tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Thursday, December 24, 1998
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Fog forces Delhi airport closure
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — Air traffic has come to a halt in Delhi with the thick blanket of fog enveloping the Capital for almost a week forcing the closure of the airport here since last night. No flight had taken off or landed since 11.30 pm yesterday due to near zero visibility, airport sources said. More than 1000 Delhi-bound passengers were stranded at Mumbai airport last night following the closure of Delhi airport. Railway traffic in north India was also affected with most of the trains passing through Delhi getting delayed.

Oil mills sealed
JAMSHEDPUR, Dec 23 (PTI) — Three persons were arrested and five oil mills sealed after the police and officials of the Food and Civil Supply Department carried out raids here to stop the selling of adulterated oil, after Sunday's incident of food poisoning which affected about 200 students. The police today said that hundreds of tins of edible oil of reputed companies, which were allegedly kept for adulteration and sale were seized during the raid yesterday.

Orissa House
BHUBANESWAR, Dec 23 (PTI) — Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Orissa Assembly today as the entire Opposition and several ruling Congress members demanded that water be released in the irrigation canals immediately in view of the serious drought situation. The release of water in the various canals was stopped to undertake repairs which had affected irrigation of the rabi crop.

Doctors’ stir
CHENNAI, Dec 23 (PTI) — About 10,000 doctors in government hospitals in Tamil Nadu went on a day's token strike on Wednesday to press their charter of demands, including time-bound promotions. While the Doctors' Association claimed that the strike badly hit functioning of the hospitals, the state administration said the strike had not affected normal health services.

BJP office attacked
PATNA, Dec 23 (PTI) — Bihar BJP President Nand Kishore Yadav, MLA, claimed that his party office was today attacked by activists of National Students Union of India (NSUI). He claimed here that about 25 NSUI supporters attacked the BJP office around 11.30 a.m pelted stones and raised slogans against the party for publishing an article in a recent booklet brought out by the central office containing some references about the 'Bhumihar' community.

Kyrgyzstan Govt quits
MOSCOW, Dec 23 (DPA) — The Government of the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan today resigned amid a growing economic crisis. Interfax news agency reported. Quoting the press service of Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev, the agency said a new Cabinet would be formed at the end of the year. The government of Kubanytchbek Shumaliyev was today criticised during a session of the National Security Council chaired by President Akayev. The Shumaliyev government has assumed office in March.

Laloo's remand
PATNA, Dec 23 (PTI) — The Special Court today extended by another two weeks the judicial remand of RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav when he was produced before it in a conspiracy angle case of the fodder scam. The designated CBI Judge, Mr S.K. Lal, asked the jail authorities to produce Mr Yadav before him on January 7. The court also extended till January 7, judicial remand of the former Bihar ministers, Chandradeo Prasad Verma, Vidyasagar Nishad RJD MLA R.K. Rana and the suspended BJP MLA, Dhruva Bhagat.

Ramamurthy
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — Petroleum Minister Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy today ruled out his resignation from the BJP-led coalition government saying the question did not arise. Reacting to reports that he was likely to step down in the wake of the demand for his resignation made by AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha, the minister told reporters that "neither has the Prime Minister asked me to resign nor am I going to". He said "some interested" quarters were spreading "disinformation" about him.

No pact: Kanshi
PATNA, Dec 23 (PTI) — The BSP chief, Mr Kanshi Ram has ruled out the possibility of his party joining hands with the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM) of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Laloo Prasad Yadav. "There is no question of forging an alliance with the RLM. We have to make our party strong and vibrant enough to emerge as third force on its own at the national-level", Mr Kanshi Ram told his party's state-level workers conference here yesterday.

Indo-US talks
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — India and USA have agreed to hold the next round of their discussions on defence-related matters in the second half of January, 1999. Defence Minister George Fernandes informed the Rajya Sabha today. The talks would be conducted on the basis of comprehensive proposals that India had put forward on disarmament and non-proliferation, the country's unilateral moratorium on explosive nuclear tests, conversion of the moratorium into de jure obligation, FMCT and stringent control on export of sensitive technologies, the minister said in a written reply.

Charges framed
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — A city court today framed charges against controversial 'godman' Chandraswami, his two aides and three others for alleged misappropriation of foreign donations of over Rs 2.26 crore to a trust run by them. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) R.K. Gauba in his order said "prima facie" there "exist factual ingredients constituting offences under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), IPC, and various provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)."

Fast ends
NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — Four activists of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Junior Doctors Organisation (JDO), who were on fast since November 26, broke their fast here today with Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi offering them juice. The JDO of the university's Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College had gone on fast demanding the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, judicial inquiry into the alleged molestation of a patient by a doctor, the revocation of termination and suspension of certain doctors and the restoration of students' democratic rights.