HIGHLIGHTS 2010

NATIONAL

January

19 The Supreme Court releases the detailed judgment on petitions against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

21  Overcoming conservative opposition for years, the National Assembly unanimously passed a landmark bill to punish harassment of women at workplaces, though last-minute amendments extended the protection also to men as an apparent compromise.

23    The second Chinese-built F-22P frigate commissioned in Shanghai for the Pakistan Navy, PNS Shamsheer, arrived after visiting Singapore and Colombo en route to the Karachi harbour.

February

02  A team from the Lahore Grammar School (LGS) made a hat trick by winning the Nasa Asian Regional Space Settlement Design Competition held from Jan 28 to 31 in Gurgaon, India.

17  The government of Japan signed an agreement for extending a grant of yen 53 million ($0.588 million) for ‘improvement of water supply system in Abbottabad.

18  The first squadron of JF-17 Thunder aircraft formally joined the fighter fleet of Pakistan Air Force.

25    Foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India begin talks in New Delhi.

25  The Senate passed the National Command Authority (NCA) Bill, 2010 which provides for constitution and establishment of NCA.

March

04    Writer Daniyal Mueenuddin won the Story Prize for short fiction on Wednesday for In Other Room, Other Wonders, a compendium of eight inter-connected short stories set in the 1980s amid feudal lands in southern Pakistan.

07    Top Al Qaeda leader Adam Yahiye Gadah is arrested in Karachi.

08  Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has announced a 10 per cent quota for women in CSS jobs.

09    President Zardari signs the Protection against Harassment of Women Bill 2010.

11    Rana Dasgupta of Britain and Daniyal Mueenuddin of Pakistan have been adjudged the writers of best book and first best book, respectively from the South Asia and Europe region by the jury of the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

16    In a major breakthrough on the gas pipeline project, Pakistan and Iran signed the heads of agreement and an operational accord in Istanbul.

16    President Zardari signs the National Finance Commission Award.

17    President signs the human organ transplant bill into law.

18    Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appointed Senator Mian Raza Rabbani and Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh as advisers.

21    The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) successfully tested its air-to-air refuelling capability.

23    Dr. Shama Khalid is sworn in as the governor of Gilgit-Baltistan.

24  In Washington, US and Pakistan begin their first ministerial level strategic dialogue.

25    Two members of the National Assembly ‘Jamshaid Dasti and Nazir Jatt and one member of the Punjab Assembly Muhammad Ajmal tendered their resignations before the Supreme Court to avoid disqualification in three different cases of holding fake degrees.

30    Foreign ministers of the G8 countries agreed on an economic initiative plan for the Pak-Afghan border regions.

31    NWFP is named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

April

01    The Punjab government has declared all public sector primary schools in Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad as English medium from April 1.

02    Attorney General Anwar Mansoor resigns.

04    A remote village of Capital City Mira Bagwal has been converted into e-village as it has been provided 2 MB Broad Band Internet Conection and its people have been given the facility of video conferencing to take advice from the specialist doctors in case of any disease.

06  The federal cabinet unanimously approved the proposed 18th Amendment Bill, 2010 ‘which has already been tabled in both houses of parliament.

07 The Senate passed the Institute of Space Technology Bill, 2010 by evolving consensus on establishing a higher education institute in the field of space technology.

08 The National Assembly unanimously adopts the 18th Amendment to the constitution.

15  The United Nations investigation commission on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination submits its report to the UN secretary General.

19    President Zardari signs the 18th amendment.

28    The SC strikes down Prime Minister Gilani’s order promoting 52 bureaucrats.

30    Militants in North Waziristan kill ex-ISI officer Khalid Khwaja.

May

04  A US citizen of Pakistani origin, Faisal Shahzad, is held in the New York Time Square bomb case.

06  Ajmal Kasab is sentenced to death by an Indian court for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

07    Federal Law Secretary Aqil Mirza resigns.

08  Pakistan successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles, capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

10 The National Assembly passed a bill for the establishment of a seven-judge Islamabad High Court in compliance with the 18th Amendment made in the constitution last month.

17    President Zardari grants remission to Rehman Malik in NAB corruption case.

28  Armed men attack two Ahmadies worship places in Lahore killing 74 people.

June

02    The governor of State Bank Syed Salim Raza resigns.

13    Iran and Pakistan formally signed an export deal, which stipulates that Iran would begin supplying natural gas to Pakistan from 2014.

28  Citing personal reasons, Punjab Advocate General (AG) Khawaja Haris resigned from office.

July

01  Two suicide bombers attack the Data Ganj Bakhsh shrine in Lahore killing 41 people.

18    Council on Common Interests (CCI) approves Diammer-Bhasha Dam project.

22  Indus water commissioners of Pakistan and India agree to install a telemetry system on the Indus.

22  The government gives an extension of three years to COAS Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

26    AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider resigns.

28    An Airblue plane crashes into the Margalla hills killing all 152 people on board.

29    Muslim Conference chief Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan was sworn in as the 10th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir after the Legislative Assembly elected him as Leader of the House by a thumping majority, less than 19 months after his removal from the office.

30    The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, a joint initiative of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance and European Commission, has placed Pakistan.

August

02    The swollen Indus devastated hundreds of villages, washed away standing crops and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in 184km-long riverine belt in Dera Ghazi Khan district.

09    The number of people suffering from the massive floods in Pakistan exceeds 13 million ‘more than the combined total of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the United Nations said. The total number of people affected in the three other disasters was about 11 million’ 5 million in the tsunami and 3 million in each of the earthquakes.

16    The World Bank said it had agreed to provide a 900 million dollar loan to flood-hit Pakistan, saying the economic impact of the disaster on the economy was expected to be huge. ‘The government of Pakistan has requested around 900 million dollars of financial support from the World Bank, which we have omitted to provide’ a statement from the Washington-based bank said.
September

06 Pakistan and Italy signed the minutes of projects approved under the Pak-Italian Debt Swap Agreement (PIDSA), amounting Rs 3.13 billion, a statement said.

08  Shahid Kardar is appointed governor of State Bank.

10  Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has ruled out the launching of an army operation in Balochistan on the lines of Swat and Malakand and said the government is seriously implementing the Aghaz-i-Huqooq package in the province.

16    An MQM leader, Imran Farooq, is assassinated in London.

23    Neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui is sentenced to 86 years by a US federal court.

25  Prime Minister Gilani sacks a federal minister, Abdul Qayum Jatoi, after he criticised the army and the chief justice during a press conference.

27    Pakistan was appointed head of the UN nuclear watchdog’s governing board.

28   General Khalid Shamim Wyne is appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

28    The Pakistan Army retained the top military slot for a sixth consecutive term as the incumbent Chief of General Staff, Lt-Gen Khalid Shamim Wyne, was promoted as four-star general and appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

29    An army officer has set the world record of sapling maximum (20,101) plants in 18 hours at Chenab Bela, Wazirabad. Guinness Book of World Records observers witnessed the sapling of plants. They said 19,707 plants had been properly planted and recommended his name to the registered in the record book.

30    Pakistan blocks the NATO supply line after killing of three FC soldiers in Kurram Agency.

October

01    Former president Pervez Musharraf Launches his Party All Pakistan Muslim League in London.

01    The government dissolves Pepco.

01  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) announced world’s biggest shelter programme for the flood victims of Pakistan.

05   Faisal Shahzad is sentenced to life by a US court in the New York’s Time Square case.

06    US ambassador Anne Patterson apologises for the Nato strikes in Kurram Agency.

08    Government appoints Justice (Retd) Deedar Hussain the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau.

21    Mariam Khan, a human rights activist representing Pakistan at the ‘World Forum for Spiritual Culture 2010’ in Kazakhstan, has gotten title of ‘World Spiritual Leader’.

22    The Gilgit-Baltistan Council in its first session, chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani besides passing four bills approved the first ever budget of Rs. 223.268 million.

27    The federal cabinet gave approval to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.

27    The Pakistan-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement was signed in Kabul by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and his counterpart Anwarul Haq Ahadi.

November

03    The Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly approved establishment of the GB Public Service Commission as well as Services Tribunal with overwhelming majority.

11    A Christian woman is sentenced to death in a blasphemy case in Punjab.

13    The first Chinese aircraft equipped with an early warning system, known as the Karakoram Eagle, was inducted into Pakistan Air Force fleet.

19    Mohammad Khan Sheerani is appointed chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII).

19    Women cricket team win gold medal in Asian Games.

22    The government appointed PML-Q legislator Hamid Yar Hiraj as chairman of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra).

23    Ambassador of France Daniel Jouanneau conferred Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters award on former National College of Arts principal Nazish Ataullah.

24    Parliamentary committee approves Justice Ijaz Ahmad as Lahore High Court Chief justice.

28    President Zardari visits Sri Lanka, agreements on visa and custom related matters are signed.

December

01    The federal government devolves five ministries under the 18th constitutional amendment.

04    Judicial Commission nominates Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court.

06    Eunuchs in the country will for the first time get their gender specified in registration forms and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) will issue computerised national identity cards (CNICs) to them from Jan 1.

14    JUI-F quits coalition government.

18    Pakistan and China sign 35 agreements and MoUs.

22    Federal Shariat Court declares three sections of Protection of Women Act 2006 un-Islamic and unconstitutional.

HIGHLIGHTS 2010

INTERNATIONAL

January

04    Prime Minister Gordon Brown has received a pre-election kick in the pants, being named the worst-dressed man of the year by the British edition of GQ magazine.

04    Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum opens the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.

04    The Supreme Court of Bangladesh bans the use of religion in politics.

06    The refurbished Hubble Space Telescope has set a new record by discovering the oldest galaxies ever seen, dating back 13 billion years, or 600-800 million years after the Big Bang.

11    Social Democrat Ivo Josipovic, who supports membership of the European Union, was elected president of Croatia with over 60 per cent of the vote.

13    More than 100,000 people were feared dead in Haiti after a calamitous earthquake razed homes, hotels and hospitals, leaving the capital in ruins and bodies strewn in the streets.

25  Iraq hanged Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as ‘Chemical Ali’ for crimes against humanity including the gassing of thousands of Kurds and violent crackdowns on Shia revolts.

February

04    Romania’s top defence body approved a plan by Washington to deploy interceptor missiles in the Black Sea state as part of a missile shield to protect Europe, President Traian Basescu said.

06  Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi opened two new missile production plants, just three days after Iran fired a rocket carrying live animals into space, state television reported.

07  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad orders to atomic chief to begin high uranium enrichment.

12  The UN atomic watchdog’s board of governors elected a new chairman Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob of Malaysia as new controversy raged over Iran’s disputed nuclear drive.

15  Scientists have created the hottest temperature ever in the lab ‘4 trillion degrees Celsius’ hot enough to break matter down into the kind of soup that existed microseconds after the birth of the universe.

17   President Barack Obama nominated career diplomat Robert Ford as the first US ambassador to Syria in five years, as he seeks to engage Damascus as part of a wider Middle East peace push.

18    In a military coup in Niger, soldiers seize President Mamaddou Tandja.

28  Scientists have restarted the world’s most powerful atom-smasher overnight, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

March

09    A newly inaugurated Iranian destroyer test fired a surface-to-surface missile in the Gulf, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

09  The upper house of the Indian parliament approves a law reserving a third of all seats in parliament for women.

21  India successfully tested a new, more manoeuvrable version of its BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that was jointly developed with Russia.

25    Bangladesh sets up war crime tribunal.

28    At the end of a two-day summit Arab leaders rule out peace talks until Israel halts settlements.

29    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Russia signed an agreement to set up a centre in Siberia that will sell nuclear fuel to countries that want it, the agency said.

April

07    Opposition takes control of Kyrgyzstan after a day of violence.

07    The Solar Impulse aircraft, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar energy, successfully completed its first test flight in western Switzerland.

08 President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the biggest nuclear arms pact in a generation, lacing the moment with new warnings of sanctions for Iran.

10    Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 96 others die in an air crash.

14    An strikes Qinghai province of China, killing 589 people.

May

06    General elections are held in United Kingdom.

06  In Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy is abolished.

08    Costa Rica’s first female president Laura Chinchilla takes office.

10    Israel is admitted to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

11    Conservative Party’s David Cameron takes over as new British premier.

12    In a historic breakthrough for race relations and community cohesion, Britain got its first ever Pakistani origin woman Sayeeda Warsi as the full cabinet minister in the new coalition government led by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

12  ‘Russia and Turkey signed a $20 billion project for Moscow to build and own a controlling stake in Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, as the two countries try to cement a strategic partnership.

17    The Indian military successfully tested a nuclear-capable, medium-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast, a defence official said. The surface-to-surface Agni-II, which can deliver a nuclear warhead to targets within a range of 2,500kms.

19    J.G. Farrell was named the winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize, devised to honour writers whose books were published in 1970 and were not eligible for Britain’s top literary award due to a rule change.

19    Japan and Australia signed an ‘historic’ military deal in Tokyo, stepping up defence and diplomatic cooperation despite a dispute over Japanese whaling.

20    US scientists have developed the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome, in a breakthrough which may lead to creating bacteria to clean up environmental problems, a new study showed.

22    First woman priest is ordained in Italy.

26    Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, was declared winner of the country’s first multi-party presidential election in over two decades.

27    The US Air Force test launched a hypersonic cruise missile X’ 15 A Waverider, with the vehicle accelerating to March 6 before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, officials said.

31    Israeli commandos storm Gaza-bound aid flotilla killing nine activists.

June

09 UNSC imposes its toughest sanctions ever on Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme.

14  A team of US geologists and Pentagon officials discover vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan.

15  British Prime Minister David Cameron apologies for the 1972 killings in Northern Ireland.

16  The US Air Force has test-launched a Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile from California.

18    India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed, nuclear-capable, ballistic missile Prithvi-II from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Orissa coast, Indian news channels reported.

23    US president Obama sacks his top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal.

24    Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is ousted after a party coup and Julia Gillard becomes the country’s first woman premier.

26    The world’s largest gold coin has been sold at auction in Austria for 3.27 million euro ($4 million).

28    Canada and India signed a landmark nuclear deal, ending a quarter of a century of mistrust after India used Canadian technology to build its first nuclear bomb.

30    Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar resigns.

30    US Senate confirms General David Petraeus as Afghanistan commander.

July

01    President Obama signs into law the toughest ever US sanctions on Iran on its nuclear programme.

02    Belarus and Russia signed a gas transit deal expected to end disagreements that led to a cut in Russia’s Europe-bound supplies flowing via Belarus last month, officials said.

03    Career diplomat Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan’s president after guiding it through three months of revolt, ethnic violence and a referendum intended to build Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy.

03    Roza Otunbayeva becomes the first woman president of Kyrgyzstan.

04    Bronislaw Komorowski, the candidate of Poland’s ruling pro-business Civic Platform (PO), won presidential election run-off

08    French doctors have carried out a successful full-face transplant ‘eyelids, tear ducts and all’ on a 35-year-old man, the hospital where the operation took place confirmed.

10    Salma Ataullahjan became the first Canadian woman of Pakistani origin to get into the Senate when Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed her to fill a vacancy from the province of Ontario.

12    India successfully launched five satellites into orbit, three months after the country’s space ambitions suffered a setback when a rocket crashed at lift-off. The five satellites included an advanced remote sensing satellite called Cartosat-2B, as well as a satellite from Algeria.

13    French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban the wearing of face-covering veils (burqa) in ‘public spaces’ as Europe continues to toughen its approach towards integrating Muslim immigrant communities.

19    Former dictator Desi Bouterse was elected president by parliament, following weeks of jostling by opponents who sought to stop a convicted drug trafficker and ex-strongman accused of killing political opponents from returning to power.

22    International Court of Justice upholds Kosovo independence.

23    India and US sign counter-terrorism agreement in New Delhi.

26  Japanese women have held the record for the world’s longest life expectancy for 25 years in a row, with an average life span of 86.44 years as of 2009, the government said, as the country struggles to cope with rising welfare costs in a rapidly ageing society.

August

01    Dutch troops end their mission in Afghanistan.

08    Iran showed off four new domestically made small submarines that Tehran said would bolster its defence capability as it vows to confront any military threat from countries opposed to its nuclear programme.

17    China overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy during the second quarter of this year, marking another milestone in the country’s transformation from impoverished communist state to economic superpower.

27    Myanmar’s top three rulers resigned from the military, a senior army source said, paving their way to assume the most powerful roles in the country after a parliamentary election in November.

30    Vice President Joe Biden landed in Baghdad to mark the official end of the US combat mission in Iraq after seven years of fighting that has seen more than 4,400 Americans soldiers killed.

September

02    Palestinian President Mahmound Abbas and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu restart direct talks.

03    A small mosque is being shipped to the Arctic to serve a growing Muslim population in Canadas far north. It will travel 4,000 kilometres over land and water, a trip organizer said.

03    Italian-born Sonia Gandhi was elected for a record fourth term as president of India’ ruling Congress party, cementing her role as the power broker of the country’s politics.

10    India and its biggest military supplier Russia announced a $600 million joint venture to manufacture military transport aircraft for the two countries.

13    Turkish voters have approved constitutional changes to reshape the judiciary and curb the military’s powers, handing the government a major political victory.

15    Scientists have developed a new test which can diagnose tuberculosis in one hour, potentially helping to curb the spread of the disease, a British health agency said in a study.

27    Jewish settlers resumed building across the West Bank after Israel allowed curbs to expire, dashing US hopes of keeping the Palestinians in fledgling peace talks.

30    Allahabad High Court orders Muslims, Hindus to share Ayodhya site.

October

02    Britain has recognised druidry as an official religion for the first time, thousands of years after the Celtic pagan faith emerged in Europe, the country’s charity commission said.

02  Doctors in Italy implanted an artificial heart into a 15-year-old boy, the first time the procedure has been performed on a child, the hospital said.

10 Former President Burhanuddin Rabbani is elected head of Afghan High Peace Council.

10  Israel’s Cabinet approved a bill that would require new non-Jewish citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to a ‘Jewish and democratic’ state.

11  Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen of the US and British-Cypriot Christopher Pissarides won the 2010 Nobel Economics Prize for helping explain why supply and demand do not always meet in the labour market and elsewhere.

14    A Nepalese teenager Khagendra Thapa Magar whose tiny stature has made him a celebrity in his homeland entered the record books as the world’s shortest man as he celebrated his 18th birthday.

21  Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas, whose long hunger strike this year helped pressure Havana into releasing political prisoners, was awarded the European Parliament’s top human rights prize.

31    Vietnam and Russia sign nuclear deal.

November

01    Dilma Rousseff is elected first woman president of Brazil.

04    China and France sign energy and aviation deals.

04    The world’s oldest person, a nun named Eugenie Blanchard, died aged 114 in the French West Indies, officials said.

05    A spacecraft made a successful fly-by of the Hartley 2 comet and within minutes began sending to Earth arresting images taken as the enormous space rock hurtled along the outer fringes of the solar system.

08    Australia and the United States signed an agreement to cooperate in surveillance of space, possibly expanding the reach of a US military network tracking satellites and space junk.

09    India’s governing party axed two top officials tainted by corruption scandals that have embarrassed the country as it aspires to superpower status.

11    The biggest temple of ancient Rome ‘Tempio di Venere and Roma’ reopened to the public after nearly 30 years amid heavy criticism of Italy’s management of its artistic heritage after the collapse of a house in Pompeii.

13    The seven year long house arrest of Myanmar politician Aang San Suu Kyi ends.

15    Terrorism is forbidden in Islam and such acts should not be reciprocated at any cost, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah said in his Haj sermon at Mount Arafat.

16  UNESCO declared French cuisine a ‘world intangible heritage’ the first time gastronomy is added to a list aiming to protect cultural practices.

20    NATO Lisbon summit decides the alliance will stay in Afghanistan till 2014.

27  Iran said its first atomic power plant built by Russia in Bushehr has begun operations, ahead of a new round of talks with western powers over the country’s controversial nuclear drive.

December

03    President Obama makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan.

05    Iran it has produced a first batch of uranium yellowcake, the raw material for enrichment, insisting the new step ‘strengthens’its position in upcoming nuclear talks with world powers.

06    French President Sarkozy signs nuclear deal with India in New Delhi.

07    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested.

11  The leaders of Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Turkmenistan agree to move forward Tapi gas pipeline project.

16    Julian Assange is released on bail.

22    US Senate ratifies new START.

SPORTS

Jan

01    Patron of the Balochistan Table Tennis Association Mohammad Riaz Ahmed was ‘unanimously’ elected president of the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) for a four-year term.

05    Qasim Zia and Mohammad Asif Bajwa were unanimously elected as president and general secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) during the 46th PHF Congress meeting held at the Hockey Club of Pakistan Stadium in Karachi.

30    Kazakhstan’s Beibut Shumenov set a boxing record by winning the WBA light heavyweight title in just his 10th professional bout, outpointing Spain’s Gabriel Campillo in a split-decision.

Feb

07    Pakistan defeated India 5-4 on penalty strokes in the final to win gold medal in the 11th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games Hockey Tournament.

Apr

04    Britain’s David Haye retained his World Boxing Association heavyweight title in style in Manchester with a ninth round stoppage of American John Ruiz.

May

16    England won the World Twenty20 for their first world cricket tile, beating Australia by seven wickets in final after Craig Kieswetter hit 63 off
49 balls and Kevin Pietersen 47 off 31 deliveries.

June

30 Muhammad Shuja Khan, Minister for Food Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa, was unanimously elected as president of Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation (PTBF).

July

01    Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar was re-elected the President of FIBA Asia at the FIBA Asia Congress 2010, which was held in Kuala Lumpur.

11    Spain won the World Cup Football for the first time when the beat Netherlands 1-0 after extra time thanks to a goal by midfielder.

August

15    Canada’s Jean Pascal kept his World Boxing Council light heavyweight crown with a unanimous technical decision victory over previously unbeaten American south-paw Chad Dawson.

September

09    US national champion Kayla Harrison claimed the first gold medal of the world judo championships when she defeated Mayra Aguiar of Brazil to win the women’s under-78 kilogramme title.

October

06    Aleem Dar of Pakistan won the David Shepherd Trophy for the second time in a row after being named ICC Umpire of the Year at the ICC Awards.

Mr Dar was adjudged the winner by captains of 10 member countries and the eight-member Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, based on his officiating skills over the past 12 months.

06    India’s record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar was named the player of the year at the International Cricket Council’s annual awards function.

11    Brazil’s men won the World Volleyball Championships for the third time in a row as they beat Cuba in straight sets 25-22, 25-14, 25-22 in the final in Rome.

November

19   Pakistan’s women team created history by winning the inaugural cricket event of the Asian Games, bringing the first gold medal for the country in the present Asiad.

23 Incumbents Alamgir Shaikh and Munawwar Hussain Shaikh were re-elected unopposed as president and secretary respectively of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) for a two-year term.

25  Pakistan enjoyed double success at the Asian Games as they outplayed Malaysia in hockey and squash finals to clinch back-to-back gold medals on a memorable day in the country’s sporting history.

December
02    FIFA sent the World Cup into uncharted territory, handing the 2018 edition to Russia and the 2022 matches to Qatar.