Qatar's Dasain gift
Qatar Airways has announced the addition of a fourth daily flight to Doha from Kathmandu starting 1 October. The airline, which flew in 100,000 tourists into Nepal this year, says the new flight will make connections easier to all parts of the world from its Doha hub. "The increase in frequency will put Kathmandu as the second airport after London with the most connections from Doha among non-Gulf countries," said Qatar's country manager for Nepal, Ramdas Shivram while announcing the additional flight which he called a "Dasain Gift" to Nepal. The airline is also lobbying for 24-hour operations at Kathmandu airport to meet the increase in future traffic. Being the biggest passenger carrier in and out of Kathmandu, Qatar says it is investing heavily on improving the navigation and safety aspects of Kathmandu airport. (See p 15). Qatar currently employs 1,500 Nepalis, of which 120 are flight attendants. The airline is also offering an astonishingly cheap $346 roundtrip promotion for its new Oslo connection from Kathmandu if booked before 18 October.

Gift of sight
The Chowdhary Group and the HelpAge International have partnered to provide free cataract surgeries to more than 1000 patients in rural areas. They will also provide basic eye care to 4500 people.

Free trip
Carlsberg announced the winners of its 'Win a luxurious trip in Cannes, France' promotion 2011. The four winners will along with their friends have left for Cannes, France. The campaign was conducted in over twenty six hundred stalls all over Nepal.