2010 CE

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa and was won by Spain; The social media giant Instagram was launched; an image shows a phone with many social media apps, as social media became more popular over the decade; An 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile killed 525 and was an 8.8 on the scale, becoming one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded; The 2010 Pakistan floods are one of the deadliest floods in Pakistan, with 2,000 fatalities; An earthquake in Yushu killed 2,700; An airplane carrying 96 politicians crashes near Smolensk, Russia. The plane was en route to a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, which killed 22,000 in 1940. All 96 individuals, including the president of Poland Lech Kaczyński were killed in the crash; A 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Port-au-Prince killed as many as 316,000, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in history; it also led to the collapse of the National Palace of Haiti; The Thai political protests were a series of political protests that were organised by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship in Bangkok, Thailand; The 2010 Kyrgyz revolution, also known as the Second Kyrgyz Revolution or the People's April Revolution, resulted in the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

In the 2010s, the 21st century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 15 – The Chadian Civil War officially ends.source
January 19 – North Caucasian Federal District was split from Southern Federal District by decree of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.source
March 8: Togolese diplomats convene for reorganization meeting in LoméTogo source
March 19 - President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh declares an end to his country's six-year war against the Houthis.Yemen source
April 3 - The African Renaissance Monument is inaugurated in the capital of Dakar.Senegal source
April 22 - NATO foreign ministers agree to launch a Membership Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina.Bosnia and Herzegovina source
April 25 – In the second round of the 2010 Hungarian parliamentary election the alliance of Fidesz lead by Viktor Orbán and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) wins enough seats to achieve a two-thirds supermajority in the legislature, beginning the 16-year second premiership of Viktor Orbán during which the country enters a period of democratic backsliding.source
May 6 – The 2010 United Kingdom general election results in a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party twenty seats short of a majority.source
May 7 – Chile becomes the 31st member of the OECD.source
May 10 – The 2010 Philippine presidential election is held, with Benigno Aquino III elected as Philippine President.source
May 12 – Following the 6 May United Kingdom general election, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties agree to form a coalition government, the UK's first since the Second World War.source
12 June – Parliamentary electionSlovakia source
June 24 – Julia Gillard is elected unopposed in a Labor Party leadership ballot and sworn in as the first female prime minister of Australia following the resignation of Kevin Rudd.source
July 21 – Slovenia becomes the 32nd member of the OECD.source
August 21 – 2010 Australian federal election: Julia Gillard's Labor government is re-elected, narrowly defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by Tony Abbott.source
September 7 – Israel becomes the 33rd member of the OECD.source
October 3 – Germany makes final reparation payment for World War I.source
October 10 – The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved, with the islands being split up and given a new constitutional status.source
October 11 – Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he will extend the settlement freeze if the Palestinian leadership recognizes Israel as a Jewish state. The Palestinians quickly reject the offer.source
October 28 – Dilma Rousseff is elected, becoming the first (and, so far, the only) female president from Brazil.source
November 2 – 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the House of Representatives.source
November 3 - Constitutional referendum results in Niger show that 90% of voters approve a return to civilian rule from the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy military junta.Niger source
November 7 - 2010 parliamentary election was held.Azerbaijan source
November 20 – Participants of the 2010 NATO Lisbon summit issue the Lisbon Summit Declaration.source
December 5 - Former South African President Thabo Mbeki begins mediation efforts in Ivory Coast following the disputed presidential election.Ivory Coast source
December 9 – Estonia becomes the 34th member of the OECD.source

Conflict & Security

1 January – An armed skirmish occurs between the country's soldiers and the army of Ethiopia near the border town of Zalambesa, Eritrea.Eritrea source
January 8 – The Togo national football team is attacked in Cabinda Province, Angola, and as a result withdraws from the Africa Cup of Nations. The attack was perpetrated by the FLEC, their first since the Angolan Civil War.source
January 14 – Yemen declares an open war against the terrorist group al-Qaeda.source
January 25 - Houthi fighters in northern Yemen offer to leave Saudi Arabia after three months of fighting on the border.Yemen source
February 10 – The Australian government is hit by cyberattacks from freedom of expression activists, following recent Australian pornography restrictions.source
February 18 – The president of Niger, Mamadou Tandja, is overthrown after a group of soldiers storms the presidential palace and form a ruling junta, the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy headed by chef d'escadron Salou Djibo.source
February 18 - A military junta named the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy carries out a coup d'état, suspending the constitution and detaining President Mamadou Tandja.Niger source
April 7 – Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev flees the country amid fierce anti-government riots in the capital, Bishkek.source
April 21 - Bosnian police fired tear gas and water at war veterans in Sarajevo, during a protest against proposed state benefit cuts.Bosnia and Herzegovina source
May 19 – Protests in Bangkok, Thailand, end with a bloody military crackdown, killing 91 and injuring more than 2,100.source
May 22 – Inter Milan beats Bayern München 2–0 in the 2010 Champions League Final at the Santiago Bernabéu.source
May 28 – the 2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, killed 94 people during Friday prayers at two mosques.source
June 10–14 – Ethnic riots in Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks result in the deaths of hundreds.source
July 25 – WikiLeaks, an online publisher of anonymous, covert, and classified material, leaks to the public over 90,000 internal reports about the United States-led involvement in the War in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010.source
August 23 – The Manila hostage crisis occurred near the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Philippines killing 9 people, including the perpetrator, while injuring 9 others.source
Jobless rural youth are the focus of a new Afghan security plan designed to help defeat Taliban insurgents mostly in the south, east and southeast of the country. The government, which already has about 200,000 national police (ANP) and army personnel at its disposal, says it also needs local combatants to help fight Taliban insurgency.Afghanistan source
2010 Israel-Lebanon border clashLebanon source
October 5 - President Wade dismisses Samuel Sarr from his role as energy minister following a week of protests over a power cut. Sarr is replaced with Wade's son.Senegal source
October 12 – The Finnish Yle TV2 channel's Ajankohtainen kakkonen current affairs program featured controversial Homoilta episode (literally "gay night"), which led to the resignation of almost 50,000 Finns from the Evangelical Lutheran Church.source
October 22 – The 2010 Iraq War Documents leak occurs, being deemed the biggest US government leak in history. WikiLeaks being responsible for revealing 391832 documents concerning the 2003 Iraq War which revealed approximately 60% of the Iraqi deaths were civilian casualties, the Iraq War body count project showing the casualty percentage is closer to 80%.source
November 17 - failed military coup attempt against President of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina.Madagascar source
November 23 – North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by South Korea. The incident causes an escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and prompts widespread international condemnation. The United Nations declares it to be one of the most serious incidents since the end of the Korean War.source
December 8 - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warns former rebel fighters not to get involved in the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire.Ivory Coast source
December 17 – The attempted suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor in Tunisia, triggers the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring throughout the Arab world.source

Exploration & Expansion

March 23: Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates arrived in Algiers on March 22 for a working visit. He pointed to Algeria's water and renewable energy sectors as attractive investment opportunities.Algeria source
May 1 – Expo 2010 is held in Shanghai, China.source
27 May – Israel summons the ambassador of Cyprus and other European countries to protest the expedition as an unnecessary provocation after eight ships, including four cargo vessels and a Turkish passenger ferry carrying 600 people, including a Nobel peace laureate and former U.S. congresswoman, set sail for Gaza with 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to break a three-year Israeli blockade on the territory. The same day, the country bans flotilla vessels from gathering in its territorial waters, which is commended by Israel as "an ethical deed and a voice of reason."Cyprus source
18 August – The hall opened in Gdańsk-Sopot.Poland source
27 August – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made a second state visit to China.North Korea source
September 14 – A second round of Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority concludes in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.Palestine source
September 29: Ghana and Togo begin cooperation to tackle cross-border crime near AflaoTogo source
October 31 – Expo 2010 concludes in Shanghai, China.source
Belize–Guatemala Partial Scope Agreement comes into effect April 4Belize source
In April, a new form of ID card was released that allowed women to travel to countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council without needing male permission to apply for it. However, permission was still required for them to travel abroad.Saudi Arabia source

Religion & Belief

18–24 January – Tour de San LuisArgentina source
February 3 – Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq, 83, Samaritan High Priest.Palestine source
President Hamid Karzai pledged that tribal leaders would be consulted before any coalition push to oust the Taliban from Kandahar, their spiritual home in southern Afghanistan.Afghanistan source
3 June – Pope Benedict XVI visits the country for 3 days, the first such visit by any Pope in the modern era.Cyprus source
6 June – Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko became beatified on Marshal Jozef Pilsudski Sq. in Warsaw.Poland source
July 31: 2010 Johan Cruijff SchaalNetherlands source
September 7: Algerian publisher, Barzakh Editions, will receive the Principal Prince Claus Award of 100,000 Euros on December 17, 2010. The business is one of ten other laureates to be honored at the Royal Palace (Amsterdam).Algeria source
31 October – A number of terrorists storm the Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral and hold worshippers as hostages. The Siege lasted few hours until security forces broke into the church, the confrontation led to at least 58 dead and around 100 injured.Iraq source

Economy & Finance

February 14 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga suspends Minister of Agriculture William Ruto and Minister of Education Sam Ongeri alleging them on corruption. Ongeri has admitted diverting school infrastructure money to his constituency while Ruto is linked to the maize scandal. President Mwai Kibaki reversed the suspensions instantly, leading to a political debate on the powers between the president and PMKenya source
April 27 – Standard & Poor's downgrades Greece's sovereign credit rating to junk 4 days after the activation of a €45-billion EU–IMF bailout, triggering the decline of stock markets worldwide and of the euro's value, and furthering a European sovereign debt crisis.source
May 2 – The eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agree to a €110 billion bailout package for Greece. The package involves sharp Greek austerity measures.source
May 3: The European Commission proposes rules for imports of fishery products from Greenland into the EU.Greenland source
May 6 – The 2010 flash crash, a trillion-dollar stock market crash, occurs over 36 minutes, initiated by a series of automated trading programs in a feedback loop.source
June 29 – Liberia receives $4.6 billion of debt relief from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.Liberia source
August 4 – Phạm Thanh Bình was arrested because Vinashin owed 86 trillion đồng.Vietnam source
August 21 - The charity Save the Children says the food crisis in Niger is being made worse by hoarders selling grain at higher prices than most people can afford.Niger source
October 23 – In preparation for the Seoul summit, finance ministers of the G-20 agree to reform the International Monetary Fund and shift 6% of the voting shares to developing nations and countries with emerging markets.source
November 21 – Eurozone countries agree to a rescue package for the Republic of Ireland from the European Financial Stability Facility in response to the country's financial crisis.source
November 26: Algeria is clamping down on imports of books which preach the very conservative Salafist branch of Islam. It is part of a move to dissuade the growing popularity of the ideology.Algeria source
November 29–December 10 – The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Cancún, Mexico. Formally referred to as the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16), it serves too as the 6th meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 6).source
November 29 – The European Union agree to an €85 billion rescue deal for Ireland from the European Financial Stability Facility, the International Monetary Fund and bilateral loans from the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.source
December 7 - Côte d'Ivoire is expelled from the Economic Community of West African States.Ivory Coast source
Former Prime Minister (1993-1994) Péter Boross gave a controversial interview, where he says the government should inaugurate a so-called childlessness tax because, according to him, procreation is not just a private matter but also a matter of national interest.Hungary source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 4 - Burj Khalifa, the world tallest building, was opened to the public.United Arab Emirates source
January 8 - Kenya gazetted the new media law, despite being criticised by the media for limiting the freedom of press.Kenya source
January 20 - The opening of monumental complex to 20 January in Baku.Azerbaijan source
March 4: 2010 Togolese presidential electionTogo source
April 3 – The first iPad is released.source
30 April – The Department of Computer Science of PKP turned off the last operating system in Poland based on a computer teleprocessing 1305th Oder.Poland source
June 9 – The Chicago Blackhawks win their first Stanley Cup since 1961.source
July 8 – The first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered plane is completed by the Solar Impulse.source
July 16 – First (test) Instagram posts made by co-developers Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom in San Francisco; the service launches publicly on October 6.source
October 6 – Instagram was launched.source
October 12: Terramin Australia Ltd reported that its Algerian zinc mine will be among the six largest zinc mines in the world. The cost to construct it will be $589 million. The firm is based in Adelaide, South Australia and will take 57 months to complete its venture.Algeria source
November 28 – WikiLeaks releases a collection of more than 250,000 American diplomatic cables, including 100,000 marked "secret" or "confidential".source
December 16 – After 25 years on CNN, Larry King Live airs its final episode. Contemporary reporting noted that King had recorded more than 6,000 programs for the network and that he was reported to be listed in the Guinness World Records for hosting the longest-running show with the same host in the same network time slot.source
3 and 6 January – The Snow Queen Trophy slalom race held at Sljeme in Zagreb.Croatia source
The construction of the West Bank barrier will be completed.Palestine source

Science & Discovery

January 4 – The tallest man-made structure to date, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is officially opened.source
January 15 – The longest annular solar eclipse of the 3rd millennium occurs.source
February 1 - February - Kenyan Serie A player McDonald Mariga moves from Parma to InterKenya source
February 4 - Debt-ridden emirate of Dubai confirms the discovery of a new oilfield.United Arab Emirates source
February 17 - Rwanda will be the global host of World Environment Day on 5 June 2010.Rwanda source
March 14 – Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions were released in North America. These are the highest rated games to date, with a user score of 9.1/10 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim," and a critic score of 87.source
29 April – The highest win in the Lotto was won in Elbląg and totalled 24 636 124.00 PLN.Poland source
May 7 – Scientists conducting the Neanderthal genome project announce that they have sequenced enough of the Neanderthal genome to suggest that Neanderthals and humans may have interbred.source
May 14 – Chad gives The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to information about its nuclear programs and involvements.Chad source
May 20 – Scientists announced that they have created a functional synthetic genome.source
May 25–29 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 takes place in Oslo, Norway, and is won by German entrant Lena with the song "Satellite".source
May – June: Indonesia 2010 censusIndonesia source
August 24: Cairn Energy discovers gas off the coast of Greenland, amid protests from Greenpeace demanding it halt its oil operations.Greenland source
October 7 – Lithuania and European Space Agency written cooperation agreement.Lithuania source
October 22 – The International Space Station surpasses the record for the longest continuous human occupation of space, having been continuously inhabited since November 2, 2000 (3641 days).source
November 17 – Researchers at CERN trap 38 antihydrogen atoms for a sixth of a second, marking the first time in history that humans have trapped antimatter.source
December 21 – The first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern winter solstice and Southern summer solstice since 1638 takes place.source
December – Comet Hale Bopp was found again around 30.7 AU away from the Sun. The previous time the Comet was found was in April 1997.source

Health & Medicine

10 January – 18th Final of The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (for the second time for children with oncological diseases), oncology clinics for retrofitting the highly specialized equipment.Poland source
January 19: A report transmitted by the Pasteur Institute to the Algerian Ministry of Health, Population, and Hospital Reform stated the results of their technical and administrative report on the H1N1 vaccine Arepanrix. Produced by Glaxo Smith Kline, and imported to Algeria, the four lots were approved by the Pasteur Institute.Algeria source
12 February – President Compaoré announces a plan to lift financial barriers to family planning to lower the maternal mortality rate within the country.Burkina Faso source
April 17 – Abdul Rahman Ahmed Jibril Baroud, c.73, Palestinian poet, heart attack.Palestine source
April 30 - Dick Wathika (PNU) is set to lose his parliamentary seat after a court nullified the 2007 election results of Makadara Constituency citing irregularities.Kenya source
July 25 – Nguyễn Trường Tô was expelled from the Communist Party of Vietnam for having "unhealthy relationship" with a prostitute.Vietnam source
August 10 – The World Health Organization declares the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying worldwide flu activity has returned to typical seasonal patterns.source
September 15 – The United Nations Security Council extends the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia by one year.Liberia source
Chad continues to struggle against a Cholera outbreak, hitting 5,000 total recorded cases in the country.Chad source

Crime & Justice

January 6 - Yemen arrests three suspected al-Qaeda members, including one leader, northwest of the capital Sana'a.Yemen source
February 19 – the court case Philip Morris v. Uruguay begins.Uruguay source
March 1 - 63-year-old former President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ejup Ganić is detained at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the UK to escape charges of war crimes.Bosnia and Herzegovina source
March 22 – Four-year-old Paulette Gebara Farah disappears from her family's home located in Huixquilucan, State of Mexico.source
April 5 – Julian Assange leaks footage of a 2007 airstrike in Iraq titled "Collateral Murder" on the website WikiLeaks.source
May 20 – Five paintings worth €100 million are stolen from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.source
August 14–26 – Lithuania achieved 19th place in 2010 Summer Youth Olympics with 5 medal (3 golden and 2 bronze)Lithuania source
30 August – The 2010 Bratislava shootingSlovakia source
September 20 - France sends dozens of soldiers equipped with Breguet Atlantique and Mirage aircraft to Niamey in its search for 7 kidnapped hostages.Niger source
September 22 – Anonymous initiates Operation Payback, a coordinated cyberattack on multiple corporations, law firms, and politicians over the banning of file-sharing websites such as LimeWire and The Pirate Bay and also the politicians and financial institutions against WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website.source
November 13 – Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi is released from her house arrest after being incarcerated since 1989.source
Hundreds of people are alleged to have been abducted since the election according to the UN.Ivory Coast source
Gang Suppression Unit is foundedBelize source

Disasters & Accidents

January 11: Islamists ransacked and burned a Protestant church in Tizi Ouzou. El Watan reported that parishioners fled the temple after local police failed to protect the Pentecostal temple.Algeria source
January 25 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean shortly after take-off from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board.source
25 January – The Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, scheduled from Beirut to Addis Ababa, crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Rafic Hariri International Airport.Ethiopia source
In January 25, 2010, A Boeing 737-800 operating Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, crashed into the mediterranean sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut due to pilot error, fatigue and poor crew resource management. None of the 90 on board survived.Lebanon source
February 15 – Two trains collide in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.source
March 16 – The Kasubi Tombs, Uganda's only cultural World Heritage Site, are destroyed by fire.source
March 26 – The ROKS Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast, killing 46. In May, an independent investigation blames North Korea, which denies the allegations.source
March 26 - Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chief of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and one of the most powerful men in the world, goes missing after his glider crashes into a lake in Morocco.United Arab Emirates source
April 7 - At least six people die and at least twelve others are injured after a boat sinks in Lake Kivu while carrying people to commemorations to mark the 16th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.Rwanda source
April 10 – The president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, is among 96 killed when their airplane crashes near Smolensk, Russia.source
April 20 – The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. The resulting Horizon oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline, and prompting international debate and doubt about the practice and procedures of offshore drilling.source
May 12 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes at runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing 103 of the 104 people on board.source
May 22 – Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors.source
July 28 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes near Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people on board.source
August 8 – wind flaw killed 4 people.Lithuania source
August 16 – AIRES Flight 8250, a Boeing 737–700, crashed on landing at San Andrés, Colombia, killing two.source
October 1 – Građevni kombinat 'Međimurje' from Čakovec, one of the largest Croatian construction and civil engineering companies (with more than 8,000 employees in 1980s), ceased to existsource
12 October – A train collides with a passenger bus on a railroad level crossing at Marhanets, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing 43 people, making collision was the worst single road accident in the country's history by number of victims.Ukraine source
November 4 – Qantas Flight 32 suffers an engine failure requiring an emergency landing in Singapore.source
November 4 – Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes in central Cuba, killing all 68 people on board.source
November 16 - An anti-tank mine explodes under a truck in Battambang province killing all 14 people aboard.Cambodia source

Climate & Environment

January 3 - Mount Nyamuragira erupts, threatening Virunga National Park and local villages.Democratic Republic of the Congo source
January 10 – Religious violence erupts in Jos, Nigeria, which left scores dead, and many injured.source
January 12 – A 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurs in Haiti, devastating the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.source
February 27 – An 8.8-magnitude earthquake occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing at least 525. The earthquake is one of the largest in recorded history.source
April 14 – Volcanic ash from one of several eruptions beneath Mount Eyjafjallajökull, an ice cap in Iceland, begins to disrupt air traffic across northern and western Europe.source
23 May – A general election held resulting in landslide victory of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).Ethiopia source
25 June – The FAO and EU begin providing high quality seeds to Burkinabé farmers to combat food insecurity to at-risk regions.Burkina Faso source
July 13 – Microsoft ends extended support for Windows 2000.source
July 29 – Heavy monsoon rains begin to cause widespread flooding in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Over 1,600 are killed, and more than one million are displaced by the floods.source
PDVAL affair, also known as the Pudreval affair, political scandal in Venezuela where tons of rotten food supplies were found torrent, which imported during Hugo Chávez's government through subsidies of state-owned enterprise PDVAL.source
July-September – Flooding in Chad causes 70,000 people to be displaced from their homes.Chad source
August 10 - The Niger River bursts its banks forcing 5,000 people to lose their homes and crops.Niger source
September 4 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocks Christchurch, New Zealand causing large amounts of damage but no direct fatalities. It is the first in a series of earthquakes between 2010 and 2012 that resulted in the deaths of 187 people and over $40 billion worth of damage. Seismologists noted that the earthquake sequence was highly unusual, and likely to never happen again anywhere else in the world.source
October 25 – An earthquake and consequent tsunami off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, kills over 400 people and leaves hundreds missing.source
October 26 – Repeated eruptions of Mount Merapi volcano in Central Java, Indonesia, and accompanying pyroclastic flows of scalding gas, pumice, and volcanic ash descending the erupting volcano kill 353 people and force hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate.source
October 26 - Nairobi Mayor Geoffrey Majiwa steps aside after being charged for his alleged involvement in a cemetery land corruption scandalKenya source
December 9 - The African Union suspends Côte d'Ivoire following the disputed presidential election.Ivory Coast source
Hurricane Richard makes landfall October 25Belize source

Culture & Society

February 3 – The sculpture L'Homme qui marche I by Alberto Giacometti sells in London for £65 million (US$103.7 million), setting a new world record for a work of art sold at auction.source
February 12–28 – The 2010 Winter Olympics are held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.source
Thousands of people take part in a second day of celebrations in the capital.Niger source
May 4 – Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Pablo Picasso sells in New York for US$106.5 million, setting another new world record for a work of art sold at auction.source
May 23 - The 2009–10 Azerbaijan Cup final between FK Baku and FK Khazar Lankaran took place in Baku.Azerbaijan source
June 11–July 11 – The 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa and was won by Spain.source
June 19 – Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westlingsource
June 22–25 – A tennis match between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner at the Wimbledon Championships, becomes the longest tennis match in history.source
Cameroon National team played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They lost in the group stage round.Cameroon source
September 12 – Lithuanian national basketball team won bronze medal at 2010 FIBA World Championship.Lithuania source
18 September – Slovak political reform referendum, 2010Slovakia source
October 3–14 – 2010 Commonwealth Games takes place in Delhi, India.source
October 12 - 2010 Bosnian general election took place.Bosnia and Herzegovina source
November 11–12 – The G-20 summit is held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea becomes the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.source
November 14 – Sebastian Vettel became the youngest F1 Champion after a 4 way championship fight.source
2010 Greenlandic Men's Football Championship.Greenland source
In February, the Saudi government allowed female lawyers to represent women in family court.Saudi Arabia source

Births

26 January – Duerra Mitilda – Actress, singer.Malaysia source
March 24 – Elia Ilano, child actressPhilippines source
5 April – Arisa Trew, skateboarderAustralia source
Falak, baby murder victim (died 2012)India source

Deaths

January 12: Humanitarian and aid worker, Zilda Arns is killed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She was there carrying out humanitarian activities on behalf of Pastoral da Criança.Brazil source
January 17 – Jyoti Basu, 95, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (1977–2000), complications from pneumonia.source
January 22 – Iskandar of Johor, 77, Malaysian Yang di-Pertuan Agong (1984–1989), Sultan of Johor (1981–2010).source
January 27 – Howard Zinn, 87, American historian (A People's History of the United States), civil rights and anti-war activist, heart attack.source
January 27 – J. D. Salinger, 91, American author (The Catcher in the Rye).source
February 6 - 23 Yemeni government soldiers are killed by the Houthis in two separate incidents: 15 are ambushed in Wadi al-Jabara, while the remaining 8 die in Sa'dah.Yemen source
February 11 – Alexander McQueen, 40, British fashion designer, suicide by hanging.source
8 March - Five Nigerien soldiers and three jihadists are killed, as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) attack a Nigerien military base in Tilwa, Tillabéri Region.Niger source
March 10 – Corey Haim, 38, Canadian actor (Lucas, The Lost Boys, License to Drive), pneumonia.source
April 6 – Wilma Mankiller, 64, American activist, first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation (1985–1995), pancreatic cancer.source
May 17 – Khattiya Sawasdipol, 58, Thai army general and activist, advisor to the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (Red Shirts), shot.source
May 22 – Martin Gardner, 95, American mathematics and science author.source
May 31 – Nine activists are killed in a clash with soldiers when Israeli Navy forces raid and capture a flotilla of ships attempting to break the Gaza blockade.source
June 4 – John Wooden, 99, American basketball coach (UCLA, 1948–1975).source
June 26 - Algirdas Brazauskas, the first president of a newly independent post-Soviet Union Lithuania from 1993 to 1998 and prime minister from 2001 to 2006.Lithuania source
July 1 – Don Coryell, 85, American football coach (San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Cardinals).source
July 24 – Alex Higgins, 61, Northern Irish snooker player, malnutrition, pneumonia, bronchial condition and throat cancer.source
August 9 – Ted Stevens, 86, American politician, Senator from Alaska (1968–2009), inventor of the term series of tubes, victim of 2010 Alaska plane crash.source
8 November – Mikhail Savitsky, painter (born 1922).Belarus source
December 17 – Captain Beefheart, 69, American rock musician and artist (Trout Mask Replica), complications from multiple sclerosis.source