NEW DELHI, June 21: A fire broke out at the 7 Race Course Road residence of Prime Minister I K Gujral barely 15 minutes after he reached home in the afternoon today. The sudden underground explosion and thick smoke around 4.25 pm inside the compound spread panic in the area and Special Protection Group (SPG) sleuths swamped the place with their arms drawn. However, no one was injured.

Iraq resolution

UNITED NATIONS: An Anglo-US resolution calling upon the UN security council to punish Iraq for debarring UN arms inspectors into suspected weapons sites has met with stiff opposition, diplomats said. After strong opposition to the original draft from China, Russia, France and Egypt, a watered down version was presented to the council by the original sponsors but even that failed to meet objections raised by the opposing nations, they said.

NSCN ultras

MANILA: Two Indians, described as leaders of a ``terrorist'' separatist group, have entered the Philippines and are being hunted by intelligence forces, a private radio station reported here today. The station quoted diplomatic notes as saying the two, Isac Swu and T H Muivah, chairman and secretary-general respectively of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), were in metropolitan Manila, hiding among the local Indian community. The report said the two wanted to turn the Philippines into a ``revolutionary base'' to promote secession in north India.

Punjab militants

AMRITSAR: Punjab militants camping in Pakistan for around 12 years are trying to sneak into and take political asylum in western countries, police said here today. At least 12 of them have already manoeuvred their infiltration into some western countries, including the United States and Canada, the police said. Citing instances, they said 11 out of 12 hijackers of two Indian aircraft to Lahore in 1981 and 1984 had clandestinely moved to western countries.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.