News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal: It is said that politics is the game of possibilities and there is no certainty in politics. Anything can happen in any moment in politics. In politics, ‘stranger become bedfellow’ anytime. Thus, politics is the most unpredictable vocation. This is more so in Nepal as coalition and governments frequently change. In recent years, political polarisation is taking place recently in Nepal especially after the fall of Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda-led government and the formation of the CPN-UML-Nepali Congress coalition government headed by KP Sharma Oli. Although Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ led the government for about 19 months, he changed coalition partners three times. In the beginning, he reigned the mantle of premiership with support of UML but soon changed the partner entering into coalition with Nepali Congress. Prachanda again changed the coalition gear going again back to the arm of UML. Prachanda calls his nature of often switching the political gear as

Yuba Nath Lamsal: The United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 2009 adopted a resolution, declaring August 29 as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. Since then, August 29 is observed every year as the International Day against Nuclear Tests. The 29th of August was chosen to mark the anti-nuclear test day to coincide with the anniversary of the Soviet Union conducting the first nuclear test in 1949 in Semipalatinsk currently in Kazakhstan and also the day this site was permanently closed in 1991. This is also the date when Kazakhstan ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2019. Since then, August 29 is marked globally with appeal to all countries and people in the world to ban all kinds of nuclear tests and also cease to proliferate nuclear weapons in the world. Nine countries — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel — are currently the nuclear powered states possessing nuclear weap

Yuba Nath Lamsal:- For Immanuel Kant, politics is a moral vocation and morality should be the paramount concern of politics and politicians. However, that is not the case in the present day politics in the world. In the public eyes, politics, now, is viewed as an unpredictable enterprise. Politics is no longer a philanthropy but appears to be lucrative enterprise motivated by personal and partisan interest, wherein morality, values and principles have taken a back seat. This is not an isolated case of Nepal but a general trend everywhere in the world. However, this trend is more in developing and least developed countries. According to US International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, state of global democracy is on the decline. Similarly, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research wing of the Economist Group, says in its annual global democracy index that the overall state of democracy is eroding. According to EIU report, currently 45.4 per cent global popu

YUba Nath Lamsal:- Domestic policy can defeat us but foreign policy can kill us” John F Kennedy, former president of the United States, once said amplifying the role and ramification of foreign policy on domestic politics. It is generally said that foreign policy is the extension of domestic policy. However, Kennedy’s this famous statement manifests how powerful and significant is foreign policy in setting domestic agenda. In the present globalised and inter-connected world, external events and international politics influence and impact domestic policy and politics more than ever before. Geopolitics is the study of inter-relations between geography and politics and geography’s impact on politics. In other words, geography is the principal determinant of a country’s power and leverage in the international politics with powerful impact in domestic politics. The location, geographical features within and around the country, access to sea and its nature, territorial conditions, natur

YUba Nath Lamsal: With the formation of the new coalition government, headed by KP Sharma Oli, expectations abound nationwide. The three key areas that seek immediate attention and focus are governance, economy and foreign policy. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has also won the vote confidence in parliament with more than two-thirds majority of lawmakers. Now the Prime Minister and the government are expected to double down their efforts in addressing these three fundamental issues currently facing the country. It is said ‘well-begun is half done’. Firstly he has made the seven-point understanding reached with the Nepali Congress public in parliament, which reflects the broader outline of new government’s priorities. Secondly, Prime Minister appears to be well aware of the problems of the country and seems to be focused on addressing these problems. The Prime Minister has chosen competent and experienced persons for three key positions — finance minister, chief political advisor and e