Looking Back: 23 Global Headlines from the Past Decade

What a decade it has been. Across the planet, major stories broke in politics, culture business, sports, entertainment and science. Here are just a sampling of some of the news items from the past decade—capturing humanity at its best and its worst¾that garnered attention around the world. (Our apologies if an event that you found particularly heartwarming or heartbreaking isn’t referenced here in this short list. You can, of course, find all of the headlines of interest using the going back throughout the past decade and beyond.)

Earth, Wind and Fire Wreak Destruction

There’s no stopping Mother Nature and the past decade proved that far too often. Aided, in some cases, by human fallibility, the forces of nature packed quite a punch that still hurts.

• 8 Magnitude Earthquake Kills 750 in Chile,1.5 million Displaced (2010)
• Devastating Tsunami Swamps Japan (2011)
• Hundreds Die in 7.8 Earthquake Near Kathmandu (2015)
• Hurricane Maria Leaves Puerto Rico Without Power for a Year (2017)
• Notre Dame Cathedral Burns Down (2019)

Exciting the Geek in All of Us

Everyone has at least some nerd in them. After all, we live in era drenched in technological and scientific progress. Here are some of the geeky events that had us all saying, “Now, that’s cool!”

• Apple Releases First iPad (2010)
• Physicists Discover the Mysterious Higgs Boson (2012)
• Solar Eclipse Has Millions Looking Up (2017)
• Hey Larry, Do You Hear “Lanny” or “Laurel”? (2018)
• China Becomes First Nation to Land on the Far Side of the Moon (2019)
• First-Ever Picture Taken of a Black Hole (2019)

Some Big News Came from Underground. And from the Sky.

Some of the biggest human-interest news stories of the past decade happened below our feet and above our heads.

• 33 Chilean Miners Rescued from Half a Mile Down (2010)
• Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 Vanishes (2014)
• World’s Oldest Art Discovered in Caves on Sulawesi (2014)
• Boys Soccer Team Rescued from Cave (2018)
• SpaceX Launches Car into Space (2018)
• Boeing’s 737 Max Fleet Grounded (2019)

We Wish It Would End, But It Hasn’t

As tempting as it is to ignore all the horrific, terror-related news, we realize looking away doesn’t erase it. More importantly, turning a blind eye toward it will do nothing to stop it.

• Norway Hit by Terrorist Attacks; 68 Young Political Activists Killed (2011)
• Bombs Explode at Boston Marathon: Three Killed, More than 170 Injured (2013)
• Paris Terrorist Attack Kills 130, Injures Hundreds (2015)
• Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando Kills 49 (2016)
• Las Vegas Country Music Concert Ends in 58 People Shot Dead (2017)
• Terrorist Attack Kills 50 at New Zealand Mosque (2019)

There’s a certain quaintness in taking time to look back—especially in milestone moments like the turn of a decade. It’s The this ability to track and research global news stories even years after they’re published that makes Nexis® a valuable tool for researchers, reporters and business intelligence leaders.