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Republic facing its fourth crisis: Ramachandra Guha The Indian Republic, as it completes seven decades, is living through its fourth big crisis, historian Ramachandra Guha said while delivering a lecture, ‘The Republic at 70’, at Bengaluru International Centre on Sunday. He said the earlier three crises were in the 1960s, which saw the death of two Prime Ministers, India being defeated by China and food shortage; the Emergency of the 1970s; and the rise of communalism in the early 1990s. Source: The Hindu

Fruit Seller Who Earns Rs 150 a Day Wins Padma Shri for Providing Education to Children The efforts of a fruit-seller in providing education to children of his village has earned him an honorary Padma Shri Award, one of he highest civilian awards given by the Indian government. A day ahead of the 71st Republic Day the government announced the list of the 21 recipients of the Padma Shri this year. And Dakshina Kannada-based Harekala Hajabba made it to the list. The orange seller, who hails from the village of Newpadapu near Mangalore, has no formal education yet has been...

How Football Clubs Reacted to Kobe Bryant’s Sad Demise Kobe Bryant, retired NBA star, died in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Calif. Nine people have been reported to have died in the crash, which also included Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Gianna Bryant. A basketball coach, along with his daughter also lost their lives in the deadly accident.  Kobe Bryant has been widely regarded as one of the most legendary figures of not only the NBA but also world sports. People are mourning over his death, which also includes the footballing world. It has been reported that Kobe was headed towards the Mamba...

Court directs police to not take “coercive steps” against Bharti After actress Raveena Tandon and filmmaker Farah Khan, comedian and TV actress Bharti Singh had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, thereby seeking quashing of an FIR against her. Singh, along with Tandon and Khan, was charged for hurting religious sentiments of the Christian community on a show. The court has directed the Punjab Police not to take “coercive steps” against her. Source: NewsBytes

Godfrey Phillips, other KK Modi firms up for sale, tweets Lalit Modi MUMBAI : The promoter stake in several companies of the KK Modi group including listed cigarette maker Godfrey Phillips India Ltd are up for sale, said industrialist KK Modi’s son Lalit Modi in a series of tweets on Monday. Modi and his family owns 47.09% stake in Godfrey Phillips, known for manufacturing the Marlboro brand of cigarettes. Philip Morris Global Brands Inc, the owner of the Marlboro brand, owns a 25.1% stake in the company. Source: Livemint

Adnan Sami reacts to Cong spokesperson’s criticism over Padma Shri honour: ‘Did you get your brain from clearance sale?’ Singer Adnan Sami has attacked Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill for criticising the Narendra Modi government for honouring him with the Padma Shri. The Pakistan-born singer is now an Indian citizen. Taking to Twitter, the singer targeted Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill, and said, “Hey kid, did you get ur brain from a ‘Clearance Sale’ or from a second hand novelty store? Did they teach u in Berkley that a son is to be held accountable or penalised for the acts of his parents? And...

Africa’s Richest Woman Set to Face Charges in Angola Over Embezzlement Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman and the daughter of Angola’s former president, is set to be charged with committing crimes to enrich herself, after an investigation into embezzlement of millions of dollars from a state oil company she once headed, Angolan officials said. Angola’s attorney general, Hélder Pitta Grós, said on late Wednesday that Ms. dos Santos would be charged with “money laundering, influence peddling, harmful management” and “forgery of documents, among other economic crimes” committed when she ran the oil company. Source: The New York Times

Donald Trump’s Middle east peace plan will be ‘historic’: Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said he expected US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Middle East to be “historic” ahead of a trip to Washington. “An opportunity such as this comes once in history and cannot be missed… I am full of hope that we are on the verge of a historic moment in the annals of our state,” Netanyahu, who has been invited to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the plan, said in a statement. Trump on Thursday said...

Yuvraj Singh to play in Australia’s Bushfire Cricket Bash Indian cricket superstar Yuvraj Singh and Pakistan fast bowling legend Wasim Akram have confirmed their availability to feature in the Bushfire Cricket Bash. The addition of Yuvraj and Akram comes after Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and West Indies great Courtney Walsh were announced as non-playing coaches for the charity match, which will raise money to assist those impacted by Australia’s devastating bushfires. The fundraising game is one of three headline acts on cricket’s day of giving on February 8, coined The Big Appeal, to be held after Australia vs India Women’s...

‘It will be our loss’: Kapil Dev opines on MS Dhoni’s retirement rumours The lack of a central BCCI contract for MS Dhoni sparked rumours of his retirement among the cricket fans once more and when asked about the ongoing situation, former Indian cricket team skipper Kapil Dev said that it will be ‘our loss’ when Dhoni retires. “He has served the country so well for so many years. One day, he has to retire. It will be sooner or later. He has to go at some time. He is not playing matches. So I don’t know when he is going to come out...