tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Tuesday, April 6, 1999
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BJP leader shot dead
VARANASI, April 5 (PTI) — Local BJP leader Surya Narain Shukla, and two others were shot dead and another injured when a group of persons opened fire on their car at a road crossing, about 100 km from here, the police said today. The incident took place at Gopiganj crossing in neighbouring Bhadoi district last evening. After opening fire, the assailants armed with automatic weapons escaped in a jeep. A case has been registered against eight persons in this connection.

Fodder scam case
PATNA, April 5 (UNI) — Former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and several others today appeared in the designated CBI court in connection with a case related to the multi-crore fodder scam in Bihar. CBI Special Judge S.K. Lal fixed the next date of their appearance on April 20.

NSUI chief
NEW DELHI, April 5 (UNI) — Meenakshi Natarajan today took over as the President of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) from Alka Kapur. Ms Natarajan, who was appointed as the NSUI chief by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, assumed charge in the presence of AICC General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma and a host of supporters.

Pandemonium
PATNA, April 5 (UNI) — The arrest of CPM member Madhvi Sarkar in Purnia touched off noisy scenes by Left party members who demanded an immediate statement from the Rabri Yadav government leading to an abrupt adjournment of the Bihar Assembly, 45 minutes before schedule in the pre-lunch session today.

"Nishant"
BANGALORE, April 5 (PTI) — The reconnaissance capability of "Nishant", India's remotely piloted aircraft, is proposed to be vastly increased by enhancing its endurance to 24 hours from the current five hours, according to defence scientists here. "Nishant", developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), has undergone several flight tests and is ready to go into production. Meanwhile, the ADE is trying to develop an improved version of "Nishant" that can fly non-stop for 24 hours.

Political union
LAHORE, April 5 (ANI) — The Chairman of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT), Dr Tahirul Qadri, on Sunday announced that Pakistan's five major national parties, including the PAT, had decided to form a new political union to provide the country with an alternative leadership. Addressing a news conference at the Minhaj-ul-Quran Institute here, Mr Qadri said: "This political cooperation on national issues can also be converted into a formal political and election alliance at a later stage."

INSAT-2E
BANGALORE, April 5 (UNI) — The second firing of the liquid apogee motor (LAM) on board the INSAT-2E, now on an elliptical transfer orbit, will be carried out tomorrow to further raise the altitude of the satellite and bring it to a near circular orbit. Spacecraft controllers of the master control facility (MCF) at Hassan will take up the operation between 12 noon and 2 p.m. to secure the desired orbit, when the satellite will be visible at its apogee (farthest to earth) of 36,100 km.