NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

WINNIE MANDELA, WHO WAS OFTEN CALLED “THE MOTHER OF THE NATION”, WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST ICONS OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST APARTHEID, ESPECIALLY DURING NELSON MANDELA’S IMPRISONMENT. HOWEVER, WINNIE’S FIGHT IN THE STRUGGLE WAS MIRED IN CONTROVERSY.

WINNIE MANDELA

Winnie Madikizela- Mandela, a hero of the anti- apartheid struggle in South Africa, but also one of its most controversial figures, died aged 81. The ex- wife of the former South African president Nelson Mandela, she died at a hospital in Johannesburg after a long illness.

DAWOOD IBRAHIM

Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, wanted in India as the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts and accused of crimes such as match- fixing and extortion, figured in the UN Security Council’s updated list of terrorists and militant groups which includes 139 entries from Pakistan.

ARUN JAITLEY

Finance minister Arun Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS and is scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant operation. Jaitley, 65, has been suffering from a kidney ailment and was was confined to a ‘ controlled environment’ at home. He has not even taken oath of office after being re- elected to the Rajya Sabha.

PARK GEUN- HYE

Former South Korean President Park Geun- hye was formally convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison, a year after she was arrested over a corruption scandal that saw months of massive street rallies calling for her ouster. The conviction, which she can appeal, is the latest hit in a dramatic fall for South Korea’s first female president.

SHAHID AFRIDI

Shahid Afridi has been dominating the headlines for all the wrong reasons ever since his tweet on the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir attacks since Tuesday. Commenting on the ongoing political tension surrounding the Indian Territory, the former Pakistan skipper demanded an intervention from United Nations into the matter. After coming under intense criticism, the veteran cricketer has fuelled the fire by stating he wouldn’t play in the Indian Premier League ( IPL) even if an offer comes its way in the future. In 2012, he had commented that IPL was the ‘ best organised foreign league’ among T20 leagues.