1. Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud is Saudi Arabia’s new king

i. Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud has become the new king of Saudi
Arabia.  This is a highly significant
appointment that puts the kingdom’s future squarely in the hands of a new
generation.

ii. Salman Abdul Aziz was crowned king of the Sunni-ruled kingdom after King Abdullah died on Friday at the age of 90 after nearly two
decades in power.

iii. The former King was buried on Friday afternoon in an unmarked
grave, his body shrouded in a simple beige cloth without a coffin. The austere,
subdued burial was in line with Islamic tradition that all people – even kings
– are equal in death before God.

2. Kalyan Singh assumes additional charge as
Himachal Governor

i. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh assumed
additional charge as Himachal Pradesh Governor today.

ii. He was administered the oath of office by Himachal
Pradesh Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir Mr.

iii. Mr. Kalyan Singh replaced Urmila Singh, who
completed her term as Governor on January 25th.

3. Justice RK Patra probing Odisha chit fund
scam passes away

i. Former judge of the Odisha High Court, Justice
Radha Krushna Patra, who was probing multi-crore rupee chit fund scam in the
state, passed away at Cuttack this morning.

ii. Justice Patra, a former chief justice of the
Sikkim High Court, was 72.

iii. The Odisha government had
constituted a commission headed by Justice RK Patra in July 2013 to hear the
complaints of the depositors and take necessary steps for return of their money
invested in various ponzi firms.

4. Jaswant Singh Rajput former
Hockey Olympian passed away

i. Hockey Olympian Jaswant Singh Rajput passes away following a
prolonged illness. He was 88.

ii. He
was part of Indian hockey team that won gold medal in 1948 London and 1952
Helsinki Olympics.

iii. He played at centre-half and left-half position and formed a
lethal foursome with Leslie Claudius, Keshav Dutt and Meldric Daluz.

5. Steve Smith conferred
with Allan Border Medal

i. Australian cricketer Steve Smith conferred with Allan Border Medal for
best Australian cricketer of the past year.

ii. Smith
became the tenth individual winner of the award and held off the charge from
opening batsman David Warner to claim the award at the Carriageworks complex in
Redfern.

iii. The
25-year-old also took the Australian Test and ODI player of the year gongs,
showcasing his dominant year with the bat.

iv. Smith
scored an incredible 1,212 Test runs at an average of 86.47 and 541 ODI runs at
49.18 during the voting period of January 24, 2014 to January 10, 2015.

v. Smith, appointed
as Australia’s next permanent captain after taking the reins when Michael
Clarke was sidelined with injury, had only secured a spot in the team in
mid-2013 after a maiden century at The Oval against England.

6. Sean Abbott wins Bradman award

i. Sean Abbott has been named Australia’s
young cricketer of the year.

ii. He said that he felt privileged to receive
the Bradman award.

Note: Sean Abbott was the bowler who bowled
the delivery which led to the death of Phillip Hughes.