In order to prevent a near-famine caused by a catastrophic drought, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has asked central leaders to permit his administration to acquire foodgrain from neighbouring states. ‘In our godowns, we only have enough food for two weeks.’

Lankan Emergency 
Soon after the elections on October 20 are over, Sri Lanka is expected to be placed under a state of emergency. A Colombo English newspaper that supports the government’s United National Party claimed, citing’ informed sources,’ that a decision to this effect was made at a recent national security council meeting presided over by President J R Jayawardene, to prevent post-election unrest. Violence following elections has been commonplace in this nation. When declared, the emergency would be the third in the previous 14 months.

Akali Prisoners
Neelalhoita Dasan Nadar, a member of the Democratic Socialist Party, was reprimanded by Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar for ‘table[ing]’ inedible rotis that he said were being provided to Akali prisoners mal Punjab.

TN’s Cauvery Plea
The Tamil Nadu government has requested that the Centre change its current nonchalant approach toward the issue and find a solution for the sharing of the Cauvery waters, thereby abandoning all bilateral talks with Karnataka on the matter.

Polish Protests
The police opened fire on protesters close to the southern Polish city of Krakow, and a 40-year-old man was shot and later died in the hospital, according to the official news agency.