HIGHLIGHTS AT 9 PM

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL178 2NDLDALL VIRUS COVID-19: Over 400 more test positive; PM hints at 'staggered' exit post 21-day lockdown New Delhi: Pitching for efforts on a war footing to identify and isolate COVID-19 hotspots, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hinted at a "staggered" exit from the ongoing lockdown after the 21-day period ends on April 14 while the nationwide tally of confirmed cases of the deadly virus infection crossed 2,300 with at least 73 deaths. DEL138 AVI-LOCKDOWN-LD FLIGHTS Intl flights will be permitted after Apr 15 depending on countries they are coming from: Puri New Delhi: The government on Thursday said resumption of international flights will be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on which countries they are coming from, after April 15 when the 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus ends in India.

DEL161 PB-VIRUS-CASES 10-month-old child, 2 others test positive for coronavirus in Punjab, Chandigarh Chandigarh: One more person tested positive for coronavirus in Punjab, while two others, including a 10-month-old child, contracted the infection in Chandigarh on Thursday, officials said. DEL154 MHA-TABLIGHI-VISA 960 Tablighi foreigners blacklisted, visas cancelled by MHA; states told to take legal action New Delhi: The government on Thursday blacklisted 960 foreigners and cancelled their visas after finding they were involved in Tablighi Jamaat activities violating their visa conditions.

DEL147 VIRUS-LD ITALY-INDIANS Home is where research is: Three Indians stay back in Italy to complete their work New Delhi: Three Indians pursuing academic careers in Italy stayed back when COVID-19 was sweeping across the European nation - one to complete his doctorate, the second for coronavirus related research and the third to see how the country with the world’s second-best healthcare facilities tackles the pandemic. DEL87 LOCKDOWN-SUSHIL MODI-INTERVIEW Migrants arrival in Bihar posed unmanageable crisis but it was averted: Sushil Modi New Delhi: The unexpected arrival of tens of thousands of migrants amid the lockdown posed an "unmanageable" crisis for Bihar but it was defused with a number of effective measures, state Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Thursday. DEL158 VIRUS-LD BJP-CONG Cong playing 'petty politics', should put up united front against COVID-19 pandemic: BJP New Delhi: Accusing Congress president Sonia Gandhi of playing "petty politics" over the Union government's efforts to combat the coronavirus, top BJP leaders on Thursday asked the opposition party to play a responsible role and put up a united front against the pandemic.

BOM45 MH-VIRUS-LD CASES Maha COVID-19 tally jumps to 416, death toll rises to 19 Mumbai: As many as 81 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the tally to 416, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, raising the toll to 19, said a health official. DEL 180 DL-VIRUS-NIZAMUDDIN-CLERIC Have quarantined myself on doctors' advice: Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi New Delhi: Amid a country-wide manhunt by police for participants of last month's Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin here, jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi on Thursday said he has quarantined himself on doctors' advice.

CAL9 WB-LOCKDOWN-POLICE-ATTACK 9 policemen injured in attacks while enforcing lockdown across West Bengal Kolkata: Police personnel were attacked and at least nine of them were injured in various parts of West Bengal while enforcing the ongoing lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic, senior officers said on Thursday. CAL8 AS-VIRUS-JAMAAT-QUARANTINED 148 people who attended Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi quarantined in Assam Guwahati: At least 148 people who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month have been quarantined in different districts of Assam, even as the number of coronavirus cases in the state has risen to 16.

MDS17 KL-VIRUS-CASES 21 new COVID-19 cases in Kerala Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala reported 21 new cases of coronavirus with eight from the worst affected Kasaragod district, taking the tally of active patients to 256, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday. LEGAL LGM3 KL-HC-LD LIQUOR Kerala HC stays govt order on special passes for tipplers to buy liquor Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed the state government's decision to issue special passes to tipplers, who have withdrawal symptoms due to non-availability of liquor in view of coronavirus lockdown, to get it on doctor's prescription, saying it was a "recipe for disaster." LGD1 VIRUS-SC-CHILDREN SC takes cognisance of condition of children protection homes amid COVID-19 New Delhi: The Supreme Court has taken cognisance on its own on the condition of children protection homes across the country amid the coronavirus outbreak which has so far claimed 50 lives in India.

BUSINESS DCM48 BIZ-VIRUS-BANK-JAN DHAN Banks to start transfer of Rs 500 to Women PMJD account holders from Fri: IBA New Delhi: Women bank account holders under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) will start getting a sum of Rs 500 per month from Friday in line with the announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week, IBA said. DCM8 BIZ-VIRUS-MYLAB Mylab partners with Adar Poonawalla, Abhijit Pawar to scale up production of COVID-19 test kits New Delhi: Pune-based molecular diagnostics firm Mylab Discovery Solutions on Thursday said it has partnered with Serum India CEO Adar Poonawalla and AP Globale Chairman Abhijit Pawar to scale up the operations and escalate faster delivery of its COVID-19 testing kits.

DCM31 BIZ-VIRUS-RBI-RELIEF RBI director Marathe presses for bold initiatives to revive MSME sector, amid COVID-19 crisis New Delhi: The government and the Reserve Bank need to come out with a bold and comprehensive package to help small and medium enterprises tide over the unprecedented crisis created by COVID-19, said veteran co-operator and RBI central board director Satish Marathe. DEL122 BIZ-VIRUS-GOVT-APP Govt launches app to assess, alert people about coronavirus patient New Delhi: The government on Thursday launched a mobile app to help people assess themselves the risk of catching coronavirus infection and alert authorities if they have come in close contact with a person infected with the deadly virus.

FOREIGN FGN63 PAK-COURT-3RDLD PEARL Daniel Pearl murder: Pak court commutes death sentence of top al-Qaeda leader, sets 3 others free Karachi: A Pakistani court on Thursday overturned the death sentence of British-born top al-Qaeda leader Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was convicted in the abduction and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi in 2002 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack. FGN67 VIRUS-US-LD TRUMP US wages all-out war to defeat "horrible" coronavirus: says Trump, as death toll crosses 5,000 Washington: The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the US crossed 5,000 and the number of infections surged past 200,000 on Thursday as the country grappled with an unprecedented health crisis, including a huge shortage of medical supplies and protective equipment.

FGN36 VIRUS-CHINA China reports 35 new imported coronavirus cases, six deaths Beijing: China reported 35 new imported cases of the novel coronavirus while the death toll from the COVID1-9 infections increased to 3,318 after six more fatalities were confirmed on Wednesday from the virus hit Hubei province, health officials said on Thursday. PTI ANB ANB.