The top 5 newsmakers of the week

Deadliest mass shooting in US history claims 52 lives in Orlando gay nightclub

Fifty people were killed and 52 injured when a gunman opened fire in Florida's Orlando's Pulse nightclub on 12 June - the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the US.

The gunman, identified by US officials as Omar Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan descent - is suspected to have pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State. Further investigation fuelled speculations on the lines that the assailant was himself gay, and frequented the nightclub Pulse where he opened fire. Amidst reports of his homophobia and his volatile nature, investigations have also revealed that his wife had knowledge of the attack prior to its happening, and has been taken to book.

According to reports, Mateen called 911 during the attack and pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State. He was gunned down by the police after he had opened fire on the 350 odd patrons who were at the nightclub, attending a Latin music event in celebration of gay pride week.

11 awarded life term imprisonment in Gulberg Society massacre

On 17 June, the quantum of punishment for those convicted in the Gulberg Society massacre was pronounced by the Special SIT court in Ahmedabad. The court of special judge PB Desai awarded life term to 11 convicts, and seven years imprisonment for 12 convicts with lesser charges. One has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

On 2 June, the court had convicted 11 people for murder and other offences, while charging 13 others, including VHP leader Atul Vaidya, with lesser offences and acquitting 36 others. A prime accused in the case, Kailash Dhobi, who had been arrested in 2002 but jumped his temporary bail this February, surrendered before the court on 13 June.

Sixty-nine people, including former Congress lawmaker Ehsan Jafri, were killed in a mob attack on the building on 28 February 2002, a day after a coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt near Godhra train station, in which 58 kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya died.

Udta Punjab triumphs over CBFC, releases on 17 June with one cut

In what can be termed as a landmark judgement, the Bombay High Court on 13 June, announced its verdict on the ongoing controversy over Bollywood movie -- Udta Punjab, directing the Censor Board to hand over the certificate to the filmmakers within 48 hours.

After a long drawn battle with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), who had suggested 89 cuts for the film before it could be released, Abhishek Chaubey's third directorial venture came out triumphant after the Bombay High Court ordered only one cut. The HC observed that CBFC was not empowered by law to censor films as the word censor is not included in the Cinematograph Act.

Despite the film being made available for download on torrents days before its official release, and being aired on local cable channels, Udta Punjab opened to rave reviews on 17 June.

Hillary Clinton clinches Democartic party nomination

After securing the requisite number of delegates, Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic Party presidential nomination, and went on to become the first woman in the history of the United States to lead a major US party in the race for the White House.

With President Barack Obama rooting for her, and rival Bernie Sanders pledging support, Hillary Clinton is to face Republican candidate Donald Trump in the upcoming elections in November.

Raghuram Rajan refuses second term as RBI Governor, to return to academia

Raghuram Rajan, who took office as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2013, made the announcement that he will return to academia when his current term comes to an end.

His term is scheduled to come to an end on 4 September. He wrote to the central bank staff on 18 June, notifying them of his decision. Rajan, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been under attack from the ruling party BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, among others, for what they term as the RBI governor's failure to effect necessary interest rate cuts to boost the economy.