PATAN, Feb 17: President Ram Chandra Paudel has said nature conservation has become the issue of common concern and challenges to human beings.

In the face of a global economic downturn, most countries of the world will inevitably experience the repercussions of this phenomenon. As the economy transitions from the normalization observed at the end of last year to a state of turbulent ‘new-normality’ this year, the global economy is poised to decelerate amid the lingering impacts of tight monetary policy, restrictive financial conditions and sluggish global trade and investment.

As the wave of digitization spreads throughout businesses around the world, the need for strong cyber security measures is more significant than ever. The efficiency and reliability of any organization now depend heavily on incorporating cutting-edge technologies into daily operations,  introducing new challenges for companies to address and overcome in the realm of cybersecurity to thrive in this competitive era.

What Ails Nepali Entrepreneurship?

September 21, 2023 08:45 am

These last few weeks, I had opportunities to interact with a variety of entrepreneurs—taxi drivers, pharmacists, retail store owners, streetside vegetable vendors, automobile mechanics, non-profit organization directors, and for-profit organization directors. One consistent theme that emerged out of these interactions was that Nepal does not have a supportive climate to be an entrepreneur.

KATHMANDU, Sept 15: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed all stakeholders to resolve the problems and challenges created by climate change by managing and implementing appropriate policies and programs.

Reshaping Nepal's Economic Landscape

August 12, 2023 08:30 am

Nepal, a buffer state between the two economic giants, India and China, struggles to maintain financial stability. Its strategic location between these two global powerhouses has positioned it at the crossroads of economic activity. Still, it has also exposed the nation to unique challenges that have impacted its macroeconomic landscape.

The concept of inclusive education embodies a holistic and nuanced approach, with the primary objective of fostering parity and fairness in accessing education of the highest quality for individuals, irrespective of their diverse abilities or disabilities. This approach recognizes and upholds the inherent right of every individual, including those with disabilities, to be integrated into mainstream educational settings and receive the necessary support to fully engage and excel in their educational pursuits.

November 15, 2022, marked a monumental milestone in human history as the world's population reached a staggering eight billion. This remarkable growth can be attributed to several factors, including significant advancements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene, and medicine, which have led to a gradual increase in human lifespan.

KATHMANDU, March 24: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal has said that Tribhuvan University, which has a rich historical background, is facing many challenges at present.

Covid-19 and the world order

May 26, 2021 15:35 pm

In the overall context of anarchy, national interest, and self-help, Covid-19 might not be the sole determinant for creating a new world order. However, the pandemic will undoubtedly intensify the existing grievances and conflict between and among states and potentially create new challenges.

It is important to understand that a new era in education has begun with the destruction caused by the coronavirus. This new age of education is new for all of us. Studying at home is not an easy subject.

NEW YORK, Nov 10: Work to distribute the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE is gearing up after the companies announced successful interim data earlier on Monday, but it will not be coming to local pharmacies for the general public any time soon.

The digital delight

September 12, 2020 14:18 pm

How Covid-19 lockdown triggered a positive change in Nepal’s e-governance system and digital economy

The students who have been deprived of learning will look back to this time to recall how the government failed education in the name of pandemic.

The show must go on

August 10, 2020 11:27 am

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered our perception about what is normal, and thus our 'needs' and 'wants' carry a new meaning.  As we wander amid an unprecedented crisis, many of us believe that it may perhaps change us as a species. Our priorities have changed, and so has our outlook towards life.  It has changed everything from the way we communicate to the overall functioning of each sector of the business environment.

Economic costs of national security

August 3, 2020 13:00 pm

HONG KONG – By disrupting the world’s interconnected economic, social, and geopolitical spheres, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed just how fragile and inequitable the institutions that govern them really are. It has also highlighted how difficult it is to address systemic fragility and inequity amid escalating national-security threats.

Will the US and China go to war?

July 30, 2020 08:00 am

Notions of liberal democracy and communism-socialism have long divided mankind into opposing ideological-social, political-economic governance models and world views. Both came together to defeat the menace of political populism, economic-tribal-territorial nationalism gripping Europe around the last world wars. But the power of ideas was so strong that the division re-emerged as the Cold War soon after World War II ended. Even as Europe, the old epicenter, struggles to evolve out of the dictates of outdated ideas, elsewhere division is now resurfacing with renewed vigor as US-China tussle.

Decoding monetary policy

July 26, 2020 14:00 pm

The Nepal Rastra Bank recently released the monetary policy for the current fiscal year 2020/21. This is the 19th in the series after the Nepal Rastra Bank started to introduce the annual monetary policy in 2002 in line with a provision of the Nepal Rastra Bank Act (2002).

Has Nepali agriculture collapsed?

July 17, 2020 08:10 am

Recently, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ghanashayam Bhsual said that agriculture sector has been deliberately ruined in the last 30-40 years. Ruin means collapse or complete destruction. Is there complete destruction of our agriculture system? Or has Nepali agriculture collapsed? If so, agriculture in Nepal would have been non-functional by now.

How Nepal can make its cities smart

June 28, 2020 15:00 pm

In the past two decades, the concept of smart city has been gaining popularity globally. While several cities such as Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Barcelona, Chicago and Hong Kong have been implementing elements of smart city planning and design concepts, some city planners and civic leaders are also speaking about the benefits of adopting smart city notions for Nepal.

Sushant Singh Rajput, the Bollywood actor, is no more and the news of his suicide is unfortunate. His last Instagram post was a collage of his mother along with his picture, which he captioned it poetically, ‘Blurred past evaporating from teardrops, unending dreams carving an arc of smile and a fleeting life, negotiating between the two...Maa.’

India’s total installed capacity stands at massive 368 GW, which is the third largest in the world after China and the US. India has more than 10 different generators in its energy mix. Majority of the generation is through coal plants, which are getting cleaner through integration of cleaner coal technologies and environmental controls.

The Limpiadhura, Kalapani, Lipulekh border dispute has taken Nepal-India relation to one of its historic lows. In the immediate aftermath of changing maps and heated debates calling their own claims as based on historical evidence and questioning the motive of the other, a “cooling down” period to prevent relations from deteriorating further may be needed. But sooner than later both South Asian neighbors, interlinked with inextricable bonds of history, geography, politics, economics, culture and religion, must meet to resolve the problem through serious and friendly negotiations.

They can make a difference

June 16, 2020 08:00 am

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing to a halt economic and broader development activity around the world, the World Bank has projected that remittances to low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) will fall sharply in 2020—by about 20 percent. Nepal, where remittance contribution to GDP in 2019 was equivalent to 27.3 percent according to the World Bank, has lost nearly 50 percent of remittances in past two months compared to the same period last year according to the Nepal Rashtra Bank, the country’s central bank’s report published in May 2020.

The world waits for no country

June 16, 2020 07:00 am

NEW YORK – The United States finds itself confronting several daunting challenges simultaneously. There is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already claimed nearly 120,000 lives and shows little sign of abating in large swaths of the country. The economic impact has been devastating, with some 40 million currently out of work and the Federal Reserve projecting that many of them will remain unemployed for a prolonged period.

Keep the border regulated

May 18, 2020 15:30 pm

Territory, legitimate government, population, recognition by other countries, sovereignty and military force constitute a state. Among all the elements territory is the first and foremost important element. And that particular territory of a state has to be defined, delineated and well protected. The people of that particular state have sovereign rights within that designated borders.

Is COVID-19 killing democracy?

May 17, 2020 14:30 pm

BRUSSELS – The economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis occupy almost everyone’s thoughts and conversations. And for good reason: the European Union, for one, is headed toward the worst recession in its history, with the economy expected to shrink by 7-12% this year. But far less is being said about the danger the pandemic poses to democracy, even though the signals are similarly ominous.

MUMBAI, May 7: Hundreds of Indian police have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent days, raising alarm among an over-stretched force as it attempts to enforce the world’s largest lockdown to contain the pandemic.

Managing sibling rivalry

May 3, 2020 14:00 pm

I can imagine a household full of children, without the option of going out during this current state of lockdown. Schools, colleges, offices and everything else is closed, and everyone is home. I am sure the first few days were very chaotic, till the establishment of routines, and everyone found their corner to play, or to do their stuff. Still, the siblings had some level of rivalry and tensions among them. That’s what siblings are all about.

NEW YORK – After the 2007-09 financial crisis, the imbalances and risks pervading the global economy were exacerbated by policy mistakes. So, rather than address the structural problems that the financial collapse and ensuing recession revealed, governments mostly kicked the can down the road, creating major downside risks that made another crisis inevitable. And now that it has arrived, the risks are growing even more acute. Unfortunately, even if the Greater Recession leads to a lackluster U-shaped recovery this year, an L-shaped “Greater Depression” will follow later in this decade, owing to ten ominous and risky trends.

NEW DELHI/DHAKA, April 27: More than 500 garment factories in Bangladesh that supply to global brands reopened on Monday after a month-long shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while in India calls grew for an easing of its lockdown which has caused deep economic pain.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across Nepal have been closed since March 19 and it is not clear when they will open. They could remain closed for many more days. The major challenge at this point is to ensure that all children have access to education. Many experts have expressed their opinions on the issue. Some favor online teaching methods while others opine that Nepal is not yet ready for online teaching. It is important to be clear regarding the availability of radio, mobile phone, television, computer and internet facilities as well as the current use and possibility of digital learning materials and software while discussing the matter.

The coronavirus pandemic has completely engulfed the world. The United States is now the epicenter of the crisis. The worldwide shutdowns necessary to contain the spread of the virus has been quite detrimental to the global economy. What is good for public health has been devastating for economies around the world. In the United States, about 17 million people, more than 10 percent of the labor force, filed for unemployment claims during the month of March. Canada sheds more than one million jobs in March, which represents almost five percent of the country’s labor force. The statistics are unavailable for Nepal but if it were, it would be damning for the economy. Since there is no public provision for lost income in Nepal, there are no estimates to rely on to quantify the labor market effects of the economic shutdown.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, April 20: China’s farm production and market operations face grave challenges this year as it grapples with the double threats of imported coronavirus cases and African swine fever, an official of the agriculture ministry said on Monday.

Teaching challenges

January 5, 2020 08:57 am

Over the past few months, I had the opportunity to lead a skills lab for bachelor’s degree students of social work, trying to help them bridge the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. There is no training that can make a youth completely ready for a job as only a continuous and engaging “on the job” experience can help her become the best she can be.

Tiger Shroff will be soon seen joining the bandwagon of the dependable actors in regards to the box office collections

KATHMANDU, Oct 23: Minister for Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal has stressed the need for deepening multilateral efforts to overcome new global challenges brought by science, advance technology, and connectivity.

KATHMANDU, Aug 2: An international workshop is scheduled to kick off in Kathmandu on Friday with a view to discuss the issues related to the challenges posed by snakebites in Nepal.

Boris Johnson has achieved his lifelong ambition by becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In a historic handover of power, he will take over from Theresa May as PM on Wednesday.

KATHMANDU, July 22: Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has said the management of the country's internal security affairs is challenging.

BRUSSELS, June 28: NATO defense ministers approved a new overarching space policy, which will guide NATO's approach to space, the opportunities and challenges.

Don’t shy away from challenges

June 19, 2019 19:05 pm

Honesty is always the best policy.

The budget has not met people’s expectations though there are some positive points. What I am unhappy with is that the budget is not centered on federalism. It does not provide a base for strengthening the federal structure. It is just a kind of traditional budget.

Work for social good

April 15, 2019 00:25 am

Today’s social structure is incredibly complex, and our societies are left with many more challenges: judicial, socio-economic, religious and psychological to mention a few. The most important workforces in helping us address these challenges are social workers. They have committed themselves to bringing a positive change in people who face various challenges in their social, economic and psychological spheres of life.

AMMAN, April 8: Participants in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2019 concluded on Sunday, calling on stakeholders to increase collaboration on social, economic and climate issues to address regional challenges.

JUMLA, Feb 14:  With increased poaching activities and rampant destruction of habitat, Jumla district is finding it challenging to conserve the endangered red pandas.Stakeholders, in a conservation program organized on Thursday, expressed deep concern over the failure to protect red pandas even in the conservation areas.“The government should have efficient policies for protecting red pandas,” said civil society leader Raj Bahadur Mahat.

KATHMANDU, Dec 9: The share investors' pressure group today launched a relay hunger strike at the office of Nepal Stock Exchange in Bhadrakali, demanding reforms in the capital market.

Every rejection pinches the heart

December 1, 2018 09:23 am

There are challenges in life It breaks you down but that’s how we learn to dive It’s also an opportunity to thrive Most often it’s about mindset so learn to use the knife.

ILAM, Oct 8: The Ilam units of the Armed Police Force (APF) have recognized border security as their biggest challenge.

Nation of challenges

September 2, 2018 02:00 am

There has been a serious breach of norms in making of provinces. Whose interest were our parties trying to serve by chopping Province 2 off from the hills?