Events; Appointments May -Sept 2010

Events; Appointments; Etc.: September 2010
APPOINTED; ELECTED Etc.
Arjun Munda: He has been elected as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
A.N. Tiwari: He has been appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner of India. He succeeds Wajahat Habibullah.
Ansar Parvez: He has been name head of IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog. Head of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Ansar Parvez, will remain Chairman for the next 12 months, taking over from Malaysia.
P.J. Thomas: He has been appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner of India.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Armando Guebuza: President of Mozambique
Donald Tusk: Prime Minister of Poland.
DIED
Arjun Sengupta: Eminent economist and Rajya Sabha MP. He leaves behind policy footprint that changed the way poverty alleviation programmes are discussed in India.
Homi N. Sethna: Former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India and the guiding force behind India’s first nuclear test. He was 86.
EVENTS
SEPTEMBER
2—Palestinian and Israeli leaders meet after a 20-month hiatus under the US brokered peace talks.
9—The Union Cabinet gives its approval for a caste-based census, to be implemented through a separate house-to-house enumeration from June to September 2011.
29—Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hands over the first set of Unique Identification Number (UID) cards in Tembhail village of Maharshtra. The UIDAI scheme, announced in 2009, will provide a unique identity to each Indian over the next five years.
30—Allahabad High Court’s please-all verdict on Babri-Masjid-Ram Temple dispute in Ayodhya divides the disputed site among the three petitioners
MILESTONES
Mazlan Othman: Malaysian astrophysicist, she has been appointed as the head of the UN’s little-known Office for the Outer Space Affairs (UUNOOSA). She is officially the world’s first contact for any aliens that may come visiting.
A. Divya: She is the first woman cadet in the history of the Officers Training Academy, one of India’s premier defence training institutes, to be decorated with its highest award, the ‘Sword of Honour’.
Sachin Tendulkar: Leading cricketer of India, he has been given honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force.





vents; Appointments; Etc.: August 2010
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Katsuya Okada: Foreign Minister of Japan.
Zalmay Rassoul: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Afghanistan.
Admiral Julio Soares De Mours Neto: Chief of Brazilian Navy.
DIED
K.M. Mathew: Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama. He was 93.
EVENTS
AUGUST
6—More than 200 people are killed in flash floods in Leh, J&K.

22—Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurates the country’s first domestically built unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an “ambassador of death” to Iran’s enemies. The 4-metre-long drone aircraft can carry up to four cruise missiles and will have a range of 1,000 km.

31—US President Barak Obama announces an end to the US combat mission (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in Iraq.
MILESTONES
Leo Hunter: This six-year-old has bagged a multi-book publishing deal after he penned a mini-novel about his pet dog. He wrote “Me and My Firend” to tell the story of his alliance with pet Asatian “Kuger”.
Mukesh Ambani: Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director, he has been elected as Member to the Board of World Economic Forum (WEF). Others elected to the Board are: Alcatel-Lucent’s CEO Ben J. Verwaayen and Zhu Min, Special Adviser, IMF. Klaus Schwab is the founder and Executive Chairman of WEF.
Sachin Tendulkar: He has been conferred the rank of honorary Group Captain by the Indian Air Force, a post equivalent to a Colonel of Indian Army.
Sudarsan Pattnaik: Orissa-based renowned sand artict, he has won the people’s choice award at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Festival in Berlin, for his creation on global warming.
Jimena Navarrete: Miss Mexico, she has been crowned Miss Universe, 2010. The pageant ceremony was held in Las Vegas, USA. Miss Jamaica Yendi Philipps was first runner-up and Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up. Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta failed ot make it to top 15.



APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc.
Dr S.Y. Quraishi: He has been appointed as the 17th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is the first Muslim to head the panel.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
David Cameron: Prime Minister of Britain.
General Than Shwe: Military ruler of Myanmar.
Seyed Shamsodin Hosseini: Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance, Iran.
DIED
Ravi Baswani: Hindi film actor who won acclaim for his comic roles in films like “Jane Bhi Do Yaro” and “Chashme Buddoor”. He was 64.

David Warren: A pioneering Australian scientist who invented the ‘black box’ after investigating the world’s first jet airliner crash in 1953. He was 85. The challenges of determining the causes of an air crash led him to the idea of a recording device that could withstand a crash where there were no survivors and no witnesses.
EVENTS
JULY
1—More than 45 people are killed as terrorists strike at Sufi shrine of Data Ganj Baksh in Lahore.

11—Spain creates history by winning its first Football World Cup title.

12—ISRO-built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launches five satellites from Sriharikota.

13—The lower House of the Parliament of France approves a ban on burqa-like Islamic veils.

19—More than 63 people are killed in a train collision at Sainthia station of Birbhum district of West Bengal. Speeding Uttarbanga Express overshoots signal and ploughs into Vanachal Express.

28—A passenger jet crashes into the hills surrounding Islamabad in Pakistan, amid poor weather, killing all 152 people on board.


EVENTS; APPOINTMENTS; ETC.: JUNE 2010
APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc.
Naoto Kan: He has been elected as the Prime Minister of Japan. He has become the fifth Prime Minister of Japan in three years, taking the helm as the country struggles to rein in a huge public debt, engineer growth in an aging society, and manage ties with security ally USA and a rising China.
Julia Gillard: She scripted history when she was elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Australia. She succeeded Kevin Rudd, who stepped down following revolt against him within the Labour party. The rebellion had been spearheaded by Ms Gillard, opposing his policies on health, education and climate change.
Roza Otunbayeva: She has been elected as the first woman President of Kyrgystan. She claimed victory in a referendum in Kyrgyzstan, making her the interim President till 2011, a vote held to decide the legitimacy of her rule after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev regime was ousted in April 2010.
Benigno Aquino: He has been elected as the President of Philippines.
Justice (Retd) K.G. Balakrishnan: Former Chief Justice of India, he has been appointed as Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.
Sharad Pawar: He has taken over as the President of International Cricket Council (ICC).
RESIGNED
Madhav Kumar Nepal: Prime Minister of Nepal.
Shibu Soren: Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Mahinda Rajapaksa: President of Sri Lanka.
Jacob Zuma: President of South Africa.
MILESTONES
Nitin Noharia: An Indian-American he has taken over as the Dean of Harvard Business School. He is the first person of Indian origin to occupy the prestigious and high profile post.
EVENTS
JUNE
11—The first World Cup football tournament in Africa kicks-off with a feast of song and dance in Johannesburg, South Africa.
14—The 64-day-old blockade of the two crucial highways leading to Manipur is suspended by the Naga Student Federation following talks with the Union government. The organisation had launched the blockade protesting elections to Autonomous District Councils in Manipur hills and Manipur government’s decision to ban entry of NSCN leader T. Muivah to the State.
26—The Union government finally lifts government control and allows oil companies to fix prices of petrol on the basis of market forces.
29—Masoists kill 26 CRPF personnel in a remote area of Chattisgarh’s Narayanpur district.

vents; Appointments; Etc.: May 2010
APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc.
David Cameron: He has been elected as the Prime Minister of UK.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar: A 58-year-old woman of Indian origin, she has been elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. Her party, People’s Partnership, won 29 of the 41 parliamentary seats to end the 43-yeaqr-old rule of the ruling party.
Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia: He has been appointed as the 38th Chief Justice of India. He is an expert in taxation and commercial laws.
Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha: He has been appointed as the new Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He is closely associated with the design and development of India’s first Thorium-based advanced Heavy Water reactor.
RESIGNED
Horst Koehler: President of Germany. He resigned following criticism over his comments about Germany’s military engagement in Afghanistan. He is the first President in Germany’s post-war history to resign before completing his term.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Jacob Zuma: President of South Africa.
DIED
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: Former Vice President of India. He was 86. A senior BJP leader, he had also held the post of Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
Mac Mohan: Veteran character actor of Hindi film industry, he immortalised in the role of Gabbar Singh’s sidekick “Sambha” in blockbuster “Sholay”. He was 71.
MILESTONES
Nitin Nohria: India-born American, he has been named the 10th Dean of Harvard Business School. He is the first person of Indian origin to achieve this honour.
Mamta Sodha: 30-year-old Dalit girl from Kaithal, Haryana, she has achieved the distinction of climbing Mount Everest. She was part of the Mission Mount Everest 2010 expedition.
Jordan: A 13-year-old American boy from California, he has become youngest person to climb Mount Everest. He achieved the feat on May 22, 2010.
Arjun Bajpayee: 16-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Noida city, he has become the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest. He broke the record of Krushnaa Patil,18, from Maharashtra who became the youngest Indian to reach the highest peak in 2009.
Commander Dilip Donde: He has become the first Indian to sail solo around the world.
Shah Faesal: An MBBS degree holder from Srinagar, he has topped the Civil Services Exam 2009.
Gita Gopinath: She is the first Indian woman in the history of Harvard University to be appointed a full time professor at the University. She is a professor in Economics Department of Harvard University.
EVENTS
MAY
1—The police in New York foil a major terror attack by defusing a crude car bomb in the heart of city’s famous tourist hub of Times Square.
17—Maoists blow up a passenger bus in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, killing more than 36 people.
17—The Strategic Forces Command, with logistics support from DRDO, successfully launches the Agni-II surface-to-surface, intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM).
22—In one of the worst air tragedies in India, Air India flight from Dubai overshoots runway at Mangalore airport and bursts into flames, killing 158 passengers and crew on board.
28—More than 80 people are killed as a goods train rams into already derailed Gyaneshwari Express near Kharagpur, West Bengal. The Maoists are blamed for the derailment of the passenger train.