1.

Who was elected as the new President of the Institute

of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) recently?
(a) Ravindra Holani
(b) Dinal A. Shah
(c) G. Ramaswamy*
(d) Pankaj Tyagee
(e) T.V. Somanathan

2. Which of the following statements about the

International Mother Language Day started by
UNESCO is/are correct?
I. It was observed on February 21, 2011
II. The date represents the day when languages other than
English were accepted for official use at the UN
III. It was first observed in 2000
(a) I only
(b) I and II only
(c) II only
(d) III and I only*
(e) I, II and III

3. Dr. Ajay Parida was selected for the prestigious

TATA Innovation Fellowship recently. He is known for
research in which field?
(a) Astronomy
(b) Renewable energy
(c) Cardiology
(d) Biotechnology*
(e) Low-cost housing

4. Which airport in India has been rated as the best in

the world in the 5 million to 15 million passengers per
annum category by the Airport Council International
recently?
(a) Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
(b) Bengaluru International Airport
(c) Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad *
(d) Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai

5. Which of the following statements about trade

relations between India and Malaysia is/are correct?
I. India and Malaysia have signed a Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
II. Malaysia is India’s largest trading partner amongst the
ASEAN countries
III. Malaysia has decided to allow upto 100% FDI in key
sectors of interest to India such as computer & related
services and management & consultancy services
(a) I only
(b) I and II only
(c) I and III only*
(d) II and III only
(e) I, II and III

6. Which of the following is the densest city in Asia as

per the Asian Green City Index unveiled recently?
(a) Mumbai*
(b) Chennai
(c) Delhi
(d) Kolkata
(e) Bangalore

7. ‘Emerging Risks, Daring Solutions’ was the theme of

13th global conference of _________ organised in
Mumbai recently?
(a) Company Secretaries
(b) Auditors
(c) Chartered Accountants
(d) Bankers
(e) Actuaries*

8. In which state was India’s longest rail bridge

completed recently?
(a) Kerala*
(b) Gujarat
(c) Maharashtra
(d) Bihar
(e) Karnataka

9. February 12 to 18, 2011 was observed as which of the

following?
(a) Oil Conservation Week
(b) National Nutrition Week
(c) National Productivity Week*
(d) Road Safety Week
(e) Pin Code Week

10. Which of the following started production at India’s

largest naphtha cracker project recently?
(a) ONGC
(b) Essar Oil
(c) Indian Oil*
(d) Reliance Industries Ltd
(e) Oil India Ltd.

1. Which of the following has won the design

competition held by the revenue department for the
construction of National Tax Headquarters on the
Kasturba Gandhi Marg in the National Capital
recently?

(a) Morphogenesis

(b) C. P. Kukreja Associates

(c) Vistaar Architects & Planners*

(d) Pragathi Associates

(e) Sikka Associates

2. ‘Impressions’, released recently, is a collection of

poems by who among the following Parliamentarians?

(a) Veerappa Moily

(b) Salman Khursheed

(c) Najma Heptullah*

(d) Shashi Tharoor

(e) Jayanti Natarajan

3. Vihang Netra, developed by DRDO, is India’s

first______

(a) Radar

(b) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle*

(c) Night-vision device

(d) Minesweeper

(e) Howitzer
4. Which Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-
country is the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and the
Combined Maritime Forces?

(a) Bahrain*

(b) Kuwait

(c) Oman

(d) Qatar

(e) Saudi Arabia

5. “Shree Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan”, the

oldest festival of Indian Classical Music in the world,
will complete 136 Years in December 2011. Where is
this annual festival organised?

(a) Ludhiana

(b) Amritsar

(c) Patiala

(d) Jalandhar*

(e) Gurdaspur

6. Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is an initiative by who

among the following to groom Olympic champions in
the country?
(a) Michael Ferreira and Vijay Amritraj

(b) Rajyavardhan Rathore and Pullela Gopichand

(c) Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi*

(d) Milkha Singh & PT Usha

(e) Vishwanathan Anand and Ramesh Krishnan

7. Which of the following DRDO R&D institutions and

their locations is/are correctly matched?

I. Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) –

Kochi

II. Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) –

Visakhapatnam

III. Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) –

Ambernath, Mumbai

(a) I only

(b) I and II only

(c) I and III only

(d) II and III only

(e) I, II and III*

8. Which of the following statements about the ICC and
Cricket World Cup is/are correct?

I. 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will feature 10 teams

II. Malcolm Speed is the CEO of International Cricket

Council

III. 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup features fourteen teams

(a) I only

(b) I and II only

(c) I and III only*

(d) II and III only

(e) I, II and III

9. Which of the following statements about the New-

Delhi based Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses
(IDSA) is/are correct?

I. Satish G. Inamdar is the Director General

II. Defence Minister of India is the President

III. The initiative for setting up IDSA came from then

Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon, who was one of
the Institute’s founding members

(a) I only

(b) I and II only

(c) II only*

(d) III and II only

(e) I, II and III

10. Which of the following won the ‘Best Marching

Contingent’ award amongst the paramilitary forces
recently?

(a) Border Security Force

(b) Assam Rifles

(c) Coast Guard

(d) Central Reserve Police Force

(e) Indo-Tibetan Border Police*

May 1 Gujarat celebrates golden jubilee of the Statehood.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi administers “golden
pledges’ to the youth. May 2 The BJP Karnataka Food,
Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister, H. Halappa
resigns following a report in daily alleging sexual
misconduct. Bangladesh authorities hand over National
Democratic Front of Boroland chairman Ranjan Daimary to
the Assam police. May 3 After a 271-day trial in the 26/11
attacks case, a Mumbai sessions court pronounces
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab guilty of waging war
against India. Two other accused Fahim Arshad Ansari and
Sabahruddin Ahmed are acquitted of all charges. Sensex
tumbles 172 points to end day at 17386.08. May 4
Parliament passes the 2010-11 Union Budget. The Union
Cabinet gives and for Tamil Nadu Government’s proposal
to recover the State Legislative Council. Sensex loses 249
points to close at 17137.14 on dampened Asian and
European sentiment. The Naga Students Federation begin
blockade of Manipur. May 5 The use of narco analysis,
brain-mapping and polygraph tests on accused
unconstitutional, rules the supreme court. Rajya Sabha
passes a Bill for setting up the 78-member Legislative
Council in Tamil Nadu. Nod for National Green Tribunal
Bill. Parliament nod for rise in gratuity limit. May 6 The
Special Sessions Court in Mumbai sentences to death
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman
of the November 26, 2008 terror attacks. Also awarded lifer
on five counts. Shah Faesal, a medical graduate from
Kupwara becomes the first Kashmiri Muslim to top the
Union Public Services Commission Examination this year.
The MPLAD Scheme is intra vires in the Constitution, rules
the Supreme Court. May 7 Governors cannot be removed
at the Centre’s whims and fancies, rules a Supreme Court
Constitution Bench. Supreme Court upholds Government
‘s right to fix gas price and asks the Ambani brothers to
renegotiate gas supply deal. Sensex plummets 218 points
to close at 16769.11, a level last seen on March 2. The
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 is introduced
in the Lok Sabha amid protests. May 8 BJP cobbles up
alliance in Jharkhand for government formation. Naxalites
kill seven CRPF jawans after blowing up their vehicle in
Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. May 9 India begins year-
long celebrations of Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth
anniversary with the inaugural of an exhibition of paintings
by Gurudev. The former Karnataka Minister Hartalu
Halappa accused of sexual misconduct is arrested by the
CID in Shimoga. May 10 The Supreme Court stays the
execution of the death penalty awarded to Md. Jamiliuddin
Nasir for the Janauary 22, 2002 terrorist attack on the
American Center in Kolkata. The Supreme Court permits
mining in Obalapuram mines in the reserve forests
bordering Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Sensex soars by
561.44 points to close at 17330.55 May 11 The Supreme
upholds quota in local bodies. Articles 243 D (4) and 243 T
(4) reserving chairpersons’ posts get nod. Justice K. G.
Balakrishnan retires as Chief Justice of India. Sensex
plunges 189.02 points to end day of 17141.53 May 12
Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia is sworn in the 38th Chief
Justice of India. May 13 Ketan Desai resigns as Medical
Council of India president. Nod for ordinance on MCI
takeover. The government decides to set up a Pharma-
copoeia Commission for developing indigenous medicines.
Nod for national defence university. The Prototype Fast
Breder Reactor under construe at Kalpakkam crosses
milestone as the thermal baffle is placed inside main vessel.
Sensex soars 200 points to settle at 17265.87. May 14 A
constable is killed as gunmen attack a police picket at the
Khislawat Junction of Hyderabad’s Old City area.
Twentyeight persons are electrocuted after their bus touches
a high voltage wire near Surajpur village in Mandla district,
Madhya Pradesh. The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopts a bill
to make Anna University, Chennai, a unitary type
university again. Sensex plunges 271 points to close at
16994.60. May 15 President signs ordinance empowering
the government to dissolve the MCI. Seven-member Board
of Governors formed. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi launches the theme song for the World
Classical Tamil Conference penned by him, in Chennai.
The former Vice-President and three time Chief Minister of
Rajasthan Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (86), dies of heart
attack in Jaipur. The 70th session of the Indian History
Congress begins on the Delhi University Campus. May 16
Six Villagers including a sarpanchs are killed by naxalites
near Teregaon in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district. Two
persons are killed and eight injured in a stampede at the
New Delhi Railway Station. May 17 At least 31 persons
are killed and 27 injured after Maoists blow up a private
bus at Chingavaram on the Dantewada-Sukhma road in
Chhattisgarh. Agni-II Surface-to-surface ballistic missile is
successfully flight tested from the Wheeler Island off the
Orissa coast. Sensex loses 159.04 points to end the day at
16835. May 18 President Pratibha Patil gives assent to the
revival of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council. May 19
Four CRPF jawans and a deputy commandant are killed in
a landmine blast triggered by Maoists near Shiyartore
village near Lalgarh in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur
district. The Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification
Authority of India gives nod for the collection of
demographic and biometric attributes of all residents.
Ratan Kumar Sinha takes over as Director of the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre, Trombay. Sensex plunges by
467.27 points on debt concerns in the Euro zone to end day
at 16408.49, the lowest in three months. May 20 Maoists
blow up a railway track in Bihar’s Motihari district
derailing a goods train and torch a diesel tanker. The
Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court frees BJP
leaders L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and others of conspiracy
charge in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Cyclone
‘Laila’ hits Andhra Pradesh with Prakasam district bearing
the brunt as Ongole town receives 320 mm of rain. Crops
on over 19,000 acres damaged. Sensex gains 111.19 points
to close at 16519.68. May 21 Madan Tamang, president of
the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, is fatally stabbed in
Darjeeling. May 22 One hundred and fifty eight persons
are killed as an Air India Express plane from Dubai
overshoots the table-top runway at the Mangalore airport
splits, and plunges into a valley. Eight persons survive
miraculously. May 23 The Ambani brothers – Mukhesh
and Anil bury the hatchet. Mukesh-led Reliance Industries
Limited not to enter the gas-based power generation
business till March 2022. The first indigenously built Light
Combat Helicopter makes its inaugural flight in Bangalore.
ICICI Bank acquires Bank of Rajasthan through a no-cash
merger deal valued at Rs. 3,000 crore. Six persons,
including self-styled Naval commander Barsa Lakshma
involved in the April 6 Dantewada massacre are held by the
Chhattisgarh police. May 24 The BJP withdraws support to
the JMM-led government in Jharkhand. Abdul Samad
Siddi Bawa, the ‘prime suspect’ in the February 13 German
Bakery blast in Pune is arrested by Maharashtra police at
Mangalore’s Bajpe airport. May 25 The former Haryana
DGP S.P.S. Rathore is sent to jail after a sessions court in
Chandigarh enhances sentence to 18 months RI in the case
of molestation of a 14-year-old tennis player. The Supreme
Court stays the death sentence of Aftab Ahmed Ansari in
the case of the January 22, 2002 attack on the American
Center in Kolkata. Sensex tumbles by 470.07 points to
16022.48 sparked by reports of Spain’s move to take over
an ailing savings bank Cajasur. Air India staff go on a flash
strike affecting flight schedule. May 26 Seventeen Air
India employees are sacked and 15 suspended and the strike
called off. The Centre reconstitutes the Group of Ministers
on Bhopal. The 500-year-old Rajagopuram of the
Srikalahasteeswaraswamy temple in Chittoor district,
Andhra Pradesh collapses. May 27 Air India dismisses 41
more staff and derecognises two major unions. Sensex
surges by 278 points to end day at 16666.40. May 28 One
hundred and forty eight persons are killed and 180 injured
as a goods train rams 13 derailed coaches of Howrah-Kurla
Jnaneswari Express near Sardiha in West Bengal’s West
Midnapore district. Sensex gains 197 points to close t
16863.06, the best closing since May 18. May 29 Sardiha
train accident toll up to 141. The AIADMK expels former
Ministers S.Muthuswamy and Karur M.Chainnasamy from
primary membership. Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman
of the Atomic Energy Commission is presented Goa’s
highest civilian award – Gomant Vibhushan Award. May
30 Three-time Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren
resigns a day ahead of a trust note in the Assembly. May
31 ONGC and OIL free to price natural gas at market rates.
A National Social Security Fund for workers in the
unorganised sector on the anvil, says the Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. Jharkhand is placed under
President’s rule and the Assembly kept under suspended
animation. The Gujarat High Court confirms the death
sentence for three persons in the September 24, 2002
terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple. Sensex tanks
373 points on sustained selling to close at 16572.03 Jun. 2
Trinamool Congress sweeps the May 30 Kolkata Municipal
Corporation election and wins many other civic bodies in
West Bengal. Jun. 3 India unveils indigenous A (H1N1)
Vaccine – Vaxiflu – s, the egg-based inactivated vaccine.
The former CJI K.G. Balakrishnan is appointed National
Human Rights Commission chairperson. Sensex surges by
280 points to end day at 17022.33 Jun. 4 India and South
Africa sign three pacts after a summit-level meeting
between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, in New Delhi. The
Government announces new norms mandating 25 per cent
public holding in Companies listed on the bourses. Jun. 5
Ashiya Sheikh of Bhandup, Mumbai dies of swine flu, the
first death in the city in nearly eight months. Jun. 6 A
colonel is removed from command and a Major suspended
for their alleged role in the killing of three youths in a fake
encounter in Kupwara on April 30. Jun. 7 The former
Chairman of Union Carbide, Keshub Mahindra and six
others are handed down two years RI for the December 2-3
Bhopal gas tragedy that claimed 16,000 lives. No mention
of Warren Anderson chairman of the U.S.-based Union
Carbide group. The former CJI K.G. Balakrishnan takes
over as the NHRC chairperson. The former Chief Justice of
the Himachal Pradesh High Court Makani Narayana Rao
assumes charge as National Commission for Backward
Classes chairperson. Sensex tanks 337 points and ends day
at 16781.07. Jun. 8 Bharti Airtel completes a deal to buy
out and Kuwait-based Zain Telecom’s African business for
$10.7 billion, in the largest-ever telecom takeover by an
Indian firm. Jun. 9 India and Sri Lanka sign seven pacts.
Joint Declaration issued after talks between Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and President Mahinda Rajapaksa in
New Delhi. LIC to act as registrar for Unique Identification
Authority of India Project. Jun. 10 The Union Cabinet
clears amendments to Hindu Marriage Act and Special
Marriage Act to make divorce easier. Jun. 11 Mukesh
Ambani-led RIL acquires 95 per cent stake in Infotel
Broadband for Rs. 4,800 crore. Jun. 12 Passengers of the
Kumbakonam – Chennai Rockfort Express have a
miraculous escape following an alert about a blast on the
track at Sithani, about 25 km from Villupuram, Tamil
Nadu. Godman Nithyananda is freed on bail by the
Karnataka High Court and returns to his ashram in Bidadi,
near Bangalore. Shyam Saran (93) of Kalpa village in
Himachel Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, one of the first few
voters of Independent India is honoured by the CEC Navin
Chawla. Jun. 13 A string of earthquakes jolts Andaman &
Nicobar Islands over a 12-hour period. A mild tremor is felt
in many parts of Chennai city. The German Bakery, Pune
gets a Rs. 14-lakh compensation from the Maharashtra
Government. Jun. 14 Fortyfive persons, mostly women and
girls drown after a boat capsizes in the Ganga in Ballia
district, Uttar Pradesh. Sensex gains 273 points to finish at
17338.17 on the back of a smart rally in IT stocks and RIL.
Jun. 15 The Naga Students Federation temporarily suspends
blockade of National Highway 39, the lifeline of Manipur.
All-Naga Students Association Manipur confirms blockade
for the 65th day. Jun. 16 At least eight Maoists are killed in
a six-hour gun battle during a raid on a hideout in Salboni
block of West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district. Jun.
18 The All-Naga students Association Manipur suspends
blockade of National Highways 39 and 53, the lifelines of
Manipur. The Planning commission releases Rs. 982 crore
for the rehabilitation of the Bhopal gas tragedy victims.
Jun. 19 State Education Ministers endorse the Centre’s plan
for a core curriculum is science and maths at classes XI and
XII. Nod for National Commission for Higher Education
and Research. Jun. 20 Bapi Mahato, one of the Prime
accused in the Jnaneswari Express derailment, is held at
Jamshedpur by the West Bengal police. The Centre decides
to pay Rs. 250 crore to clear up toxic waste in Bhopal. Jun.
23 The first World Classical Tamil Conference is
inaugurated by the President Pratibha Patil in Coimbatore.
The Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Classical Tamil Award is
presented to renowned Indologist Asko Parpola. For the
first time a lawyer argues entirely in Tamil at the Madras
High Court Bench in Madurai. The Karnataka Lokayukta
Santosh Hedge quits. Jun. 24 Jaswant Singh rejoins the
BJP ten months after his expulsion from the party. Jun. 25
The Centre deregulates petrol and goes in the partial
deregulation in the case of diesel. The Ambani brothers
sign a revised gas supply agreement as per the directions of
the Supreme Court. Sensex loses 156 points and closes at
17574.53 points. Jun. 27 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi announces a roadmap for Tamil promotion as
the curtains come down on the first World Classical Tamil
Conference. A Rs.100 crore fund to be set up for
developing the language. Jun. 28 Two boys are killed in
firing by CRPF personel on people protesting shootings by
security forces in Sopore. Thirteen hours earlier another
youth too had died in firing. Jun. 29 Twentyseven CRPF
personnel are killed in a Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh’s
Narayanpur district. Three youth are killed in police firing
to break up a demonstration in Anantnag, Jammu and
Kashmir against the death of five youth in north Kashmir in
the past three days. Sensex crashes by 240 points and
closes at 17534.09.

Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad, a top naxalite, is killed in

an exchange of fire with police in a hilly terrain near
Sarkepally village in Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh.
All convicts in the Bhopal gas tragedy case are granted bail.
Jul. 3 Former Goa Tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco
wanted in connection with the May 30 death of a friend
Nadia Torrado surrenders before a local court in Margao.
Karnataka Lok Ayukta N.Santosh Hegde takes back
resignation. Jul. 5 The nationwide bandh called by the
Opposition against the fuel price hike hits life in many parts
of the country. Jul. 6 Four killed, 70 injured as police open
fire in different parts of Srinagar. India’s first indigenous
Light Combat Aircraft designed specifically for the Navy,
rolls out from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in
Bangalore. Sensex gains 173 points to close at 17614.48
Jul. 7 For the first time in 17 years, the Army is ordered out
to assist civilian authority in Srinagar after three weeks of
urban violence. Chief of Staff of the Southern Naval
Command Rear Admiral Satyendra Singh Jamuwal is killed
in an accidental gunfire at the Navy’s missile and gunnery
school INS Dronacharya near Kochi. Life remains hit in
the interior areas of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Orissa as a two-day bandh called by nthe CPI (Maoist)
begins. Rail services badly hit. The Green Action for
National Dandi Heritage Initiative project (GANDHI), a
Rs.25 crore scheme is launched in Dandi, Gujarat. Jul. 8
The former Goa Tourism Minister Fransisco Mickky
Pacheco is arrested at the Hospicio Hospital, Margao. A
boy is killed and 24 injured as a blast derails a train in
lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district. Sensex recovers 180.70
points to end day at 17651.73. The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs gives nod for the National Programme
for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes,
Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke. Jul. 9 At least 176 kg
of explosives is recovered from a Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit in
Kishtwar district in the Jammu region. ‘Soleckshaw’ (solar
rickshaw) solar-powered postal delivery rickshaws
launched in New Delhi. Sensex surges by 181.81 points to
reach 17833.54. Jul. 12 Uttar Pradesh Institutional Finance
Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi is critically injured in a
bomb blast near his house in Allahabad. ISRO’s Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C 15) puts in orbit five
satellites, including the tiny Studsat a pico satellite built by
engineering college students of Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, after a successful liftoff from Sriharikota.
Sensex touches 18000-mark for the first time in three
months before closing at 17937.20. Jul. 13 The Planning
Commission gives nod for LPG subsidy to BPL families.
Jul. 14 The Centre proposes Unified Command to fight
Naxalites. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court
commutes the death sentence of six accused in the
September 29, 2006 Khairlanji Dalit killings to 25-year
imprisonment. Jul. 15 Rupee joins an elite club as the
Union Cabinet gives nod for the symbol with a blend of
Devanagiri ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’ designed by a Bombay IIT
postgraduate D. Udaya Kumar. The first commercial
landing of the Airbus A380 of the Emirates Airlines takes
place at the Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International
Airport. Jul. 16 The Maharashtra police arrests a Telugu
Desam Party delegation led by Chandrababu Naidu in
Nanded and foils its bid to visit the disputed Babli project
across the Godavari. The SIT probing the June 16, 2004
killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others in ‘a fake encounter’
by the Gujarat police submits interim report. A mob owing
allegiance to the Sangh Parivar vandalises the office of the
TV Today Network at Videocon Towers at Jhandewalan in
New Delhi. Jul. 20 The TDP president Chandrababu Naidu
and others are freed by the Maharashtra government and
made to board a flight to Hyderabad from Aurangabad.
Bedlam in Bihar Assembly as legislators lock horns over
“embezzlement” of Rs.11,412 crore meant for development
schemes. The SBI’s first ‘One Rupee Bank’ kiosk to serve
the urban low income cluster is opened in Hyderabad. Jul.
21 Sixtyseven Opposition legislators in Bihar are suspended
and marshalled out for disrupting Assembly proceedings
and indulging in unparliamentary behaviour. Jul. 22
Sensex surges by 136 points to close above the 18000 level
for the first time in two-and-a half years. Rajesh Munda,
the main accused in the March 24, 2007 murder of JMM
MP Sunil Kumar Mahato is arrested in Salboni in West
Bengal’s Paschina Medinipur district. Women BSF
constables for the first time take part in the ‘Beating Retreat
Ceremony’ at the India-Pakistan Attari-Wagah border near
Amritsar, Punjab. Siddharth Varadarajan, the Delhi bureau
chief of The Hindu is awarded the Ramnath Goenka
Journalist of the Year Award. Jul. 23 A designated CBI
court rejects the anticipatory bail plea of Gujarat Minister
of State for Home Amit Shah chargesheeted in the
Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. CBI teams on the
lookout for him. Jul. 24 Gujarat Minister of State for
Home, Amit Shah, resigns from the Narendra Modi
Cabinet. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gives
mandate to the Planning Commission for designing holistic
development plan for Maoist-hit areas at the 55th meeting
of the National Development Council in New Delhi.
Extradited underworld don Abu Salem, a key accused in the
1993 Mumbai blast case is attacked by co-accused Mustafa
Dossa in the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. Jul. 25 The
former Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Amt Shah, is
arrested in Ahmedabad and sent to judicial custody.
Rashtrapati Bhavan gets ISO Certificate for having
emerged as the nation’s first urban habitat with excellent
management systems. Jul. 26 A supersonic interceptor
missile Advanced Air Defence successfully brings down an
“enemy” ballistic missile at Wheeler Island in Orissa.
Narendra Amin, a suspended DGP offers to turn approver
in Sohrabuddin Sheikh – Kausar Bi murder case. Jul. 27
Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is appointed the next Chief
Election Commissioner. Orissa begins the land acquisition
process for the proposed Posco-India steel project in
Jagatsinghpur district. India and Myanmar sign five
agreements in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and Senior General Than Shwe in New Delhi. Jul.
28 A pact for the supply of 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer
aircraft to the IAF and the Navy is signed in the presence of
British Prime Minister David Cameron at the HAL centre in
Bangalore. Opposition stand on the price rise issue stalls
Parliament business for the second day. The Supreme
Court reserves verdict in the February 2, 2000 Dharmapuri
burning case in which three students of the TNAU,
Coimbatore are killed. Sensex sheds 120.24 points to close
down at 17957.37. Jul. 29 Parliament passes resolution
granting approval for imposition of President’s rule in
Jharkhand. Proceedings hit for the third day. Chief Election
Commissioner Navin Chawla demits office. India and the
U.K. decide to give impetus to their security and trade ties
after Manmohan Singh-David Cameron talks in New Delhi.
Pact on cultural cooperation inked. The RJD is
derecognised as national party, the Trinamool Congress and
six other parties lose recognition in some states. Jul. 30
Three persons are killed and over 100 injured in violence in
many parts of the Kashmir valley. The Supreme Court
acquits educationist S.A. Raja cited as the key accused and
sentenced to undergo double life imprisonment in the Aladi
Aruna murder case. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti makes a
clean sweep in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly byelections.
S.Y. Quraishi assumes charge as the 17th Chief Election
Commissioner in New Delhi. The Karnataka Chief Justice
P.D. Dinakaran is transferred as Chief Justice of the Sikkim
High Court. Seven persons are chargesheeted in the
December 28, 2006 fake encounter killing of Tulsi
Prajapati, a close associate of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. A
major scam involving payment of £4.50 Lakh to a British
firm by the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.
Jul. 31 Konkani litterateur Ravindra Kelekar is presented
the 42nd Jnanpith Award for the year 2006 in the Goa
capital Panaji. Two youth are killed and 40 injured in
police firing in Kashmir as protesters defy curfew. The
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi inaugurates
South East Asia’s biggest desalination plant at Minjur in
Tiruvallur district.
Eight persons, including a woman are killed in two separate
incidents in the Kashmir valley. Mob torches police station.
Uttarakhand is battered by rains that lash for 48 hours, a
record for 44 years. Aug. 2 Seven civilians are killed in
continuing violence in the Kashmir valley. Mobs go on the
rampage defying curfew. The CBI files a curative petition
in the Supreme Court in the ‘Bhopal gas tragedy case’.
Parliament resumes business. Lok Sabha nod for the SBI
(Amendment) Bill, 2010. Aug. 3 Violence continues to
rock Kashmir valley, with five more civilians getting killed
in firing by the police and the CRPF. Army deployed to
protect the Srinagar-Jammu Highway. Aug. 4 A civilian is
killed in firing by CRPF personnel on protestors at the
Bemina Cowk in Srinagar. The toll in the violence since
June 11 touches 40. Sensex rises by 103 points to reach
18217.44, its best close since February 2008. Aug. 5 The
Commonwealth Games Organising Committee suspends
three officials and the treasurer resigns. Contract with
Australian firm terminated. One more civilian dies in firing
in Pulwama; curfew stays in Kashmir valley. Aug. 6 At
least 165 persons are killed and over 500 injured as flash
floods triggered by torrential rain hits Leh in the Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir. Saboo, Choglamsar and
Phyang villages worst hit. Aug. 7 Two merchant vessels,
MSC Chitra (laden with 26,000 tonnes of oil) and MV
Khalijia III collide in the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast
resulting in a massive oil spill. Mangroves near the
Elephanta Island and those near Vashi in Navi Mumbai take
the hit. Aug. 9 The tilting cargo ship MSC Chitra stabilises
and oil leak stops off Mumbai. A legislation to protect
whistle-blowers gets the Centre’s nod. Justice P.D.
Dinakaran is sworn in Sikkin Chief Justice. Aug. 12 The
107-year-old heritage wing of the Taj Palace and Tower
Hotel in Mumbai subjected to a terror attack on November
26, 2008 reopens. The Lok Sabha gives nod to a Bill that
seeks to amend a section of the Criminal Procedure Code
with regard to the arrest of a person. Aug. 13 Four civilians
are killed in firing by the police and the CRPF in Kashmir.
The toll in clashes since June 11 rises to 56. The oil spill
from MSC Chitra inflicts massive damage on the 25 km
stretch of mangroves in and around Mumbai. Slick found in
four more areas. Amanjot Singh and Sahil Wadhwa,
students of Ryan International in Rohini, New Delhi
discover the main belt asteroid named 2010 P024. Aug. 14
Two persons are killed in CRPF firing at Anantnag and
Narbal. Curfew in Srinagar and other major towns. Major
Lishram Jyotin Singh who laid down his life in the
February 26 terror attack in Kabul is awarded the Ashok
Chakra. Four persons are killed in police firing, in Aligarh,
Uttar Pradesh. Aug. 15 Dialogue is the only option, be it
with Pakistan, Kashmiri separatists or naxalites, says the
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his address to the
nation on the 64th Independence Day. Announces setting
up of the Norman Borlaug Institute of South Asia. Aug. 16
The theme song for the Commonwealth Games is released
in New Delhi. The Prime Minister Manmohan singh gives
nod for setting up a 17-member National Innovation
Council. The Centre clears for implementation the Rajiv
Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls
known as ‘Sabla’. Commander Dilip Dhonde of
Maharashtra is awarded Shaurya Chakra for becoming the
first Indian to undertake a solo circumnavigation of the
globe. Aug. 17 People’s Democratic Party leader Abdul
Nasir Maudany, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial
blasts case, is arrested in Kollam by a Karnataka police
team. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announces Rs.125-
crore relief for the flood-ravaged Leh. Aug. 18 B.
Ramalinga Raju, main accused in the accounting fraud in
the erstwhile Satyam Computers gets conditional bail. At
least 37 persons are killed after a truck plunges into a gorge
near a village in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district. At
least 18 school children and two teachers are buried alive
after a massive landslip flattens the Saraswathi Shishu
Mandir building at Sumgad village in Uttarakhand’s
Bageshwar district. Aug. 19 Sensex gains nearly 200 points
to close at 18454.94, a 30-month high, on strong global
cues. Aug. 20 The Loharinag Pala hydel project under
construction on the Bhagirathi near Uttarkashi in
Uttarkhand to be scrapped. Two more die in police firing
in Kashmir. MPs stall Lok Sabha proceedings dissatisfied
with the Union Cabinet clearing a 300 percent hike in
salary. Mock session held. Aug. 21 Rajya Sabha passes the
Nalanda University Bill. Aug. 22 A cloned buffalo, Garima
II, is born at the Karnal-based National Dairy Research
Institute. Aug. 24 The Union Government says ‘no’ to
Vedanta Alumina’s $1.7 billion plan to mine bauxite in the
Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa. Former Arunachal Pradesh
Chief Minister Gegong Apang is arrested in the Rs.1,000
crore PDS scam in the State. Aug. 25 The Lok Sabha
passes the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010.
Harishankar Brahma assumes office as Election
Commissioner. Aug. 26 Mother Teresa’s birth centenary
celebrations begin in Kolkata. The Lok Sabha adopts the
Nalanda University Bill, 2010. Aug. 27 Umakanta Mahato,
prime suspect in the Jnaneswari train sabotage case, is
killed in a jungle hideout near Jhargram in West Bengal’s
Paschim Medinipur district. Parliament nod for Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2010. Sensex loses 228
points to end at 17998.41, its worst closing since July 30.
Aug. 28 Music composer A.R. Rahman unveils the theme
song for the Commonwealth Games at the Kingdom of
Dreams in Gurgaon. A five-rupee commemorative coin on
Mother Teresa to mark the birth centenary celebrations is
presented to President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi. Aug.
29 Seven police personnel are killed in an encounter with
naxalites in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district. Four policemen are
taken hostage. Aug. 30 The Supreme Court confirms death
sentence for three AIADMK men in the February 20, 2000
Dharmapuri burning case in which three TNAU girl
students died. Parliament adopts the Civil Liability for
Nuclear Damage Bill, with the Rajya Sabha approving it.
India, Switzerland sign a protocol to the Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement. Aug. 31 S. Malathi assumes office
as the 39th Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court sets aside Allahabad High Court

staying the carving out of a new district from Amethi
named after Dalit leader Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. K.S.
Sripathi is sworn in Tamil Nadu’s Chief Information
Commissioner. Sep. 2 Havildar Lucas Tele, one of the four
taken hostage by naxalites in Bihar is shot dead. Sep. 3 The
IAF onwards the honorary rank of Group Captain to Sachin
Tendulkar. Sonia Gandhi is elected Congress president for
the fourth consecutive term. Sep. 5 Brahmos Cruise missile
is successfully test-fired at supersonic speed in a steep-dive
mode from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, off
Orissa. The Rs.1,840-crore Kuttanad package is launched
by the Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan in
Alappuzha. Homi Nusserwanji Sethna (86), the former
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, who played a
key role in the May 18, 1974 Pokhran nuclear explosion
dies at his home in Mumbai. Sep. 6 Naxalites set free the
three policemen held hostage for eight days in Lakhisarai
forests, at Simra Rai, near Patna. The Election Commission
announces a six-phase poll schedule for Bihar. The
Supreme Court stays the death sentence awarded to two
persons in the 2002 Akshardham temple attack case.
Seventeen persons are killed in hooch tragedy in various
parts of Malapuram in Kerala district. Sensex rallies by
338 points to close at 18560.05, a 30-month high. Sep. 7
Trade Union strike hits banks, factories throughout the
country. P.J. Thomas is sworn in the 14th Central
Vigilance Commissioner. The biggest India-Pakistan
transfer of 442 civilian prisoners (which began on Aug.31)
is completed. Mirza Himayat Baig, key accused in the
February 13 German Bakery blast case, is held in Pune.
Another arrested in Nashik. Sep. 8 Sensex closes at
18666.71, its best close since January 18, 2008. Sep. 9 The
Union Cabinet gives nod for inclusion of caste in Census
2011. Union Cabinet recommends the revocation of
President’s rule in Jharkhand. Veteran filmmaker
Daggubati Ramanaidu is chosen for the Dadasaheb Phalke
Award 2009. The Union Sports Minister M.S.Gill,
launches a song ‘Shera’ for the Common wealth Games, in
New Delhi. Sensex jumps by 133 points to close at
18799.66, a 31-month high. Sep. 11 Violence erupts again
in Jammu and Kashmir. Protesters indulge in arson in
Srinagar. Irom Sharmila on a fast-unto-death since
November 4, 2000, demanding the repeal of the Armed
Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur is presented the
Rabindranath Tagore Award 2010. Arjun Munda is sworn
in Jharkhand Chief Minister. Sep. 12 Stones hurled at the
house of the J&K Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad
Sayeed in Damhal area of Anantnag. Twenty four injured
as protesters defy curfew in the Kashmir valley.Sep. 12
Residents of low-lying areas are evacuated as the Yamuna
river crosses the danger mark in New Delhi. Sep. 13
Eighteen persons are killed in Jammu and Kashmir in a new
wave of violence sparked by desecration of the Holy Koran
in New York. Mob burns down a popular school in
Tangmarg. Sensex surges by 408.67 points to close at
19208.83, a 32-month high. Sep. 14 Jharkhand Chief
Minister Arjun Munda wins trust vote in the Assembly.
The IAF’s gigabyte digital information grid — the AFNET
(Air Force Network) is dedicated to the nation by the
Defence Minister, A.K. Antony, in New Delhi. The Tata
Institute of Fundamental Research to fund a Rs.2-crore
proposal to build a prototype gravitational wave detector.
Sep. 15 Kutty Srank, a Malayalam drama bags the best
feature film award at the National Film Awards Festival for
2009 in New Delhi. Amitabh Bachchan gets best Actor
award for his role in Paa. An award in the name of the
‘queen of song’ The Hindu Saregama M.S. Subbulakshmi
Award’ is instituted in Chennai. Sensex rises by 155 points
to close at 1950.211, its best close since January 17, 2008.
Sep. 16 Sensex snaps seven-day winning streak and ends
day at 19417.19. Sep. 17 Three persons are killed and 25
injured in firing on protesters in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sensex surges by 177 points to close at a 32-month high of
19594.95. Sep. 18 Divya Ajith Kumar of Chennai becomes
the first woman in the history of the Indian Army to receive
the “Sword of Honour’ for the best cadet passing out of the
OTA, St. Thomas Mount. Sep. 19 Two Taiwanese
nationals are injured as two armed men open fire outside
the historic Jamia Masjid in the Walled City of Delhi. A
woman is killed and eight injured as CRPF opens fire in
Sopore, north Kashmir. The toll in clashes since June 11 up
to 108. At least 41 persons are killed as incessant rains
wreak havoc in Uttarakhand. Deoli in Almora district worst
hit. Har-Ki Pauri in Haridwar is totally submerged. Sep. 20
A 39-member all-party delegation begins assessing the
situation in Kashmir. Twentythree persons are killed and
30 injured after a freight train rams the Gwalior Intercity
Express at the Badarwas railway station in Shivpuri district,
Madhya Pradesh. Nineteen persons are killed in rain-
related incidents in Uttar Pradesh. Flood waters submerge
more than 200 villages in Bareilly and Moradabad
divisions. Sep. 21 Twentyseven labourers are injured as a
footbridge under construction near the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium in New Delhi collapses. Sensex touches 20001.55
for the first time in 32 months. Nifty ends day at 6009.05.
Sep. 22 Four elephants of a herd are killed after being hit by
a goods train in the Banarhat area of West Bengal’s
Jalpaiguri district. Sep. 24 Malayalam litterateur O.N.V.
Kurup and Urdu poet Aklaq Khan Shahryar are chosen for
the Jnanpith Award for 2007 and 2008 respectively. The
Gujarat High Court constitutes a new three-member Special
Investigation Team for a fresh probe into the alleged fake
encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan in 2004. Sensex gains
184.17 points to close at 200045.18 recording its highest
level since January 2008. Sep. 25 The Centre unveils an
eight-point formula for defusing the crisis in Kashmir. One
thousand artistes perform Bharatanatyam as part of the
Millennium Celebrations of the Big Temple, Thanjavur.
Sep. 26 Curfew is relaxed in Srinagar and other major
towns of Jammu and Kashmir. The release of a special
postal stamp and a five rupee coin mark the conclusion of
the five-day-long celebration on the Thanjavur Big Temple
Millennium. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
launches ‘Swavalamban,’ a pension scheme for
unorganised sector workers, in Murshidabad district, West
Bengal. Three women among nine scientists chosen for the
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2010. Sep. 27 Many
schools in Jammu and Kashmir reopen after 100 days. Sep.
28 Veteran actor Shreeram Logoo, danseuse Yamini
Krishnamurti and musician Lalgudi G. Jayaraman are
among a host of artistes honoured with the Sangeet Natak
Akademi fellowships, awards for 2009. The Madras High
Court orders immediate closure of the Sterlite copper
smelting plant in Tuiticorin. Sep. 29 Ranjana Sonawane of
Tembhli village in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district
becomes the first Indian to get the Unique Identification
card. Wajahat Habibullah demits office as Information
Commissioner. Sep. 30 A Special Full Bench of the High
Court of Allahabad awards two-thirds of disputed Ayodhya
site to Hindu parties and one-third to Sunni Waqf Board.
The Queen’s Baton Relay for the XIX Commonwealth
Games reaches New Delhi after traversing 1,90,000 km
across the world. India offers $500 million credit line to
Mozambique after talks between Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and the visiting President Armando
Guebuza in New Delhi. Three pacts inked. Sensex gains
113 points and ends day at 20069.12.

Aruna Roy, political and social activist, is presented the Lal

Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public
Administration, Academic and Management by the
President Pratibha Patil, in New Delhi. The Supreme Court
stays a Madras High Court judgment ordering the closure of
the copper plant of Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd. At
Tuticorin. Sensex rallies by 376 points to each 20445.04,
its best level in 32 months. Oct. 3 The Commonwealth
Games gets off to a colourful at the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium start in New Delhi. Keshav, little tabla maestro
enthrals condense at “Rhythms of India”. Oct. 5 The Union
Cabinet approves the Judicial Standards and Accountability
Bill. Oct. 6 The Supreme Court commutes to life
imprisonment the death sentence awarded Santosh Kumar
Singh for the January 23, 1996 rate and murder of law
student Priyadarshini Mattoo in New Delhi. K. Vijay
Kumar assumes office of the new CRPF Director-General
in New Delhi. Music director A.R. Rahman and the
Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Chhattisgarh are jointly
chosen for the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National
Integration for the year 2009. The B.S. Yeddyurappa
Government in Karnataka in crises as 18 MLAs withdraw
support. Oct. 7 A newly developed town near Kolkata is
named Jyoti Basu Nagar after veteran Communist leader
Jyoti Basu. Sensex losses 228 points to end day of
20315.32. Oct. 8 A fast track court in Bangalore hands
down lifer to Shiva Kumar, a car driver, for the rape and
murder of a BPO staff on December 13, 2005. The Madras
High Court sets aside a January 8, 2010 order appointing
Letika Saran as Tamil Nadu DGP. Oct. 9 Maharashtra
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan commissions the Coast
Guard ship ‘Samudra Prahari’, “a state-of-the-art” Pollution
Control Vessel, in Mumbai. Oct. 10 Leh enters the
Guinness Book of World Records after 50,300 saplings are
planted in less than an hour in change village. The BJP
sweeps the local body spells in Gujarat. E-voting
introduced for the first time in the nation. Oct. 11 The BJP
government in Karnataka wins trust vote amid only scenes
in the Assembly Governor recommends President’s rule.
Speaker disqualifies 11 BJP MLAs and five independents.
Oct. 12 The Karnataka government to seek trust vote again.
The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure gives nod for the
proposal to build a Mega Container Terminal at the
Chennai Port. Western Railway’s first women driver Priti
Kumari takes charge. The Punjab and Haryana High Court
commutes to lifer till death the death sentence of Jagtar
Singh Hanxra, prime convict in the assassination of former
Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Oct. 13 The Centre
names Dilip Padgaonkar, M. M. Ansari and Delhi Policy
Group trustee Radha Kumar Jammu and Kashmir
interlocutors. Task forces on Jammu, Ladakh set up.
Sensex surges by 484.54 points to close at 20687.88,
another 33-month high since January 2008. Oct. 14 The
BJP government in Karnataka wins trust vote again. The
biggest ever Commonwealth Games end on a dazzling note.
India bags 101 medals. Sensex sheds 190 points and ends
day at 20497.64. Oct. 15 The Centre appoints a high-level
committee under the former CAG, V.K. Shangbo, to probe
into Commonwealth Games issues. Sensex turns over 370
points on panic selling to close at 20125.05. Oct. 17 The
Bharat Diamond Course, the world’s largest is inaugurated
by the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand
Sharma. Oct. 18 A two member Bench of the Karnataka
High Court delivers a split verdict on the disqualification of
11 BJP MLAs. A third judge to hear case. Massarat Alam
Bhat, most wanted separatist leader in Kashmir is arrested
in Jelbal area on the outskirts of Srinagar. Nod for
Neutrino Observatory project in the Bodi West Hills in
Theni district in Tamil Nadu. Coal India’s initial public
offer opens for public subscription. Oct. 19 India launches
the National Green Tribunal to be headed by former
Supreme Court Judge Lokeshwar Singh Panta. Oct. 20 The
Union Cabinet gives nod for The Enemy Property
(Amendment and Validation) Second Bill, 2010. Oct. 21
Peaceful polling in the first phase of Bihar Assembly,
election. Nod for Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, a
monetary scheme for pregnant women and lactating
mothers. Oct. 22 President Pratibha Patil presents the Dada
Saheb Phalke Award to D. Ramanaidu at the 57th National
Films Award 2009 function in New Delhi. Pasanga bags the
Rajat Kama for the best Tamil film. Oct. 23 The National
Advisory Council reaches consensus on a universal food
security system with legal guarantees. The BJP sweeps the
local self-government polls in Gujarat (held on October 21)
routing the Congress. India and Bangaladesh sign a $ 1
billion Line of Credit agreement in New Delhi. Oct. 24
Despite Naxal threat, 52.5 per cent polling is recorded in
phase II of the Bihar Assembly elections. Narmada Bachao
Andolan completes 25 years. Oct. 26 The Supreme Court
cancels the bail granted to B. Ramalinga Raju and five
others, accused in the Rs. 14,000/- crore Satyam fraud case.
The Supreme Court lifts the stay on pronouncement on
verdicts in eight of the nine Godhra and post Godhra riots
cases of 2002. Oct. 28 Income Tax officials launch
nationwide raids on Commonwealth Games contractors.
Fifty four percent voting in third phase of Bihar Assembly
polls. Nonagenarians among four presented with the
Jamnalal Bajaj award for 2010 in Mumbai. The former IGP
of Kerala, K. Lakshmana, is sentenced to life for “the brutal
killing” of A. Varghese, a Naxalite leader in the Thirunelli
forest in Wayanad 40 years ago. Sensex slips below 20000
and ends day at 19941.04. Oct. 29 The Gujarat High Court
grants conditional bail to the former Minister of State for
Home Amit Shah. Lt. Col. Satyendra Verma, captain of the
Army Adventure Skydiving team, carries out the country’s
first Building, Antenna, Span or Earth Cliff (BASE D jump
from the Pitampura television tower in West Delhi.
Seventy six people are killed as a trawler capsizes in the
Muriganga, in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district.
Two school students are kidnapped and murdered in
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Oct. 30 The occupation
certificate to the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society in
Colaba, Mumbai is revoked.

Fiftyone per cent polling is recorded in fourth phase of

Bihar Assembly elections. Manu Joseph bags The Hindu
Best Fiction Award for his debut novel Serious Men. Nov.
4 The Union Cabinet gives nod for the Protection of
Women against sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill,
2010. Nov. 6 Mumbai a symbol of incredible energy and
optimism that defines India, says the U.S. President Barack
Obama commemorating the 26/11 terror attack at the Taj
Mahal Palace and Towers. Nov. 8 I look forward to India
becoming a permanent member in a reformed United
Nations Security Council, says the U.S. President Barack
Obama addressing a joint session of Parliament. Nov. 9
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan resigns
owning responsibility for the Adarsh Cooperative Housing
Society scam. The Congress sacks Suresh Kalmadi as
secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party. Fifty per
cent polling in Bihar Assembly election fifth phase.
Mohan, the prime accused in the October 29 murder of
siblings in Coimbatore, is killed in an encounter on the
Podanur–Vellore road. Nov. 10 A parliamentary probe
panel holds Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High
Court guilty of ‘misconduct’ tantamount to ‘misbehaviour’.
B. Ramalinga Raju, prime accused in the Satyam Computer
fraud is sent to jail after his surrender in a court in
Hyderabad. Nov. 11 Prithviraj Chavan and Ajit Pawar are
sworn in Maharashtra Chief Minister and Deputy Chief
Minister. The Supreme Court grants bail to the former
Haryana DGP S.P.S. Rathore in a molestation case. A fast
track court in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh sentences to
four years RI four senior medicos for the ragging of Aman
Kachroo, a junior student leading to his death. Nov. 12 The
former Haryana DGP, S.P.S. Rathore is freed from the
Burail jail in Chandigarh. Shyamoli Gupta is elected
AIDWA president. Nov. 14 The Union
Telecommunications Minister A. Raja resigns from Cabinet
over the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Nov. 15 The HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal is given additional charge of
Telecommunications, IT Ministry. Nov. 16 The CAG
report on the 2008 2G spectrum allocation indicting former
Communications Minister A. Raja is tabled in Parliament.
Nov. 19 The outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva is chosen for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,
Disarmament and Development for 2010. ‘Sabla’ or Rajiv
Gandhi’s Scheme for Adolescent Girls’ is launched in New
Delhi. Nov. 20 Fiftyone per cent of the electorate cast
ballots in the sixth and final phase of the Bihar Assembly
polls. Nov. 22 Interbank Mobile Payment Service, a first-
of-its-kind service in the country is launched in Mumbai.
Nov. 23 Huge oil spill as two cargo ships collide on the
Hooghly river at Nurpur in West Bengal’s South 24
Parganas district. Sensex collapses by 600 points – its
steepest fall in 15 months, before gaining 265 points to end
at 19691.84. Nov. 24 The Janata Dal (United) – BJP
alliance bulldozes to power in Bihar winning 206 seats in
the 243-member House. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
Konijeti Rosaiah resigns and the Assembly Speaker Nallari
Kiran Kumar Reddy to succeed him. The CBI arrests eight
bank and financial firm officials after unearthing a multi-
crore housing finance bribery racket. Nov. 25 Nallari Kiran
Kumar Reddy is sworn in Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister.
India launches the Mobile Number Portability service, with
Union Minister Kapil Sibal making it available from
Rohtak, Haryana. Nov. 26 Nitish Kumar is sworn in Bihar
Chief Minister for a second consecutive term. Sushil Kumar
Modi is Deputy Chief Minister again. Nehchal Sandhu is
new Intelligence Bureau Chief. Nov. 27 The Tamil Nadu
Government reappoints Latika Saran, DGP. Nov. 28 The
9900 MWe Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra
gets environmental clearance. Rain wreaks havoc in
Tiruvarur, Madurai and Thanjavur leaving paddy on
thousands of hectares flooded. Nov. 29 Y.S. Jaganmohan
Reddy resigns the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and also quits the
Congress.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for India-Sri Lanka ferry

service. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill is
tabled in the Lok Sabha. Dec. 2 Bengali filmmaker Gautam
Ghose’s “Moner Manush” (The Quest) bags the Golden
Peacock Award for Best Film at the 41st IFFI 2010, in
Panaji, Goa. Dec. 6 India, France sign seven pacts,
including five in the area of nuclear energy, presided over
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Nicolas
Sarkozy in New Delhi. Actor Saroja Devi is selected for
the NTR National Award for 2009. Media baron Ch.
Ramoji Rao gets the Nagi Reddy and Chakrapani National
Award. Dec. 7 A child is killed and 21 injured as a
powerful blast rocks Varanasi’s Shiela Ghat during ‘Ganga
aarti’. The Protection of Women against Sexual
Harassment at Workplace Bill, 2010 is introduced in Lok
Sabha. The Madras High Court orders suspension of
Chairman of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
R.K. Chandramohan. Dec. 8 The CBI conducts searches at
former Telecom Minister, A. Raja’s residences in Delhi and
Chennai. Dec. 9 The Union Government forms a one-
member committee to examine spectrum allotment between
2001 and 2009. Dec. 13 Parliament session plagued by the
2G Spectrum logjam ends. Satyanand Mishra is chosen the
next Chief Information Commissioner. Dec. 15 India and
China sign 50 deals worth $16 billion in the presence of the
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in New Delhi. China-India
Friendship Award for nine persons. The Supreme Court
stays the suspension of R.K. Chandramohan as Chairman of
the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Dec. 16
The Supreme Court takes charge of the 2G Spectrum probe.
Dec. 17 Lifer for killers of marathoner Budhia Singh’s
coach Biranchi Das. Dec. 19 Sachin Tendulkar creates
history by becoming the first batsman to score 50 Test
centuries during his unbeaten knock at Centurion in South
Africa. Dec. 20 The former Union Minister M.P.
Veerendra Kumar and Tamil writer Nanjil Nadan among
this year’s Sahitya Akademi winners. Amitabh Mattoo is
named first Vice-Chancellor of the Central University in
Jammu. Mullaperiyar panel begins work. Dec. 21 India
and Russia sign the contract for the preliminary design of
the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft after talks between
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Dmitry
Medvedev, in New Delhi. Twentynine other pacts inked.
The Prasar Bharati CEO B.S. Lalli is suspended on charges
of irregularities. Dec. 22 The Rajasthan High Court
suspends for a year legislation on quota for Gujjars, even as
the community continues for the third day siege of the
Delhi-Mumbai rail track in Bharatpur. Dec. 23 The former
Kerala Chief Minister K. Karunakaran (93), passes away at
a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Irengbam Hemochandra
is elected Manipur Assembly Speaker. Dec. 24 The CBI
questions the former Communications Minister, A. Raja,
for over eight hours. A Chhattisgarh court hands down lifer
for human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen for plotting to
commit sedition. Sanjeev Tripathi is appointed as the new
chief of RAW. Dec. 25 The launch of the GSLV-F06 from
Sriharikota ends in a failure. Gujjars step up stir
demanding 5 per cent quota in government employment.
Dec. 26 A Kuchipudi dance performance by 2,800 dancers
in Hyderabad enters the Guinness Book of World Records.
Dec. 27 ‘Jal Hans,’ the nation’s first seaplane service is
launched at the Juhu aerodrome in Mumbai. Dec. 29 The
CBI files closure report in the Aarushi murder case.
Kolkata Metro gets railway zone status. Shaukat Hussain
Guru, a convict in the 2001 Parliament attack case, is freed
from the Tihar jail in New Delhi. Dec. 30 The Srikrishna
Committee on the Telangana issue submits report. The
Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II grants highest share to
Andhra Pradesh. The ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa
is granted conditional bail by the designated TADA court in
Guwahati.

A major bomb scare rattles New York’s Times Square.

May 2 The European Union and the IMF approve a $146
billion package to rescue debt-ridden Greece. The Maoists
launch an indefinite general strike in Nepal seeking the
formation of a national government led by them. May 3 Sri
Lankan journalist J. S. Tissainayagam is pardoned by the
President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Court martial hearing against
former General Sarath Fonseka is suspended. Faisal
Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen is arrested in
connection with Times Square Car bomb incident, after
authorities recall a flight soon after takeoff from New
York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. May 5
Mauritians cast ballots in general elections. Three persons
are killed in a fire at a bank as protests turn violent in
Greece on a day of nationwide strike against the
government’s austerity plan. Nigerian President Umaru
Yar’ Adua passes away after a long illness. May 6 Britons
cast ballots in a closely contested general election in a
generation. Goodluck Jonathan is sworn in Nigerian
President. The three-party alliance of Prime Minister Navin
Ramgoolam wins 41 of the 60 seats in the Mauritius
National Parliament. Researchers announce sequencing of
the genetic blueprint of Neander Poly from bones found in
Vindija, Croatia. May 7 The British election throws up a
hung parliament and the Labour Party handed down defeat
after 13 years in Power. Shahabana Mahmood and Yasmin
Qureshi become Britain’s first women Muslim MPs.
Myanmar’s National League for Democracy led by Aung
San Suu Kyi ceases to exist. World Wide Web launches
Arabic URLs, Egypt begins registering names under the
misr domain A massive peace assembly is held in Nepal
capital Kathmandu. Maoists withdraw indefinite general
strike. May 9 Russia marks 65th anniversary of victory in
World War II with a spectacular military parade in
Moscow’s Red Square. A strong earthquake of 7.2
magnitude strikes off Indonesia’s Aceh Province. The
European Union announces a €750 billion special European
fund to bailout failing euro zone economics. At least 52
coal miners are killed after methane blasts at a mine in
Siberia, Russia. May 10 At least 66 people are killed and
146 wounded as terrorists unleash a wave of violence in
Iraq. Filipinos cast votes in general elections. May 11
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigns. May 12
Conservative leader David Cameron assumes office as
Britain’s Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg
takes over as Deputy Prime Minister. William Hague is the
new Foreign Secretary and George Osborne the Chancellor
of the Exchequer. At least 103 people among them 70
Dutch nationals are killed as a Libyan Airbus jet crashes
while trying to land at Tripoli Airport. A Dutch boy Ruben
Ven Assouw (9) alone survives. Seven school children are
hacked to death at a kindergarten in China’s Shaanxi
province. The Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
cancels a proposed November 14 election and calls off talks
with anti-government protesters. May 13 The chief ministry
advisor of Thailand’s anti-government protesters Khattiya
Sawasdipol is shot at in Bangkok. Social activist Ela Bhalt
receives the Niwano Peace Prize for 2010 for her
contribution to the uplift of poor women in India. India and
Venezuela sign a pact to develop a $20-billion oil project in
Orinoco region. The 63rd Cannes Film Festival opens with
the premiere of Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood. May 14 Seven
persons are killed and more than 100 injured in clashes
between Thai troops and “Red Shirt” anti-government
protesters in Bangkok. Space Shuttle Atlantis begins its
last mission to the International Space Station. May 15
Two days of clashes result in 17 deaths in Thailand. At
least 140 are injured. Australian schoolgirl sailor Jessica
Watson sails into history becoming the youngest person to
circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop and without help.
May 16 A number of major airports across the U.K. are
closed due to renewed threat from Icelandic volcanic ash.
Rima Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant is crowned Miss USA
in Los Vegas making her the first ever Arab-American to
win the title. May 17 Iran signs nuclear fuel swap deal with
Brazil and Turkey after 18 hours of negotiations in Tehran.
The Euro plunges to a four-year low in volatile Tokyo
trade. The U.S. President Barack Obama signs the Daniel
Pearl Freedom of Press Act into law. May 18 The Obama
administration announces deal with major powers to impose
new sanctions on Iran. Eighteen persons are killed and 47
injured after a suicide car bomber attacks a NATO convoy
in Afghanistan capital Kabul. A bicycle bomb kills 12
persons in the Dera Ismail Khan area of Khyber
Pukhtoonkhwa (formerly North West Frontier Province) in
Pakistan. U.S. geneticist Craig Venter creates synthetic life
by building the genome of a bacterium from scratch and
incorporating it into a cell. May 19 Thailand’s security
forces crush a two-month protest by Red Shirts after
storming a barricaded campsite in Ratchaprasong in
Bangkok’s commercial district. At least six persons,
including a foreign journalist are killed. The French
Cabinet approves a draft law to ban burqa from public
spaces. A bill to reform Wall Street fails to clear the U.S.
Senate. Anglo-Irish writer J. G. Farrell is posthumously
awarded a special one-off “lost” Booker Prize for his novel
Troubles published in 1970. May 21 A Japanese rocket
launches a Venus probe and a kite-shaped “space yacht”
Ikaros from the Tanegashima space centre in southern
Japan. May 20 U.S. Senate passes a filibuster-proof bill on
financial reform “Volcker rule” to restrict banks’
investment in hedge funds. May 22 Arjun Vajpai (16), a
schoolboy from New Delhi becomes the youngest Indian to
successfully climb Mount Everest. Apa Sherpa climbs peak
for a record 20th time. Jordan Romero (13), from Big Bear,
California becomes the youngest person in the world to
conquer Mt. Everest. May 23 Thai director Apichatpong
Weerasethakul wins the Palmed’Or at the Cannes film
festival for a surreal reincarnation fala Uncle Boonmee
Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Javier Bardem and Elio
Germano share best actor award. France’s Juliette Binoche
is named best actress. British screenwriter Simon Monjack,
husband of late actor Brittany Murphy is found dead at his
Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles. May 24 South
Korea announces “far-reaching trade restrictions” against
North Korea. May 25 Argentina turns 200. The Pakistan
Supreme Court upholds Lahore High Court’s decision to
free Jama’at-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest.
May 26 Shuttle Atlantis wraps up a 25-year career,
including 32 missions covering 120 million miles and lands
at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral,
Florida. May 27 President Pratibha Patil seeks China’s
backing ro a permanent UNSC seat for India during the
summit meeting with President Hu Jintao. North Korea
scraps pact with South Korea on the Prevention of naval
clashes between them. Seoul launches anti-submarine drills
off its west coast. Reducing Emissions for Deforestation
and Degradation (REDD+), an international programme to
protect forests, gets nod at a meeting in Oslo. May 28
Ninety-five people are killed and 70 injured in terrorist
attacks on two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan. Nepal parties
agree to extend the term of the Constituent Assembly by a
year. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to step down.
Ready for a “new starting point”, top Chinese leaders tell
President Pratibha Patil. An Indian-style temple is
dedicated to the people of China in Luoyang Henan
province. May 30 David Laws, Britain’s Chief Secretary to
the Treasury resigns over charges of abuse of parliamentary
expenses rules. Colombians cast ballots in presidential
polls. May 31 Nine persons are killed after Israeli
commandos attack a high-profile Gaza-bound six-ship aid
flotilla, trying to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip
by Tel Aviv since June 2007. The German President Horst
Koehler resigns following criticism of his comments about
the nation’s mission in Afghanistan. At least 179 people
are killed as tropical storm Agatha batters Central America,
with Guatemala bearing the brunt.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigns over the

issue of letting a U.S. base remain in Okinawa prefecture.
Twelve persons are killed as Derrick Bird, a taxi driver
goes on a shooting spree in Lake District, London before
turning the gun on himself. Afghanistan President Hamid
Karzai escapes bid on life after a three-member Taliban
suicide squad targets a peace meet in Kabul. Jun. 3 To test
endurance during a simulated 520-day return flight to mars,
six researchers are locked up inside a mock spacecraft built
near Moscow where they will spend the next 18 months. At
least 100 people, mostly women and children, are killed in
a fire in the old part of Dhaka. Anthony Hill, an African
American is shot dead and his body dragged for several
kilometres in Newberry County in Central South Carolina,
the U.S. Sir Paul McCatney is awarded the Gershwin Prize,
the highest American award for popular song. Jun. 4 Naoto
Kan is elected Japanese Prime Minister. Indian-American
Anamika Veeramani wins the Scripps National Spelling
Bee contest. Jun. 5 Israeli troops take control of MV
Rachel Corrie, an Irish flagged aid ship bound for Gaza.
Jun. 6 The 160-metre Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi is
recognised as the “furthest leaning man-made tower in the
world by Guinness World Records.” Jun. 7 “Prague is
today an active participant in the making of a new Europe”,
says the Vice Prepsident Hamid Ansari visiting the Czech
Republic. Jun. 8 India and the Czech Republic sign three
agreements. A Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation
is set up. Jun. 9 The Dutch cast ballots in parliamentary
polls. The U.N. imposes fresh sanctions against Iran. India
and Croatia sign two pacts on cooperation in Health and
Medicine and on Cultural exchange in Zagreb. American
novelist Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna wins the year’s
£30,000 Orange Prize for fiction, Britain’s highly-regarded
literary honour for women writers. Jun. 10 At least 37
persons are killed and 400 wounded in clashes between
ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups in Kyrgyzstan. Jun. 11
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Moscow summit
approves rules for admitting new members from the Asia-
Pacific region. Jun. 12 The Symphony Orchestra of India,
the nation’s first such professional body makes
international debut at the Fifth Festival of World’s
Symphony Orchestras in Moscow. Jun. 13 The first results
from Belgium’s general election confirm a breakthrough for
Flemish separatists. Iran, Pakistan finalise gas pipeline
deal. Jun. 14 U.S. geologists discover $ 1 trillion worth of
untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan. Jun. 15 The toll
in Kyrgyzstan ethnic strife touches 170. Lakhs fleeing
homes. Uzbekistan closes border. Swiss MPs approve fax
deal with with the U.S. British troops fired without
provocation killing 13 persons on January 30, 1972 (Bloody
Sunday) in Londonderry, Northern Ireland at a rights
march, says probe panel. Jun. 16 British Petroleum agrees
to pay $ 20 billion into an oil spill fund. Jun. 17 Canada
could have averted the Kanishka air tragedy on June 23,
1985 in which 329 people died, says probe panel. An
Australian teenager is arrested in a Melbourne suburb for
the January 2 murder of Indian student Niting Garg. Swiss
Parliament backs a tax treaty crucial to the future of UBS
AG, the country’s biggest bank. The European Union
approves sanctions that target Iran’s key energy sector.
Jun. 18 Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad is
indicted by a grand fury in the U.S. District Court of
Manhattan in the botched Times Square car bombing. Jun.
20 Poles cast ballots in snap presidential polls. Iran hangs
Abdolmalek Rigi leader of the Pakistan-based Jundallah
group for violent incidents in the country. China announces
a floating currency exchange rate to keep the yuan stable.
Jun. 21 Pakistan-born American Faisal Shahzad pleads
guilty to the Times Square car bomb bid 100 times. Jun. 23
The U.S. President Barack Obama removes General Stanley
McChristal as the top NATO commander in Afghanistan.
Jun. 24 Julia Gillard is sworn in Australia’s first woman
Prime Minister. The incumbent Kevin Rudd quits after
being toppled as leader of the ruling Labour Party. France
is paralysed by a general strike in protest against the
government’s decision to revise the retirement age from 60
to 62. India, Pakistan resume Composite Dialogue process,
on hold since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Alstom
opens the largest rotor balancing facility in the world on the
banks of the Tennessee River at Chattanooga,Tennessee,
U.S. Jun. 25 India joins the Thirty Metre Telescope
project, the next generation astronomical observatory that
will be located on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. India joins the
Financial Action Task Force, a global body that chalks out
policies to counter financial frauds. The Maldives Cabinet
resigns after a standoff with the Opposition. The U.S.
arrests a couple and nine other members of an alleged
Russian spy ring in the last three days. Jun. 26 The G8
summit in Canada renews its ban on the sale of enrichment
and reprocessing technology to India. Jun. 27 The Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh warns against a double dip
recession at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada. Guineans
cast ballots in the West African nation’s first democratic
election since independence in 1958. Kyrgyzstan voters
approve a new Constitution in a referendum backing radical
changes from a presidential to a parliamentary form of
government. India and Canada sign a civil nuclear
cooperation agreement in Toronto. G-20 leaders agree on a
timetable for cutting deficits. Joint declaration welcomes
resumption of India-Pakistan talks. Jun. 28 India and Japan
begin talks on civil nuclear cooperation in Tokyo. Jun. 29
China and Taiwan sign a historic pact – the Economic
Cooperatioin Framework Agreement in the southwest
Chinese city of Chongqing. Jun. 30 Nepal’s Prime Minister
Madhav Kumar Nepal resigns after being at the helm for 13
months. The U.S. House of Representatives passes bill to
revamp the financial regulatory system.

Christian Wulff (51) becomes Germany’s youngest-ever

President. Jayant Patel Indian-born U.S. citizen dubbed
“Dr. Death” in Australia gets a seven-year jail term fro a
string of botched operations. Russia’s math whiz Grigori
Perelman turns down a $ 1 million prize awarded to him for
proving the 106-year-old Poincare Conjecture. At least 41
persons are killed and 175 injured as a series of blasts rips
through the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore. Jul. 2 The
United Nations General Assembly votes to create “U.N.
Women” (UNW) for accelerating gender equality and
women’s empowerment. Two hundred and thirty persons
are killed as a fuel tanker overturns and explodes in a
village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Jul. 3
Rosa Otunbayeva is sworn in Kyrgyzstasn’s President in
the capital Bishkek and becomes the first woman head of
state in Central Asia. Jul. 4 Bronislaw Kamorowski wins
Poland’s run off presidential elections. U.S. Army General
David Petraeus assumes command of the 130,000-strong
international force in Afghanistan. Jul. 5 Russia, Belarus
and Kazakhstan launch a customs union. The British
Government announces plans for a major shake-up of the
country’s electrol system. The European Space Agency
releases the first-ever all sky image of the entire universe.
Iceland authorities exhume the body of chess legend Bobby
Fischer to carry out a paternity test to settle a dispute over
his estate. Jul. 7 A Solar Impulse airplane takes off on a
pioneering round-the-clock flight attempt at Payerne airport
in Switzerland. Jul. 8 Solar Impulse, a giant Ilisder-like
aircraft completes the first night flight propelled by solar
energy. The European Parliament gives nod for a legal
blue-print for the formation of the European External
Action Service, a 97,000 – strong diplomatic corps. Ten
persons suspected of spying for Russia in the U.S. are
swapped for four Russians alleged of being U.S. double
agents in Vienna, Austria. Jul. 9 Over 102 persons are
killed and 168 injured in a suicide bomb attack at a
government office in Mohmand tribal agency in Pakistan.
Jul. 10 One of the biggest manhunts by British police ends
after a fugitive Raoul Moat kills himself in Rothbury town,
Northumber land following a six-hour face-off with armed
police officers. The European spacecraft Rosetta performs
a fly by of Lutetia, a massive potato-shaped asteroid. Jul.
11 At least 74 people are killed in twin bombings at two
bars packed with soccer fans in Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Jul. 12 The Swiss government declares French-Polish film
director Roman Polanski under house arrest at his chalet in
Gstaad a freeman. The International Criminal Court at the
Hague charges Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with
genocide in Darfur. Jul. 13 France’s Lower House of
Parliament votes to ban the wearing of the burqa and the
niqab or full face Muslim veil in public. Arun Kumar
Narote, an Indian student hailing from Hyderabad is shot
dead at a provision store in Bridgeport city in the U.S. Jul.
15 Argentina becomes the first country in Latin America to
legalise same-sex marriage following a landmark Senate
vote after a 15-hour debate. The U.S. Senate passes an
unprecedented and game-changing Wall Street reform bill.
At least 21 persons are killed and 100 injured in two suicide
bomb attacks at a prominent Shia Muslim mosque in the
Iranian city of Zahedan. Jul. 16 Germany and China ink a
series of deals reportedly worth several billion dollars. Jul.
17 Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calls for general
election set for August 21. NASA’s wide-field Infrared
Survey Explorer or WISE completes its first survey of the
entire sky. Jul. 18 At last 43 persons are killed in suicide
attacks in Iraq aimed at the Sons of Sons of Iraq, a Sunni
group also known as Sahia. The world celebrates “Nelson
Mandela International Day” as the anti-apartheid icon turns
92. The six-day 18th International AIDS Conference opens
in the Austrian capital Vienna. Syria bans niqab the full
Islamic veil at universities. Jul. 21 The U.S. President
Barack Obama signs into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Jul. 22 Kosovo’s
declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008
legal, says the International Court of Justice in a ground
breaking ruling. Muttiah Muralidharan becomes the first
cricketer to take 800 wickets in Test matches playing in his
last match in Galle. Balochistan province in Pakistan is
smothered by floods. Jul. 24 The 83-year-old Lake Delhi
dam in Iowa, the U.S. breaches sending a torrent into the
Maquoketa river affecting 8,000 people. Nineteen persons
are killed and 340 people injured in a stampede at Love
Parade 2010 event in the Western German city of Duisburg.
Jul. 26 In one of the biggest leaks in U.S. military history,
online whistleblower WikiLeaks brings to light a huge
cache of secret U.S. files exposing truth of the failing war
of Afghanistan. A Spanish man Oscar, who underwent the
world’s first full face transplant on March 20 at a Barcelona
hospital, appears on television. Kaing Guek Eav, also
known as Duch, a former Khmer Rouge official, is jailed
for 35 years for his role in the mass execution of “enemies”
between 1975 and 1979. Jul. 28 All 152 people, including
six Youth Parliament members, on board a Pakistan aircraft
are killed as it crashes into the Margalla Hills skirting the
capital Islamabad. The Bangladesh Supreme Court in a
landmark judgment nullifies the controversial 5th
Amendment to the Constitution made in 1977 that gave
legitimacy to military-led governments. Jul. 29 New York
city agrees to pay more than $7 million to settle a civil
lawsuit filed by victims of a police brutality case dating
back to November 2006. Jul. 30 Nepal’s Supreme Court
upholds life term for Charles Sobhraj for a crime he
committed in 1975. At least 800 people are killed after
three days of rainfall causes widespread flooding in
Pakistan. India and the U.S. sign an agreement for
reprocessing spent nuclear fuel in Washington. Jul. 31
Chelsea Clinton marries investment banker Marc
Mezvinsky at Astor Court in Rhinebeck, New York.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions, a landmark

international treaty to ban cluster bombs takes effect. Aug.
2 A Muttahida Qaurmi Movement legislator of the Sindh
assembly Raza Haider, is gunned down in the Jama Masjid
in Nazimabad, Karachi. China holds ‘Vanguard-2010’, a
major air defence exercise along the country’s coast
bordering Yellow Sea. Aug. 4 Kenyan voters
overwhelmingly approve a new Constitution in a
referendum. Aug. 6 Pakistan says recent monsoon floods
biggest-ever disaster in the nation’s history, with 1,32,000
sq.km. affected in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa (formerly)
NWFP) and Punjab provinces alone. Ten medical workers
are killed in a remote area of northern Afghanistan by
Taliban gunmen. Aug. 7 India and Bangaladesh sign an
agreement on a $ 1-billion line of credit extended to Dhaka
by New Delhi. At least 43 persons are killed and 185
wounded in Basra, Iraq following a roadside explosion and
two car bombings. Aug. 8 At least 127 people are killed
and nearly 1,300 missing after mudslides sweep away
homes in Gansu provine, Northwestern China. Ennackal
Chandy George Sudarshan, an Indian-American professor
at the University of Texas, Austin shares the Dirac Medal
with Italian physicist Nicola Cabibbo. Aug. 9 Rwanda’s
President Paul Kagame wins a second term gaining a
landslide victory. Aug. 11 British researchers announce the
emergence of a new class of antibiotic-resistant superbug –
NDM – 1 (New Delhi metallo-betalactamase-1) Aug. 13 A
Sri Lankan court finds former Army Chief General Sarath
Fonseka guilty of dabbling in politics while in uniform.
The U.S. President Barack Obama signs into law the
Southwest Border Security Bill in Washington. Aug. 16 A
Boeing 737 jetliner with 131 passengers aboard crashes on
landing and breaks into three pieces on San Andres island
in Columbia. Aug. 17 At least 51 people are killed and
more than 100 injured after suicide bombers attack
hundreds queuing up outside a military recruitment centre
in Baghdad. Columbia’s Constitutional Court suspends
defence pact with the U.S. Aug. 18 Russia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan and Tajikistan agree to step up joint fight against
terrorism and narcotics – at a quadripartite summit in the
Russian Black Sea Resort of Sochi. Aug. 19 Last U.S.
combat brigade leaves Iraq seven years after leading the
invasion of the nation. The floods in Pakistan a “slow
motion tsunami”, says the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon at a special U.N. session. Nations pledge $254
million. China pulls off a tricky and uncommon feat in
space flight, manoeuvring one of its satellites to within
about 300 metres of another. Aug. 21 Australians cast
ballots in snap national elections. Dutch solo sailor Laura
Dekker (14) begins her round-the-world record bid from the
Portuguese port of Portimao. Iran begins loading fuel into
its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Aug. 23 After a
ten-hour hostage crisis, six passengers of a tourist bus are
killed in the Philippines capital Manila by a sacked police
officer who is later short dead by security forces. Blasts
leave 35 dead in Pakistan’s South Wazirstan tribal agency.
Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete is crowned Miss Universe
2010 at the 59th annual pageant held in Las Vegas.
Twentynine civilians are killed in clashes sparked by
terrorist attacks on army barracks in Somalia. A Federal
Court in Washington blocks most government financing for
embryonic stem cell research. Aug. 24 Six MPs among 30
killed in rampage at a hotel in the Somalia capital
Mogadishu. Fortytwo persons are killed when a passenger
jet overshoots a runway in northeast China. Aug. 25 At
least 46 persons are killed in a string of attacks in Iraq.
Aug. 26 The High Court of Bangladesh declares illegal the
Seventh Amendment to the Constitution that legalised the
autocratic rule of General Hussein Muhammad Ershad.
Aug. 27 Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki signs a new
Constitution into law. Aug. 28 China passes a first-of-its-
kind law to set up “mediation committees” to handle
conflicts at the grassroots level. Aug. 29 Russia’s Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin opens oil pipeline to China. The
Sinabung volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra
erupts for the first time in 400 years. “Modern Family”,
“Mad Men” sweep the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
announced in Los Angeles. Aug. 30 The Sri Lankan
Cabinet approves changes to the 1978 Constitution and lifts
ban on a third term in office for President Mahinda
Rajapakse. Aug. 31 Thirtyone persons are killed and over
200 injured as triple blasts targeting a Shia procession rock
Lahore, Pakistan. The U.S. President Barack Obama
announces the end of the American combat mission in Iraq.

The Israelis and the Palestinians begin direct peace talks in

Washington. An oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico
explodes off Louisinia and a mile-long oil sheen is said to
be spreading. Sep. 3 India and South Korea sign landmark
memoranda of understanding on defence, in Seoul. Sixty
persons are killed and more than 200 injured in a suicide
attack on a Shia procession in Quetta, Pakistan. Sep. 4 A 7
magnitude earthquake devastates New Zealand. Sep. 5
Basque separatist group ETA declares a ceasefire in its
bloody 42-year campaign for a homeland independent of
Spain. Israel names Major General Yoav Galant its next
military chief. Sep. 6 Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is
sworn in for a second term at the capital Kigali. Nineteen
persons are killed in a suicide bomb attack on a police
station in Lakki Marwat, a district in Khyber
Pukhtoonkhwa, Pakistan. Sep. 7 Australian Prime Minister
Julia Gillard wins a 17-day political marathon to lead a
minority government in a hung Parliament. A general
strike against pension reforms throws life out of gear in
France. Eighteen persons are killed in a blast that rips
through the police lines in Kohat, a cantonment town in
Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Pakistan. Officials hoist a 70 foot
steel column salvaged from the rubble after the September
11 2001 attack on the World Trade Center at ground zero in
New York. Japan detains a Chinese ship captain Zhan
Qixiong after accusing him of ramming his fishing trawler
against two patrol vessels near a disputed area in the East
China Sea. Sep. 8 The Sri Lankan Parliament approves
amendments to the 1978 Constitution, including lifting the
two-terms limit on the post of President. Sep. 9 At least 17
people are killed and more than 140 injured in a suicide car
bomb attack in Russia’s violent-turn North Caucasus
region. Hyundai Motor unveils BlueOn, South Korea’s
first full-speed electric car in the capital Seoul. Sep. 10
India commits wide-ranging aid to Laos after talks between
Presidents Pratibha Patil and Choumally Sayasone in
Vientiane. Sep. 11 The former Australian Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd is allocated Foreign Ministry. Wayne Swan is
Deputy Prime Minister and Stephen Smith gets Defence.
Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere bags the Golden Lion Prize at
the 67th Venice Film Festival. The Silver Lion for best
director goes to Alex de la Iglesia for Balada triste de
Trompeta (A Sad Trumpet Ballad). Sep. 12 Turkish voters
back a package to reform the Constitution in a referendum.
Sep. 15 Russia and Norway sign The Treaty on Maritime
Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the
Arctic Ocean, in the Russian seaport of Murmansk. Egypt
announces the discovery of a 2,800 year old burial chamber
which belongs to the priest Karakhamun from 25th
Dynasty. Sep. 16 Four high-ranking leaders of Cambodia’s
Khmer Rouge government are indicted for “crimes against
humanity, war crimes and genocide”. Pope Benedict XVI
arrives in Edinburgh beginning the first-ever state visit by a
Pope to Britain. Sep. 17 Twentyfive persons are killed in a
blast at a police station in Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka. A
court marshal recommends a three-year jail term for former
Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka. Sep. 18
Afghanistan holds crucial parliamentary polls despite a
string of rocket attacks. Philippe Croizon, a Frenchman and
quadruple amputee swims across the English Channel using
leg prosthes that have flippers attached. Sep. 19 China
suspends contacts with Japan. Two car bomb blasts leave
29 persons dead and 111 injured in the Iraqi capital
Baghdad. Hung House in Sweden after parliamentary
polls. Sep. 20 European leaders offer $ 1.3 billion on the
first day of a three-day summit on the Millennium
Development Goals at the United Nations, New York.
Fredrik Reinfeldt is re-elected Swedish Prime Minister. Sir
Mota Singh, the United Kingdom’s first Sikh and Asian
Judge receives the Pride of India Award 2009 instituted by
the India International Foundation, in London. Sep. 22 A
bomb blast at a military parade leaves 10 persons killed and
57 injured in the Iranian city of Mahabad. Sep. 23 The
2010 World Statesman Award is presented in absentia to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York. Sep. 24
Teresa Lewis (41) is executed by lethal injection at
Greensville Correctional Centre in Jarratt in Virginia. A
U.S. court sentences Pakistani neuro-scientist Aafia
Siddiqui to 86 years in prison for shooting at American
soldiers in Afghanistan. Sep. 25 Japan frees a Chinese boat
captain held a fortnight ago for ramming the vehicle on to
Japanese Coast Guard vessels off the Diaoyu Islands in the
East China sea. Chocolate maker Georges Larnicol sails
his 3.5 metre-long 1.2-tonne boat made of chocolate in
Concarneau Port, Western France. Sep. 26 A boat named
‘Irene’ carrying Jewish activists sets sail from Cyprus for
Gaza. Sep. 27 Russia, China sign a series of commercial
and political deals. Balaji Sadasivan (55), Singapore’s
Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs dies of cancer.
Construction work resumes in West Bank as Israel does not
extend the 10-month freeze. Sep. 28 About 1,000 people
are feared killed after a hillside collapses in southern
Mexico, burying up to 300 homes. North Korea’s Kim
Jong Il names his youngest son Kim Jong-un vice-chairman
of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s central military
commission. Sep. 29 Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa approves a 30-month rigorous jail term for the
former Army chief Sarath Fonseka.

China’s lunar probe Change – 2 is successfully launched

from the Xichang Satelite Launch Centre in Sichnan
province. The former Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf
launches a new political party, All – Pakistan Muslim
League, in London. Vietnam holds a grand ceremony to
mark the beginning of the 10-day celebrations observing
the 1,000th anniversary of the capital city of Hanoi. Oct. 2
Ukraine’s Constitutional Court invalidates the political
reform of 2004 adopted during the pro-Western “Orange
revolution”. Atleast 36 persons are killed in a train rams a
stationary train at a station in Petaswar, a coastal city in
Central Java, Jakarta. Oct. 3 Brazilians cast ballots in
Presidential polls. Germany celebrates 20 years of
reunification after decades of Cold War division. Oct. 4 Dr.
Robert G. Edwards, British Scientist and IVF pioneer, who
created Louise Brown the world’s first test tube baby in
1978 is awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine. A
decade-long Census of Marine Life lists over 1 millioin
marine species living on earth. Over one million cubic
metres of toxic red sludge bursts out of a Hungarian’s
factory’s reservoir and sweeps through villages. Oct. 5
Andre Geim of the Netherlands and Russian – British
National Konstantin Novoselov are jointly awarded the
Nobel Physics Prize for their woks on graphone, the
World’s thinnest and strongest nanomaterial. Life term for
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-born U.S. Citizen, charged
with the May 1 Times Square bomb plot. Oct. 6 Richard
Heck of the U.S. and Ei-ichi Negishi and Aira Suzuki of
Japan are chosen for the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the
development of “palladium – catalysed cross-coupling”.
Oct. 7 Mario Vargas Llosa, celebrated Peruvian – Spanish
author is chosen for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Seven
persons are killed and 65 injured as two suicide bombers
strike at the Abdullah Shah ghazi shrine in Karachi,
Pakistan. Oct. 8 Jailed Chinese political activist, Liu
xigobo is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Oct. 10
Kyrgyzstan voters cast ballots in landmark parliamentary
polls. Parade in Hanoi to mark millennium of the
Vietnamese capital. Oct. 11 Peter Diamond and Dale
Mortensen of the U.S. and British-Cypriot Christopher
Pissarides win the Economics Nobel for their work on
explaining demand – supply gap in the labour market and
elsewhere. Oct. 12 eighteen countries come to gather under
the banner of Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Defence Minister’s Meeting Plus in the Vietnam
capital Hanoi. India is elected a non-permanent member of
the United Nations Security Council. British writer and
Journalist Howard Jacobson’s novel The Finkler Question
bags the Man Booker Prize 2010. A Federal judge in
California strikes down the law that banned gays from
serving in the army if they revealed their sexual orientation.
Oct. 15 Russian scientists open Severny Polyus (North
Pole) 38, a floating polar research station, in the Chuckchi
Sea at the margin of the Arabic Ocean. Israel’s government
ends an unofficial freeze on new building in east Jerusalem.
Oct. 17 Pope Benedict XVI canonises Australia’s first saint
Mary Mackillop at a mass in Saint Peter’s Square. Oct. 18
Super typhoon Megi pounds the northern Philippines
whipping up huge waves along the cost. The 12-day U.N.’s
Convention on Biological Diversity opens in the central
city of Nagoya in Japan. Oct. 19 At least seven persons are
killed and 17 wounded as gunman attack the Chechen
Parliament in the capital Grozny. Author J.K. Rowling is
presented the first Hans Christian Andersen Literature
Prize. Oct. 20 The U.K. Governmenht announces a E 80
billion – plus cuts in public spending. Nearly a quarter of
the 5.6 million ballots cast in Afhan Parliamentary polls is
cancelled. Oct. 21 Three senior peers, including Labour’s
Lord Swraj Paul, are suspended from the British House of
Lords over their expenses claims. Oct. 22 The French
Upper House posses the law raising the retirement age from
60 to 62 amid nationwide strikes and protests. “In the
largest classified military leak in history” , WikiLeaks
releases 400,000 secret American documents on the Iraq
war. Oct. 23 The G-20 countries vow to avoid tit-for-tat
currency devaluations after talks in Gyeongju, South Korea.
Deal to revamp IMF clinched. Legendary Everest climber
Chhewang Nima Sherpa (43), is feared killed after being
swept away by an avalanche while fixing ropes for a
climbing group on the 7,129-metre Mt. Baruntse. Oct. 25
At least 413 people are killed in a three-metre tsunami
triggered by 7.7 magnitude temblor in Indonesia obtain the
worst hit off the coast of Sumatra Mentawai Island. India
and Japan decide to expand ties in the area of rare earth
minerals after Manmonhan Singh-Naoto Kan talks in
Tokyo. Oct. 26 China unveils the world’s fastest bullet
train linking Shanghat and Hangzhou, which will run at 350
km per hour. The Iraq High Tribunal sentenced to death
former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. Paul, the
octopus, who fascinated football fans with its predictions
during this year’s World Cup dies in an aquarium in the
German city of Oberhausen. At least 30 people are killed
after Indonesia’s most volatile volcano Mount Merapi
erupts. Oct. 27 France’s Parliament grants final approval to
a bill raising the retirement age from 60-62. The former
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner (60), dies in Buenos
Aires after suffering from severe heart trouble. India and
Malaysia sign six pacts in Kuala Lumpur at a ceremony
presided over by Prime Minister Manmon Singh and Md.
Najib. A boulevard named Little India is inaugurated in
Malaysia. India signs the convention on Supplementary
Componsation for Nuclear Damage at the International
Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. Oct. 28
Two air shipments of explosives packed in toner cartridges
for computer printers sent from Yeman to Synagogues in
Chicago are intercepted in Britain and Dubai. Oct. 29
Thirty persons are killed and 68 wounded in a suicide
bombing at a coffee shop in central Iraq’s restive Diyala
province. Oct. 30 Alexandria Mills from the U.S. is
crowned Miss World 2010 at a glittering ceremony in
Sanya, China. Oct. 31 Brazilians vote in presidential run-
off. At least 52 people are killed in a botched attempt to
rescue hostages at the Out Lady of Salvation Cathalic
Cathedral in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Dilma Rousseff becomes Brazil’s first-ever woman
President. Nov. 2 Britain and France sign an unprecedented
50-year nuclear deal. The Republican Party sweeps to
power in the election to the 112th United States Congress.
Democrats’ strength in Senate slashed. Nimrata Nikki
Randhawa Haley is elected South Carolina Governor.
British Labour peer Swraj Paul resigns as Deputy Speaker
of the House of Lords. Nov. 3 Indonesia’s Mount Merapi
erupts with its biggest blast yet shooting searing ash
kilometres into the air. Indian-American Kamala Harris
wins election for Attorney-General of California. Nov. 4
All 68 people on board a Cuban plane are killed after it
crashes in a remote area near Guasimal village in Sancti
Spiritus province. Nov. 5 Nearly 70 worshippers are killed
in the suicide bombing at a mosque in Khyber
Pukhtoonkhwa, Pakistan. One hundred and ninety one
people are killed as Indonesia’s Mount Merapi unleashes its
most powerful eruption in a century. Nov. 7 Low turnout
marks Myanmar polls being held after two decades. Nov. 8
Exodus following deadly clashes between Myanmar troops
and Karen rebels in Myawaddy town. Aasia Bibi, a
Pakistani Christian is handed down death penalty for
blasphemy. Nov. 9 Rolls-Royce signs a record $1.2-billion
deal to sell jet engines to China Eastern Airlines. Nov. 12
G20 summit in Seoul agrees to curb “persistently large
imbalances” in saving and spending. The 16th Asian
Games gets off to a colourful start in Guangzhou, China.
Nov. 13 Aung Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s celebrated pro-
democracy leader is freed from house arrest in Yangon.
Nov. 19 Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is sworn
in for a second term in Colombo. Nov. 22 At least 350
people are killed and 750 injured in a stampede on an
overcrowded bridge at a Cambodian water festival. Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa unveils a 90-member
Cabinet. Nov. 23 Two south Korean marines and two
civilians are killed and 16 others injured as North Korea
shells Yeonpyeong island in the disputed waters of the
Yellow sea. Nov. 27 The fuelling of Iran’s first nuclear
plant in Bushehr is completed. The 15-day 16th Asian
Games in Guangzhou, China concludes. Nov. 28
WikiLeaks, the Whistleblowers’ website, leaks to media
outlets of more than 250,000 classified cables sent from
U.S. embassies. Alassane Ouattara wins the second round
of Ivory Coast presidential polls. Incumbent Laurent
Gbagbo refuses to accept verdict. Nov. 29 The 10-day 16th
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
opens in Cancun, Mexico.

India’s Nicole Faria is crowned Miss Earth Talent 2010 in

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Dec. 7 WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange is arrested by the British police following
surrender at a Central London police station. Dec. 8 At
least 83 inmates of a Chilean prison are killed in a fire set
off by rioting fellow prisoners. Dec. 9 A teenager is
sentenced by the Supreme Court for the January 2 murder
of an Indian youth Nitin Garg in Cruickshank Park in
Melbourne, Australia. Dec. 10 Chinese dissident Liu
Xiaobo is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia at an
Oslo ceremony. Dec. 12 Kosovo votes in its first elections
since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. Dec. 13
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismisses Foreign
Minister Manoucher Mottaki. Richard Holbrooke (69), the
U.S. President Barack Obama’s Special Representative for
Afghanistan and Pakistan passes away at the George
Washington University Hospital in Washington of
complications from 21 hours of surgery to repair ruptured
aorta. Dec. 15 The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is
named Time magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year. The U.N.
Security Council eases sanctions on Iraq. Curtains on oil
for-food programme. Dec. 16 WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange is freed. Dec. 17 U.S. missile attacks leave 54
killed in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal region. Dec. 18 The U.S.
Senate votes to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law that
will allow the military to permit gays to serve openly. Dec.
19 Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko wins a fourth
straight term in office. Dec. 21 Iraq’s Parliament confirms
Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister for a second term. Dec.
22 The U.S. Senate passes the New START treaty with
Russia. Australia apologises and makes a payout to Indian
doctor Mohamed Haneef for wrongly detaining and
charging him with involvement in a terrorism plot in Britain
in 2007. Dec. 23 The International Convention for the
Protection of all Persons From Enforced Disappearance
enters into force. Dec. 24 The Russian Parliament gives
preliminary approval for New START treaty. Dec. 25 An
earthquake causes a minor tsunami in the South Pacific.
Jayachandra Elaprolu, a student from Andhra Pradesh, is
shot dead in a robbery at a gas station in Pasadena city of
Texas state. Dec. 27 The jailed former Russian oil tycoon
Mikhail Khodorkovsky is found guilty of stealing oil from
his firm Yukos in his second trial. Dec. 30 The former
Israeli President, Moshe Katsav, is held guilty of rape by a
Tel Aviv court. A Moscow judge hands down a 13.5-year
jail term to former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Dec.
31 Australia’s northeast is battered by floods. Forced
evacuation in Rockhampton town.

Sri Lanka defeats India by five wickets to knock the nation

out of the T20 World Cup. Viswanathan Anand retains his
World Championship crown after beating Veselin Topalov
6.5-5.5 in the twelve match series in Sofia. May 15 Rafael
Nadal wins a record-equalling 17th ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 title in the final of the Rome Masters. May
16 England lifts the ICC T20 World Cup at Bridgetown.
May 22 Inter Milan win the UEFA Champions League at
Santiago Bernabéu.
Francesca Schiavone of Italy wins the French Open
women’s singles title, beating Australian Samantha Stosur
6-4, 7-6(2). Jun. 6 Spaniard Rafael Nadal wins his fifth
French Open men’s singles title in six years, beating Swede
Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Jun. 13 McLaren’s Lewis
Hamilton wins the Canadian Grand Prix, taking the
chequered flag ahead of teammate Jenson Button and
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Jun. 21 South Africa’s Mark
Boucher becomes the first wicketkeeper in Test history to
reach 500 dismissals, in the second Test against West
Indies at St. Kitts. Jun. 22 South Africa becomes the first
host nation to go out at the group stage of the World Cup,
but ends its campaign with a 2-1 win over fellow struggler
France. Jun. 24 American John Isner defeats Frenchman
Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68 in the longest
professional tennis match ever, lasting 11 hours and 5
minutes, in the first round of Wimbledon. Defending
champion Italy fails to advance to the second round of the
FIFA World Cup after a 2-3 defeat to Slovakia. India wins
the Asia Cup for the fifth time, defeating Sri Lanka by 81
runs in the final at Dambulla. Jun. 27 Red Bull’s Sebastian
Vettel wins the European Grand Prix at Valencia.

Serena Williams wins her fourth Wimbledon women’s

singles title and her 13th Grand Slam, beating Vera
Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the final. England wins the five-
match home ODI series against Australia 3-2. Jul. 4 Rafael
Nadal wins his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand
Slam, beating Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.
Leander Paes and Cara Black win the mixed doubles title,
their third as a team. Jul. 10 Germany takes third place for
the second successive FIFA World Cup, beating Uruguay
3-2 in the bronze match. Jul. 11 Spain wins its first ever
FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win over Netherlands to
become the first European team to win the tournament
outside its home continent and the first reigning European
champion to take the trophy since Germany in 1974.
Uruguay’s Diego Forlan wins the Golden Ball for the
tournament’s best player, Germany’s Thomas Mueller the
Golden Shoe for top scorer and the Best Young Player
award. Red Bull’s Mark Webber wins the British Grand
Prix. Jul. 22 Muttiah Muralitharan, Test cricket’s highest
wicket taker, retires from the longest form after helping Sri
Lanka beat India by 10 wickets in the first Test at Galle,
taking his wicket haul to 800 in the process. Jul. 24
Pakistan draws the two-Test series against Australia 1-1
with a three-wicket win in the second Test at Headingley,
Leeds. Jul. 25 Spaniard Alberto Contador defends his Tour
de France title. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso wins the
German Grand Prix. Jul. 29 Suresh Raina scores a hundred
on Test debut in the second Test against Sri Lanka. Jul. 31
Gagan Narang wins bronze in the 10m air rifle at the ISSF
World Championship in Munich, Germany.

Mark Webber wins the Hungarian Grand Prix. Aug. 3

Sachin Tendulkar becomes the highest-capped Test player
in history, surpassing Australia’s Steve Waugh by playing
his 169th Test against Sri Lanka at the P. Sara Oval in
Colombo. Aug. 7 India beat host Sri Lanka in the third
Test and draws the three-Test series 1-1. India finishes
third in the Asian Men’s Cup volleyball championship in
Urmia, Iran. Aug. 8 Tejaswini Sawant becomes the first
Indian woman shooter to win an ISSF World Championship
gold in the 50m rifle prone event in Munich. Australia
wins the Men’s Champions Trophy hockey tournament in
Monchengladbach, Germany. Manchester United wins the
Community Shield, beating Chelsea 3-1. Aug. 18 Brazilian
club Internacional wins the Copa Libertadores
championship, beating Mexico’s Guadalajara 5-3 on
aggregate and 6-0 on points. Aug. 21 Barcelona beats
Sevilla 5-3 on aggregate to win the Spanish Super Cup.
Inter Milan wins the Italian Super Cup for the fifth time,
beating Roma 3-1. Aug. 22 Arjun Atwal becomes the first
Indian to win a PGA Tour event at the Wyndham
Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina. Aug. 27
Atletico Madrid wins the UEFA Super Cup for the first
time with a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan in Monaco. Aug.
28 Pakistan’s tour to England comes under a spot-fixing
cloud following the arrest of bookie Mazher Majeed, who
had said to British tabloid News of the World that he bribed
Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir to
deliberately bowl no-balls. Aug. 29 McLaren’s Lewis
Hamilton wins the Belgian Grand Prix. England completes
a 3-1 series win after beating Pakistan by an innings and
225 runs in the fourth Test at Lord’s.

ICC suspends Pakistan’s captain Salman Butt and fast

bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif over
allegations of match-fixing. Sep. 4 The Indian men’s team
wins the recurve gold at the World Cup archery Stage IV in
Shanghai, beating Japan 224 points to 220. Sep. 8
Swimmer Richa Mishra tests positive for a prohibited
substance. Sep. 10 Rohan Bopanna and Aisam ul-Haq
Qureshi pair loses the U.S. Open men’s doubles final to the
top-seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 6-7(5), 6-7(4). Sep. 12
Belgian Kim Clijsters defends her U.S. Open tennis title in
New York. Sep. 13 Sushil Kumar makes history by
becoming the first Indian to win a World wrestling
championship gold medal, overpowering Russia’s Alan
Gogaev to win the 66 kg freestyle title in Moscow. Sep. 14
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal completes a career Grand Slam
by capturing his first U.S. Open crown, defeating Serbian
third seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the final in
New York. Sep. 19 India rallies to beat Brazil 3-2 in a
Davis Cup play-off in Chennai, making it the first occasion
that the country won a tie after facing a 0-2 deficit. Sep. 24
Eoin Morgan’s century sees England through to a 121-run
victory against Pakistan in Southampton, giving it a 3-2
series win. Sep. 26 World champion wrestler Sushil
Kumar’s coach Yashvir Singh is chosen by the
International Wrestling Federation as Coach of the Year
2010. Sep. 27 Chennai Super Kings wins the Champions
League Twenty20 tournament, defeating Eastern Cape
Warriors by eight wickets in the final.

India’s Ravinder Singh (60 kg), Sanjay (74 kg) and Anil
Kumar (96 kg) win CWG wrestling titles. Oct. 8 Jamaica’s
Lerone Clarke wins CWG 100m gold in a time of 10.12
seconds. Oct. 9 Alka Tomar and Anita clinch gold in their
respective categories – 59 kg and 67 kg – in women’s
wrestling. Somdev Devvarman became India’s first tennis
gold medallist at the CWG with a 6-4, 6-2 win over
Australia’s Greg Jones. Oct. 10 Gagan Narang wins his
fourth gold of the Delhi CWG, defending 3-position rifle
individual title. Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova wins the
CWG women’s singles with 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3) result over
Sania Mirza. Oct. 11 Krishna Poonia wins India’s second-
ever CWG gold in athletics with a top finish in the
women’s discus throw. Oct. 12 Heena Sidhu shoots 384 to
clinch the women’s air pistol pairs gold in the CWG.
India’s women’s relay team of (A.C. Ashwini, Manjeet
Kaur, Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose) runs to gold medal,
finishing ahead of Nigeria and England. Oct. 13 Sharath
Kamal and Subhajit Saha win the CWG table tennis
doubles gold. Three Indian boxers win gold — Suranjoy
Singh (52 kg), Manoj Kumar (64 kg) and Paramjeet Samota
(plus-91 kg). Oct. 14 Saina Nehwal wins gold in
badminton singles gold. Australia thrashes India 8-0 in the
men’s hockey final. CWG Delhi comes to an end. India
finishes in second place in the medals tally. Oct. 19 Tamil
Nadu wins the South Zone T-20 cricket tournament for
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Hyderabad. Oct. 23 Mr. N.
Ramachandran gets re-elected to the post of World Squash
Federation president for another two-year term. Oct. 24
Roger Federer equals Pete Sampras’ career haul of 64 ATP
titles with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Florian Mayer in the
Stockholm Open. Oct. 25 Sachin Tendulkar becomes the
only current cricketer to be named in ESPN-Cricinfo’s all-
time Test World XI. Oct. 29 Caroline Wozniacki assures
herself of the year-end No.1 WTA ranking, becoming the
first Danish woman to do so. Oct. 30 Olympic champion
Elena Dementieva announces her retirement at the age of
29 after losing at the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

Debutant medium pacer Deepak Chahar of Rajasthan takes

eight wickets for 10 runs as Hyderabad (21) plummets to
the lowest total in the history of the Ranji Trophy Nov. 6
Sri Lanka claims its first-ever series in Australia after a 29-
run victory in the second ODI in Sydney. Nov. 7 Chirag
United wins the Durand Cup in New Delhi. Nov. 13
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull becomes the youngest
Formula One champion in history with a win in the season-
ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Nov. 14 Pankaj Advani wins
a gold medal in the Asian Games men’s billiards
tournament in China. Nov. 15 The Indian men’s team
(Yasin Merchant, Aditya Mehta and Brijesh Damani) wins
silver in the team snooker event at the Asian Games. Nov.
16 Virdhawal Khade wins the 50m butterfly bronze at the
Asian Games in a time of 24.31s. Nov. 20 Bajrang Lal
Takhar wins gold in the men’s rowing single sculls event at
the Asian Games. Nov. 21 Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita
Raut finish an unprecedented one-two in the 10,000 metres
at the Asian Games; Sudha Singh wins the 3000 metres
steeplechase gold. Ronjan Sodhi wins double trap gold in
shooting. Nov. 22 Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh
clinch the tennis men’s doubles gold medal in the Asian
Games. Nov. 23 Somdev Devvarman wins the Asian
Games men’s singles crown. India beats New Zealand by
an innings and 198 runs in Nagpur, clinching the Test series
1-0. Nov. 24 Home favourite Liu Xiang wins the 110m
hurdles in a time of 13.09s in Guangzhou. China wins the
women’s hockey gold, beating South Korea by penalty
strokes after a goalless encounter. Nov. 25 Pakistan beats
Malaysia 2-0 to win the Asian Games Men’s hockey gold,
while India gets bronze after a 1-0 win over South Korea.
Boxer Vikas Krishan beats defending champion Hu Qing of
China to claim the 60 kg category gold. Nov. 26 The
Indian women’s 4x400m relay team (Manjeet Kaur, Sini
Jose, Mandeep Kaur and A.C. Ashwini) wins the gold
medal at the Asian Games. Vijender Singh bags the boxing
middleweight gold by beating two-time World champion
Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan in the Asian Games. Nov. 27
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi bag the Arthur
Ashe Humanitarian of The Year award.Nov. 29. Roger
Federer wins the year-end London World Tour

India claims the five match ODI series against New

Zealand with its third win (by nine-wickets) on the trot in
the third ODI at Vadodara. Dec. 5 Serbia wins the Davis
Cup 3-2 after Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki win the
reverse singles rubbers against Gael Monfils and Michael
Llodra, respectively. Dec. 10 India wins the five-match
ODI series against New Zealand 5-0, with an eight-wicket
win in the final ODI at Chennai. Dec. 12 Saina Nehwal
wins the fourth Super Series title of her career and third of
the year after getting past Shixian Wang of China in the
final. Dec. 15 Magnus Carlsen clinches the London Chess
Classic tournament while Viswanathan Anand and Luke
Mcshane finish joint second. Dec. 18 Inter Milan wins the
Club World Cup with a 3-0 victory over TP Mazembe in
the final at Abu Dhabi. Dec. 20 Footballer Samuel Eto’o is
named African Player-of-the-year for a record fourth time.
Dec. 29 India beat South Africa by 87 runs to win the
second cricket Test in Durban. England defeats Australia
by an innings and 157 runs in the fourth cricket Test in
Melbourne to lead 2-1 in the Ashes series.

DEAD

Peter O’ Donnell (91), English comic script writer in

Brighton on the south coast of England. May 10 Mac
Mohan (71), veteran Hindi actor of cancer in Mumbai.
May 18 K.A. Krishnasamy (78), former Tamil Nadu Law
Minister at his home in Chennai. May 28 Gary Coleman
(42) of Diff’rent Strokes fame of brain haemorrhage at a
hospital in Provo, Utah.

Manohar Malgaonkar (97), Indian novelist in Jagalpet in

Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district. Jun. 18 Jose
Saramago (87) Nobel Prize winning Portuguese novelist in
Spain of multiple organ failure. Jun. 25 Digvijay Singh
(55), former Union Minister and sitting Lok Sabha MP
from Bihar, in London following a brain haemorrhage. Jun.
26 D. Sudarssanam (67), leader of the Congress Legislature
Party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in Coimbatore. Jun. 28
Robert Byrd (92), the longest serving member ever of the
U.S. Congress in history at the Inova Fairfax Hospital,
West Virginia. Jun. 30 P. Obul Reddy (85), industrialist,
philanthropist in Chennai after a prolonged illness.

Dr. S. Krishnamurthi (90), doyen of oncology in India, who

spearheaded the growth of the Cancer Institute, in Chennai.
Jul. 19 Kottakkal Sivaraman (74) Kathakali maestro at his
home in Karalmanna in Palakkad district. Jul. 26 Peer
Abdul Ahad (80), the Sopore saint popularly known as
Ahad Bab after a brief illness at the SKIMS, Srinagar.

K. M. Mathew (93), Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama at

his residence in Kottayam. Aug. 27 Ravindra R. Kelekar
(85), Konkani litterateur and Jnanpith award winner, in
Margoa, Goa.

Dilip Roy (79), well-known Bengali actor and director, in

Kolkata of cancer. Sep. 12 Claude Chabrol (80), French
filmmaker who helped start the New Wave movement in
the 1950s, in Paris. Sep. 22 Eddie Fisher (82), one of the
best pop singers of his era, in Berkeley, California . Sep.
26 Arjun K. Sengupta (73), developmental economist at the
AIIMS, New Delhi after a brief illness. Gloria Stuart (100),
Hollywood actress at her home in Los Angeles. Sep. 29
Tony Curtis (85), Hollywood star at his home in Nevada of
a cardiac arrest. Ashok Bhatt (71), Gujarat Assembly
Speaker in Ahmedabad.

S. S. Chandran (69), former AIADMK MP and comedian

of a heart attack in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu. Oct. 16
Soundara Kailasam (83), Tamil poet and writer at her
residence in Chennai. Benoit Mandelbrot (85), father of
fractal geometry, in Cambridge, Massachusetts of
pancreatic cancer. Oct. 19 Forooq Ahmad Khan Leghari
(70) Pakistan’s eighth President, in a Rawalpindi hospital .
Oct. 26 Satyavati (106), mother of the former Vice-
President Krishan Kant and oldest living freedom fighter, in
New Delhi. Oct. 31 Theodore C. Sorenson (82), President
John F. Kennedy’s closest advisor at New York
Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan. ?
Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (72), former Russian
Prime Minister , in Moscow. Nov. 6 Siddhartha Shankar
Ray (90), former Chief Minister of West Bengal, at his
residence in kolkata. Nov. 13 Sikkil Kunjumani (83),
flautist, the elder of the renowned ‘Sikkil Sisters’ duo, in
Chennai. D.V.S. Raju (82), doyen of the Telugu film
industry in Hyderabad. Nov. 14 L. C. Jain (85), economist,
in New Delhi following prolonged illness. Nov. 24 Huang
Hua (97), former Chinese Vice-Premier , in Beijing.

Dashrath Patel (83), India’s first multi-disciplinary artist, in

Ahmedabad. Bindinganavile Srinivasa Iyengar Ranga (93),
veteran Kannada film director at his residence in Chennai.
Dec. 17 Surendra Mohan (84), socialist thinker and activist
of a cardiac arrest in his sleep in New Delhi. Pappa
Umanath (80), CPI (M) leader, in Tiruchi after a brief
illness. Dec. 23 Jayaben Desai (77), a pioneer of Asian
women workers’ movement in Britain. Dec. 24 Nalini
Jayawant (84), Hindi actor in Chembur, Mumbai. Dec. 27
Ramaprasad Banik (56), eminent thespian, in Kolkata.
Dec. 30 Vettath Balakrishna Eradi (88), a former Supreme
Court judge , in Kozhikode. K.G. Kannabiran (81), civil
rights activist, in Hyberabad. Bobby Farrell (61), the
charismatic frontman of Bonny M, in Russia.