Saturday, 5 February 2005, 1400 hrs

TOP STORIES
Envoy seeks India's help to build a democratic Iraq
Myuayad Hussain, now in Delhi, has said India should play a major role in helping Iraq build its democratic institutions

BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Holcim's war chest for
India: Rs 4,300 crore
The world’s second largest cement company, plans to invest $1 billion to expand its footprint in India over the next 5-7 years

Times of India
A letter from Nepal
"This has been a complete hell for journalists. We are not allowed to talk to anyone. Political leaders are either under house arrest or have been detained. There are Armymen patrolling the streets. Even if there is emergency situation in a house, there is no way of communicating with others." A secret letter sent by a journalist in Nepal currently in hiding. It is the first piece of communication from the totally cut-off Nepal. 

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Asia Times
Right royal headache for India 
New Delhi has described the seizure of power by King Gyanendra in Nepal as a "serious setback" to the cause of democracy and said it "cannot but be a cause of grave concern to India". Grave indeed, for India's strategic and security aspirations, in the short term at least. - SULTAN SHAHIN
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Tribune
Nepalis want democracy, not monarchy
The key to the future of Nepal after the dismissal of the Deuba Government and the imposition of Emergency lies in a question that everyone finds difficult to answer at this stage: how would the Nepali citizen respond to this act of the King? By YOGENDRA YADAV


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The Hindu
Crisis in Nepal
If electoral democracy was suspended in Nepal in 2002, the sacking of Prime Minister Deuba and the assumption of total autocratic powers by the King now have totally buried any semblance of constitutional governance in Nepal. By RAJEEV DHAVAN

EDITORIAL PICKS

Farcical vote of confidence (The Hindu)
Chennai season: music musings (The Hindu)
Adding value to the food chain (The Hindu)
Britain's terror suspects (Economist)
A humane army (Tribune)
Punjab's planned mess (Tribune)
School ban on mobile phones (Tribune)