tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Thursday, April 22, 1999
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Notice to Centre on war prisoners
NEW DELHI, April 21 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Centre on a petition seeking the government to place before it a report about the steps taken to trace 54 defence personnel "captured" by Pakistan during the 1971 war. A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Mr Justice K.S. Gupta asked the government to file a reply by July 8, the next date of hearing. The petition, filed by advocate K.L. Sharma, also sought that the government should take up the matter with UN Human Rights Commission.

Passengers freed
MOSCOW, April 21 (AFP) — Hijackers, who today forced a plane bound for Moscow from the Tajik Capital Dushanbe to land in the Russian City of Samara, have released all 136 passengers on board, the police said. "All 136 passengers have been freed. The crew have also been let off the plane and negotiations are now going on between the hijackers and the authorities," a police spokesman said.

15 LTTE men killed
COLOMBO, April 21 (PTI) — Fifteen LTTE rebels and two civilians were killed in heavy fighting in Sri Lanka’s north even as heavy rains and landslides inundated several parts of the country, killing two persons and rendering thousands of people homeless. However, fighting between the troops and the LTTE guerrillas continued in the north despite heavy rains. A defence press note here today said that 15 Tamil tigers were killed in different encounters with the troops yesterday.

HC dismisses plea
NEW DELHI, April 21 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition seeking to set up a commission of experts to examine the "role" of Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom movement saying the historians have "wrongly projected" him as the father of the nation. A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Mr Justice K.S. Gupta outrightly rejecting the plea of Dr K.V. Seetharamaiah of Andhra Pradesh, said the petition was not maintainable and there was no violation of any rights.

Russia, Pak talks
MOSCOW, April 21 (PTI) — Russia and Pakistan today agreed to upgrade bilateral ties and set up an inter-governmental commission to develop trade and economic interaction between them. In the first ever high level summit of the two countries in 25 years in Kremlin, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also decided to exchange visits of foreign ministers "to continue and sustain political dialogue", Foreign Minister Ivanov was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.

Nepal former PM
KATHMANDU, April 21 (AP) — Mr Manmohan Adhikari (78), former Nepalese Prime Minister and a Communist Party leader, remained in coma today and doctors said his health had deteriorated since Monday, when he was hospitalised after collapsing at an election rally. He is still in a state of coma and his condition has deteriorated from the first time he was brought in. Now the functioning of his kidney is also not normal,’’ said director of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.