Top stories on 9 February in a capsule
INDIA
Breaking: Army camp under attack in Sunjwan, J&K; 2 injured
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Rahul Gandhi demands SIT probe in Judge Loya's death
Congress President Rahul Gandhi led a delegation of 114 MPs from 15 opposition parties to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, demanding a Supreme Court monitored special investigation into Justice BH Loya's death, on Friday. "Many MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha felt the matter should be probed and a SIT should be formed,” Gandhi said hinting a positive response from the President. In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Gandhi's move is seen as a way of uniting opposition parties as he also declared his support for Andhra Pradesh’s demand for special status and urged the opposition parties to unite for the cause.
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Kerala clinches top rank in NITI Aayog health report, UP ‘worst’
The NITI Aayog on Friday launched the Healthy States Progressive Report in which Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu ranked in the top 3. Uttar Pradesh concluded the worst performing state in the health index. However, the eastern states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh did exceptionally well by clinching the 4th and 5th positions in a short period of time. Speaking at the launch of the report, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that the data has been compiled after extensive study from World Bank and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and that “the study of the incremental performance of the states will ensure we can better assess health outcomes.”
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Petitions filed in Gujarat HC for re-counting in 20 seats
As many as 20 petitions were filed in the Gujarat High Court, challenging the victory of candidates from 20 assembly seats during the Gujarat polls. The petitions are mostly filed by Congress heavyweights like Arjun Modhwadia and Siddharth Patel and independent candidates, to hold recounting of votes in the districts of Gandhinagar North, Varachch Road, among 18 others. Around 500 votes were recorded from the 20 assembly seats, which resulted in the BJP 99 seats margin win. VVPAT slips were counted randomly and not entirely. All the VVPAT slips should be counted,” Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said.
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PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was appointed the first Independent female Director of International Cricket Council (ICC) Board on Friday. Nooyi, who will be joining the board from June 2018, said “I am thrilled to join the ICC as the first person to be appointed to this role.” The ICC on its part said they decided to appoint Nooyi as the Director after going through a global search looking for the right candidate. The decision to appoint a female independent director was approved by the ICC Full Council meeting in June 2017 as part of a constitutional change aimed to bring about better governance into the cricket industry.
The 2018 edition of the Winter Olympics on Friday in PyeongChang, South Korea with full flare. South Korean popular skater Yuna Kim, who won a gold medal in 2010 and a silver in 2014, lit the opening ceremony torch. In a first, both the North and South Korea team of athletes marched out in a unified flag, recievnig cheers and applause from the entire congregation. For the Indian team, it was lonely march for luger Shiva Keshavan as fellow athlete, cross country skier Jagdish Singh could not make it in time due to coach-related issues back in India.
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WORLD
Indra Nooyi becomes ICC's 1st independent female director
PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was appointed the first Independent female Director of International Cricket Council (ICC) Board on Friday. Nooyi, who will be joining the board from June 2018, said “I am thrilled to join the ICC as the first person to be appointed to this role.” The ICC on its part said they decided to appoint Nooyi as the Director after going through a global search looking for the right candidate. The decision to appoint a female independent director was approved by the ICC Full Council meeting in June 2017 as part of a constitutional change aimed to bring about better governance into the cricket industry.
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US govt reopens after shutting down for the second time
The US government was revived back after passing a federal spending bill, hours after the government had shut down for the second time in three weeks. The US House of Representatives voted 240 to 186 in support of a package that would extend the government funding by March 23 and increase the funding limit for the federal government by $300 billion over the next two years. The government had shut down on Thursday midnight after the Congress failed to reach a consensus when Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul refused to hold an early vote on the bill.
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PM Modi and Trump discuss Maldives on phone
Narendra Modi and Donald Trump have expressed concerns about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call on Friday. The two leaders talked about the importance of the rule of law on a day a news channel in the island nation was forced to go off-air. They also talked about the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing security in the Indo-Pacific region. Political crisis began in Maldives after the Supreme Court ordered the release of 9 political prisoners. However, the government did not follow the order, and declaring the country in a state of emergency, arrested 2 judges, including the Chief Justice. The police also arrested the former President of the country, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
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BUSINESS
Global market crash wiped $100 billion from the World’s richest
Crashing markets on Thursday cost the world’s 500 richest people $93 billion in net worth, and 20 of them lost at least $1 billion each. Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest person, saw his fortune drop by $5.3 billion to $113.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as his Amazon.com Inc. tumbled 4.7 percent on the day. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett’s wealth dropped $3.5 billion and Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg lost $3.4 billion. Also, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune tumbled by $3.6bn.
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Indian markets fall amidst global crash
The market reversed all its previous day's gains on Friday, tracking global weakness on worries over US interest rate hikes. Benchmark indices shed more than 1 percent, dragged mainly by banking and financials. BSE Sensex traded lower by 407.40 points, or 1.18%, to 34,005.76, while the Nifty 50 fell 107.85 points, or 1.02%, to 10,469. MidCap was down 0.09%, while SmallCap rose 0.23%. The Delhi-based Fortis hospital company rose 15 percent after it issued a clarification on the report of misuse of funds by promoters. Meanwhile, the board will consider Q2 and Q3 results on Feb. 13. Tata Steel, Asian Paints, HUL and TCS gained, while Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Axis Bank were among the top losers.
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SPORTS
Winter Olympics 2018: A ‘unified Korea’ at show amidst global cheers
The 2018 edition of the Winter Olympics on Friday in PyeongChang, South Korea with full flare. South Korean popular skater Yuna Kim, who won a gold medal in 2010 and a silver in 2014, lit the opening ceremony torch. In a first, both the North and South Korea team of athletes marched out in a unified flag, recievnig cheers and applause from the entire congregation. For the Indian team, it was lonely march for luger Shiva Keshavan as fellow athlete, cross country skier Jagdish Singh could not make it in time due to coach-related issues back in India.
