S P O T L I G H T

Two CPI-ML (L) supporters shot
Patna, July 4
Two supporters of the CPI-ML (Liberation) were shot dead by unidentified assailants at a village in Patna district today, the police said.
The assailants swooped on Haiti village firing a hail of bullets, killing two CPI-ML (L) supporters on the spot. Another person of the village was abducted by the assailants, sources said. A combing operation has been launched to apprehend the killers. PTI

22 die in plane crash
Bangui, July 4
At least 22 persons died today when a Boeing 707 cargo jet aircraft carrying 25 persons crashed and broke up close by Bangui district, capital of the Central African Republic, airport and African aviation authorities said. The police said Red Cross workers and Bangui’s fire brigade had recovered a dozen bodies in their search for survivors. AFP

Director attacked
Mumbai, July 4
Film director Lawrence D’Souza, who had received calls from underworld don Chhota Shakeel for extortion money, was attacked this evening by two men near his residence at Oshiwara in the north-western part of this megapolis, but raised the alarm, forcing the assailants to flee. UNI

BJD wins byelection
Bhubaneswar, July 4
The ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD) in Orissa today scored a hat-trick when its candidate Mandakini Behera won the Nayagarh Assembly byelection, defeating Mr Sitakanta Mishra of the Congress in a triangular contest. The BJD had earlier won the Rairkhol and Bhadrak Assembly byelections. UNI

39 miners trapped
Beijing, July 4
A massive gas explosion in a northeastern Chinese coal mine yesterday has trapped at least 39 miners, with little hope of rescue, a local official and the state media said. Rescue efforts were under way at the Fuqiang mine in the town of Songshu. AP