PERSON IN NEWS (November 2012 to March 2013)

INTERNATIONAL

Malala Yousafzai- Malala Yousafzai, the 15 years old Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by Taliban in October 2012 for advocating girls’ education, signed a deal for around 3 million dollars in March 2013 to publish her memoir. 
The Book which is titled I am Malala is supposed to Publish later in this year.

Pervez Musharraf- The former President of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf returned back to Pakistan on 24 March 2013, ending four years self-imposed exile. He declared that he was going back for the political future of Pakistan, despite threats from Pakistani Taliban. He came back to Karachi from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Bobby Ghosh -Bobby Ghosh, the eminent Indian Journalist was appointed as the editor of Time International on 16 March 2013. He is the first non-American World Editor in the history of the Times. His appointment to the post was confirmed by the editor in Chief, Martha Nelson and Managing Editor Rick Stengel in a joint email.

Haruhiko Kuroda- The Government of Japan in the last week of February 2013, nominated Haruhiko Kuroda for the designation of next governor of the Central Bank of the country, the Bank of Japan. At present, Haruhiko Kuroda is the head of Asian Development Bank.

Oscar Pistorius- Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee Blade Runner from South Africa was charged on 14 February 2013 for allegedly shooting dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home in Pretoria. 

Giuseppe Orsi- Giuseppe Orsi, head of an Italian defence and aerospace giant Finmeccanica was arrested in Milan on 11 February 2013 on the charges of his alleged involvement in the bribery activity to secure an Indian defence helicopter deal of 3600 crore rupees. He was arrested in relation to the probe of the international corruption.

Joseph Dunford- US Marine General Joseph Dunford took over the command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan at a change over ceremony in Kabul on 10 February 2013. He succeeded US Marine General John Allen who became the longest-serving ISAF commander in the eleven year old war against terror in Afghanistan by completing 19 months at the office. General Dunford previously served in various capacities in the U.S. Marine Corps including as its Assistant Commandant.

Annette Schavan- Annette Schavan the Education Minister of Germany on 6 February 2013 was stripped of her doctorate degree by the committee of academics at Duesseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University. The University took the action after the committee considered the allegations of plagiarism done by Schavan in different parts of the thesis submitted to the University. 

David Coleman Headley- David Coleman Headley, the Pakistani-American and the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack 2008 was sentenced to 35 years in Prison on 24 January 2013 by a U.S. Court. The Court sentence would be followed by a five years of supervised release. It was admitted by the U.S. Government that the nature of role played by Headley in 26/11 attacks were deplorable and the prosecution pressed for a sentence of 30 to 35 years for him.

Tahawwur Rana- Tahawwur Rana, the Chicago based businessman and immigration consultant was sentenced for 14 years in Jail by the Federal Judge of US. He was sentenced by the court for his alleged involvement in supporting the terrorist group from Pakistan, which worked with the intelligence service of Pakistan and carried out the 26/11 Mumbai Attacks in 2008.

Tahir-ul Qadri- Tahir-ul Qadri, the Canada-returned cleric led thousands of the protestors in Pakistan and rallied in Islamabad for the third consecutive day on 16 January 2013. Qadri asked the government to quit as well as dissolve the provincial and national assemblies on 16 January 2013. The demand is electoral reforms, among others.

Halimah Yacob- Halimah Yacob  became the first woman and the 9th Speaker of the Singapore Parliament on 14 January 2013. She replaced Michael Palmer, the former People's Action Party MP. Palmer got down from the post of Speaker of the Parliament and as an MP on 12 December 2012. Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong nominated her for the designation of speaker. 

Jiroemon Kimura- Jiroemon Kimura (115 years) became the world’s oldest person after the death of his predecessor, an American woman named Dina Manfredini who died two weeks after receiving the title of oldest person of the world. 

Ami Bera- Ami Bera, California-based, Indian-American has become the only 3rd of the community to win Congressional election, making it to US House of Representatives on 6 November, 2012 by defeating Republican Dan Lungren. Bera at present is in Washington for the orientation course that is organized for the new lawmakers. This is incidentally led by the opponent Lungren.

Barack Obama-  President Barack Obama won re-election on 6 November 2012 overthrowing a severe challenge from Republican Mitt Romney resisting concerns over his handling of economy and anxiety over the future. He was re-elected for a second term in the White House securing another four years in which he will try to fulfil the promise that greeted his election in 2008. Barack Obama is the America's first black president who had won the election by convincing voters to stick with him as he tries to reignite strong economic growth and recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

 NATIONAL

Abu Jundal- National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 4 April 2013 charge sheet against Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the suspected terrorist of the banned Lashker-e-taiba (Let) and the mastermind of Mumbai Terror Attacks in the designated court in Patiala house in New Delhi. 

Nikhil Kumar- Nikhil Kumar, former Nagaland Governor on 23 March 2013 sworn in as the 20th Governor of Kerala. Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Justice Manjula Chelloor administered the oath of the office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram to him. 

Sanjay Dutt- The Supreme Court of India, on 21 March 2013 sentenced Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt to a sentence of 5 years in jail because of his association with the 1993 bombings in Mumbai. The decision was given by a bench of Justice PS Sathasivam and BS Chauhan. Sanjay Dutt, 53, was held for acquiring illegal weapons for Mumbai bombings in 1993 which killed 257 people. 

Mukesh Ambani - Mukesh Ambani retained his title as the richest person of India for the sixth consecutive year with the net worth of 21.5 billion US Dollars, according to the annual rankings published by Forbes on 4 March 2013. The richest man in the world for fourth time in a row was Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim with the net worth of 73 billion US Dollars. 

AK Singh- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 11 February 2013 removed the public prosecutor AK Singh from the 2G Spectrum Case. The decision of removal came after the alleged public prosecutor was caught discussing the strategy of prosecution with one of the prime accused of the 2G Spectrum Allocation Case in a taped conversation. 

Afzal Guru- Mohamammed Afzal Guru, the convict of 2001 Parliament attack was hanged on 9 February 2013 at 8 AM in Tihar Jail, New Delhi. The Supreme Court of India pronounced the death Sentence for Afzal Guru in 2004 for masterminding the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001. 

Shah Rukh Khan- Shah Rukh Khan attempted to end the controversy over his article on Being a Khan to the Outlook Turning Points 2013 . A controversy sparked over his article to the Outlook Turning Points magazine where he talked about being a Muslim in India. Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar topped the inaugural Forbes India Celebrity 100 list. 

Sreeramamurthy Janaki- Sreeramamurthy Janaki, the renowned playback singer, refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award. She refused on the grounds that only some people from the Southern states were awarded and that honour given to her was too late. The padma awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day. Apart from Janaki, the other person from Tamil Nadu who was chosen for the Padma Bhusan was industrialist Ramamurthy Thyagarajan.

Saina Nehwal -The Election Commission (EC) of India on 22 January 2013 announced Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom as the National Icons to help promote, voter participation in India. Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom, both are Olympic Bronze Medalists in the London Olympics 2012, in Badminton and Boxing respectively. 

Rajnath Singh- on 23 January 2013 elected Rajnath Singh as its new President. His appointment to the post was announced by Thawar Chand Gehlot, the Central Election Officer at the headquarters of the party, at New Delhi. Rajnath Singh replaced Nitin Gadkari, who served the party as its President for a period of three years from December 2009 to January 2013. 

Om Prakash Chautala- The Delhi Court on 22 January 2013 sentenced 10 years in prison for the former Chief Minister of Haryana and the leader of the National Lok Dal (INLD) Om Prakash Chautala and his Son Ajay Singh Chautala, who is an MLA from Dabwali constituency. The two along with 53 others have been sentenced for their alleged involvement in the Junior Basic Trained (JBT) teachers’ recruitment scam in which 3,206 JBT teachers were recruited illegally in the state in the year 2000.

Kalyan Singh -Kalyan Singh, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on 21 January 2013 merged his Jan Kranti Party with Bhartiya Janta Party. Singh merged his party with BJP during the Atal Shankhnaad Rally of BJP in Lucknow’s Jhelum Park. 

Akbaruddin Owaisi-  Akbaruddin Owaisi, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA who was indicted of making hate speech was arrested on 8 January 2013 after going through the medical tests in government hospital in Hyderabad. The MLA on 7 January 2013 sought time of four days for appearing in front of the police on certain medical grounds. 

Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney -Sunmeet Kaur Sawhney, a housewife from the state of Punjab in January 2013 emerged as the first woman to win 5 crore rupees on the TV game show Kaun Banega Crorepati 6 (KBC).

 Naina Lal Kidwai- Naina Lal Kidwai on 15 December 2012 took over as President of FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), becoming the first woman to head the leading industry body. Kidwai, is the first woman and professional manager to be elected as President of the chamber. She is 55 years old.  Chairman of Digjam Ltd, Sidharth Birla was elected as Senior Vice-President of FICCI.

Bhanu Athaiya- Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian to win an Oscar for costume design in the movie Gandhidecided to return her award to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in December 2012. Bhanu Athaiya fears that she might lose her trophy as the government might not be able to protect it.

Ram Jethmalani- The BJP(Bhartiya Janta Party) on 25 November 2012 suspended senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani from the party for gross indiscipline. Ram Jethmalani recently, openly attacked the party for criticizing the appointment of the new CBI chief. He had also challenged the party to take action against him on the issue. 

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab-  Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani National and the lone surviving terrorist of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks, was hanged on 21 November 2012 at Pune’s Yerwada Jail . The President of India Pranab Mukherjee rejected the mercy plea of Kasab.He was hanged five days before the fourth anniversary of the brutal terror attack on Mumbai that claimed 166 lives and sieged Mumbai for continuous three days.

Irom Sharmila - Iron Lady from Manipur, Irom Sharmila on 5 November 2012 completed 12 years of her fast demanding cancellation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958  (AFSPA). She blames AFPSA as the main cause for violence in the state of Manipur and other parts of Northeastern India. Sharmila began her fast till death after ten persons, including a boy who received the National Bravery Award, were shot dead in an alleged encounter with Assam Rifles personnel at Malom near Imphal Airport on November 2, 2000. 

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam- China on 2 November 2012 invited Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President and Missile Man of India to teach at the Peking University of China. The nation also offered him the lab of his choice to work on with the students. The invitation came up during Dr. Kalam’s visit to the Beijing Forum by the Chairperson Zhu Shanlu of Peking University. 

Anand Kumar- Anand Kumar, teacher and founder of Super 30 institute, which provides free residential coaching to students from economically backward families for IIT-JEE exams, named 'People's Hero' by People magazine of American Time Magazine Group.