17 March 2014 Current Affairs
Hindujas Among Britain’s Top Three Richest Families
The Hinduja brothers have emerged the third richest family in Britain, as part of an analysis of the divide between the rich and poor in the United Kingdom. According to research published by the charity, Oxfam on 17 March, the latest rich list from Forbes magazine showed that London-based Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja have a combined wealth of $10 billion. The five top U.K. entries analysed for its A Tale of Two Britains report found the family of the Duke of Westminster the richest followed by David and Simon Reuben, the Hindujas, the Cadogan family, and Sports Direct retail boss Mike Ashley who, between them, had property, savings and other assets worth £28.2 billion. It implies that the country’s five richest families now own more wealth than the poorest 20 per cent of the population, with their wealth totalling £28.1 billion — an average of £2,230 each.
Crimea Lawmakers Declared Independence
Crimea’s parliament declared that the region is an independent state on 17 March, a day after residents voted overwhelmingly to break away from Ukraine and seek to become part of Russia.The announcement followed a region-wide referendum, in which residents of the autonomous and contested peninsula voted to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. With about half of the votes counted, roughly 95 percent of Crimeans had voted to split from Ukraine.