From the Electronic Frontier Foundation comes this lengthy timeline of the history of the United States government has of domestic spying.Click here for the EFF's description and full timeline from 1791-2013

Barcelona returned to training after the La Liga champions allowed their stars to enter their facility to prepare for a potential restart to football in Spain. Lionel Messi and company took the fields at Joan Gamper training centre for individual sessions, for which the players arrived alone in kit and took to the three pitches without passing through the changing rooms. As well as doing their routines, they were also subjected to tests to see what effect two months of Coronavirus quarantine has had on their bodies.

"Finally, we are getting back to normal. We hope to carry on and then get back to enjoying what we like most," Arturo Vidal told sports daily Marca. Sevilla, Villarreal, Osasuna and Leganes also returned to training, while Real Madrid—who were two points behind league leaders Barca when play stopped in mid-March—will likely start again on Monday should their players pass virus tests carried out on Wednesday.

That would mark almost two months since Real had been placed in quarantine following a positive test for a member of the club's basketball team. According to Spanish media, none of Real's players have suffered from virus symptoms, but Zinedine Zidane will have to do without Serb attacker Luka Jovic after Real announced on Friday he had fracture his right heel. Footballers in Spain have restarted training following the announcement last week of government plan that aims to end quarantine for professional players.

Individual training sessions are the first step to what La Liga hopes will be a return to action in June that will complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors. The first aspect of a four-phase de-escalation programme allows a maximum of six players on the pitch at any one time.

La Liga's programme will then permit training in small groups before a return to larger team sessions. In the fourth and final phase, in early June, the government has said outside events can go ahead when attended by fewer than 400 people.

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Owing to the lockdown, old popular shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat are being retelecasted for the viewing of the younger generation. Ever since the show has gone on air, the cast from the show has been revealing interesting stories that went behind the scenes. Recently actor Sunil Lahri aka Lakshman revealed another interesting fact related to late actress Lalita Pawar who played the role of Manthara. 

Recently, during a virtual press conference, Sunil Lahri said that while they were shooting the scene where Lord Ram returns to Ayodhya, Lalita Pawar suffered injuries and still chose to shoot despite the pain. "Lalita Pawar ji once suffered an injury. During a sequence when Lord Ram returns to Ayodhya, the entire set was lit with diyas. Lalita ji being an enthusiastic actor did not realise and she walked over them, by mistake she stepped on the lanterns and both her feet got burnt. The spot dadas would carry her till the set from the room and she used to give her shot. In fact, she was asked to relax and rest, but she was such an excited actor that she would love to work. Nobody got to know that she was in pain, she showed no signs when she was on camera. She was so committed that despite the injuries she continued to shoot and hat's off to her. She was a great lady," said the actor.

Lalita Pawar has also been a part of over 100s of films including Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi where she is seen playing character actors. The actor passed away in 1998 after suffering from mouth cancer. 

ALSO READ: “Ramanand Sagar was born to make Ramayan,” says his son Prem Sagar

There will be some noticeable changes to the game when cricket resumes from its COVID-19 hiatus with one of the major differences being the way the ball is polished.

It's critical administrators produce the right response to the health challenges as swing bowling, along with wrist-spin, is a crucial part of attacking cricket. Both skills place a high priority on wicket-taking and need to be encouraged at every opportunity.

An out-swing bowler is seeking the edge to provide a catch behind the wicket. The in-swinger is delivered in search of a bowled or an lbw decision. In both cases the bowler, in seeking the perfect ambush, is also providing the batsman with a driving opportunity as the ball needs to be pitched full to achieve the desired outcome.

Either way two results are in play—a wicket or a boundary—which creates the ideal balance of tension and expectation. Fans crave a genuine contest between bat and ball and that's part of what attracts them to the game in the first place.

With ball tampering always a hot topic in the past, I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list [ie the use of natural substances] detailing the things bowlers feel help them to swing the ball. From this list the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal.

Due to the pandemic, this is the ideal time to conduct the exercise with cricket on hold. Using saliva or perspiration are now seen as a health hazard, so bowlers require something to replace the traditional methods of shining the ball.

An ideal LBW rule

And while they're in a magnanimous mood, the administrators should also make a change to the lbw law that would be welcomed by all bowlers.

The new lbw law would simply say: "Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion would go on to hit the stumps, is out, regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted."

Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps it's out.

There will be screams of horror—particularly from pampered batsmen—but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game.

Most important is fairness. If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury, not dismissal.

It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wrist-spinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump.

Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive [and successful] approach to Shane Warne coming round-the-wicket at Chennai in 1998 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

Bat and pad play

The current law encourages 'pad play' to balls pitching outside leg whilst this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field.

The law as it pertains to pitching outside leg was originally introduced to stop negative tactics to slow the scoring. Imagine trying to stifle players like VVS Laxman and Mark Waugh by bowling at their pads. The law should retain the current clause where negative bowling down leg-side is deemed to be illegal.

This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times. It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first innings totals would be virtually non-existent.

The priority for cricket administrators should be to maintain an even balance between bat and ball. These law changes would help redress any imbalance and make the game [particularly Test cricket] a far more entertaining spectacle.

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Ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh sees a problem in Shane Warne's suggestion of manufacturing balls with one side heavier than the other in the wake of sweat or saliva not being allowed on the ball to make it swing.

"With a one-sided heavy ball, the bowler and batsman will not be able tell how much it will swing. It could go awry. And what happens to the skill aspect of getting the ball to swing? Where will we see bowlers like Richard Hadlee and Wasim Akram," wondered Harbhajan.

The Turbanator (tag given to him by the Australians who he demolished in the 2001 series at home) advocated a solution to be used on the ball after a decided amount of overs. "Teams can nominate two players to apply the substance with the fielding captain in attendance, supervised by the umpires," said Harbhajan, who wanted to see the ball changed after every 45 overs. He also pointed out that the weighted ball could be a disadvantage to fielders aiming to take high catches as the ball could swing in the air and mislead the fielder.

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Subhash Ghai is one of the celebrated filmmakers of Bollywood. He has films like Taal, Karz, Ram Lakhan and Khalnayak to his credit and has worked with several A-list actors. However, the director has never worked with Amitabh Bachchan. The two had started working on a project but it was called off in its early stage. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Subhash Ghai revealed why they never completed the film.

Talking about why the film was stalled, Subhash Ghai said, “Both of us tried to make the film, but the situation was such that the film could not be made. Neither of us was at fault. Sometimes situations are such that you feel that films cannot be made and we stop in between. There were several factors. Even I was at fault as I was impatient back then. He is one of the finest actors of India and it is my bad luck that I could not work with him. He does the bad scenes also so well that it puts the writer to shame. I did not write as well as Amitabh Bachchan performed it. I am a great admirer of Amitabh Bachchan and we are family friends. It was not in our fate to work with each other.”

However, Subhash Ghai seems hopeful of working with the veteran actor in the future when the time is right and they get the right script. The incomplete film of Subhash Ghai and Amitabh Bachchan was titled Devaa. In 2013 there were reports of Subhash Ghai collaborating with Bachchan for the biopic of Sarabjit which was ultimately essayed by Randeep Hooda and directed by Omung Kumar.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai reveals the plot of Khalnayak 2 with Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, and Jackie Shroff

Vande Bharat Mission: The special evacuation flight AI 130, a Boeing 777 plane which departed from London on Saturday, landed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at around 1.30 AM with 326 Indians

Coronavirus Delhi update: The teacher had last come to school on April 28 and started showing COVID-19 symptoms from May 2. His test report came on Friday

Though most passengers are from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, there were repatriates of 18 other states and Union Territories also in the ship, which began its journey from Male to Kochi on Friday night

American supermodel Kendall Jenner is not dating basketball player Devin Booker although they are part of a group. According to a report in etonline.com, the NBA player, 23, and Kendall, 24, are "absolutely not dating" or "hooking up".

Rumours of their romance started doing the rounds last month, after they were pictured together going on a road trip. According to the source, the model and the Phoenix Suns player have known each other for some years and they are a part of the same group which has many NBA players, but she has not dated any of them.

Meanwhile, Kendall faced backlash on social media over her rumoured relationship with Devin. She has also been linked to basketball players Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin.

A user commented on Twitter, "NBA players passing around Kendall Jenner." Meanwhile, another wrote: "Maybe she's passing them around," to which she replied: "They act like I'm not in full control of where I throw this c***h."

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Hockey legend Balbir Singh Sr, a triple Olympic gold medallist, has been admitted to a city hospital in critical condition. The 96-year-old was taken to a private hospital from his residence in Sector 36 in Chandigarh, where he lives with his daughter Sushbir and maternal grandson Kabir. "Dadaji is in ICU right now at Fortis Hospital. He was admitted last evening with complaints of pneumonia. He is on ventilator but better than yesterday," grandson Kabir told PTI.

Dr Rajinder Kalra, doctor of 1975 World Cup winning side as well as family doctor:"Balbir had 104 degree fever on Thursday night. Initially, we tried to manage by giving him sponge baths at home but his conditions didn't improve we tried to shift him to PGI, Chandigarh. "But since PGI Chandigarh is a COVID hospital, so it was difficult to get him admitted in ICU. So we admitted him in Fortis, Mohali where he as been 3-4 times before."

"He is currently in ICU but better than yesterday. His COVID-19 test went for examination today and the results are expected tomorrow," Kalra said. In January last year, Balbir Sr was discharged from PGI after spending 108 days in the hospital, where he underwent treatment for bronchial pneumonia.

"It is an unparalleled achievement and credit to his grit that he could recover at the age of 95 from the scenario of bronchial pneumonia and near cardiac failure that he was initially admitted with," Prof. Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER had then said when the former India captain was discharged.

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May 10 is Mother's Day and like many other Bollywood celebrities, Shilpa Shetty took out time to talk about what an "incredible example of strength, dignity, ethics and love" her mother has been for her as well as her sister Shamita. "I am so grateful to God for blessing me with 'this' mother in this life, who has loved and supported me unconditionally and selflessly. She has been an incredible example of strength, dignity, ethics and love to both Shamita and me and moulded us into the individuals we are today. The moral and spiritual values that she gave us throughout our formative years make for such a beautiful gift - one that can never be repaid," said Shilpa.

Shilpa used TikTok's in-app campaign #ThanksMaa to thank her mother. She created a video using TikTok's photo template to express love for her mom on this special occasion. It features beautiful photographs of the actress along with her mother.

She also thanked her mother-in-law, "who encourages me with pride in all my endeavours", adding: "None of this would have ever been possible without your love and blessings". Meanwhile, to make the day even more memorable, cricketers David Warner, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan and actress Hansika Motwani will be going live on TikTok at 11 am on May 10.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas returned to her California residence after attending Ambanis Holi party back in early March. Later, she was also seen chilling with Natasha Poonawalla at their Pune residence. Ever since the lockdown started, the actress is spending some quality time with husband Nick Jonas at their California home. Let's take a look at her quarantine chronicles right away!

The pretty pretty princess:

Priyanka Chopra Jonas' niece, with whom she is often seen spending time with, turned muse for her! Well, the results were spectacular. The actress let her niece paint her face with all the makeup, and look at what she turns out to be, a 'pretty pretty princess.' Do you know what's the highlight? Her adorable technique to put makeup on Miss World Priyanka Chopra's face. Take a look.

 

 

 

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First Monday in May ⁣ This year’s theme: Pretty Pretty Princess ⁣ Glam and creative direction by: @sky.krishna 📸- @divya_jyoti

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onMay 4, 2020 at 5:31pm PDT

Cuddles:

Gino was a gift o Nick Jonas on his 27th birthday! The actress surprised him with the most adorable gift ever. Priyanka Chopra Jonas, after Diana diaries, also has an Instagram page entirely dedicated to Gino Jonas. Cute!

 

 

 

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I promise Gino loves my cuddles. @ginothegerman

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onMay 5, 2020 at 5:07pm PDT

No gym, no problem:

A lot of people are finding it difficult to keep in shape during the lockdown period. It's not just food that has been a distraction to many, but also a lazy couch, and extremely fun content on television, which is just making everyone difficult to get back to their daily routine. There, there! But, Priyanka Chopra has found a fun way to keep it fit. Check out the video right here.

 

 

 

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No gym, no problem. @sky.krishna @divya_jyoti

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onMay 2, 2020 at 12:05pm PDT

The saree feels:

It has been almost three months many people have been under the lockdown. Not kidding! Being at home can be fun at times, but this has become a tad more unbearable. Not getting ready and not stepping out of the house at all, is not fun anymore! To keep up with the tradition, desi girl also missed wearing a saree during the lockdown period. But, surprise surprise, she wore it at home too!

 

 

 

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Felt like wearing a saree. So I did...At home. Miss everyone. ❤ï¸Â @nickjonas

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onApr 25, 2020 at 9:45pm PDT

The virtual concert:

Priyanka Chopra also announced to be part of a virtual benefit concert - 'One World: Together At Home'. The special event took place on April 18. The actress had also pledged USD 100,000 in total to four incredible women who rose above the challenges to make a difference during the coronavirus crises.

 

 

 

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See you soon. ❤ï¸Â One World: #TogetherAtHome with @glblctzn will be broadcast on all major networks and digitally tonight around the world. Join us to support @WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund. Who’s watching with me??!

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) onApr 18, 2020 at 4:59pm PDT

On the professional front, Priyanka Chopra was last seen in Shonali Bose's  The Sky Is Pink, opposite Farhan Akhtar. The film was Priyanka's comeback film in Bollywood after a hiatus of three years. It also had Zaira Wasim and Rohit Saraf in pivotal roles among others. The Sky Is Pink is based on the life of the motivational speaker, Aisha Chaudhary, and how she didn't allow her pulmonary fibrosis to deter her spirits.

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As the nation celebrates Mother's Day today, Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut on Saturday dedicated a beautiful poem for her mother, Asha Ranaut. The poem was shared by Kananga's official team on Instagram. The poem began with lines that read: "I'm your longing for life. When I first arose in your young heart...Your eyes gleamed with hope."

 

 

 

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#KanganaRanaut pens down this beautiful poem on the account of Mother's Day. Here, she dedicates some beautiful words as gift to her mother and all the mothers in the world. Happy Mother's Day. ♥ï¸Â . . . #mothersday #happymothersday

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) onMay 9, 2020 at 7:53am PDT

The 33-year-old actor wrote about the "love and warmth" she saw nowhere else but only in her mother. "And then I went to my own heart, I found you, mother, I found you there....You arise in my heart...as a desire...as a longing for life...I'm your longing for life," the lines read.

In another post, the team shared a picture of the mother-daughter duo, beaming with smiles.

 

 

 

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They say a mother understands what a child does not say, today let's tell them out loud. Let's make #MothersDay extra special for our mothers by telling them what's in our hearts!! ♥️🤗🤰

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@team_kangana_ranaut) onMay 9, 2020 at 9:11am PDT

Born and brought up in Himachal Pradesh, the 'Panga' actor has been spending quality time with her family in Manali ever since the COVID-19 induced lockdown was imposed in the country.

Though she does not have a social media profile of her own, her team keeps her fans well posted about updates from her personal and professional life on social media.

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Actress Mackenzie Foy found a friend in her "The Nutcracker And The Four Realms" co-star Keira Knightley, and says she is a nice and down-to-earth person. "Keira is just amazing. I've really enjoyed working with her. She is such a nice, down to earth person. You can literally talk to her about anything and she would just listen and be a good friend," Foy said.

Asked about her favourite moment working with her, Foy said: "I don't know. We have spent a lot of time together but I think pretty much when we could just relax on the set and we could just sit and talk about nonsense. It was really fun just to get to know her."

"The Nutcracker And The Four Realms" is the retelling of ETA Hoffmann''s short story "The Nutcracker And The Mouse King" and Marius Petipa's and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker". It's a story of a young girl who gets a locked egg as a gift from her deceased mother, and narrates her magical journey to get the key for the egg.

"The Nutcracker And The Four Realms" will air in India on Star Movies on May 10.

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Russian tennis beauty Maria Sharapova shared her choice of a perfect playlist meant for a road trip, with her four million Instagram followers recently. To beat boredom caused by the lockdown, Maria zipped passed the beautiful locales of California with some of American Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits playing on her car stereo.

She shared a few pictures and a video of her trip on Instagram and wrote: "Road trip with Bruce Springsteen for the mood."

 

 

 

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Road trip 🧳 with Bruce Springsteen for the mood 🎼👌🏼

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) onMay 5, 2020 at 4:54pm PDT

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A two-week course of antiviral therapy that combines the power of three drugs has shown promise in treating hospitalised patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a carefully undertaken phase 2 clinical trial.

The results of the trial, published in the journal The Lancet, involved 127 adults from six public hospitals in Hong Kong.

The drug combination tested in the trial included interferon beta-1b, which was developed to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), and lopinavir-ritonavir, which is normally used to treat HIV and ribavirin, an oral hepatitis C virus drug.

The findings of the phase two trial provided evidence that early treatment with triple antiviral therapy alongside standard care is safe and shortens duration of viral shedding (when the virus is detectable and potentially transmissible) compared to lopinavir-ritonavir alone—average seven days vs 12 days—in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

"Our trial demonstrates that early treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 with a triple combination of antiviral drugs may rapidly suppress the amount of virus in a patient's body, relieve symptoms, and reduce the risk to healthcare workers by reducing the duration and quantity of viral shedding," said professor Kwok-Yung Yuen from the University of Hong Kong who led the research.

No new cases in Hong Kong as restrictions ease

Hong Kong recorded no new COVID-19 case on Saturday, a day after the city eased restrictions. Saturday was also the 20th day in a row with no local infections. Health experts earlier suggested that Hong Kong could be considered to be free of local transmission if there were no such cases after 28 days.

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Ex-Matka king Ratan Khatri died on Saturday morning in Mumbai. According to sources, Khatri, 88, was ailing for a long time. In 1960s Khatri had joined Kalyan Bhagat to set up Matka in Mumbai.

Matka, a lottery or gambling with number is popularly called as Ankada Jugar. Matka was popular in Mumbai from pre-independence time that involved betting on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange. Matka was popular in all classes of Mumbai in 1960s. In 1962 Kalyanji Bhagat, started Worli Matka.

Ratan Khatri had joined Bhagat as a manager. In 1964 Khatri parted his way from Bhagat and formed his own 'Ratan Matka'. The Matka or drawing lots from chits in a pot became so famous that the turnover of the gambling touched Rs 1 crore daily.

According to sources, Khatri had not been keeping well for some time. He was living with his family in Navjeevan Society at Mumbai Central. Khatri passed away on Saturday morning.

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The Congress has declared two candidates, making the ensuing legislative council poll elections more interesting. This means the polls in which CM Uddhav Thackeray is one of the nine candidates, will be decided through voting on May 21, unless one of the 10 candidates for the nine vacancies withdraws next week.

Rajesh Rathod was the Congress's choice cleared by the high command on Saturday. Papa Modi was announced at a state level, indicating that it could be a tactic to get more nominations in future polls. The BJP has fielded four—Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, Praveen Datke, Gopichand Padalkar and Dr Ajit Gopchhede. The NCP has given tickets to Shashikant Shinde and Amol Mitkari. The Sena has the CM and Neelam Gorhe, deputy chairman of the upper house.

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A 24-year-old man has been arrested for attacking two police officers and a constable, who were on nakabandi duty at Marine Drive in the early hours of Saturday.

According to the police, the Marine Drive police had set up nakabandi at the Mafatlal Bath junction, near Chowpatty on Friday night. At around 1.30 am, cops noticed a person walking with a chopper in his hand. When the police tried to stop him, he fled. The police finally apprehended him near SK Patil Udyan, near Charni Road. A scuffle ensued, and the man attacked the cops with his chopper.

The weapon used to attack the cops

Three policemen, Police Inspector Jitendra Kadam, Police Sub-inspector Sachin Shelke and Constable Sagar Shelke, were injured in the attack, and were admitted to JJ Hospital. The cops have suffered injuries to their shoulders and hands.

The accused has been identified as Karan Pradeep Nair, a resident of Silver Oak Estate in Cumballa Hill.

Sources said that Nair is a graduate in architecture, but is unemployed. He lives with his mother, a retired clerk with Air India, and a younger sister. "Initial investigations have revealed that Nair was a drug addict. He had a heated argument with his mother before leaving the house on Friday night. He was so angry that while walking out, he grabbed a chopper and told her that he would not spare anyone who came in front of him."

When contacted, Sangram Singh Nishandar, DCP (Zone 1), said, "He has been arrested, and investigations are on." Nair has been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and various sections of the IPC.

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It seems that there is rampant poaching of pangolins taking place during the lockdown in the Konkan belt, and their scales are being illegally sold in the local black market. During the raids, the forest department recovered two kilograms of pangolin scales and six nails. The pangolin is one of the most trafficked wild animals across the world as there is a huge international demand for its scales.

Range Forest Officer (RFO), Vaibhav Borate, said, "Based on the tip-off received from our sources, our forest department team raided the house of Kalpesh Tukaram Balgude at Karanjali [Balgudewadi] village near Dapoli. During the search operation of the house, our team recovered one tortoise shell, one jungle hare, and 22 kg of pangolin scales and nails. We have taken the accused into custody and investigation is on."

As evidence related to wildlife trade have been found from the house of the accused, the forest department is exploring the possibility of him doing this regularly. The forest department team has registered an offence under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

According to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) website, "Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use and international trade. Another reason for hunting pangolin is its meat. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular its scales, from India through Myanmar to China and South-East Asian countries as the most likely, final destinations. Inadequate information on population and distribution further accentuates the threats arising from hunting and poaching."

The Indian Pangolin is found sporadically throughout the plains and lower slopes of hills from south of the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, except the north-eastern region. The Chinese Pangolin is found in India in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and the northern part of West Bengal.

Why Pangolins?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world, for their scales [made of keratin], which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine. Their meat is a delicacy in Vietnam and China; and their blood, which is considered to be a healing tonic.

Pangolin could help find cure for COVID-19?

Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there were many media reports that claimed that the endangered pangolin was linked to the initial outbreak of the disease in China. However, this hasn't been proven yet. Now, a research conducted by the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, has revealed that certain genes sense when a virus enters the body, and trigger an immune response in most mammals. They found that pangolins, which have been called the 'missing link' between bats and humans, lack two of those virus-sensing genes. This means that not only are the endangered animals carriers, but they also seem to be immune to it, via an unknown mechanism. This evolutionary advantage and its understanding may give way to possible treatment options for COVID-19.

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An elderly lady walked into my consultation room with two girlfriends, chewing gum. Her Gucci shades were stationed over her salt-and-pepper hair and she wore a black dress. Her wrists and ankles were crowded with beaded trinkets.

"Hi!" she said, greeting me with a firm handshake and a brief introduction as I jotted her name. "And your age?"

"Twenty-six!" she blurted, followed by a big smile because it made me look up and stare at her intently.

"Okay, just reverse that," she reconciled before I could say anything. "Any diabetes, blood pressure?" I proceeded, smiling through the usual questions, still wondering in my head her fancy for playing the fool with me about her age.

"Any heart issues?"

"I keep falling in love, doctor!" she said bluntly, as two ladies accompanying her rolled their eyes, gesticulating for her to behave. I shook my head at them, hinting that they let her comfortably continue.

Some patients like to bring on a keen familiarity early on in their meetings with physicians or surgeons. Some may be suffering from a grim diagnosis and might want to appear like they are perfectly fine with it. Others might come with the idea that "since this is someone whose knife I'm going to go under, we might as well be friends first'" For some, it might simply be their personality or disposition. As surgeons, we refrain from judging atypical behaviour unless it helps with the diagnosis.
"What brings you to me?"

"I have this shooting pain in my right jaw. It's like an electric shock that sometimes goes into my cheek as well. I can't brush, eat, swallow or chew," she continued, wincing as she opened her mouth to remove the gum she was chewing with difficulty, wrapping it tidily in a tissue paper. Thinking it was tooth pain, she had visited the dentist but had eventually been told to see a neurosurgeon. The medication she had been prescribed was no longer helping and she had been living with the pain for close to two years. "Sometimes, I feel like jumping off the Bandra-Worli Sea Link."

I told her friends to ensure that she didn't take that route on her commute for now.

She was pretty well-informed and knew enough about her condition, trigeminal neuralgia. It occurs when a blood vessel in the brain presses on the trigeminal nerve that supplies sensation to the face. The pain can sometimes be so severe that it pushes patients towards contemplating suicide. Some women patients have told me that it's infinitely worse than the pain of labour without an epidural. Owing to the location of the pain, most patients visit a dentist first, and when a root canal doesn't help, they are referred to a neurologist.

"Having a drink at night makes the pain a little better," she confessed.

"In the good, old days, they used to inject alcohol directly into the nerve to numb it," I said. She thought I was joking but it's a fact.

The current options were to inject glycerol or ablate the root of the nerve with some radiofrequency current. The drawback —the pain would be replaced by semi-numbness since it's a destructive procedure. Or, we could use the Gamma Knife, where a single dose of focused radiation could do the trick. And finally, there was surgery—a little more invasive, but offering the best chance of cure and the least chance of recurrence. I explained that we'd make a small hole in the skull behind the ear and place a pad of Teflon between the vessel and the nerve so that direct contact between the two was eliminated.

After understanding her options, she opted for surgery. "You just want to go back to drinking without pain," I said in jest.

At surgery, under the magnificence of the microscope, we could see the offending vessel deeply grooving her nerve. When it was lifted gently after meticulously dissecting tiny strands connecting the two, I could see how pale and beat up the nerve looked. I teased the strands of the padding material Teflon and interposed them in the right place, transposing the vessel away to avoid any contact. As we were closing, I told my surgical assistant that this was one of the most gratifying neurosurgical procedures he would ever do. The charming lady woke up completely pain free, and over the next few days, we managed to get her off all painkillers.

Two days after discharge, she sent me this text message: "For the first time in several years, I could brush my teeth and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any pain. What's still better is that I could have the single malt, pain-free!"

"You are now permitted to use the Sea Link," I replied.

The writer is practicing neurosurgeon at Wockhardt Hospitals and Honorary Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. You can reach him at mazdaturel@gmail.com

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In a shocking incident, a 14-year-old boy has been booked for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in the Ghatampur area of the district, police said. The accused and the victim belong to the same village. Circle Officer Ghatampur, Ravi Kumar Singh, said, "The accused will be sent to a juvenile correction home after being produced before a magistrate on Sunday."

The officer said that the girl had gone for cattle grazing near the Rindh river on Friday afternoon where the boy caught hold of the girl and raped her. The girl returned home and narrated her ordeal to family members, who informed the local police. The police sent the girl to a hospital for medical examination and after the report confirmed rape, the police took the boy into custody.

The boy was also severely thrashed by the family of the victim and the villagers.

"A case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) has been registered," said the circle officer.

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Panic gripped Kural village in Orissa's Nayagarh district after four persons died due from suspected chikungunya in the past four days, a health official told Sunday.

With nearly 30,000 people in south and central districts of Kerala hospitalised with chikungunya fever, an infection spread by the Aedes mosquito, the

About 94,000 people in Kerala have been affected by fever in the last one week while about 7,000 patients have been identified with mosquito-borne chikungunya

Kerala's status of having one of the best healthcare systems in India has received a severe blow in the past one year due to the outbreak of chikungunya viral fever in the state.

The Kerala Government has sanctioned funds for districts affected by the crippling Chikungunya fever in a bid to curtail the deadly virus. Chief

The Maharashtra health department Thursday said 22 cases of Chikungunya disease were confirmed in Kolhapur district of the sate. "Of the 20 villages

New Delhi, Health Minister A. Ramadoss Thursday said that all villages affected by chikungunya fever would get Rs.10,000 to prevent mosquito breeding

Nearly half the central government funds allocated to fight chikungunya last year remained unused - mostly in southern states that, ironically, were struggling

As Kerala staggers under the whipping rod of Chikungunya, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has been cornered over its quest for a 'politically correct' low-cost health cover plan.

Chikungunya, a form of viral fever spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, has returned to Kolkata after 44 years with at least three people here testing positive for the virus that causes the disease.

Scores of people suffering with the crippling fever, Chikungunya, have been reported from West Bengal's North 24 Pargana District. Twenty-one of the

Italy's health authorities said Wednesday they had recorded more than 160 cases of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, in what one expert said could be the first outbreak outside the tropics.

An unnamed chikungunya-infected tourist from south India is responsible for the spread of the tropical disease in a small north Italian town, according

The first animal model of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV), linked with large-scale epidemics that spread to Italy and India in 2007 has been developed by Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and INSERM.

An Asian breed of mosquito capable of carrying the risk of a potentially fatal disease that can be passed from one person to another is poised to invade Britain.

A meningitis outbreak has killed 931 people in four West African countries since January, with most of the deaths occurring in Nigeria, the UN children's fund said Wednesday.

An experimental vaccine provided 100 percent protection against the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus in primates and mice, offering hope it will work for humans too, according to a study.

Scientists claim that delayed appearance of IgG3 antibodies (a naturally-acquired antibody) serves as a specific biomarker that increases the risk of the more severe form of Chikungunya.

According to a new Cornell University computer model, global travel and climate warming could be creating the right conditions for outbreaks of a new virus in this country.

A new method of vaccine creation for Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) using a technique called large scale random codon re-encoding was developed by researchers.

For the first time chikungunya, the mosquito-borne disease has spread in the western hemisphere confirms the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday,

Deaths from dengue fever soared to nearly three times in Malaysia this year, compared to the same period in 2013, and a stepped-up campaign has been launched

Peru reported its first cases of the chikungunya virus in two people who recently traveled to the Dominican Republic. Health ministry director Henry

Nearly 200 confirmed cases of the chikungunya virus in Puerto Rico and the first two cases of the mosquito-borne disease in Florida have been reported, say health authorities.