April 2020

Dia Mirza joins nine women world leaders to fight COVID-19 Dia Mirza joins nine women leaders across the world to support a global plan for social and economic recovery from the novel Coronavirus. As part of Rise for All, a global advocacy effort, Mirza will contribute to creating a sustainable planet. In this initiative, which aims at mobilising support for the UN road map to tackle the current Covid-19 pandemic, the actor-producer will work towards funding the UN Response and Recovery Trust Fund. Talking about it, she says, “My optimism, my belief in humanity and my faith in us during...

Virat Kohli wishes Rohit Sharma on his 33rd birthday: God bless you with many more elegant innings India captain Virat Kohli took to social media on Thursday to extend birthday wishes to his deputy and star opener Rohit Sharma. Wishes have been pouring in for Rohit Sharma who turned 33 on Thursday. Rohit, unlike the last few years, has been spending his special day at home, with his wife Ritika Sajdeh and daughter Samaira in his time away from competitive cricket which remains suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Happy B’day Rohit @ImRo45. God bless you with good health and...

Irrfan Khan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar pays tribute to him with moving post: ‘I have not lost, I have gained in every which way’ Sutapa Sikdar paid tribute to her late husband and acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan with a moving note. She changed her Facebook profile picture to one with him and wrote in her caption, “I have not lost, I have gained in every which way.” Irrfan died at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Wednesday morning due to a colon infection. Earlier, in 2018, he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour and underwent treatment in London for the same. Days after Irrfan...

Covid-19: Mastercard’s Banga, two other Indian-Americans in New York advisory board New York: Three eminent Indian-Americans, including Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, will be part of an advisory board formed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to help guide the state’s strategy to gradually re-open the business and institutions amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it continues to witness a declining trend in the number of cases. New York is the epicentre of the pandemic in the US and currently has 295,106 COVID-19 cases with over 17,000 deaths. On Tuesday, 337 people died of the disease in the state. The New York...

‘Indians should work for 60 hours a week for next 2-3 yrs to revive economy’: Narayana Murthy The economic impact of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has everyone worried. As the last day for the extended lockdown – May 3 – draws closer, there are many questions about what lies next in terms of reviving the Indian economy. Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy shared his thoughts on the same in an interview with Chandra Ranganathan of ET Now. Among other things, he said that Indians would have to learn to live with coronavirus for the next 12-18 months,...

Kerala Governor signs new Ordinance on employees salary cut THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday signed the new Ordinance, ‘Disaster and Public Emergency Special Provisions Act’, said State Finance Minister Thomas Issac. The Pinarayi Vijayan government last month had decided to deduct six-day salary of all its employees in the next five months as a temporary measure, to tide over the Covid-19 crisis, as it was cash stressed. But pro-opposition staff unions approached the Kerala High Court, which stayed it and this forced the Vijayan government to bring a new Ordinance, which was sent to the Governor on Wednesday. Source:...

Lockdown in Tripura will be fully lifted only after Covid-19 vaccination: CM Biplab Deb Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said the lockdown in the state would continue in some form or the other till a vaccine against Covid-19 is invented. Deb made the remarks after holding a four and a half hour-long all-party meeting on Wednesday night. The meeting with eighteen political parties including ruling  BJP, Congress, CPIM, ruling ally IPFT, INPT, among others started at  4 PM and continued till 8:30 PM. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, CM Deb said, “As of now, lockdown is there till May 3 and...

Barclays CEO says ‘putting 7,000 people in a building may be thing of the past’ LONDON: The coronavirus pandemic could permanently change how many bankers make the daily trudge into tightly packed city centre offices, Barclays CEO Jes Staley said on Wednesday. The bank, which like companies worldwide has seen the majority of its staff work from home or backup sites, will not revert fully to its pre-January working habits, Staley said. “There will be a long-term adjustment in how we think about our location strategy…the notion of putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past,” he told...

Indian football legend and former captain Chuni Goswami dies aged 82 Former India football captain Chuni Goswami, who led India to the 1962 Asian Games gold, passed away in Kolkata after a prolonged illness. Chuni Goswami was the most successful Indian football captain ever and under his captaincy, India won the gold medal in 1962 Asian Games, finished runners-up in 1964 Asian Cup, and narrowly lost to what was then Burma in Merdeka football six months later. The iconic sportsperson, who also played first-class cricket for Bengal, was 82 and breathed his last at a hospital here. He is survived...

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor passes away. Another gem of Cinema is lost. He aged 67 was admitted to the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. Many took to Twitter to pay tribute. Akshay Kumar twitted “It seems like we’re in the midst of a nightmare…just heard the depressing news of #RishiKapoor ji passing away, it’s heartbreaking. He was a legend, a great co-star and a good friend of the family. My thoughts and prayers with his family” Source: The New Indian Express