The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong India-US collaboration, India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said. Noting that India’s partnership with the US in health sciences and technologies is longstanding, the senior diplomat said research and innovation institutions of both the countries are engaged in understanding important chronic and infectious diseases and in developing therapeutics and diagnostics. “COVID-19 has made us recognise the necessity for collaborations quite ever before. Our Prime Minister has emphasised a worldwide coordinated response to affect the challenges whilst we work to strengthen our domestic capacities to affect this crisis,” Sandhu…
Author: Our Correspondent
Tear gas is among the new flavors at a Hong Kong ice cream shop. The main ingredient is black peppercorns, a reminder of the pungent, peppery rounds fired by police on the streets of the semi-autonomous Chinese city during months of demonstrations last year. It tastes like tear gas. It feels difficult to breathe at first, and it’s really pungent and irritating. It makes me want to drink a lot of water immediately, said customer Anita Wong, who experienced tear gas at a protest. I think it’s a flashback that reminds me of how painful I felt in the movement,…
The body of a 22-year-old man was found in a waterbody in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Friday, police said. The body of Tapash Majhi, a resident of ward number 3 in Bishnupur town, was found floating in the waters of Lalbandh, they said. The body has been fished out and sent for post-mortem examination, police said. An investigation has been initiated, said Koteshwar Rao, the superintendent of police.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupeh Baghel on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting that provision be made for expenditure towards transportation of migrants from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF). In a letter to Modi, Baghel said more than 1.50 lakh migrant workers and others from Chhattisgarh are stranded in other states due to lockdown. More than 27,000 migrants have returned by buses provided by the state government or by their own means, while the process to bring back 1.32 lakh workers by trains and buses began from May 11, Baghel said. “There is currently no provision for payment…
A man was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a six-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Friday. The accused is the girl’s neighbour and he allegedly tried to rape the minor near her house in Ramraj area, they said. The man ran way when the girl cried for help, police said citing the complaint lodged in the case.
It is not how most people picture police officers, but there he is, uniformed, mask on, strumming a guitar and singing well loved film songs to ease the tension at the station as people stranded in Jammu finally make the journey home. A three-minute clip of Jammu and Kashmir police officer Bikram Kumar singing Bollywood songs in that unlikeliest of places, the railway station, on Thursday has been shared widely on social media, making him a social media star of sorts. The deputy superintendent of police in Jammu (East) said it all happened in the spur of the moment. He…
The inter-state movement of those engaged in providing essential services, including medical professionals, resumed on Friday between Haryana and Delhi after a fortnight’s hiatus, officials said. Also the state, the first in the country, restarted bus service initially in 10 districts. However, people offering essential services need to procure an e-pass that is issued in just half an hour. “The Haryana-Delhi border is opened for to and fro movement of people. It is round-the-clock manned by security personnel,” He said the movement of trucks carrying essential and non-essential goods between Haryana and Delhi, except to and fro between containment zones,…
In a relief for the Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court has stayed the Madras High Court order for closure of state-run liquor outlets on grounds of violations of the coronavirus guidelines. Hearing a plea of the Tamil Nadu government on Friday, the SC stayed the HC order on closure of liquor outlets. The Tamil Nadu government can now sell liquor at state-owned Tasmac shops again. After the Madras High Court last week ordered closure of liquor outlets noting that there were huge crowds and no social distancing was being maintained by tipplers, the Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme…
Director Shoojit Sircar says his films are reflection of the lesson he learnt in life, and his upcoming movie “Gulabo Sitabo” is another such film in his career. Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana, the film is the first big ticket feature to directly choose for digital release amid the coronavirus-induced shutdown. A Rising Sun Production, the Lucknow-set satire will start streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime Video from June 12. “My films, sometimes, have my very own reflections of life. they need life lessons I’ve had that I convey during a humorous or satirical way. “When I made ‘Vicky Donor’,…
Sachin Tendulkar has decided to settle his lawsuit against bat-maker Spartan within the court of Australia after the corporate apologised for “breach of contract”. In 2016, Tendulkar entered into a worldwide exclusive sponsorship agreement with Spartan to market its sports equipment and sportswear. Tendulkar alleged that Spartan did not suits its obligations under the agreement by failing to pay him royalties and endorsement fees as per the agreement signed by both parties. “Spartan sincerely apologises to Tendulkar for its failure to honour his sponsorship agreement and is grateful for Tendulkar’s patience in resolving this dispute,” Les Galbraith, the COO of…