A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Supreme Court cancels Goa mining leases, asks government to restart the auction process: Companies can carry out mining only till March 16, and have to obtain environmental clearance to get fresh leases after that, the top court said.
  2. Four dead, over 200 injured in Taiwan after earthquake of magnitude 6.4 strikes Hualien city: Several building collapsed or were damaged in the quake.
  3. ‘Muslims should not live in this country,’ says BJP MP Vinay Katiyar: Meanwhile, MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that calling Indian Muslims ‘Pakistanis’ should be made a punishable offence.
  4. Supreme Court of Maldives revokes order to free nine political prisoners: India had earlier said that it is disturbed by the emergency declared in the Maldives.
  5. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, the world’s most powerful, soars into orbit: The company’s founder Elon Musk is hoping that a rocket like this will help NASA in its future interplanetary explorations.
  6. Uttar Pradesh recorded highest number of communal incidents in 2017, followed by Karnataka, says Centre: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir told Parliament on Tuesday that 111 people had died in 822 communal incidents across India in 2017.
  7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s estranged wife Jashodaben injured in accident in Rajasthan: She received minor injuries and is not in danger, reports said.  
  8. At least eight people die after the vehicle they were travelling in falls into a gorge in Uttarakhand: The group was on its way to Pithoragarh from Tanakpur when the accident occurred.  
  9. Sensex, Nifty rise ahead of RBI monetary policy review meeting: The market was also trading up on positive cues from Asian markets, which had calmed down after Wall Street recovered its losses.
  10. In Kerala, BJP files complaint against Malayalam poet Sreekumar for ‘speaking against Sangh Parivar’: BJP State President Kummanam Rajasekharan refuted claims that right-wing group members had attacked the poet.