Quicktakes

And now, MPs on plane to Pakistan
NEW DELHI: Indo-Pak goodwill is in the air. Cricket diplomacy seems to have worked, the shuttle-bus diplomacy seems to be in the right gear and now 25 Members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, are all set to leave on Thursday for a journey to Pakistan. This journey had its hitches, too. Because the hosts, the Jang Group of Newpapers, are locked in a running feud with the Nawaz Sharif Government. But Jang and the Pakistan Government reached an understanding earlier this week clearing the decks for the visit.

Gandhi Prize
Calcutta: The Ramkrishna Mission here has been chosen for the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 1998. President K R Narayanan, who arrives here on February 12, will confer the award the next day at a special function at the Raj Bhavan.

Bengal arson
Midnapore: A house belonging to a Christian woman was set on fire by some unknown miscreants here last night, Superintendent of Police M KSingh said today.

AIR strike
New Delhi: On the fifth day of the strike by All India Radio AIR announcers demanding parity in pay with their colleagues two announcers have begun a fast unto death.