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The insolvency regulator Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has set up a 11-member working group under the Chairmanship of former SEBI chief UK Sinha to go into the concept of ‘Group Insolvency’ and suggest a suitable framework. This Working Group has been tasked to submit a report — within two months and will recommend a complete regulatory framework to facilitate insolvency resolution and liquidation of corporate debtors in a corporate group within the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). At present, the IBC provides for the resolution or liquidation of only individual stressed companies. So a framework within the IBC is sought to be created for the resolution/liquidation of an entire stressed corporate group having several entities in multiple NCLT jurisdictions.

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The Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in the Lebanese capital Beirut, in which the Arab leaders and officials issued a joint statement called Beirut Declaration. The declaration calls for the establishment of an Arab free trade zone. It also urged the International community to support nations hosting Syrian refugees and take steps to minimise the impact of the refugee crisis. The declaration stated that the refugee crisis in Arab countries is the worst humanitarian problem since World War II. It points out that the crisis leads to an economic slowdown, increases the expenditure and deficit, imposes burdens on public sectors and infrastructure and poses risks to the society. At the conclusion of the 2019 summit, Arab leaders have agreed a 29-item economic agenda in addition to encouraging the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

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An Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gurinder Singh Khalsa has been conferred with the prestigious 2019 Rosa Park Trailblazer award for his campaign that forced US authorities to change their policy towards headgear of the Sikh community. In 2007, Khalsa was refused access to board an aeroplane because of his turban. Thereafter Khalsa mobilised more than 67,000 people nationwide for petitions and took the issue to all the way to the US Congress, which forced Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) to change its headgear policy towards the Sikh community. As a result, Sikhs can now wear their turban through airport security in the US. Khalsa natively belongs to village Adhoi in Barara block of the Ambala district.

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On 20th January 2019, Masazo Nonaka, a Japanese supercentenarian, has passed away in Japan at the age of 113 after living a stress-free life. The Guinness World Records officially recognised Nonaka as the world’s oldest living man after the death of 113-year old Spaniard Francisco Nunez Olivera in 2018. Nonaka was born on 25th July 1905, two years after the Wright Brothers launched the first power-driven flight and just months before Einstein published his theory of relativity. Japan has one of the world’s highest life expectancies and was home to several people recognised as among the oldest humans to have ever lived.

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recently announced the men’s Test and ODI teams of the year 2018. Three players, each from India and New Zealand, were named in Test team while four players, each from India and England, were named in ODI squad. Virat Kohli has been named captain of both sides following a remarkable 2018 as batsman and skipper. The Test team also features his compatriots, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is the only player apart from Kohli to feature in both sides. The ODI team has opener Rohit Sharma, spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah from India side. The awards, which honour performances during a calendar year, saw the India captain Kohli walk into both sides which were selected by the ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters. In the last calender year, skipper Kohli scored more than 2,500 runs in both formats of the game combined with 11 centuries. Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the ICC Player Rankings while his side finished the year as the top-ranked side in Tests and number two in ODIs, behind England.