Bandh hits airlines hard

KALAIYA: Employees of domestic airlines say that their firms are incurring losses amounting to millions of rupees due to the Maoist-imposed bandh and blockade. Airlines operating in the eastern parts of the country stated that because of the bandh, they are incurring a loss of one million rupees everyday. A report from Pokhara said that airlines have postponed 70 per cent of flights due to the bandh. — HNS

Maoists bomb factory

BARA: Maoists detonated a bomb at the premises of Nepal Boards Industry located at Simara Bajani of Bara district on Tuesday. They threw a grenade at the factory. The blast has damaged boiler and other machines. In Palpa, Maoists took the peon of the district forest office under control and blasted a bomb there on Wednesday. — HNS

Dacoits attaack villagers

Biratnagar: Five locals were injured in a clash with Indian dacoits at Dhushki VDC of the Sunsari district last night, a report said, adding that the dacoits looted seven buffaloes, one cow and three wristwatches from the houses of Mishree Lal Mehata and Ram Prasad Mehata. — HNS

Gandak bandh call

Narayangarh: The Maoists, in a press release issued on Tuesday, have called a Gandak area bandh on May 26-27 to protest the killing of their comrades by the security forces. According to the release, the forces killed five and seven comrades in the districts of Chitwan and Nawalparasi in a span of two weeks. — HNS

US army team at RNA HQ

POKHARA: A five-member US Army team led by Robert K Boogs visited the RNA central Pritana headquarters in Pokhara on Wednesday. — HNS

Cops grilling traffickers

RAJBIRAJ: The police are grilling two persons, Sanu Pariyar of Udayapur, and Prem Damain of Okahdhunga, on a charge of trafficking a 13-year-old daughter of Pashupati Pariyar of Mahuli VDC. The district court ordered the police to keep them into custody til the probe is complete. — HNS