tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Sunday, September 27, 1998
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Bus service between Amritsar, Lahore
ISLAMABAD, Sept 26 (AFP) — Pakistan and India have agreed to open cross-border road traffic as the rival nations prepare to resume political dialogue, officials said today. Authorities of the two countries will work out the details on opening a bus service across the border at Wagah near Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, a foreign office spokesman told reporters. He did not say when the plan would come into effect.
BJP: no poll pact with TDP
HYDERABAD, Sept 26 (PTI) — The BJP today ruled out any electoral alliance with the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh. Inaugurating the party's "political training" camp here, BJP general secretary M. Venkaia Naidu advised his partymen in the state to "forget about a possible alliance with TDP and take up activities on your own to strengthen the party base."

Pilgrims' route
BEIJING, Sept 26 (PTI) — China is willing to open a motorable route to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, from Demchok in Ladakh to Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh, to make the annual pilgrimage safer, according to Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy. "I explained to them that Kailash Mansarovar is a holy spot for us and not a tourist site," and they agreed to consider the request to open a motorable road, Dr Swamy said after his meetings with a senior Chinese leader and Foreign Ministry officials here yesterday.
Poll in Germany
BONN, Sept 26 (PTI) — Germany goes to polls tomorrow with an estimated 30 per cent undecided voters holding the key to whether Europe's largest country would usher in a change from Mr Helmut Kohl's uninterrupted 16-year rule or give a record fifth term for the incumbent Chancellor. A dead heat is on cards as Kohl's Christian Democrats in a typical fight-back, narrowed down the lead of rival Social Democrats (SPD) of fancied Gerhard Schroder to less than two percentage points in opinion polls in the closest-ever elections in the history of Germany since 1949.
Bombing bid
WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (PTI) — The Ugandan authorities have arrested 20 persons including two ring leaders and followers of Osama bin Laden, who had allegedly planned to bomb the US Embassy in Uganda, US media reports said today. On a tip-off from the CIA more than 12 FBI agents worked with the Ugandan anti-terrorist squad to unravel the plot, the Washington Post quoted officials as saying.
Murdoch case
NEW DELHI, Sept 26 (UNI) — The External Affairs Ministry has expressed its inability to execute the orders of a Delhi court to produce before it America-based media baron Rupert Murdoch to face obscenity charges in India on the ground that such offences are not covered under the extradition treaty. In a letter to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Prem Kumar who had issued the warrants against Mr Murdoch on July 6, the ministry said, "In terms of the extradition treaty currently in force between India and the United States, offences for which the person in question is charged are not extraditable". The case comes up for further hearing on October 24.
Jaya on elections
CHENNAI, Sept 26 (PTI) — AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha today said the "chances of elections appear imminent" before the year-end and appealed to party men to work "untiringly" and discharge their duties with diligence.
Without specifying whether the elections would be to the Lok Sabha or the state assembly, she said in a letter to party men: "Our future is bright. By the time we complete our organisational elections (December end), the chances of elections, wherein we have to face the people, appear imminent".
Third defence line soon
SRINAGAR, Sept 26 (PTI) — The Jammu and Kashmir Police will set up 114 border police post in Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla and Kupwara districts to establish a third defence line in frontier areas of the state, an official spokesman said here today. He said, with this, the number of such posts in the state would go up to 145 and help check infiltration and combat militancy in these areas. Besides, 150 more village defence committees (VDCs) will be set up, raising the total number of such committees from 750 to 900.