Portrait News

Nobel winner Abhijit Banerjee in Mamata Banerjee’s Covid-19 policy team Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said Bengal is forming a team to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and will rope in services of Nobel winner Abhijit Banerjee. “Due to lockdown, there’s no revenue. We don’t know how long we’ve to stay like this. We’ve to plan for future. Our government will form a Global Advisory Committee for Covid-19 response policy in state. Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee will be a part of the committee,” said CM Banerjee. On Friday, the Centre approved the release of Rs11,092 crore to states under State Disaster Risk...

Veteran Malayalam Music Composer MK Arjunan Passes Away in Kochi Veteran music director in the Malayalam film industry, MK Arjunan, fondly called Arjunan Master, has passed away at his residence in Palluruthy, Kochi. He was 84 and was suffering from age related ailments. In an illustrious career spanning over five decades, Arjunan scored music for more than 600 songs in over 200 Malayalam films. He also worked extensively in plays. Most of his songs were all-time super hits. His evergreen melodies have placed master Arjunan among the legendary composers of Malayalam cinema like G Devarajan, V Dakshinamoorthy and MS Baburaj....

Carrie Symonds, fiancee of Covid-19-positive UK PM Boris Johnson, recovering from symptoms of coronavirus London/New Delhi: Carrie Symonds, the fiancee of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, revealed on Saturday that she was recovering after suffering coronavirus symptoms. The development comes within days of Johnson declaring that he is quarantining himself after contracting the virus. The 32-year-old Symonds is pregnant and is reportedly expecting the couple’s first child in early summer. Taking to Twitter, UK’s soon-to-be first lady revealed yesterday that she has Covid-19 despite no official announcement of the same. She self-isolated herself after Johnson officially revealed that he is suffering from...

Shobhaa De: Diya jalao, folks! Diwali in April! “Light a diya at 9 pm on Sunday…,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told an anxious nation on Friday morning. A candle will do, he said. And an avalanche of mixed reactions followed his 9 am telecast. We had two days and 12 hours to get our diyas and candles and our emotions together. The initial reaction was one of immense relief… citizens had been prepared for the worst: an extension of the nationwide lockdown beyond April 14. Then came the disbelief. Considering that the Railways had opened online bookings (and sold out within...

Haldiram Bhujiyawala owner dies in Singapore; return worry for kin KOLKATA: Mahesh Agarwal, the owner of Haldiram Bhujiyawala (Pratik Food Products), died in Singapore on Friday, a little past midnight (as per IST). He was suffering from critical liver ailment and was undergoing treatment at a hospital there for three months. Agarwal was to turn 57 on Saturday. Given the current circumstances, the distraught family had to agree to the cremation of the body there on Friday itself, following rules of that country, that do not follow the Hindu cremation system. Agarwal’s bereaved wife Meena and daughter Avni, who had...

Bill Gates to spend billions to produce 7 potential coronavirus vaccines NEW YORK : Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has announced his foundation is paying for the construction of facilities that will manufacture seven promising coronavirus vaccines and the best two vaccines would be picked up for final trials. In an interview with host Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, he said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is moving forward with building manufacturing capacity for the seven vaccine candidates to save time, as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the world, reports The Hill. Source: Livemint

‘There will be a lot of death’: Donald Trump warns Americans US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days as the total number of global fatalities from the pandemic soared past 60,000. Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States on Saturday surpassed 300,000, but Europe continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic which has left roughly half the planet confined at home at a huge cost to the global economy. Over 45,000 of global deaths have been in Europe, with Britain reporting a new daily high...

Decision on reopening schools, colleges on April 14: HRD minister NEW DELHI: The educational institutions will be re-opened only after a review of coronavirus situation in the country when the lockdown period ends on April 14, Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said on Sunday. “Safety of students, teachers is of utmost importance to the government,” Pokhriyal added. The minister said that the government is prepared to ensure that there is no academic loss to students if schools, colleges remain shut beyond April 14. He added, “We have a plan ready for conducting pending exams and evaluation once the lockdown is...

Amitabh Bachchan to provide monthly ration to 1 lakh daily wage workers Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has pledged monthly ration to support 1,00,000 households of daily wage workers belonging to the All India Film Employees Confederation amid the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative will be supported by Sony Pictures Networks India and Kalyan Jewellers. “Given the unprecedented nature of the situation we are in, an initiative undertaken by Mr Bachchan, ‘WE ARE ONE’ has been supported by Sony Pictures Networks India and Kalyan Jewellers, through which the monthly ration of 1,00,000 households across the country will be funded,” a statement released by Sony Pictures Networks...

Kanika Kapoor finally tests negative for COVID-19 After testing positive for multiple times, Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor finally tested negative for coronavirus. The result of her sixth test came late night on Saturday. Kanika was diagnosed with the deadly virus after she returned from London on March 9. On March 20, the singer was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow after developing symptoms of the infection. However, her troubles are unlikely to end as three FIRs have been filed against her on the charges of negligence for attending various social events in Lucknow...