February 2020

‘Tennis – I’m saying goodbye’: Maria Sharapova retires at 32 Five-times Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova on Wednesday announced her retirement from tennis. The former world No 1 has been struggling for form, mainly due to her shoulder injury and it also led to a massive dip in her rankings. The Russian took part in just two matches in this season and lost both of them. In an emotional essay on vanityfair.com, Sharapova, 32, wrote: “How do you leave behind the only life you’ve ever known? How do you walk away from the courts you’ve trained on since you were a...

India needs more clay courts to produce singles tennis stars: Mary Pierce NEW DELHI: Like the pace on her famous forehand, Mary Pierce doesn’t hold her thoughts back. Throw a question at her and a two-sentence reply will be as lucid as an entire chapter. That’s the experience of a four-time Grand Slam champion and someone who managed to climb back into the top five after an injury-forced slip down to almost 300. Relishing ‘idli sambar’ on her recent visit to India as the Roland Garros brand ambassador, the 45-year-old Mary relishes the simple things in life, which for her...

Steve Smith dethrones Virat Kohli to regain top spot in ICC Test rankings Australia run-machine Steve Smith moved past India captain Virat Kohli to reclaim the No.1 Test batsman. Kohli dropped 5 points after a poor outing in both the innings of Wellington Test as India skipper scored only 2 runs in the first innings of India’s 1st Test against New Zealand and was dismissed for a 43-ball 19 in the second innings. Virat Kohli has now slipped to No.2 in the ICC rankings for Test batsmen with 906 points. Steve Smith leads Kohli by 5 points Source: India Today

Bob Iger to step down as Disney CEO, effective immediately Bob Iger will step down as Disney CEO and assume the role of executive chairman, Disney announced Tuesday. Bob Chapek, who most recently served as chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, will assume the role of CEO, effective immediately, Disney announced. Chapek will continue to report to Iger and be appointed to the board of directors at a later date. Shares of Disney fell about 2.5% after hours. In an interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin after Disney’s announcement, Iger said the CEO reporting structure is a way to ensure a smooth transition. Source:...

The ‘power of India’, AI and 9 other important things Satya Nadella thinks will ‘change’ the world He has been at the forefront of transforming Microsoft’s fortunes and has really taken the company from strength to strength. From a market capitalisation value of $300 billion in 2014 — the year he was appointed CEO — to joining the $1 trillion club, Satya Nadella has been instrumental in how Microsoft is perceived as a tech company today. So when Nadella talks, one listens and that’s what we did. Here are 9 things that Microsoft’s India-born CEO spoke at an event in Bengaluru. Source:...

Indian Idol 11 Winner Sunny Hindustani Says He Borrowed Money for Audition Indian Idol 11 winner Sunny Hindustani, who is not from a well-off economic background and worked as a shoe shiner, recently opened up about his struggles while making his journey to the singing reality show and ultimately winning it. In the interview, Sunny said that he even borrowed money to give the audition of the reality show which he ended up winning. “When I came to give the audition, I never thought I would go ahead because of the scale of this show and had lost all hopes,” Sunny...

Mukesh Ambani retains world’s richest Indian tag, Uday Kotak becomes wealthiest self-made banker Banker Uday Kotak is a much feted man, and most certainly no stranger to rich lists. Even then this is a special occasion. According to a recent global rich list, Kotak is now the world’s richest self-made banker. According to the Hurun Global Rich List for 2020, “With a net worth of Rs 1,04,300 crore ($15 bn), Kotak has stormed into global 100 making him the richest self-made banker in the world.” The Kotak Mahindra Bank chairman holds the 91st rank in the list. Source: The Economic...

‘No major terror attack after Balakot as they were scared’: Ex-IAF chief On the first anniversary of the Balakot air strike on camps of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), former chief of the Indian Air Force Air Marshal BS Dhanoa on Wednesday described it as a “paradigm shift” in Indian military operations. “Basically, it’s a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our operations. The other side never believed that we could carry out a strike inside Pakistan to take out a terror training camp that we successfully carried out,” he told ANI. “One year has gone past and we look back with...

Odisha sand artist creates special artwork featuring Donald Trump and Melania at Taj Mahal Odisha based sand animator Manas Kumar has created a special piece of art in honour of US President Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump who are currently on a two-day visit to India. The artist has created an art piece in which Trump and Melania are seen standing in front of the Taj Mahal. “Through my sand art, I want to welcome Mr and Mrs Trump to India,” Kumar told ANI. “It took me six hours to create these artworks,” he added. Source: Hindustan Times

‘Two alternatives in front of Delhi’: CM Kejriwal on violence in northeast areas Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated his demand for calling the army out in Delhi to tackle the communal violence seen in the last three days that has resulted in at least 22 deaths and left hundreds injured. Kejriwal, who was speaking in Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, alleged that Delhi police personnel on the grounded were unable to take preventive measures in absence of “orders from the higher-ups”. Source: Hindustan Times