People in the news

King Salman bin Abdulaziz
King Salman bin Abdulaziz marks one year in power since becoming the ruler of Saudi Arabia after the death of his half-brother, the late King Abdullah.
Salman was crowned as the new King following the death of King Abdullah who passed away on Jan. 23 last year at the aged 90.After his crowning, in a televised speech, King Salman said: “We will continue to hold on to the strong path on which Saudi Arabia has walked on since King Abdulaziz.”
Before being crowned king, Salman was appointed Minister of Defense in 2011. He was also named the Crown Prince in 2012 following the death of his brother Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
King Salman’s one year ascension to the throne was commemorate by Saudi media earlier this month, using the basis of the Islamic Hijri calendar.
Held on Jan. 13, the commemoration was 10 days early, duo to the Islamic Hijri calendar that is based on the moon’s cycle, and not the sun as is with the internationally-used Georgian calendar.
Born in 1935 in the capital Riyadh, King Salman is the 25th son of the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz al-Saud.
John Kerry
He is an American politician who is the 68th and current United States Secretary of State. He has served in the United States Senate, and was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry was the candidate of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, losing to George W. Bush.
State John Kerry met Gulf Arab countries in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks aimed at pushing the Syrian peace process forward and calming their concern about the international agreement over Iran's nuclear program.
Kerry began a stop in Riyadh by meeting with representatives of the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
He is also due to have talks with Riad Hijab, chair of the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee, which was formed in Saudi Arabia last month, amid uncertainty about whether Syrian peace talks slated to start next week in Geneva will take place.
Angela Merkel
She is a German politician and former research scientist who has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005 and the Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked ever more isolated over her open-door policy on refugees on Saturday as it emerged that the leader of her party's Bavarian allies suggested this week she had become impervious to other people's views on the issue.
Merkel, in her third term in office since coming to power in 2005, has resisted domestic pressure for border closures and a refugee cap. With three closely watched regional elections looming in March, Merkel is facing the toughest spell of her chancellorship over her handling of the refugee crisis.
François Hollande
He is a French politician who has been the President of France since 2012. Hollande was previously the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008.
French President Francois Hollande will tomorrow commence his three-day India visit from the ‘City Beautiful’ where he, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will attend a business summit and visit various landmarks. It’s expected to Hollande visit to finalize deadline for 6 nuclear reactors.
Leonardo DiCaprio
He is an American actor and film producer. He has been nominated for numerous awards, and has won three Golden Globe Awards.
During a speech at the World Economic Forum, the actor announced that his charity will be donating $15 million to environmental causes.
This includes grants to the Rainforest Action Network to preserve natural habitats abroad, the Solutions Project to conduct alternative energy research, and the Global Fishing Watch to reduce overfishing in the world's oceans.He told global leaders in attendance at the Forum — a three-day business summit held in Geneva, Switzerland — that investing in climate change reduction strategies makes economic sense and using renewable technology to fill the world's total energy demand could save nearly $42 trillion in global energy costs and create 20 million new jobs.This isn't the first time Leo has used his fame as a platform for implementing reform. Since its founding in 1998, his namesake foundation has pledged over $30 million to 65 organizations across various environmental sectors.