tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Sunday, March 14, 1999
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17 killed in Algeria
ALGIERS, March 13 (Reuters) — Seventeen civilians, five of them children, were killed in the latest violence in Algeria, government security forces and local newspapers said today. Muslim rebels cut the throats of six villagers, including three children, in an overnight raid at Melas Hamlet in Tipaza province, 60 km west of Algiers, the government security forces said in a statement carried by state news agency APS. The rebels also slashed the throats of three civilians at a fake roadblock.

Ban on cigarette sale
NEW DELHI, March 13 (PTI) — Cigarettee and bidi smokers will be deprived of their puffs from June 5 at railway stations as stalls selling these items would be banned. Stating this here tonight while replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Railway Budget passed by the House, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar said "bidi and cigarettes will not be sold on railway platforms from June 5," coinciding with the world environment day.

Gold biscuits seized
AMRITSAR, March 13 (UNI) — In the biggest gold haul at the Raja Sansi airport, which is expected to be internationalised next year, the Customs staff seized 90 gold biscuits valued at Rs 50 lakh from a passenger who alighted from the incoming flight from Sharjah today. According to Customs sources, the biscuits weighing more than 10 grams each were concealed in the compressors of air conditioners belonging to a passenger identified as Raj Kumar, a local resident. The seizure was made on prior information.

10 killed in mishap
DHAKA, March 13 (AP) — A truck crashed into a bus carrying wedding guests, killing at least 10 of them and injuring 11, the police said. The bride and the groom were among the injured. The collision occurred yesterday in Comilla district, 85 km east of here. Thirty wedding guests were returning to their village in the bus after the marriage ceremony.

Gas well
MUMBAI, March 13 (PTI) — The burning gas well in the western offshore has been covered by a virtual water umbrella to prevent the fire from spreading and damaging the rig and other equipment on the B-121 platform, comprising five wells. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is awaiting the arrival of two experts from US-based Cudd Well Control Company tomorrow to assess the gas well and chalk out an action plan.

Iraq’s refusal
BAGHDAD, March 13 (AFP) — Iraq has turned down a French initiative aimed at defusing the crisis in ties with the UN since the Desert Fox air war, an official daily said today. Babel, which is run by President Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, Uday, said "certain points" of the initiative would "impose a steel vice on Iraq, allowing its enemies to prolong the embargo but in a new way." The UN Security Council is expected to "modify the project, with a few minor concessions, so as to persuade Iraq to accept."

Spy satellites
TAIPEI, March 13 (Reuters) — Taiwan’s Defence Minister Tang Fei said today that rival China’s plan to launch six spy satellites in 2000 posed a serious threat to Taiwan’s security. "The Chinese Communists are set to launch six spy satellites next year...which means they could peep into our backyard and bedroom," he said at the opening of a seminar on national defence, broadcast by state television.

Taliban hail move
KABUL, March 13 (AFP) — The Taliban militia today welcomed the United Nations’ decision to return its international staff to Afghanistan after a more than six-month absence triggered by the killings of three UN workers. It is "a good move" and a "political success" for the religious militia, a senior Taliban official said, a day after the UN announced the decision.