Questioning the accuracy of an editorial in the weekly Nayen, published from Ramechhap in eastern Nepal, Maoist cadres recently threatened to break the legs and spine of the paper's chief editor, Nawaraj Pathik. The editorial in question had highlighted Maoist interference and bribery in the tendering of contracts in the district. Well, nobody likes to be falsely accused of crimes, and the Maoists are undoubtedly doing the public a service by encouraging accurate reporting. And now, Chhetria Patrakar has some conclusive evidence that bribery is indeed not the Maoists' preferred method of getting things done.
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The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), the country's national television broadcaster, now looks set to be run like a military operation. The Colombo government has recently appointed Major General Sunil Silva, a retired army officer, to watch over the troubled corporation. The iron hand is likely to come down heavily on striking staff, who have been demanding a halt to what is being described as ongoing intimidation by unknown people. Certainly additional protection was required from some quarter: on 27 December SLRC news director T M G Chandrasekara was reportedly assaulted by Labour Minister Mervyn Silva. Has Major General Silva been going over the reports?
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