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58
LTTE men killed
COLOMBO, Jan 1 (UNI) — In a fierce battle, at least
58 LTTE militants and four armymen were killed when
troops conducted an anti-militancy operation in
Pulipanchikal in Batticaloa in the East of Sri Lanka
yesterday, Defence Ministry sources said today. According
to monitored terrorist transmission, 58 Tamil rebels were
killed and 18 injured in the exchange of fire, the
sources said. Four soldiers were killed and eight others
received minor injuries during the operation, the sources
added.New
SAARC chief
KATHMANDU, Jan 1 (Reuters) — Nihal Rodrigo, a Sri
Lankan diplomat, will take over as chief of the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, diplomats
said today. Neem U. Hassan, the outgoing
Secretary-General of the seven-nation regional economic
forum, said Rodrigo's three-year mandate as the
association's executive head started on January 1.
"He will be arriving tomorrow," Hassan said.
Airports
BANGALORE, Jan 1 (PTI) — Prime Minister A B Vajpayee
today announced the government’s decision to
corporatise Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore airports, allow
100 per cent foreign equity in airports infrastructure
and establish a regulatory framework for airports.
Inaugurating the new international terminal at the
Bangalore airport here, he said international experience
showed that the large sums needed for building new
airports and upgrading the existing ones could only be
raised in a framework of corporatisation. Corporations
could also run airports more efficiently by making the
best of the assets available to them, he said. He
described the government’s decision as a first step
towards construction of world class international
airports in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
Flash flood kills
8
JAKARTA, Jan 1 (AFP) — Eight persons have died and
13 were injured when a flash flood hit a gold mining area
in the Indonesian province of Bengkulu, on the western
island of Sumatra, a report received today said.
Villagers of Ketenong Satu discovered the bodies of seven
gold panners and one of their children on Wednesday and
that of another small child the next day beside a swollen
river, Antara state news agency reported.
Dilip Kumar
MUMBAI, Jan 1 (PTI) — Thespian Dilip Kumar underwent
a minor cardiac surgery at Leelavati Hospital in Bandra
today. The operation was successful and he was recovering
and keeping good health, hospital sources said tonight.
He was admitted to the hospital three days ago.
Sino-US ties
BEIJING, Jan 1 (PTI) — China and the USA today said
they were committed to improve bilateral relations and
establish a 'comprehensive strategic partnership' to
safeguard world peace, despite their serious differences
over human rights and trade issues. On the occasion of
20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic
relations, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President
Bill Clinton in their separate congratulatory messages
recalled that their two summit meetings had laid the
ground work for furthering bilateral relations, crucial
to a stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.
AC bus for Delhi
NEW DELHI, Jan 1 (TNS) — The Transport Department of
Punjab will soon start an airconditioned deluxe bus
service from Punjab Bhavan, New Delhi, to Chandigarh,
Principal Resident Commissioner of the Punjab Government
here, Dr Dinesh Chandra, announced here today.
Inaugurating a new cafeteria at Punjab Bhavan here, Dr
Chandra said bus services to Jalandhar and Amritsar are
also under consideration and would be implemented soon.
Export of power
ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (PTI) — Pakistan's Power Minister
Gohar Ayub Khan has expressed apprehensions about the
possibility of exporting power to India as Islamabad is
currently faced with acute power shortage. While some
consultants claimed that Pakistan had surplus power to
export to India, "a few say it would not be possible
because WAPDA Pakistan's main power distribution company,
is catering to the needs of only 35 per cent of the total
population", the power minister told official APP
news agency.
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