S P O T L I G H T

Nine Maoists shot dead
Kathmandu, September 21
The security forces have gunned down at least nine Maoist insurgents in various parts of the country, the Defence Ministry said here today. The security forces yesterday killed at least four insurgents in Chitwan district, 140 km south of Kathmandu during search operations, while five others were killed in Rolpa, Jumla and Saptari districts, the Defence Ministry said. UNI

100 feared dead
Gizel, Russia, September 21
Up to 100 persons, including a popular Russian movie star, were feared dead today after an avalanche sent ice, rocks, mud and debris crashing down a mountainside in southern Russia. Emergency officials said they did not know how many people were trapped or killed by the avalanche, which was caused yesterday by a falling glacier in the Russian republic of North Ossetia, about 1,500 km south-east of Moscow. AP

Dalits, police clash
Jaipur, September 21
At least 32 people, including a Superintendent of Police and 14 other policemen, were injured when a group of Dalits protesting alleged denial of access to a pond and a temple by the upper castes in a Rajasthan village, clashed with the police, about 40 km from here today. State Home Minister Gulab Singh Shaktawat said while two of the injured sustained bullet wounds, 15 policemen were injured in stone pelting by the Dalits and an equal number of protesters when the police fired rubber bullets to disperse them. PTI

11 students held
Itanagar, September 21
Eleven students were arrested in connection with the yesterday’s violent incident of ransacking shops and attacking the police. The police also shifted the critically injured student to New Delhi for treatment. PTI