Wisden has named Ben Stokes as its leading cricketer in the world and urged the government to ensure that at the next global event in the UK all England matches are broadcast on free-to-air television – not only the final.

The 157th Almanack lands on Thursday in what should have been a precursor to the opening deliveries of the County Championship this Easter Sunday. However the sport it charts sits in stasis and so this is solely a blast of primrose sunshine from 2019.

Stokes is duly feted for the heroics witnessed during the World Cup final at Lord’s and the Headingley heist that joined the pantheon of Ashes centuries. He is the second England player to win this award in its 17-year history after Andrew Flintoff – even if Jos Buttler’s epochal breaking of the stumps at Lord’s adorns Wisden’s cover.

James Bond actress Honor Blackman has passed away aged 94 at her residence in England and has family have announced the sad news to fans. Their statement reads "It’s with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman aged 94. ‘She died peacefully of natural causes at home in Lewes, Sussex surrounded by her family. She was much loved and will be greatly missed by her two children Barnaby Kaufmann and Lottie Croft, adopted during her marriage to Maurice Kaufmann and her four grandchildren. As well as being a much-adored mother and grandmother, Honor was an actor of hugely prolific creative talent; with an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess, along with her unique voice and a dedicated work ethic she achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with an absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavors she contributed to some of the great films and theatre productions of our times.

The Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and threaten India. Technology can play a big role in putting control measures in place to contain the spread. Telangana public health and family welfare department has deployed a smart monitoring app developed by a startup.

The COVID-19 Monitoring System App is India's first automated monitoring app. The app is developed by US and Hyderabad headquartered startup Vera Smart Healthcare. The technology can help the Telangana state in tracking, monitoring, and providing real-time analysis through live surveillance of Covid-19 patients.

The smart app allows health callers to handle more than 1,500 calls along with smart chatbot integration. Health authorities can keep in touch with the patients. It also provides facts and figures to the various stakeholders. It notifies the progress of the symptomatic or confirmed positive, quarantined cases.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Tuesday a five-point action plan to contain the spread of coronavirus in the national capital and said one lakh random rapid COVID-19 tests will be conducted in the city's hotspot areas.

Addressing a press conference via video link, he said the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, G B Pant Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital have been declared as COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.

Currently, 2,950 beds in city hospitals are reserved for COVID-19 patients. The Delhi government will take over 12,000 hotel rooms in the wake of spike in number of coronavirus cases, Kejriwal said.

"We will give the police phone numbers of Tablighi Jamaat event attendees to trace and ascertain whether they moved in nearby areas," he said.

Elaborating on the five-point action plan, the chief minister said, "It includes five Ts -- testing, tracing, treatment, team-work and tracking -- and monitoring."

Informing reporters that the government has made arrangements to deal with 30,000 cases, Kejriwal said provisions will be made for 8,000 more beds to treat COVID-19 patients.

"The government has earmarked around 400 beds in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients. We have prepared detailed plan to take over private hospitals if the number of coronavirus cases rises up to 30,000 in Delhi," he said. "One lakh random rapid COVID-19 tests will be conducted in hotspot areas."

Actor and theatre personality Sasi Kalinga passed away at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Tuesday morning. He was 59.

Sasi had been undergoing treatment for liver-related ailments for some time. His condition deteriorated last night, and he was rushed to a private hospital, where he breathed his last at 5 am today. His mortal remains will be taken to his native village Pallissery, where his last rites will be performed today.

The members of Malayalam film industry are mourning the demise of Sasi Kalinga, who managed to carve a niche for himself with his comical roles and his uncanny ability to make funny faces. He started his acting career with plays and remained in the theatre circuit for about 25 years before he moved to films. He made his debut on the big screen with the star-studded anthology drama Kerala Cafe, which came out in 2009. He went to star in movies like Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha, Pokkiri Raja, Pranchiyettan & the Saint, Gaddaama, Adaminte Makan Abu and Amen among more.

The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resource has launched an online challenge ‘Samadhan’ to invite ideas and innovations that can help fight against the novel coronavirus that has infected over 4,700 people in India.

The challenge is open for student innovators, researchers, educators and startups to participate. The last date for applications is April 14.

“Your ideas and innovations can be a force multiplier in these challenging times of coronavirus pandemic. I urge you all to come forward and help us combat coronavirus by participating in Samadhan Challenge. Together we can and we will make the difference,” HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank posted on Twitter on April 7.

NASA is working on the Artemis program that aims to land humans on the moon by 2024. The space agency has put forward a plan showing what a US lunar presence may look like after the milestone.

NASA submitted a 13-page report to the National Space Council on 2 April. The National Space Council is an advisory group to US President Donald Trump, presided over by Vice President Mike Pence.

The report titled NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development offers a summary of how the space agency will accomplish the 2024 moon landing mission.

It also gives information on what the US would achieve from a long-term presence on the moon and lunar orbit.

Mahmoud Jibril, the former head of the Libyan rebel government that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, has died from the coronavirus, his party said.

Jibril, 68, died on Sunday in Cairo where he had been hospitalized for two weeks, said Khaled al-Mrimi, secretary of the National Forces Alliance, founded by Jibril in 2012.

He had been admitted to the Ganzouri Specialized Hospital in Cairo on March 21 after suffering from cardiac arrest and three days later tested positive for coronavirus, hospital director Hisham Wagdy said.    

"He started ... recovering the day before yesterday but then he began deteriorating again," Wagdy told the AFP news agency, confirming that Jibril died at 2 pm local time.

Big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Jock Edwards, who represented New Zealand in six Tests and eight ODIs, has passed away. He was 64.

Central District Cricket Association, for whom he played 67 first-class matches and 31 one-days in the 1970s and 80s, confirmed his death on Monday. He was also a member of the Nelson side that held on to the Hawke Cup for 14 matches between February 1979 and February 1983.

"All the team at CD extend our heartfelt condolences to the family & friends of Jock Edwards…Jock was a terrific teammate and an entertainer in the game whom we know will be hugely missed. Rest in peace, Jock," the tweet on CDC official account read.

In 2011, Jock told the Nelson Mail that while some coaches had tried to rein him in, he "didn't listen to them".