tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Thursday, October 21, 1999
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200 feared dead as ship sinks
JAKARTA, Oct 20 (AFP) — More than 200 persons are missing and feared dead after a passenger ship sank in waters off the coast of the remote Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, the state Antara news agency reported today. The ship, KM Bimas Raya II, which was carrying about 300 passengers sank on Monday off the Merauke district. "Only 26 out of some 300 passengers of the ship have been found," an official of the owner company, Pt Bimas Raya, was quoted by Antara as saying late yesterday in Merauke, the ship’s destination.

Cong activist shot
HYDERABAD, Oct 20 (PTI) — Unidentified assailants shot dead a Congress activist in Shujatnagar area of Khammam district, the police said today. Congress workers went on a rampage following the murder of the activist on Monday at Bapatpally village and set ablaze some houses of TDP supporters.

Man kills 2 brothers
BAREILLY, Oct 20 (UNI) — Four persons were killed in a property dispute in the Gunnaur area of Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh. The police said Mahendrapal, with the help of his relatives, allegedly attacked his two brothers and their wives with sharp-edged weapons while they were working in the fields and later shot them dead.

Passengers rescued
MANILA, Oct 20 (Reuters) — Most passengers aboard a Philippine ship that caught fire off the coast near Subic port today have been rescued, a senior port official said. Mr Rex Chan, chief operating officer of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said more than 200 passengers had been picked off the ship and he had been told that no one had been injured.

President’s visit
NEW DELHI, Oct 20 (UNI) — President K.R. Narayanan will pay a four-day state visit to Austria from November 7 at the invitation of President Margot Klestil Loffler. The President, who will be accompanied by Mrs Usha Narayanan and a high-level delegation,will have talks with the Austrian leaders on bilateral matters.

14 killed in fire
BEIJING, Oct 20 (AP) — A fire in a night club in eastern China’s Jiangsu province killed 14 persons and injured three, a Chinese newspaper reported. The inside of the three-storey Ningbo Recreation City in the town of Shucheng was completely destroyed in the two-hour blaze on Monday morning, the Yangcheng Evening News reported yesterday.

Godman arrested
AHMEDABAD, Oct 20 (PTI) — A self-styled godman and his two associates, hailing from Maharashtra, have been arrested by police in Baroda for duping a woman of her gold ornaments and cash. The City Metropolitan Magistrate yesterday remanded all of them in seven days' police custody.

UNESCO chief
PARIS, Oct 20 (Reuters) — Japanese diplomat Koichiro Matsuura today won a hotly-contested race to become the next Director-
General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), delegates said. Mr Matsuura, Tokyo’s ambassador to Paris, won 34 of the 58 votes on the executive board while his closest rival, Saudi Ambassador to London Ghazi Algosaibi, got 13 votes.

5 ultras shot
GUWAHATI, Oct 20 (UNI) — BSF jawans today shot dead five hardcore Adivasi Cobra militants, while one police head constable was killed as a police picket was attacked this evening by the militants in Assam’s Kokrajhar district. BSF officials said militants initially were identified as NDFB men it was later confirmed that the ultras belonged to rival Adivasi Cobra forces who were fighting the Bodo militants in the area.