#5 – “Chilean miners rescued after 69 days underground”
The story of 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet beneath the ground was one that captured the headlines of many daily newspapers and the minds of everyone who read the stories. On August 5, in San Jose Chile a mine shaft collapsed trapping these 33 miners beneath the earth for what would turn out to be a 69 day ordeal. Not long after the collapse the media frenzy began with blurry images of the men huddled underground and ended with images of the teary eyed miners and there loved ones as each of the 33 miners were rescued.
#4 – “BP oil spill worst in U.S. history”
On April 20, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig located 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank, killing 11 workers. The rig, owned by Transocean, was being leased by British Petroleum (BP). Once the rig sank, the pipe which carried oil from the ocean floor snapped and sank 5000 feet the ocean floor where it began leaking oil. Thus began an ordeal that lasted for 86 days, and contaminated the Gulf with 4.9 million barrels of oil, or 53,000 barrels a day before the well was capped on July 15 and declared effectively “dead” on September 19.
#3 – “WikiLeaks makes the world a little more transparent”
WikiLeaks, an organization headed by Julian Assange, has made the news countless times this past year by seeking out and publishing sensitive data. In July, the organization released 77,000 U.S. military files that detailed the war effort in Afghanistan and following this, released a lump of 400,000 war logs in October that dealt with the Iraq war. Most recently, WikiLeaks is in the process of releasing around a quarter-million confidential diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies around the world, cables that contain unguarded comments and revelations about global powers, world leaders, and major diplomatic issues. “Cablegate” continues to astound and anger the world, while Assange has publicly stated that he and his organization have no intention of ceasing leaks. Assange has also announced WikiLeaks’ next target – the Bank of America, of which WikiLeaks is said to possess 5 gigabytes worth of secret information capable of driving the BoA into bankruptcy.
#2 – “Canada scores big in Olympics”
The start of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was shaky at best. Celebrations at the opening ceremonies were overshadowed by the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili after his luge crashed during a practice run. Then, as the athletics began, the games began to heat up. Canada achieved its first gold medal on Canadian soil when Alexandre Bilodeau won gold in freestyle skiiing. The finale of the games, winning Canada its 14th gold, more than any other nation, was Men’s Hockey, made significant by a goal scored by Sidney Crosby in overtime against the United States.
#1 – “Haiti in ruin”
On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti leaving more than a million people homeless in a flash. Approximately 230,000 people were killed and thousands of others were injured. The international community responded with many countries sending aid, rescue teams and military personnel to help stabilize the area. The quake was the largest in the nations’ history and new problems continue to arise, the latest being a cholera outbreak which has killed more than 300 people.
