The last time I reported on the fire brigades of Kathmandu, the city was at an extremely high risk of fire. Well, nothing much has changed in the past one and half years. Kathmandu has acquired one new fire brigade – generously donated by Japan. But sadly, this is the only one now in good […]
“Is the Nepal Government imposing state of emergency?”, a tourist asked me in one of the streets of Kathmandu. Not exactly, I told him, but close. Nobody is happy with the things happening in the past few months. It is clear that Nepal will not be able to deliver a new constitution on its deadline: […]
As Nepal moves through a two-month deadline to deliver a new constitution, Nepal’s former monarch said that monarchy is not yet over. But is it possible? Former King Gyanendra says that “if the people want,” then it is possible. The former king’s statement just came after the demise of Nepal’s founding father, Girija Prashad Koirala. […]
I was at the funeral procession and last rites for Girija Prasad Koirala. The five-time prime minister of Nepal died on Saturday at the age of 85 after a decade of influence. He was the one to lead the successful mass street demonstrations in 2006 that forced then-King Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, […]
The United Nations undersecretary general was generally underwhelmed during his three-day visit to Nepal—he called criticisms of the mission in Nepal (UNMIN) “cheap shots”, “boring” and “absurd.” He had also accused the political parties of criticizing UNMIN to cover up their own failures. The government, after a cabinet meeting, announced that Pascoe’s remarks “violated diplomatic […]
Increasing concerns about the security situation in Kathmandu have prompted the Indian embassy to strengthen its own security following reports this week that it has been targeted by the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The embassy is located in one of the safest areas of the capital, but media mogul Jamim Shah was also in a […]
Rijwan Ansari maintains he had to resign “on my moral ground. The security condition is deteriorating, and I couldn’t help improve the situation.” But the minister of state home affairs didn’t stop there when he quit his post late Wednesday. While his boss, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, continued claiming to be working hard on a […]
The Metropolitan Police in Kathmandu had organized a press conference for 6pm on January 3, 2010. It was a big occasion. They were to announce the arrest of Yunus Ansari and seven others on the charge of counterfeiting 24 million Indian rupees (US$500,000). But just as a police superintendent was briefing journalists… the lights went […]
For the first time in the annals of human history, a government Cabinet met in the lap of Mount Everest. Indeed, the meeting, which took place on December 4th, has set many records. It was the first Cabinet meeting to be held at Kalapatthar – at the height of 17,192 feet. It was the first […]