Natural Disasters

(XINHUA/AFP)

Residents search ruins in Port-au-Prince on January 26. A devastating earthquake rocked the Haitian capital on January 12, killing more than 200,000 people.

This year has seen numerous natural disasters. The eruption of a volcano in Iceland caused air travel chaos across Europe in April. In July, heavy rains triggered the worst flooding in Pakistan's 63-year history, leaving one fifth of the country under water.

New Spat Over Diaoyu Islands

(JI CHUNPENG)

A Chinese trawler (right), which collided with Japanese patrol ships in waters off the Diaoyu Islands on September 7, docks at a port in Okinawa two days after the incident.

Japan returned the fishermen and trawler after repeated and strong representations by China, but detained the Chinese captain for 17 days and vowed to handle the case in accordance with domestic law. On December 18, the city assembly of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan decided to mark January 14 as the day of the Japanese "pioneering" of the Diaoyu Islands. These moves damaged relations between China and Japan, who have long been at odds over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

(XINHUA/AFP)

South Korean soldiers prepare for a landing exercise on a beach southwest of Seoul on November 28, as part of a U.S.-South Korea joint military drill.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated following the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan on March 26, which killed 46 sailors. While Seoul claimed the vessel was torpedoed by North Korea, Pyongyang denied the charge. Eight months later, on November 23, North Korea shelled the Yeonpyeong Island, home to more than 1,000 South Korean residents, killing two marines and two civilians. Pyongyang claimed it was responding, after South Korean shells fell on its side of a disputed maritime border during a military exercise.

The Leaks Heard Around the World

Throughout 2010, the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks disclosed classified diplomatic cables and thousands of U.S. military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and triggered worldwide controversy.

The New Frontiers of Terrorism

(XINHUA/AFP)

Yemeni soldiers stop a motorcycle at a checkpoint in Sanaa on February 4.