CURRENT EVENTS MAY 2010

May 2010

APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc.

David Cameron: He has been elected as the Prime Minister of UK.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar: A 58-year-old woman of Indian origin, she has been elected as the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. Her party, People’s Partnership, won 29 of the 41 parliamentary seats to end the 43-yeaqr-old rule of the ruling party.
Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia: He has been appointed as the 38th Chief Justice of India. He is an expert in taxation and commercial laws.
Dr Ratan Kumar Sinha: He has been appointed as the new Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). He is closely associated with the design and development of India’s first Thorium-based advanced Heavy Water reactor.

RESIGNED

Horst Koehler: President of Germany. He resigned following criticism over his comments about Germany’s military engagement in Afghanistan. He is the first President in Germany’s post-war history to resign before completing his term.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS

Jacob Zuma: President of South Africa.

DIED

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat: Former Vice President of India. He was 86. A senior BJP leader, he had also held the post of Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
Mac Mohan: Veteran character actor of Hindi film industry, he immortalised in the role of Gabbar Singh’s sidekick “Sambha” in blockbuster “Sholay”. He was 71.

MILESTONES

Nitin Nohria: India-born American, he has been named the 10th Dean of Harvard Business School. He is the first person of Indian origin to achieve this honour.
Mamta Sodha: 30-year-old Dalit girl from Kaithal, Haryana, she has achieved the distinction of climbing Mount Everest. She was part of the Mission Mount Everest 2010 expedition.
Jordan: A 13-year-old American boy from California, he has become youngest person to climb Mount Everest. He achieved the feat on May 22, 2010.
Arjun Bajpayee: 16-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Noida city, he has become the youngest Indian to climb the Mount Everest. He broke the record of Krushnaa Patil,18, from Maharashtra who became the youngest Indian to reach the highest peak in 2009.
Commander Dilip Donde: He has become the first Indian to sail solo around the world.
Shah Faesal: An MBBS degree holder from Srinagar, he has topped the Civil Services Exam 2009.
Gita Gopinath: She is the first Indian woman in the history of Harvard University to be appointed a full time professor at the University. She is a professor in Economics Department of Harvard University.

EVENTS

MAY
1—The police in New York foil a major terror attack by defusing a crude car bomb in the heart of city’s famous tourist hub of Times Square.
17—Maoists blow up a passenger bus in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, killing more than 36 people.
17—The Strategic Forces Command, with logistics support from DRDO, successfully launches the Agni-II surface-to-surface, intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM).
22—In one of the worst air tragedies in India, Air India flight from Dubai overshoots runway at Mangalore airport and bursts into flames, killing 158 passengers and crew on board.
28—More than 80 people are killed as a goods train rams into already derailed Gyaneshwari Express near Kharagpur, West Bengal. The Maoists are blamed for the derailment of the passenger train.