Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 11, 1995                   TAG: 9504110129
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN THE WORLD

NEW DELHI, India - India's former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, whose career faltered when he ran afoul of Indira Gandhi but ultimately recovered, died Monday in Bombay at age 99 - longevity that he linked to his unusual health practices.

Desai was India's prime minister from 1977 to 1979, the country's first leader not to be a member of the Congress Party. He had been a loyal follower of Congress - the engine that had powered India to sovereignty - until he joined party dissenters against Gandhi's rule in 1969.

After India won nationhood in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave Desai several important Cabinet posts.

He said his personal habits contributed to his longevity: He became celibate at age 32 after the birth of his fourth child, and he kept a diet of fruit, milk and his own urine.

- Associated Press

Deng Xiaoping's rival for power dies

BEIJING - Chen Yun, senior leader Deng Xiaoping's only serious rival for power and the architect of China's centrally planned economy, was reported to have died Monday. He was 89.

China's official media did not report Chen's death, but the Japanese news agency, Kyodo, reported late in the day that Chen had died, citing unidentified Chinese sources. The Kyodo report said the cause of his death was not disclosed.

A staunch defender of traditional Marxism, Chen ranked behind only 90-year-old Deng among the eight revolutionary leaders who have collectively ruled China. With Chen's death, only five survive.

- Associated Press