The 3G bonanza
n Govt mops up over Rs 67,000 cr from auction n No firm gets all-India licence n RCom, Bharti bag 13 circles n Bharti loses Punjab, Haryana
New Delhi, May 19
The Congress-led UPA government got a fabulous first anniversary gift as the auction for the third generation (3G) spectrum ended today, leaving the Finance Ministry richer by over Rs 67,000 crore.

faqs
Industry fears hike in mobile tariff

‘Talks with Pak to reduce distrust’
Chandigarh, May 19
Tasked with the most important but unenviable task of resuming the dialogue with Pakistan, India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna believes the challenge lies in reducing the trust deficit between the two countries. Krishna will be paying his maiden visit to Islamabad on July 15 to talk to his counterpart Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. In an exclusive interview to The Tribune Editor-in-Chief Raj Chengappa, India’s External Affairs Minister said: “There is total distrust between the two countries. So we will have to attack the trust deficit first. The central theme of my visit is to make an effort to reduce the trust deficit and even eliminate it. I think if we succeed, something would be achieved.”

SM Krishna Interview on Opinions page

280 fishermen missing as Laila batters Tamil Nadu coast
Rameswaram (TN), May 19
As many as 140 boats anchored along Mandapam coast in Ramanathapuram district were damaged in strong winds triggered by cyclonic storm Laila even as 20 of the 300 fishermen reported missing returned to shore from Katchathivu island, officials said.

Laila: Thousands evacuated in Andhra
May impact western coast

Chhattisgarh CM hints at Naxal link with Lashkar
New Delhi, May 19
Describing Naxals as “biggest terrorists”, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today hinted at some connection between Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Maoists.

Nation page: CRPF patrol van blown up; 4 dead

Pak bans Facebook over Prophet cartoons
Islamabad, May 19
The Pakistan government today directed all Internet service providers to block Facebook in line with the Lahore High Court’s order to temporarily cut off access to it over a page encouraging users to post caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed on the popular social networking site.

Pak delegation wants easing of visa rules
New Delhi, May 19
A delegation of Pakistani industrialists and mediapersons today acknowledged that there were numerous hurdles in the way to a stable and peaceful relation between India and Pakistan and said both countries could take several uncontroversial initiatives to give a fillip to engagement between two neighbours.

ICSE students outperform CBSE’s Chandigarh, May 19 The CBSE today declared the Class XII results for Ajmer, Panchkula and Chennai regions. While 77.7 per cent students passed the examination in Panchkula, 95 per cent students cleared the exam in the Ajmer region. The highest percentage in the Chennai region is 92.78 per cent. Saloni Singh (C) of DAV Public School, Panchkula, topped in arts stream of CBSE Class XII on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan