Portrait News

Obama on coronavirus: Skip the masks, stay calm Former US president Barack Obama called Wednesday for people to take “common sense precautions” over the coronavirus outbreak — advising them to follow hand-washing guidelines but not to wear masks. “Save the masks for health care workers. Let’s stay calm, listen to the experts, and follow the science,” tweeted Obama, who has kept a low public profile since leaving office in 2017. He said people should keep track of updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and stay home if they are sick. Source: Livemint

Coronavirus impact: Global growth to dip below last year’s rate, says IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva The new coronavirus epidemic poses a “serious threat” to people and the world economy, and will slow growth below the 2.9 per cent posted last year, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on March 4. The COVID-19 outbreak “is no longer regional issue, it is a global problem (that) calls for global response,” Georgieva said. The epidemic’s impact on confidence and steps to contain it are impacting economic activity, with the result that “global growth in 2020 will dip below last year’s levels,” she said. The...

Ronaldinho held in Paraguay over fake passport claims Police searched a hotel in the capital, Asuncion, on Wednesday, where the star had been staying with his brother. Paraguay’s interior minister told ESPN Brazil that the pair had not been arrested but are under investigation. Minister Euclides Acevedo also said they deny wrongdoing and are co-operating with the authorities. In July 2019, the player reportedly had his Brazilian and Spanish passports confiscated over unpaid taxes. “Ronaldinho will be heard at eight in the morning on Thursday at the prosecutor’s office,” minister Euclides Acevedo told AFP, adding that customs authorities would also...

India plagued with slowing economy, lack of finance: Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman India is plagued with a slowing economy and lack of finance currently, Blackstone’s chairman Stephen Schwarzman said, hinting that the global private equity major may be interested in distressed asset play in the country. Speaking to reporters at the IIT-Bombay, he also said the country is lacking the robustness in financial institutions. Blackstone has been present in India since 2006 and has invested $15 billion in the country, including private equity play in enterprises and also bets on realty. Schwarzman, who is also the chief executive and co-founder of...

Anthony Levandowski ordered to pay $179 million to Google Anthony Levandowski,  the engineer and autonomous vehicle startup founder who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has been ordered to pay $179 million to end a contract dispute over his departure from Google. Reuters was the first to report the court order. An arbitration panel ruled in December that Levandowski and Lior Ron had engaged in unfair competition and breached their contract with Google  when they left the company to start a rival autonomous vehicle company focused on trucking, called Otto. Uber  acquired Otto in 2017. A San Francisco County court confirmed Wednesday...

Coronavirus can wait, love can’t: Silvio Berlusconi, 80, dumps girlfriend of 12 years for a 30-year-old ROME: Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, famed for his steamy dinner parties, has split from his longterm girlfriend reportedly to date a woman 54 years his junior. At the height of the coronavirus epidemic, which has killed 107 people in Italy and turned pockets of the country into red zones, the dating antics of the man at the centre of world-famous “bunga bunga” soirees brought Italians a welcome distraction. The 83-year-old billionaire has left 34-year old Francesca Pascale after a 12-year relationship, but...

ED books former Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal for money laundering; conducts raids Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and a few others have been booked by the ED in a money laundering case even as the agency is conducting searches at his premises, officials said on Thursday. They said a criminal case against the former chairman of the airlines has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a recent Mumbai Police FIR filed against him. The Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at Mr. Goyal’s premises in Mumbai on Wednesday and also questioned him...

UK court rejects Nirav Modi’s bail plea for fifth time LONDON : A UK court on Thursday rejected for the fifth time the bail plea of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who is fighting his extradition to India on charges over the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case. The 49-year-old, who has been lodged at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March last year and is scheduled for an extradition trial in May, made his fifth attempt at getting bail on the basis of a change in circumstances. However, the High...

If police fail to enforce law, democracy fails: NSA Ajit Doval GURGAON: Police should be seen by the common man as “credible and fair” and if it fails to enforce the law, democracy fails, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said on Thursday while addressing young police personnel from across the country. The NSA asked police officials to ensure that impressions, such as the police only serves the privileged, which sully the image of the organisation are removed. “Law-making is the most sacrosanct job in a democracy. It is not done by an imperial ruler or from the pulpit of...

Mukesh Ambani bids Rs 4,700 crore for tower, fibre assets of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infratel The board of State Bank of India (SBI) has accepted the resolution plan for sale of Anil Ambani’s bankrupt telecom firm Reliance Communications (RCom) and its subsidiaries. The lenders are expected to recover around Rs 23,000 crore from the sale of assets of RCom and its subsidiaries Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel. Delhi-based UV Asset Reconstruction Company (UVARC) has placed bids worth Rs 14,700 crore for assets of RCom and Reliance Telecom, while Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has made an offer of Rs 4,700 crore for tower and fibre assets of Reliance Infratel,...