Firstpost Editor's Picks: Pakistan emboldened, Saina Nehwal's superiority, and Oscars 2019; today's must-read stories

**Pakistan emboldened by Saudi prince’s endorsement of its line on terror** The Saudi crown prince’s successful visit where he endorsed Pakistan’s lines on key issues and promised deals worth $20 billion seems to have emboldened Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who finally broke his silence on Pulwama attack to deliver a short speech for international and domestic consumption. The short video message stayed true to stated Pakistani position of denial over each terror attacks that emanates from its soil. **Academy Awards can't claim to be prestigious or global if its preoccupation is American relevance** Asia, with 62 percent of the world’s population and home to India and China (the world’s top film markets with a combined sale of almost 3.6 billion tickets in 2017), rarely finds proportionate representation on a global stage. The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards carry forward the same trend while offering some surprises even within Western films. Snubs and unexpected inclusions are a common fare, but some of the least appealing films of the year have been included in the mix. **West Bengal's climate change conundrum Part II: Changing rainfall patterns leave Kolkata vulnerable to flooding** One of the reasons for Kolkata’s increasingly vulnerability to flooding is the rapid decline in the east Kolkata wetlands, the natural drainage system of the city. Wetlands are defined as areas that are covered in water for at least one season. They act as a natural sponge, soaking in water and holding it until it can slowly infiltrate into the ground. Increasing population and rapid real estate development over these wetlands is robbing the city of its natural defense mechanism against floods. **National Championships: Decoding Saina Nehwal's continued dominance over PV Sindhu** A prime indicator of Saina Nehwal’s superiority is her head-to-head record against PV Sindhu. If one disregards her defeat at Sindhu’s hands in the gimmicky Premier Badminton League (which is played to a best of three games of 15 points, with no extension permitted at 14-all, and whose results are not considered by the Badminton World Federation while compiling the players’ head-to-head records), then the Haryana-born player carries a comfortable lead over the Hyderabadi in their career meetings. **NPA issue: Will RBI's 12 February circular help expedite bad loan recovery?** In a way, 12 February, 2018, marked the end of an era best characterised by the late oil billionaire J Paul Getty, who said, “When you owe the bank $100, it’s your problem; when you owe the bank $100 million, it’s the bank‘s problem”. With the RBI’s 12 February circular, the owners of many of our companies, who individually owe the banking system that kind of money, face the risk of losing their businesses they or their families built or owned.