S P O T L I G H T

24 killed in Russian blasts
Moscow, March 24
At least 24 persons were killed and 140 injured in three separate car bomb blasts in the southern Russian towns of Mineralniye Vodi, Essentuki and Adygi-Khaabal in the Northern Caucasus today, the ITAR-TASS news agency said. Ten persons were killed and 83 injured when a car bomb went off in an overcrowded market in Mineralniye Vodi. PTI

1,500 Cong men held
Indore, March 24
About 1,500 Congress workers staged a dharna and courted arrest in protest against alleged corruption by the Centre and Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) here today. Party workers led by senior Congress leader Mahesh Joshi demonstrated at Rajwada Chowk. UNI

Quake rocks Japan
Tokyo, March 24
A powerful earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale today rocked south-western Japan, including the city of Hiroshima, killing two persons and injuring 24 others, the Kyodo news agency reported. PTI

2 Naxalites killed
Mahabubnagar, March 24
Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with the police at Etham, a hamlet of Koderu mandal in the district early today. The police said a police party which was on a combing operation came across a group of Naxalites and asked them to surrender. But, they opened fire on the police and in retaliatory fire two Naxalites were killed. PTI

Another tiger dead
Lucknow, March 24
A tiger was found dead at Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, but the cause of the death was yet to be ascertained, a forest official said today. Chief Wildlife Warden of the park R.L. Singh told PTI a decomposed body of a tiger was found yesterday in the park, but “it is not yet known whether this is a case of poaching.” PTI