Health for all

Published On: March 12, 2020 09:19 AM NPT By: Mukesh Adhikari

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli set a historic precedent by having his second kidney transplantation in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, a public hospital, inside the country. According to the hospital, his operation was successful, and he is desperately waiting to join the office. Neglecting suggestions from his relatives and kitchen cabinet, he took a bold decision to receive treatment from public hospital and this decision can have great ramifications in the country’s health sector.

Test for Public Health Systems

Published On: March 12, 2020 09:15 AM NPT By: Jim O’Neill

LONDON – On January 25, Chatham House and Georgetown University hosted US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin for a discussion about US economic policymaking and the world. Mnuchin had come straight from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, but the dominant theme of that gathering (“stakeholder capitalism”) had already been eclipsed by broader developments. The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak had become a massive problem for China and would soon threaten the entire world.

Lagging in digitalization

Published On: March 12, 2020 09:11 AM NPT By: Prayash Raj Koirala

Few weeks back, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) announced that it will take serious action against those who receive or make international payments through social media platforms. Considering these transactions to be illegal, NRB has said that any such activities would be treated as foreign currency embezzlement for which the action would be taken under the Foreign Exchange Act (2019).

Road to apocalypse

Published On: March 11, 2020 09:13 AM NPT By: Kedar Neupane

Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Major climate stressors here are rising temperatures, increased floods, landslides and droughts. All major rivers, the agricultural lifelines, receive freshwater supply from melting snows and glaciers, and seasonal monsoon rainfall. Changes in the length, intensity and the amount of water flow in these river systems will adversely affect the population, eco-systems and biodiversity. Situation will be dire for majority of Nepal’s population who live in rural areas and survive on small-scale agriculture.

COVID-19 in Korea

Published On: March 11, 2020 09:06 AM NPT By: Uddav Neupane

When the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) appeared in Wuhan city of China in December last year, the rest of the world saw it as something terrible and prayed for the early recovery of the patients and control of the disease. We in South Korea did the same. The situation took unanticipated turn later on. The COVID-19 went on expanding its scope, infecting hundreds of thousands. People began to die.

Netanyahu Again?

Published On: March 11, 2020 09:01 AM NPT By: Shlomo Ben-Ami

TEL AVIV – Israel’s third electoral showdown in a year was not kind to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Even though his right-wing bloc of ultra-Orthodox and nationalist parties won more seats in parliament than the center-left bloc headed by former army chief Benny Gantz, he still lacks the parliamentary majority required to form a government. This result does not bode well for Israeli democracy.

What Is a Moral Foreign Policy?

Published On: March 10, 2020 10:19 AM NPT By: Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

CAMBRIDGE – Many Americans say they want a moral foreign policy, but disagree on what that means. Using a three-dimensional scorecard encourages us to avoid simplistic answers and to look at the motives, means, and consequences of a US president’s actions. Consider, for example, the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and the two George Bushes. When people call for a “Reaganite foreign policy,” they mean to highlight the clarity of his rhetoric in the presentation of values. Clearly stated objectives helped educate and motivate the public at home and abroad.

Overcome the fear

Published On: March 10, 2020 09:50 AM NPT By: Thaneshwor Chalise

On a bike ride to my room from office, I encountered a tourist bus at Tripureshwor. Some unmasked Chinese faces were peering outside. I sped up and overtook the bus. Once far from it, I released my breath. Initially, it felt strange but after a short contemplation, I discovered that I was consumed by the fear of coronavirus epidemic. My experience is an example of how coronavirus in mind is far more terrorizing and threatening than coronavirus infecting the body. The fear is even more intense in densely populated city like Kathmandu. Should we run away from people whom we suspect of being infected or should the government as well as non-government actors initiate awareness programs to fight against the debilitating effects of the virus in the public psyche?

Neither balancing nor bandwagoning

Published On: March 10, 2020 09:14 AM NPT By: Bipin Ghimire

Most international relations theories view the world and the politics that surrounds it through materialistic Eurocentric lens. They measure the politics and foreign policy of global south in the standard set by the Euro-centric discipline and keep politics, foreign policy choices and the worldview of smaller states under the shadowed corner of global political calculations. Realistic school of International Relations led by Kenneth Waltz, John Mearsheimer and Randall Schwedler argues that small nations like Nepal would either bandwagon or balance against the powerful neighboring states.  But the history and politics of South Asian countries show a different trajectory.

How America Can Beat COVID-19

Published On: March 9, 2020 11:00 AM NPT By: James K Galbraith

AUSTIN – When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States was surprised and unprepared, but it was quickly freed of its illusions. The same does not hold true for the COVID-19 epidemic. The attack is underway and our defenses are down—but so far our illusions remain intact.