Salman Khan acquitted in blackbuck, chinkara poaching cases

Los Angeles, Apr 8: American folk legend John Prine has passed away due to the coronavirus complications. He was 73.

Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday, his publicist told Variety.

His wife and manager, Fiona, had on April 3 posted on Twitter that Prine was severely ill after being admitted into intensive care unit of a hospital.

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like Angel From Montgomery, Sweet Revenge and In Spite of Ourselves .

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.

Born on October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer-songwritter emerged on the Chicago folk scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

He is still remembered for his 1971 anti-war track Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore , which came at the height of the Vietnam War and is still relevant to many till date.

In recent years, he had taken a step back from music but came back in 2018 with the album The Tree of Forgiveness . It was his first LP in 13 years.

Prine was a winner of two Grammy award for best contemporary folk albums -- The Missing Years (1991) and Fair & Square (2005). He was an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The news of his demise sent shockwaves across the music industry, with stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and others paying their tributes to the legend.

Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were "New Dylans" together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the lovliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family, Springsteen wrote in a post on Twitter.

While Musgraves posted, Heartbroken.

Raitt, who recorded Angel from Montgomery in the 1970s, said he is feeling crushed after learning about Prine's demise.

Words can't even come close. I'm crushed by the loss of my dear friend, John. My heart and love go out to Fiona and all the family. For all of us whose hearts are breaking, we will keep singing his songs and holding him near, he wrote.

Midler shared a news link about Prine, saying, He's gone.

London, Jul 4: Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says he is really excited about the biopic on WWE legend Hulk Hogan, which is currently in development.

"The Thor" actor revealed that he will bulk up his physique for the much-anticipated film to be directed by “Joker” helmer Todd Phillips.

“This movie is going to be a really fun project. As you can imagine, the preparation for the role will be insanely physical. I will have to put on more size than I ever have before, even more than I put on for Thor.

''And then there is the accent as well as the physicality and the attitude. I will also have to do a deep dive into the rabbit hole of the wrestling world, which I'm really looking forward to doing,” Hemsworth told British magazine Total Film.

The project was announced last year, with “8 Mile” scribe Scott Silver and John Pollono attached to pen the script.

It is expected to look into Hogan's rise from the Florida wrestling circuit to becoming the face of the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s where he squared off with villain Andre the Giant.

The 36-year-old actor, however, said that the team is still “quite a way away” from starting production on the film.

“'I haven't even seen a script yet. The project is deep in development. Todd Phillips and I met to chat about it maybe a year or two ago. We talked about the idea for the film, which I think was going to be a TV series at one point.

''There were a few different ideas about what portion of his life it was going to be set in, so we spitballed about what it could be and what I thought it might be. Thankfully, they ran with a few of those ideas and the script is in the process of being written - but Hulk Hogan is still quite a way away.''

The biopic will be produced by Michael Sugar through his Sugar23's first-look Netflix deal along with Joint Efforts' Phillips and Bradley Cooper, Eric Bischoff, and Hemsworth.

Hogan will also serve as executive producer along with Sugar23's Ashley Zalta. Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman will serve as co-producers.

New Delhi, Apr 11: Actor Hema Malini on Saturday expressed concern over the health workers, who are being treated badly and are restricted to enter their own building.

The 71-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared a video where she expressed concern over the situation the health workers are going through. "Friends, I have seen this in various news channels and I am very sad that the health workers are being treated very badly. They are being restricted to enter their own building," she said.

The 'Baghban' actor further said: "Just think, in such times, they are our safeguards amid such situation (coronavirus outbreak). They are the ones who are going to ground level and are finding out the patients suffering from the disease."

She went on to add that "they do so, to save you. Remember, opposing them is to play with the safety of the country and every citizen. That is why we should honour them. Jai Hind."

In the post accompanying the video, she wrote, "Some of you might have watched the following interview on India TV where I have spoken about how I spend a typical day during this lockdown and social distancing period. This is for those of you who might have missed it!"

The post garnered more than 1.3k views within 35 minutes of being posted on the photo-sharing platform.

Just like other celebrities, Hema Malini is also practicing self-isolation amid the 21-day government-imposed lockdown in view of coronavirus outbreak.

India's total cases of coronavirus on Saturday climbed to 7,529 including 242 deaths and 652 people, who have either been cured or discharged, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.