The Evening Wrap Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying home and staying safe. Here are the big stories that you need to follow today: R.I.P. Irrfan Khan We take a pause from reporting COVID-19 as our lead story for this newsletter today, to mark the untimely demise of one our great actors Irrfan Khan. He passed away in Mumbai today after being admitted in hospital yesterday for a colon infection. The iconic actor was 53 years old. Apart from his numerous path-breaking roles in Bollywood, he was also arguably India’s best known export to Hollywood, starring in films such as Slumdog Millionaire, The Life of Pi, and most memorably in Deepa Mehta’s Namesake (2007), the film that brought him the global spotlight. “Irrfan’s appeal lay in precisely what he could not be: a textbook Hindi film idol, writes our cinema editor Namrata Joshi. “He was an alternate hero. One wondered if Bollywood would be able to accommodate the Jaipur boy’s unusual persona. It did. He was an actor first, who later went on to acquire the charm of a mainstream star without losing his rootedness. An actor with unconventional professional ambitions that were not restricted to Indian cinema alone. An actor who could transcend nationalities and boundaries and appeal to a global audience. An actor who could do anything, become anyone. Most importantly, one who would always be there for young filmmakers to narrate new stories in newer forms despite having been courted by international giants like Ang Lee, Michael Winterbottom and Danny Boyle.” Covid watch: Numbers and developments The number of coronavirus cases from India has shot up to 32,091 at the time of publishing this newsletter, while the death toll stands at 1,037. Globally, there are over 31,04,000 infections reported, while more than 2,17,000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued guidelines today allowing the inter-state movement of stranded tourists, pilgrims, students, migrant workers and others. The MHA said state governments should make arrangements and buses will be used, and after reaching their destination, such persons are to stay in home quarantine, unless assessment by local authorities required institutional quarantine. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has said curfew would continue in the State for another two weeks even after May 3. A limited lifting of the lockdown restrictions will start from tomorrow, April 30, in the non-red zones, Singh said. Curfew will be relaxed for four hours during the day, from 7am to 11am. Meanwhile in Maharashtra, the first experiment with plasma therapy for treating a COVID-19 patient, carried out at the Lilavati Hospital, has been successful, according to health minister Rajesh Tope. He added that a second experiment would be carried out on another patient in BYL Nair hospital. CBSE exams to proceed The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said the pending examinations for Class 10 and 12 would be held after assessing the situation at the end of the lockdown. The Board's assertion follows reports that Class 10 exams may be cancelled. Several States had suggested cancellation of these exams and use of internal assessments instead to allot grades. These issues were raised in Tuesday's meeting of State Education Ministers with the Union Human Resource Development Minister. However, the CBSE reiterated that it will conduct the exams post-lockdown, after giving a 10-day notice to students. Chennai tracker app In a bid to track people who are leaving their homes and are on the streets for no reason during the lockdown, Chennai police have started using a mobile application called Eye Tracker. Since the lockdown began in March, the police set up 150 vehicle check points across the city. The police personnel on duty check the vehicles, and those involved in providing essential services are allowed to go. In the last one month alone, more than 34,000 cases were filed against persons violating the prohibitory orders and more than 20,000 vehicles were seized. Now the police have started using the mobile application to intensify the monitoring and reduce physical contact. “The police personnel will scan the driving licence or Aadhar card using the app. If the motorist does not have either, his mobile number will be entered, along with the purpose of travel,” said Shekhar Deshmukh, deputy commissioner, Mylapore. In Brief: The five-day extradition trial of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi will begin from May 11 in a part-remote setting, a U.K. court has ordered. Modi is fighting his extradition to India over the nearly $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money-laundering case. All Central government officials have been directed to immediately download the Aarogya Setu App on their mobile phones. The officials received an office memorandum from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) directing them to review their status on the app before starting for office, and commute only when it shows their status as ‘safe’ or ‘low risk’. Meanwhile on Twitter, The White House has unfollowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind. Just three weeks ago, on April 10, Modi had became the only world leader to be followed by @whitehouse, the official Twitter handle of the Trump administration. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reacted to the development by tweeting, “I'm dismayed by the “unfollowing” of our President & PM by the White House. I urge the Ministry of External Affairs to take note.” | 
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