tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Wednesday, May 19, 1999
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SP (Patel) merges with RJD
PATNA, May 18 (UNI) — The newly floated Samata Party (Patel), comprising detractors of the Samata Party, merged with the Rashtriya Janata Dal here today. The decision to merge was announced after a meeting between leaders of Samata Party (Patel) and senior RJD leaders held here. President of the RJD Laloo Prasad Yadav, Samata Party (Patel) President Krishan Patel, Party Legislator Shivanand Tiwari and others were present at the meeting.

Train derails
JALPAIGURI (West Bengal), May 18 (UNI) — At least two persons were killed and 30 others were injured when five coaches of 4056 UP Brahmaputra Mail, running from Delhi to Dibrugarh, jumped the rails between Dhupguri and Altragram in Dooars of Jalpaiguri district at 6.45 a.m. today.

3 killed in shootout
KARACHI, May 18 (AFP) — The police shot dead three persons today in a gunbattle with a gang in Pakistan’s largest violence-plagued city, the police said. The clash occurred when a group of armed men opened fire at a police patrol in the city’s eastern Patel Para area, they said.

Tamil groups disarmed
COLOMBO, May 18 (AP) — Sri Lankan troops today disarmed members of two rival Tamil political groups after attacks that left at least seven men killed over the weekend, the Defence Minister said. Security forces removed weapons from members of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and rival Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) in the northern town of Vavuniya, the ministry said.

Rains claim 10 lives
MUMBAI, May 18 (PTI) — Pre-monsoon showers claimed its first victim in the city when a five-storeyed building collapsed in the Null Bazar area late last night, taking the toll due to heavy rains in Maharashtra to 10 so far. The building collapsed at 2.15 a.m., leaving one dead and rendering 12 families homeless. The fire brigade personnel managed to rescue 36 persons through the staircase.

Mob tear-gassed
KANCHEEPURAM, May 18 (UNI) — The police lobbed tear-gas shells to quell a clash between members of two different communities at Sunambedu near Cheyyur in the district early today. The police said the melee started when one person was beaten up by four persons belonging to another community due to previous enmity. Protesting against this, the other group set a lorry on fire.