tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Tuesday, January 19, 1999
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Delhi SAD locks horns with Sena
NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (PTI) — The Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today locked horns with Shiv Sena over the coming tour of the Pakistani cricket team to India, saying its activists will guard against any disruptive activities by the Sena. "Our activists will be posted outside the Ferozeshah Kotla ground to stop Shiv Sena workers from disrupting the match on January 28," the Delhi SAD President, Mr Balwinder Singh Talwandi, told newsmen here.

Budget on Feb 27
NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (PTI) — The General Budget for 1999-2000 will be presented to the Lok Sabha at 11 a.m. on February 27 instead of the last day of the month which falls on Sunday. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which met on Friday, decided that Parliament would sit specially on Saturday for presentation of the Budget as February 28, the day budgets were presented traditionally in the past, comes on a Sunday this year, sources said.

Badal meets PM
NEW DELHI, Jan 18 (UNI) — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal tonight met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at his official residence here. The Chief Minister accompanied by his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also a Union Minister of State for Industry, remained with the Prime Minister for about half-an-hour. Mr Badal said he had come to invite Mr Vajpayee for the tercentenary Khalsa celebrations at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.

‘Jail bharo’ stir
LUCKNOW, Jan 18 (PTI) — The Samajwadi Party President, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, today said his party would launch "an indefinite statewide ‘jail bharo’ agitation from February 5 to highlight ‘rampant corruption, intimidation and harassment’ of party workers in Uttar Pradesh by the BJP-led coalition government. He said he would also court arrest on February 6 under the programme.

Iraq’s offer
MOSCOW, Jan 18 (UNI) — The Iraqi President, Mr Saddam Hussein, has proposed signing a peace treaty with Iran, the neighbouring nation with which Baghdad has had strained relations since 1980, according to Radio Moscow. Iraq has sent a correspondent to Teheran to initiate the peace-building exercise, but Iran’s response to Mr Hussein’s overtures is not yet known.

Lankan violence
COLOMBO, Jan 18 (UNI) — Security forces killed three Tamil rebels in fresh fighting in north-east of Sri Lanka, Defence Ministry sources said today. They also recovered two hand grenades and cyanide capsules from the possession of the rebels yesterday. The sources said the forces fought with the rebels in Mankulam and Oddusudan.

Blast in Colombo
COLOMBO, Jan 18 (AP) — Two electricity transformers in the Capital’s main wholesale business district exploded today. The police suspect sabotage. There were no casualties, but electricity supplies were interrupted in the area.

35 cops suspended
LUCKNOW, Jan 18 (PTI) — Thirtyfive policemen of Bhadoi district, including its circle officer, have been indicted by the CB-CID which probed the killing of three persons in a "fake encounter" in October last. The Uttar Pradesh Government was examining the CB-CID report and would soon take action on the basis of the report, the Home Secretary told newsmen here today.