Immersed in talk of bandhs, bombs and bad boy politicians, the denizens of this kingdom can be forgiven for forgetting that there's a world out there. Will they or won't they-our Maoists-come to the negotiating table? Does the present government have any authority, and will they ever prove it? What is really going on beyond Pulchowki, Shivapuri and Thankot? Will the tourists ever come back? These are all burning, pressing questions that are being endlessly debated around town. And for good reason. The honest answer to most of them is "I don't know". But let me throw a few things into the mix from the wider world that should add a greater sense of urgency to our landlocked sensibilities.

First look west to a place called Iraq. If you're paying attention, you'll know that it's lead by a very bad man who is about to come under immense pressure from the International Community-ie, the Good Guys-to give up nasty habits like making chemical weapons and gassing his own people. And guess what? War Is Coming! I offer this not to express opinions, or start a debate. Discussions have ended. It's been decided. The United States will attack Iraq sometime early next year, perhaps after President Bush returns from a trip to Africa in late January.

Now how does this affect Nepal, you ask. Let me tell you. Iraq is the top priority in the US, the UK and all those other countries that are so generous to us here, that help us with so many things despite Nepal not being particularly high on anybody's list of priorities. Everyone likes us, that's true, but not everyone rates our problems anywhere near the top of their particular league table of overseas assistance priorities. And Iraq will bump us much, much further down towards the depths of importance. "Right off the screen," was how one mournful aid worker put it to me recently.

The war itself will be time consuming, unpredictable and hugely expensive. The media-perhaps even lowly old I-will flock to Iraq's borders like moths to a candle flame. Even the valiant efforts of the aid donating embassies here in Kathmandu might be severely challenged as they try to coax paymasters and political people to pay attention to us. Just a small example, British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien, whose brief is South Asia, also covers Iraq. He'll be busy, very busy, and I daresay might have to burn the midnight oil if Nepal is to get any of his time from now on.

The State Department in Washington, the European Union, the United Nations, various multilateral and bilateral aid bodies will all be focused on Iraq. First the war, then the aftermath, which will also be expensive, unpredictable and potentially messy.

Another foreign development to worry about here in Nepal; Japan's economy is sinking ever deeper into stagnancy and unemployment. There's been no real growth in the Land of the Rising Sun for a decade. Most major banks are technically insolvent. The Japanese miracle is either over, or on long-term hold. Something-an earthquake, a political shake-up, a border dispute with a neighbour, North Korean nukes-will come along to aggravate things in Japan. And where does that leave Nepal's largest aid donor? Where does that leave Nepal?

Closer to home, has anyone noticed that the ossified leadership of the Chinese Communist party is attempting a changing of the guard? Does anyone in Nepal pay attention to China and consider the implications of changes in Asia's most amazing economy? Try this on for size: China provides nearly half of all imports into America. Do we care that at some point soon, Beijing's autocrats might be facing immense pressure for real change from a billion Chinese people who want a bigger share of all that wealth, more freedoms, maybe even a slice of power? And India too, our most important economic partner... watch for elections there soon as the BJP seems set to do well in Gujarat. India's resilient democracy can cope with almost any governance change in New Delhi, but Nepal needs to be on top of things, reforging relationships and keeping up pressure for continuing cooperation on the Maoists, cross border trade, migration, etc.

Yes, there's a world out there and it's not really all that interested in us. It's about to get less interested. We can use that as an opportunity to become more self-reliant and solve our problems ourselves, or we can flounder about in lonely obscurity, waiting for an outsider to offer a bag of money or an all-expenses-paid junket to the west. But like the water table in the Kathmandu valley, that's all drying up. And we'd better be ready.