“Visiting Canada Senate speaker not scheduled to meet Agni Sapkota,” went the newspaper headline a few days back. This front-page news regarding Canadian Senate Speaker George J Fury who was in Kathmandu recently carried a significant message.

LONDON – Sinn Féin’s success in Ireland’s February 8 general election, where it headed the poll, has come as a shock, owing to the party’s historic ties to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and that organization’s association with violence. The cause of its success was domestic discontent, not nationalist fervor. Nevertheless, Sinn Féin’s victory will put Irish unity—and thus the future of Northern Ireland’s inclusion in the United Kingdom—firmly on the agenda.

The longest serving and a stable government post-2008 has failed where it should have succeeded and succeeded where it should have failed

Nepal-Britain defense diplomacy goes back to 1744 along with Captain Kinloch’s Expedition. It stands on the foundation of faith and mutual honor

Even more pressing question is whether Merkel’s ruling coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) will now collapse, plunging Germany into a serious political crisis

Visit Nepal 2020 has already started and the government of Nepal is expecting two million tourists this year. In order to attract two million tourists, government is spending over six billion rupees for advertisement and promotion in international media. Tourism is a promising growth sector that can provide inclusive and sustainable growth across Nepal. Though Nepali tourism has been making steady progress in the last three years, the number set by the stakeholders seems ambitious with infrastructure being a major constraining factor. However, there is no option but to do our best to make Visit Nepal 2020 a grand success.

NEW YORK – “In just three short years,” US President Donald Trump declared in his recent State of the Union (SOTU) address, “we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny.” This baseless pronouncement—more propaganda than reality—recalled Joseph Stalin’s 1935 proclamation that “Life has improved, comrades; life has become more joyous.”

As I was walking to college, I felt I could help students improve English by mentoring them. By utilizing my break time, I could contribute at least a little, I thought. I decided I would take only one student as my mentee. The mentor and mentee would work extra time at their will. If there would be more than one interested students, I would hold a lottery to select the participant. So I announced this in the class. Three students raised hands. I had to hold a lottery.

Faking complete knowledge is not wisdom. Therefore, it is a wise thing to say “I don’t know”. Only the people who can admit to not knowing tend to be more intellectually and emotionally confident than the ones who pretend to know it all. Herein lies the openness to the path of learning and knowledge.

Few days ago, a person claiming to belong to ‘banned’ communist party called me for some monetary assistance for his party. He had misunderstood me for a manpower supplier to foreign countries. I said that he was calling a wrong number. A follow up to that call has not arrived yet. But this is the indication of the fact that threat looms large in Nepali society and that Nepal needs to formulate a pragmatic and stringent policies and programs to curb rogue elements’ activities by investigating into the root causes of the problems.