A look at the headlines right now:

  1. An outpouring of grief on Twitter after acting legend Sridevi’s death: The actress was renowned for her naturalistic acting abilities, her comic timing, and her graceful dancing skills.
  2. Puducherry is a victim of ‘Congress culture’, its leaders have done ‘injustice’, says PM Modi: The prime minister, in his monthly Mann Ki Baat address, said a “new India” can be built only when women are empowered and given equal opportunities in social and financial matters.
  3. China moves to lift 2-year limit on president’s term, sets stage for Xi Jinping to lead indefinitely: The ruling Communist Party also proposed that Xi’s political ideology should be written into the Constitution.  
  4. Kerala law student receives threats over Facebook post on menstruation taboos: The woman added that a group of unidentified men wearing masks had threatened her sister.
  5. CBI registers Rs 109-crore loan default case against Uttar Pradesh’s sugar company: The Oriental Bank of Commerce had granted Rs 148 crore in 2011 to Simbhaoli Sugars, one of India’s largest sugar refinery companies.  
  6. Rahul Gandhi and Amit Shah campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, accuse each other of ignoring farmers: While the Congress chief said Modi was waiving businessmen’s loans, the BJP president called the state’s CM Siddaramaiah ‘insensitive’.  
  7. Suspected militants kill policeman in attack near shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam: The attackers also fled with the officer’s service rifle, reports said. 
  8. South Korea says the North is willing to talk to the United States to improve inter-Korean relations: Pyongyang had agreed that a conversation with America must be kept open, the Blue House in Seoul said.
  9. Frustrated mother throws newborn in garbage dump in East Delhi: The woman was arrested after her 25-day-old daughter, who had sustained a skull fracture, died.
  10. Rome’s Colosseum illuminated red to protest Pakistan’s blasphemy law: The demonstration was against the persecution of Christians worldwide, particularly of Asia Bibi who was sentenced to death in Pakistan in 2010.