When she heard of her appointment as Nepal’s ambassador to Israel two years ago, Dr Anjan Shakya was not elated. She preferred some other country. Moreover, she feared Israel might not have been entirely free of the conflict; she grew up hearing about the war between Israel and Palestine. On February 9, she reached the 'holy land' (The land of Israel is considered pious because of its connection with the birth, crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus Christ) as Nepal’s ambassador to Israel.

In an email interview with Republica, Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, explains the framework along with other issues like the World Bank’s support to Nepal and how the government should manage its resources during this crisis:

In an interview with Republica’s Sagar Ghimire on Monday, Governor Adhikari discussed the focus of the upcoming monetary policy, plans to provide relief and other facilities to businesses battered by the pandemic, efforts to lower interest rates and measures to safeguard financial stability during the crisis, among others.

Republica’s Subhash Ghimire and Nagarik’s Gunraj Luitel sat for an extensive conversation with Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali at his office in Singha Durbar on Saturday.

Here is the edited version of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s interview with Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) about COVID-19, the government’s preparation to tackle this crisis and a host of other issues at his official residence in Baluwatar on Sunday.

While reports claim that individuals with the symptoms are not being entertained by private hospitals triggering a riskier and chaotic situation, the government's coordination is seen not very effective to handle the national crisis. Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali spoke to Republica's Anjali Subedi on these issues. Excerpt:

Nepal and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Ever since the establishment of the diplomatic relations, the two countries have enjoyed cordial relation based on goodwill, mutual cooperation, and friendship. A Foreign Secretary level bilateral consultation mechanism has been established to review the bilateral relations comprehensively and increase cooperation between the two countries in different fields.

Ashoke SJB Rana is the CEO of Himalayan Bank Ltd, with almost three decades of banking experience. Republica caught up with Rana to talk about advantages and disadvantages of cashless economy, among other issues. Excerpts:

A bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by Representative Ami Bera, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s (HFAC) Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, was in Nepal earlier this week. The four-member delegation that included Representative George Holding, Member of the House Ways & Means Committee; Staff Director at the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation Nikole Burroughs and Senior Professional Staff Member at HFAC Sajit Gandhi held meetings with government officials, civil society leaders, staff at the US Embassy, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation among others. On the sideline of their visit to Nepal, Nagarik Daily’s Guna Raj Luitel and Republica’s Kosh Raj Koirala talked to Ami Bera to learn more about US foreign policy on Nepal, latest controversies about the MCC and other issues pertaining to the Nepal-US relations. Excerpts:

Daraz Nepal is a company fully owned by Alibaba Group and runs e-commerce platform to provide wide-range of products under a single roof. After undergoing a massive app redesign in 2018, and further developments in 2019, Daraz said that it has witnessed huge growth. Daraz had a number of campaigns in 2019. In an interview with Republica, Jashisha Gupta, chief financial officer of Daraz Nepal, explains about e-commerce business in Nepal, Daraz's business model and legal provisions, among other issues.