 17, Nepal’s Covid-19 tally stands at 272,215 and the death tally has reached 2030. There are 1612 active cases of infection in the country while 269,303 people have made a recovery. Meteorologists suggest that Westerly…
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News Digest – National Security & Climate Change (February 4 – February 10)
Photo: RSS Nepal’s COVID-19 tally reaches 272,215 as death toll reaches 2028: According to the health ministry, as of February 10, Nepal’s COVID-19 tally stands at 272,215 and the death tally has reached 2028. There are 1756 active cases of infection in the country while 268,431 people have made a recovery. Glacial lakes in Nepal…
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News Digest – National Security & Climate Change (January 28 – February 3)
Photo: RSS According to the Ministry of Health, as of February 3, Nepal’s COVID-19 tally stands at 271,289 and the death tally has reached 2030. There are 2400 active cases of infection in the country while 266,859 people have made a recovery. China has announced 300,000 doses of ‘Sinopharm’ vaccine to be provided to Nepal…
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News Digest – National Security & Climate Change (January 14 – January 20)
Nepal’s COVID-19 tally reaches 267,992 as death toll reaches 1969: According to the health ministry, as of January 20, Nepal’s COVID-19 tally stands at 267,992 and the death tally has reached 1969. There are 3764 active cases of infection in the country while 262,259 people have made a recovery. Nepal’s vaccination to be riddled with…
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COVID 19 and Vaccine Diplomacy
Image: RSS On January 15, Nepal received an approval for the emergency use of “Covishield”, developed by the University of Oxford and Pharmaceutical Company AstraZeneca, and manufactured in India. The news came amidst Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali’s high level visit to New Delhi. All eyes were on Gyawali as it was his first visit to…
Geo-Strategic Developments
Image: RSS US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific The US government declassified the 2018 Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific, which considers India as the central pillar to counteract Chinese influence in the region. China reacted strongly to the document. The US seeks to “maintain US strategic primacy in the Indo-Pacific Region” and “prevent China from…
How long will Nepal have to wait for COVID-19 vaccines?
November Analysis In the past month, the formulation of possible vaccines for COVID-19 have constantly been in the news. In the first week of November, Pfizer Inc. announced that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine proved to be over 90% effective. [1]Following the news, high ranking officials created a committee and scheduled a meeting on December 10…
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Testing should not be treated as a scarce resource, especially now
October Analysis As the number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Nepal continue to rise at an alarming rate, it has become apparent that its testing is more than a matter of individuals safeguarding their own health and that of their families. It has become an important tool in limiting the disease’s spread. Therefore, the…
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Geopolitics and Nepal’s Foreign Policy
September Analysis The government has tried to improve Nepal’s relations with India and the US, but several episodes in September have raised further questions about Nepal’s foreign policy. These episodes indicate that while Nepal is willing to cross diplomatic norms to please China, the opposite is the case for US and India. At the international…
Disputes on the Northern Border of Nepal—The Case of Humla
Photo: RSS Centre for Social Inclusion and Federalism (CESIF) held an event on February 9, 2021, focusing on ‘Disputes on the Northern Border of Nepal – The Case of Humla’ at Hotel Summit, Sanepa, Lalitpur. Jiwan Bahadur Shahi, Karnali Province’s opposition Nepali Congress leader and lawmaker, was the chief presenter at the event. Former Director…
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Covid-19 raises questions about the future of the Nepali state
Nepal will have to debate and talk about our ideas about the nation-state. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was discharged from the hospital Friday following a kidney transplant for the second time. Instead of resting as advised, he was eager to promote an optics of good health and political control. But he stumbled. While he…
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