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Covid-19 cases in India crosses 35,000 mark, special train for migrants from Telangana to Jharkhand

The Coronavirus pandemic has spread across almost 185 countries around the world.

India has entered the 38th day of countywide lockdown, which has been extended till 3rd May. At present, the total number of Coronavirus cases in India has risen to 35,043 and 1,154 people have died in the country from the highly contagious disease.

The Centre has designated all major cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad as red zones.

The Indian Railways deployed a “special train” to transport migrants who have been stranded because of the lockdown. Carrying around 1,200 migrants, the train began its journey on Friday from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand. Although the Railway Ministry issued a clarification stating that it’s a ‘one off special train’ run on the request of the state government of Telangana. The ministry also stated that any further trains shall be planned only as per directions of Ministry of Railways and on request from both origin and destination state governments.

Till now Maharashtra has the maximum number of cases, crossing the mark of 10,000. With 313 fresh cases on Thursday, the coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 4,395. After Maharashtra, Gujarat is the worst affected state by the pandemic.

As second phase of lockdown nears its end, the Union Health Ministry has listed 130 districts across the country in the red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zones based on incidence of cases of COVID-19, increasing rate. The ministry also stated that the country’s recovery rate has reached 25% with just 3.2% mortality rate.

Globally, there have been over 32.5 lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19. At least 2.33 lakh people have died so far. The United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK are the most-affected countries.Although the US currently leads the world in the number of reported Covid-19 deaths and confirmed cases.

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As we will miss Rishi Kapoor on big screen, these are some of classics we can watch online currently

Just when the entire world was recuperating from the fact that immensely talented Irrfan Khan was no more with us, it woke up yet another shocking loss when news flashed that we had lost yet another charmer, yet another talent powerhouse, yet another gem….Rishi Kapoor.

The evergreen heartthrob, who has had a magnificent career in Bollywood passed away today in Mumbai after a two year battle with leukaemia. He was 67. The veteran actor started his career as a child actor, earned kudos constantly during his career spanning over four decades.

Soon after the demise, the family released an official statement that read, “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last. He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him. He was grateful for the love of his fans that poured in from the world over. In his passing, they would all understand that he would like to be remembered with a smile and not with tears. In this hour of personal loss, we also recognise the world is going through a very difficult and troubled time. There are numerous restrictions around movement and gathering in public. We would like to request all his fans and well-wishers and friends of the family to please respect the laws that are in force. He would not have it any other way.”

Hailing from the illustrious Kapoor family of Bollywood, Rishi was the son of late iconic actor Raj Kapoor, and had two brothers Randhir and Rajeev Kapoor and two sisters Ritu Nanda and Reema Jain. He shared a close bond with his siblings, especially with Randhir. He was famously called as ‘Chintu’ by his family. He is survived by his wife Neetu Singh, son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima.

The veteran began his career with roles in his father Raj Kapoor films. As a child he made appearance in Shree 420 song “Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua”. Then in 1970 he acted in “Mera Naam Joker”, winning the National award for best child artist for his performance. Later he made his debut as a leading man in Bobby. The actor soon became the chocolate boy of the Hindi film industry. He delivered his best performances in the films like ‘RafooChakkar’, ‘Karz’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Prem Rog’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Agneepath’, to name a few. His last few filsm were ‘Mulk’, ‘The Body’ and ‘JhoothaKahin Ka, and was also meant to star in a Bollywood adaptation of “The Intern” with Deepika Padukone.

Now that we have lost the chance to see him more on the big screen, we can only cherish and remember him by applauding and watching the marvellous legacy of work that he has left behind.

Here are few fabulous Rishi Kapoor films that you can watch on digital platforms currently:

1. Agneepath (2012)

Rishi Kapoor decided to play a grey character in this 2012 film which was a remake of 1990 blockbuster of the same name. he once shared how he first refused to play the character, but later was convinced that it challenged him to play Rauf Lala in the film. He played the role and won hearts with his acting skills. He also bagged the IIFA awards for Best Performance in a Negative Role.

2. Amar Anthony Anthony (1977)

The blockbuster film also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna in lead roles and revolved around three brothers who are separated in childhood and adopted by three families of different faiths—Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. It became the highest-grossing Indian film of that year.

3. Bobby

The film marked the entry of young and charming Rishi Kapoor in Bollywood who then went on to rule millions of hearts with his performance. The musical romance also featured Dimple Kapadia. The film became a blockbuster, the top-grossing Indian hit of 1973, the second-top-grossing hit of the 1970s at the Indian box office, and one of the top 20 highest-grossing Indian films of all time. The film became a trend-setter and fetched Rishi the Filmfare Award for best actor.

4. Bol Radha Bol

The action thriller directed by David Dhawan saw Rishi playing an industrialist who falls for a village belle, played by Juhi Chawla. It was a blockbuster and it songs became a rage.

5. Chandni

The musical romance by Yash Raj Films is one of the milestone films of Rishi kapoor’s film career. It also starred Vinod Khanna and Sridevi. The film was loved for its direction, plot and music. It becoming the third highest-grossing Indian film of 1989. Sadly, the ‘Chandni era’ has come to an end with all three stars of the film leaving for heaven!

6. D-Day

The 2013 action-thriller also casted Irrfan Khan and was received well with the audience and critics and saw Rishi Kapoor playing a wanted India’s leader. He won the Screen Award as the ‘Best Villian’.

7. Do DooniChaar

The 2010 comedy-drama saw Rishi Kapoor playing the role of a middle-class family man. He won Filmfare and Stardust awards for his performance in the film that also starred Neeti Kapoor.

8. Henna

The 1991 romantic drama starred Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiyar opposite Rishi Kapoor and is considered as one of the finest movies of Rishi’s carrer so far. Shot in Kashmir, the film is loved for its music too.

9. Kapoor and Sons

Rishi Kapoor won many hearts as he played a joyous oldie in the 2016 superhit film. He bagged many awards for his role as he played the 90-year-old grandfather to leading actors Sidharth Malhotra and Fawad Khan in the film.

10. Karz

The 1980 reincarnation film was directed by Subash Ghaiand also starred Tina Munim and Simi Grewal in lead roles. The film rendered Rishi’s chartbusters like ‘”Dard-E-Dil” and “Om Shanti Om”, for life.

11. Mera Naam Joker

It was this superhit drama in 1970 that launched Rishi Kapoor in the industry. Father Raj Kapoor directed and produced the film, which was critically acclaimed. Rishi Kapoor bagged the award for Best Child actor in the film.

12. Mulk

The film was released in 2018 and is one of the finest works by Rishi in his last few active years. The Anubhav Sinha film related the story of a Muslim family trying to reclaim its lost honor after a family member gets involved in terrorism. The film also starred TaapseePannu and bagged several awards.

13. Prem Rog

The 1982 romantic film directed by Raj Kapoor told the story of a man’s love towards a woman who is a widow and of a higher status. The film is considered a classic and earned high critical acclaim. Prem Rog was listed by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of its top ten “Most Romantic Films Ever”.

14. Rajma Chawal

The 2018 off-beat comedy-drama was directed by Leena Yadav, and starred Rishi Kapoor, Anirudh Tanwar and Amyra Dastur in the lead. The film revolves around a father-son relationship in today’s time.

15. Saagar

The 1985 romantic drama made Rishi a superstar. Directed by Ramesh Sippy the film also starred Kamal Haasan and Dimple Kapadia. It received critical acclaim upon release, and won Four Filmfare Awards. Saagar was India’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985.

16. RaffooChakkar

Who can afford to miss this comedy drama by Rishi Kapoor which also starred Neetu Singh in a pivotal role? The 1975 film was among the first to play with ideas of same-sex love in Hindi films, and is considered important for its light-hearted treatment of themes such as sex and gender.

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Irrfan Khan wanted to gift ‘a suitcase full of money’ to his mom! Lesser known facts that will make you fall in love with the late actor even more

Amid all the negativity and fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the world woke up to yet another sad development today! Bollywood star Irrfan Khan, who had won hearts across the world with his acting mettle, passed away today. He was 53. He is survived by his wife SutapaSikdar, and sons Babil and Ayan.

The actor was admitted to ICU at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Hospital on Tuesday due to colon infection.

The actor, recently came to India after getting treatment for neuroendocrine tumour, in the US for almost 2 years. After he came back home, he resumed work and was last seen in the film Angrezi Medium, that also starred Kareena Kapoor Khan and Radhika Madan. The film was released in March, but had to go off cinemas due to Coronavirus spread.

The actor lost his mother, Saeeda Begum, on Saturday. Irrfan was not able to attend her mother’s funeral due to the coronavirus lockdown. Irrfan’s mother was 95.

A National Award winner and Padma Shri holder, Irrfan is loved for hos work in films like Paan Singh Tomar, Piku, Haider, Rog, Lunchbox, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Inferno’, ‘Jurrasic World’, and ‘Life of Pi’.

While the void Irrfan has left can never be fulfilled, here’s recalling some lesser known facts about him, that will make you fall in love again.

  1. Irrfan never wanted to become an actor. He wanted to make a career in the cricketing world. But since his parents did not like the field, he took the acting opportunity that came his way accidently.
  2. He was a final year student at NSD (1988) when director Mira Nair chose him for a role in the film Salaam Bombay.
  3. Before making a name for himself, Irrfan’s first job was of AC repair man. The first house that he visited to repair an AC was that of late superstar Rajesh Khanna.
  4. One of Irrfan’s biggest dreams was to give a ‘suitcase full of money’ to his late mother.
  5. Irrfan is the only Bollywood actor to be working in two Academy award winning movies, The Life of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire.
  6. Not many know but Irrfan hails from a royal family. His father was late Jagirdar Khan from village Khajuria and his mother late Begum Khan belonged to the Tonk Hakim family.
  7. Irrfan added an extra ‘r’ to his name as he liked the sound of it, not because of numerology.
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Lockdown effect: ‘Endangered’ Dolphins spotted playing in Ganga waters; watch video

With nature reclaiming its space as it has no human disturbance amid the lockdown, in a rare sight, dolphins were seen playing in the Ganga waters in Uttar Pradesh.

A video clip of Ganges River Dolphin, an endangered freshwater dolphin breed, enjoying in the Ganga river in Meerut is going viral and breaking the internet.
The amazing natural view came after Flamingos were seen in Mumbai, and ‘nilgai’, another endangered breed, in Noida.

Sharing the video on Twitter, IFS officer Akash Deep Badhawan, wrote, “DYK?Ganges River Dolphin, our National Aquatic Animal once lived in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system is now endangered. They live in fresh water and are practically blind, with small slits as eyes. Was fortunate to spot these in Ganges in Meerut.”


After flamingos in Mumbai, ‘nilgai’ in Noida, now rare sightings of dolphins were made in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut city.

He further added that, “Their habitat is largely tracts of Ganges where fish is aplenty and water currents are slow. Here, dense human population has led to fishermen catching them along with fish and they become a ‘bycatch’. However, they are still hunted at times for their meat and oil by few.”
In another positive development, Mumbai’s first citizen, Mayor Kishori Pednekar, has donned her old nursing uniform after years to motivate the healthcare staff amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the city.

The Mayor, who had served as a nurse before joining politics, visited Mumbai’s BYL Nair Hospital and urged the nursing students to join the fight against the highly contagious disease. Pednekar also said the best four or five students will be awarded the Mayor cup.”Our doctors, nurses and staff are fighting with the pandemic. They are taking care of the patients and I want to stand with them to motivate them.,” said Mayor Pednekar.

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Will China’s ‘Corona strategy’ backfire and prove to be a game-changer for India?

As the entire world is battling the Coronavirus pandemic with the global economy reaching a new low, it comes as no surprise that all the countries have united to go against China, from where the COVID-19 originated.

It is being said that China hid the reality of origin of Coronavirus from the entire world, including the WHO, a mistake for which the entire world is paying the cost today. Many theories say it is China’s calculated move to bring the world economy down, and be on the top spot in the global scale.

However, China’s game plan seems to be backfiring itself, big way. Needless to say, today, the entire world is on one side, and China on the other. All nations have a hard feeling for the Asian country for putting them in a crisis for which they are not at all responsible.

As a result, many countries have already made plan to withdraw their companies and businesses from China. Japan has already initiated the process as the country has earmarked $2.2 billion of its record economic stimulus package to help its manufacturers shift production out of China. China is Japan’s biggest trading partner under normal circumstances, but imports from China slumped by almost half in February as the disease shuttered factories.

The US is not shying away from uttering its hard feelings for China, with president Donald Trump always terming Coronavirus as ‘Chinese virus’ and further saying, “If it is a mistake by China, it is a mistake. But if this all is intentional, China will have to face consequences.”

It is clear that the US and China, who already had bitter ties over trade, have even more differences now, owing to Coronavirus.

All these developments,have indicated just one thing. Can China’s loss be India’s biggest gain?

Owing to India’s favourable geographical location, young population and cheap labour availability, the country is always seen as a next best ‘manufacturing’ destination after China.

If sources are to be believed, India is already aware of the situation and has even started talks and discussions over bringing major companies to the country and become a hotspot for manufacturing sector.

If this turns around to be a reality, tables will turn like never before, China’s ‘Corona strategy’ will backfire like never before and India will grow like never before!

Only time will unfold what is in store for the future?

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India records highest one-day rise in cases as Modi hopes to beat Corona by Eid

India recorded the highest one-day rise of 1,975 coronavirus cases, making the total numbers go up by 26,917, according to latest figures by the Union Health Ministry.

The figures came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his wish that India was able to overcome the pandemic by Eid.

Expressing his thoughts at his radio show Mann Ki Baat, he hoped, that the pandemic would have been tackled by the time of Eid, clearing the way for the festival to be celebrated with the usual enthusiasm.

However, going by the latest figures, the number of deaths rose by 47 to 826, which is the second highest 24-hour spike in death. The highest spike, of 49 deaths, was seen on Sunday morning.

While Maharashtra continues to be the most affected state with 7,628 confirmed cases with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saying that 80 per cent patients in the state are asymptomatic and 20 per have mild,serious or critical symptoms; Gujarat became the second Indian state to have more than 3,000 cases.

In Kolkata the situation remains grim as a senior government doctor involved in the fight against COVID-19 and a 34-year-old man, both diagnosed with the disease, died at a city hospital.

Dr.BiplabKanti Dasgupta, Assistant Director of the West Bengal Health Services, is the first doctor to die of COVID-19 in the state.The 60-year-old doctor had tested positive last week and was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata.

Another patient, who had tested positive for the disease earlier in the week, also died this Sunday.

“The 34-year-old man was admitted to the hospital on 23 April. He, too, had breathing problems and was put on ventilator. He died today morning,” sources said.

Coronavirus cases around the world rose to 2.9 million and deaths have doubled since April 10 — hitting nearly 203,000 people on Sunday.

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Strange! Private airlines start bookings against govt orders!

Private airlines start bookings

Private airlines IndiGo, Spicejet, Vistara and GoAir have re-opened passenger bookings for flights starting mid-May in violation of aviation regulator DGCA’s explicit order.

“All airlines are hereby directed to refrain from booking tickets… Further, the airlines may note that they shall be given sufficient notice and time for restarting of operations. This is for strict compliance by all airlines,” DGCA Deputy Director General Sunil Kumar wrote to all domestic and foreign airlines on April 19.

State-owned Air India is yet to restart bookings for any travel.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri later in a tweet said that “since some airlines did not heed our advisory and opened bookings and started collecting money from flyers, a directive was issued to them on 19th April restraining them from doing so.”

As per leading online travel portals, low-cost carriers SpiceJet and GoAir have offered flights on various routes, including the busiest Delhi-Mumbai route, starting May 16.

A 16 May Spicejet flight from Delhi to Bengaluru is currently available at Rs 3,500. Indigo is charging the same price for the route for 1 June travel. A 1 June Delhi-Kolkata Vistara flight is available for Rs 3,800 while Indigo is charging Rs 3,400 for the same.

Airline industry has been hit hard following the lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country. Major airlines resorted to job or pay cuts or sending their staff on leave without pay.

Airlines had received much flak for taking bookings even as they were not allowed to and thus locking people’s money. In many cases, the money wasn’t refunded with airlines creating a ‘credit shell’ for their customers and agents for booking later.

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Midnight Breaking: Neighbourhood shops to open; malls to remain shut

shops

In a late night move, the government on Friday night permitted opening of neighbourhood and stand alone shops, including those located in residential complexes within municipal areas, but at a 50 per cent strength and the necessary precautions.

The late night order, undersigned by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, will not apply to areas covered under the hotspots or containment zones and shopping malls.

“All shops registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective State/Union Territory, including shops in residential complexes and market complexes, except shops in multi-brand and single-brand malls, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, with 50 per cent strength of workers with wearing of masks and social distancing being mandatory,” reads the MHA order.

Earlier this week, the government had relaxed lockdown for the attendants and caregivers of senior citizens who are residing at home. The government had also exempted food processing units that manufacture bread, process milk, flour and dal mills, from the lockdown, provided that hygiene and safety practices are followed.

The orders, however, added that the head of the organisation would be responsible for implementing social distancing and ensuring proper hygiene practices while adhering to the standard operating procedures to be followed during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The development came after the Centre on Thursday said it has been able to slow down the infection rate to “flatten the curve” and minimise the spread during the period of the national lockdown which has entered the 32nd day.

Top officials of the union government and the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) said the situation is “currently stable”, adding the testing has also been ramped up consistently though it was not enough.

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Kolkata’s sad ground reality: 20-year-old succumbs to Corona after no medical aid

succumbs to Corona

With 31 new Coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, West Bengal in India is one of the worst hit cities with the pandemic. With total cases crossing the 400 mark, Kolkata had the highest number of Covid-19 cases at 105 confirmed infections.

The state also witnessed many violations in the lockdown rules that forced the Centre had to send special teams to keep a check on the violations of the lockdown rules.

The escalating row came to an end after an exchange of angry letters between the union home secretary and the state’s chief secretary, besides a few phone calls.

The West Bengal government has said “It is not a fact” that there was no cooperation with the Central team deputed to assess the coronavirus situation in the state and gave an assurance that it will abide by all Union government orders on lockdown.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, cried foul at the Centre’s attempts to “malign the State administration” over the handling of Covid-19. The Chief Minister raised the issue of faulty kits to justify low testing numbers in Bengal while blaming the Centre for a “health hazard”.

However, the ground reality in Kolkata remains grim and sad. The state health infrastructure seems to be shaken with the Corona cases, besides the fact that the administration is not even able to handle the deadbodies.

This was evident by a recent case, where a 20-year-old succumbed to not just the deadly virus but the failure of the state administrative system. Yash Ostwal, who resided at the Howrah region of the state, experienced a heavy breathing problem on 11th April. He called to hospitals for help, but to no avail. After getting no help even from the police, he called his uncle, who finally took him to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead!

That was not it. Yash did not find peace even after breathing his last as his body was burnt without any intimation to the family members who could not see their son even for a last time.

Yash’s other family members are also at high risk of COVID and are seeking urgent medical help.

Adjusted for a 9 crore population, Bengal’s testing per million stands at 78 (approximately). The number, critics say, continue to be low for Bengal’s size.

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Shocking! US funded Wuhan lab to carry out ‘coronavirus’ experiment on bats

wuhan lab

The US has so far been the most affected country by the Coronavirus pandemic with over 8 lakh cases and over 45000 deaths. President Donald Trump, who is being criticised for the way he tackled the situation, is seemingly extremely upset with China as he believes that the Asian country is responsible for spreading the deadly virus in the whole world. Not just he calls ‘coronavirus’ the ‘Chinese virus’, but the President has warned of dire consequences if it is proved that China’s Wuhan lab was the breeding ground of Coronavirus.

So while the US has been openly slamming China for carrying out ‘mission Corona’ in its Wuhan lab, the recent news has left many eyebrows raised in shock!

If the news is to be believed, the US government had reportedly funded $3.7 million to the Chinese laboratory in Wuhan which has been at the centre of speculations surrounding coronavirus outbreak.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology is believed to have conducted coronavirus experiments on mammals captured from the caves of Yunnan, China, with the US money.

According to documents obtained by British media outlet Daily Mail, scientists there experimented on bats as part of a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health, which continues to licence the Wuhan laboratory to receive American money for experiments.

The reports say the Canadian Institutes of Health Research announced millions in funding to research and develop tools such as vaccines and tests to combat the coronavirus.

US Congressman Matt Gaetz said, “I’m disgusted to learn that for years the US government has been funding dangerous and cruel animal experiments at the Wuhan Institute, which may have contributed to the global spread of coronavirus, and research at other labs in China that have virtually no oversight from US authorities.”