ajax@leland.stanford.edu (06/08/91)
============================== From: ajax@leland.stanford.edu ============================== ASSASSINATION UPDATE: ==================== Police are searching for three persons who were seen moving with the assassin on the fateful night. One man's photo has been circulated, and another man and a woman are being sought. Justice J.S.Verma, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, has been appointed as the one-man commission of inquiry to probe possible security lapses in the assassination. Meanwhile, police sources said that RG frequently used to dodge security so that the public could have closer contact with him. Indian papers have published pictures of the assassin's mangled body, but the face is quite recognizable. ECONOMIC CRISIS =============== India has recently sold 20 tonnes of gold for $240 million, to raise badly needed foreign exchange. This gold was from confiscated stocks and not the regular stocks of the RBI. Standard and Poor's reduced India's debt rating from BB+ to BBB-, its second such downgrading in less than a year. The company said that this step, which takes India's rating to "Speculative" grade, reflects their view that the new government will not be able to take steps to overcome its liquidity and repayment problems. India's present forex reserves are down to about $1 billion, just enough for two weeks imports. The IMF loan of $2 billion is likely to be further delayed until the budget is passed. Meanwhile, the rupee continues its rapid slide against world ccurrencies. The dollar crossed the 21-rupee mark. ASSAM ====== Campaigning in Assam has been quite peaceful compared to the rest of the country. Elections are on June 6 and 8. It is unclear whether the results will be declared immediately or after the other elections are over. PAKISTAN ========= PM Nawaz Sharif met with several Indian politicians including BJP leaders during his visit to India for the funeral. Pakistan's defense expenditure in the current year is $2.99 billion. The corresponding figure for India is $5.56 billion. Military sources said that the recent blast in Nowshera was most probably due to sabotage. MISCELLANY Veteran Congress leader Uma Shankar Dikshit has died at the age of 90. Pradeep Khandwala has taken over as director of IIM Ahmedabad. This follows two years of politicking after his appointment. Finally the government got fed up and sacked the IIM's Board chairman A.P.Venkateswaran who was held responsible for the problems.(This is the same person who was unceremoniously sacked by RG from the post of Foreign Secretary). INDIANS IN USA Kiran Kedlaya, a high school student from Washington DC, has topped the US Mathematical Olympiad. Maria Roshni Mathew, an 11-year old from Illinois, was the runner-up in the National Spelling Bee. (This is considered one of the most prestigious contests for school students in the US) CRICKET At close of the second day's play in the first Test at Leeds, West Indies was 166/8 (Richards 73*) in response to England's 198 (R.Smith 54) ========================================================================= Edited to suit the needs of misc.news.southasia, a moderated news group