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PM Modi, French President Macron agree to share information on measures to deal with coronavirus COVID-19 crisis New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (March 31) had a telephonic conversation with France President Emmanuel Macron. Both the leaders discussed the domestic and international aspects of the crisis and underlined the importance of global collaboration and solidarity in the present situation, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.  They agreed that the expert teams of both countries would actively share information on measures to prevent the spread of the virus and research on treatment and vaccines.  Source: Zee News

COVID-19 worst crisis since World War II, says U.N. chief United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession “that probably has no parallel in the recent past.” There is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to “enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict,” the U.N. chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19-on Tuesday. Source: The Hindu

Shutdowns, Increased Testing And Vaccine: Bill Gates Reveals 3-Step Plan to Fight Global Covid-19 Crisis New Delhi: With countries, including the US, reeling under the onslaught of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has outlined three steps that the US government must take to contain the spread of coronavirus. In a column for The Washington Post, Gates said that the country needs a “consistent nationwide approach to shutting down.” He said that despite repeated calls for shutdown by global public health experts, some countries and states have ignored the warnings. “In some states, beaches are still open; in others,...

US has lost opportunity to lift Iran sanctions amid coronavirus: Hassan Rouhani Iran’s president said on Wednesday the United States had missed a historic opportunity to lift sanctions on his country during the coronavirus outbreak, though he said the penalties had not hampered Tehran’s fight against the infection. “It was a great opportunity for Americans to apologise … and to lift the unjust and unfair sanctions on Iran,” Hassan Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting. “The sanctions have failed to hamper our efforts to fight against the coronavirus outbreak.” Source: moneycontrol

PM Modi’s yoga video: ‘This is wonderful’, says Ivanka Trump Ivanka Trump, who is a senior advisor to her father and U.S. President Donald Trump, described as “wonderful” the video of a yoga asan tweeted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to encourage people to stay fit during the lockdown imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday shared the video and said the yoga asan helped relieve stress. “Whenever I get time, I practice Yoga Nidra once or twice a week. It furthers overall well-being, relaxes the mind, reduces stress and anxiety. Source: The Hindu

Two Indias — one at home doing yoga, other fighting for survival: Sibal Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Wednesday took a dig at the government, saying there were two Indias with one at home doing yoga, watching Ramayan and playing antakshari, and the other trying to reach home and fighting for survival. A large number of migrant labourers have been leaving their work places in parts of the country and walking down to their native places, hundreds of kilometres away, due to the lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. Source: The Hindu

‘It’s special’: PM Modi lauds young India for contributing to PM CARES fund Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been taking to Twitter and expressing gratitude toward those contributing to the PM CARES fund in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. In a touching post, the Prime Minister thanked children who have been coming forward and donating from their little savings. “Have been seeing thoughtful messages of young children contributing to PM-CARES,” PM Modi tweeted out on Tuesday.   He said it is very special to see children making their contribution from their piggy banks. Source: Hindustan Times

Over 8.5k military docs, support staff ready to help tackle Covid-19: Army chief More than 8,500 military doctors and support staff are ready to extend assistance to the civil administration to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Wednesday. His comments came during a video-conference chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh to review the ministry’s efforts to fight the novel coronavirus. The army has alerted retired health professionals to stay prepared in this time of crisis. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat told the minister that the armed forces have made more than 9,000...

Coronavirus: Rohit Sharma donates ₹80 lakh Star India batsman Rohit Sharma has donated ₹80 lakh to fight the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 pandemic, saying the onus is on the citizens to help the country get back on its feet. Rohit, who is the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team, has donated ₹45 lakh and ₹25 lakh to the PM and CM’s Relief Fund (Maharashtra) respectively. He has given ₹5 lakh to ‘Zomato Feeding India’, which is helping families affected by the ongoing national lockdown, and another ₹5 lakh to help aid the welfare of stray dogs. Source: The Hindu

Lionel Messi has named 15 “youth on the rise” players The Barcelona legend has won a record-breaking six Ballon d’Ors in his career while he’s scored a quite ridiculous 627 goals in 718 appearances for the Camp Nou club. But what will Messi do when he eventually hangs up his boots? Will he stay in the game and turn his hand to management? One thing is for sure, he will know a good player when he sees one. And the Argentine proved that when he was asked to name 15 “youth on the rise” players for Topps Champions League cards....