Reporters on the Job

• Working with a Curfew: Reporter Bikash Sangraula, like many of his colleagues, is finding it difficult to do his job. The Nepalese government response to demonstrations is a day and night curfew, with a short break in between. Since Sunday, the curfew has started at 11 a.m. and gone until 6 p.m. There's a break in between to allow people to commute home. Then, it goes into effect again at 10 p.m. until 4 a.m.

The aim of the curfew is to keep protesters, and ordinary people who might join them, off the streets.

Bikash works for an independent news organization in Kathmandu, and it has been issued one government curfew pass. "We have an English daily, a Nepali daily, three weekly newsmagazines, and a TV channel. That's more than 50 reporters with one pass to work during the curfew," he says.

Bikash says the soldiers have shoot- on-sight orders. But many people have defied the curfew. He reported only during curfew breaks. "It's difficult to know what's happening in the streets under these conditions," he says.

• A Delhi Family Outing: As part of his research on Delhi's new subway, staff writer Scott Baldauf decided to bring along his family. "My two young daughters know only a Delhi where the power goes out, where the water runs only a few hours each day, and where a 15-minute trip can turn into an hour-long traffic jam. I wanted them to see a part of India that worked, and worked well."

After 10 minutes, the train ride was declared "fun," and they visited a 400-year-old street market, where his daughters' attitude changed for the worse. "It may have been the heat or the crowds. But once they had some honey-dipped jalebis, they were fine."

David Clark Scott
World editor