Veteran BBC journalist Mark Tully, known as ‘voice of India’, passes away at 90
New Delhi: British journalist and broadcaster Mark Tully, widely regarded as the BBC’s “voice of India”, passed away on Sunday at the age of 90. He had been hospitalised for a week, news agency ANI reported.
Born in Kolkata, Tully moved to the United Kingdom in his early years before returning to India in 1965 for work. He joined the British Broadcasting Corporation as an administrative assistant and went on to become its bureau chief in New Delhi, a role he held for nearly two decades.
Over a long and influential career, Tully reported on some of the most defining moments in modern Indian history. His coverage included the wars between India and Pakistan, the Emergency imposed in 1975, communal riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy and Operation Blue Star.
In 1984, during Operation Blue Star ordered by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Tully and fellow journalist Satish Jacob were the only reporters to enter the Golden Temple complex and report on the presence of fortifications before the military action against Sikh militants.
Tully’s tenure in India also saw confrontations with authority. During the Emergency, the BBC was expelled from the country in 1975 after it refused to sign a government-mandated censorship agreement. Tully, who was then the BBC’s Delhi correspondent, was given just 24 hours to leave India.
Known for his deep understanding of Indian society and politics, Tully remained closely associated with the country long after his formal retirement, earning respect for his balanced reporting and long engagement with India’s public life.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
