Nepali Times ePaper

(Click the photo for this week’s pdf)

Dear Nepali Times Reader,

It was an eventful 2023, Nepalis witnessed domestic scandals and international strife. Pushpa Kamal Dahal's third term as Prime Minister was marred by scams that shook his fragile coalition. Economic troubles persisted with dwindling revenue, record-low exports, and mass migration. Migration in fact became a central reality, leading Nepalis to perilous global locations, including involvement in conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. On page 1 we look back at the year that was 2023.

Other highlights from this week's issue:

Missing Pieces of Nepal’s Hydropower Jigsaw

Tanahu Hydropower Project site 150km west of Kathmandu is an indication of how stagnant Nepal’s energy planning has been, it is only the second reservoir scheme after the Kulekhani Dam was commissioned in 1982. But hydroelectricity supply will soon catch up with demand, and focus is shifting to reservoirs to store energy and regulate water as well as transmission and distribution infrastructure to increase domestic demand. Sonia Awale reports from Kaski, Tanahu and Rupendehi.

What to Expect From AI in 2024

In 2023, the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence took the spotlight, evoking a mix of concern and excitement. Generative AI became a game-changer for content creators, enabling idea generation, storytelling, and multimedia creation with minimal prompts. While ChatGPT remained popular, newer models like Anthropic’s Claude-2 and Google DeepMind's Gemini AI emerged, offering enhanced capabilities such as text summarisation and human-like text generation. Naresh Newar looks at AI in 2024 and presents some of his image and video creations, including an AI synthesised music video about Nepali Times itself.

Time Catching Up With Timeless Dolpo

Despite Dolpo being discovered by adventure tourists much earlier, remoteness and expensive permits limited access, with only 600 visitors in 2022. But this will change with increasing connectivity between Mustang and Dolpo through a new road.

Between May and July 2023, Alton C Byers trekked through upper Dolpo recreating photographs taken by anthropologist Johan Reinhard in 1971 and 1993 to assess changes in the region. View Byers' repeat photographs.

This and more at nepalitimes.com.

Have a great weekend.

Nepali Times