Abhishek Bachchan: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan loves unconditionally

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

Mumbai, Mar 28: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has donated Rs 25 crore to Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s initiative PM CARES Fund to lend support to the ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Akshay wrote on Twitter: "This is that time when all that matters is the lives of our people. And we need to do anything and everything it takes. I pledge to contribute Rs 25 crores from my savings to Narendra Modi ji''s PM-CARES Fund. Let''s save lives, Jaan hai toh jahaan hai."

Earlier, the government set up the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or the PM CARES Fund, with the objective of dealing with emergency situations such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Contributors to the fund will enjoy tax benefits, it has been announced.

"People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India''s war against COVID-19. Respecting that spirit, the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been constituted. This will go a long way in creating a healthier India," PM Modi announced in a tweet on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is the chairman of the trust that includes the home minister, the finance minister the defence minister

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Lil Nas X, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and... Michelle Obama?

Yep.

The former first lady can now add Grammy winner to her resume, after snagging the award on music's biggest night for Best Spoken Word Album, for the audiobook of her memoir Becoming.

Her win on Sunday gives the Obama household its third Grammy: former president Barack Obama has already snagged two Grammys in the same category for his books.

She faced an eccentric group of rivals that included Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys for Beastie Boys Book and John Waters, the director-performer known for his transgressive cult films, for Mr. Know-It-All.

 Released in late 2018, Becoming saw the former first lady slam U.S. president Donald Trump for questioning her husband's citizenship and promoting the notion that he was born abroad.

"The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed," Obama wrote.

America's first black first lady also dug into her personal life in her book, expounding on issues including a miscarriage, using in-vitro fertilization to conceive her daughters and marriage counseling.