PART ONE

BUDGET - FLAHERTY Reduce and reuse. Today's federal budget includes major public service cuts, while forcing Canadian workers to stay on the job longer before qualifying for their public pension. We speak to the Minister of Finance about his budget.

BUDGET - OPPOSITION The opposing opinion. NDP finance critic, Peter Julian, and the Liberal's critic, Scott Brison, offer their thoughts on today's budget.

PART TWO

SYRIAN NATIONAL ARMY USING HUMAN SHIELDS No person will be spared: As the Syrian president makes promises of peace, there is evidence the army is using human shields as it tries to crush the last of the opposition.

EARL SCRUGGS OBIT Farewell to the King of Plunk. Earl Scruggs, arguably the best banjo player to ever walk the earth, has died at the age of eighty-eight.

PART THREE

MALI COUP West African leaders abandon their plans to meet in Mali because of protests at the airport. We speak to one Malian who is worried ECOWAS doesn't understand the will of the people.

VAN GOGH LONDON HOUSE It's a tiny, shoddy house in south London, but because Van Gogh lived in it for a year, it has a lot of history. That's why, this week, it sold for half a million pounds.