Health is defined by the World Health Organization as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Building immunity and good defense is important for good health. The immune system is indeed a system, not a single entity.

Good nutrition is essential to a strong immune system, which offers protection not only from novel infections, such as COVID -19, but also seasonal illness, such as the flu and allergies, abnormal cell development and cancers. Energy intake should be as per requirement, since both over nutrition (obesity) and undernutrition can lead to poor immunity. There is no single food or supplement that can prevent illness. However, here are a few options that you could follow that can help in building your overall immune strength.

Get enough protein

Protein plays an important role in body’s immune system, especially healing and recovery. Eat a variety of protein rich foods, especially combination protein like milk/dals + cereals (grains), good quality protein like lean chicken, fish eggs etc. At least 20-30 gm of protein should be included in every meal. You could also choose a good quality protein supplement to make up for the protein requirement.

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When we asked readers to send their questions about coronavirus, a common theme emerged: Many people are fearful about tracking the virus into their homes on their clothes, their shoes, and even the mail.

We reached out to infectious disease experts, aerosol scientists and microbiologists to answer reader questions about the risks of coming into contact with the virus during essential trips outside and from deliveries. While we still need to take precautions, their answers were reassuring.

Should I change my clothes and shower after a trip to the grocery store?

For most of us who are practicing social distancing and making only occasional trips to the grocery store or pharmacy, experts agree that it’s not necessary to change clothes or take a shower when you return home. You should, however, always wash your hands.While it’s true that a sneeze or cough from an infected person can propel viral droplets and smaller particles through the air, most of them will drop to the ground.

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Chinese smartphone brand Realme has suspended the Narzo-series launch for the coronavirus lockdown. The series was earlier set to launch in late March, but the company postponed the launch in view of a countrywide lockdown due to coronavirus crisis. The company rescheduled the online launch event for April 21 after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced some relaxations to e-commerce platforms after April 20. However, the recent changes in the order by MHA to restrict e-commerce deliveries for essentials pushed the Realme Narzo launch further.

“In alignment with the recent order shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India on the prohibition of the supply of non-essential goods by e-Commerce companies, realme has decided to postpone the online sales of its smartphones and the launch of its Narzo series until further notice. Thanks for all your support as always,” said the company in a statement.

Touted to be aimed at youth-centric populace, the Narzo-series will come with two new smartphones under the Realme product portfolio. Named the Narzo 10 and Narzo 10A, the smartphones are touted to bring features such as 48-megapixel based multi-optic rear camera module, big capacity battery, gaming-centric processor, and more. Importantly, the phones are expected to be value-for-money propositions aimed at budget and midrange segment.

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Former Australian batsman and current Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) coach Simon Katich believes that the ICC T20 World Cup can be postponed and the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) can be fitted into the cricketing calendar that has gone for a toss due to the Covid-19 or coronavirus outbreak.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday suspended the IPL 2020 “till further notice” in the wake of the fast-spreading Covid-19 pandemic.

“Potentially there’s a chance to host it later in the summer, like the (recent) Women’s T20 World Cup (which was held in February), and whether that’s an opportunity to re-jig things. It’ll be interesting to hear those discussions (which are) probably taking place at the moment and whether that’s logistically possible with the FTP the way it is,” Katich told Australian radio station Sen.

The IPL took place in South Africa in 2009 owing to the general elections in India at the same time and due to the same reason, a part of the tournament was held in the UAE in 2014.

After Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the 13th edition of India Premier League (IPL 2020) indefinitely, Sri Lanka board has offered to host the cash-rich league.

IPL 2020 was slated to start from March 29 but with the coronavirus outbreak it was first deferred till April 15 and now with the extension of nation-wide lockdown in India till May 3, it has been indefinitely suspended.

Apparently, the Sri Lanka cricket board has written to their Indian counterparts wherein they have offered to host the IPL.

“Apparently it will cost the BCCI and its stakeholders more than $500 million to cancel the IPL,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Shammi Silva, Sri Lanka Cricket president.

“So perhaps they can minimise those losses by hosting the tournament in another country. If they play it in Sri Lanka, it’s easy for Indian audiences to watch the games on TV. There’s precedent for this because they’ve played the IPL in South Africa before. We’re waiting for the Indian board to respond to our proposal,” he added.

Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail’s) Board has approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and alignment for the proposed Rs 639.4 billion Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod Semi High Speed Rail corridor project.

The DPR will now be submitted to the Government of Kerala for approval, following which it will go to the Ministry of Railways, Niti Aayog and to the Central Cabinet.

The DPR was prepared by Paris-based Systra for the corridor which proposes to construct railway lines between Thiruvananthapuram and Tirur as a Green Field Corridor and between Tirur and Kasaragod as a parallel to the existing Railway alignment.

According to State administration, it is a dream project called ‘Silverline’, the SHSR corridor will spur the economic and social development of the state and will enable running of trains at an operational speed of 200 Km per hour. This will facilitate to reach Ernakulam in one-and-a-half hours and up north Kasaragod in four hours from the state capital.

As per the DPR, the alignment of the corridor is the same as that was approved earlier as part of the feasibility report, except for some minor modifications of plus or minus 10 to 50 meters to avoid religious/heritage structures.

Forced out of grounds, tracks and courts by the coronavirus pandemic, sports events may help in the long run, but medical experts on Wednesday warned that resuming anything this year could mean putting lives at risk.

When sporting events do eventually make a comeback, which some of the region’s top doctors believe is not going to happen until at least the next six months or may be nine, it may not be the same initially.

From cricket, football, tennis, racing, to the mother of all sporting events, the Olympics, the novel coronavirus has not spared anything.

“I have no doubt that sport is great but at the moment, the focus is on saving lives, and having sports events, which attract large crowds, could prove to be disastrous,” Akash Sabharwal, a renowned sports injury surgeon associated with the Max Hospitals, told news agency PTI.

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Local language social media platform ShareChat is engaging with hyperlocal brands, as well as helping established brands reach a wider audience through local language focused advertising campaigns, as its monetisation strategy takes hold. And at a time when brands are struggling to keep customers engaged in a meaningful manner, they find that focusing on local concerns and speaking in local tongues could help bridge the gaps.

“We have been witnessing a healthy growth since we opened our platform for brand integrations,” said Sunil Kamath, chief business officer, ShareChat. “Our regional strength in Tier 2, 3 and 4 cities, coupled with our unique UGC (user generated content) proposition for brands, is opening new marketing avenues for marketers who want to connect with regional first audiences.”

 Much like what video-sharing app TikTok has done, ShareChat and several others are mining the large, mobile-first market in small towns. The 2020 State of the Mobile report by App Annie, a global analytics and market intelligence firm has found that India is right on top, when it comes to app downloads. 

Between 2016 and 2019, there was a 190 per cent increase in downloads by Indians, which is the highest in the world. Compared to this, globally, downloads went up 45 per cent and China at second place, grew at half the pace at 80 per cent.

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Apple on Wednesday launched a new iPhone aimed at the budget-minded, aiming to fill a gap in its lineup ahead of upgrading its flagship handset.

The updated iPhone SE will start at $399 (Rs 42,500), or less than half the price of its leading flagship devices and be available as of Friday, April 17.

 The most affordable iPhone features the latest A13 Bionic chip, Dual SIM (with support for eSIM), and single-camera system.

“The first iPhone SE was a hit with many customers who loved its unique combination of small size, high-end performance and affordable price; the new second-generation iPhone SE builds on that great idea and improves on it in every way,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

Starting at INR 42,500, iPhone SE comes in three colours — black, white and Red.

New iPhone SE features:

The latest Iphone SE features a 4.7-inch Retina HD display and aerospace-grade aluminium and durable glass design with an all-black front. The display supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 playback.

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Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Fold 2 later this year and the device may come in martian green as well as astro blue colour variants, ditching the S-Pen this time.

The phone will have a slightly bigger screen but will keep the form factor of the original Galaxy Fold, reports GSMArena.

The company is reportedly planning to start manufacturing components in May, and is looking at starting mass-producing the device in June/July.

It is expected to hit the market in Q3 2020, and may be launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 in August.

Galaxy Fold 2 can offer a larger cover display than the 4.6-inch screen on the original Samsung Galaxy Fold.

The size of the foldable display of the second generation phone may be increased to 7.7-inch compared to Galaxy Fold’s 7.3-inches.

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