January 2020

Lacks of funds forces Julián Castro to drop out of 2020 presidential race; rising Democrat star was first to call for Trump’s impeachment Austin: Former Obama housing secretary Julián Castro, the only Latino in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race, ended his campaign Thursday after a yearlong run in which he pushed his rivals on immigration and took big swings in debates but struggled to break through with voters. “I’m so proud of the campaign we’ve run together. We’ve shaped the conversation on so many important issues in this race, stood up for the most vulnerable people and given a voice...

The world’s oldest woman celebrates her 117th birthday A Japanese woman has extended her own record for being the world’s oldest living person by celebrating her 117th birthday at a nursing home in Fukuoka. Kane Tanaka, who turned 117 on January 2 celebrated her new milestone with a party thrown by her friends and staff at her nursing home. A local television channel was also in attendance for her party. According to the Guinness World Records, Tanaka was confirmed as the oldest living person 116 years last year. As per the organisation, Tanaka was born prematurely in 1903 and married...

Govt wanted Kashmir like rest of India, ended up making India like Kashmir: Yashwant Sinha The government had claimed of making Kashmir like the rest of India but has ended up doing otherwise, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha said on Monday, as he slammed the Centre over what he called was its policy of “suppression”. Sinha, who had quit the BJP after being sidelined in the party he served for more than two decades, made the remarks while addressing the anti-citizenship law protestors outside Jamia Milla Islamia here. Source: The Indian Express

Erdogan: Turkish soldiers gradually being deployed to Libya Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara started moving military units to Libya to support the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, one of the two rival administrations in the North African country. Sunday’s announcement comes days after Turkey’s parliament approved the deployment of troops in Libya after it received a request for military support from the GNA, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj. The GNA’s request came as it fends off a months-long offensive by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar‘s eastern-based forces, which have received support from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Source: Aljazeera

Rohit Sharma sends out strong message: ‘Talk about me but don’t drag my family’ He was one of Indian cricket’s standout performers last year. But there is something that the vice captain of India’s limited overs team is unhappy about. Rohit Sharma,who is currently on a break from international cricket, on Monday sent out a strong message to those writing about the family members of cricketers. Rohit was speaking about the controversy that erupted after the ICC World Cup as there were stories about senior players extending their families’ stay beyond the designated number of days and Rohit said he...

Marcus Stoinis fined for homophobic slur during Big Bash League Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was Sunday slapped with a hefty fine after directing a homophobic slur at Kane Richardson during a domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League game. The Melbourne Stars player apologised after being found guilty of breaching Cricket Australia’s code of conduct and penalised AUD 7,500 (USD 5,200). “I got caught in the moment and took it too far,” Stoinis said of the incident during the clash with cross-town rivals Melbourne Renegades on Saturday. “I realised immediately I was in the wrong and I apologise to Kane and to...

Sonam Malik shocks Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik in trials Two-time World Cadet champion Sonam Malik stunned Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik while another promising junior Anshu Malik knocked out World Championship medallist Pooja Dhanda to seal their places in the Indian team for the Asian Championship, here on Saturday. Pitted against heavyweights in their respective first round, both Sonam and Anshu cared little for reputations, fighting fearlessly. Sonam was trailing 4-6 in the second period but produced a sensational four-point throw with just three seconds left in the bout to make it 10-10 and win on criteria of scoring...

CBI court directs Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy to appear before it on January 10 A Special CBI court in Hyderabad has directed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to appear before it on January 10 in connection with alleged ’quid pro quo’ investments into his firms. The court gave the direction on January 3 while hearing a petition by him seeking exemption from personal appearance. Ever since Mr. Reddy became the Chief Minister he has not appeared for the hearings citing his busy schedule as Chief Minister. The court was hearing the case every Friday. It had earlier...

Sushil Modi announces NPR exercise in Bihar, JD (U) says no problem Bihar will launch a data collection drive for the National Population Register (NPR) on May 15 and the exercise will conclude on May 28, deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Modi said Saturday. “The NPR process in 2020 will be carried out between April 1 and September 30 in the country. In Bihar it will be done between May 15 and May 28, 2020. Administrative and punitive action will be taken against officials if they refuse to carry out NPR,” Modi said at a press conference according...

Will not pursue chairmanship of Tata Group, says Cyrus Mistry Ousted Chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry will not pursue the executive chairmanship of the corporate group, or directorship of other Tata firms despite the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order in his favour. In a statement issued late on Sunday, Mr. Mistry said, “I intend to make it clear that despite the NCLAT order in my favour, I will not be pursuing the executive chairmanship of Tata Sons, or directorship of TCS, Tata Teleservices or Tata Industries. I will, however, vigorously pursue all options to protect our rights...