S P O T L I G H T

Five children drowned
Tribune News Service
SAMANA, June 9 — Five children, including three siblings, were drowned in Sansarwal and Bherpura villages due to a heavy rain that lashed the subdivision yesterday. According to information received here, some Dalit women were planting paddy in Sansarwal village and their children were playing nearby when suddenly the children were caught in nearby rain water and four of them were drowned. Of these, two boys and a girl were the only children of Gurdas Singh and were aged between eight and 12. The fourth child was a girl who had come on a vacation to a relatives place. The children were buried by villagers and they reportedly did not inform the police of the incident because of fear. In another incident, a 12-year-old Dalit, Vicky of nearby Bherpura village was, drowned in a pit while he was bathing in rain water along with his friends.

CBI raids
CHENNAI, June 9 (UNI) — The CBI today simultaneously raided the residential premises of Southern Railway (SR) General Manager N. Kirthivasan, an official of SR at Palakkad as also the house of a railway contractor and seized material evidence and large amount of foreign and Indian currencies from Mr Kirthivasan’s Haddows Road residence here. CBI sources said the raid was in connection with the award of contract for ballast for the Chennai-Thiruchi gauge conversion in 1995-96.

14-day ceasefire
BRISBANE, June 9 (Reuters) — Warring Solomon Islands militias agreed today to a 14-day ceasefire to allow a Commonwealth Foreign Ministers’ visit this weekend aimed at restoring peace after an attempted coup, Meanwhile, the Australian navy supply ship, HMAS Tobruk, continued loading Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, US and British nationals from the Honiara Yacht Club.