NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY AHEAD OF HIS BOOK RELEASE, ‘A HIGHER LOYALTY: TRUTH, LIES, AND LEADERSHIP,’ CALLED PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ‘MORALLY UNFIT TO BE PRESIDENT.’ COMEY WAS UNCEREMONIOUSLY FIRED BY TRUMP IN MAY LAST YEAR.
JAMES COMEY
Former FBI chief James Comey last week asserted that Donald Trump is ‘morally unfit’ to be President. He claimed, “it is possible” that Moscow may have information on him that could be used to compromise him. In an interview to ABC News he also warned that if Mr Trump ever tries to sack special counsel Robert Mueller, it would be his ‘most serious attack on the rule of law causing “tremendous damage” to the country’s institutions.
YASHWANT SINHA
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of the current BJP leadership and the government, has quit the party and alleged that there was a “threat” to democracy under the present dispensation. “I have had a long association with the BJP. Today I am severing my ties with the BJP,” the 80-year-old announced. He also made it clear that he would not join any political party. Before joining the BJP, Sinha was a member of the Janta Party.
BARBARA BUSH
Barbara Bush, the admired former first lady and a literacy activist, passed away at the age of 92 after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure. The beloved Bush family matriarch was known for her ability to connect with others on a deeper level during her tenure in the White House which was unmatched. She also managed to ruffle some feathers before and after her husband's presidency came to a close.
PRINCE CHARLES
Prince Charles will succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the Commonwealth as the heads of government on Friday agreed on his succession, a day after the 91year-old monarch said it was her ‘sincere wish’ that her son succeed her in the role ‘one day.’ The position is not hereditary, but Prince Charles, who is also heir to the throne of 16 Commonwealth nations, got the nod.
MAYA KODNANI
The Gujarat High Court on Friday acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case in which 97 people were killed by a mob. In 2002, Kodnani was a BJP MLA and the trial court had said she was the “kingpin” of the Naroda Patiya killings, one of the worst incidents of violence during the Gujarat riots, and sentenced her to 28 years in jail. She went on to become a minister in then Modi government in Gujarat in 2007, before resigning when she was arrested.