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Headlines- 10th Jan
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Invasion of Brazil’s Congress by Bolsonaro’s supporters
Supporters of Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court on Sunday, in a grim echo of the U.S. Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in an October election, announced a federal security intervention in Brasilia until January 31.
Long overdue census postponed again
The decennial Census of 2021 has been pushed forward yet again and is unlikely to start till September 2023, at least. The Additional Registrar General of India communicated to States on January 2, without specifying a reason, that the date of freezing of administrative boundaries has been extended till June 30. The Census can only begin three months after the boundaries have been frozen, and the completion of the Census in its two phases takes at least 11 months. According to UN statistics, multiple countries had delayed their census exercises due to the pandemic, but many of them, like the U.S., U.K., China, and Bangladesh, have completed the count by now.
Bombay HC orders release of ICICI Bank’s former CEO and her husband
The Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the release of ICICI Bank’s former chief executive officer and managing director Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar. The court said their arrest in the ICICI Bank fraud case was “illegal”. The couple were arrested by the CBI on December 23, 2022. The CBI has alleged that ICICI Bank under the leadership of Ms. Kochhar sanctioned a credit of ₹3,250 crore to companies owned by the Videocon Group which are in direct violation to the Banking Regulation Act, guidelines by the Reserve Bank of India and the credit policies of banks.
State government’s authority to form a committee on UCC cannot per se be challenged.
The Supreme Court on Monday held that a State government’s authority under the Constitution to form a committee to examine the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) cannot per se be challenged. The petition had challenged the Uttarakhand government’s move to set up a committee on the UCC. The Uttarakhand committee is headed by former SC Justice Ranjana P. Desai. “Article 162 of the Constitution indicates that the executive power of a State extends to matters with respect to which the Legislature of the State has power to make laws. In view of the provisions of Entry 5 of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule, the constitution of a Committee per se cannot be challenged as ultra vires,” the Supreme Court said.
India and UK kicking off the Young Professionals Scheme
The governments of India and the U.K. marked Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 9 by kicking off theYoung Professionals Scheme, which will permit up to 3,000 of their degree-holding citizens aged between 18 and 30 to live
and work in each other’s countries for a period of two years.
International sportspersons bidding adieu
– France’s World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international football at the age of 36 on Monday.
– Welsh forward Gareth Bale announced his retirement from club and international football, bringing to an end one of the most decorated careers in British football history. Bale inspired Wales to qualify for two European Championships and a first World Cup since 1958 and won five CL titles in nine years at Real Madrid between 2013 and 2022.
– South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has retired from international cricket to shift “focus on T20 and other shorter formats”. His five for 17 against Pakistan in 2021 is the SA’s bowling record in men’s T20Is.
– South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has retired from international cricket to shift “focus on T20 and other shorter formats”. His five for 17 against Pakistan in 2021 is the SA’s bowling record in men’s T20Is.
