Tuesday, April 3, 2007, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Dalal St bleeds
1-day loss: Rs 1.5 trillion
Mumbai, April 2
For investors there is no worse way to start new fiscal than to see over Rs1.5 trillion go down the drain in trading that lasted less than six hours. The cumulative market value of all the companies listed is estimated to have dropped by a whopping Rs1,50,000 crore today when the Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) 30-share benchmark sensex lost 617 points to end at 12,455.37.

Sensex down 616 Mumbai, April 2 The impact of the RBI’s interest hike rates on Friday evening hit the markets hard today, taking the Sensex down 616 points.

Shell-shocked at BSE on Monday. — AFP photo

Govt cancels CLU approvals for mega-housing projects
Badal rocks builders’ foundation
Chandigarh, April 2
The Punjab Government has withdrawn the change of land-use (CLU) approvals granted to promoters of mega-housing projects in the state.

Pollution board refuses to release list

Wheat selling above MSP
Aggressive buying by pvt traders in Punjab

Chandigarh, April 2 The arrival of fresh wheat has begun in various grain markets in Punjab. It is fetching a price ranging from Rs 911 to Rs 925 per quintal, about Rs 75 higher than the minimum support price fixed by the union government.

Fresh wheat: Labourers dry wheat at the Rajpura grain market on Monday. — Tribune photo by J.S. Virdi

Solomon Islands struck by tsunami, 12 killed
Honiara, April 2
At least 12 persons were killed and many more missing after a powerful earthquake and tsunami struck the tiny Solomon Islands, sweeping away entire villages and triggering a Pacific-wide tsunami alert.

India-Pak defence secy-level talks on April 6
New Delhi, April 2
The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan today continued to have divergent views on terrorism, trade and transit rights to Afghanistan when they held a bilateral meeting on the margins of the 14th SAARC summit that begins tomorrow.

Liquor cheaper in Himachal
Shimla, April 2
Liquor will be cheaper in the hill state with the cabinet today deciding to slash VAT from 20 per cent to 4 per cent on both country liquor and Indian-made foreign Liquor.

In madarsa country, girl creates history
Mundigarh (Karnal), April 2

Though a school exists in this village in the district which is gearing up for the EDUSAT (education through satellite) programme, parents prefer sending their wards to madarsa instead of any educational institution. Here, girl education is taboo and the parents prefer not to send them to schools.

Youngsters deprived of education at Mundigarhi village in Karnal district are not aware that a local girl has created history of sorts by passing her middle exams. — Tribune photo by Ravi Kumar

‘Mirchi’ does what missing children could not Uttarakhand cops toil to trace missing top dog Dehra Dun, April 2 A pet bitch belonging to a top Uttarakhand bureaucrat turned out to be more fortunate than scores of missing children of the hill state.