Pragash: Pragash is
an all-girl Kashmiri rock band formed by three teenage Muslim girls. The band
was formed in December 2012 and received controversy from Islamic militants, who
claimed that the band members allegedly broke the codes of Islam. The band
members all received threats of death, rape, and other physical harm, including
a fatwa from Grand Mufti, which prompted them to quit the band. The band made
their first public appearance on December
10, 2012 when they participated in a Battle of Bands competition in
Srinagar, where they received the
award for "Best Performance.
Owen's and his publisher's decision to release the book
without first submitting it for United States Department of Defense (DoD)
review generated controversy. The DoD claims that the book contains classified information,
which the book's publisher denies.
K.C. Pant: K.C. Pant, the
ex-Defence Minister of India and former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman died. Krishna
Chandra Pant was the son of the Bharat Ratna and former Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh, Govind Ballabh Pant. Being a Member of Parliament for about 26 years,
K.C. Pant held different key positions of Government of India like Finance
Ministry, Defence Ministry, Atomic Energy and Science and Technology, Steel Ministry,
Home Ministry and many more. Pant served Indian National Congress till 1998 and
after that joined Bhartiya Janta Party.
Andrew Strauss: England’s
test team captain Andrew Strauss announced his retirement from international
cricket on 29 August 2012.
Under Strauss’ captaincy the England
team witnessed back-to-back Ashes wins over Australia
and reached to the top of the test rankings. He was appointed the skipper of
English team in 2009 replacing Kevin Pietersen.
Xi Jinping: The Communist Party of
China CPC declared Xi Jinping as the new General Secretary of the Party’s
seven-member Politburo standing committee. Xi Jinping is the son of the former
politburo and vice premier. Xi’s selection as the new leader, the Communist
Party of China has marked the end of Hu Jintao’s ten year term as the General
Secretary of the Party, but he will continue as the President till March 2013,
the month when the Chinese Parliament would meet. Li Keqiang, the second-ranked
member of the Politburo standing committee would take over as Premier in March
2013 after Wen Jiabao will step down from his position.