Wednesday, March 23, 2011, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 2:30 am (IST)

Gaddafi continues resistance
nGovt troops shell rebel towns nUS fighter jet crashes near Benghazi due to ‘mechanical failure’ 
Tripoli/Washington, March 22
A US warplane crash-landed in Libya as coalition forces hit several defence targets across Tripoli today but there was no let-up by Muammar Gaddafi's military which pounded rebel-held towns of Misurata and Ajdabiya. A US Air Force F-15E crashed near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi overnight due to "mechanical failure".

world page: Now, winds of regime change grip Syria Libyans gather around the wreckage of a US F-15 fighter jet in Ghot Sultan, southeast of Benghazi, on Tuesday. — AFP

Top cop suspended for ‘extortion’ from Hasan
Mumbai, March 22
Maharashtra’s Home Minister RR Patil today told the state legislature that the government had suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Deshbhratar for allegedly trying to extort Rs 1 crore from Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali who has been arrested in connection with a hawala case.

Centre rolls back 5% ‘misery tax’ on private healthcare
New Delhi, March 22
Patients seeking private medical care will no longer be burdened with the additional 5 per cent service tax which Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier announced in his General Budget speech. Cornered from all quarters, the minister, while moving the Finance Bill (which was later passed) in the Lok Sabha today, withdrew the tax from both the medical treatment and diagnostic services available in air-conditioned facilities with 25 or more beds.

6% DA hike for Central govt staff
New Delhi, March 22
In a major relief to over 50 lakh Central government employees and over 38 lakh pensioners, the government today increased the DA by 6 percentage points, taking it to 51 per cent of the basic pay. The increase will be effective from January 1 this year. The burden on the exchequer will be Rs 6,668.52 crore (combining the backlog of the three months in 2010-11).

Quota stir: Jats invited for talks
New Delhi, March 22
In an attempt to end the ongoing stir, the Government of India on Tuesday invited Jat leaders for another round of talks. “The Centre has indicated that it wants to hold another round of talks,” said OP Mann, one of the Jat leaders, to The Tribune while confirming that a delegation had left for Delhi. However, he refused to elaborate when the talks would be held.

At Ramayan, it’s all fun for protesting Jats

The Last Word
Bhagat Singh
The making of the revolutionary
Bhagat Singh was a well-read, articulate young man who significantly impacted Indian history and left behind a legacy that even 80 years after his martyrdom is still very much a part of our cultural ethos
Committed communicator, perceptive, passionate, admirable...any young person would be flattered to be the subject of any one of these adjectives. What would happen if all of them, and many more, were used for the same person? Well, he would be a legend—Shaheed. The legacy of the man is such that his name sounds incomplete without this prefix.