Events; Appointments; Etc.: February 2010

APPOINTED; ELECTED; Etc. S.C. Sinha: Haryana cadre IPS officer, he has been appointed as the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Salil Shetty: He has been appointed as the Secretary-General of Amnesty International. He is the first Indian to be appointed to the job and will succeed Irene Khan in June 2010. RESIGNED Shyam Saran: Prime Minister's special envoy on climate change. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Abdullah Gul: President of Turkey. Horst Koehler: President of Germany. Salman Bashir: Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. DIED Fred Morrison: Inventor of the Frisbee, a flying-saucer shaped toy. He was 90. Nanaji Deshmukh: One of the founder members of Bhartiya Jan Sangh, social worker and former member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sbha. He was 93. Kakkadah Nandanath Raj: Leading economist of India who made a significant contribution in preparation of India's first five-year Plan (1951-56). He was 85. Nirmal Pandey: Hindi films actor. He was 46. A graduate rom National School of Drama, he is best known for his roles in "Bandit Queen", "Iss raat kee subha nahin" and "Pyar Kiya to darna kya". Tahir Hussain: Well-known Hindi film-maker and father of film star Amir Khan. He is known for producing hits like "Hum hain rahi pyar ke", "Zakhmee", "Anamika" and "Caravan". EVENTS FEBRUARY 2010 5—Twin blasts in Karachi claim 25 lives. Terrorists target a Shia religious procession and a hospital. 7—India successfully test-fires its indigenous, nuclear-capable Agni-III missile, with a range of over 3,000 km. 13—More than 11 people are killed in a high-intensity bomb explosion at the German bakery at Koregaon Park, Pune. This is the first major terror strike in India after 26/11 strikes in Mumbai. 15—Maoists kill 24 jawans during s daring attack at a police camp at Simplipal in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal. 18—Naxals gun down 11 persons in a village under Jamui district of Bihar. 21—Taliban behead a Sikh in Pakistan for refusing to pay 'jazia' (money to protect a non-Muslim community). 24—Railways Budget is presented in the Lok Sabha by Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee. 24—Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first cricketer in the world to hit a double century in One-Day format (in ODI against South Africa, played in Gwalior). 26—Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presents his fifth Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. 26—Nine Indians are among 18 people killed in a series of attacks by militants in central Kabul, Afghanistan. 27—Earthquake measuring 8.8 on Richter scale hits areas around Santiago, Chile, killing more than 500 people and destroying property worth billions of dollars. 27—Prime Minister Manmohan Singh becomes the first Prime Minister in 28 years to visit Saudi Arabia. MILESTONES Sanjiv Mehta: He is the new owner of East India Company, the world's first multinational whose forces once ruled much of the globe, including India.