TOP TEN

6 Tragic Times

• The year began unhappily for Haiti, as a massive earthquake of 7.0-magnitude left 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured and affected 3 million people in this beleaguered nation.

• In October, a tsunami following an earthquake killed over a hundred people 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, occured 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.

• 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 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 Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors. And Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed at the runway at Tripoli Airport in Libya on May 12, killing 103 of the 104 people on board. The President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, was among 96 killed when their airplane crashed in western Russia.

• And India saw two major train accidents which took the lives of hundreds

7 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.

8 MAN’S MISTAKES

• North Korea’s deadly artillery attacks on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island left two dead, twelve wounded and several civilians injured.

• 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 technical problems.

• 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.

9 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 lowprofile wedding was followed by a pretty high-profile reception.

10 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!