16 January 2016 Current Affairs
Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis Won Sydney International Title
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis lifted their second trophy of the season as they won the WTA Sydney International defeating Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 1-6, 7-5, 10-5 on 15 January 2016.This was their 30th win.It was the 11th title together for the Indo-Swiss pair. In 2015, they won nine titles including the year-end WTA Finals.
Bollywood filmmaker Anil Ganguly passes away
Anil Ganguly died on Jaunary 15, 2016. He was an Indian film director and screenwriter. Anil worked in Hindi cinema from 1970s to the 1990s. Ganguly was best known for Jaya Bhaduri starrer, Kora Kagaz (1974) and Tapasya (1975), both of which won the National Film .Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Ganguly other noted film was Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh starred Saaheb (1985). Later in is career, Anil made several actions films, mostly with Mithun Chakraborty. Gangulay started his career making literary adaptations with strong female roles and themes of marital discord.
Anuradha Roy wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
India’s Anuradha Roy has won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel, Sleeping on Jupiter, which deals with the subject of violence against women.At the Fairway Galle Literary Festival in Galle, about 130 km south of Colombo, Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 16 January 2016 presented her the prize, which carried a cash award of $50,000 and a trophy.Other authors and novels in contention for this year’s prize were: Akhil Sharma (Family Life); K.R. Meera (Hangwoman) [translated by J. Devika]; Mirza Waheed (The Book of Gold Leaves), Neel Mukherjee (The Lives of Others) and Raj Kamal Jha (She Will Build Him A City). Now in its sixth edition, the DSC Prize received 74 entries this time with participation from publishers from the South Asian region as well as from countries such as the U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa.
Walmart to close 269 stores, lay off 16,000 employees
Retail giant Walmart Stores, Inc. on 15 January 2016 announced to close 269 stores and lay off 16,000 employees, including 6,000 of them outside the U.S.It would close its 154 stores in the U.S. and 115 others abroad. The company is shutting down 60 stores in Brazil, a market in which the world’s largest retailer has made a big push in recent years.The company said it had already been able to “relocate” most of the employees affected by the store closings to other points of sale. The other 55 stores to be closed outside the United States are mostly “small, loss-making stores in other Latin American markets”.