2010

2010 was a year in the Gregorian calendar, the calendar used internationally by most businesses and governments. It began on a Friday and was a common year of 365 days. The year is counted as part of the twenty-first century and the second decade of the 2010s.

Notable events in 2010 included a major earthquake in Haiti in January that caused extensive damage to the city of Port-au-Prince. Additionally, from June to July, South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup football tournament, the first time the competition had been held on the African continent.

Politics and Economics

2010 coincided with a period in which many European countries faced sovereign debt crises, particularly Greece, which led to financial assistance programmes from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Late in the year, protests began in Tunisia that triggered the political upheavals that followed in Arab countries over the next few years.

Horn of Africa

For Somalia, 2010 was a year in which the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and AMISOM forces confronted the Al-Shabaab group, which controlled much of the southern part of the country. The fighting intensified in Mogadishu, where power was contested between the parties.

Technology

During this year, use of modern smartphones and social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, was growing. The market also saw the early arrival of modern tablet computers, which changed how people accessed the internet.