Tom offers $75,000 reward for guitars

LOS ANGELES: Rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are offering a $75,000 reward for the return of five guitars stolen from a Los Angeles-area studio last week, ahead of their US and Europe tour.

The band said on their website that the guitars include Petty's 1967 12-string blonde Ricken backer 360 and his 1965 Gibson SGTV Junior, as well as instruments belonging to bassist Ron Blair, rhythm guitar player Scott Thurston, and lead guitarist Mike Campbell.

They said they would pay a $75,000 reward "with no questions asked to anyone with information leading to the recovery of the guitars."

The guitars were reported stolen on Thursday from a studio in Culver City, west of Los Angeles, where the band was rehearsing for their US tour, which is set to open in Broomfield, Colorado, on Wednesday.

Police said they were investigating the theft. (Reuters)

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India: 20 trapped as building collapses

NEW DELHI: More than 20 people were feared trapped Monday after a building housing a blanket factory collapsed in northern India, television reports said.

Television footage showed emergency workers searching through the debris of the building which collapsed Sunday night in Jalandhar in Punjab state.

Eyewitnesses said around 70 people had been working in the factory at the time but there was no confirmation of the precise number.

The CNN-IBN channel quoted police officials as saying more than 40 people had been rescued.

One eyewitness told the channel that the collapse was caused by a boiler explosion. (AFP)

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Multan region faces CNG closure

MULTAN: Multan region is facing CNG closure for three consecutive days while the citizens are forced to buy expensive fuel.

Following the gas load management program, more than 200 CNG stations were closed in Multan region including Vihari, Chichawatni, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh, Lyyah and Dera Ghazi Khan.

Commuters were facing severe problems in carrying out their day-to-day tasks where CNG is closed for three days, starting from 6am today.

The CNG supply will be resumed on Wednesday.

The public transport owners have increased the fares due to CNG suspension and increased petrol prices.

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