S P O T L I G H T

Man shot at near White House
WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) — A man carrying a gun just outside the White House grounds was shot in the leg by security personnel today, US Park Police said. “There is a subject outside the fence on E Street side (the south side) of the White House, (it is) a possible suicide attempt,’’ said Sgt. Michael Smith of the Park Police. "Shots have been fired, the subject has been shot in the leg, (he has) non-life threatening injuries and medics are on the scene.’’ News reports identified the man as being 17 years old and showed pictures of him arriving at George Washington university hospital by ambulance. It was not immediately clear what the man’s motives were.

Snag stops LCA’s flight
BANGALORE, Feb 7 (UNI) — The multirole light combat aircraft (LCA) could not take to the skies at the inaugural show of the Aero-India show at the IAF Yelahanka airbase today due to a technical snag. A large gathering at the base had to return disappointed as the aircraft did not join the colourful fly-past held as part of the inaugural show. Mr V.K. Atre, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, told reporters later that the decision to not fly the LCA was taken after the pilot noticed a red light flashing in P-Bit (pilot built-in test) during the flight preparedness.

Death for Indian
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 7 (AFP) — Kuwait’s top court has upheld a death sentence against an Indian maid for strangling her 80-year-old employer, newspapers reported today. Qadeer Kaleeja, 23, who also stole $ 2,700, murdered the Kuwaiti woman Aisha-al-Fadalah, in her bed in November, 1999, Al-Qabas daily said. The maid was sentenced to death by the criminal and appeals courts, and the sentence was upheld yesterday by the cassation court.