NBA legend Kobe Bryant dies in air crash

NBA legend Kobe Bryant died on January 26 when a helicopter he was riding in crashed and burst into flames in thick fog, killing all nine people on board including his daughter. Bryant, 41, was traveling with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers and crew when their Sikorsky S-76 helicopter slammed into a rugged hillside. Bryant, a five-time NBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in history, an iconic figure who became one of the faces of his sport during a glittering two-decade career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Tributes flooded in from former US presidents, pop stars and athletes from different sports, a sign of how the man known as the ‘Black Mamba’ had transcended basketball.

China extends holiday as virus toll rises to 81

The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 81 on January 27, as the government extended the Lunar New Year holiday and more big businesses shut down or told staff to work from home in an effort to curb the spread. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the city of Wuhan - the epicentre of the outbreak - as the government sought to signal it was responding seriously. The total number of confirmed cases in China rose about 30 per cent to 2,744, with about half in Hubei province, the capital of which is Wuhan. But some experts suspect the number of infected people is much higher. The government is extending the week-long Lunar New Year holiday by three days to February 2, in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. The Lunar New Year is usually a time for travel by millions, but many have had to cancel their plans.

Oil ministry seeks cheaper LNG from Qatar

India has pressed its largest LNG supplier Qatar to lower the price of gas supplied under a long-term contract to reflect falling rates of the spot or current market, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Qatar supplies 8.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural annually to India at a price linked to Brent crude oil. Landed price comes to $9-10 per million British thermal unit, while the same gas is available in spot market at half the rate. After talks with visiting Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Pradhan said, “LNG contracts should reflect current market reality.” India has in the past used its status as Asia’s third-largest LNG buyer to renegotiate deals with Qatar, Australia and Russia. In 2015, it renegotiated the price of the long-term deal to import 7.5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar, helping in saving Rs 8,000 crore.

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