April 2020

Tom Hanks Hosts Show at Home After COVID-19 Diagnosis in March Hollywood actor Tom Hanks returned to the small screen for the first time after he tested positive for the coronavirus in March. He said he and his wife are doing great. The 63-year-old served as host for the first-ever “Saturday Night Live at Home” episode, reports people.com. Hanks opened the show with a “Tiger King” reference, speaking to the camera from his Los Angeles home. “Hey all you cool cats and kittens,” he said. “It’s me, your old pal. Don’t be afraid, this shaved head was just for a...

Julian Assange seeks bail fearing coronavirus in jail WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seeking bail on the ground that he is in danger of contracting coronavirus while in the Belmarsh prison, while his partner revealed on Sunday that he fathered two children while he was holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy. Assange, 48, who had taken refuge in the embassy to avoid an European arrest warrant, fearing eventual extradition to the US to face charges of leaking classified information, was dragged out of the embassy and arrested in April last after Ecuador revoked his political asylum status. Source: Hindustan Times

NYC mayor orders public schools shut for rest of school year; Andrew Cuomo says it’s his call New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday public schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year as the city battles the novel coronavirus outbreak. “Having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of this school year is painful, but I can also tell you it is the right thing to do,” he told a news conference. De Blasio had ordered public schools shut beginning March 16 to curb the spread of the disease,...

India’s rapid response team has reached Kuwait: S Jaishankar India’s rapid response team has reached Kuwait as a follow up to the discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Kuwait counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on dealing withcoronavirus crisis, External Aairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday. On April 1, Prime Minister Modi and Sheikh Al-Sabah held a telephonic conversation and decided that officials of the two countries would maintain regular contact to exchange information and explore avenues of cooperation. Source: Deccan Herald

Stay where you are: Ambassador Sandhu tells stranded Indian students in US India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has advised the Indian students, stranded in America due to the sudden closure of universities and the ongoing lockdown back home because of the coronavirus pandemic, to stay where they are and assured them help in this crisis situation. Sandhu addressed the concerns of over 500 Indian students who attended the Instagram Live session hosted by the Indian Embassy on Saturday. The session was coordinated by the India Student Hub Team. There are an estimated 250,000 Indian students in the...

It’ll take India 9 months to come out of virus crisis: Deepak Parekh Deepak Parekh has dubbed the current crisis a human economic financial (HEF) crisis, completely different from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and said it would take at least nine months to recover fully from it. In a webinar on Friday, the chairman of HDFC recommended that India’s financial sector should be strong or else economy will collapse, and he pushed for the NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) to be regulated. The coronavirus pandemic has rattled lives and economies across the world, and India has not been spared...

Covid-19 woes: IndiGo to discontinue on-board meal service, says CEO India’s largest airline IndiGo will fill its airport buses at 50 per cent capacity when service resumes. The airline will also discontinue on-board meal services, CEO Ronojoy Dutta told employees on Friday. These along with frequent deep cleaning of aircraft are part of the multiple changes that the airline will do its protocols in order to keep crew and passenger crew safe when the airline starts operating again. India had imposed a 21-day lockdown on 25 March — one of the most drastic measure any country has taken to control the outbreak of the coronavirus.  Source: Business...

Bitcoin community shocked as Ross Ulbricht shares a bearish BTC analysis Although a common sentiment in the Bitcoin community is that the cryptocurrency needs no certain individual to succeed due to its decentralized nature, American programmer Ross Ulbricht has been deemed one of the most integral members of the industry. Ulbricht, who is also known by his online moniker “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was actually unknown by his real identity when he was operating the Silk Road, the infamous dark web marketplace known for catalyzing much of the early adoption of Bitcoin when it was trading well under $1,000. After operating the site for a...

Maharashtra extends lockdown till April 30, CM says ‘can be extended if people don’t cooperate’ Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced that the lockdown will continue in Maharashtra till April 30. Thackeray said that the state’s policy on allowing conducting school and university examinations, allowing industries to be operational and the steps to be taken on handling the migrant labourers issue will be explained before April 14. Thackeray was addressing the state through social media platforms after attending the video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the strategize on lockdown and tackling of the COVID-19. “After explaining the situation in Maharashtra,...

‘May this Easter give us added strength to overcome Covid-19’: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday wished the country on Easter, hoping the occasion “gives us strength to overcome coronavirus disease Covid-19”. “Best wishes to everyone on the special occasion of Easter. We remember the noble thoughts of Lord Christ, especially his unwavering commitment to empowering the poor and needy. May this Easter give us added strength to successfully overcome COVID-19 and create a healthier planet,” PM Modi said on Twitter. Source: Hindustan Times