Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

King Gyanendra with the recipients of Mahendra Pragya Puraskar Kamal Mani Dixit (right) and Indra Rajya Laxmi Pragya Puraskar Koili devi (left)

THE MAOIST INSURGENTS have begged apology with the parents of two students killed at Prabha Secondary School in the western district of Baglung on Tuesday. Newspaper reports said quoting eye witnesses that the two students died and one was injured while the Maoists were instructing them on how to use guns. Security personnel have been deployed to investigate into the incident. The incident comes weeks after the government and rebels agreed to go for cease fire but are yet to agree on a code of conduct.

MARTIN AIR, A DUTCH AIRLINES, is to operate a weekly flight between Amsterdam and Kathmandu, an announcement by the Company said. The flight will be replacing the 'Dutch Connection' of Transavia Airlines, which will be discontinued from April. Transavia Airlines is stopping Kathmandu operation due to its cost cutting and strategic reasons, said Cas de Stoppelaar, Nepali Consul General for the Netherlands. "However, Martin Air as an alternative is much better, as it is a bigger airline," he said.

INDIA HAS APPROVED measures to curb the alleged flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistani agents through Nepal, agency reports said. Junior Home Minister, Harin Pathak, said in a written reply to a question in the lower house of parliament Tuesday that his government was concerned about arch-rival Pakistan "and its intelligence agencies exploiting the open India-Nepal border for activities inimical to India's interests". "The government has noted the several instances of arrests of staffers of the Pakistani embassy in Kathmandu for being in possession of explosives and fake currency," Pathak said. The Indian Minister said the issue of Pakistani intelligence has been raised with the Nepalese government and that India has stepped up security on sensitive areas of their border. Bangladesh and Nepal both deny their countries permit any extremists to use their territory as a launching pad into India.

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA is considering a proposal submitted through HMG/Nepal for the establishment of a Polytechnic at Hathimunda VDC in eastern district of Morang.† The Polytechnic will be set up in the memory of former Prime Minister of Nepal, Manmohan Adhikari, and will stand as the symbol of Indo-Nepal friendship, a statement issued by the Indian embassy in Kathmandu said.

THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED private sector airlines, Sita Air, launched its operations beginning last Thursday. Initially flying between Kathmandu and Lukla, Bhadrapur and Nepalgunj, the airlines will be operating scheduled and charter flights by two Germany-made Dornier 228-202K, the 19-seater twin-engine turbo prop aircraft.

THE NATIONAL HUMAN Rights Commission has flayed the government and the Maoists for failing to make public the code of conduct to be followed by them even after nearly one month of the cease fire. Addressing an interaction program here Monday, NHRC chairman Nayan Bahadur Khatri said that other political parties and civil society have the right to know about and take part in the process of proposed peace talks.

A BRITISH ANAESTHETIST, Dr Alex Mayor, has said that some of his patients in rural Nepal walked for 12 days to see the visiting medical team. Dr. Mayor recently spent two weeks working with staff at the Western Regional Hospital in Pokhara, The Bath Chronicle ( HYPERLINK " http://www.thisisbath.com " www.thisisbath.com ) reported last week.† Dr Mayor, who works at the Royal United Hospital, was part of a UK volunteer team specialising in ear, nose and throat conditions and helped to perform 114 operations while he was in Nepal. The 42-year-old doctor hoped to return to the region in two years to lend his expertise for a third time.† "It was very tiring but it's extremely satisfying," said Dr. Mayor adding, "It's a wonderful country and the people are so lovely - so contented and very uncomplaining. The visiting doctors also saved the life of a 14-year-old boy who had developed a brain abscess due to chronic ear infections.

DURING THE FIRST FIVE months of the current fiscal year, the National Urban Consumer Price Index (NUCPI), registered a low increment of just 2.1 per cent against 2.7 per cent recorded during the same period last year, a report by the Nepal Rastra Bank said. During the period, food and beverages items, which command 53.20 per cent weight in the NUPI, registered a minimal rise of 1.7 per cent whereas it was 4.1 per cent during the same period last year. Among the major items of the group, grains and cereal products registered an increment of 7.8 per cent as opposed to a marginal increment of just 0.2 per cent observed in the same period last year. The prices of vegetables and fruits tumbled by over 14 per cent during the period. Heavy inflow of vegetables from India and growing attraction of local farmers are some of the major reasons for the price slip.

AN AMERICAN JAZZ BAND ìJamie Baum Quartetî is participating in the second Kathmandu Jazz Festival, ìJazzmandu 2003î scheduled to take place from February 28-March 15 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, according to press release from the U.S. Embassy. The group consists of flutist Jamie Baum, guitarist Kenny Wessel, bass guitarist Jerome Harries and drummer Jeff Hirshfiled. ìThe objective of the festival is to enhance the image of Nepal as a safe and fun destination; to provide opportunity for local musicians to play internationally and give people a reason to have another look and to perhaps attract travelers and musicians who might not previously have considered Nepal as a destination,î stated the press release. Bands and soloists from the UK, Australia, UAE and India, along with Nepal, will perform at various locations in the two cities.