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PM reaffirmed my belief that we can’t let our guard down after April 14: Sachin Tendulkar NEW DELHI: The iconic Sachin Tendulkar on Friday said managing the period after April 14 would be crucial to how India fares in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a belief which was shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video conference with sportspersons. Tendulkar was among the 40-odd elite sportspersons with whom the PM had a one hour video call to discuss the prevailing situation which has claimed more than 50 lives in India with 2000 plus positive cases. The country is...

Mental health also important during lockdown: Rahane India’s Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Friday highlighted the importance of mental health in times of distress, lauding the Maharashtra government for its effort in the cause as the state and country battles the coronavirus pandemic. “Mental health is also important during this lockdown. Highly appreciate the efforts of Maharashtra Government, BMC & power for creating a free helpline to support people for their mental well-being,” Rahane said in a tweet with a helpline number. Source: Hindustan Times

This may be the end of Reagan-Thatcher libertarian wave, says American economist Larry Summers Larry Summers, former Chief Economist at World Bank, is optimistic about post-pandemic recovery prospects. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Summers said that even though the current economic scenario may be grim, the recovery may be faster than what most people expect. Talking about how bad the current healthcare crisis looks in terms of its economic implications, Summers says, “I think the peak to trough decline is overwhelmingly likely to be worse than anything I’ve seen by a significant margin. Something like a third of the workforce is...

Von der Leyen ‘concerned’ over Hungary virus emergency law While saying EU countries may need extraordinary measures to tackle the pandemic, she added: “I am concerned that certain measures go too far – and I’m particularly concerned with the situation in Hungary.” Hungary’s parliament, dominated by Orbán’s ruling party, handed the prime minister the power from Tuesday to rule by decree until his government decides the virus crisis is over. The emergency law also threatens journalists with prison if they publish “falsehoods” about the virus or the government’s actions to slow it. On Thursday Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács sharply...

Jair Bolsonaro Says Brazil Cannot Take Months of Lockdown Due to COVID-19 President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that Brazilian society will not be able to stand two or three months of shutdowns to fight the new coronavirus, denouncing social-distancing measures enforced by states and municipalities across the country. “You know my stance. It will bring massive unemployment,” he told supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia. Source: News18

Putin keeps Russians at home through April 30 as coronavirus toll jumps President Vladimir Putin extended his order keeping Russians at home until April 30, warning that the spread of coronavirus has yet to reach its peak. “The threat remains,” Putin said Thursday in his second televised address on Covid-19 in just over a week, announcing that he’s extending a national order to work at home from this week to the end of the month. “In the view of virus experts, we haven’t yet reached the peak of the epidemic globally, including in our country.” Source: The Indian Express

Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday urged the WHO and the UN to act against China’s wet markets, like the one where the deadly coronavirus is thought to have originated, as they pose “great risks” to the health and wellbeing of the rest of the world. A wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan is believed to be the source of the coronavirus pandemic that began in December last year, crossing from animals to humans. The number of cases from the virus has reached one million worldwide and more than 51,000 deaths have been reported across more...

Covid fight is a balancing act for world’s economies: World Bank India Chief The Coronavirus pandemic is having a strong impact on the global economy. Questions are rife about the possible economic and financial fallout of asking a third of the world’s population to stay home and shutting down factories. Is a systemic financial crisis likely, maybe along the lines of the 2008 crisis 12 years ago? The World Bank’s India Chief says the two crises cannot be compared. In an interview to Times Now, Junaid Kamal Ahmad talked about how the coronavirus impact is different from the financial meltdown...

UP CM Yogi Adityanath says will open coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown in phased manner New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday (April 3) directed that a plan should be chalked out to open the lockdown in a phased manner if it opens from April 15, according to reports coming in. Yogi Adityanath is understood to have told top officials of the state to prepare a plan in this regard.  The Chief Minister, however, invoked National Security Act (NSA) against six persons from the Tablighi Jamaat, who were in quarantine at MMG District Hospital, for misbehaving with the hospital staff...

‘Have been watching so many movies that I can’t even remember the names’: PV Sindhu I was in self-quarantine since returning from the All England Open (in March). Though the two-week period has just ended, things haven’t changed much as we are now under a lockdown. Three months ago, everybody was expecting the Tokyo Olympics to take place as per schedule. We were playing tournaments and preparing ourselves. I was fine and prepared when I got to know about the Olympics being postponed. I was anyway not sure if the Olympics would happen this year because every other day a...