tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Friday, November 20, 1998
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Goa Cabinet crisis
PANAJI, Nov 19 (PTI) — The Chief Minister, Dr Wilfred Desouza tonight sacked a Cabinet minister following differences of opinion with him while two other Cabinet ministers resigned protesting the dismissal, jolting the fledgling coalition government in Goa. The Chief Minister dropped Agriculture Minister Dayanand Narvekar, while Industries Minister Subhash Shirodkar and Forest Minister Pandu Vasu Naik faxed their resignation letters to Governor Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacob protesting against the dismissal, sources at the chief minister’s residence here said.
Cho Ramaswamy
NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (PTI) — Noted journalist Cho Ramaswamy has been selected for this year’s Panchjanya Nachiketa Award for excellence in journalism in an Indian language. The Editor of Chennai-based Tamil weekly Tughlaq will receive the award of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a shawl on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations of Panchjanya, a Hindi weekly, on November 26 here, organisers said.

Cholera epidemic
COLOMBO, Nov 19 (Reuters) — Sri Lankan health officials said today that a deadly cholera outbreak had reached epidemic proportions. The Health Ministry said four deaths had been reported in the past two weeks since the disease began to spread mainly in the western province. A total of 73 cases, 63 of them in the capital alone, had been reported since November 1 in the province.
Dumping of bodies
NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (PTI) — Taking serious note of dumping of bodies of dead infants into the Yamuna river, the Delhi High Court today asked the Centre, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Jal Board to file their replies on the situation. Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking immediate ban on the practice of dumping of bodies of dead children into the river, a Division Bench of Mr Justice Anil Dev Singh and Mr Justice Mukul Mudgal said the matter would be heard on an urgent basis tomorrow.
Mosque, houses gutted
SRINAGAR, Nov 19 (PTI) — Eightyfive buildings, including 40 houses and a mosque have been gutted in two fire incidents in Anantnag and Srinagar since last night, official sources said. Forty houses, a mosque and 20 shops were destroyed at Dalav Kandimarg in Dhamal-Hajipora in Anantnag district today. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. In the Batamaloo area of central Srinagar 15 shops were gutted in a major blaze, the sources said.
‘Yeltsin visit on’
NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (PTI) — Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s visit to India "still stands" and Prime Minister Y.M. Primakov’s visit to New Delhi in December is not a substitution for the state visit. This was conveyed by the Russian authorities to New Delhi, an External Affairs Ministry release said today. The Russian authorities have also indicated that Primakov's visit is not a substitution for the state visit by president Boris Yeltsin, ‘which still stands’.
Rao son’s bail
HYDERABAD, Nov 19 (PTI) — The Special Court for economic offences has adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of P.V. Prabhakar Rao, son of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and an accused in the Rs 133 crore urea scam case to November 26. Rao had ignored summons of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear before it with specific documents pertaining to the case and had been served a non-bailable warrant. He reportedly sought an anticipatory bail fearing arrest. The court had put off the hearing on the issue to November 26. ED sources told PTI here today.