S P O T L I G H T

Self-immolation by Jaya’s fan
Madurai, September 22
An AIADMK worker committed suicide by immolating himself after the verdict of the Supreme Court which unseated Ms J. Jayalalitha as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. According to the police, Sethuramalingam (29), working in a private stainless steel unit, doused himself with kerosene and set himself ablaze at Chinthamani near here last evening as he was unable to bear the news of Ms Jayalalitha’s disqualification. UNI

Laden ‘not in China’
Beijing, September 22
China today refuted as “totally ungrounded” a newspaper report saying that Osama bin Laden, is currently in China. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao told the official Xinhua news agency that the report published in the British newspaper, ‘Guardian’ that Laden had fled Afghanistan and entered China was “totally ungrounded.” China has offered its support to the US-led ‘war against terror’. However, Beijing said any attack against the Taliban militia should be based on “concrete evidence” and not hurt the innocent. PTI

Mamata stages dharna
Kolkata, September 22
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee stages a dharna today, alleging she had been fisticuffed by women police amid mounting tension over the demolition of “shanties” and permanent structures during the eviction drive on the banks of Tolly’s Nullah in the southern outskirts of the metropolis. Ms Banerjee rushed to the locality in the afternoon and was immediately surrounded by the Rapid Action Force and the police, who prevented her from going to the Garia station road area where 300 structures were razed on the first day of the drive by the West Bengal Government to facilitate extension of the Metro Railway. PTI