With economic activities coming to a halt for several weeks due to the nationwide lockdown, there is a thought within the govt to zero in on areas with Covid-19 cases for restrictions rather than putting a blanket ban across a district, sources said. TOI has learnt that discussions are on to push economic activities in a big way outside containment zones.

With economic activities coming to a halt for several weeks due to the nationwide lockdown, there is a thought within the govt to zero in on areas with Covid-19 cases for restrictions rather than putting a blanket ban across a district, sources said. TOI has learnt that discussions are on to push economic activities in a big way outside containment zones.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday squelched the speculation that had swirled about his health by saying that he is fine and is free of any disease whatsoever. “I want to make it clear that I am absolutely well and am not suffering from any disease,” Shah said in a tweet, poking fun at those behind the rumours about his medical condition.

Around 3,500 Indians stranded abroad had been flown into India until the wee hours on Sunday as India’s Vande Bharat Mission motored ahead under what official sources described as regular high-level oversight. While eight flights landed across India on Saturday — Day 3 — an equal number was expected on Sunday. Around 2K will be arriving from the Maldives.

A possible maximum of 3 million people will be infected by Oct if the ongoing third phase of lockdown till May 17 is "implemented with full vigour" but the absence of the two lockdowns may have seen a projected maximum that would be as high as a staggering 171 million cases, a study of the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences said.

Fifteen districts are contributing 64% of the Covid-19 cases in the country and out of these five account for 50% of the cases, according to Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. These five districts include Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai. All of Delhi and all of Mumbai have been considered as a district each for the purpose of the study.

Taiwan has donated a million surgical masks to India as it resists attempts by China to prevent it from attending a key WHO meet later this month. Taiwan - which is claimed by China as a part of its territory, remains excluded from UN and called for India's support for its participation in the WHO meet, World Health Assembly held in Geneva on May 18.

The Times of India remains the dominant market leader among English dailies with its total readership of over 1.73 crore, almost equal to the combined readership of the three biggest dailies outside the Times Group – The Hindu, Hindustan Times and The Indian Express. This has emerged from the just released Indian Readership Survey for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019.

In the wake of the gas leak at a factory in Visakhapatnam, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued detailed guidelines for restarting industries after the lockdown and the precautions to be taken for the safety of the plants as well as the workers.

The number of total confirmed cases in the country rose to 62,939, including 19,358 patients who have been cured and discharged or migrated, according to the Ministry.

Troops of India and China were involved in a fierce face-off and many of them sustained minor injuries in the clash near Naku La in the Sikkim sector along the Sino-Indo border on Saturday. The troops disengaged after dialogue at the local level. "Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. Such an incident occurred after a long time," said a source.

The first batch of 698 expatriates evacuated from the Maldives arrived at Cochin Port on Sunday morning. INS Jalaswa of Indian Navy, which brought these passengers was the first ship to reach India with passengers under Operation Samudra Setu. Majority of passengers are from Kerala and Tamil Nadu there are repatriates of 18 other states and UTs also in the ship.

As per experts, Nepal and China had signed a border dispute resolution agreement in 1960 according to which it was decided that Mount Everest will be divided, and southern part of it will belong to Nepal and Northern part to Tibet Autonomous Region which China claims as its own.

Only those Indian nationals who show no signs of contracting the coronavirus infection and have been stranded in the US due to the lockdown are allowed to board the first repatriation flight of Air India from San Francisco to Mumbai and Hyderabad on Saturday. Over 10,000 registrations were recieved. People travelling under compelling circumstances were prioritised.

Recovering from a season riddled with injuries, Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is gearing up for a 2020 comeback. But why do we act like he's already gone? By Reuben Frank

It could be called the "Joe Staley effect."

NFL releases 2020 schedule; no decision yet on fans in attendance.

Ricardo Allen didn't budge when Georgia was one of the first states to open businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The Atlanta Falcons safety believes it is smart to stay home. The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has made a 2020 season seem more real by releasing schedules this week.

Over the past couple of weeks, the PFTPM podcast has generated extended interviews with various team decision-makers in the wake of the 2020 draft. If you've missed them, here's your chance to catch up. Just click the link and click the accompanying videos to see (via Zoom) and hear from the likes of: Cowboys COO [more]

D.K. Metcalf says the best advice he received as a rookie was to sit down last at team meetings. Metcalf shared his experience as a first-year wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks with 547 players in the NFL’s first rookie webinar after the draft last month. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew and San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair also were panelists on the discussion moderated by Mo Kelly, a former Seahawks defensive back and the team’s current director of player engagement.

No team has had two consecutive AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners. Could the 49ers become the first?

The Cowboys have giveth, but they will not be taketh-ing away. The labor deal allowed the Cowboys to use the franchise tag to keep quarterback Dak Prescott from becoming a free agent in March. The labor deal also allows the Cowboys to rescind the franchise tender at any time before he accepts it. Appearing on [more]