Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra's tenure as the chief of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has been extended till May next year after its annual congress was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to postpone the Congress, which was earlier scheduled to begin in New Delhi on October 28, was taken at an online meeting of the FIH Executive Board on Friday. "I'm looking forward to the numerous tournaments and competitions ahead of us, which we are preparing with full dedication and passion with all National Associations involved," Batra said. The exact date of the postponed congress will be confirmed as soon as possible, the FIH said in a statement. "This decision, made due to the current uncertainties following the global COVID-19 pandemic, is based on Art. 12.1 of the FIH Statutes, covering cases of force majeure," it added. The postponement means the tenures of all the current FIH office-bearers get extension until next year's ...

The WHO and the UN's postal agency have released a commemorative postage stamp on the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, with the head of the global health body expressing gratitude to a top Indian-origin UN official. In May 1980, the 33rd World Health Assembly issued its official declaration that "the world and all its peoples have won freedom from smallpox." It was ended on the back of a 10-year WHO-spearheaded global effort that involved thousands of health workers around the world to administer half a billion vaccinations to stamp out smallpox. "When WHO's smallpox eradication campaign was launched in 1967, one of the ways countries raised awareness about smallpox was through postage stamps when social media like Twitter and Facebook was not even on the horizon," World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "I especially want to thank my friend Mr Atul Khare, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, for ...

Maharashtra Cyber has registered 363 offences of rumour mongering, spreading misinformation, hatred and fake news on social media during the COVID-19 lockdown, an official said on Saturday. The state police's cyber wing has been monitoring online activities to prevent the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as 196 persons were arrested for sharing or uploading objectionable posts, videos and photographs on social media, the official said. In Sangli district, a case was registered against some people for uploading a Tik-Tok video about a particular community being responsible for the pandemic and also using abusive language against prominent social reformers, he said. At least 14 offences were registered by the cyber wing in the district since the lockdown was enforced, he added. Similarly, in Parli town of Beed district, some persons were booked for a social media post linking the spread of COVID-19 to a particular community, he said, adding that

Actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani forbodes that in the post-coronavirus film industry, it might take more time for movies to be greenlit. Talking both from the perspective of a producer and actor, Jackky said there will be some changes that will happen once the countrywide lockdown is lifted. "As an actor, I see that there will be a lesser number of projects that will go on the floors. Most investors and producers will take their time to green-light projects. "As a producer, there might be some pragmatic decisions to be taken on which projects to do first and how to minimise costs without affecting the scale or demands of the script," he told PTI. Jackky's production banner, Pooja Entertatinment's two films -- Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan-starrer "Coolie No 1" and Akshay Kumar's "Bell Bottom" -- were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. When asked about the plans for "Coolie No 1", which was expected to release countrywide on May 1, Jackky said, "I think it's insensitive to think of a

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd on Saturday reported a consolidated loss after tax of Rs 161.51 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2020. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 52.35 crore in the same period a year ago, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India said in a regulatory filing. Revenue from operations in the fourth quarter stood at Rs 616.61 crore, as against Rs 634.59 crore in the year-ago period. The company said in the fiscal ended March 2020, it posted a consolidated loss after tax of Rs 134.26 crore. It had posted a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 59.57 crore in 2018-19. Revenue from operations in 2019-20 stood at Rs 2,371.87 crore, as compared to Rs 2,238.99 crore in the previous year.

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

Bihar Information and Public Relations Minister Niraj Kumar on Saturday hit back at the Congress for demanding his resignation due to the expiry of his MLC tenure, asserting he is holding his ministerial post as per constitutional provisions. Congress national spokesperson and Bihar MLC Prem Chandra Mishra Mishra had on Friday termed as "unethical and against constitutional norms" the continuance of Bihar ministers Niraj Kumar and Ashok Choudhary in their posts despite the expiry of their tenures in the legislative council earlier this week. Both the JD(U) leaders were sworn-in as ministers a year ago, during a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shortly after the NDA's stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha elections. They are among 17 members of the 75-strong legislative council whose tenure ended on Wednesday. The Election Commission is yet to announce a poll schedule for the Upper House. Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary and IPRD Minister ...

As the draft agreement is getting ready at the Climate Change Conference in Paris, Darryl D’Monte gives a final round-up on how countries are changing their alliances keeping their own interests in mind, and if it will be possible for a developing nation like India to work towards a low-carbon future.

In this edition we have reports on the recently concluded Paris Climate Change Conference by Darryl D'Monte who was in Paris. We also look at the shocking realities faced by AID patients and their families, how CAG is in trouble in Delhi for auditing three power distributors, will the Sustainable Development Goals of UN achieve what the Millennium Development Goals failed to do and much more.

Many widows and destitute women in the fishing communities of Tamilnadu have been left out of tsunami relief because of acute gender bias. Men are also abusing relief funds on liquor, with women bearing the brunt. In the meantime, NGOs are trying to erode rigid attitudes with social awareness, reports Freny Manecksha.

Retired Nascar driver Danica Patrick talks to WSJ's Lee Hawkins about her post-racing life as an entrepreneur, which has taken her into the wine, clothing, and cooking businesses, while also maintaining an endorsement relationship with GoDaddy.

The global spread of coronavirus has led to officials postponing the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. For athletes, the delay evokes mixed emotions. WSJ spoke to five athletes from around the globe to understand what the postponement means to them. Photo composite by George Downs

Over 100 posters were displayed recently in New Delhi as part of an exhibition titled 'Poster Women'. The posters, said Urvashi Butalia of Zubaan, "visually map the history of the movement". Like windows, they offer a glimpse of the women's movement spanning the past 35 years. Deepti Priya Mehrotra reports.

Celluloid Man pays a moving tribute to P.K. Nair, a man whose passion and commitment has kept alive the history of Indian cinema for film lovers, even as it exposes the tragic indifference of the establishment towards Nair, and archiving in general. Shoma A. Chatterji reviews the film.

Post-mortem registers at some centres in Vidarbha show poisoning cases outnumber all other cases put together. Meanwhile, farm suicides are up sharply after November and spreading to the paddy belt. In some districts, the suicide mortality rate for male farmers in 2004 was 10 times the national average for all males, writes P Sainath.

A recent court ruling allows RTI applicants to seek information without divulging their address, by simply citing a post box number. While this may partially stem the spate of attacks on activists, a lot more is needed to effectively shield whistle blowers, finds Navya P K.

A citizen’s probe unearths a racket in which toxic burnt waste is sold to farmers in the garb of vermicompost; what’s more, the packaging indicates involvement of a composting firm under the government. Shree D N and Akshatha M report from Bengaluru.

Posto: Trailer

Even if you are living under a rock somewhere, you have heard of Covid-19, or Corona, as it is being called fondly. Those ubiquitous mediums of information, internet and smartphones, have ensured that we get...

Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Now, as major economies prepare green investments to kickstart growth, advocates spy a golden chance to drag the niche energy into the mainstream of a post-pandemic world.

The COVID-19 spread has forced the UN body to postpone its flagship annual climate change conference which was scheduled to be held at Glasgow in United Kingdom (UK) in November. This crucial meet will now be held in 2021 -- the first year of the operationalisation of the the Paris Agreement.

RIP Bruno became the top trend on Twitter in India on Wednesday.

A health-tech community product, FYI, undertook the survey conducted by MindMap Advance Research with 560 India Inc. entities, including employees from across small, medium and large enterprises in major metro cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Spacey said that he could relate to the impact coronavirus had on people's lives thanks to his own experience of sudden unemployment after sexual harassment allegations.

Chief Economic Adviser K Subramanian said policy making in India happens throughout the year, coming up with a separate budget may only be a legal way to go about it.

A year earlier, the conglomerate reported profits of $15.5 billion.

Madhav said Asian democracies like Singapore and South Korea along with India have set a "new example that you don't need to be authoritarian to handle such a big crisis".

The PM’s Office, Niti Aayog and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade are firming up a plan to offer incentives in order to attract companies looking to shift manufacturing units out of China.

The global market is fearing that India would slide into a 'controlled economy', which would be very damaging, Basu added.

According to the Tamil Nadu government, the committee comprises economists, industrialists, vice chancellors, bankers, government officials and others.

Saurabh Chaudhary's coach Amit Sheoran said for his ward it doesn't matter if the Tokyo Olympics are held tomorrow, after a year or even after 10 years

French Tennis Federation announced that all ticket holders for the French Open will be refunded.

Rumours of Athiya and KL Rahul's alleged relationship surfaced last year, after the cricketer posted an adorable birthday wish for her on social media.

Rishi Kapoor died in Mumbai on the morning of April 30. Just the night before, Riddhima was granted permission to drive to Mumbai from Delhi. Riddhima is a jewellery designer and lives with her husband and daughter in Delhi.

People across the world are talking about flattening the curve of COVID-19 but Shilpa Shetty, on the contrary, has informed her online family about a curve that need not be flattened.

Mohanlal took to social media on Wednesday to share a sketch of fellow Malayalam veteran actor Mammootty and his wife Sulfath to wish them on their marriage anniversary.

Jassie Gill has shared the first official poster of the new music video 'Keh Gayi Sorry' featuring Bigg Boss 13 fame Shehnaz Gill.

Actress Dipika Chikhlia, who played Sita in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, will be making a comeback on screen with a biopic on Sarojini Naidu.

Kriti Kharbanda, who is reminiscing the time when she used to do pole dancing, revealed that she regrets not installing a pole at home.

Amid the coronavirus lockdown, Sonakshi Sinha posted an adorable picture with her pet dog Gabru, with a caption every pet owner could relate to.

Ajay Devgn took to social media to post a throwback picture with Kajol while simultaneously joking about the lockdown feeling like 22 years of their marriage.

Irrfan passed away on April 29 after a long battle with the neuroendocrine tumour.

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday announced following advice from the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB), it has indefinitely postponed its July tour to the Netherlands after the Dutch government banned all events (sports and cultural) until September 1 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finch said he wouldn't mind seeing the game resuming without fans once the pandemic is brought under control.

Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum believes if the ICC T20 World Cup -- which is scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November -- is postponed till next year, it could open up a window for the Indian Premier League.

But with increased focus on social distancing and personal hygiene to contain the spread of the virus, the sport stares at a changing landscape.

Indian women were supposed to play four ODIs and two T20 Internationals during their short two-week trip that would have ended on July 9.

The three-Test series between West Indies and England, slated to be held in June, has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.