April 2020

Malayalam actor Sasi Kalinga passes away Actor and theatre personality Sasi Kalinga passed away at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Tuesday morning. He was 59. Sasi had been undergoing treatment for liver-related ailments for some time. His condition deteriorated last night, and he was rushed to a private hospital, where he breathed his last at 5 am today. His mortal remains will be taken to his native village Pallissery, where his last rites will be performed today. The members of Malayalam film industry are mourning the demise of Sasi Kalinga, who managed to carve a niche for himself with...

Aishwarya Rai’s 23-year-old Dance Clip From Unreleased Film Goes Viral A video featuring on-set shots of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in her early Bollywood days, from a film that was never completed, has been doing the rounds of social media all of Tuesday. Aishwarya had started work on the film titled Radheshyam Sitaram about 23 years ago, and it co-starred Suniel Shetty. However, the film never released. In the video, Aishwarya wears an ethnic purple lehanga with a matching embellished choli, and is decked up with heavy jewellery and make-up. In the video, she can be seen filming a nineties-style dance...

In his new role, CEO Arvind Krishna wants IBM to lead in hybrid cloud, AI As Arvind Krishna takes charge as the CEO of IBM, he has set the agenda for the company’s next course of action in his first email to the employees. The agenda includes focus on hybrid cloud and AI, and Krishna also talked about key leadership changes that have been made to reflect the same. Krishna succeeds Ginni Rometty, who was heading the Big Blue, as IBM is referred to, since 2012. Prior to his elevation as the CEO, he was the senior vice president for Cloud and Cognitive...

Work from Home ‘Reality vs Expectation’ – Anand Mahindra Makes His Confession For a country that does not particularly work from home, the habits in India have had to change in recent weeks due to the nationwide lockdown after the coronavirus outbreak. This has of course resulted in a lot of creative minds flooding social media with humourous memes. Nonetheless, this change of habit, difficult as it may have been for some, does have its benefits and Anand Mahindra was one of those who took to social media to point that out in his own humourous way. “On a lighter...

New Zealand PM Demotes ‘Idiot’ Health Minister as His Beach Drive Breaks Virus Lockdown Rules Wellington: New Zealand’s health minister described himself as “an idiot” Tuesday for breaking lockdown restrictions, but kept his job coordinating the South Pacific nation’s COVID-19 response. Health Minister David Clark said he offered his resignation to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after revealing he took a 20-kilometre (12.5-mile) drive to the beach with his family. Clark admitted the trip was a clear breach of the country’s strict lockdown rules, under which families must stay close to home, and his position meant he should have been setting an...

PM Shinzo Abe declares state of emergency in seven districts Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The state of emergency, which will last for a month, was imposed as the number of cases alarmingly spiked in urban areas. “As I decided that a situation feared to gravely affect people’s lives and the economy has occurred… I am declaring a state of emergency,” Abe said. The measure may not seem as strict as lockdowns imposed in other parts of the world. But,...

Who gave permission for Jamaat event, asks Pawar Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar today asked who gave permission for the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, which has emerged as one of the major coronavirus hotspots in the country. He lashed out at the authorities of the Central government and the Delhi administration for granting permission for the religious congregation. In a Facebook live interaction with party workers and the public, Pawar pointed out that the Maharashtra government had withdrawn permission for a similar meet by the Jamaat near Mumbai. Source: The Tribune

Dealing With COVID-19 is Like Fighting a War With an Unknown Enemy, Says Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh says dealing with COVID-19 is like “fighting a war” wherein an “unknown enemy” is making the battle more complicated and challenging every day. Underlining the state’s resolve to tide over the crisis, he says his government is leaving no stone unturned in procuring adequate life-saving equipment, including ventilators, PPE kits, N-95 masks and expanding bed capacity of isolation wards. The northern state has reported 79 coronavirus cases and seven deaths till Tuesday morning. In an e-mail interview to...

In 5-point letter, Sonia Gandhi asks PM Modi to go into austerity mode Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, providing 5 strategies to deal with coronavirus illness Covid-19. She additionally requested the Prime Minister to droop Rs 20,000 crore central vista beautification and building venture forthwith. “Austerity measures which can be used to divert much needed funds to fight against Covid-19 are need of the hour,” the Congress president has mentioned in her letter. Source: News Clicks

West Bengal Governor appeals to Mamata Banerjee to take pay cut West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has urged chief minister Mamata Banerjee, her council of ministers and the members of legislative assembly (MLAs) to take a pay cut for a year to help the Central government’s bid to tackle the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak. “APPEAL MLAs and Ministers in WEST BENGAL @MamataOfficial to take 30% pay cut for a year to boost govt’s Covid-19 efforts,” Dhankhar tweeted early in the morning on Tuesday. He also highlighted the fact that President Ram Nath Kovind, governors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his...