Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday demanded the Central government to bring back Indian workers stranded in the Middle East due to the COVID-19 crisis.

"The #Covid19 crisis & shutting of businesses in the Middle East have left thousands of Indian workers in deep distress & desperate to return home. The Govt must organise flights to bring home our brothers & sisters most in need of assistance, with quarantine plans in place," Gandhi tweeted.

The #Covid19 crisis & shutting of businesses in the Middle East have left thousands of Indian workers in deep distress & desperate to return home. The Govt must organise flights to bring home our brothers & sisters most in need of assistance, with quarantine plans in place.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 15, 2020

In India, a total of 11,439 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported, including 1,305 cured/discharged and 377 deaths.

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A district magistrate court in Rohtak opened its doors on the night of April 13 to solemnise the wedding of a local boy marry a Mexican girl under the Special Marriage Act as both could not tie the knot due to the ongoing lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. The couple met on a language learning app in 2017 and got engaged the next year.

Niranjan Kashyap: On Feb 17 we applied for marriage under Special Marriage Act which has 30-day notice. The notice was to end on Mar18 but lockdown started on Mar 19 so we couldn't get married.We submitted an application to District Collector after which he conducted our wedding. https://t.co/BuZtjVQFFm

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2020

According to Niranjan Kashyap, who hails from Surya Colony in Rohtak he and and his Mexican-origin partner Dana Joheri Oliveros Cruise applied to get married under the Special Marriage Act on February 17. "We met on a language learning app. In 2017, she came to India on my birthday. Then this February 11, Dana and her mother came to India for the wedding. On February 17, we applied for marriage under the Special Marriage Act which has a 30-day notice," Kashyap told ANI.

"The notice was to end on March 18 but by then the lockdown began so we could not get married. We submitted an application to the District Collector after which he conducted our wedding," he said. He further said that Dana had booked a flight back to Mexico on March 24 but with the lockdown being extended further till May 3 she has now rescheduled her flight to May 5

Dana said, "I came to meet him in 2017. We later got engaged in December 2018 and I returned to Mexico. I spent two years in Mexico. Due to lockdown, we couldn't marry. Deputy Commissioner helped us to marry."

Advocate Niranjan Kashyap, who helped the couple get married said: "Both of them came to us. Since the girl was from Mexico, they can marry under the Special Marriage Act. Later, we approached the District Magistrate and he sent requests to the Mexican Embassy and other offices for a no objection certificate. After NOC was obtained, the District Magistrate opened the court and performed the marriage on April 13 at 8 pm."

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A heartwarming video of a monkey playing with a kite amid lockdown across the country is winning hearts online. The beautiful video was shared on Twitter by Susanta Nanda, an Indian Forest Service officer who is working in Odisha. In the video, a monkey can be seen flying a kite from the terrace of a building.

Evolution happening fast due to lockdown😂

Monkey flying a kite. Yes it’s a monkey for sure😁 pic.twitter.com/6W8MtpPK43

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) April 16, 2020

In the 12-seconds video clip, the monkey can be seen on top of a building terrace holding the string of a kite and pulling it towards itself. As the video moves further, the monkey can be seen successfully pulling the kite and holding it as people in the background cheer him.

Can't even imagine that a monkey can fly a kite

— Heena Mehta (@HeenaMe61603627) April 16, 2020

While sharing the video with his 30,000 followers, Forest officer Susanta Nanda captioned it: Evolution happening fast due to lockdown. Monkey flying a kite. Yes it's a monkey for sure. The heartwarming video which has left people suprised has garnered over 20,000 views and counting.

Superb video! In all probability, it might have caught hold of a cut string and pulling it in, but definitely a rare catch!

— Jyoti Shankar Roy Choudhury (@JSRoyChoudhury) April 16, 2020

Hundreds of netizens took to the comments section of the post to share their views. One user wrote, "Rise of the planet of the apes - RELOADED," while another user wrote, "And he is doing it better than I ever could."

Preparing to challenge the human after lockdown 😂😂😂

— Kalung Nyipa (@KalungNyipa) April 16, 2020

A third user said, "At this Pace, Brace for a Jumanji." While explaining the video a fourth user commented, "Superb video! In all probability, it might have caught hold of a cut string and pulling it in, but definitely a rare catch!"

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Amid the rising number of coronavirus outbreak, a shocking video of an elephant walking on the empty streets in Kerala's Munnar district has taken the internet by storm. The heartwarming video, which has gone viral was shared by Indian Forest Service officer Sudha Ramen, who said that the elephant in the video is called Padaiyappa.

Tusker 'Padaiyappa' on his night patrol to check on the lockdown at Munnar Town.
Sighting wild elephants are common here. 'Padaiyappa' is not new to the locals, he has been visiting the town now & then. Looks like he had some special task this time. Received via WA. pic.twitter.com/kvlELa5pst

— Sudha Ramen IFS 🇮🇳 (@SudhaRamenIFS) April 16, 2020

On Thursday, Sudha took to Twitter and shared the beautful video where the elephant can be seen wandering on the empty streets of Kerala amid lockdown due to coronavirus. While sharing the video with over 25,000 followers, Sudha wrote: Tusker 'Padaiyappa' on his night patrol to check on the lockdown in Munnar Town.

She further said that sighting wild elephants in Kerala is a common sight. Talking about the elephant, Sudha said that Padaiyappa has been visiting the town every now and then and is quite acquainted with the local. She said that it appears as if the elephant is on some special task this time.

The locals call him notorious.. Here he looks calm. However, it's always better to stay away or keep a distance from the wild elephants, especially when it's a lone tusker!

— Sudha Ramen IFS 🇮🇳 (@SudhaRamenIFS) April 16, 2020

In the 37-seconds video clip, the tusker can be seen walking down the empty streets of Munnar on night as the state fights the coronavirus crisis. In another tweet, Sudha said that although the elephant looks calm its best to to stay away from wild elephants, especially when it's a lone tusker.

Now it is quiet, with less pollution and people crowding the streets, the animals are coming back. It's a beautiful thing. Nature wants to bring itself back. Wonderful.

— Therese (@ThereseRalston) April 16, 2020

Since the time it was shared., the video has garnered over 3,0000 views leaving netizens in awe of the elephant. One user said, "Have heard the name from locals. Seeing him for the first time," while another user wrote: It actually gives an idea why not all cities can go lock down from 10.00 pm till 05.00 am? Explaining the video, a third user commented saying, "Nature wants to bring itself back. Wonderful."

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After a heartwarming video of an elephant walking on the empty streets in Kerala's Munnar district went viral, another viral video showing wild bears roaming freely in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh amid lockdown has taken the internet by storm.

It’s a pair of bears strolling at Tirumala to see if everything is ok in gods abodeðŸ˜ÂÂŽ pic.twitter.com/ymljGNiL6L

— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) April 16, 2020

The viral video was shared by Twitter user Susanta Nanda, an Indian Forest Service officer who is working in Odisha. Susanta shared the video with his 30,000 followers with the caption: It's a pair of bears strolling at Tirumala to see if everything is ok in gods abode.

Another video of a #Tiger surfaced in Vaishno Devi pic.twitter.com/oaxXgmjYdT

— SandyMental (@smenghi) April 17, 2020

In the 10-seconds video clip, the wild bears can be seen crossing the empty streets of Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh amid the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus. While sharing the video, Susanta jokingly said that the bears are making sure that everything if everything is okay in 'God's abode'. Susanta's God's abode reference was to the temple of Lord Venkateshwara which is located in Tirumala.

Night Patrol Party of Dear Bearshttps://t.co/3IsbafZ54m

— Pankaj Thapliyal (@PankajT04765688) April 16, 2020

The short video clip went viral and has garnered over 15,000 views with 1,500 likes. Hundreds of netizens took to the comments section of the post to share their views. One user wrote, "Amazing," while another commented, "I wonder if these wild life strolling streets had their life goals to do so one day." A third user jokingly said, "Night patrol party of dear bears."

Such a great to watch..!
The world is truly healing,☺

— True Indian (@whiz2018) April 17, 2020

On the same day, IFS Susanta had also shared a viral video where a monkey was seen flying a kite from the terrace of a building. The video garnered over 20,000 views and brought a smile on everyone's face.

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Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases across the country, the Punjab Police on Saturday took to Twitter to share a heartwarming video where they can be seen bringing smiles on its citizens amid lockdown. The Punjab police shared the video with their 60,000 followers where they can be seen going out of their way to celebrate the birthday of a little girl.

Mansa Police's sweet gesture for Maira's 1st birthday. Policemen gave her a surprise by delivering a Birthday Cake at her doorsteps.#TuhadiSevaSadaFarz #PunjabFightsCorona #Punjabpoliceindia@pp_mansa pic.twitter.com/nqL2nhfbDs

— Punjab Police India (@PunjabPoliceInd) April 18, 2020

In the one-minute one-second clip, police officials of Mansa Police in Punjab can be seen delivering a cake to a kid's house on her first birthday. What's more? The police officials also sang Happy Birthday for the girl on their PA system.

Punjab police always great nd honest ji gbu ji

— Gursimran Singh Mand (@gursimranmand) April 18, 2020

While sharing the beautiful video with their followers, Punjab police wrote: Mansa Police’' sweet gesture for Maira's 1st birthday. Policemen gave her a surprise by delivering a Birthday Cake at her doorsteps. Not only did the police made the girl's day but they also took all precautions while delivering the cake. The police officials were seen donning face masks and even wearing hand gloves in order to protect themselves from the spread of coronavirus.

Police with a heart ❤ï¸Â

— Nicola (@cloudnikki) April 18, 2020

The heartwarming gesture by Mansa police officials has been praised by many on Twitter. On user said, "Police with a heart," while another user commented, "Great job by Mansa district Police." A third user said, "Punjab police with you, for you, always."

What do you think about this heartwarming video?

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With some relaxation amid lockdown in non-hotspot areas, the daily wage labourers gathered at labour chowks in Mumbai in search of work, find remote possibility of getting any work during the lockdown that will continue till May 3. Raju Tiwari, one of the migrant labourer waiting for work, told ANI, "I am a daily wage labourer who does all sorts of work to earn for a living. Though since the lockdown we did not get any work, even now I do not think that anybody would come to hire us for work."

Echoing similar sentiments, Sunil Tiwari, another daily wage earner, said, "All my savings have been exhausted and now I do not have any work. For now, we are dependent on others giving us food." "Though the relaxation has been given by the government on the daily wage labourers working, the police beats us and stops us in going anywhere. If we do not go then how will we earn?" he added.

The Union Home Ministry on April 19 had allowed intra-state movement of the migrant labourers, if found asymptomatic upon screening, from their relief camps and shelters to their respective places of work.

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Three present and two former legislators were on Tuesday sworn in as ministers in the first expansion of the council of ministers in Madhya Pradesh.

The five were sworn in by Governor Lalji Tandon at a simple function in the Raj Bhawan amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present at the ceremony. The state was without a cabinet since a month owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chouhan was sworn in CM on March 23 to head the BJP-led government in the state.

Among the new entrants, two ex-MLAs Tulsi Silawat and Govind Singh Rajput are supporters of former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who with 22 MLAs, including six ministers, quit Congress last month to join BJP. Former BJP ministers Narottam Mishra, Meena Singh and Kamal Patel were also inducted in the cabinet in Tuesday's expansion.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea of Christian Michel, an alleged middleman in the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper scam accused, on the ground that his petition "did not fall in the criteria for grant of relief". A two-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice B R Gavai dismissed the bail application of Christian Michel. Michel, in his bail application, stated that he is aged 59 years, and has a history of bad health which will make him easy prey to any Corona outbreak in the Tihar jail in Delhi and thereby he be released on bail.

"We don't find any merit in the petition filed by the accused, petitioner in the case. We, thereby, dismiss the same," Justice Kaul observed. The apex court did not consider his prayers and upheld the Delhi High Court order that his case did not fall in the criteria for grant of relief. The accused, a 59-year-old British National, Michel is currently lodged in Tihar jail for his alleged involvement in the Augusta Westland VVIP chopper scam case.

Michel had moved the Apex Court after the Delhi High Court had rejected his bail application. Michel was extradited from Dubai in 2018 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with alleged irregularities in the chopper deal. While the CBI is probing his alleged role as a middleman in the deal, the ED is investigating money laundering charges against him.

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Amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, there is heartwarming news for tiger conservationists and animal lovers across the country. On April 18, a tigress at Ranchi's Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park gave birth to three cubs amid the total lockdown in the country.

In this #Corona-filled gloomy environment heartening news coming from #BhagwanBirsaZoo,Jharkhand where a Tigress has given birth to three cubs .Congratulations to all the Zoo Officials and staffs of Bhagwan Birsa Zoo,Ranchi. @HemantSorenJMM @Forest_Dept_GOJ pic.twitter.com/TYeg3qFeYv

— IFS Association (@CentralIfs) April 21, 2020

After the birth of the three cubs, Ranchi's Bhagwan Birsa Biological Park which is also known as Birsa zoo has now emerged as the new tiger breeding centre in India. The Birsa zoo's celebrated tiger couple, Mallik and Anushka, have given a boost to the 'Save Tiger' campaign with the birth of their three new cubs.

A heartwarming video of the new cubs was shared by Twitter user Indian Forest Service Association with the caption, "In this corona-filled gloomy environment heartening news coming from Bhagwan Birsa Zoo, Jharkhand where a Tigress has given birth to three cubs .Congratulations to all the Zoo Officials and staffs of Bhagwan Birsa Zoo, Ranchi."

Tiger Mallik and tigress Anushka were brougt to Ranchi's Birsa Zoo from Hyderabad's Nehru Zoological Park in March 2016. While speaking to Hindustan Times zoo veterinarian Dr Ajay Kumar said, "The tigress is showing normal maternal care patterns and the cubs are in good health."

With the birth of the new cubs, the total number of tiger population at Birsa zoo has gone up to 10. Although the zoo has been currently closed due to the coronavirus crisis, once re-opened, the three new cubs will not be available for public viewing for a period of three months.

The Birsa zoo authority has taken extra precautionary measures in order to ensure a safe and healthy atmosphere for the three new born cubs. Kumar further said, "No one is allowed to enter the tigress' cage. The cubs were kept in nursery and their health and activities are being monitored through CCTV cameras installed there."

The vet further said that vaccination to the three cubs would be started only after three months, "The mother tigress is feeding well to all three cubs. Mother and her cubs are healthy," Dr. Kumar said.

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The portals of Kedarnath Temple were thrown open at 6.10 am on Wednesday after a six-month-long winter break. Amid the nationwide lockdown, pilgrims are prohibited from visiting the shrine. Covered in a thick layer of snow, the temple was decorated with 10 quintals of marigold flowers.

The process of opening the doors of Kedar Dham began at 3 am. Shiva Shankar Linga, the chief priest of the shrine, carried out the tradition of opening the doors. The first ''pooja" was performed in the name of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said a statement. A representative of the Devasthanam Board, BD Singh, along with 20 employees from Panchagai, was present here when the religious rituals and aarti were performed. Apart from this, around 15 policemen and administration officials participated in the aarti. All participants maintained social distancing during the rituals.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has extended warm wishes to the devotees and administration of the shrine. He prayed for everyone's good health and happiness. "With the blessings of Baba Kedar, we will surely be able to defeat corona. This time devotees could not visit the shrine but Lord Kedar's blessings are with us," he said.

This year Army band did not participate in the religious ceremony at a time of opening the portals of the shrine due to lockdown restrictions.

With the opening of the doors of Kedarnath Dham, three of the four dhams of Uttarakhand will be opened. While Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham opened on April 26 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the portals of Badrinath Dham will open on May 15.

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The national carrier Air India (AI) has asked its pilots and cabin crew details to prepare to resume operations post lockdown, probably by mid-May this year. An internal mail, accessed by ANI, which was sent to the operation staff, seeks crew availability and details for transport security passes for domestic and international operations. ANI has accessed an internal mail which was sent to operation staff seeking crew availability and details for transport security passes for domestic and international operations.

"Dear All concerned, There is a probability to commence 25 per cent to 30 per cent operations post-lockdown in mid-May 2020. You are requested to ensure and provide the following: Total No. of Cockpit / Cabin Crew residing outside municipal limits of the bases," the communication read. Further Air India has also asked the Executive Director (ED) to ensure necessary arrangements and curfew passes for the crew. "Ensure crew transport for all crew at all stations (domestic as well as International). The data at bullet 1 may be provided on priority, to enable this office to intimate ED (Security) to arrange for their curfew pass," the AI letter said.

Recently, the Government of India asked Air India to be on standby for evacuating Indians from the Gulf and other parts of the countries. India has suspended air services since March 25 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 till May 3.

Also in a notification on its website, Air India said, "In the light of the ongoing global health concerns, we have currently stopped accepting booking on all domestic & International flights for travel till 03rd May 2020."

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In a bizarre incident, a man climbed up a unipole advertising hoarding and threatened to commit suicide if he was not provided liquor. The high drama began late on Thursday evening and ended after an hour when police promised him a bottle of liquor.

Confirming the incident, Kotwali SHO Geetesh Kapil said: "We managed to get him down without any injury. We had only promised but did not give him liquor. The sale of liquor is banned in the state and we are strictly following the lockdown guidelines. We are trying to establish his identity so that his family can be informed."

The policemen offered food and soft 

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that not more than 50 people would be allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 people could attend the last rites of a deceased person.

#WATCH Delhi is ready to re-open now...We will not be able to sustain the lockdown for long as the economy is in peril. The revenue has fallen from Rs 3500 Crores in April month of previous years to Rs 300 Crores this year. How will government function?: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/jKzVp0959b

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020

"Not more than 50 people are allowed at wedding functions and not more than 20 at last rites of a deceased person," said Kejriwal during a video conference. "The Center's decision of lockdown on March 24 was very important. If we had not implemented the lockdown, then the situation in the country could have been horrific now," he added.

He further said: "That time the country was not ready to fight COVID19. We had no idea of social distancing. Neither the people nor hospitals were ready. We had no personal protective equipment kits or testing kits either." The CM said that they would not be able to sustain the lockdown for long as the economy is in peril.

"The revenue has fallen from Rs 3,500 crore in April month of the previous years to Rs 300 crore this year. How will the government function?" The Delhi government will take strict action against those found spitting at public places," he added.

As per the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive cases of coronavirus in Delhi is 4,122, including 1,256 recovered/migrated and 64 deaths.

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To avoid crowding and minimise footfall at liquor stores, the West Bengal State Beverages Corporation (WBSBCL) has launched an eRetail portal for online booking and home delivery.

According to the website of the WBSBCL, any person, who is older or of 21 years of age, can register as a buyer on the portal for getting home delivery of liquor. "For ensuring social distancing and minimising footfall at retail outlets, WBSBCL has launched eRetail for online booking and home delivery of liquor," notification on the website read.

The interested persons can fill in their details, full name, mobile number, address, email, among others to register as a buyer and get liquor delivered at their doorsteps. Prior to this, the Chhattisgarh and Punjab governments too had allowed home delivery of liquor in their respective states with certain conditions.

Liquor stores around the country have been allowed to reopen by the Centre during phase three of the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Long queues, with people flouting social distancing norms, were seen on liquor stores around the country as enthusiasts lined up to get their hands on their favourite drink.

With people at these outlets failing to follow social distancing norms, apprehensions were expressed regarding the spread of COVID-19.

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Currently, the entire Nation affected by the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus. In these hard times, many families are finally financially affected and have no means to earn for the livelihood. Some can't buy a meal for their family, while others are struggling to buy sanitary products like gloves, masks, antiseptics, etc.

Akash Pillay, a 23 years old Pune based entrepreneur came forward to help these needy families by donating 10000 masks for two consecutive days. During this hard time, various shopkeepers are selling masks and other necessary products at an exorbitant price, and this was the major reason why Akash Pillay thought of doing this noble deed.

Talking about the same Akash Pillay says, "We have seen some people taking COVID-19 as a business opportunity, safety masks which cost 7 to 10 rupees are now costing 35 to 40 rupees per mask for no reason. People who work on daily wages cannot afford them during this lockdown period. They are forced to think about whether they should buy the safety stuff or a meal for the day. Which is why I decided to donate masks along with my friends and help them in whatever way I can."

The young lad is a BSC Graduate in Zoology and started working at an MNC right after he completed his graduation. He continued to work as an employee for about 2 years until he decided to start his own business.

Akash has a huge fondness towards anchoring and hosting which made him quit his job and start his agency named Storror Nightlife in Pune.

Right after establishing his own agency, Akash started receiving offers from brands for shoots and endorsements and within no time, Akash was one of the most successful event managers in Pune city. He is quite popular on social media a testimony of which is seen on his Instagram handle.

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Late on Thursday evening, nearly 350 Keralites from Abu Dhabi and Dubai arrived at Kochi and Calicut International Airport, in the first batch of repatriated stranded Indians in UAE.

Three special Air India Express flights left for Abu Dhabi and Dubai to bring them back. "As per the state health department directives, all passengers will be screened and have to undergo compulsory quarantine / isolation for 14 days, a regular check up and a swab test. If someone has COVID-19 and shows symptoms within the first seven days, they will be shifted to the district (Ernakulam) Medical College for treatment. Those who show negative results will be allowed to go home, but must complete remaining seven days of quarantine at home and health officials will contact them regularly to check on symptoms," explained a senior health officer from State Health Ministry.

Hari Krishna Namboothiri, CEO, Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs, (NORKA) informed mid-day, "We are anticipating around 3,000 Indians to return to Kerala. Early Friday morning we are expecting another Air India Express flight to get around similar number of (177) passengers excluding crew to arrive from Riyadh to Calicut."

When asked about the three warships which have headed to the Maldives and Dubai, Hari Krishna said, "The Naval warship will leave from the Maldives by Friday and we are expecting them to reach Kochi within two days. We haven't got the entire list of passengers coming by ship, so far we have 500 peoples' names, and the number might go further up, which will be clear by Friday. Passengers repatriated through both the air and water ways mode of transport, will be quarantined and so far we have got around 4.50 lakh requests registered on our portal.

Dr Prasanna Kumari, Superintendent Aluva Government Hospital said, "We are a 227-bedded hospital but not a COVID-19 designated hospital. We have made arrangements for suspected cases, for which nine single bed isolation rooms are ready, also in case any of the suspects require hospital support, we will shift them to Ernakulam Medical College, which is a COVID-19 designated hospital in the district."

" We can easily arrange for 350 beds, and have 30 to 40 isolation rooms for suspected cases, and a similar number of beds in the ICU, with nearly 30 ventilator support facilities. Only those passengers who show COVID-19 symptoms will be transferred to our medical college for further line of treatment," said Dr Peter Vazhyail, medical superintendent at Ernakulam Medical College.

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"Extraction" director and popular Hollywood stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave feels cinema has space for either "super big-budget movies like superheroes" or smaller movies, saying that it doesn't leave much room for mid-budget action movies.

Talking about his upcoming Netflix action film, Hargrave told IANS: "It seems that there's not as much space in the cinemas for these kinds of mid-budget action movies. It seems that it's mostly the super big-budget superhero movies or the kind of the smaller stuff."

Hargrave is glad that his first movie will reach a wider audience through Netflix.

"Netflix has carved out space for itself for movies like these to exist, which I think is really great… Because there are a lot of great stories out there… These kinds of movies, now, have a place to be seen, be viewed and be enjoyed," he said.

With "Extraction", Hargrave is graduating from being Chris Evans' stunt double in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" for fight scenes and stunt coordinator in "Captain America: Civil War" to a feature director. Hargrave was an additional second unit director in "Avengers: Infinity War".

Hargrave continued: "I think that's a really great thing for audiences around the world. I'm happy that my first time directing (feature film) come out on a platform like Netflix where so many people can see this. It is a very unique experience and one that I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out when it comes out on April 24."

For his first film, Hargrave reunited with his "Avengers" family. He got "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth to lead the film, screenplay of which is done by Joe Russo. The film is produced by Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo), Mike Larocca, Chris Hemsworth, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin.

Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyulli, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by Hemsworth), a fearless, black market mercenary, who embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. It has been shot extensively in India, along with other places around the world.

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American actor Chris Noth has made a drastic change during his coronavirus quarantine. The 65-year-old actor, on Monday took to Instagram to showcase his new look.

The 'Cast Away' star shared a picture of himself and captioned the post as, "I decided dealing with hair was superfluous during these times of quarantine."

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

I decided dealing with hair was superfluous during these times of quarantine-

A post shared by Chris Noth (@chrisnothofficial) onApr 20, 2020 at 12:49pm PDT

The fans were quick to compliment North on this new look.

One fan wrote in the comments section, "Omg, But looking good.

Another one wrote," It suits you!"

"Go off king," another follower wrote.

However, there were a few fans who didn't seem to love his new look, and wrote things like, "Noooooo," and "you look very different" in the comments.

Earlier this month, the 'Elsa and Fred' star shared a video message on Instagram, encouraging his fans to maintain social distancing.

The former 'Sex and the City ' star said in the video, "On behalf of the NYPD, I'd like to ask you to remember, as New Yorkers, we have to social distance, we have to stay inside until all of this passes. We can do it. We're tough, we're resilient and we have the best darn police force in the country."

"I'm not a cop, but I played one on TV. Stay safe, stay healthy, see you on the other side," he added.

Hollywood star Bruce Willis' family is finally all together, after his wife Emma Heming Willis and their daughters moved in with his former wife Demi Moore. The 65-year-old actor has been spending the last four weeks separated from Emma and their two girls, Mabel and Evelyn, due to the coronavirus lockdown.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

It’s Bruce’s birthday today! 🎉🎈🎂 And where I could use this space to write endlessly about him, let’s be real, he’s never going to see this post because he’s not on social media. So instead I’ll take this moment to ask everyone to please follow the @cdcgov guidelines closely so that we’re all safe and can move through this quickly and effectively so we can get back to some kind of normalcy, please. Look after yourselves and especially our elderly! 🙏🏽 #publicserviceannouncement #covid_19 #flattenthecurve #staywell #birthdayappreciation #brucewillis

A post shared by Emma Heming Willis (@emmahemingwillis) onMar 19, 2020 at 9:56am PDT

Bruce has been staying with first wife Demi, their daughters Scout, Rumer and Tallulah Willis, as well as Tallulah's boyfriend Dillon Buss. Bruce and Emma were in touch over Instagram till now, reports mirror.co.uk. The family reunion happened just ahead of Evelyn's sixth birthday on Tuesday.

Emma has shared several pictures of the ranch in Sun Valley, Idaho, where Bruce and Demi raised their now-adult daughters while they were still married. Emma even filmed Bruce pushing Evelyn on a swing.

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A chance to play with him, have lunch and watch a game of football from the owners box. David Beckham, part owner of the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, is auctioning off all that stuff. Former England captain and Manchester United legend Beckham is doing this as part of the league's participation in the All In Challenge, which raises money for organisations that are helping feed the hungry during the coronavirus pandemic, including Meals on Wheels, No Kid Hungry, America's Food Fund, World Central Kitchen and Feeding America.

The MLS season is suspended from March 12 with the deadly virus causing havoc in the United States. Earlier this month, Beckham had expressed gratitude towards all the frontline workers who are risking their lives in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was "another week of hard work". Beckham had taken to Instagram to post a video story in which he was seen clapping along with his family.

"Managed to set the phone up this week to get the whole family showing our appreciation for all the frontline workers and our brilliant NHS. Thank you for another week of hard work. #ClapForOurCarers," Beckham had written in his Instagram story.

The entire world has come to a standstill amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Sports activities have also taken a big hit and almost all the events have been postponed or cancelled, including the Olympics.

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Arsenal's squad will be allowed back to their training ground from next week, although the club stressed they would still have to maintain British government guidelines designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. The Premier League side's players will have access to training pitches but on a strict rotational basis that will see them uphold social distancing measures. "Players will be permitted access to our London Colney training grounds next week," said a club spokesperson. "Access will be limited, carefully managed and social distancing will be maintained at all times.

"All Colney buildings remain closed. Players will travel alone, do their individual workout and return home." This week saw Arsenal become the first Premier League club to agree a coronavirus pay cut with their players as manager Mikel Arteta and his stars slashed their wages by 12.5 percent. There are reports Arsenal, whose yearly wage bill is around £230 million ($286 million), will give players their money back in the event that they bridge an eight-point gap and qualify for the Champions League when football restarts. Football is currently suspended indefinitely in England, with the UK under lockdown.

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Brit singer Perrie Edwards, 26, is enjoying every moment alongside her footballer boyfriend Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 26, during this Coronavirus-caused lockdown in the
United Kingdom.

"I feel like I'm really enjoying this [lockdown], I can't lie. I'm having the time of my life. I've never spent so much time with my boyfriend. I've never spent so much time in my house," Perrie, who is part of the British all-girl group Little Mix, told Los Angeles radio station KII-FM.

"It's like I've never had just so much time on my hands to do stuff that I've always wanted to, so it has been nice," added Perrie, who began dating the Liverpool star in 2016.

The couple have been regularly uploading pictures and videos, dancing together on social media, while Perrie has even performed a few songs.

Meanwhile, Alex too has been enjoying all the attention and recently said that Perrie is the "perfect wifey."

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During the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals are losing patience -- moving freely and not following the necessary social distancing. This lack of civic sense and maturity on their part is weakening our fight against the deadly contagion pathogen.

The capital markets, as a result, also has witnessed intense volatility and bears are running lose. Certain sections of investors, however, have shown tremendous maturity during these challenging times.

At a time when Foreign Portfolio Investors (FIIs) have net sold or dumped Indian equities (owing to markets worldwide falling sharply and margin calls being hit), domestic fund managers are looking for value-buying opportunities in the carnage of the markets.

It is also heartening to see retail and High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) buying into various equity-oriented mutual funds in a lump sum as well as the SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) mode. Monthly SIP inflows have touched a record high in March 2020 and the SIP folios, too, surged to 3.12 crore.

However, in debt-oriented schemes, investors seem to be pressing the panic button. The mutual fund industry recorded a net outflow of Rs 1.95 trillion in March 2020. Barring Overnight Funds and Gilt Funds, all other sub-categories of debt mutual funds have reported an outflow in March 2020.

Advance tax payment obligations, deterioration in asset quality, potential risk of defaults in the COVID-19 lockdown, and heightened volatility in the Indian debt market are some of the key reasons for outflows from debt-oriented mutual schemes.

[Read: Why Investors Pulled Out Money from Debt Mutual Fund Schemes in March]

The massive outflows were also seen from the Liquid Funds and Arbitrage Funds.

Table 1: Action in March 2020

Unprecedented redemptions in the Arbitrage Funds and Liquid Funds, as well as the net inflows recorded by the overnight funds, suggest that investors preferred safety over returns. As you know, liquidity is a key concern as the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some arbitrage schemes such as Tata Arbitrage Fund and ICICI Prudential Equity-Arbitrage Fund had stopped taking in fresh subscriptions in the third week of March 2020 for the lack of arbitrage opportunities as markets faced broad-based selling.

But now markets are finding some sort of stability and bouncing back -- rallied over 20% from March lows - although the bears continue to run loose.

So, is it a time to consider arbitrage funds again?

Yes, I think so.

Arbitrage Funds aims to exploit the price differential in two different segments (spot and futures or cash and derivatives) of the equity market. They buy stocks in the spot market and sell in the future market simultaneously thereby making gains with the price differential (called the spread).

The differential usually is in sync with the prevailing interest rates in the economy; but depending on the market volatility, it could sometimes be higher as well. That being said, these are short-term opportunities that spring up due to lack of information to a set of market participants in one of the markets.

The capital market regulator's mutual fund categorisation and rationalisation mandates that an Arbitrage Fund must strictly follow the arbitrage strategy and invest at least 65% of its total assets in equity & equity related instruments.

Since the transactions are in either direction, the positions are completely hedged. And the remaining 35% of the total asset is deployed in debt and money market instruments.

In March 2020, when the stock futures started quoting at a discount to the spot prices in the cash market, it was a concern. But now that we have seen some sharp up-moves in the Indian equity markets as the government has done relatively well in containing the spread of the deadly virus (compared to other nations) and thanks to the prompt fiscal measures also have been taken -- both by the Ministry of Finance (the Rs 1.75 trillion package) and the Reserve Bank of India (by reducing policy rates sharply, keeping monetary policy stance 'accommodative as long as it is necessary', and ensuring enough liquidity in the system) -- in my view, it would be perceived positively by the markets in times to come and enough arbitrage opportunities would be available. It is possible that Arbitrage Funds may even perform a tad better vis-a-vis Liquid Funds.

Table 2: Report Card of Arbitrage Fund, Liquid Funds and Short Duration Funds

Over the last one year, the returns generated by Arbitrage Funds have been quite satisfactory. In fact, these funds have outperformed those clocked by Liquid Funds. The 3-month returns clocked by Arbitrage Funds have been almost at par with Liquid Funds.

Do note that an Arbitrage Fund carries low risk and the returns depend on the market conditions and fund manager's ability to reap rewards from arbitrage opportunities.

Short-Term Capital Gains (i.e. realised profits within a year) on arbitrage funds are taxed at 15%, while the Long-Term Capital Gains (i.e. gains made after staying invested for more than a year) are taxed at 10% for gains above Rs 1 lakh in a financial year.

To park money for the short-term for an investment time horizon up to 1-year, you may consider investing in an Arbitrage Fund.

And if you have an extreme short-term time horizon (of 3 to 6 months), consider a Liquid Fund with high-quality debt papers, which does not have high exposure to Commercial Papers (issued by private entities).

Alternatively, if you wish to park in a much safer category, you would be better off investing in an Overnight Funds.

Happy Investing!

PS: If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

Each fund recommended under FundSelect goes through our stringent process, where they are tested on both quantitative as well as qualitative parameters.

Every month, PersonalFN's FundSelect service will provide you with insightful and practical guidance on equity mutual funds and debt schemes - the ones to Buy, Hold, or Sell.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

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Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

Unnerving movements for debt mutual funds investors!

Just last week my colleague, Divya explained the fiasco at Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, which took a decision to abruptly wind down six debt mutual fund schemes, namely:

• Franklin India Low Duration Fund
• Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund
• Franklin India Credit Risk Fund
• Franklin India Short Term Income Plan
• Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund
• Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund

In all, the above debt mutual fund schemes had an AUM of Rs 30,854 crore as of March 31, 2020.

The fund house cited, "severe market dislocation and illiquidity in the fixed income space" caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the reason behind the decision.

Investors in these schemes are now left in the lurch: they cannot sell (nor buy) these funds and will have to rely on the fund house to get back their hard-earned money. Investors will have to hold their investments in these schemes until liquidity is available to the mutual fund house by either selling securities in the fund's portfolio or receiving maturity proceeds.

Currently, a fact is, not just Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, but debt mutual fund schemes of many other fund houses are have a remarkable exposure to stressed assets.

According to portfolios disclosed on March 31, 2020, mutual funds collectively held Rs 1.38 trillion of exposure to debt securities issued by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs). Approximately Rs 51,000 crore of the exposure in debt securities has a maturity profile of less than 3 months; and now, mutual funds fear that there will be defaults.

NBFCs and other corporate borrowers claim that they do not have enough liquidity to fulfil their obligations and have requested for additional time. Given that, rating downgrades from rating agencies look likely.

However, some companies are playing smart: they are approaching the Courts to prevent a rating downgrade, plus seeking a stay on sale of pledged shares. Of course, they are well within their right to approach the judicial authority or Courts and contest.

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But the capital market regulator, seems to be in no mood in offering them any leeway. On the contrary, the regulator is asking the mutual fund industry to act against the issuer of securities who are possibly carrying high credit risk; facing asset quality problems.

Delays in repayments would mean the creation of more side-pockets by mutual funds. And in my view, more the losses investors suffer, more frustrating it will be for mutual fund houses and their investors. Eventually retail and High Net-worth Individuals, particularly, will lose confidence and may not be keen to invest in debt funds.

If you are wondering what has gone wrong, here's everything you may like to know about liquidity, credit risk and the exposure of mutual funds to corporate debt in the present scenario.

If you remember, the capital market regulator had mandated large corporations to source at least 25% of their borrowings from the bond markets from the beginning of FY 2019. This move was expected to deepen Indian bond markets and reduces the stress on banks. Just a year later, the same move is proving fatal for companies that went to the bond markets to raise money.

Now that the COVID-19 lockdown has forced many business units to shut off temporarily or operate much below their optimal operational capacity with a skeletal staff, companies, including the large organisations that relied heavily on debt markets, are finding it difficult to honour maturity claims on Commercial Papers (CPs), Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), and Bonds.

They were hoping for an 'at-par treatment' with Banks when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offered a moratorium period to borrowers. But the RBI circular came to them as a shocker. The devil was in the details.

On March 27, 2020, the RBI issued a notification allowing a three-month moratorium on all outstanding term loans and working capital facilities on account of disruptions caused by the outbreak of coronavirus. This circular did not cover around 10 thousand NBFCs, who mainly depend on CPs, NCDs, and Bonds for their funding requirements.

As far as NBFCs are concerned, the RBI has already provided them with a liquidity facility through the banking channel. The RBI directed banks to utilise funds infused under Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTRO) facility to invest in 'investment-grade' CPs, NCDs, and Bonds issued by NBFCs. Also, RBI mandated banks to allocate 50% of Rs 50,000 crore of liquidity introduced by way of TLTRO 2.0 to small and mid-size NBFCs and small finance banks.

But NBFCs seemed not too happy with just liquidity and many of them are now approaching courts to prevent rating downgrades. This is not a best practice for the industry, although fund houses may be well within their rights to contest.

Recently, Indiabulls Housing Finance was successful in receiving the interim order from Delhi High Court, throttling any coercive action against the housing finance company for its inability to repay its bondholders. The Delhi High Court will hear the case further on May 19, 2020.

This has added to the worries of mutual fund houses that now fear other NBFCs will follow the same path.

The capital market regulator, only recently (a few days ago) following the three moratorium by RBI (due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic) has relaxed the valuation norms for debt and money market instrument held by mutual funds vide a circular dated April 23, 2020, wherein it states as under:

• Based on assessment, if the valuation agencies appointed by AMFI are of the view that the delay in payment of interest/principal or extension of the maturity of a security by the issuer has arisen solely due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and/or in light of the moratorium permitted by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (vide notification no. RBI/2019-20/186, dated March 27, 2020) creating temporary operational challenges in servicing debt, then valuation agencies may not consider the same as a default for the purpose of valuation of money market or debt securities held by Mutual Funds.
  
  However, in the scenario, as stated above, if there is any difference in the valuation of securities provided by two valuation agencies, the conservative valuation shall be accepted.

But then what is the point of coming up with these valuation norms as an afterthought, and not in close synchronisation when the RBI came with its notification a month ago?

The damage now is already done and companies are anyways approaching the Courts to prevent a rating downgrade.

Let's say shares of a company are pledged and to recover the proceeds -- if they cannot be sold due to a court order -- then such lending would be as good as unsecured lending.

Also, why should that not be construed as an instance of deviation from the stated fundamental attributes of a debt mutual fund scheme? After all, mutual fund investors invest in debt fund schemes taking into account a certain level of risk. Change in the risk profile of a scheme is a change in the fundamental attribute/s.

According to India Ratings, NBFCs having the asset base of Rs 500 crore to 5,000 crore, largely fall between "A" and "BBB" rating categories.

The mid-path could be a decision on payment or deferring the payment in consultation with all stakeholders, including debenture trustees. The industry will require a blanket resolution because a case-to-case resolution approach is cumbersome and may create more chaos.

Unless the RBI takes a clear stance on NBFCs and other financial institutions, mutual fund houses are likely to feel the heat of redemptions. Suppose, there's no further statement issued by the banking sector regulator; mutual funds will have to be prepared to handle large-scale defaults, which might look inevitable. After all, a majority of NBFCs' customers are retail borrowers and they enjoy a moratorium on the EMI payment for 3-months. This has been the trickiest part for NBFCs.

While COVID-19 outbreak has been the genuine reason for the potential defaults this time, asset-liability mismatches of NBFCs are well-known. Many NBFCs have gone overboard with cheap credit available during stable market conditions. Their credit underwriting has been questioned widely. The industry has also witnessed belly-up instances such as IL&FS and DHFL. Many mutual fund houses have burned their fingers badly in such defaults.

At the time of writing this piece, to ease the liquidity pressure on mutual funds, the RBI today decided to provide a special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore for mutual funds. Under this facility, the RBI will conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate. This will be on-tap and open-ended, and banks can submit their bids to avail funding on any day from Monday to Friday (excluding holidays). The scheme is available from today i.e., April 27, 2020, till May 11, 2020, or up to utilization of the allocated amount, whichever is earlier. The Reserve Bank will review the timeline and amount, depending upon market conditions.

The RBI has stated further that the liquidity support availed under the Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds shall be used by banks exclusively for meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds by, 1) extending loans; and (2) undertaking outright purchase of and/or repos against the collateral of investment-grade corporate bonds, CPs, debentures and certificates of Deposit (CDs) held by mutual funds.

Having taken this measure, keep in mind that it does not make investing in debt mutual funds risk-free. Considering the prevailing investment environment, you should stay away from mutual fund schemes whose portfolio characteristic appears compromised. Also, avoid credit risk funds and corporate bond funds as they are likely to be more vulnerable amidst the financial crisis followed by COVID-19 pandemic.

As a thumb rule: Choose mutual fund schemes from fund houses that follow prudent judicious investment processes and stringent risk-management systems.

In these uncertain times, it would be wise sticking to liquid funds and overnight funds while considering debt funds.

Our friends at Quantum Mutual Fund have highlighted the secret behind their debt management strategy which has helped them provide safety and liquidity to investors when it comes to investing in quantum funds. Don't Worry, Quantum Liquid Fund always aims for Safety and Liquidity.

As with all financial matters, better be safe than sorry!

PS: If you wish to select worthy mutual fund schemes, I recommend you to subscribe to PersonalFN's unbiased premium research service, FundSelect.

Additionally, as a bonus, you get access to PersonalFN's popular debt mutual fund service, DebtSelect.

Each fund recommended under FundSelect goes through our stringent process, where they are tested on both quantitative as well as qualitative parameters.

Every month, PersonalFN's FundSelect service will provide you with insightful and practical guidance on equity mutual funds and debt schemes - the ones to Buy, Hold, or Sell.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, Subscribe now!

Join Now: PersonalFN is now on Telegram. Join FREE Today to get 'Daily Wealth Letter' and Exclusive Updates on Mutual Funds

Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

Coronavirus or Covid-19 is showing no signs of receding. On the contrary, the number of cases is increasing by the day and the situation is rather depressing, as almost every region of the world and country is infected.

Sadly, there is no antidote or a vaccine conclusively developed to fight this deadly pathogen yet. And according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Coronavirus will be with us for a long time. Most cases are still in the early phase of the epidemic and some countries which were affected early in the pandemic, are now seeing a resurgence in the number of cases, said the WHO Chief.

COVID-19 is truly playing havoc and may be followed with a financial crisis owing to the lockdowns imposed to contain the spread. The risk of global recession undeniably looms large. "This crisis is like no other", as what the International Monetary Fund's (IMF), Chief Economist, Ms Gita Gopinath wrote in the foreword to the World Economic Outlook, April 2020.

Graph 1: The virus has spread even to Indian equities

The graph above depicts the S&P BSE Sensex falling off the cliff and investors' wealth being eroded. Since the all-time high of the S&P BSE Sensex (42,273.87 points made on January 20, 2020), we have fallen more than -25% and overall sentiments seem downbeat and volatility has heightened.

On a year-to-date basis, Indian equity is down nearly -23.2% (as of April 27, 2020), while gold -- with uncertainty looming around the world -- has exhibited its sheen and demonstrated its trait of safe haven and an effective portfolio diversifier, clocking nearly +5.0% absolute return as of April 27, 2020.

Graph 2: YTD Performance of key asset classes

The graph above validates the importance of tactical asset allocation. The key lesson here is: all asset classes will not necessarily move in the same direction (up or down) always - over the long-term; some may even move in the opposite direction as what we have seen in the recent past (in the case of equities and gold).

As we (the world) continue to fighting COVID-19 and the aftereffects of it are conceivable, a further correction cannot be ruled out and the bottom is unknown. COVID-19 is likely to impact corporate earnings amidst a time when India is already facing slowdown blues. As people are quarantined, demand would remain muted and inflation risk will begin to surface, particularly in food prices.

So, although the current levels offer a decent value-buying opportunity, skewing your portfolio completely to equity as an asset class could endanger wealth creation. In such times you, as an investor, need to follow tactical asset allocation while you aim to generate wealth.

Tactical Asset Allocation with Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds

To invest sensibly in the current times, you need a Multi-Asset Fund that invests in mainly three asset classes: equity, debt and gold; and is truly balanced.

Among the plethora of Multi-Asset Funds, the Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds (QMAFOF) incepted on July 11, 2012, is truly balanced and holds well-diversified portfolio (across the three key asset classes: equity, debt and gold) at all the times -- unlikely many of its peers who swayed by the excess exuberance in equities, lost sense, and eroded investors wealth.

Table 1: Asset Allocation of Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds

The Scheme predominantly invests in the units of Equity, Debt / Money Markets and Gold schemes of Quantum Mutual Fund. Currently, the following schemes are used to gain exposure to a particular asset class:

For equity - Quantum Long Term Equity Value Fund, Quantum Nifty ETF

For debt & money market instruments - Quantum Liquid Fund, Quantum Dynamic Bond Fund

For Gold - Quantum Gold Fund (ETF)

The Units of any other Equity and Debt / Money Markets scheme launched by Quantum Mutual Fund from time to time would be eligible to be part of the above asset allocation components.

Although QMAFOF aims to invest predominantly only in the schemes launched by Quantum Mutual Fund, QMAFOF may seek to invest in the units of similar schemes of other mutual fund houses in case of any investment and regulatory constraints that arise that prevent the Scheme from increasing investments in the schemes of Quantum Mutual Fund.

The investment objective of Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds is, "to generate modest capital appreciation while trying to reduce risk (by diversifying risks across asset classes) from a combined portfolio of equity, debt/money markets and gold schemes of Quantum Mutual Fund"

QMAFOF benchmarks it against the Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index (40%) + S&P BSE Sensex Total Return Index (40%) + Domestic price of Gold (20%).

Being a fund of fund, this benchmark is most suitable to compare QMAFOF's performance. The unique combination clubs together the relatively risky assets with other stable asset classes in the portfolio.

Backed by an astute investment strategy, taking the relative valuations between asset classes into consideration such as Price-to-Earnings relative to historical averages; the relationship between earning yield to bond yield relative to historical averages; and macroeconomic factors prevailing globally and within India, the two fund managers of QMAFOF, namely Mr Chirag Mehta (MMS - Finance, M.Com, and CAIA with over 13 years' experience in research and investments) and Mr Nilesh Shetty (B.Com, MMS -Finance, and CFA with collectively 16 years in equity markets), have generated respectable returns for investors.

Table 2: Report card of QMAFOF versus some of its peers

Even as the equity market is panting for breath attributable to COVID-19 and volatility has intensified, QMAFOF due to its sensible asset allocation to equity, debt and gold through its underlying portfolio, has fared relatively better than some of the peers.

ICICI Prudential Multi-Asset Fund, Axis Triple Advantage Fund, HDFC Multi-Asset Fund, and UTI Multi-Asset Fund, on the other hand, have all eroded investors wealth posting double-digit negative returns (see Table 2) in this downturn. Some of these schemes have fared well during upswings by keeping to the allocation to equities high, but on the downside, they have not managed the risk very sensibly. Investors, as a result, have experienced a roller-coaster ride in the journey of wealth creation.

A multi-asset fund, ideally, is expected to be truly balanced and sensibly allocate its assets whereby the downside risk of one asset class is compensated by the positive returns of the other asset classes.

Here are five good reasons to invest in Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds

1. You gain from a diversified portfolio across asset class which, in turn, reduces risk and optimizes returns.
2. You do not have to worry about portfolio rebalancing; the fund manager will astutely do it for you at regular intervals in the endeavour to achieve the set-out investment objective of the fund.
3. Portfolio tracking will be easy for you instead of tracking 10 different schemes
4. You will benefit from the lowest expense ratio in the category
5. And above all, Quantum Mutual Fund's strong research capabilities across various asset markets - equity, debt and gold, -- with robust investment processes & systems followed at the fund house.

Suitability of Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds

QMAFOF is a perfect fund for investors looking to tactically diversify the portfolio with a single fund across equity, debt and gold, plus leave the aspect of rebalancing to the discretion and expertise of the fund manager.

Furthermore, the fund is appropriate for investors seeking long term capital appreciation, who have a moderately high-risk appetite, and an investment time horizon of 3 to 5 years.

It is the best time to invest in the Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds. Valuation-wise, Indian equities look attractive and there appears to be a decent margin of safety (with a high return potential if the equity markets ascend).

Similarly, given the uncertainty surrounding the world, gold is expected to display its lustre. The economic uncertainty surrounded by the COVID-19, GDP growth rates being revised downwards, easy monetary policy action and stance followed by central bank across the world, geopolitical tensions, trade tension, and increased stock market volatility are likely to keep spotlights on gold.

Likewise, with credit risk getting amplified, it makes sense to have exposure to a pure Liquid Fund (that does not take exposure to Commercial Papers issued by private entities). Now that policy rates are already lowered by RBI to address growth concerns, it does not make much sense to take exposure to the longer end of the yield curve; it could prove less rewarding and risky (may encounter high volatility) in the foreseeable future. Deploying your hard-earned money is short-end of the maturity curve, would be far better.

By investing in Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds, you will be able to balance the risk better with a sensible investment strategy in place.

Just as an excess drug dosage cannot treat COVID-19, your investment portfolio, too, needs just a fair amount of diversification to clock optimal risk-adjusted returns in the journey of wealth creation.

Go ahead and consider investing in Quantum Multi Asset Fund of Funds.

Happy Investing!

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Author: Rounaq Neroy

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

Despite the rally we recently witnessed, the market mood continues to be sombre due to the pandemic crisis. FPI outflows from the Indian market persisted in the current month as well, while the recent fiasco at a popular fund house also dented investor sentiments.

It is difficult to predict how this situation will unravel eventually. Though the pandemic has impacted both large and smaller sized companies, small and mid sized companies could be the most affected.

However, quality names even in these segments could perform well over the long run. Therefore, you should stick to only quality names across different market capitalisation and invest via a well managed mutual fund that focuses on growth through diversification.

HDFC Mid-cap Opportunities Fund (HMOF) is one such mid cap fund that looks to invest in mid cap stocks with sound financial strength and reasonable growth prospects.

Graph 1: Growth of Rs 10,000 if invested in HDFC Mid-cap Opportunities Fund 5 years ago

One of the most popular funds in the midcap category, HMOF's asset size is the largest as compared to its peers. However, HMOF has shown no constrain when it comes to delivering superior performance. The fund has a track record of generating above-average returns across market conditions. Over the last 5 years, HMOF has generated returns at 4.5% CAGR as compared to 1.9% CAGR generated by its benchmark Nifty Midcap 100 - TRI, thus generating an alpha of around 2.5 percentage points CAGR. The fund has made well use of diversification to mitigate downside risk and generate decent lead over the benchmark index.

Table: HDFC Mid-cap Opportunities Fund's performance vis-a-vis category peers

*Please note, this table only represents the best performing funds based solely on past returns and is NOT a recommendation. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme related documents carefully. Past performance is not an indicator for future returns. The percentage returns shown are only for indicative purposes.

Though HMOF has trailed some of the other popular peers in the mid cap category, it stands strong in the list of mid cap funds. The fund has constantly outperformed the benchmark by a noticeable margin across time periods.

Some of the other top performers in the category are Axis Midcap Fund, Invesco India Midcap Fund, and DSP Midcap Fund.

The fund has not only demonstrated its ability to generate superior returns for its long term investors, but has been reasonable when it comes to managing volatility and curtailing down-side risks. In terms of risk-adjusted returns, HMOF has outperformed its benchmark by a significant margin and also stays ahead of most of its peers.

Investment strategy of HDFC Mid-cap Opportunities Fund

Categorized as midcap fund, HMOF is mandated to invest minimum 65% of its assets in equity and equity related instruments of mid cap companies. Accordingly, HMOF invests in stocks of predominantly mid-sized companies, which have reasonable growth prospects at acceptable valuations. The fund also holds significant exposure in smallcaps along with moderate exposure in large caps as well as cash and debt.

It follows the bottom-up approach to identify high quality businesses for the long term. The stocks are bought primarily for the strengths of company fundamentals rather than the strength of the macro-economic indicators.

The fund manager resists from following market momentum and holds each of his high conviction stock for the long term.

Graph 2: Top portfolio holdings in HDFC Mid-cap Opportunities Fund

As on March 31, 2020,HMOF held 75 stocks in its portfolio, with no individual stock having exposure of more than 5%.Popular mid cap names like Aarti Industries, Balkrishna Industries, Trent, Ipca Laboratories, and Voltas, etc. appeared in its top portfolio holdings. The top 10 stocks constitute close to 32% of its assets.

The fund's portfolio is primarily skewed towards Banking and Finance sectors which together constitute around 17% of the portfolio. Auto ancillaries, Pharma, Chemicals, and Industrial Products are the other prominent sectors with allocation of around 9-11% each.

Suitability

HMOF's performance over longer time periods has been commendable, where it has generated decent long-term returns for its investors as compared to the benchmark, though it has lagged behind some of its peers. Its focus on timely realization of growth potential of stocks at fair valuation can help it generate strong returns while also minimize the downside risk. However, its aggressive mandate makes it prone to high volatility. This makes HMOF suitable for investors with high risk appetite and a long term investment horizon.

Editor's note: The last few years have not been among the best for equity mutual funds. While most funds have underperformed or are struggling to match the returns of the benchmark, there are few funds that have the potential to constantly generate alpha for its investors. And we have identified five such high alpha generating funds, in our latest report 'The Alpha Funds Report 2020'. Do not miss our latest research finding. Get your access to this exclusive report, right here!

Note: This write up is for information purpose and does not constitute any kind of investment advice or a recommendation to Buy / Hold / Sell a fund. Returns mentioned herein are in no way a guarantee or promise of future returns. As an investor, you need to pick the right fund to meet your financial goals. If you are not sure about your risk appetite, do consult your investment consultant/advisor. Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

Author: Divya Grover

This article first appeared on PersonalFN here.

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PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer:
The views mentioned above are of the author only. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. The author and Equitymaster do not claim it to be accurate nor accept any responsibility for the same. The views constitute only the opinions and do not constitute any guidelines or recommendation on any course of action to be followed by the reader. Please read the detailed Terms of Use of the web site.

20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer came up with a radical proposal regarding the future of international tennis. The Swiss superstar suggested a merger between men's tennis body ATP and women's governing body WTA.

Federer believes this could be the right time for a merger between ATP and WTA for the betterment of the sport. The former World No.1 also explained that he isn't asking for competitions being merged but only the governing bodies.

"Am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men's and women's tennis to be united and come together as one?" Federer wrote on his Twitter handle.

"I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the two governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men's and women's professional tours."

"It's too confusing for the fans when there are different ranking systems, different logos, different websites, different tournament categories," he wrote further.

The entire sporting calender of the world is reeling due to Covid-19 pandemic and tennis is not different. The season has been put on hold with multiple tournaments being postponed or cancelled.

The second slam of the year, French Open, has been postponed from May to September while the Wimbledon was cancelled earlier this month in the wake of coronavirus crisis. Wimbledon had only been cancelled twice before, because of World War 1 and World War 2.

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The tennis club where Novak Djokovic broke confinement rules in Spain has said it mistakenly allowed the top-ranked Serb to practice and apologized for the error. Djokovic published a video of him training on Monday in apparent violation of Spain's current rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. The video posted on Instagram showed Djokovic exchanging shots with another man at the club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serb has been staying for the past several weeks.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay .. well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands. Spain has eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March, allowing professional athletes to return to practice, but most training centers and sports facilities must remain closed until next week. We are sorry that our interpretation of the regulation could have been erroneous, and this could have inconvenienced Mr. Djokovic or any other citizen acting in good faith," the Puente Romano Marbella Tennis Club said in a statement.

The statement, which was relayed by Djokovic's management team, said the club received a request from the player to practice and gave him the go-ahead with the "understanding that from May 4 all professional sports players were authorized to train." The club said it therefore believed he was "permitted to train in our facilities." It said it later received a "clarification" from the Spanish tennis federation and "both parties have agreed that training should resume" only next week.

Rafael Nadal said he also went to train on a court this week, but he did it on private property because the rules weren't fully clear to him. Soccer players were among the exceptions who could start training inside sports facilities beginning this week.

Spain has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic but it started loosening some of its restrictions on movement as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 started to go down recently. The nation went into a lockdown on March 14.

Djokovic recently said he was against taking a vaccine for the coronavirus if it became mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, though he later said he was open to changing his mind.

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Moldovan tennis player Dmitrii Baskov has been hailed as an Indian hero after joining a campaign to feed Ahmedabad's poor, who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Davis Cup player arrived in India in January to visit a tennis academy before the advancing pandemic prevented him from returning home. Dmitrii, 25, once a hitting partner for Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, has since been helping out by packaging food for the needy in Ahmedabad.

He is among a team packing bread, rice and other dishes at the Ace Tennis Academy, destined for the city's slums and containment zones. "My friend Pramesh Modi mentioned this [idea of feeding the poor] and I said yes, sounds great and the next day we did it and it continued day after day," said Dmitrii. "He is an Indian hero and could be a role model for a number of Indians who have not come out of their houses to even help out in one way or the other," said Mitul Parikh, who packs food alongside Dmitrii.

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Spain's tennis ace Rafael Nadal, who is in self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is trying to remain positive but is getting affected by the suffering of the people around him.

"I am a sentimental person, who is affected by things, and to see so many people suffering so much, so many people who have lost family their members without being able to even say goodbye...," the World No. 2 was quoted as saying by Tennis World USA.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion urged his fans to keep moving forward. "In the end, being able to give your brother or sister a hug will relieve some pain, and imagine that they have not been able to do it. You have to be positive and keep moving forward. There is no other choice. I am a super lucky guy." he added.

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In line with its efforts to help users identify original sources and authentic information on Twitter, the microblogging site plans to add new labels to the campaign accounts of political candidates, starting with those running in the 2018 US midterm general election.

The legitimate accounts of the candidates will be clearly identifiable with a small icon of a government building, Twitter said on Wednesday.

The label will appear on the Twitter Profile page of the candidate and alongside all tweets sent or retweeted by the account, Bridget Coyne, Senior Public Policy Manager at Twitter, said in a blog post.

Twitter is partnering with Ballotpedia, a non-profit, civic organisation that publishes nonpartisan information on federal, state and local politics to help identify the campaign Twitter accounts of candidates once they qualify for the general election ballot for an applicable office.

Labels will begin to appear after May 30 on the campaign Twitter accounts of candidates who have already qualified for the general election ballot for an applicable office, and provided Twitter with consent to apply the label, Twitter said.

Candidates running for state Governor or for the US Senate or US House of Representatives during the 2018 US midterm general election will qualify for the US election labels.

"This will continue on a rolling basis as states continue to hold primary elections and candidates officially qualify for the general election ballot," Coyne added.

"Providing the public with authentic, trustworthy information is crucial to the democratic process, and we are committed to furthering that goal through the tools we continue to build," Coyne said.

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Coronavirus fears have spooked the investors worldwide with BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty falling over 25% this month, in line with many other global indices.

After sharp corrections in three trading sessions on March 9, March 12, and March 16 by 5.1%, 8.1% and 7.9% respectively, the Sensex crashed by an overall 22% this month.

Let's dive a bit deeper and look at how the impact has been on individual sectors...

1. While all sectoral indices are in a sea of red since the outbreak of coronavirus, here's a look at the worst hit sectors since coronavirus outbreak:

   Sector	Since 1 March (%)	Since 1 Jan (%)
   BSE Metal	-30%	-45%
   BSE Bankex	-31%	-37%
   BSE Oil & Gas	-24%	-36%
   BSE Auto	-24%	-36%
   BSE Finance	-30%	-36%
   BSE Realty	-31%	-36%
   BSE Capital Goods	-25%	-33%
   BSE Power	-22%	-32%
   BSE Basic Material	-26%	-32%
   BSE Consumer Discretionary	-24%	-28%
   BSE IT	-25%	-27%
   BSE FMCG	-18%	-22%
   BSE Consumer Durables	-24%	-20%
   BSE Healthcare	-15%	-15%
   BSE Telecom	-18%	-14%

   *Note that prices are as on 19 March 2020
2. As you can see in the table above, metal sector has been hit the worst on year-to-date (YTD) basis. Note that, the sector has been witnessing selling pressure since last two years. The coronavirus situation has only exacerbated the situation.
3. Another sector that is largely impacted is banking and NBFCs. After being the most preferred in the Indian equity indices for over half a decade, things have changed for stocks in the financial sector. In India it is a double blow for financial sector in the form of YES Bank fallout and prolonged slowdown which increased the chances of credit quality deterioration.
4. To put things into context, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were heavily positioned in the Indian financial space, and stocks in the sector witnessed maximum inflows during good times. Downward spiral for financial sector began since IL&FS crisis.
   
   Both, BSE Bankex and BSE Finance Index have plunged over 30% since the beginning of the month.
5. Shares of most hotel, leisure and airline firms have tumbled over 60% year-to-date, as the coronavirus outbreak across the world has forced people to cancel vacation plans. India also stand to lose foreign tourists due to the entry restrictions that have been put in place. And this has meant things getting worse for hotels and airlines sector.
6. Out of the 90 stocks listed on BSE from tourism, hospitality and film distribution segments, only 15 have given positive returns YTD.
7. Another sector that's facing the brunt is the automobile sector. Coronavirus couldn't have come at a worse time for India's auto sector that is battling a prolonged slump in demand. The virus outbreak has added to the pain, hitting production and lowering the demand even further as consumer spending is unusually low. Reportedly, the correction in the auto index is now close to what was seen during the 2008 global financial crisis. BSE Auto Index is down 36% on a YTD basis.
8. The fall in other indices like FMCG, consumer durables, capital goods and IT is relatively moderate as they do not have any direct impact of the pandemic. However, they too have been witnessing selling amid the sharp correction in Indian share markets.
9. Interestingly, Indian pharma has been doing much better than the overall index. Since the beginning of March 2020, the Sensex is down by 26% while the BSE Healthcare index is down only by 15% (till 19 March 2020).
   • One factor is the rupee weakness which has weakened well beyond the Rs 75/$ mark. A weak rupee helps exporters and pharma obviously benefits.
   • Another factor is the spread of the novel coronavirus has led global investors to rush for pharmaceutical stocks recently, on back of a rise in demand for generics and branded generics leading to shortages and over-pricing for drugs.
10. However, as the markets took a breather on Friday, the sectors that rallied the most were BSE FMCG, BSE IT and BSE Oil & Gas indices, gaining over 8% each.

What do you think will be the long-term impact for these sectors? Well, you can let us know by dropping your views in the comments section below.

While most sectors have been falling, our co-head of research, Tanushree Banerjee believes in long term, Indian auto ancillaries, textiles, chemical companies, Pharma R&D contract manufacturers, will all be the major beneficiaries of what she calls the Rebirth of India megatrend.

Also, in times like these, our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, will help you get a grip on the current market situation...and figure out ways to profit from it.

This is the most comprehensive report on how to trade the coronavirus, both from a short-term and long-term perspective. I strongly recommend you read it now. Claim your FREE copy here...

Happy Investing!

Most sectors in the Indian share markets have been drowning in a sea of red due to the crash led by coronavirus outbreak. The biggest blow, however, has been felt by the banking sector.

The sector was already reeling under pressure due multiple factors for quite some time. And things started getting worse since the start of 2020.

Here's a timeline showing some major events that happened in the Indian banking sector and led to the slowdown we are witnessing in the past few months...

1. Mounting Pile of Bad Loans: Indian banks have for years worked to beat down mounting piles of bad loans of the sort that led to the Yes Bank fallout. The ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPAs) at Indian banks rose to 11% in 2018 from about 2% in 2008, before starting to ease off.
2. IL&FS Crisis Kicks Off the Downward Spiral: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were heavily positioned in the Indian banking and financial space, and stocks in the sector witnessed maximum inflows during good times. However, they started noticing cracks with consistent negative performance in the banking and financial sector and started moving out of them. The downward spiral for these sectors began since IL&FS crisis camec out into the open.
3. Credit Quality Deteriorates: After being the most preferred sector for over half a decade, things started changing for stocks in the banking sector since 2020. This came as the sector witnessed a double blow in the form of YES Bank fallout and prolonged economic slowdown. And all this only led to credit quality deterioration for banks.
4. YES Bank Crash: The Yes Bank crisis and the sight of Rana Kapoor being taken to court in early March came in as one of the worst months for India's banking sector.
5. Bailout for Yes Bank: To save Yes Bank, a range of Indian lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI), infused funds in return for an equity stake. The episode came as a jolt to investors, who worried it could exacerbate vulnerabilities in the financial system.
6. Panic Selling Amid SC Order: Then came another blow. Before the dust settled on Yes Bank, the Supreme Court ruled that telecom operators must pay dues worth billions owed to the government. This caused panic-selling in bank stocks due to their heavy exposure to the telecoms sector.
7. Coronavirus Threat: The challenges now facing India's banking sector have reached another order of magnitude due to the coronavirus threat to the economy. Banking stocks have been among the hardest hit.
8. Sharp Fall for BSE Bankex: The BSE Bankex has fallen about 46% so far this year, outpacing the 32% fall in the BSE Sensex. Shares of Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank have lost the most during this period.
9. Relief Measures: Owing to all these shocks, banks have sought various relief measures. On 27 March 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) came out all guns blazing to arrest a potential slowdown caused by coronavirus (Covid-19). It did not just lower the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 1% to 3% but also cut the repo rate by 0.75%. Also, there is a three-month moratorium on payment of loan installments.
10. PSB Merger: Then came the major announcement effective from 1 April 2020. First announced in August 2019, the government's ambitious plan to merge 10 state-owned banks into four came into effect from 1 April 2020. The move, aimed at strengthening the banking system and creating more large institutions with size and scale, has seen...
    • Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India merged into Punjab National Bank,
    • Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank merged into Union Bank of India,
    • Allahabad Bank merged with Indian Bank, and
    • Syndicate Bank amalgamated into Canara Bank

So, that were some top pointers on what the Indian banking sector has been going through amid the coronavirus led stock market crash.

I reached out to Tanushree Banerjee, who is closely tracking the banking sector in the current scenario. Here's her view on the sector...

• The Covid-19 lockdown has hit cash flows of both individual borrowers and corporates. This, in turn, will impact their loan repayment capability.
  
  The RBI's repo rate cut came as a temporary lifeline for Indian companies with debt on books. It will offer both companies and retail borrowers some breather. If banks use this phase judiciously, it may save the NPA ratios from worsening significantly.
  
  However, only the banks that have adequate capital and provisioning cushion may be able to tide over the economic crisis. Eventually, another round of consolidation in private sector banks, like the one after 2002, cannot be ruled out.

Tanushree's latest StockSelect recommendation is one such midcap bank.

You can read the entire report here (requires subscription).

Also, speaking of ongoing stock market crash, our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, is the most comprehensive report on how to trade the coronavirus, both from a short-term and long-term perspective. You can claim your FREE copy here...

And rest assured, Equitymaster is with you all the way on this journey. To that end, we have decided to offer you two of our premium learning courses free!

From the comfort of your home, you can learn the basics of fundamental investing with Equitymaster Secrets and the ins and outs of making money using derivatives with Derivantage. Get started right away.

Happy Investing!

The current lockdown has seen people restricted indoors and many are picking up new hobbies. Energetic India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Tuesday revealed he is trying his hand at playing a flute and honing his overall musical skills.

"Playing a musical instrument, the vibrations you can feel inside your body. Music gives you peace and everybody should try to learn how to play a musical instrument now especially because we have so much time to spend at home due to the lockdown," Dhawan said while chatting with India middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer on Instagram Live.

The dashing southpaw also played the flute on Iyer's request.

Dhawan picked Dale Steyn as the most difficult bowler he has faced along with off-spinners on turning wickets.

Asked to pick his most special knock, Dhawan chose the match-winning hundred against Australia in the 2019 World Cup.

"Mardo walli feeling aayi (it was a big daddy innings)," Dhawan said.

Dhawan had slammed 117 off 109 balls against the defending champions at The Oval on June 10 as India won by 36 runs. That turned out to be the final tie he played as he was ruled out with a thumb fracture for the remainder of he competition.

India crashed out in the semi-finals, losing to New Zealand.

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) is not in a hurry to take a decision whether the T20 World Cup should be postponed in the wake of COVID-19 or staged as scheduled, saying it is "exploring all options" as part of its comprehensive contingency planning for all its events. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15 but with all sporting events either postponed or cancelled due to the global health crisis, the fate of the tournament remains uncertain.

With Australia sealing its borders and putting restrictions on travel to contain the dreaded disease, there have been speculations that the T20 World Cup could be postponed to next year or held inside closed doors. "We are continuing with our planning for ICC events as they are, but given the rapidly evolving situation as a prudent and responsible measure we are also undertaking a comprehensive contingency planning exercise," an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by SkySport. "This includes exploring all options available to us based on a range of scenarios connected to the pandemic."

The T20 World Cup is still six months away and ICC said it will take a decision after consulting all stakeholders, including the Australian government. "We will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government and will take decisions at the appropriate time," the spokesperson said. "We will utilise all the data available to us to ensure we can take well-informed, responsible decisions that are in the best interests of our sport."

Former captain Allan Border and star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell have already given a thumbs down to the prospect of the tournament happening without spectators, while former batsman Simon Katich and wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey feel delaying the event remains an option.

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Amid the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus crisis, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday cut his own hair and said he went from 'playing square cuts to doing my own hair cuts'.

Tendulkar took to Instagram and shared pictures of him doing his own haircut.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

From playing square cuts 🏏 to doing my own hair cuts 💇🏻‍♂ï¸Â, have always enjoyed doing different things. ‪How’s my new hairdo 💁🏻‍♂ï¸Â looking @aalimhakim & @nandan_v_naik? 😋

A post shared by Sachin Tendulkar (@sachintendulkar) onApr 19, 2020 at 4:59am PDT

"From playing square cuts to doing my own hair cuts, have always enjoyed doing different things. How's my new hairdo looking @aalimhakim and @nandan_v_naik," Tendulkar captioned the post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 announced the extension of lockdown till May 3 in an attempt to contain COVID-19.

According to the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive cases in India has mounted to 16,116 and 519 deaths have been reported till now.

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Nations around the world reacted with alarm Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a halt to the sizable funding the US sends to the World Health Organisation. Health experts warned the move could jeopardize global efforts to stop the Coronavirus pandemic.

Trump said he was instructing his administration to halt funding for WHO pending a review of its role "in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus." The United States is WHO's largest single donor, contributing between $400 million and $500 million annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years. He has repeatedly labelled COVID-19 the "Chinese virus" and criticised the UN health agency for being too lenient on China, where the novel virus first emerged late last year.

EU 'deeply regrets' move
An investigation by The Associated Press has found that s ix days of delays between when Chinese officials k new about the virus and when they warned the public allowed the pandemic to bloom into an enormous public health disaster. The European Union said Trump has "no reason" to freeze WHO funding at this critical stage and called for measures to promote unity instead of division. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc "deeply" regrets the suspension of funds and added that the WHO is now "needed more than ever" to combat the pandemic.

Stand with WHO: Oz
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he sympathised with some of Trump's criticisms of WHO and China but that Australia would continue to fund the UN health agency. Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, pushed back at Trump's announcement. Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, called said. "This is the agency that's looking out for other countries and leading efforts to stop the pandemic. This is exactly the time when they need more funding, not less. Trump is angry, but his anger is being directed in a way that is going to ultimately hurt US interests."

A selfish decision: Russia
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency TASS, "I's a sign of the very selfish approach of the US authorities to what is happening in the world." Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the country is "seriously concerned" about the US government's decision to suspend funding and hinted at stepping up its monetary contribution to WHO. The WHO did not respond to repeated requests from The Associated Press for comment, but its but Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted, "There is no time to waste".

Now, Trump says states to decide on reopening economy

A day after claiming "total authority" in decision-making, Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would leave it to individual governors to decide on the reopening of the economy in their respective states, which in some cases could be even before May 1. COVID-19 has so far infected over two million people worldwide. In the US, over 25,000 have lost their lives and more than 6 lakhs have tested positive. Over 95 per cent of the 330 million population in the US are under stay-at-home order.

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All of Chris Wallace's wedding bookings were either cancelled or postponed due to the Coronavirus, but the UK-based wedding photographer didn't let that deter him. Wallace took it upon himself to recreate a wedding ceremony using LEGO figures lying around his house. He named the bride and groom Florence and Fred, and spent many hours preparing for the wedding. He even staged several scenes and big moments seen frequently in Christian weddings and then proceeded to click photos of them. He used his experience capturing weddings to make it seem natural.

The bride getting dolled up for her wedding

The bride walked down the aisle with a Harry Potter figurine, whereas groomsmen Ghostbusters, Chewbacca and a 1980 Lego spaceman stood at the altar to support the groom. "I've found myself with quite a bit of free time on my hands and thought it'll be a fun thing to do," said the photographer to the New York Post. "The ceremony was held outdoors in the most gorgeous of settings, filled with the greenest of plastic leaves and most colourful plastic flowers," he added.

Posing for a family photo. Pics/carpediemphotographycheshire.co.uk/Chris Wallace

Wallace said: "I tried drawing upon the experiences I had with weddings, to capture the big moments while making it seem natural." As the lockdown is anticipated to last till June, he plans to do another shoot soon.

Girl, I want you real clean!

A New Yorker hung fliers to look for a 'germ free' partner during the Coronavirus crisis

Pic/New York Post

A single man from New York, who is looking for love, hung dating fliers across the city, saying that his potential lover must be healthy, fit and clean.

The man, identified only as Brad, also said in the flier that he is "seeking a girlfriend for Coronavirus and beyond." He describes himself as a healthy, attractive, and well-settled man, looking for "germ-free monogamy". "I was single when the lockdown began and was wondering how and when dating would be possible again," Brad told the New York Post.

"This is no time for casual dating or hook-ups, so I am seeking a long-term and exclusive relationship," he added. Brad said that he has already received responses from "high-quality women" and is looking forward to meeting some for six-foot-apart dates.

Papi Gudia 2.0

An area in Mexico City became one of the most searched addresses on Google Maps this week, after photos of a creepy, doll-covered house located there, went viral on social media. The post was first shared by TikTok user Fernando Mata, who was looking for creepy content for his social media. It later turned out that this was the address of a small esoteric shop, and the dolls were merely an advertising strategy to attract prospective customers.

This teen is a gender-bender

Pics/@puutan_318, Instagram

A Japanese 18-year-old boy, has been getting a lot of attention on the Internet for cosplaying as an Asian schoolgirl. Puutan, whose real name is reportedly Tatsuya, has been flaunting selfies in feminine clothes, as well as a long hair wig. He currently has over 27,000 followers on YouTube, and 23,000 followers on Instagram.

Mexicans want beer to survive quarantine

Mexico's decision to halt production of most non-essential products due to the Coronavirus pandemic, has led to a polarising debate in the country on whether beer should be considered an "essential" during lockdown. "Beer supplies should be guaranteed, because beer helps people get through quarantine on better terms," said the National Alliance of Small Business in a press statement.

Village gets ghosts to keep people indoors

Kepuh village in Indonesia has resorted to an unusual way to ensure that the locals stay indoors. Those who step out of their homes at night will have to face pocong—shrouded ghosts believed to represent the souls of dead people. The pocongs are actually volunteer youths trying to help maintain the lockdown.

Crime junkies can get rich in 24 hours flat

A video streaming service is seeking a true crime buff to make $1,000 (R75K) during the Coronavirus lockdown by watching 24 straight hours of documentaries. The chosen candidate will be given a pre-selected list of true crime documentaries to watch.

Bugging you

A swarm of bugs descended over a beach at Cayton Bay, Yorkshire, leaving locals stunned. The bugs, later identified as European Chafer Beetles, are said to have washed up on a few beaches in the area. The cause is still being investigated. "I was stunned to realise they were living creatures. There were just masses and masses of them," said Sue Weatherill, a local resident, to Daily Mail. Pics/@ChrisBull52, Twitter

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With humans in their homes amid the coronavirus lockdown, animals are roaming free on the streets. After pictures of dolphins off Marine Drive, peacocks venturing in the streets of Mumbai and tigers taking a stroll in the forests of Madhya Pradesh went viral, stunning pictures of lions sleeping in a park in South Africa is making rounds on social media.  

 The picture posted on Twitter by the Kruger National Park in South Africa, show the rare sight of the pack of lions sleeping in the pathways of the park. Clicked by Section ranger Richard Sowry, the caption for the post reads, “Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see.  #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see.  This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.”

Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see. #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.
📸Section Ranger Richard Sowry pic.twitter.com/jFUBAWvmsA

— Kruger National Park (@SANParksKNP) April 15, 2020

The astounding pictures that were posted on Twitter on Wednesday, garnered over 19,500 likes and was retweeted more than 6,700 times. The users commenting on the post spoke how such rare sights are seen when humans are at home and how mother nature is recovering from the wounds.

Now mother earth belongs to all of us as nature intended.

— Aaron Moloisi (@aaronmoloisi) April 16, 2020

Mother nature is enjoying the #lockdown. No humans to bother them.

— Emile van Rooyen (@EmilevanRooyen2) April 15, 2020

We’re seeing glimpses of the world when the humans are gone ...

— Jason Randa (@JasonRanda2) April 16, 2020

Looks pretty nice. I've seen a few videos from around the world other animals walking through city streets and looking around and then just continuing to do their thing. It's quite beautiful and they are wondering where we are.

— Lori Brown (@LoriBrown82) April 17, 2020

The animals are loving having their turf back.

— Heartbeat Of Africa (@PeterDermauw) April 15, 2020

What do you think about the pictures?

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New York: The idea formed on a day when all the news headlines were dire. The coronavirus was surging worldwide; Nashville had lost lives in a devastating tornado and children had their lives upended as they separated from beloved classmates to shelter at home.

But only bad news is never the whole story. Days later, The Associated Press started its daily series 'One Good Thing' to reflect the unheralded sacrifices made to benefit others that normally wouldn't make a story, but maybe always deserved one.

Since March 17, when a Norwegian mom tried to soften the blow of birthdays under quarantine for her two teens by asking via social media that people reach out to them, there have been 35 stories about the ways that everyday people have tried to make a positive difference in the lives of others. The gestures have been grand and small, some as simple as chalk-written messages on a sidewalk thanking healthcare workers at a New Orleans hospital for their efforts.

Music has been a central theme. The series has included stories about a Rio firefighter sharing his love of music from a hydraulic ladder 150 feet up as he played the trumpet for cooped-up apartment dwellers; a virtual rendition of 'Bolero' from the National Orchestra of France, with each musician playing alone at home; the virtual Corona Community Choir with members around the world, performing on Sundays.

If music soothes the soul, food feeds it. There have been six stories that tell of benefactors feeding health care workers, the poor, the elderly shut ins, even volunteers feeding hungry animals at a revered Hindu temple in Kathmandu, Nepal.

There have been meals from Brooklyn caterer Israel Frischman for Holocaust survivors who are shut in. The day after the story ran, donations poured in and now Frischman has financial backing for the needed meals.

And simpler fare from the 'Solidarity Menu' started by Emiliano Moscoso who employed his hamburger chain of restaurants in Colombia to feed poor neighborhoods in Bogota.

The delivery of lifesaving supplies has been a storyline as well, from the professional cyclist in Italy who has gone from racing against competitors to racing medicine to those in need, to Yale student Liam Elkind's delivery service. A month after reporting on Elkind's 'Invisible Hands' effort which he started with a friend, he reports that it's ballooned.
'We're making over 1,000 deliveries a week now, and over 10,000 volunteers have joined our group. I feel like I haven't slept in decades, but, honestly, I've never felt more energized,' he said.

Heroes have emerged in youth, from Nova Knight, a 5-year-old firecracker in Alaska imploring her cohorts to wash their hands and postpone playdates, to 16-year-old TJ Kim, who can't drive, but can fly. He uses those skills to deliver much-needed medical supplies across rural Virginia.

The stories have circled the world, from Colombia and Nepal, to Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Israel, Indonesia and South Korea where Kim Byung-rok, a shoe cobbler, donated land to help raise money for the fight against the virus.

In the month of stories about the goodness of others, it's no surprise when we doubled back to the previous subjects of the coverage, AP journalists found the obvious: the givers' giving has expanded.

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Amid the coronavirus gloom, a Turkish man is giving netizens a reason to smile with his unique antics and helping attitude. The man identified as Burak Soylu dresses up as the famous Marvel superhero Spiderman to help his neighbours amid the global pandemic.

In Turkey, a man named Burak Soylu has been going around dressed like Spiderman.

He drives around in a Beetle, buys milk and groceries for the elderly, and delivers it to their doorsteps.

When he was asked why, he said "My superpower is doing good for the neighborhood." pic.twitter.com/KAYm3hyPyb

— Goodable (@Goodable) April 17, 2020

According to a Twitter post shared by Goodable, just like the 'friendly neighbourhood' Marvel superhero who helps people with his superpowers, Burak dresses up in a Spiderman suit and goes around helping his neighbours, especially elderly people by distributing milk, groceries and essentials at the doorsteps.

In the pictures shared by Goodable, Burak can be seen buying vegetables from the market and delivering it to those in need of help at a time when most countries have imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. While speaking to Goodable, Burak said that his superpower is doing good for his neighbours.

you forgot to add his best pictures.. here they are pic.twitter.com/9feElnkjg5

— Serhan (@serhanbilgin) April 18, 2020

Twitter user Serhan also shared some breathtaking pictures of Burak as Spiderman driving his Beetle and even posing on a tractor. Since the time it was shared, the post has garnered over 10,000 re-tweets and about 4,000 likes.

And he's masked and gloved too! Good one, Spidey! 👏👏👏👏👏

— Omowunmie (@molarah26) April 17, 2020

The post, which has gone viral now has garnered tons of appreciation from netizens. While some Twitterati lauded Burak for helping the elderly amid coronavirus crisis, others talked about how Burak was spreading the safety message by wearing a costume that includes a face mask and hand gloves which are highly important to combat COVID-19.

Now that's what I call a friendly neighborhood spiderman..

— Dequondre Agee (@DequondreA) April 18, 2020

One user said, "And he's masked and gloved too! Good one, Spidey!" while another user commented, "Now that's what I call a friendly neighborhood spiderman..." A third user jokingly said, "So can we say Superman costume is Coronaproof? Hahaha." Talking about the Turkish spiderman's noble cause, a fourth user said, "He also visits disabled kids school and presents toys along with mask."

Here's how netizens reacted to Turkish spiderman's noble work:

Spiderman! Spiderman!
Helps the elderly how he can!
Drives around, in his car!
Buys some food, drives it far!
Look out! Here comes a helpful man!

— Cleodora Silvestri (@drakkenmensch) April 18, 2020

This is truly theirs FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD SPIDERMAN. pic.twitter.com/Mye8pKyvJo

— AbeAbeStudio (@StudioAbe) April 18, 2020

Quality bloke!! Humanity need more people like this!

— The Darge Knight (@DargeKnight) April 18, 2020

😆So can we say Superman costume is Coronaproof? Hahaha 😂

— Özlem (@icbukeydis) April 19, 2020

This is humanity's at its finest

— jack (@jackdilnessa) April 18, 2020

Isn't the Turkish Spiderman living by the well-known proverb of the Marvel superhero, "With great power comes great responsibility".

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Two young girls in Italy took the lockdown game to a whole new level by playing tennis from neighbouring buildings.

The girls in Liguarian town of Finale Ligure managed a 12-shot rally in the 24-second video. The video was posted on Facebook last Friday by a local tennis club where the two are members.

Two young girls in Italy play tennis across their rooftops https://t.co/o0paauxGFZ pic.twitter.com/YGNiviMit5

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2020

Naturally, a few balls during the practice session did not make it across and bounced down into a private road below where the girls' fathers put them in plastic bags their daughters had affixed to the end of fishing poles.

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Sunlight kills COVID-19 while warmer temperatures and humid weather significantly damage the virus, measured in terms of the virus' half-life or the time it takes to cut its potency in half, according to the latest breakthrough research from the US Department of Homeland Security's most advanced biocontainment lab, released at the White House on Thursday.

The coronavirus outbreak in the US has killed nearly 50,000 Americans and infected more than 860,000 till date. Research around the effect of temperature and humidity has been gaining traction for weeks, these are the most downloaded papers on research websites but this is the first time the US government has put an official stamp on initial results of temperature tests on COVID-19.

"Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus, both on surfaces and in the air. We've seen a similar effect with both temperature and humidity as well. Increasing the temperature and humidity or both is generally less favourable to the virus," Bill Bryan, chief of the science and technology directorate at the US Department of Homeland Security, said.

In a room at 70-75F temperature with 20 per cent humidity, the half-life of the virus is about an hour, according to Bryan. "But you get outside and it cuts down to a minute and a half, very significant difference when it when it gets hit with UV rays," he said.

According to the same research, the virus' half-life on surfaces reduces dramatically with a combination increase of temperature and humidity. When the temperate is kept constant at 70-75F and only the humidity is cranked up from 20 per cent to 80 per cent, the virus' half-life is shown to crash from 18 hours to 6 hours. If the temperature is increased to 95F, the half-life sinks to barely 60 minutes.

Bryan said this testing was done at DHS' advanced biocontainment lab in Maryland, just outside the national capital. Pointing to charts with data from experiments on the COVID-19 virus, Bryan said the virus half-life plunges "drastically" with exposure to higher temperatures and even minimal exposure to humidity.

Bryan said the DHS biocontainment lab is the only one in America that has the capability to do the kind of testing that has led to the research on the virus' UV and temperature tolerance.

Bryan explained the mechanics of the COVID-19 temperature tolerance experiment in simple terms. He said the virus was first locked into a 5-gallon bucket and suspended in the air inside. "We're able to take a particle of a virus and suspend it in the air inside of this drum and hit it with various temperatures, various humidity levels, multiple different kinds of environmental conditions to include sunlight. And we're able to measure the decay of that virus while it's suspended in the air. This is how we do our aerosol testing."

"While there are many unknown links in the COVID-19 transmission chain, we believe these trends can support practical decision making to lower the risks associated with the virus," Bryan said. The DHS team has also tested the effect of bleach and isopropyl alcohol on the virus, "specifically in saliva and respiratory fluids".

"And I can tell you that bleach will kill the virus in five minutes, isopropyl alcohol will kill the virus in 30 seconds, and that's with no manipulation. No rubbing."

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Washington: Girls her age play Candy Crush or like watching cartoons, but 15-year-old Hita Gupta peps up hundreds of lonely Americans, including the elderly and children, marooned in nursing homes due to the COVID-19 lockdown by sending them gift packs and spirit-lifting notes.

The 10th-grade Indian-American student from Pennsylvania's Conestoga High School has an NGO 'Brightening A Day' and is using it to spread love, hope and joy among America's nursing homes' residents, especially senior citizens, to help them keep at bay their boredom arising from the COVID-19 restrictions.

Gupta brightens up their lives by sending them handwritten notes and gift packs containing puzzle and colouring books and a packet colour pencils.

"It saddens me to think of how lonely or depressed many nursing home residents feel because they cannot see their loved ones. Our seniors are already one of the most isolated groups. A research has shown that more than 40 per cent of seniors regularly feel lonely," Gupta told PTI in an email interaction.

"During this uncertain time, which is causing panic among many seniors, it's our responsibility to let them know that they are not alone. I initially started sending gift packs to nursing homes using self-funding. Now, I have sent them to residents of 16 local nursing homes," she said.

Each gift pack contains one puzzle book, one colouring book, and a pack of colour pencils/crayons, Gupta said. "It also contains an uplifting note written by my 9-year-old brother Divit Gupta," she said.

Her NGO has reached more than 2,700 kids and seniors in 50 hospitals and nursing homes in seven different States in the US with hand-made cards on holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day. "We have also sent school supplies and cards to orphanages in India," Gupta said.

Gupta's initiative has won her praise from one and all.

"Need some inspiration? 15-year-old Hita Gupta, from Pennsylvania, USA, is brightening the lives of nursing home residents with gift packs through her NGO, Brighten A Day," the US Embassy in New Delhi wrote on its Facebook page.

"She aims to lift the spirits of those who are in need of some cheer by sending them love, hope, and joy through cards and gifts. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, she is sending handwritten notes and gift packs to cheer the residents and help them overcome loneliness and isolation. More power to you Hita!" the embassy said.

Nursing homes throughout the US are limiting the interaction of senior citizens who remain mostly confined to their rooms. Outsiders are also prohibited form visiting them, resulting in feelings of loneliness and isolation in many of them.

The US is the worst affected country from the coronavirus, with 842,000 infections and over 46,000 deaths reported so far. According to Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, eight in every 10 deaths due to the coronavirus reported in the US are adults, and people who are 65 years old or above.

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 185,000 lives and infected more than 2.6 million people, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has fired his special aide on I&B and replaced her with a powerful former military spokesman as he revamped his media team for the second time since coming to power amid mounting criticism for failing to address key issues including the COVID-19 outbreak.

Former Army spokesman Lt Gen (retied) Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is also the chairman of the newly created China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, has replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the Special Assistant to the PM for information and broadcasting (I&B).

PM Khan also appointed Senator Shibli Faraz as the new information minister. Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry announced the new appointments. The changes were made to blunt the perception that the government's media handling was not good and its work was not being properly highlighted amid the health crisis.

"The way these changes have been made will not give a good impression and help the cause of the government," analyst Ayaz Amir told Dunya TV. Pakistan has 14,079 COVID-19 cases so far.

301
No. of COVID-19 deaths in Pakistan

Now, Beijing to shut COVID-19 hospital

Authorities in Beijing are set to close a COVID-19 special hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, after clearing all the cases even as China reported six new infections and 40 fresh asymptomatic cases on Tuesday. The move comes days after Wuhan closed 16 temporary hospitals and discharged its last patient on Sunday.

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British Airways may be forced to cut more than a quarter of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll on one of Europe's biggest airlines. Parent company IAG (ICAGY) said in a statement cited by CNN on Tuesday that the Airways is notifying labour unions about a restructuring program which will affect most employees and "may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them." IAG, which also includes Spanish airline Iberia, said its first-quarter revenues declined by 13 per cent to EUR4.6 billion (USD 5 billion) as it swung to an operating loss of EUR535 million (USD 579 million).

The airline group warned that losses in the second quarter would be "significantly worse" and that it expects that "the recovery of passenger demand to 2019 levels will take several years." The warning echos a similar decision made by airline group Lufthansa (DLAKY), which owns national carriers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. Announcing earlier this month that it was permanently reducing the size of its fleet and shuttering one of its low-cost carriers, Lufthansa said that worldwide demand for air travel will take years to recover from the coronavirus.

"What we are facing as an airline ... is that there is no 'normal' any longer," British Airways CEO Alex Cruz said in a letter to staff that was released to CNN Business. "Yesterday, British Airways flew just a handful of aircraft out of Heathrow. On a normal day, we would fly more than 300," he added. The news comes as flight bans and nationwide lockdowns are threatening to bankrupt airlines around the world. The "mounting financial crisis" facing carriers could cause revenues to tumble by as much as 55 per cent this year, or some USD 314 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Virgin Australia collapsed into administration last week, while sister airline Virgin Atlantic confirmed on Monday that it was on the hunt for outside investors to keep it alive. Virgin Atlantic, which is controlled by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is also seeking a commercial loan from the British government. Earlier this month, British Airways furloughed 30,000 employees on 80 per cent of their regular monthly pay until the end of May, with the government covering the first PS2,500 (USD 3,100) under its coronavirus job retention program.

But Cruz said the outlook for the aviation sector had worsened in the last few weeks and measures taken to conserve cash were not enough. "There is no government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely," he added. "Any money we borrow now... will not address the longer-term challenges we face," he wrote.

With no certainty on when lockdowns will lift or when countries will reopen their borders, British Airways has to "reshape" itself, Cruz said. "The scale of this challenge requires substantial change so we are in a competitive and resilient position, not just to address the immediate Covid-19 pandemic, but also to withstand any longer term reductions in customer demand, economic shocks or other events that could affect us," he added.

The collapse in air traffic puts about 6.7 million jobs at risk in Europe, according to IATA, which has called for urgent government action to "preserve air services."

In a similar circumstance, Air France-KLM (AFLYY) further announced on Friday that following "several weeks of discussions" with the French government and banks, it had secured EUR7 billion ($7.6 billion) in loans backed by the French state "to help overcome the crisis and prepare for the future."

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a fertiliser factory completion ceremony, state media reported on Saturday, his first public appearance after 20 days of absence that sparked rumours about his health.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim cut the tape at the ceremony marking the completion of Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang, on Friday. Photos released by KCNA showed Kim, dressed in a dark Mao suit, cutting the red ribbon during the ceremony and talking to accompanying officials with a smile on his face.

"All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change in the development of Juche-based fertilizer industry and has led the grand revolutionary advance for strengthening self-supporting economy to a victory with his outstanding leadership," KCNA said. Juche is the concept of self-reliance.

Kim was also quoted as expressing "satisfaction about the wonderful creation". In a report last week, CNN had said that the US was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after surgery.

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At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.36, then gained ground to touch 75.27, registering a rise of 45 paise over its previous close

Shares of Asian Paints closed 1.01 per cent lower at 1,577against previous close of Rs 1593 on BSE