US-based BlackRock Inc. sold 324,863 equity shares, or 0.50% equity, of Just Dial on 7 May 2020.

President Donald Trump says he's in no rush to negotiate another financial rescue bill, even as the government reported that more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs last month due to economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus. The president's low-key approach came Friday as the Labor Department reported the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression and as Democrats prepared to unveil what Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer calls a Rooseveltian-style aid package to shore up the economy and address the health crisis. Some congressional conservatives, meanwhile, who set aside long-held opposition to deficits to pass more than USD 2 trillion in relief so far, have expressed reservations about another massive spending package. We've kind of paused as far as formal negotiations go, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council told reporters Friday. He said the administration wanted to let the last round of recovery funding kick in before committing to ..

Luke Greenfield, the director of films such as "The Girl Next Door" and "Something Borrowed", will helm STXfilms' upcoming movie "We Are Untouchable". The director will also co-write the action-thriller in collaboration with Captain Mauzner, reported Deadline. The screenplay has been penned by Oritte Bendory and Aaron Feldman with revisions by Michael Diliberti and by Anthony Drazan. The story is about a group of international college grads working in Mexico City at their respective diplomatic embassies. "By day, they're slaving away as mailroom assistants getting abused by their bosses. But when they find out they have diplomatic immunity and they can't get arrested for anything they do they go wild with it and live out their fantasies. "Soon they're living double lives in the ultimate wish-fulfillment...until it isn't. They gradually fall into serious danger when they get entangled with a violent and savage group who extort them for their 'get out of jail free' cards," the ...

Federal investigators have found reasonable grounds that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, his lawyers said. Dr Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. He had received a job performance review of outstanding before he was summarily transferred last month, with his agency email cut off without warning. Investigators with the Office of Special Counsel made a threshold determination that HHS violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr Bright from his position because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public," his lawyers Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said in a statement Friday. The OSC is an agency that investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in

Two police officers and a constable were injured after a 27-year-old man attacked them with a chopper in south Mumbai early today, police said. Karan Pradip Nayar, resident of Silver Oaks estate near Breach Candy, attacked the policemen who were on routine 'nakabandi' duty at 1.30 am, senior police inspector of Marine Drive police station Mrityunjay Hiremath told PTI. The policemen, all deployed at the Marine Drive police station, received injuries on their shoulders and hands and were taken to the state government-run JJ hospital, he said. "When our policemen saw the man walking with a large chopper near the Pransukhlal Mafatlal Hindu Swimming Bath and Boat Club, they tried to stop him. He ran away and they chased him. When they tried to catch him, he attacked them with the chopper," Hiremath said. Nayar, an architecture graduate, has been arrested, the police officer said, adding a case has been filed against him under various sections of the IPC, including 307 ...

One of the survivors of the tragedy in which 16 migrant workers were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra on Friday, says he cannot come to terms with what happened after he saw his companions dying in front of him. Shivmaan Singh, who is now travelling back to his native place in Madhya Pradesh in a train along with the bodies of his 16 companions, said that he has not been to sleep after the accident as the disturbing images of the tragedy kept coming to his mind. "After the tragedy stuck on Friday morning, so many things happened. Although I was exhausted and tired, I could hardly sleep at night as the gory images of the accident kept coming to my mind. I am not able to forget the tragedy that unfolded before me," Singh told PTI. "After the news of the train accident broke, my family members tried calling me repeatedly. But my phone was off as its battery was discharged," he said. "After the accident, we were busy in helping the ...

A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two men here who made a video of the act and then blackmailed her for about an year, police said on Saturday. A case was registered against the two men, Circle Officer Aalok Mishra said. "On a complaint lodged by the girl that she has been raped by two youths, who also made a video clip and blackmailed her for almost an year. Police on Friday registered a case," he said. The girl has been sent for medical examination at a government hospital, he said. The CO also said that the two accused are absconding and efforts are on to nab them.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat has approached the Delhi High Court seeking an early hearing in her plea for directions to police to make public the list of people arrested in connection with communal violence in northeast Delhi in February this year. The application for preponing the date of hearing of the petition is likely to be listed on May 12. The main petition, which has sought that a list of those arrested be put up outside police control room and police stations in the district, should be updated on a case-by-case basis. It is listed for hearing on June 16. The application for early hearing said the country is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared nationwide lockdown due to which people are not allowed to go out except for essential services. However, Delhi Police has continued its probe in connection with certain FIRs related to the Delhi violence and as per media reports, the MHA has directed police to ensure that the probe does

The Karnataka government has announced one-time financial relief of Rs 5,000 each to over 11,000 cobbler families in the state, whose daily life was affected by the COVID-19 induced lockdown. According to Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has announced one time financial relief of Rs 5,000 for each of these families. "Due to COVID-19 lockdown about 11,722 families involved in road side leather work, like mending chappals and shoes, are in financial distress and their daily life has been affected," he said on Friday. The compensation will be distributed to beneficiaries through Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Corporation, Karjol, who is also in-charge of Social Welfare department, said. A delegation of opposition leaders led by the leader of opposition Siddaramaiah had met Chief Minister Yediyurappa yesterday and demanded that people belonging to sections like goldsmiths, carpenters, cobblers, tailors and ironsmiths be considered ...

Former India captain and coach Anil Kumble compared the fight against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic to the "second innings" of an intense Test match where people can't afford let their guard down. The coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc, claiming over 2,76,000 lives so far while infecting more than four million people. Among other things, the unprecedented health crisis has also brought sport to a standstill, leading to cancellation and postponement of several events, including the Tokyo Olympics and European Football Championships and the Indian Premier League. "If we have to fight this coronavirus pandemic, we need to be in this together. It's like a Test match. Cricket Test matches are of five days but this has been longer," Kumble said in a video posted on his Twitter account. "Cricket Test matches are only two innings each, but this can be even more. So don't be complacent that we had a slender lead in the first innings because the second innings can be really rough." "We ...

: The 10th standard public examination will be conducted in Tamil Nadu after the COVID- 19 attack wanes and the resultant lockdown goes, state education Minister K Sengottaiyan said on Saturday. A decision on the exam would be taken based on the recommendations of a high-level education committee and getting concurrence from health officials, he said at Savakkatupalayam village near Gobichettipalayam where he distributed welfare schemes to 450 handloom weavers. The Minister said candidates appearing for the board exams would be seated in line with social distancing norms stem the spread of coronavirus. He said schools for the coming academic year would be re-opened only after the coronavirus attack blows over. He further said 2,000 mathematics teachers would be roped in to provide online training to students. Similarly, students keen on accountancy would be given online classes, he said. Replying to a query, the Minister said a decision on increasing the retirement age for

Two men were arrested in Shamli district for allegedly posting an objectionable WhatsApp message against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, police said. The WhatApp group admin Vikas Upadhyay and Vikki Jatav, who sent the message, were arrested in Shamli on Friday, according to Circle Officer Jitender Singh. A case was registered against the two men under Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code Sections 500 (punishment for defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace). According to the complaint lodged by a local resident, it is alleged that Vikki Jatav posted the message against the political leaders on a WhatsApp group.

In a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus in a more effective manner, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has put additional commissioners in charge of seven zones in the city. As per the order, seven additional commissioners will work towards improving the double rate of positive cases from 10 days to 20 days by May 17. These officials will be responsible for mapping positive cases, contact tracing, strict enforcement of norms in containment zones,door-to-door surveillance,identifying senior citizens with comorbid conditions and fever clinics, the circular dated May 7 said. They will also have to facilitate operations at private nursing homes, clinics, hospitals, ensure testing of symptomatic persons and creation of COVID care centres (CCC). Additional commissioners will have to personally visit their zones every day from morning till 2 pm, attend office post 3 pm and brief the municipal commissioner at 6 pm, the order stated. Of 19,063 COVID-19 cases in ...

A man has been arrested for allegedly obstructing a public servant and damaging property in east Delhi''s Kalyanpuri area, police said on Saturday. The incident, which took place on Friday, was captured in a video and circulated on social media, they said. In the video, a shirtless man can be seen in inebriated state and obstructing a police gypsy. He repeatedly bangs on its windscreen and makes a crack on it. People are trying to take him out of the way, but he refuses and stands in front of the gypsy. "The incident took place on Friday around 4.30 pm in Trilokpuri area. The accused, identified as Harkesh, has been arrested. He was drunk at the time of the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Jasmeet Singh said. "A case under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and damage to ...

ReNew Solar Power has bagged 400 MW renewable energy projects at a tariff of Rs 2.90 per unit in an auction, according to an MNRE statement. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a central public sector undertaking, conducted e-reverse auction for the 400 MW renewable energy projects with round-the-clock supply. "India's renewable energy (RE) sector has witnessed history today, as the e-reverse auction (e-RA)for 400 MW RE projects with round-the-clock supply was concluded at an astounding first year tariff of Rs 2.90/kilowatt hour (kWh)," the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said. The capacity of 400 MW has been awarded to ReNew Solar Power Pvt Ltd after a closely fought auction which saw the lowest tariff drop by 69 paise over the course of almost 3 hours, it said. "Golden chapter added in Indian Renewable Energy story, as e-RA for 400 MW RE Projects with Round the Clock (RTC) supply conducted by SECI Ltd results in historic 1st year tariff of Rs 2.90/kWh. MNRE ...

The "government" was responsible for the death of 16 migrant labourers who were mown down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district, Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said in its editorial on Saturday. The newspaper, however, did not make it clear whether it blamed the BJP-led Centre or the Sena-led Maharashtra government for the tragedy. "The government did not think of allowing them to go back to their native place, nor did it make arrangements for their food," the editorial said, adding that the authorities should have taken into consideration the problems of the poor before enforcing lockdown on account of coronavirus. The sight of 'rotis' strewn on the railway track where the migrants -- who had fallen asleep due to exhaustion while on their way to Madhya Pradesh -- were crushed to death showed a heart-wrenching and harsh reality, Samanaa said. "The labourers were in fine health and had no symptoms of coronavirus and still they died. The responsibility of ...

BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making "inhuman" comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is "extremely condemnable". "Making inhuman comments about the health of Home Minister Amit Shah is extremely condemnable. Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone's health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense," Nadda said in a tweet. His tweet came after Shah, also Nadda's predecessor as the BJP president, asserted in a statement that he is "totally healthy" and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping a girl on multiple occasions, recording the act and using it to blackmail her in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said. The incident took place in a village under the Khanpur Police Station limits and the arrest was made on Friday, they said. The 17-year-old girl and her father had approached the Jhawalar SP with their complaint on Thursday, following which a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, DSP and Circle Officer Bhanwar Singh Hada, who is investigating the case, said. The accused, identified as Saddam Hussain Pinjara, was on Saturday produced before a Jhalawar court which sent him to two days' police remand. In her complaint, the minor alleged that the accused, who is her neighbour, took her to an isolated place around three months ago and raped her at knifepoint and also clicked her pictures and recorded the

A growing number of hospitals are investigating antibody testing and blood plasma therapy as a way to combat the new coronavirus in sick patients. WSJ’s Daniela Hernandez explains. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann

As Congress considers another round of aid to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Republican lawmakers are starting to worry about the long-term effects on the federal deficit. WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib explains. Photo: Eric Gay/AP

By Sara Germano and David Benoit The restaurant that Dan Loeb said Sotheby’s management wined and dined at to a bill that was in the “multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars,” was the famed Blue Hill, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ramesh Ramanathan.

The Nalwa Sponge Iron Limited's plans to further expand its operations at a plant in Chhatisgarh run into opposition from locals and NGOs, who point to the company's history as well as irregularities in the environment clearance process. Kanchi Kohli reports on recent developments.

Yet another ship with toxic waste has recently beached at Alang, Gujarat. The Blue Lady's owner admits that the ship contains asbestos. But the ship carries neither documents required as per international law, nor a complete inventory of its hazardous wastes, says Gopal Krishna.

Despite the confirmed presence of toxic waste on-board the Blue Lady, currently beached at the Alang shipbreaking yard, there appears to be a consensus among key officials in Gujarat and New Delhi to allow the ship's dismantling. 19 February at the Supreme Court will be yet another litmus test, writes Gopal Krishna.

Are glaciers in the Himalayas retreating? India depends greatly on these water sources, and we should therefore be more cautious in assessing this risk, writes Darryl D'Monte.

Extracting enough gold to forge a wedding band leaves behind at least 20-30 tons of waste and environmental devastation. Mahazareen Dastur writes about the costs of gold mining in the first of a two-part series.

Man-animal conflict in India is taking a heavy toll on habitat and thereby the survival of wildlife. Malini Shankar writes that there is no option but to relocate forest-dwellers out of protected areas.

An innovative new approach to Mumbai's open spaces is an extensive mapping survey. The same approach can be used in other cities too. Darryl D'Monte reports.

The BRAI Bill 2013 purports to uphold the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety but completely overlooks a critical sub-protocol that provides for liability and redress in case of damage to biodiversity. Shalini Bhutani explains why that defeats the very purpose of the Bill.

At a recent public hearing for the Parsa Coal Block in Chhattisgarh, citizens likely to be affected by mining there raised several concerns. However, much of it has been completely ignored in the official record of minutes, reports Kanchi Kohli.

Per Biological Diversity Act, 2002 before using any Indian biological material for commercial or R&D purposes, public consultation is needed via the local Biodiversity Management Committees, which the National Biodiversity Authority wants to do away with. Kanchi Kohli and Shalini Bhutani ask why.

In this edition, we find out how free speech and dissent has never been welcomed in our country by any of the ruling parties, why the approval of the Hubli-Ankola railway line is not yet final, the gaps in the social security law for unorganised sector being proposed by the finance minister, the brutal and brave stories of some rape survivors, and more.

The discolouring of the Lukha river has also meant a loss of livelihood to the families who live on its banks. They must now subsist on meagre farming, and wage labour when it is available. Sonata Dkhar reports.

Indian policymakers must take heed and ensure that the DNA profiling system in India has well-guarded limits so that it protects human rights, writes Sujatha Byravan.

A recent observation of the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition filed by a filmmaker challenging censorship of his documentary, has left advocates of human rights in the country anguished and puzzled. Shoma A Chatterji explains why.

It is relatively easy to legislate laws regarding domestic workers, as Maharashtra has just done with its recent bill on their welfare. But it's not that easy to change attitudes, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Now that the Nehru-Gandhis once more control both party and government, P V Narasimha Rao can be mentioned in Congress circles only if it is possible to disparage him, writes Ramachandra Guha.

The desire for quality education for all children is noble and surely one shared by all. But Tamilnadu's Samacheer Kalvi makes that more difficult, writes Parth Shah.

Almost one in every two children under three years of age is hungry. This is the invisible half of our population, people who disappear from our consciousness until they die in large numbers, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Amongst the various models for sustainable livelihoods being tried and tested in the tribal areas of India, the Wadi model has shown a lot of promise. Abhijeet Mohanty, Kieran Robson and Rosie Clarkson find out why and how the Wadi model is doing in the tribal areas of Koraput district of Odisha.

Cotton farmers around the country are following Andhra Pradesh's lead in skipping both pesticides and Bt seeds. And there are no pests. Why? There are 28 predators of the American bollworm, cotton's main enemy. If you stop spraying pesticides, these beneficial insects devour the bollworm, notes Devinder Sharma.

S G Vombatkere writes his concluding opinion on the series on the proposed gigantic network of interlinked rivers.

With its enchanting greenery and network of backwaters and rivers, Kerala is thought to be a water-plenty state. After all, Kerala gets 6 months of rainfall, 2.5 times higher than the national average. Despite this, the state has been experiencing water scarcity, with conditions worsening in some regions. P N Venugopal analyses the causes.

An assessment of factors from the book Holding the State to Account by Samuel Paul of the Public Affairs Center, Bangalore.

Third in the series of articles adapted from the book Holding the State to Account by Samuel Paul of the Public Affairs Center, Bangalore, the author looks at the Corruption factor.

Fourth in a series of articles adapted from the book Holding the State to Account by Samuel Paul of the Public Affairs Center, Bangalore, the author looks at the weaknesses in civil society as a factor for our ailing public services.

Is incompetence and lack of motivated the cause for the malaise? Second in the series of articles adapted from the book Holding the State to Account by Samuel Paul of the Public Affairs Center, Bangalore.

Jayaprakash Narayan clarifies on the critical need for decentralization of political power by pointing out the linkage between voting and the public good.

Concluding article of the series on "What ails our public services?" adapted from the book Holding the State to Account by Samuel Paul of the Public Affairs Center, Bangalore.