A Russian military cargo plane crashed on Tuesday in an area in the country's southwest near Moscow, leaving all the 12 crew members dead, the Itar-Tass news agency reported early Wednesday.

Visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin on December 28, exchanging views on the current situation of the Korean Peninsula.

Cambodia’s National Assembly (NA) on December 28 approved the draft law on the framework agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between ASEAN and India.

A fire broke out on December 28 on a railway car ferrying passengers in central Israel, injuring up to 40 people, mostly from shock or smoke inhalation, one of them in serious condition, local medics said.

Flooding in north-eastern Australia has forced residents to evacuate towns and closed down more than 300 roads.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) President Lee Myung-bak called for national solidarity against military aggression by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on December 27, saying Pyongyang looks for division in RoK as an opportunity to strike.

A three-wheeled vehicle carrying 20 children on their way to school in central China's Hunan province plunged into a creek on December 27 morning, killing 14 of the children and injuring several others, according to state media.

At least 21 people have been killed in two US drone strikes launched on December 27 in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan, reported local media.

Italian police on December 27 found an explosive package at the Greek Embassy in Rome, the second time in as many weeks that embassies there have received explosives through the mail.

The world in 2010 saw a series of prominent events (along with natural disasters), tension on the Korean peninsula, and the public debt crisis in Europe, which greatly affected the global situation. Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) selected the following top ten world events for the year: