Top Ten News in the World in 2010 1. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was completed. On January 1, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was completed.

This is currently the largest free trade area composed entirely of developing countries, covering a population of 1.9 billion, a GDP of US$6 trillion, and a trade volume of US$4.5 trillion.

The establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has significantly improved the efficiency of the flow of production factors such as capital, resources, technology and talents between the two sides, and provided an unprecedented good environment for expanding trade and investment cooperation. It is an important milestone in the history of the development of China-ASEAN relations.

2. A strong earthquake occurred in Haiti and reconstruction was difficult. On January 12, a strong earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale struck the Caribbean island country of Haiti. It was roughly estimated that more than 200,000 people died and infrastructure was severely damaged. It was the most serious disaster in Haiti in 200 years.

Post-disaster reconstruction is progressing slowly, and about 1.3 million victims are still living in temporary tents.

In October, another cholera epidemic broke out in Haiti, spreading throughout the country within weeks.

As of December 22, the cholera epidemic has caused nearly 2,600 deaths and more than 120,000 people receiving treatment.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, cholera and political instability have made the humanitarian situation in Haiti increasingly severe.

3. The security situation in Northeast Asia continues to be tense. On March 26, the South Korean guard ship Cheonan exploded and sank in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula (Yellow Sea). Only 58 of the 104 officers and soldiers survived.

On May 20, South Korea announced its investigation results saying that the "Cheonan" was sunk by a torpedo attack by a North Korean mini-submarine. North Korea claimed that it had nothing to do with this incident.

On November 23, North Korea and South Korea shelled each other near the disputed "Northern Boundary Line," resulting in the deaths of four people on the South Korean side.

North Korea said the exchange of fire was caused by South Korea firing artillery shells into North Korean territorial waters.

From November 28 to December 1, South Korea and the United States held joint military exercises in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula, with the participation of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington.

On December 3, the eight-day largest joint military exercise in Japan-US history was launched in the waters surrounding Japan. The security situation in Northeast Asia has remained tense for the past year.

4. Icelandic volcanic ash paralyzed European aviation. On April 14, a volcano erupted under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. The volcanic ash spread eastward and southward at high altitudes in Norway, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Russia.

The accumulation in the skies of many countries caused the air traffic in Europe to be paralyzed for a time, affecting air transport around the world.

Within a week of the volcanic eruption, about 100,000 flights were canceled in Europe, causing economic losses of billions of euros.

The volcanic eruption, which lasted for about 40 days, also had a serious impact on Iceland's livestock industry and tourism.

Due to the large amount of smoke and dust caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, France's Charles de Gaulle Airport will be closed starting from 23:00 local time on the 15th.

5. The oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico caused an ecological disaster. On April 20, the "Deepwater Horizon" drilling platform leased by BP exploded and caught fire in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana, USA, and eventually sank, resulting in the death of 11 people and the leakage of a large amount of crude oil.

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After the accident, the work of plugging the leak took many twists and turns and suffered constant setbacks.

On September 19, the U.S. government announced that the oil leaking drilling rig was permanently blocked.

During this period, more than 4 million barrels of crude oil flowed into the sea, causing the most serious oil spill in U.S. history and causing serious damage to the ecological environment of the Gulf of Mexico.

6. The global economic status of emerging countries has increased. On April 25, the Development Committee, the decision-making body of the World Bank, voted to transfer 3.13 percentage points of voting weight from developed countries to developing countries, raising the overall voting weight of developing countries to 47.19%.

On November 5, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) passed the quota reform plan.

Before 2012, the IMF will transfer more than 6% of its shares to underrepresented countries, including emerging countries.

The World Bank and IMF have successively made breakthroughs in governance reform, reflecting the increasing economic strength of developing countries.

China has become the third largest shareholder of the World Bank and the third largest contributor to the IMF, gaining more say in the two major institutions and further rising its international status.

The European sovereign debt crisis spread. On April 27, the international rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered Greece's credit rating again.

The credit ratings of Portugal and Spain have also been downgraded successively. The European sovereign debt crisis that first broke out in Greece at the end of last year has spread, seriously affecting the stability of the euro and the economic recovery of the euro zone.

On May 2, the Eurozone launched the Greek rescue mechanism; in November, Ireland, which was heavily in debt, had to accept external assistance; the market was also worried that Portugal, Spain and Belgium would become the next victims.

In response to the debt crisis, many countries in the Eurozone were forced to adopt fiscal austerity policies, triggering strong public dissatisfaction.

8. The world’s first artificial single-cell organism was born. On May 20, a team led by American genetic expert Craig Venter reported in the American magazine Science that they had developed the world’s first completely artificial genome.

Controlled single-cell bacteria.

This achievement is a key step towards artificially creating simple life forms and will help promote research on new biofuel synthesis processes.

This achievement is expected to usher in a new era of genetic engineering.

9. Miracles in Chilean Mine Disaster Rescue On August 5, a landslide occurred at the San Jose copper mine in Chile. 33 miners were trapped 700 meters underground. They united to save themselves under difficult conditions and tenaciously survived.