The Tribune...Spotlight

			Friday, July 10, 1998
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Indo-Pak talks to resume soon
DHAKA, July 9 (PTI) — Foreign secretary-level talks between Islamabad and Delhi will resume soon, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s special envoy Muhammad Akram Zaki said here today. Pakistan would not go for further nuclear explosions "so as to make the region tension free", Mr Zaki, chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee, was quoted as telling Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina while handing over to her a letter from Mr Sharif. Hasina told Zaki that Dhaka wanted immediate resumption of a bilateral dialogue between Delhi and Islamabad "without any preconditions" for the sake of peace and stability in the region, the official BSS news agency reported.
LTTE attack
COLOMBO, July 9 (ADP) — Sri Lanka’s Tamil guerrilas today admitted losing 11 fighters in an attack on a police patrol on the 11th anniversary of their first suicide bombing yesterday while the Defence Ministry put the poll at 12. The voice of Tigers Radio of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said it lost 11 fighters — including one self-styled Major, three captains and four lieutenants. The radio, monitored in the northern town of Vavuniya, said LTTE fighters killed 14 policemen, including members of the elite special task force at Pulukunawa.
Blasts in Karachi
KARACHI, July 9 (AP) — Two bombs exploded within minutes of each other today in this port city, injuring two persons, police and hospital officials said. One of the bombs ripped through a washroom in the offices of the country’s largest English-language newspaper, the Dawn. No one was hurt in that explosion. "It frightened everyone," said Noel Monteiro, a down reporter who was in a nearby room when the bomb exploded. "Suddenly, there was smoke and everyone was running for cover."
Sukhoi
NEW DELHI, July 9 (PTI) — Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence today said the government should take "all necessary steps" to overcome hurdles in the acquisition of remaining 32 sophisticated Sukhoi-30 combat jets from Russia to counter any potential threat to the country’s security. In its first report, the 43-member committee said the delivery of the remaining SU-30 aircraft had been put off due to the likely delay in the supply of avionics by the vendors from western countries. "Some delay also occurred due to prolonged negotiations with western vendors to finalise the price and other conditions," the committee headed by Lok Sabha member Sqn Ldr Kamal Chaudhry said.
Jaswant Singh
NEW DELHI, July 9 (UNI) — Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jaswant Singh will be the chairman of a seven-member high-level Research Advisory Committee (RAC) constituted by the government today to advise the commission on future technological needs and options in all spheres of economic activities. The committee will provide the agenda for research and development in major scientific, technological and economic fields. It will also provide inputs for acquisition of technology by the government and industry.
Hoardings
CHENNAI, July 9 (UNI) — Principal Sessions Judge R. Banumathi today directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) to constitute a special police team to investigate the alleged irregularities in the award of contracts for erecting hoardings in the city by Tamil Nadu Health Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy and two others. The judge gave the direction on a complaint filed by an advocate, P. Rathinavelu. According to the complaint, hoardings in the city were erected by Seven Stars Enterprises, owned by Mr N. Deverajan, brother of Mr Veerasamy, through illegal, unlawful and corrupt means. The accused, including Mr Davidraj, a city corporation official, were promoting their personal interests by erecting hoardings everyday. They had also entered into a criminal conspiracy to eliminate the others involved in the business to gain monopoly, he alleged.