2 min readMar 28, 2026 06:42 AM IST First published on: Mar 28, 2026 at 06:33 AM ISTThe death toll in the police firing following a fierce clash between the Damdami Taksal-AISSF activists and the law-and-order authorities on the eve of the Hola Mohalla festival at Anandpur Sahib rose to 12 though the official sources said seven. Terrorists shot dead two people including the veteran CPI leader Arjan Singh Mastana and burnt the records and furniture of the Akali Dal (Longowal) headquarters in the Golden Temple complex.US withdraws from Gulf of SidraUS warships have begun leaving the Gulf of Sidra and are allowing civilian ships to return to the disputed water body, according to a message from a Lebanese tanker monitored by a Spanish maritime radio station.AdvertisementA spokesman said it monitored a radio message at 1.40 pm IST from the Benghazi-bound Lebanese tanker Somodra to its unidentified owners, saying US ships had advised civilian vessels they could move freely in the Gulf.IMC, FICCI part waysThe Indian Merchants’ Chamber decided to resign its membership of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, brushing aside pleas for a compromise. The executive committee also decided to get in touch with other chambers of trade and industry to explain the IMC’s point of view.Punjab cabinet on violenceThe Punjab Cabinet called upon the Akali Dal and the people of Punjab to fight “disruptive elements”. It also unanimously endorsed the stand taken by the CM, Surjit Singh Barnala, in containing the extremists. The cabinet discussed Anandpur Sahib at an emergency meeting and condemned the attempts by “unruly, anti-state, anti-Panthic and anti-national elements” to violate the sanctity of the “holy congregation”.