World Vignettes

Naipaul losing his grip,says ex-editor

London: Diana Athill,93,one of Britains leading authors who edited several of Nobel laureate V S Naipauls books,has reacted to his comments against women writers by saying that he is losing his grip. During his remarks about no woman writer being equal to him,Naipaul referred to Athill,without mentioning her by name,and said: My publisher,who was so good as a taster and editor,when she became a writer,lo and behold,it was all this feminine tosh. Athill told Evening Standard: It seems he is losing his grip. It is ridiculous.

James Arness of Gunsmoke series dies at 88

LOS ANGELES: James Arness,who towered over the television landscape for two decades as righteous Dodge City lawman Matt Dillon in the western Gunsmoke,died Friday. He was 88. The actor died in his sleep at his home in California. He was also a part of the the 1978-79 ABC series How the West Was Won.