Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (Sunday 8, 2019).
Will Tribhuvan University be the first educational institution to have a sexual harassment policy in Nepal?
More than six months after the first programme was held at Tribhuwan University to start the conversation about sexual harassment in the wake of articles and media reports about continued harassment in its sociology department, the university has finally formed a committee to set up a mechanism to deal with these concerns.
Surging trade deficit is cause for concern, but it could be turned into opportunities
Nepal has been buying way more than what it has been selling. Import bills have been surging, while the earnings from exports have been nominal and this has led to the country’s trade imbalance grow to double in the last five years.
The Current Macroeconomic Situation published by the Nepal Rastra Bank shows that the country’s trade deficit in the fiscal year 2018-19 stood at Rs1.32 trillion, up from Rs689.36 billion in 2014-15. The year-on-year growth in imports has been 13 percent annually while the growth in exports stands at a mere 2.5 percent a year.
Discrimination against Dalits still rife, continue to be left out of decision-making processes
Family members of Maya Bishwokarma, who was brutally murdered after being gang-raped, are slowly losing hopes of getting justice. Maya, who was involved in collecting household data from Gauriganga Municipality, Kailali, was gang-raped by five of her co-workers last year.
“She had repeatedly refused sexual advances of her co-workers, and they raped her and killed her. They must have thought that they were entitled to her body,” said Kamal Bishwokarma, her uncle in Kathmandu on Saturday.
Over 300 people infected with scrub typhus in 20 districts
Just as the focus currently is on dengue, which has spread to 48 districts with over 6,000 people infected, there is yet another disease that is raising its ugly head, albeit slowly, but has failed to get attention and there are concerns it could be another headache for health officials.
According to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, over 300 people have been infected with scrub typhus in the last three months and cases have been reported from as many as 20 districts, including Kathmandu.
According to data provided by the Division, hospitals in Kathmandu Valley have treated at least 63 people, including 24 children, infected with scrub typhus.
Ghanshyam Bhusal: The prime minister needs to realise his style is not working
Unpopular bills and attempts to stifle dissent both in government and within the ruling Nepal Communist Party have been roundly criticised by the breadth of the political spectrum, from the opposition Nepali Congress to dissenting leaders within the ruling party itself. Ghanshyam Bhusal has often been at the forefront of the internal criticism, not afraid to speak out against the strongman tactics of his party co-chairs. So when we met at the Bricks Cafe in Kupondole, naturally, the first question I asked him was how he evaluates his party’s year-and-a-half in office.
9.89°C Kathmandu
