tribuneindia...Spotlight

			Friday, May 21, 1999
weather today's calendar

Squall disrupts life in Rajasthan
JAIPUR, May 20 (PTI) — A severe thunder squall associated with the cyclone that hit Gujarat coast today disrupted normal life in several parts of south-west Rajasthan, a Met Department official said here today. The squall, with wind speeds of up to 85 km and accompanied by thundershowers uprooted trees and damaged several houses in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Sirohi, Jodhpur, Dungarpur, Banswara and Kota districts of the state. Though the Arabian sea-borne cyclonic storm has entered Pakistan through Nalia in Gujarat, influence of its periphery engulfed south-west regions of the state this forenoon, Director of State Weather Office R.C. Gupta told PTI. The squall, with wind speeds of up to 85 km per hour brought down a number of trees, hoardings and posters, disrupting traffic, he said.

Arms supply racket
GUWAHATI, May 20 (PTI) — A major international arms supply racket providing sophisticated guns to northeast insurgent outfits has been busted here and four suppliers arrested. Describing it as a major breakthrough, the city police authorities said the gang members were arrested yesterday on a tip-off from near the Bodoland guest house in the Khanapara area of the city on the Assam-Meghalaya border. An AK-47 rifle, 105 rounds of ammunition, a revolver and three Chinese grenades were seized from inside a specially constructed box in the insurgents jeep, the police said. They said the racketeers smuggled in the sophisticated weapons from Myanmar to Shillong from Mizoram for sale to militants.

PM visit
AIZAWL, May 20 (PTI) — The Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee will boycott Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's maiden visit to Mizoram on Saturday, the party said here today. The PCC said that Mr Vajpayee, who is coming here to campaign in favour of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) for the coming Lok Sabha elections, would not be welcome as he had allegedly refused to visit the state earlier. Mr Vajpayee refused to visit the state earlier and was coming now when he had become a caretaker Prime Minister, the PCC alleged in a press note.

Karunakaran
NEW DELHI, May 20 (UNI) — Senior Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister K. Karuanakaran was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here today following some breathing problem. Doctors attending on him said, he would have to remain in hospital for the next three days.

Bangla protest
DHAKA, May 20 (PTI) — Bangladesh today protested what it called violation of a border guideline by the BSF which "constructed" a "defence structure" near the borders along West Bengal. India's Deputy High Commissioner to Dhaka, Mr Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, was called to the Foreign Ministry here to receive a protest note and asked to ensure stoppage of the alleged construction near Majirpara border in Panchagarh district in northern Bangladesh.