2010s

The 2010s (pronounced "twenty-tens" or "two thousand (and) tens")^{[1][2][3][4][5]} is the current decade, and is a decade in the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2010, and it will end on December 31, 2019.

Name for the decade

In the English-speaking world, a name for the decade has never universally been accepted in the same manner as for decades such as the '80s, the '90s, etc. Common suggestions for referring to this decade are "Tens", "Tenties", "Teens", or "Tennies", but generally the most often used terms are "Twenty-tens" or "Two thousand (and) tens".^[6]

Overview

The 2010s began amid a global financial crisis dating from the late 2000s. The European sovereign-debt crisis, which stemmed from these economic problems, became more pronounced and continued to affect the possibility of a global economic recovery. Austerity policies particularly affected Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. Such policies were among factors that led to the 15-M and Occupy movements. Other economic issues, such as inflation and an increase in commodity prices, led to unrest in many lower-income countries. Unrest in some countries—particularly in the Arab world—evolved into socio-economic crises triggering revolutions in Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen, as well as civil war in Libya and Syria, in a widespread phenomenon—commonly referred to in the Western world as the Arab Spring—which continues as of October 2018.

Sitting world leaders Hugo Chávez, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Jong-il all died, as did former leaders Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and Margaret Thatcher. Major natural disasters include the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Nepal earthquake of 2015, and the devastating hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Haiyan (Yolanda) and Sandy. Other major international events this decade include the Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014) and the Paris attacks of November 2015.

The 2010s brought the continuation of US military involvement, both in direct combat and through foreign bases, in many parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, the Sahara, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, the Caribbean and Central America. In 2011, the U.S. Navy SEALS assassinated Osama bin Laden in a raid on his Abbottabad compound. Online nonprofit organization WikiLeaks gained international attention for publishing classified information on topics including Guantánamo Bay, Syria, the Afghan and Iraq wars, and United States diplomacy. The website's editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, was granted political asylum by Ecuador, while the United States accused Chelsea Manning of leaking classified information and conducted a court-martial. Elsewhere, Edward Snowden blew the whistle on NSA global surveillance.

Widespread use and interconnectedness of mobile networked devices and mobile telephony, internet websites and resources, and social networking became a de facto standard in digital communication during the 2010s. ^[7]

Politics and wars

Wars

Main articles: List of wars 2003–2010 and List of wars 2011–present

The prominent wars of the decade include:

International wars

Name	Start date	End date	Description
Israeli–Palestinian conflict	14 May 1948	Ongoing	Since 1948, conflict between Jewish and Palestinian communities in Israel and the West Bank has continued to this day.[8] After Israel occupied the West Bank, it began making settlements there, which has been an obstacle to the peace process.[9] Tensions also remained high as Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has been launching rockets and cross-border raids into Israeli territory, which Israel has responded with force.[10]
War on Terror War in Afghanistan Iraq conflict	11 September 2001 7 October 2001 20 March 2003		Since the September 11 attacks, the United States and other governments in the world have been engaged in a war to eliminate terrorism.[11] On 23 May 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama declared the war to be over, saying that anti-terrorism operations will be focused on specific groups instead.[12] The United States, with support from NATO, invaded Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and overthrew the government.[13] However, the Taliban later regrouped and began an insurgency in the country.[14] Combat operations were declared over on 28 December 2014, though several thousand troops remain in the country to support Afghanistan's military.[15] On the pretext that the government of Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,[16] the United States and a coalition of partners invaded Iraq and overthrew Hussein.[17] After the invasion, the U.S. occupied the country.[18] However, the occupation subsequently created an insurgency by jihadist groups opposed to it and sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in the country.[19] At the end of 2011, U.S. forces officially withdrew from Iraq.[20]
Russian military intervention in Ukraine War in Donbass	20 February 2014 6 April 2014
Military intervention against ISIL	13 June 2014		In late 2013, a terrorist organization called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began making rapid advances and territorial gains in Iraq and Syria. It captured Mosul in June[21] and made Raqqa its capital, declaring itself to be a worldwide caliphate.[22] Various international coalitions were formed to help fight the militants.[23][24] By early 2016, ISIL had lost around 40% and 20% of its territory in Iraq and Syria respectively.[25] On 11 December 2017, Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops, claiming to have "completely defeated" ISIS.[26]

In red: the area controlled by ISIS as of December 31, 2014

Civil wars

Name	Start date	End date	Description
Colombian Armed Conflict	27 May 1964	Ongoing	Fighting between the Colombian government, left-wing guerrillas, and various paramilitary factions had been ongoing since 1964. However, the violence has sharply decreased as rebel groups gradually became more weakened with only two major groups remaining, FARC and ELN.[27] The violence has killed over 222,000 people, mostly civilians since the conflict began.[28] Since 2012, both groups have been in peace talks with the government, with FARC and the government signing a ceasefire in 2016.[29]
War in North-West Pakistan	16 March 2004		Since 2004, Pakistan has been fighting an insurgency by various armed militant groups in the country.[30] The violence has killed almost 57,000 people since,[31] with over 3 million more affected.[32] By 2014, however, casualties from terrorist and militant attacks had dropped by around 40%.[33]
Houthi insurgency in Yemen	14 June 2004	6 February 2015	The Houthis, a Shia militant group, waged a war against the Yemeni government.[34] Yemen had accused Iran of directing and financing the insurgency.[35] Thousands of rebels and civilians were killed during the conflict.[36][37] The insurgency came an end in 2015 when Houthi forces captured Sana'a and exiled the government to the port city of Aden.[38]
Mexican Drug War	11 December 2006	Ongoing	Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking in the country, Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared a war on drugs in December 2006.[39] Since the start of the war, the death toll from drug violence had sharply increased.[40] Arrests of key cartel leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, led to increasing violence as cartels fought for control of trafficking routes into the United States.[41][42][43]
War in Somalia	31 January 2009		Following years of lawlessness, the new Transitional Federal Government attempted to restore order in Somalia. However, Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, started waging an insurgency against the new government. In 2011, the federal government captured Mogadishu, the capital,[44] and subsequently retook several towns across the country.[45] Since then, the government has attempted to clean out the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds with help from AMISOM soldiers.[46]
Northern Mali conflict	16 January 2012	20 February 2015	In January 2012, a rebellion by Tuaregs in Northern Mali began. After Malian president Amadou Toumani Touré was ousted in a coup d'état, Tuaregs captured Northern Mali,[47] and declared it to be the independent state of Azawad.[48] However, shortly afterward, various Islamists groups took over Northern Mali from the Tuaregs and imposed sharia law on the region.[49]
Philippine Drug War	30 June 2016	Ongoing	Following a rise in criminal violence as a result of drug trafficking in the country, since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated on 30 June 2016. It has caused 3,000 deaths.[50]

Arab Spring

See also: Arab Spring and Impact of the Arab Spring

Name	Start date	End date	Description
Libyan Civil War	15 February	13 October 2011	Inspired by the revolutions in their neighbours, Libyans began to protest against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule.[51] However, Gaddafi refused to step down and sent in the military to brutally quell protests.[52] As a result, many army units defected to the opposition and protests soon turned into an armed rebellion.[53] With international help from NATO and neighbors in the region, the rebels were able to make rapid advances, capturing Tripoli, the capital,[54] and eventually Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and last outpost, where he was killed.[55] The war resulted in the death of at least fifty thousand people.[56]
Syrian Civil War	15 March 2011	Ongoing	Protests erupted in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad's rule and called for democratic reforms.[57] The uprising intensified after police and the army were sent in to crack down on protesters,[58] and later morphed into war after army officers defected to the opposition, forming the Free Syrian Army (FSA).[59] Over the course of the war, moderate rebel groups began to splinter and lose influence in the conflict,[60] allowing for Islamic extremist groups like Al-Nusra Front and ISIL to take control of vast amounts of territory. Many countries intervened in the war, in support of various factions.
Iraqi Civil War	June 2014		A spillover from the Syrian Civil War.
Yemeni Civil War	19 March 2015		After Houthi rebels overtook Sana'a on 6 February 2015, the internationally recognized government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi relocated to Aden.[61] In response to a Houthi advance to the coastal city, the Hadi government made a plea for international assistance in taking out the Houthi rebels.[62] Neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its allies accepted the plea and began carrying out airstrikes across the country to target the Houthi rebels and other non-state actors.[63]

Government overthrown multiple times   Government overthrown   Civil war   Protests and governmental changes   Major protests   Minor protests   Other protests and militant action outside the Arab world

Protesters in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution of 2011

Coups

Main article: List of coups d'état and coup attempts since 2010

Coups d'état against ruling governments during the decade include:

Event	Date	Country	Ref.
Nigerien coup d'état	18 February 2010		[64]
Malian coup d'état	21 March 2012		[65]
Guinea-Bissau coup d'état	12 April 2012		[66]
Egyptian coup d'état	3 July 2013		[67]
Thai coup d'état	22 May 2014		[68]
Yemeni coup d'état	21 September 2014		[69]
Turkish coup d'état attempt	15 July 2016		[70]
Zimbabwean coup d'état	14 November 2017		[71]

Nuclear weapons

P5+1 and Iranian negotiators meeting in Geneva for the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme (2013)

• In 2005, Iran's nuclear program became a source of tension due to fears that Iran could possibly divert civilian nuclear technology into a nuclear weapons program.^[72] This led the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran on select companies linked to Iran's nuclear program, causing further economic isolation of Iran.^[73] In 2015, Iran and other world powers agreed to trade sanctions relief for explicit constraints on Iran's nuclear program, including permanently closing their plutonium reactor, reducing the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges by two-thirds and allowing the inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).^[74] On 16 January 2016 the IAEA confirmed that Iran had complied with the agreement, allowing the United Nations to lift sanctions immediately.^[75][76] However, on May 8, 2018, United States President Donald Trump announced the United States was withdrawing from the deal.^[77]
• On 8 April 2010, the United States and Russia signed a treaty in Prague, Czech Republic to reduce the stockpiles of their nuclear weapons by half. It is meant to replace the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which was set to expire.^[78] The treaty went into force on 5 February 2011 after it was ratified by both nations.^[79]
• On 7 July 2017, the United Nations passed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination.^[80][81] It has been signed by 58 nations.^[82]
• Throughout the decade, North Korea expanded its nuclear capabilities, performing alleged nuclear tests in 2013^[83] and 2016,^[84] which governments responded by placing international sanctions on the country.^[85][86] In response North Korea has threatened the United States, South Korea and Japan with pre-emptive nuclear strikes.^[87] However, in 2018, North Korea suggested that they may disarm their nuclear arsenal after negotiations with the United States.

Terrorist attacks

Main article: List of terrorist incidents § 1970–present

The most prominent terrorist attacks committed against civilian populations during the decade include:

Event	Date	Country	Deaths	Injuries	Ref.
2010 Pune bombing	13 February 2010		17	54	[88]
2010 Moscow Metro bombings	29 March 2010		40	102	[89]
2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre	28 May 2010		87	120+	[90]
Domodedovo International Airport bombing	24 January 2011		37	173	[91]
2011 Mumbai bombings	13 July 2011		26	130+	[92]
2011 Norway attacks	22 July 2011		77	319+	[93]
2011 Monterrey casino attack	25 August 2011		52	10	[94]
Boston Marathon bombing	15 April 2013		5	264	[95]
Zamboanga City siege	9 September 2013		220	70	[96]
Westgate shopping mall attack	21 September 2013		67	175	[97]
December 2013 Volgograd bombings	29–30 December 2013		32	85	[98]
2014 Sydney hostage crisis	15 December 2014		3	18	[99][100][101]
2014 Peshawar school massacre	16 December 2014		148	114	[102]
Charlie Hebdo shooting	7 January 2015		17	22	[103]
2015 Baga massacre	3–7 January 2015		150+		[104]
Mamasapano clash	25 January 2015		67	17+	[105]
Bardo National Museum attack	18 March 2015		24	50+	[106]
2015 Sana'a mosque bombings	20 March 2015		142	351	[107]
Garissa University College attack	2 April 2015		152	79	[108]
2015 Ramadan attacks	26 June 2015	Various	403	336+	[109]
2015 Bangkok bombing	17 August 2015		20	125	[110]
2015 Beirut bombings	12 November 2015		43	240	[111]
2015 Ankara bombings	10 October 2015		109	400+	[112]
November 2015 Paris attacks	13 November 2015		130	368	[113]
2015 Bamako hotel attack	20 November 2015		20	9	[114]
2015 San Bernardino attack	2 December 2015		14	22	[115]
2016 Jakarta attacks	14 January 2016		8	24	[116][117][118]
2016 Brussels bombings	22 March 2016		35	300+	[119]
2016 Lahore suicide bombing	27 March 2016		69	300+	[120]
Tipo-Tipo clash	9 April 2016		18+	70	[121]
2016 Orlando nightclub shooting	12 June 2016		49	53	[122]
2016 Istanbul airport attack	28 June 2016		45	236	[123]
2016 Gulshan attack	1 July 2016		20		[124]
July 2016 Baghdad bombings	3 July 2016		281	200	[125]
2016 Nice attack	14 July 2016		87	434	[126]
2016 Gaziantep bombing	20 August 2016		54	66	[127]
2016 Davao City bombing	2 September 2016		15	70	[128]
2016 Berlin attack	19 December 2016		12	56	[129]
2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting	1 January 2017		39	70	[130]
2017 Westminster attack	22 March 2017		6	49	[131]
2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing	15 April 2017		126+	60+
2017 Camp Shaheen attack	21 April 2017		140+	160+
2017 Manchester Arena bombing	22 May 2017		22	59	[132]
Battle of Marawi	23 May-23 October 2017		255	1,400+	[133]
2017 London Bridge attack	3 June 2017		11	48
2017 Barcelona attacks	17–18 August 2017		16	152	[134]
14 October 2017 Mogadishu bombings	14 October 2017		512	316	[135]
2017 New York City truck attack	31 October 2017		8	12	[136]
2017 Sinai mosque attack	24 November 2017		311	122	[137][138]
Surabaya bombings	13 May 2018		14	57	[139]
Ahvaz military parade attack	22 September 2018		30	70	[140]

Political trends

China was increasingly called a superpower in the early 2010s, including at the 2011 meeting between President Hu Jintao and United States President Barack Obama. China overtook the US as the world's largest trading nation, filing the most patents, expanding its military, landing its lunar rover Yutu on the moon (ending a four-decade lack of lunar exploration) and creating China's Oriental Movie Metropolis as a major film and cultural center. China was projected to have the world's largest economy by 2018 with an estimated GDP per capita equal to the US by the late 2050s.^[141]

In September 2015, the Syrian Civil War led to the European refugee crisis.^[142] In the United States, internal migration declined to its lowest level since tracking began in 1948.^[143]

Political polarization

Political polarization in the United States House of Representatives (DW-Nominate scores)

Political polarization increased as conservatives and social liberals clashed over the role of government and other social, economic and environmental issues in the West. In the United States, polls showed a divided electorate regarding healthcare reform, immigration, gun rights, taxation, job creation, and debt reduction.^[144] In Europe, movements protesting increasing numbers of refugees from Islamic countries developed, such as the English Defence League and Pegida.^[145][146] There have also been increasing calls for egalitarianism, including between the sexes,^[147] and some scholars assert that a fourth wave of feminism began around 2012.^[148][149]

Populism in politics saw a widespread surge throughout the decade, with many politicians and various political movements expressing populist sentiments and utilizing populist rhetoric.^[150][151] Notable examples of populist movements included The Tea Party movement,^[152] Occupy Wall Street,^[153] Brexit,^[154] Black Lives Matter,^[155] and the alt-right.^[156][157] Examples of populist politicians are just as extensive, with Donald Trump,^[158] Barack Obama,^[159] Hugo Chávez,^[160] Beppe Grillo,^[161] Nigel Farage,^[162] and others described as populists.

Prominent political events

This table of events is listed by the region and by chronological order. The prominent political events include:

Africa

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Tunisian Revolution		14 January 2011	Amidst anti-government protests, Tunisia's president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency and resigned from office.	[163]
Egyptian revolution of 2011		25 January 2011	Inspired by the Tunisian demonstrations, protests erupted in Egypt, calling for the departure of long-time President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011.	[164]
2011 Libyan Civil War		15 February 2011	A popular revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule over Libya led to thousands of deaths and UN sanctions against the nation's government following a brutal crackdown against protesters.	[165]
South Sudanese independence referendum, 2011		9 July 2011	A referendum was held in Southern Sudan on whether the region should remain part of Sudan. An overwhelming majority voted in favour of separation and formed the new country of South Sudan.	[166]
Northern Mali conflict		16 January 2012	An Islamist revolt in northern Mali threatened to gain control of the country. A coalition, led by France, intervened to assist the Malian government in fighting the militants.	[167]
Ousting of François Bozizé		25 March 2013	Séléka rebels conquered the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, and forced President François Bozizé to flee the country, resulting in widespread sectarian violence.	[168]
Political violence in Egypt (2013)		3 July 2013	Political violence broke out in Egypt after Abdul Fattah al-Sisi led the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in a coup.	[169]
Death of Nelson Mandela		5 December 2013	Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died.	[170]
2014 Burkinabé uprising		31 October 2014	President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré resigned and fled to the Ivory Coast in the face of widespread protests, ending 27 years of authoritarian rule.	[171]
Trials and judicial hearings following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011		29 November 2014	Former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak was found not guilty of charges of killing protesters in the 2011 Egyptian protests and was also cleared of corruption charges.	[172][173]
Assembly of the West African Province		12 March 2015	Nigeria's Boko Haram merged with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to form the so-called "West African Province".	[174]
Nigerian general election, 2015		29 March 2015	Muhammadu Buhari was elected President of Nigeria, the first time the opposition ever won an election against an incumbent and the first ever peaceful transfer of power in the country.	[175]
Burundian unrest (2015–present)		26 April 2015	Burundi faces unrest as President Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in office, resulting in hundreds killed and thousands more fleeing the country.	[176]
Gambian presidential election, 2016		1 December 2016	Adama Barrow was elected President of The Gambia, defeating long-time President Yahya Jammeh and ending more than 22 years of authoritarian rule.	[177]
2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état		14 November 2017	Robert Mugabe resigned from the office of President of Zimbabwe after impeachment proceedings initiated, ending 30 years of authoritarian rule.	[178]
Resignation of Jacob Zuma		14 February 2018	Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa, after nine years in power.	[179]
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action		30 April 2018	Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Iran of not holding up its end of the Iran nuclear deal after presenting a cache of over 100,000 documents detailing the extent of Iran's nuclear program. Iran denounces Netanyahu's presentation as "propaganda".	[180]

Americas

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act		23 March 2010	President Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, marking a major reform of the U.S. health insurance and health care systems.	[181]
Brazilian presidential election, 2010		31 October 2010	Dilma Rousseff was elected as the first female President of Brazil.	[182]
Peruvian general election, 2011		5 June 2011	Ollanta Humala was elected president of Peru.	[183]
Occupy Wall Street		17 September 2011	Hundreds of protesters marched into the financial district of Wall Street in New York City, beginning the Occupy Wall Street movement: which started a series of demonstrations and hundreds of encampments in cities across the nation, forming the Occupy movement.	[184]
Impeachment of Fernando Lugo		22 June 2012	On 21 June the Chamber of Deputies voted 76 to 1 to impeach Lugo, and the Senate removed him from office the following day, by 39 votes to 4, resulting in Vice President Federico Franco, who had broken with Lugo, becoming President.	[185]
Mexican general election, 2012		1 July 2012	Enrique Peña Nieto won the Mexican general election, bringing the Institutional Revolutionary Party back to prominence for the first time since 2000.	[186]
United States presidential election, 2012		6 November 2012	Barack Obama was re-elected President of the United States, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney.	[187]
Death of Hugo Chávez		5 March 2013	Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died at the age of 58 after governing the country for 14 years.	[188]
Papal conclave, 2013		13 March 2013	Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected as the first pope from the Americas; he takes the papal name Francis.	[189]
June Journeys		April – July 2013	The demonstrations were initially organized to protest against increases in bus, train, and metro ticket prices in some Brazilian cities, but grew to include other issues such as the high corruption in the government and police brutality used against some demonstrators. By mid-June, the movement had grown to become Brazil's largest since the 1992 protests against former President Fernando Collor de Mello.	[190][191]
2014 Venezuela–Panama diplomatic crisis		5 March 2014	Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, severed diplomatic and political ties with Panama, accusing it of involvement in a conspiracy against the Venezuelan government.	[192]
Operation Car Wash		17 March 2014	Operation Car Wash is an ongoing criminal investigation being carried out by the Federal Police of Brazil, Curitiba Branch, and judicially commanded by Judge Sérgio Moro since March 17, 2014.	[193]
International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis		28 April 2014	U.S. President Barack Obama's new economic sanctions against Russia went into effect, targeting companies and individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.	[194]
Brazilian presidential election, 2014		26 October 2014	Dilma Rousseff was re-elected President of Brazil.	[195]
2015–16 protests in Brazil		15 March 2015 – 31 July 2016	In 2015 and 2016, a series of protests in Brazil denounced corruption and the government of President Dilma Rousseff, being the largest popular mobilizations in the country since the beginning of the "New Republic".	[196][197]
Obergefell v. Hodges		26 June 2015	Same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 U.S. states due to a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States.	[198]
Cuban Thaw		20 July 2015	A year after U.S. President Barack Obama announced efforts to end the United States embargo against Cuba, which had been in place since January 1961, the two countries restore full diplomatic ties, following decades of hostility.	[199][200]
Canadian federal election, 2015		19 October 2015	The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, won Canada's federal election, defeating the Conservative Party in the country's longest election in a century.	[201]
Argentine general election, 2015		22 November 2015	Mauricio Macri was elected President of Argentina, ending over a decade of "Kirchnerism" in the country.	[202]
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015		6 December 2015	The PSUV lost its majority in the National Assembly of Venezuela to the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable, marking the first time since 1999 that the PSUV lost its majority.	[203]
Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff		12 May 2016	The Brazilian Senate votes (55–22) to open the impeachment process against the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office while the trial takes place as the Vice President of Brazil, Michel Temer, assumes the presidential powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil.	[204]
Peruvian general election, 2016		5 June 2016	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was elected President of Peru.	[205]
Colombian peace process		23 June 2016	The government of Colombia and FARC rebels signed a ceasefire, officially ending over 50 years of conflict between the two.	[206]
United States presidential election, 2016		8 November 2016	Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the race to succeed Obama.	[207]
Death of Fidel Castro		25 November 2016	Former President of Cuba and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90.	[208]
2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis		23 March 2017	The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela took over legislative powers of the National Assembly. The Tribunal, mainly supporters of President Nicolás Maduro, also restricted the immunity granted to the Assembly's members, who mostly belonged to the opposition. Constitutional Assembly elections were held on 30 July 2017 to elect the members of a new Constitutional Assembly.	[209] [210]
Arrest of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva		7 April 2018	The arrest of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva occurred on April 7, 2018, after federal judge Sérgio Moro issued the warrant two days earlier. The arrest is due to the conviction for corruption and money laundering in second instance in the scope of Operation Car Wash. The ex-president was taken to Curitiba after the imprisonment, to the building of the Federal Police of Brazil, where he fulfills the sentence.	[211][212][213][214]
Inauguration of Miguel Díaz-Canel		19 April 2018	Miguel Díaz-Canel is sworn in as President of Cuba, marking the first time since 1959 that Cuba has had a president other than Fidel or Raúl Castro.

Asia

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010		7 April 2010	Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled Bishkek amid fierce anti-government riots as the opposition seized control.	[215]
Philippine presidential election, 2010		10 May 2010	Benigno Aquino III was elected President of the Philippines.	[216]
Myanmar general election, 2010		7 November 2010	Thein Sein was elected President of Myanmar, the first civilian President of the country since 1962.	[217]
Release of Aung San Suu Kyi		13 November 2010	Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi was released from her house arrest after being incarcerated since 1989.	[218]
2011 Bahraini uprising		15 March 2011	Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declared a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council were sent to quell the civil unrest.	[219]
Death of Kim Jong-il		17 December 2011	Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il of North Korea died after governing the country for 17 years. His son, Kim Jong-un, succeeded him.	[220]
18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China		8 November 2012	The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Xi Jinping being chosen as the new General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and as the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.	[221]
South Korean presidential election, 2012		19 December 2012	Park Geun-hye was elected President of South Korea, the first woman to hold the position.	[222]
Japanese general election, 2012		26 December 2012	The Liberal Democratic Party, led by Shinzō Abe, won a landslide victory in Japan's general election.	[223]
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction		11 March 2013	The Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea broke all peace pacts with South Korea and started a new nuclear weapons plan, inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula.	[224]
Indian general election, 2014		12 May 2014	The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, won a landslide victory in India's general election, the first time BJP gained a majority since 1984.	[225]
2014 Thai coup d'état		23 May 2014	Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is home-arrested in the wake of a military coup.	[226]
Indonesian presidential election, 2014		9 July 2014	Joko Widodo won Indonesia's presidential election, becoming the first president to not be from the country's political elite or military.	[227]
2014 Hong Kong protests		26 September 2014	Protests erupted in Hong Kong after proposed new electoral reforms prompted concerns of growing mainland Chinese influence in the politics of the island.	[228]
2014 Yemen protests		22 January 2015	After Houthi forces seized the presidential palace, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned after months of unrest.	[229]
Death of King Abdullah		23 January 2015	Abdullah, the King of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2015, died and is replaced by King Salman.	[230]
Death of Lee Kuan Yew		23 March 2015	Founding Prime Minister of Singapore who ruled from 1959 to 1990, highly regarded as the founding father of the nation, died from pneumonia at the age of 91.	[231]
India–Bangladesh enclaves		6 June 2015	India and Bangladesh officially ratified their 1974 agreement to exchange enclaves along their border.	[232]
2015 Ma–Xi meeting		7 November 2015	Chinese leader and Taiwanese president, Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, formally meet, the first time any leader of their respective countries met since 1949.	[233]
Myanmar general election, 2015		8 November 2015	The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a sweeping victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election since 1990.	[234]
2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran		3 January 2016	Following the fallout caused by the Execution of Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Saudi Shia cleric, Saudi Arabia and its allies severed their diplomatic relations with Iran.	[235]
Taiwanese general election, 2016		16 January 2016	Tsai Ing-wen was elected President of Taiwan, the first woman to hold the position.	[236]
2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes		2 April 2016	Clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani military in Nagorno-Karabakh kill at least 193 people, which becomes the heaviest breach of the 1994 ceasefire.	[237]
Philippine presidential election, 2016		9 May 2016	Rodrigo Duterte was elected President of the Philippines.	[238]
Philippines v. China		12 July 2016	The Philippines wins the arbitration case they filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the legality of China's nine-dotted line claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.	[239][240]
Death of Bhumibol Adulyadej		13 October 2016	Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand from 1946 to 2016, died and replaced by his son, Vajiralongkorn.	[241]
Impeachment of Park Geun-hye		10 March 2017	South Korean President Park Geun-hye is impeached by the Constitutional Court of Korea in a unanimous decision, terminating Park's presidency. South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn assumes power following the ruling.	[242]
South Korean presidential election, 2017		9 May 2017	Moon Jae-in was elected the 12th President of South Korea, originally scheduled to take place later in the year, the election was moved to early May following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye.	[243]
2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis		5 June 2017	Seven Arab countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region and supporting terrorism.	[244]
2018 Constitutional Changes in China		11 March 2018	China's government approves a constitutional change that removes term limits for its leaders, granting Xi Jinping the status of "President for Life". Xi is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (paramount leader).	[245]
Kim–Xi meetings		28 March 2018	North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un meets Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping, leaving the country for the first time since assuming office in 2011.	[246]
2018 Armenian protests		12 April 2018	Various political and civil groups led by member of parliament Nikol Pashinyan staged anti-government protests in Armenia. Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned on April 23, 2018. Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister on 8 May 2018.	[247][248]
April 2018 inter-Korean summit		27 April 2018	Kim Jong-un crosses into South Korea to meet with President Moon Jae-in, becoming the first North Korean leader to cross the Demilitarized Zone since its creation in 1953.	[249]
Malaysian general election, 2018		9 May 2018	The opposition-led Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, secures a parliamentary majority in the Malaysian Parliament, ending the 61-year rule of the Barisan Nasional coalition since independence in 1957.	[250]
Release of Anwar Ibrahim		16 May 2018	The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, pardons Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and is immediately released.	[251]
2018 North Korea–United States summit		12 June 2018	United States President and North Korea's Supreme Leader, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, formally meet, the first time any leader of their respective countries met.	[252]
Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea		12 August 2018	The five littoral states – Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan – sign the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, ending the 20-year long dispute over the Caspian Sea's legal status.	[253]

The leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump during the North Korea–United States summit in June 2018.

Europe

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
United Kingdom general election, 2010		6 May 2010	The 2010 United Kingdom election resulted in the first "hung parliament" since 1974.
Resignation of Silvio Berlusconi		16 November 2011	The longest-serving Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Silvio Berlusconi resigned in November 2011, after a sexual allegation scandal, a financial crisis and public protests. The economist Mario Monti was appointed new Prime Minister, at the head of a technocratic cabinet and held the office until 2013.	[254]
French presidential election, 2012		22 April 2012	François Hollande was elected as the new President of France, becoming the first socialist president of the country in 17 years.	[255]
Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI		28 February 2013	Benedict XVI resigned as pope, the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294.	[256]
Italian general election, 2013		25 February 2013	Neither of the two main coalitions, the centre-right led by Silvio Berlusconi and the centre-left led by Pier Luigi Bersani, won an outright majority in Parliament, partly due to the strong showing by the populist anti-establishment Five Star Movement.	[257][258]
Death of Margaret Thatcher		8 April 2013	Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died.	[259]
Italian presidential election, 2013		20 April 2013	Amid growing financial tensions, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected, the first ever Italian president to be re-elected. Napolitano appointed Enrico Letta Prime Minister, at the head of a grand coalition.	[260]
Abdication of Beatrix of the Netherlands		30 April 2013	Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander, who became the country's first king in over a century.	[261]
2014 Ukrainian revolution		21 February 2014	Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following violent protests in the capital, Kiev. The opposition-controlled Verkhovna Rada voted to remove him as president.	[262]
Election of Matteo Renzi		22 February 2014	Matteo Renzi, after becoming the new leader of the Italian Democratic Party, forced Enrico Letta to resign and was elected Prime Minister, starting a program of radical constitutional reforms. Renzi is the youngest Prime Minister in the Italian history.	[263]
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation		18 March 2014	Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine following an internationally unrecognized referendum on the status of the region.	[264]
European Parliament election, 2014		22 – 25 May 2014	Victories in the European elections by UKIP in the United Kingdom and the National Front in France, seen by some as a sign of a growing right-wing and eurosceptical movement in mainland Europe.	[265][266]
Scottish independence referendum, 2014		18 September 2014	In a referendum called by the governing Scottish National Party, Scotland voted to remain in the United Kingdom, with 55.3% of votes against independence while 44.7% voted in favour.	[267][268]
Abdication of Juan Carlos I of Spain		19 June 2014	King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI.	[269]
Greek legislative election, January 2015		26 January 2015	Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the anti-austerity Syriza party, was elected as Prime Minister of Greece.	[270]
Minsk II		12 February 2015	Leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France reached an agreement on the conflict in Eastern Ukraine that included a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. However, the truce has largely failed to stop the fighting, with skirmishes continuing unabated.	[271][272]
Irish constitutional referendums, 2015		23 May 2015	The Republic of Ireland voted to legalize same-sex marriage, becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote.	[273]
Greek government-debt crisis		1 July 2015	Greece became the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the fund's 71-year history.	[274]
Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill		12 February 2016	Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill signed an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.	[275]
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016		23 June 2016	In a referendum held in the United Kingdom on whether or not to continue being a member of the European Union, 52% of voters chose to leave it. Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation shortly afterwards.	[276][277]
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016		13 July 2016	Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becoming Britain's second female prime minister.	[278]
Austrian presidential election, 2016		4 December 2016	Independent green Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat the far-right Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer in a repeat of the Austrian presidential election, 2016 after the first election was annulled.	[279]
Italian constitutional referendum, 2016		4 December 2016	Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned after the result constitutional referendum, in which Italians rejected his reform to overhaul the Senate of the Republic. The Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni was appointed new Prime Minister.	[280][281]
French presidential election, 2017		7 May 2017	En Marche! candidate Emmanuel Macron was elected the President of France, replacing incumbent Hollande and defeating National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting. Macron is the youngest president in the history of the French Fifth Republic.	[282]
Fine Gael leadership election, 2017		2 June 2017	A leadership election for Ireland's ruling party was held. Enda Kenny resigned as Taoiseach and was replaced by Leo Varadkar. He is the first openly gay Taiseach and the son of an immigrant.	[283]
2017 Spanish constitutional crisis		6 September 2017	Political conflict sparks between the Government of Spain and Government of Catalonia over the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, which Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opposed, arguing that any referendum on Catalan independence would be in violation of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Operation Anubis was launched in an attempt to thwart the referendum, though it still went ahead with 91% supporting independence within Catalonia.	[284]
German federal election, 2017		24 September 2017	Alternative for Germany entered parliament for the first time since their founding, while the Social Democratic Party of Germany suffered their worst election defeat since World War 2.	[285]
Italian general election, 2018		4 March 2018	The centre-right alliance, in which the right-wing populist League emerged as the main political force, won a plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, while the anti-establishment Five Star Movement became the party with the largest number of votes and the centre-left coalition came third. However, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament.	[286][287]
Russian presidential election, 2018		18 March 2018	Presidential elections were held in Russia on 18 March 2018. Incumbent Vladimir Putin won reelection for his second consecutive (fourth overall) term in office with 77% of the vote.	[288]
Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland		25 May 2018	A constitutional referendum on whether to repeal the ban on abortion in Ireland takes place, with a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the repeal side.	[289][290]
Macedonia naming dispute		12 June 2018	Greece and the Republic of Macedonia reach a deal to end a 27-year naming dispute between both countries, which would result in Macedonia being officially renamed the Republic of North Macedonia.	[291]

February 28, 2014: following a political crisis in Ukraine and after the Ukrainian parliament votes to remove pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from office, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

European migrant crisis: Asylum applications in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states between 1 January and 30 June 2015 according to Eurostat data

Oceania

Event	Country	Date	Description	References
Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2010		24 June 2010	Julia Gillard succeeded Kevin Rudd as the Prime Minister of Australia, becoming Australia's first female prime minister after a leadership spill.	[292]
Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013		19 August 2013	Same-sex marriage was legalized in New Zealand, making it the first country in Oceania to allow same-sex couples to marry.	[293]
Fijian general election, 2014		17 September 2014	Former Fijian military commander Frank Bainimarama won Fiji's first democratic election since a coup in 2006, officially ending years of military rule.	[294]
Crowning of Tupou VI		4 July 2015	Tupou VI was crowned King of Tonga, succeeding his brother George Tupou V, who died in 2012.	[295]
Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill, September 2015		15 September 2015	Malcolm Turnbull succeeded Tony Abbott as Prime Minister of Australia after a leadership spill.	[296]
Resignation of John Key		11 December 2016	Bill English becomes Prime Minister of New Zealand after the resignation of John Key.	[297]
New Zealand general election, 2017		23 September 2017	New Zealand holds a general election with no parties having a majority and therefore, must negotiate with New Zealand First in order to govern. On 19 October, NZ First announced the formation of a coalition government with the Labour Party, with a support from the Green Party, making Jacinda Ardern the Prime Minister-elect and ending the Fifth National Government.	[298]
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017		9 December 2017	The Act came into effect from 9 December 2017, allowing same-sex couples previously married overseas to have their marriages recognised under Australian law. The first same-sex marriages took place in Australia on 9 January 2018.	[299]
Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, 2018		24 August 2018	Scott Morrison succeeds Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister of Australia following a Liberal Party leadership ballot. Morrison is sworn in as Prime Minister later that evening.	[300][301]

Assassinations and attempts

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

Osama bin Laden

Muammar Gaddafi

Disasters

Non-natural disasters

Aviation

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409	25 January 2010		Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on board.	[326]
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash	10 April 2010		Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of Polish government and military officials were among 96 people killed when their plane crashed near Smolensk, Russia.	[327]
Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771	12 May 2010		Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed on a runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing all but one of the 104 passengers and crew.	[328]
Air India Express Flight 812	22 May 2010		Air India Express Flight 812 overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 people, with eight surviving.	[329]
Airblue Flight 202	28 July 2010		Airblue Flight 202 en route from Karachi to Islamabad crashed in the Margalla Hills near Islamabad, killing all 152 aboard, becoming the deadliest air crash in Pakistan's history.	[330]
2011 Beechcraft 65-80 Queen Air crash	10 December 2011		Parañaque plane crash kills 14 people in a slum area.	[331]
Dana Air Flight 992	3 June 2012		Dana Air Flight 992 crashed in the Nigerian city of Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard. 10 people on the ground also perished.	[332]
2012 Philippine Piper Seneca crash	18 August 2012		A plane carrying four people – two pilots, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Jesse Robredo and his aide, crashed off the shore of Masbate Island en route to Robredo's hometown of Naga City from Cebu City. His aide survived the crash, however the Secretary and the two pilots did not survive.	[333]
Asiana Airlines Flight 214	6 July 2013		Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco airport killing 3 and injuring 181 people.	[334]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370	8 March 2014		Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The bulk of the plane is still missing, with all 239 people on board presumed dead. The first remains of the aircraft were found on 29 July 2015, after they washed ashore on Réunion Island.	[335][336]
2014 Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force An-74 crash	14 May 2014		A Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force airplane crashed in northern Laos, killing 16 people, among them several prominent Laotian statesmen, including Defense Minister Douangchay Phichit.	[337]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17	17 July 2014		Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine and crashed near the Ukrainian-Russian border, killing all 298 people on board, making it the deadliest airliner shoot down in history.	[338]
Air Algérie Flight 5017	24 July 2014		Air Algérie Flight 5017 crashed in southern Mali, killing all 116 passengers and crew.	[339]
Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501	28 December 2014		Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed in the Java sea after an attempt to avoid heavy thunderstorms, leaving all 162 people dead.	[340]
Villa Castelli helicopter collision	9 March 2015		Two helicopters collided in mid-air in a remote area of northwestern Argentina leaving at least ten dead. Among the dead were a group of French sports stars participating in a reality-television show called Dropped.	[341]
Germanwings Flight 9525	24 March 2015		Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.	[342]
2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash	8 May 2015		Ambassadors Leif Larsen of Norway, Domingo Lucenario of the Philippines, Burhan Muhammad of Indonesia and other diplomats and the two helicopter pilots were killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan.	[343]
2015 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash	30 June 2015		A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Indonesian Air Force crashed into a crowded residential neighborhood in Medan shortly after take-off from Soewondo Air Force Base, killing 143 people including 22 on the ground, making it the deadliest crash in Indonesian Air Force peacetime history.	[344]
Metrojet Flight 9268	31 October 2015		Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus A321 airliner en route to Saint Petersburg from Sharm el-Sheikh, crashes near Al-Hasana in Sinai, killing all 224 passengers and crew on board.	[345]
2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown	24 November 2015		Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.	[346]
Flydubai Flight 981	19 March 2016		Flydubai Flight 981 crashed in the runway of Rostov-on-Don Airport in Russia, killing 62 passengers and crews.	[347]
EgyptAir Flight 804	19 May 2016		EgyptAir Flight 804 was an international passenger flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo International Airport, operated by EgyptAir, that went missing over the Mediterranean Sea near the Greek island of Karpathos. There were 66 people on board who are still missing.	[348][349]
LaMia Flight 2933	29 November 2016		A chartered Avro RJ85 plane carrying 77 people, including the Chapecoense football team, crashes near Medellín, Colombia. Rescuers reported seven survivors had been found in the wreckage, however it was reduced to six, after one died on arrival at A&E. The 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals were suspended, and Atlético Nacional, who to be Chapecoence's opponents, gave them the trophy out of respect.	[350]
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash	25 December 2016		A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.	[351]
Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704	18 February 2018		Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 3704 crashes in the Zagros Mountains, en route from Tehran to Yasuj. All 65 passengers and crew members perish.	[352]
US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211	12 March 2018		Flight BS211 crashes in Nepal, killing 51 on board.	[353]
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972	18 May 2018		Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes shortly after take-off near José Martí International Airport in Havana, killing 112 and leaving only one survivor.	[354]

• 
  On April 10, 2010 a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed in Russia with the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 other passengers including many senior officials
• 
  For over 15 months it wasn't clear what exactly happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 until at the end of July 2015 a few remnants of the plane swept to the shores of the island of Réunion

General

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2010 Copiapó mining accident	13 October 2010		Thirty-three miners near Copiapó, Chile, were trapped 700 metres (2,300 feet) underground in a mining accident in San José Mine, before being rescued after surviving for a record 69 days.	[355]
2013 Savar building collapse	24 April 2013		An eight-story factory building collapsed in the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring over 2,000 more, becoming the deadliest structural failure in history.	[356]
Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse	12 November 2013		The roof of a shopping centre in Zolitūde, Latvia collapsed, killing 54 people and resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis.	[357]
2015 Tianjin explosions	12 August 2015		Two explosions occurred within 30 seconds of each other at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China, killing at least 173.	[358]
Mecca crane collapse	11 September 2015		A crane toppled over at Mecca, killing 111 people, weeks before the official Hajj pilgrimage.	[359]
2015 Mina stampede	24 September 2015		A stampede during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 2,236 people, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history.	[360]
Bento Rodrigues dam disaster	5 November 2015		An iron ore tailings dam in Bento Rodrigues, a subdistrict of Mariana, Brazil, suffered a catastrophic failure, causing flooding and at least 17 deaths. At least 16 people have been injured. This incident has been described as the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history.	[361][362][363]
Tham Luang cave rescue	23 June – 10 July 2018		Twelve boys and their football coach are successfully rescued from the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand, following a 17-day ordeal that gained worldwide attention.	[364][365]
Ponte Morandi Collpase	14 August 2018		Part of the Morandi Bridge collapses after a violent storm in Genoa, Italy, causing 43 fatalities. Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and transport minister Danilo Toninelli blame private company Autostrade per l'Italia.	[366][367]

Fires

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
Kiss nightclub fire	27 January 2013		242 people were killed in a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil.	[368]
Kentex slipper factory fire	13 May 2015		At least 72 were killed in a fire at a slipper manufacturing factory in Valenzuela City, Philippines.	[369][370][371]
Colectiv nightclub fire	30 October 2015		A fire broke out at a nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, killing 63 people and resulting in widespread protests that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta.	[372]
Grenfell Tower fire	14 June 2017		A fire ignited by a faulty refrigerator in a London council estate tower block spread to almost the entirety of the building causing at least 80 deaths, over 70 injuries and widespread panic throughout the UK over the cladding used outside the tower block which caused the fire to spread so quickly and rapidly.	[373][374]
2018 Kemerovo fire	25 March 2018		At least 64 people die in a fire at a shopping and entertainment complex in the Russian city of Kemerovo.	[375]
2018 Valencia, Venezuela fire	28 March 2018		At least 78 people die in a fire in the police headquarters of Valencia, Venezuela.	[376]
National Museum of Brazil Fire	2 September 2018		A fire destroys the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Fortunately no one were hurt but 90 percent of the collection has been destroyed.	[377][378]

Marine

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
Costa Concordia disaster	13 January 2012		The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially capsized off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy, killing 32 people.	[379]
Grounding of the USS Guardian (MCM-5)	17 January 2013		USS Guardian (MCM-5), an American mine countermeasures ship, ran ground at Tubbataha Reef, testing relations between the Philippines and the United States.	[380]
Sinking of the MV St. Thomas Aquinas	16 August 2013		MV St. Thomas Aquinas collided with MV Sulpicio Express Siete resulting in 55 deaths. 65 people remain missing.	[381]
Sinking of MV Sewol	16 April 2014		South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsized while en route to Jeju, killing 295 people, mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School.	[382]
Sinking of Dong Fang Zhi Xing	1 June 2015		The river cruise ship Dong Fang Zhi Xing capsized in the Yangtze River after being hit by a waterspout, killing 442 people, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in China's peacetime history.	[383]
Sinking of the Kim Nirvana-B	2 July 2015		MB Kim Nirvana, a motorized jukung bound for Camotes Islands which carried 173 passengers, capsized off the coast of Ormoc, killing 62 passengers.	[384]
Sinking of the MV Nyerere	20 September 2018		The MV Nyerere capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at least 227 passengers.	[385]

Pollution

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
Deepwater Horizon oil spill	20 April 2010		An explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, operating in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, left eleven crewmen dead and resulted in a fire that sank the rig and caused a massive oil spill, becoming the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.	[386][387]
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster	11 March 2011		A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sendai caused a tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants. The damage resulted in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster, contaminating the entire area.	[388][389]
Flint water crisis	25 April 2014		The U.S. city of Flint, Michigan's water source was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River, where officials had failed to apply corrosion inhibitors. This decision led to the water being contaminated by lead and eventual nationwide outrage about an alleged coverup.	[390][391]

Natural disasters

Earthquakes and tsunamis

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2010 Haiti earthquake	12 January 2010		A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti, causing widespread destruction in Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities believe that the disaster killed between 200,000 and 250,000 people and over three million more were affected by the quake. The earthquake is so far the deadliest disaster in the decade.	[392][393]
2010 Chile earthquake	27 February 2010		An 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chile, triggering a tsunami across the Pacific and killing 497. One of the largest earthquakes in recorded history, this rare megathrust earthquake likely shifted Earth's axis and slightly shortened its days.	[394][395][396]
2010 Baja California earthquake	4 April 2010		A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Mexicali and Baja, killing three and injuring more than two hundred. US border towns in Imperial Valley, California were affected.	[397]
2010 Yushu earthquake	13 April 2010		A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred in western China, killing at least 2,200 and injuring more than 12,000.	[398][399]
February 2011 Christchurch earthquake	22 February 2011		A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people.	[400]
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami	11 March 2011		A 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit near Sendai, Japan. It created a 30 feet (9.1 m) high tsunami, leaving 15,893 dead, 2,565 missing and over 150,000 displaced. It was the largest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years.	[401][402][403]
2011 Van earthquake	23 October 2011		A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Turkish city of Van, leaving over 604 dead and thousands more injured.	[404]
2013 Bohol earthquake	15 October 2013		A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Visayas region of the Philippines, killing over 200 people.	[405]
April 2015 Nepal earthquake	25 April 2015		A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal killed at least 8,857 people and injured tens of thousands more.It is the worst disaster to hit Nepal in decades.	[406][407][408]
May 2015 Nepal earthquake	12 May 2015		A second major earthquake hit Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, killing 218 more people.	[409]
2015 Illapel earthquake	16 September 2015		An 8.3 magnitude earthquake jolted Chile, killing over 14 people.	[410]
2015 Hindu Kush earthquake	26 October 2015		A magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region and causes 398 deaths, with 279 in Pakistan, 115 in Afghanistan and 4 in India.	[411]
2016 Kumamoto earthquakes	16 April 2016		A 7.0 earthquake struck near Kumamoto City of Kumamoto Prefecture, resulting in at least 44 deaths and about 3,000 injured. More than 44,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.	[412]
2016 Ecuador earthquake	16 April 2016		A 7.8 earthquake struck near Muisne, Ecuador, killing over 673 people and displacing at least 25,000 more.	[413]
August 2016 Central Italy earthquake	24 August 2016		A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Central Italy near Norcia, 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Perugia and 45 km (28 mi) north of L'Aquila, in an area near the tripoint of the Umbria, Lazio, and Marche regions. At least 298 people have been left dead.	[414]
2017 Central Mexico earthquake	19 September 2017		A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Puebla. Coincidentally, it was also the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which claimed about 10,000 lives. The earthquake was commemorated with a national earthquake seismic alert drill at 11 a.m. local time, just two hours before the Puebla earthquake struck, which left 360 dead and over 6,000 injured.	[415]
2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami	28 September 2018		A magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Sulawesi, Indonesia, causing a tsunami that kills at least 384 people and injures more than 540 others.	[416]

Tropical cyclones

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
Typhoon Megi	18 October 2010		Typhoon Megi, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Juan, hit the Philippines, killing at least 69 and causing US$709 million in damage.	[417]
Tropical Storm Washi	16 December 2011		Tropical Storm Washi, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Sendong, caused catastrophic damage on the Philippine island of Mindanao. More than 1,000 died and thousands were injured or missing.	[418]
Hurricane Sandy	25 October 2012	Various	Hurricane Sandy caused immense destruction in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the United States, leaving at least 233 dead. It became the largest Atlantic tropical storm ever.	[419][420]
Typhoon Bopha	2 December 2012		Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, struck the Philippines, killing at least 650 people and leaving millions more homeless.	[421]
Typhoon Haiyan	7 November 2013		Typhoon Haiyan, known as Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, hits the Philippines, killing at least 6,000 people, with a thousand more still missing, making it the deadliest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines.	[422]
Typhoon Hagupit	6 December 2014		Typhoon Hagupit, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ruby, hit the Philippines killing at least 18 and causing $114 million in damage.	[423]
Cyclone Pam	13 March 2015		Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu, killing a total of 16 people with around 166,000 people affected, more than half the population of the entire country. It is the worst tropical cyclone to ever strike the country.	[424][425]
Typhoon Koppu	17–19 October 2015		Typhoon Koppu, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Lando, hit the Philippines and killed at least 48 and caused $235.8 million in damages.	[426]
Hurricane Patricia	23 October 2015		Hurricane Patricia was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and second most intense globally, with winds of 215 miles per hour (346 km/h) and a pressure of 872 millibars (872 hPa).	[427]
Typhoon Melor	13 December 2015		Typhoon Melor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Nona, hits the Philippines, killing 42 and causing $136 million in damages.	[428][429]
Cyclone Winston	20 February 2016		Cyclone Winston struck Fiji, killing 44 people and causing $1.4 billion in damages, making it the costliest tropical cyclone in South Pacific history.	[430]
Typhoon Haima	19 October 2016		Typhoon Haima, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Lawin, hits northern Luzon, killing at least 14 people. Typhoon signal number 5 is raised for the first time before and after its landfall.	[431][432]
Hurricane Harvey	23 August 2017		Hurricane Harvey slams into southeastern Texas after reorganizing over the Gulf of Mexico, causing catastrophic flooding and billions in damages. It became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Total damage from the hurricane was estimated at $198 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster ever in the United States. Additionally, with peak rainfall totals reaching 60.58 in (1538.7 mm), Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States.	[433][434][435]
Hurricane Irma	30 August 2017 – 16 September 2017		Hurricane Irma, an extremely powerful and catastrophic Cape Verde-type hurricane, the strongest observed in the Atlantic since Wilma in 2005 in terms of maximum sustained winds. It was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record. The storm caused catastrophic damage in Barbuda, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Anguilla, and the Virgin Islands as a Category 5 hurricane.	[436][437]
Hurricane Maria	16 September 2017 – 3 October 2017		Hurricane Maria is regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica, and caused catastrophic damage and a major humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. The third costliest Atlantic hurricane to date, it caused catastrophic damage and thousands of fatalities across the northeastern Caribbean, compounding recovery efforts in areas still damaged from Hurricane Irma just two weeks prior.	[438][439]
Hurricane Florence	31 August 2018 – 19 September 2018		Hurricane Florence, a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane, strikes the Carolinas, causing widespread and catastrophic flooding that made it one of the costliest tropical cyclones on record. It produced more rainfall than any other tropical cyclone in North and South Carolina to date.	[440]
Typhoon Mangkhut	15 September 2018		Typhoon Mangkhut, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ompong, hits northern Luzon, killing at least 95 people.	[441]

Tornados

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2011 Super Outbreak	25–28 April 2011		A tornado outbreak in the United States killed 342 people across seven states. It was the largest and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in United States history.	[442]
21–26 May 2011 tornado outbreak sequence	21 May 2011		Another US tornado outbreak took place over six days. 178 people were killed, most of which occurred in Joplin, Missouri after an EF5 tornado swept through the city, killing 161 people.	[443]
2013 Moore tornado	20 May 2013		A tornado killed 24 and wounded over 300 in Moore, Oklahoma.

Floods, avalanches, and mudslides

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2010 Pakistan floods	July 2010		Flooding occurred in Pakistan after record monsoon rains, killing at least 1,600 people, thousands were rendered homeless, and more than thirteen million people were affected. Estimates from rescue service officials suggest the death toll might have reached 3,000.	[444][445][446]
January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides	11 January 2011		Floods and mudslides killed 903 people across the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.	[447][448]
2013 Alberta floods	19 June 2013		Massive flooding occurred in Alberta, becoming the province's worst flooding in decades.	[449]
2015 Afghanistan avalanches	24 February 2015		An avalanche killed 310 people and wounded over 129 in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan.	[450]
2016 Louisiana floods	12 August 2016		The 2016 Louisiana floods are a period of prolonged rainfall in southern parts of the U.S. state of Louisiana that resulted in catastrophic flooding that submerged thousands of houses and businesses. The flood has been called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. 13 deaths have been reported as a result of the flooding.
Itogon, Benguet Landslide	17 September 2018		Typhoon Mangkhut triggers a landslide in Itogon, Benguet, with more than 40 bodies found.	[451]
2018 Naga, Cebu landslide	20 September 2018		A landslide occurred in Naga, Cebu, killing at least 29 people.	[452]

Winter storms

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2011 Halloween nor'easter	29 October 2011		A rare October snow storm hit the northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic United States days before Halloween, leaving millions without power and killing 15.
February 2013 nor'easter	7 February 2013		A massive blizzard hit the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada, killing 18 and dropping a near-record amount of snow.	[453]

Volcanic eruptions

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull	20 March 2010		Eruptions of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland caused unprecedented disruption to international air travel, rendering transatlantic flight impossible and closing airways across much of Europe, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers. The event was the largest air traffic shut-down since World War II.The International Air Transport Association estimated that the airline industry worldwide would lose €148 million or GB£130 million a day during the disruption.	[454][455]
2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi	Early November 2010		Mount Merapi erupted in Indonesia, killing 353 people and grounding flights across Southeast Asia, becoming the largest eruption from the mountain in a century.
2018 lower Puna eruption	3 May 2018		A lava flow erupted in Hawai'i from Kīlauea's east rift zone, causing lots of damage and resulting in evacuation orders.

Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires

Event	Date	Country	Description	References
2011–17 California drought	December 2011 – March 2017		The state of California suffered through a water drought for the most part of the decade, affecting the way how Californians showered, use their drinking water, and even some of their electricity.	[456]
2015 Indian heat wave	24 May 2015		A heatwave in Southern India resulted in over 2,500 deaths.	[457]
2015 Pakistani heat wave	20 June 2015		A related heatwave hit neighbouring Pakistan, killing over 2,000 people in Karachi alone.	[457]
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire	1 May 2016		A wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On 3 May, it swept through the community, destroying more than 2,400 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history. The wildfire is the costliest disaster in Canadian history.	[458][459]
Blue Cut Fire	16 August 2016		The Blue Cut Fire was a wildfire in the Cajon Pass, northeastern San Gabriel Mountains, and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. As of 20 August 2016 the fire has destroyed 105 homes and 213 other structures and continues to burn.	[460]
2018 Attica wildfires	23 July – 26 July 2018		Heavy wildfires in Greece leave 87 dead and more than a hundred buildings destroyed.	[461]

Economy

Greece and Eurozone's rise of debt in the early years of the decade

In 2010, China became the second largest global economy, surpassing Japan.^[462] Japan also saw a rating downgrade the following year due to debt burden.^[463] The 2010s began amidst a global financial crisis that started in the late 2000s. In particular, the Eurozone debt crisis, which began during 2009, continued into the 2010s. A sovereign-debt crisis in Europe began in early 2010, and the Greek government admitted that it was having difficulties servicing its large sovereign debt. In the summer and fall of 2011 bond yields for Italy and Spain spiked above 6 percent.^[464] In August 2011, the S&P downgraded the United States' credit rating from triple AAA to AA-plus.^[465] That same year, a Gallup poll in 2011 found that more than half of Americans believed the country was still in a recession.^[466]

Despite the Eurozone debt crisis, the American Dow Jones Industrial Average had its longest stretch of gains since the late 1990s tech boom.^[467] However, economic issues, including inflation and an increase in commodity prices, sparked unrest in many lower-income countries. In some countries, particularly those in the Arab world, political unrest evolved into socioeconomic crises. This set off numerous revolutions, including those in Kyrgyzstan and Tunisia in 2010, and Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt in 2011 and 2012. Global oil production in 2014 reached an historic peak, reaching 93 million barrels/day.^[468] By 2015 bond rates had returned to normal ranges across Europe, save for Greece, which accepted another, even more stringent bailout package. The size of the European Financial Stability Facility was increased from €440 billion to €2 trillion.^[469]

From 12 June 2015, the Shanghai Stock Exchange lost a third of the value of A-shares within one month, known as the 2015–16 Chinese stock market turbulence. India became the fastest growing major economy of the world in 2015, surpassing China.^[470] In 2018, fears of a yield curve inversion preceding a US recession as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates sends inflation higher in several Emerging Markets, including Argentina, where interest rates hit 40% and an IMF bail out was issued.^[471]

Cyber security and hacking

Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States, leaked confidential information that revealed a large number of surveillance programs carried out around the world, many of which are run by the NSA.

Cyber security incidents, such as hacking, leaks or theft of sensitive information, gained increased attention of governments, corporations and individuals.

Health

AIDS, a pandemic responsible for killing over 30 million people since its discovery in the early 1980s, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, became a treatable condition, though only one case had been cured.^[524] With good treatment patients can generally expect normal lives and lifespans. However, as of 2011 only some 5 million of the 12 million afflicted have access to such treatment.^[524]

Science and technology

NASA announced that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars on 4 August 2011.

The first collisions of CERN's Large Hadron Collider took place on 31 March 2010.

CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.