2010’s Top Ten
It’s the end of the first decade of the new millennium and I’m sure we’re asking the same question: How did the year go so fast? Do we even remember what happened in 2010? Well, here’s a glimpse of ten different topics, each that tells the story of events which made this year a unique one by capturing not just news headlines, but our attention and emotions as well.
Petty Politics
The one event that rocked Australia’s traditional ennui towards politics was Kevin Rudd’s spectacular oust by his trusty deputy Julia Gillard. At least the event created a furore, unlike the (yawn) Federal elections which began as a damp squib and finally went out altogether as weeks passed with both parties lobbying to win favour with the Independents to come into power. Julia Gillard is now Prime Minister and Labor is in the hot seat… for how long is anyone’s guess!
Another global coup of a completely different kind was US President Barack Obama’s whirlwind visit to India. Apart from charming the country and finalising mutually beneficial deals, the icing on the cake was Obama’s declaration of support to India for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. This is clear recognition of India’s increasing prominence on the global arena. India this year got its non-permanent seat into the UNSC, after a gap of 19 years.
After a court battle of 60 years, the Allahabad High court judged that the Ayodhya land dispute would be resolved through a three-way division. Hindus and Muslims are joint title holders of the disputed land, it said, and one-third each will go to the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the party for Ram Lalla. The verdict has been generally hailed as a sensible, Solomon-like decision by most, right after a sigh of relief.
John Howard was rejected in his bid for Vice-Presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in end June, being outvoted by six countries, and supported by only three. Sharad Pawar took on the role as President amidst the global cricketing media’s extremely vocal opinions about the rejection.
Marital moments
Sania Mirza, India’s tennis sensation and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik finally married in Bollywood eshtyle in mid-April, despite controversy about the groom’s earlier marriage and the bride’s dumping of her arranged match. However, the ones who celebrated the most were the media, who went on a rampage of speculation and sensation. The couple have now diplomatically moved residence to Dubai, and are keeping well away from the spotlight.
Prince William and Kate Middleton decided to tie the knot…finally. After an eight year relationship, you’d think they would have made that decision sooner! At last the British public will have another go at a fairytale wedding, but this one shows more promise of lasting. Perhaps because Will seems to take after his illustrious grandma!
And India’s very own cricketing star Mahendra Singh Dhoni tied the knot with Sakshi Singh Rawat in early July. The low-profile wedding was followed by a pretty high-profile reception.
Sensational Sports
Ah, the Socceroos! The FIFA World Cup saw Spain as the victor, but our boys exited in style with an awe-inspiring victory over Serbia. After their crushing defeat by Germany, it was a fitting finale as our boys came home with their heads held high and their pride intact.
And of course, there was the IPL with its fanfare, glory, talent, cricketing greats and cheerleaders. The Chennai Super Kings carried away the 2010 crown, beating the Mumbai Indians by 22 runs.
But although soccer and cricket had their moments of fame, all accolades go to the Delhi Commonwealth Games from October 3-10 which provided a competitive and balanced environment for athletes from all over the world. India is still smirking over this triumph, in the face of heavy global criticism prior to the Games.
In the limelight
Au Sang Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace prize winner and Burmese politician opposed to the military junta was finally released from house arrest after 15 years, on November 13.
Australia got is very first saint in Mary MacKillop.
Indian writer Chetan Bhagat, author of novels One Night @ the Call Centre and Five Point Someone was listed in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. However, his squabbles with the Three Idiots team (and his last minute no-show at the Melbourne Travel Writers’ festival in end-October) disappointed fans and patrons alike. So much for fame!
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, unveiled a new invention, a tablet PC called the iPad in April, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days.
The World Health Organization declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, claiming that worldwide flu activity has returned to typical seasonal patterns.
Researchers at CERN trapped 38 antihydrogen atoms for a sixth of a second, marking the first time in history that humans have trapped antimatter.
Tragic times
The year began unhappily for the Republic of Haiti in the Caribbean, as a massive earthquake of 7.0-magnitude on January 12 left 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured and affected an estimated 3 million people in this beleaguered nation.
In October, a tsunami following an earthquake killed over a hundred people with many more missing in remote islands in Western Indonesia. A
6.9-magnitude earthquake occurs in Qinghai, China, killing at least 2,000 and injuring more than 10,000. An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the largest in recorded history occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing 497.
Volcanic ash from one of several eruptions beneath Eyjafjallajökull, an ice cap in Iceland severely disrupted air traffic across northern and western Europe in April.
Heavy monsoon rains in July cause widespread flooding in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Over 1,600 are killed, and more than one million people are displaced by the floods.
33 miners in Chile were rescued after two months, nine days and eight hours since their ordeal began, in one of the most dramatic survival stories in mining history. And the world let out a sigh of relief!
And closer to home in New Zealand, the tragic deaths of 29 miners trapped in a coal mine in Pike River on South Island plunged the nation into grief.
A stampede during Bon Om Thook (Khmer Water Festival) celebrations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, killed 465.
In air disasters, on May 22, Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors. And Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed at the runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya on May 12, killing 103 of the 104 people on board.
The President of Poland, Lech Kaczy?ski, was among 96 killed when their airplane crashed in western Russia.
And India saw two major train accidents which took the lives of hundreds
Sensational Scandals
In a yet-unfolding saga, the alleged spectrum allocation scam which is said to have cost the Indian government $38 billion, is uprooting fresh evidence of corruption and bribery at the highest level.
Meanwhile, investigations are reluctantly proceeding to find the cause behind shoddy construction at the Commonwealth Games venues, which were responsible for highly damaging global publicity. Let’s hope the big cats, not only the small fry, get their just desserts.
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.
The IPL controversy involving Shashi Tharoor and Lalit Modi far outshone the sporting competition as conflicting allegations of match-fixing, illegal betting, money-laundering and corruption downplayed the glory of the event. Now with both the chief protagonists out of the running through timely resignations, the long, slow but thorough job of tidying up has begun.
RIP
Jyoti Basu, longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal and legendary Communist politician passed away on January 17, amidst public mourning on an unprecedented scale.
In Australia, we bid farewell to opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland.
Man’s mistakes
North Korea’s deadly artillery attacks on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island left two dead, twelve wounded and several civilians injured. The world has unanimously condemned the attacks, but that isn’t likely to stop this belligerent little hermit kingdom.
Stalemates, shellings and bombings continue in Iraq, Afghanistan and hotspots in the Middle East.
The Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploding in the Gulf of Mexico in April resulted in the largest oil spill in history, killing eleven workers, severely contaminating the waters and the US coastline, and damaging marine life.
Toyota announces recalls for approximately 5.2 million vehicles for a pedal entrapment and floor mat problem.
They may be the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, but the recent problems arising from the Airbus 380s have caused consternation in the airline industry. Qantas has seen two incidents with the A380s in early November, and claim that a faulty part or design was the cause of the engine trouble.
Finance
The Aussie dollar briefly reached parity with the US greenback and continued to remain strong thereafter. Greece and Ireland plunged into financial crisis, only to be rescued by an EU-IMF and Eurozone bailouts respectively.
Believe it or not!
The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest manmade structure opened on January 4 in Dubai, towering at a staggering 2,717 feet.
Mukesh Ambani’s first electricity bill in his much publicised mansion Antilia, is in excess of a mere Rs 70 lakhs for the month of September. And that’s after he was given a discount of nearly Rs. 50,000 for prompt payment. Experts say that the bill is roughly equivalent to the monthly power bill of 7000 average homes. Now that’s rich!
Lady Gaga arrived at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made of raw meat, complete with hat, boots and handbag. Gaga said that it was the most comfortable dress she wore all night. Now we know just why she’s called ‘Gaga’!
A Chilean miner stuck under the earth had not just his wife praying for him but also his mistress, and it was later found out, a third girlfriend! He certainly is a busy man!
