KIRAN PANDAY Blow hard: A Prithvi Jayanti rally revs it up for Nepal's founder in front of Singha Darbar Tuesday

At first glance, the withdrawal of Ram Chandra Poudel's candidacy is a positive move. There's a saying in Nepali that goes ghaito ma gham lagyo, which literally means that the sun is finally shining on the bottom of the water vessel. Have the political parties, and Poudel in particular, finally recognised the futility of the 16 prime ministerial elections that have taken place, and reached an understanding that will allow us to move forward?

Alas, in Nepal nothing is ever so straightforward. In fact, after months of tortuous negotiations and political feints, we may well be back to square one. Prashant Jha and Damakant Jayshi work through the permutations and conclude that none of the currently probable parliamentary alliances are likely to sustain the polity long enough to reach agreement on the most critical issues of the constitution and the peace process. The continued inability to bridge the void of mistrust among and within political parties is distracting from the urgent need to implement measures for monitoring the armed parties to the CPA in the wake of UNMIN's departure.

Never mind the even more urgent need for the government to ensure the country is ready for a natural disaster of Vedic proportions. This Saturday, Nepal will mark Earthquake Safety Day. We talk to those working to prepare us for the worst, in a special feature on the Big One that will make 1934's quake look like child's play. Let's learn from the lessons of Haiti, where over 250,000 were killed and 800,000 are still living in tented camps a year after the ground shook in Port-au-Prince.