The Koshi basin provides an opportunity for transboundary cooperation to address and manage shared disasters, and help save lives and livelihoods

On the lead up to the Constitution Day and the day itself last week, as cynics on social media were jeering at the government’s appeal to people to mark the day by wearing national flag emblazoned t-shirts, my contemplation  was on what the press and intelligentsia would say about the constitution that turned four on September 20, 2019.  There were two stark responses: outright ambiguous and dismissive.

Data is becoming the new oil. Governments are under substantial pressure from the citizens to protect their data. Organizations such as Google, Facebook and Apple make daily headlines for manipulating data of the consumers by selling them to marketing agencies.

NEW HAVEN – In the here and now of climate change, it is easy to lose sight of important signs of progress. China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is a case in point. By changing its economic model, shifting its sources of fuel, developing new transportation systems, and embracing eco-friendly urbanization, China’s sustainability strategy is an example of global leadership that the rest of the world should consider very carefully. In the rush to demonize China over trade, the West has missed this point altogether.

In one early announcement of this year’s budget on May 30, Finance Minister Yuvraj Khatiwada said that growth target has been set at 8.5 percent for the year and it will ensue from a number of growth inducing schemes introduced with the new budget and will be supported by a record Rs.1.53 trillion spending allocation, which is one third of total economy.

TEL AVIV – At long last, Israel has taken a step back from the religious nationalist abyss into which Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had been leading it. In the September 17 parliamentary election, the country’s second in five months, the “natural coalition” of Netanyahu’s Likud party, Orthodox groups, and proto-fascist factions failed to reach the 61-seat threshold that would have enabled him to form another government.

For the first time in its history, Nepal looks poised to realize its famed hydro power potential.  Load shedding [grid blackouts] has ended. Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the national power utility, is profitable. There is a strong pipeline of new hydropower plants. Rural electrification is expanding rapidly. This newfound confidence has led Government to double its generation plans for the next decade from 10,000 MW to 20,000 MW.

Capacity determines credibility. In the case of government, credibility depends on its governing capacity, which is determined by its ability to better engage and serve citizens while being more efficient and accountable. According to experts of public policy and administration, there are four critical components of the governing capacity of a state.

WASHINGTON, DC – Imagine a man who has lived too extravagantly and eventually must go to the doctor for treatment of an acute disease, along with several other chronic conditions. The doctor prescribes a ten-day course of antibiotics, and advises his patient to start taking better care of himself. After three days of taking the pills and following the doctor’s orders, the man feels much better. But he finds the quiet life painful, so he forgets the medicine and his doctor’s advice and doubles down on debauchery.

BOSTON – Artificial intelligence is now increasingly present in corporate and government decision-making. And although AI tools are still largely in the hands of institutions that focus on profit before purpose, these new technologies could be equally powerful in promoting social good.