Current Affairs January 2020 - Resignations

1 - Irfan Pathan announced retirement from all forms of Cricket

Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of Cricket. He played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He was part of the victorious Indian team at the 2007 World Twenty20 and was the man-of-the-match in the final against Pakistan.

One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick. He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.

2 - World Cup winner Daniele De Rossi from Italy retired from football

Veteran former Italy international Daniele De Rossi announced his retirement from football, just six months after joining Argentine giants Boca Juniors. He has played 117 games for Italy from 2004-17 and won the World Cup in 2006.

Rossi is popularly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A. With 616 appearances for Roma in all competitions, he is the club's second-most capped player of all time. De Rossi is Italy's top scorer in the Confederations Cup, with two goals.

3 - Ukraine PM Oleksiy Honcharuk resigned

Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk of Ukraine tendered his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after less than six months in the role. An alleged recording emerged earlier this week where Honcharuk questioned Zelenskiy's ability to manage the economy and the Prime Minister felt this would undermine his position.

The former lawyer and deputy head of the Prime Minister's office became Ukraine's youngest-ever head of government at the age of 35 when he took on the role in August 2019.

4 - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev submitted resignation

The entire Federal Government in Russia including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has resigned after President Vladimir Putin announced that a range of constitutional changes are needed. President Putin proposed a referendum on amending Russia's constitution to increase the powers of parliament, while maintaining a strong presidential system.

President Putin has nominated Medvedev to become deputy head of the National Security Council. President Putin proposed the head of Russia's tax service Mikhail Mishustin for the post of prime minister.

5 - Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec resigned

Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Sarec submitted resignation to President Borut Pahor and called for fresh elections. The governing coalition of five centre-left parties held only 43 out of 90 seats in parliament. After losing the informal support of the opposition Left Party, it had found it increasingly difficult to get bills through parliament.

Mr Sarec is Slovenia's youngest-ever Prime Minister. He was previously best known as a comedian and political satirist before he launched himself as an anti-establishment politician.