February 27 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurs off the coast of Chile. It has killed around 500 people, and is thought to have had an impact on the Earth's axis, slightly shortening its days.
February 28 – With 14 gold medals, Canada becomes the most successful host nation of the Winter Olympics.
March 23 – The ROKS Cheonan, a South Koreannavy ship carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast near Baengnyong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 people. A later report in May 2010 says that North Korea sank the ship, but denies the allegations.
March 24 – South Talpatti Island, a disputed territory between India and Bangladesh disappears under the Bay of Bengal, due to rising sea levels.
April 7 – Amidst fierce rioting in Kyrgyzstan, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev flees the capital city, Bishkek by plane to the southern city of Osh; the opposition seizes control of the government, and places former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva as head of an interim government. She later becomes President on July 3.
April 14 – A volcanic eruption occurs near a glacier (Eyjafjallajökull) in southern Iceland, leading to flooding in the nearby area. The cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption causes air traffic all over Northern and Western Europe to be shut down.
April 20 – General Reynaldo Bignone, former military ruler of Argentina is sentenced to 25 years in prison, for ordering torture during the military dictatorship.
April 27 – Greece's sovereign credit rating is downgraded to junk, four days after its government asked for help in resolving its financial crisis. Stock markets around the world drop.
May
Tank in preparation to assault Red Shirt barricade on May 19.
July 25 – WikiLeaks, an organisation based in Sweden, leaks over 90,000 reports on the US military involvement in the war in Afghanistan, as public information.
late July/early August – Widespread flooding, caused by heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan, and spreading south to the Punjab and Sindh, kills at least 1,600 people, and makes more than a million people homeless. Millions of people are affected.
August 19 – The United States ends combat operations in Iraq, as its last combat brigade departs for Kuwait. Additional support troops are required to leave Iraq by December 31, 2011 under an agreement between the US and Iraqi governments.
September 28 – Kim Jong-un, son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is named Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and the Central Commission of the Workers' Party, a possible step towards becoming his father's successor.
October 13 – Thirty-three miners are rescued from the San Jose mine near Copiapo in Chile, after surviving 700 metres underground for a record 69 days, after a mining accident.
October 23 – In preparation for the Seoul summit, G-20 finance ministers agree to reform the IMF and shift 6 percent of the voting shares to developing nations and countries with emerging markets.
October 25 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra, and the resulting tsunamis kill over 400 people, and leave hundreds missing.
October 26 – Start of continuous eruptions of Mount Merapi on Java, killing hundreds of people, and leading to thousands being evacuated.
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.
November 19 – An explosion traps 29 miners at the Pike River Mine near Greymouth on New Zealand's South Island. They are confirmed dead after a second explosion five days later.
November 21 – Eurozone countries agree to an economic rescue package for the Republic of Ireland from European Financial Stability Facility in response to its financial crisis.
November 28 – WikiLeaks releases a collection of more than 250,000 American diplomatic cables, including 100,000 that were marked as secret or confidential.
December 4 – A political crisis begins in the Ivory Coast. The international community recognises Alassane Ouattara as the winner of the election, but President Laurent Gbagbo refuses to step down. Many people are killed in post-election violence and the Civil War that lasts until April2011.
December 11 – Two bombs explode in central Stockholm, Sweden, killing the perpetrator.
