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‘Depends on chief minister,’ says Punjab Health Minister on extending Covid-19 lockdown Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Saturday said that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will decide whether or not the coronavirus lockdown in the state will be extended. Sidhu said that the chief minister will consult all the departments and there could be a state cabinet meeting over the same. The 21-day nationwide coronavirus lockdown was extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14. The lockdown will now come to an end on May 3. Telangana was the first state that decided to extend the Covid-19 lockdown beyond...

Ex-IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan booked for not resuming duty: Cops The police in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli has registered an FIR against former Daman district collector and ex-IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan for not resuming his duty amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Gopinathan had resigned from his job last year and as per sources, his resignation was not accepted by the government. Moti Daman police booked Gopinathan under IPC section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Disaster Management Act. Since Gopinathan is currently...

Nikki Haley launches ‘Stop Communist China’ campaign Asserting that China’s Communist government needs to be held accountable for “lying” about the coronavirus pandemic, top Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley has launched an online petition urging the US Congress to act. More than 40,000 people have signed the ‘Stop Communist China’ petition by Friday night, hours after being launched by the former governor of South Carolina who has set a goal of getting 100,000 signatures. “China’s Communist government needs to be held accountable for their role in lying about the Coronavirus pandemic, and the US Congress needs to respond – now,”...

‘If you need money, stop activities at border, use it to build hospitals’: Kapil Dev Former India captain Kapil Dev does not want to be to flustered about resumption of cricket and instead wants authorities to focus on more important things like resumption of schools and colleges. “I am looking at the larger picture. Do you think cricket is the only issue we can talk about? I am rather worried about the children who are not being able to go to schools and colleges because that is our young generation. So, I want schools to reopen first. Cricket, football will...

Kanye West officially now a billionaire: Forbes Rapper Kanye West is now a billionaire, thanks largely to the basketball shoes bearing his name that he developed with Adidas, Forbes magazine said on Friday. The rough figure of the wealth of Kim Kardashian’s hubby is USD 1.3 billion, the magazine said in announcing the musician is now on its list of people worth at least USD 1 billion. The 42-year-old, Chicago-born rapper’s Yeezy footwear often sells for more than USD 200 a pair in the United States and elsewhere. West was associated with Nike for years but broke away in 2013,...

Malayalam actor Ravi Vallathol passes away Malayalam actor Ravi Vallathol passed away at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. He was 67. Vallathol made a mark in Malayalam show business as a writer, actor and television personality. A couple of years ago, he retired due to his health condition. According to reports, Vallathol was undergoing treatment for Alzheimer’s at a Thiruvananthapuram hospital. The members of Malayalam film industry shared fond memories of Ravi Vallathol. Malayalam superstar Mammootty recalled that it was Vallathol who anchored his first interview for Doordarshan. “Ravi’s passing has caused me a lot of pain. He was a good...

South Asia needs a humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Ranil Wickremesinghe The SAARC Secretariat should play an active role in the region’s response to COVID-19, along with “someone in-charge”, according to Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. “I don’t know if it can be handled from Kathmandu alone. If you can, well and good. But you may need another city. It can be Bengaluru, Colombo, any city,” he said on Friday. “This is a good time for a regional cooperation programme. This is a global pandemic without a global leadership. Maybe the region can’t provide leadership for all....

Aung San Suu Kyi turns to Facebook to get coronavirus message out Yangon, Myanmar – Broadcasting live from Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, Aung San Suu Kyi shuffled some papers, looked straight at the camera and smiled before welcoming her guests to a teleconference call on Facebook. “Currently, migrant workers are coming back from Thailand and some have resettled in the country. So we are taking the necessary steps to provide quarantine facilities,” the country’s de facto leader told the more than 300,000 viewers who had tuned into her broadcast on Wednesday. Alongside her, the screen featured three of Myanmar’s labour leaders. The...

Divya Bharti died 27 years ago Nothing can explain why a person is trolled when that person is not even remotely connected with an event from the past. Warda Nadiadwala, wife of producer Sajid Nadiadwala, has to deal with this routinely as trolls target her over Divya Bharti. Now, speaking to Bollywood Hungama in a live chat, Wardha spoke about her husband’s former wife, who died of an accident 27 years ago. She added how Divya’s memories continue to be part of her family’s life and how close her family remains to hers. Explaining how close her family still is that Divya Bharti’s...

Rajeev Khandelwal says casting couch is not rape: ‘The one who gives in is equally responsible’ Actor Rajeev Khandelwal has shared his views on the prevalence of casting couch in the glamour industry and believes those who fall prey to the practice always have the choice to say no. The Table No 21 actor had recently revealed that he was once propositioned by a star filmmaker in exchange of a two-film deal, ahead of his Bollywood debut. Being asked for sexual favours in return for acting roles is something many people say is prevalent in the Indian film industry. Many people from...