tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Saturday, July 24, 1999
weather today's calendar

King Hassan is dead
AMMAN, July 23 (Reuters) — Qatari television said tonight that King Hassan of Morocco had died. It quoted what it called "Private sources" for its report which followed news on the official Moroccan news agency MAP in Rabat that the King, 70, had been taken to hospital with acute pneumonia. Morocco's state-run television RTM has interrupted its programmes to read verses from the Koran.

NCP to contest 22 Bihar seats
PATNA, July 23 (PTI) — Bihar Pradesh Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today announced that the party would contest around 22 seats in alliance with the JMM-S, Samajwadi Party and CPI-ML (Liberation) during the upcoming Lok Sabha poll in the state. NCP President Satish Kumar told reporters here that JMM-S leaders Shibu Soren and Suraj Mandal had already held talks with NCP leader Tariq Anwar. NCP was willing to contest six seats in South Bihar. He said he would hold discussions with the leaders of CPI-ML (Liberation) within a couple of days. NCP national President Sharad Pawar had already had talks with Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav for forging an electoral alliance in Bihar, he added.

2 shot, 2 abducted
AGARTALA, July 23 (UNI) — Banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) guerillas gunned down two farmers, shot at another and abducted two persons at Chawmanu in Tripura's Dhalai district today. The police said the militants after failing to kidnap the victims, who were working in the paddy field, opened fire killing Chiranjit Talukdar (26) and Ujjal Shah (28) on the spot. The rebels then left the spot taking two farmers with them.

Naxal killed
HYDERABAD, July 23 (PTI) — A Naxalite of banned People's War Group (PWG) was killed in an encounter with the police, while the house at a mandal Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader was set ablaze in Medak and Warangal districts, respectively, of Andhra Pradesh last night, the police said today.

Quake in B'desh
MAHESHKHALI (Bangladesh), July 23 (Reuters) — A second earthquake hit Bangladesh's Maheshkhali island today, a day after a tremor killed at least four persons and injured more than 100 in this fishing hub, local officials said. Yesterday's quake damaged some 200 mud-houses and buildings on the Bay of Bengal island and nearby resort town of Cox's Bazar, about 450 km southeast of the capital Dhaka. Police Superintendent Mohammad Lutfur Rahman said one woman was missing in Maheshkhali following yesterday's quake but no fresh casualties were reported today.