tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Monday, December 13, 1999
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Veteran scribe S. Sahay dead
NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — Veteran journalist S. Sahay, former Editor of the Delhi edition of The Statesman, died here this morning in sleep, family members said. Sahay (74) is survived by three sons and two daughters. A luminary in the fields of law and journalism, Sahay joined the Delhi edition of The Statesman in 1955 and worked in various capacities on the desk before becoming Editor in 1975. He was associated with the daily for 32 years before retiring in 1987. Sahay, who was also chairman of United News of India (UNI) and president of the Editors Guild, was conferred G.D. Birla and Bihar Ratna Awards for excellence in the field of journalism. Sahay used to write for The Tribune regularly. President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have expressed grief over the demise of the veteran journalist. The President said: “His columns displayed a deep understanding of contemporary issues combining criticism with constructive suggestions.” Mr Vajpayee said “in his death, the world of journalism has lost a fearless scribe and a prolific writer.” Union Information minister Arun Jaitley said: “He made great contribution to the world of journalism through his fearless writing.

Shootout case
NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (PTI) — The Delhi Police today got a shot in the arm when its Crime Branch arrested the main accused in connection with the Banquet Hall shootout case in which Narender Singh, city MLA Kanwar Karan Singh’s brother, was killed at a wedding reception in the Model Town area of north-west Delhi. Rajesh Sharma was arrested from the Panipat bus stand, the police said here.

Prisoners escape
DURG (MP), Dec 12 (PTI) — Eleven prisoners escaped from the Bemetra sub-jail after injuring two guards this evening, officials said. The District Collector, the Superintendent of Police and other officials had rushed to Bemetra to look into the incident, they said.

Acid vapours
MOSCOW, Dec 12 (AP) — More than 100 workers at a Urals metallurgical plant were injured early today when a workshop filled with nitric acid vapours, Russia’s NTV television reported. The accident occurred when the electricity supply to a titanium-processing workshop at a metals plant in Verkhnye Soldy, 1,500 km east of Moscow, failed. Workers had already loaded metal in containers with nitric acid, and an uncontrollable chemical reaction resulted.

Crew rescued
LONDON, Dec 12 (PTI) — All 26 crew on a Maltese oil tanker which broke into two in brutal weather conditions off France have been rescued, French officials said today. The lost had taken to lifeboats but five remained aboard Maltese-registered Erica, 70 miles south of Brest, France. The 25,000 tonne Erica, broke up around (1245 IST) after leaving the north-western French port of Dunkirk for Leghorn, Italy.

Philippines quake
MANILA, Dec 12 (Reuters) — A strong earthquake shook the main Philippine island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, today, and officials reported three deaths and 24 injured but only minor damage. The tremor, which struck at 2:03 a.m. (2333 IST Saturday), had a magnitude of 6.8 on the open-ended Richter scale, the Philippine Institute of Vulcanology and Seismology said.