A look at the headlines right now:

  1. India dismisses Pakistan’s claim that it will probe Pulwama attack if there is proof as ‘lame excuse’: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh told Pakistan PM Imran Khan to arrest Masood Azhar, while China asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and hold a dialogue. Pakistan also asked the UN to intervene to ‘defuse tensions’ with India. Meanwhile, Pakistani citizens in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district were asked to leave within 48 hours, and the Army said the Jaish-e-Mohammad leadership in Kashmir Valley was eliminated within 100 hours of Pulwama attack.
  2. BJP to contest five Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu as part of alliance with AIADMK: The AIADMK and the Pattali Makkal Katchi had entered an alliance earlier in the day.
  3. Second day of hearing in Kulbhushan Jadhav case at ICJ concludes, Pakistan claims India is seeking relief for a terrorist in its petition: On the first day of the hearings, India had sought Jadhav’s release from a Pakistani prison.
  4. Two Surya Kiran jets crash during rehearsal for Aero India 2019, one pilot killed: The Bengaluru Police had earlier said that one civilian has been hurt in the accident.
  5. Narendra Modi says those mocking Vande Bharat Express should be ‘punished at the right time’: The prime minister asked people not to get ‘demoralised by those surrounded by negativity’.
  6. ‘Boycott everything Kashmiri’, tweets Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy, sparking controversy: Meanwhile, JNU scholar Shehla Rashid was booked for ‘spreading rumours’ on Twitter regarding Kashmiri students’ safety. The police action was condemned by several people, including Shah Faesal. In Dehradun, the Kashmiri dean of a college was suspended after a protesting mob demanded it, while two colleges said they will not admit students from Kashmir starting next academic session.
  7. Bollywood celebrities agreed to promote political parties on social media for a fee, reports Cobrapost: Actors such as Jackie Shroff, Vivek Oberoi and Poonam Pandey, and singers Kailash Kher and Baba Sehgal agreed to the task, the investigative website found.
  8. Gas company Indane’s website exposed Aadhaar details of millions of customers, claims report: French cyber security researcher Elliot Alderson claimed that the information of nearly 68 lakh customers could have been compromised.
  9. In US, 16 states file lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to fund a border wall: The lawsuit argued that the president does not have the power to divert funds to construct the wall since the US Congress controlled spending.
  10. Supreme Court refuses to interfere in Nageswara Rao’s appointment as CBI’s interim chief: The bench also refused to set out guidelines for more transparency in appointments to the top Central Bureau of Investigation post.