October 10, 2010 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Four people are killed and over 36 injured as violence mars the first phase of 3-tier Panchayat elections across Uttar Pradesh which registered an 80 per cent turnout in India. (Chennai)
- A clash in the north of Honduras kills two policemen and four criminals. (Xinhua via People Daily)
- 110 people are injured and 200 people are arrested as anti-gay protesters and police clash in Belgrade at Serbia's first gay pride parade event since 2001. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (B92) (CNN) (Deutsche Welle)
- The United States fires four missiles in Shewa district about 40 kilometres northeast of the region's main town of Miramshah, North Waziristan, Pakistan, killing seven and destroying two cars, as the country increases its attacks on the tribal area. (BBC) (Dawn)
- 2 Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) workers are shot dead by suspected Maoists at Balarampur in Maoist-hit Purulia district. (India Today)
- Riots in Lawdar, Yemen, reinforcements sent in to maintain order. Dozens killed in Lawdar District during the protests.
Arts and culture
- Works of art created by 30 celebrated Iranian artists go on sale at Bonhams auction house in Dubai. (Tehran Times)
- Nelson Mandela's letters, written during his 27-year spell in jail, reveal new details of the agony he suffered in South Africa under apartheid. (BBC)
- TVNZ race row:
- John Key pledges to continue fronting TVNZ's Breakfast amid calls by MPs for disgraced and suspended broadcaster Paul Henry to be sacked. (The New Zealand Herald)
- Paul Henry resigns from TVNZ, effective immediately. (Media Spy) (TVNZ) (Resignation Statement) (BBC)
- Hanoi, Vietnam, celebrates its 1,000 birthday. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- 10-10-10
- A celebration occurs as a male British child turns 10 at 10:10 on the 10th day of the 10th month of 2010. (BBC) (Leicester Mercury)
- Couples around the world rush to get married as 10 October 2010 is seen as auspicious especially in Chinese culture. (BBC), (AP via Yahoo! News), (New York Times)
- U.S. soul singer Solomon Burke dies at Amsterdam's Airport Schiphol. (AP via Yahoo News) (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- 12 people die and 73 are injured when two express buses, a van and three cars collide at Km 223, Plus Highway near the Simpang Ampat toll in Negri Sembilan, Malaysia. (Brisbane Times) (NST) (Xinhua)
- Nearly half a million people are made homeless by flooding caused by three days of heavy rain in Bangladesh. (ABC News Australia)
- 17 people are killed and 6 are seriously injured after a passenger coach collides with a cement tanker truck between Hefei, capital of the eastern Anhui province, and Nanjing, capital of neighboring Jiangsu province. (SINA)
- Hungary races against time in its efforts to construct an emergency dam to defeat the Ajka alumina plant accident. (BBC)
- At least 36 people die after an overloaded boat capsizes on the Ganges River in the Buxar district of India's Bihar state. (BBC)
Law and crime
- 2010 Nobel Peace Prize:
- 20 people are reported arrested in China over imprisoned human rights activist Liu Xiaobo's 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award. Liu's wife's whereabouts remain unknown after she was taken away by police with human rights group Freedom Now claiming she is in de facto house arrest. (Los Angeles Times) (AFP via Yahoo News)
- Liu's wife is reportedly allowed to meet her husband, who is said to have wept and dedicated his Nobel Peace Prize to the "martyrs" of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. (BBC)
- The Israeli cabinet approves a bill requiring all non-Jews taking Israeli citizenship to swear loyalty to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state". (Al Jazeera) (Ynet News)
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission releases a 700-page report condemning Britain as a land where discrimination and disadvantage are rife. (The Observer)
- Two people face court in the Republic of Ireland following a crackdown on suspected dissident republicans. (BBC) (RTÉ) (The Irish Times)
- The men found guilty of the Västberga helicopter robbery in Sweden are sentenced to lengthy prison terms. (The Local)
Politics and elections
- Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles:
- Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius become special municipalities of the Netherlands. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
- Curaçao and Sint Maarten become constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Gerrit Schotte becomes the first Prime Minister of Curaçao. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
- Sarah Wescot-Williams becomes the first Prime Minister of Sint Maarten. (Caribbean 360)
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accuses authorities in Southern Sudan of breaching a peace deal and warns of a possible new conflict if issues are not resolved before the independence referendum. (Al Jazeera) (Angola Press)
- Havana's Roman Catholic Church says Cuba is to release 3 more political prisoners who will be allowed leave for Spain. (BBC)
- Details emerge of contacts between the far-right English Defence League and extremist U.S. groups such as the American Tea Party in a "war on Islamification". (The Observer)
- North Korean television broadcasts live a military parade for Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il and his heir apparent Kim Jong-un. (AP via Google News) (BBC) (Arirang)
- Prominent North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop is found dead in Seoul, South Korea. (Yonhap News Agency) (AP)
- Voters in Kyrgyzstan go to the polls for a parliamentary election amid concerns about a possible renewal of tensions between ethnic groups. With 50 percent of the vote counted, the Ata-Zhurt party has received the most votes so far but no party is close to achieving a majority. (The Guardian) (BBC), (BBC)
- 10:10 and 350.org's "Global Work Party: a day of positive action on climate change" attracts a wide range of events in over 180 countries. (Huffington Post), (LoHud.com) (WLBT), (San Jose Mercury News)
Sport
- Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing wins the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix with teammate Mark Webber finishing second. (Fox Sports),(Sky Sports)
- Australian V8 Supercar drivers Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife win the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 ahead of Triple Eight teammates . (Autosport)
- Sachin Tendulkar of India becomes the first cricketer to pass 14,000 runs in Test cricket. (Cricinfo)
- Brazil beats Cuba 3-0 to win the 2010 FIVB Men's World Championship held in Italy. (AP via USA Today) (Reuters)
- In the United States, the Philadelphia Phillies sweep the Cincinnati Reds in the 2010 National League Division Series to make the 2010 National League Championship Series. (New York Times)
Television
- Discovery Kids is Changing to Discovery_Family#As_The_Hub/Hub_Network_(2010–2014).
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic premieres.