Photographers should put an element of opinion in their work

Published On: August 8, 2016 09:47 AM NPT By: Republica

Prashant Panjiar is a veteran Indian photographer. In his thirty five year long career, he has worked as a mainstream photojournalist for India Today and Outlook.

Maoist leaders blackmailed over the alleged war crimes

Published On: July 27, 2016 07:50 AM NPT By: Republica

With Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation on Sunday, India’s role in Nepali politics is once again being debated. So is the role of CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Republica’s Biswas Baral and Mahabir Paudyal asked Pradeep Gyawali, CPN-UML Secretary and a close confidant of PM Oli, on what his party made of the hasty exit of Maoist party from government and India’s alleged hand in it.

ASBA will be a breakthrough in the capital market

Published On: July 25, 2016 12:10 AM NPT By: Republica

KATHMANDU, July 25: In just nine months of his appointment as the chairman of Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), Rewat Bahadur Karki has initiated number of reform measures in the securities market. Full-fledged implementation of dematerialized trading system, allowing investors to get access to market depth, and halving the brokerage commission are some of the notable initiatives taken by Sebon under Karki's leadership. Sagar Ghimire of Republica, talked with Karki on overall securities market, problems and his future plans. Excerpt:

Pradeep Chapagain, writing and singing from Australia

Published On: July 22, 2016 10:59 AM NPT By: Republica

KATHMANDU, July 21: Born and raised in the outskirts of Kathmandu, poet and singer Pradeep Chapagain knew deep inside that singing and writing was natural to him. He’s the author of three poetry anthologies..

Embassy closure does not mean stopping support to Nepal

Published On: July 21, 2016 12:25 AM NPT By: Republica

The Government of Denmark and Nepal have had diplomatic relations since 1967. Denmark started development activities in Nepal in 1987 and opened its Embassy in Kathmandu in 1991. Last fall, the Danish government decided to close its mission in Kathmandu from the end of year 2017. Why did Denmark take this decision and how will it affect Nepal-Denmark relation? Mahabir Paudyal met with Kirsten Geelan, who will be serving as the last Danish Ambassador to Nepal, to take her views.

'Do what you love, love what you do'

Published On: July 20, 2016 10:44 AM NPT By: Republica

KATHMANDU, July 20: With more than 40,000 subscribers in YouTube, Aayush Rimal is an online sensation among Nepali teens around the globe. Usually posting vines, vlogs and pranks, Ayush knows exactly how to please his followers with his quirky comedy and subtle observations.

Directly elected executive system the only solution

Published On: July 18, 2016 06:00 AM NPT By: Republica

While his mother party UCPN (Maoist)—now Maoist Center—abandoned the agenda of directly elected executive head, the chief of Naya Shakti Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai, believes only directly elected executive can guarantee stability in the country. Subhash Ghimire and Mahabir Paudyal met with the former prime minister to get his views on recent exercise to form new government under Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Chairperson of the ‘Commission for the Determination of the Numbers and Boundaries of Village Bodies, Municipalities and Special, Protected or Autonomous Regions’ in federal Nepal, Balananda Paudel, says the commission is working day and night to submit its final report to the government at the earliest, so as to pave the way for local elections. What are the bottlenecks? And why is restructuring of local units important? Republica’s Mahabir Paudyal and Sangeet Sangroula visited the commission’s office in Buddhanagar, Kathmandu, to gather his views. Excerpts:

Govt has to collect CGT from TeliaSonera

Published On: July 11, 2016 01:30 AM NPT By: Republica

Ncell is the first privately owned GSM operator in Nepal. Re-branded as Ncell from Mero Mobile on March 12, 2010, the company broke the monopoly of the then state-owned telecommunications company, Nepal Telecom, by aggressively expanding telecommunications services across the country. On April 12, 2016, Ncell officially became a part of Axiata Group Berhad -- a Malaysian telecommunications group. However, the transition has not been very smooth for the largest taxpayer in the country. Nevertheless, Ncell is moving ahead under the leadership of Managing Director Simon Perkins. Perkins talked with Republica's Kuvera Chalise, Sujan Dhungana and Santosh Neupane about the not so warm welcome in Nepal and various issues surrounding the company, its expansion and future plans.

There has of late been a lot of speculation about the Maoists pulling out of Oli government. Can you clarify the Maoist position on this? We have been saying that in order to complete the first phase of the implementation of the new constitution we need national consensus, which in turn can be the basis for a government of national unity. When I speak of the first phase of implementation of the new constitution, I mainly hint at the need to complete all three levels of election—local, provincial and federal—in the next 20 months, as envisioned by the new constitution. We have in fact been raising the issue of a government of national unity since the time of Sushil Koirala as prime minister. Yes, there can also be national consensus on policies; and not everyone has to be a part of government. But when you look at our political culture, it will be difficult to establish such broad consensus without a government of national unity.