THEY called it middle-of-the-road cinema back then. It was all about serving entertainment on the big screen with a slice of realism, telling stories of real people, drawing humour out of everyday miseries and joys. Indeed, todays content-driven ‘small film of Bollywood, which primarily regales the urban multiplex crowd with its stories of realism, owes its roots to the middle-of-the-road wave that swept mainstream Bollywood in the seventies and the eighties...

HOURS before the world observes World Environment Day, people across the world have expressed their outrage through a petition platform over inhumane killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala. In less than 24 hours, as many as 927 petitions have been filed on the petition website Change.org and over 13 lakh people have signed these demanding the perpetrators of this cruel act be punished. “Perhaps a more important question to ask right now is why we hear news about so many voiceless deaths and not ..

THE Supreme Court, while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification on payment of wages, observed that some negotiations have to happen between employers and workers to iron out what has to be done for the salary for these 54 days. The Centre told the apex court that the payment of wages to workers during this lockdown period is a matter between employers and employees...

INDIA and Australia on Thursday inked a landmark agreement for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support besides firming up six more pacts to further broadbase ties after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held an online summit. The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. ..

VETERAN filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, known for his relatable, light as soufflé brand of cinema with films such as “Rajnigandha” and “Chitchor”, died on Thursday following age related health issues. He was 93. Chatterjee, who is survived by his daughters Sonali Bhattacharya and Rupali Guha, died in his sleep at his Santacruz residence. “He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Thursday morning. He hadn’t been keeping well for quite a while due to old age problems and died at his residence. It’s a great ..

AMID the stand-off between Indian and Chinese armies in Ladakh, work has started for the construction of an emergency airstrip in Kashmir. Men and machinery is at work at Bijbehara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district for constructing an emergency airstrip next to the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The construction work for the 3.5 km airstrip has come at a time when Indian and Chinese armies are facing a stand-off at some points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh...

FOR the first time since the nation-wide lockdown was announced in March, the Government has allowed foreign businessmen, healthcare professionals and engineers to visit India but they will have to obtain fresh visas. In an order, the Home Ministry said that the foreign nationals, holding a valid long-term multiple-entry business visa, would also have to get their travel documents re-validated from the Indian missions. “The Government of India has considered the matter regarding relaxation of the ..

AIR India on Wednesday said it will operate 75 outbound passenger flights to select destinations in the US and Canada between June 9 and June 30 under the Vande Bharat Mission. “Those who wish to travel to the United States and Canada and fulfill required entry conditions can book themselves on these outbound flights. ..

AROUND 42 crore beneficiaries have been directly given cash support through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) amounting to Rs 53,248 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) till June 2, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The Rs 1.7 lakh crore PMGKP package was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on M..

SECURITY forces on Wednesday killed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad’s (JeM) top IED expert Abdul Rehman alias ‘Fauji Bhai’, who was an Afghan war veteran, besides two local militants during an encounter in Pulwama district of South Kashmir, police said. “The killing of Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai alias Fauji Baba, a Pakistani national, is a big success for security forces as he was a master in assembling improvised explosive devices for JeM,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters ..

OVER 1 lakh scanned copies of Indians’ national IDs, including Aadhaar, PAN card and passport, have been put on dark web for sale, Cyber Intelligence firm Cyble said on Wednesday. The leaked data seems to have originated from a third party and not from the Government system, according to a report by Cyble. ..

INDIA’S drug regulator has granted US pharma giant Gilead Sciences marketing authorisation for its anti-viral drug remdesivir for “restricted emergency use” on hospitalised COVID-19 patients in view of the crisis posed by the pandemic. The approval process for remdesivir was accelerated in view of the emergency situation and the unmet need for medicines in light of the coronavirus outbreak, a source in the know of the developments told PTI...

INDIAN Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and Kailash Satyarthi and economist Kaushik Basu are among the over 225 global leaders who have jointly called for a meeting of the G20 nations to agree to a USD 2.5 trillion coronavirus global health and economic recovery plan...

HISTORICALLY significant documents related to the second World War, including “the document that forced the surrender of Nazi Germany”, will go under the hammer at a live auction next week. The letter, estimated to sell for a million USD, is the official authorisation for Germany’s top general, Field Marshal Alfred Jodl, to negotiate an unconditional surrender with the Allied powers...

CYCLONE ‘Nisarga’ is very likely to intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” over the next 12 hours and cross Maharashtra and South Gujarat coast on Wednesday afternoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The storm will cross North Maharashtra and adjoining South Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, on June 3 afternoon as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind 100-110 gusting to 120 kmph, a senior official said here...

A “SIZEABLE number” of Chinese troops have moved into eastern Ladakh and India too has taken all necessary steps to deal with the situation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, referring to the nearly month-long high-altitude standoff between the two armies. Singh said, a meeting between senior Indian and Chinese military leaders has been scheduled for June 6 even as he asserted that India is not going to back off from its position. ..

WITH Gujarat bracing for the approaching cyclonic storm ‘Nisarg’, the Valsad and Navsari district administrations have started evacuating nearly 20,000 people from 47 villages located close to the State coastline, officials said on Tuesday. Besides, in a relief to people living near the shore, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday indicated the cyclone may not make a landfall on the Gujarat coast. However, it will have an impact in the for..

AVIATION regulator DGCA on Monday asked airlines to keep middle seats vacant to the extent possible in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. However, if a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load “then additional protective equipment like wrap-around gown of the Ministry of Textile approved standards” must be provided to him or her in addition to a three-layered face mask and face shield, said the DGCA order, which has been accessed by PTI...

AMID the ongoing tensions over People’s Liberation Army (PLA) build up along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, India is keeping a close eye on movement of Chinese fighter aircraft stationed around 100-150 kms at their bases in Hotan and Gargunsa. “The Chinese have kept a fleet of around 10-12 fighter aircraft stationed there at the moment and they are also carrying out flying activity close to the Indian territory. We are keeping a close eye on the movement ..

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Monday termed the coronavirus as “invisible enemy” and called India’s corona warriors as “invincible” asserting that they will win the battle against the virus. Speaking at the 25th foundation day of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka via video conference, the Prime Minister said: “Today the world is facing one of t..

AFTER more than two months of nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, people geared up to step outdoors on Monday albeit with restrictions. Amid spurt in number of Corona cases across India, life sprang back to relative normalcy in parts of India. Bus services across several States resumed on Monday including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu...

SINGER composer Wajid Khan of music director duo Sajid-Wajid, popular for their work on superstar Salman Khan’s films such as “Wanted”, “Dabangg” and “Ek Tha Tiger”, died early Monday morning in a city hospital here due to coronavirus. The 42-year-old singer had underlying kidney issues...

ALL the terrorist camps and around 15 launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) “are full”, according to top Army commander Lt Gen B S Raju, who anticipates an increase in infiltration attempts from across the border this summer to replenish the diminishing terrorist cadres in Jammu and Kashmir. In an interview to PTI, Lieutenant Ge..

UTTAR Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday described the first year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term as ‘historic’, crediting him with ending the J&K’s Special Status, triple talaq and paving the way for a Ram temple in Ayodhya. He lauded the BJP-led Union Government for taking ‘unprecedented steps’ in the int..

THE world is looking towards India how Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government and the people have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, controlled it and minimised it, said Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland. She said she was impressed with the way Prime Minister Modi pulled together members of the SAARC, including Pakistan. In an interview with IANS, the Secretary-General said India -- a home to half of the Commonwealth’s 2.4 billion citizens -- is a valued member of the Commonwealth ..

SPACEX’S Dragon spacecraft with two NASA astronauts on Sunday successfully docked with the International Space Station after a historic launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the dawn of a new age in commercial space travel. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company confirmed the successful docking of NASA astronauts..

  NEW DELHI :  INDIA registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases on Sunday with 8,380 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s tally to 1,82,143, while the death toll rose to 5,164, according to the Union Health Ministry. India is the ninth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of active COVID-19 cases stood to 89,995, while 86,983 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.  “Thus, around 47.76 ..

THE Indian Army on Sunday rejected a video, which emerged on the social media, purportedly showing clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in eastern Ladakh. “The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is malafide,” the Army said in a statement. It said differences between the two sides are being addressed through interaction between military commanders following established protocols on management of border between ..

A TOTAL of 513 domestic flights carrying 39,969 passengers were operated in India on Friday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday. Domestic services resumed in India after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus lockdown. Indian carriers have operated a total of 1,827 flights till Thursday 428 on Monday, 445 on Tuesday, 460 on Wednesday and 494 on Thursday. Puri said on Twitter on Saturday: “Day 5. 29th May till 2359 hrs...

TAKING note of the congregation of migrant workers at railway stations and bus stands in Maharashtra as they wait for their return to the home States, the Bombay High Court has sought a report from the Maharashtra Government on how it was addressing the issue. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice K K Tated was on Friday hearing..

THE doubling time of coronavirus cases in India has improved to 15.4 days from 13.3 days, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday, as the country’s COVID-19 death toll climbed to 4,971 and the total cases rose to 1,73,763. The doubling time improved during the past three days, it said. As many as 11,264 COVID-19 patients have been cured in the last 24 hours till Saturday 8 am, the highest number of recoveries recorded in one day, pushing India’s recovery rate to 47.40 per cent, it said. However, ..

INDIA will emerge stronger from multiple crises of economy, pandemic and super cyclone in the next 6-9 months, say industry leaders, based on the resilience shown by people, businesses and the Government. The telecom and information technology will be key to survival and revival of lives and economy, said the business leaders as they shared their views on challenges faced by the Indian economy at a webinar organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Delhi. “COVID-19 has resulted in the world ..

WITH the monsoon round-the-corner, the Maharashtra Government has adopted a comprehensive programme to combat the COVID-19 during the four wet months, officials said here on Saturday. This includes augmenting the COVID-19 bed strength to around 2.90 lakh, plus over 8,500 ICU beds spread across Mumbai, Thane, Pune and..

ACTOR Sonu Sood on Friday came to the rescue of 117 girls as he helped them reach home in Odisha. The actor airlifted the girls who were stuck in Kerala due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. Sood was informed about the group of girls by a close friend from Bhubaneswar and he decided to help them. ..

CYBERSECURITY researchers on Friday said they have identified a new type of impersonation attack that is using Google file sharing and storage websites like Google Docs to trick victims into sharing login credentials. Of the nearly 1,00,000 form-based attacks detected between January 1 and April 30, Google Docs were used in 65 per cent of attacks, ..