1. Nikos Christodoulides elected as the new president of Cyprus
Tags: Person in news International News
Former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected President of Cyprus on 13 February after a second and final round of voting.
An overview of the news
Christodoulides, 49, won 51.9% of the vote, while his opponent Andreas Mavroyanis, 66, took 48.1%.
More than 72.4 percent of people voted in Cyprus this time, which is higher than before.
He was appointed Government Spokesperson in 2014 and Foreign Minister in 2018.
Christodoulides is supported by the Democratic Party, the Movement for Social Democracy and the Democratic Alignment.
Cyprus was divided in 1974, when Turkish forces occupied the northern part in response to a Greek-sponsored coup d'état.
Since then the current issue between Cyprus and Turkey is the ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish Cypriots in the north.
Republic of Cyprus
It is an island European country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
It gained its Independence from Britain in 1960.
The country has a majority population which are of Greece descent while the minority population are of Turkish origin.
Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and created a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983.
Except Turkey no country recognises Turkish Cyprus.
India also recognises the Cyprus government.
Capital: Nicosia
Currency: Euro
President: Nikos Christodoulides
2. Moldov's PM Natalia Gavrilita resigns
Tags: Person in news International News
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita announced her resignation on 10 February.
An overview of the news
She resigned, citing lack of support in the former Soviet republic. She was in power only for 18 months.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu has accepted Gavrilita's resignation and said she will speak to parliamentary groups about a possible replacement.
Ms. Gavrilita's party won a majority in the elections held in August 2021.
The next prime minister of Moldova could be Dorin Risen, a European security adviser who is a supporter of Sandu.
Rieken is expected to be approved as the country's prime minister without interference.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a population of 2.5 million people, is already facing a host of issues such as rising inflation, a massive influx of refugees from Ukraine and a severe energy crisis in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Moscow significantly reduced its electricity supply to Moldova.
Last year alone, the country saw protests against a dramatic increase in prices, particularly for Russian gas.
About Moldova
Moldova is located between Ukraine and Romania.
Capital: Chișinău
President: Maia Sandu
Official Language : Romanian
Currency : Moldovan leu
3. Govt appoints two new Supreme Court judges
Tags: Person in news National News
The Central Government has approved Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arvind Kumar as judges of the Supreme Court.
An overview of the news
Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Rajesh Bindal and Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Arvind Kumar have been made judges of the Supreme Court.
The total number of judges in the Supreme Court has gone up to 34, which is also the sanctioned number of 34 judges.
On January 31, the six-member collegium of the Supreme Court sent the names of these two judges to the government for approval.
Earlier on December 13, 2022, the names of five judges were recommended. These five judges were sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court on 6 February.
These include the names of Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal, Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, Manipur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Patna High Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Allahabad High Court Justice Manoj Mishra.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has to finalise 19 judicial appointments in his tenure till November 2024.
4. Legendary American pop composer Burt Bacharach passes away at 94
Tags: Person in news
Legendary American pop songwriter Burt Bacharach, whose prodigious work created a chart-topping soundtrack for the 1960s and 1970s, died in Los Angeles at the age of 94 on 9 February.
An overview of the news
His compositions included rock classics such as 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose' and 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head'.
He worked with a constellation of stars during his long career, from Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin to Dusty Springfield and Tom Jones.
He has won three Oscars (including "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), an Emmy, eight Grammy Awards and two Golden Globes.
He was born on May 12, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, but moved to New York in his early years.
He studied and learned music at several American universities, before serving in the US Army in the post-World War II era.
In 1957,he met songwriter Hal David, with whom they formed one of the most successful duos in music history.
5. Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to score a century in all three formats of the game
Tags: Person in news State News
Indian captain Rohit Sharma has become the first Indian captain to score a century in all three formats of cricket.
An overview of the news:
Rohit achieved this feat by playing an innings of 120 runs on the second day of the first test of the series being played in Nagpur against Australia.
At the international level, three captains have achieved this feat before Rohit, including former Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, former South African captain Faf du Plessis and Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
This is Rohit Sharma's 9th century in Test cricket.
Rohit has scored three centuries as captain in ODIs and two in T20s. While Rohit has scored a total of 30 centuries in ODI cricket and 4 centuries in T20.
Records of Rohit Sharma:
The player who scored the most runs (264) in a match in One Day International cricket is
He is the only batsman to have scored three double hundreds in ODI history.
Rohit is the player with the most centuries (5) in a single World Cup (2019).
Rohit is the player to hit most sixes (16) in a match.
6. Indian-American student named as 'World's Brightest' student for second time
Tags: Awards Person in news
Indian-American schoolgirl Natasha Periyanayagam has been named in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth's list of "world's most talented" students for the second year in a row.
Who is Natasha Perianayagam?
Natasha Periyanayagam is 13 years old and studying at Florence M Gaudiner Middle School in New Jersey, United States.
She took the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) exam in 2021. At that time she was a fifth grader.
Natasha's performance in the Verbal and Quantitative Aptitude Test was equivalent to achieving a 90 percentile in grade eight, earning her a place on that year's honours list.
The list is compiled based on the results of upper-grade-level tests of more than 15,000 students from 76 countries.
CTY uses grade level testing to identify advanced students around the world and present a clear picture of their academic abilities.
Natatha's parents are from Chennai, she loves doodling and reading JRR Tolkien novels in her spare time.
7. Satyanarayana Raju appointed as the new MD & CEO of Canara Bank
Tags: Person in news
The Central Government has appointed K Satyanarayana Raju as the new Managing Director and CEO of the state-owned Canara Bank.
An overview of the news:
He will replace LV Prabhakar, who resigned from his post on December 31, 2022.
He was working as Executive Director in Canara Bank since March, 2021.
Satyanarayana Raju has vast experience in Branch Banking, Corporate Credit, Retail Credit etc.
Canara Bank:
It is a leading commercial bank of India.
It was established in 1906, by Sri Ammembal Subba Rao Pai.
Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank on 1 April 2020. After this merger, Canara Bank has become the fourth largest bank in the country.
Headquarters Bangalore, India
8. Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Tags: Sports Person in news
Recently Pakistan's wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
An overview of the news:
Kamran Akmal decided to retire after being made a part of the national selection committee by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Akmal was recently appointed as the batting consultant for the Babar Azam-led side Peshawar Zalmi for the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
International career:
Akmal made his Test match debut against Zimbabwe in November 2002 and he also made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in November 2002.
Akmal featured in 53 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20 Internationals for Pakistan.
In Test matches, he has 2648 runs at an average of 30.79, including six centuries and 12 half-centuries.
He has scored 3236 runs in ODIs at an average of 26.1 including five centuries and 10 half-centuries.
He has 987 runs in T20 at a strike rate of 119.64.
9. For the first time, Indian-American woman elected as president of Harvard Law Review
Tags: Person in news International News
Apsara A Iyer, a second year student at Harvard Law School, has been elected as the President of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
An overview of the news
Apsara A Iyer, 29, has become the first woman to be named to the post in the prestigious publication's 136-year-long history.
Iyer will replace Priscilla Coronado.
Iyer was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is one of the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.
The Law Review, operated under the Harvard Law School, is an organisation that reviews and selects articles published in the legal field.
Who Is Apsara Iyer?
She graduated from Yale in 2016 with a B A in Economics and Math, and Spanish.
She then did an MPhil at Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar because of his dedication to archeology and indigenous communities.
In 2018, Iyer joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) which tracks down stolen art and artifacts.
She has previously been a contributor to the Law School's Harvard Human Rights Journal and the National Security Journal.
She is also a member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
10. Former Indian cricketer Monty Desai appointed coach of Nepal cricket team
Tags: Person in news
The Nepal Cricket Association has appointed former Indian cricketer Monty Desai as the head coach of the Nepal national cricket team.
An overview of the news
Monty Desai will replace another former Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, who resigned from his post in December 2022.
Nepal Cricket Association has signed a two-year deal with Monty Desai.
Monty has been the head coach of teams like West Indies, Canada, UAE.
Monty has also served as the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nepal Cricket Team Captain - Rohit Kumar Paudel
Head coach of other Asian countries cricket team
India - Rahul Dravid
Pakistan - Saqlain Mushtaq
Bangladesh - Chandika Hathurusingha
Afghanistan - Jonathan Trott
