40 die as avalanches bury houses in J&K
Srinagar/Shimla/Chandigarh, February 20
Forty persons were killed in house collapses triggered by avalanches and landslides in Jammu and Kashmir as the heaviest snowfall in a decade and a half paralysed normal life in the Kashmir valley which remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third day today.
In video (28k, 56k)

Heavy snow has clogged the transmission lines in the Jawahar Tunnel area of Jammu and Kashmir. —  Tribune photo by Amin War

J&K page: J&K Government approaches IAF for emergency supplies
Himachal page: No luck for stranded passengers

Pak cricketers to arrive on February 28
Mohali Test from March 8
Thiruvananthapuram, February 20
The Pakistan cricket team will arrive on February 28 for a 50-day tour of India comprising three Tests and six-one-dayers, it was announced here today.
In video (28k, 56k)

Sports page: 10,000 visas for Pak cricket fans
Shoaib rues missing tour

Ethical issues involved in stem cell research: ICMR chief
Hyderabad, February 20
A day after a United Nation’s committee resolved to ban “all forms of human cloning”, India’s topmost medical administrator today cautioned that stem cell research in this country, though having a huge potential, is riddled with “ethical, environmental, religious, cultural and political” factors.

Units want entry tax on drugs from hill states
Chandigarh, February 20
The multi-crore small and marginal drug industry employing about 50,000 skilled and unskilled workers in Punjab, is in a quandary. 

Shia-Sunni clash claims three lives
Lucknow, February 20
At least three persons were killed and as many as 15 were injured in sectarian violence in Lucknow and Kolkata, while six Shia leaders were detained in Srinagar for defying a ban on tazia procession during 'Ashura' of Muharram today.

In video (28k, 56k) A boy throws stones during clashes between Shias and Sunnis in Lucknow on Sunday. Three men were killed during a tazia procession.  — Reuters photo

Exam fear claims six lives in Delhi
New Delhi, February 20
Parents should not mount pressure on their children ahead of next month’s annual school exams, the fear of which has already led to six suicides, a top psychologist has warned.

Gaadiwalas on fast track Kila Raipur, February 20 There is more to the annual February fete at Kila Raipur than just sport as was evident today when the sun stopped playing truant and smiled brightly in the clear blue sky as the three-day event came to a happy finale. Sports page: Veterans shine on concluding day A tense moment during the bullock cart race in the 70th Kila Raipur Rural Games near Ludhiana on Sunday. — Photo by Sayeed Ahmed