S P O T L I G H T

Crew members of tanker rescued
TOKYO, May 28 (PTI) — All 34 crew members of an empty Indian oil tanker which caught fire off southern Japan last night had been rescued, a Japanese Coast Guard official said today. Details of the rescue operation, which began this morning, were not immediately available, Kyodo news agency reported. The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) had received distress call from the 26,450 tonne “Pratibha Yamuna” slip at around 7 p.m. (3.30 p.m. IST), spokesman for the JCG’s regional headquarters in southern Kagoshima state said.

Ranvir Sena man held
PATNA, May 28 (PTI) — Ranvir Sena activist Upendra Singh, alias Mugia, involved in Lakshmanpur Bathe and Shankerbigha massacres of Dalits and several other incidents extremist-related violence in Bihar, had been arrested, the police said today. Upendra Singh, who had been eluding the police since 1980, was arrested on Friday at Jalpura village in Patna district, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar said.

UN hostages freed
FREETOWN, May 28 (Reuters) — The United Nations today said another 30 of its Sierra Leone peacekeepers had been released by their rebel captors and were now in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. UN spokesman David Wimhurst told Reuters in Freetown the UN was hopeful that more would be freed soon. The number of peacekeepers it now considers as detained is 59.

Israeli Dy PM quits
JERUSALEM, May 28 (AFP) — Israeli Deputy Premier Yitzhak Mordechai, charged on three counts of sexual assault, had handed in his resignation, the Prime Minister’s Office said today. Mr Mordechai submitted his resignation to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, it added.

3 killed in godown fire
PARADIP, May 28 (PTI) — Three persons were killed and 30 were injured in a fire at a sulphur godown of a fertilisers and chemicals plant here today, triggering clashes between factory workers and security guards, the police said.