Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has selected the following top ten world events for 2009.

1. The world economy started to recover. Despite not having completely escaped from the recession, the global economy has shown signs of recovery after plunging down for two consecutive years with Asian economies being the driving force behind the rebound.

2. The 15 th ASEAN summit was successfully held. Under the theme of “A Community of Action, of Connectivity, and of People,” the 15th ASEAN summit took place in Thailand , setting forth directions and measures to bring the ASEAN charter into life, build the ASEAN Community by 2015 and expand the bloc relations with partners.

3. The UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark did not gain the expected results. The conference, joined by nearly 120 world leaders, only reached an agreement deemed not strong enough to prevent the earth from getting warmer. World leaders to the event agreed on the limit of less than 2 Celsius degrees for the global temperature increase, yet they failed to reach a legally-binding document on emission cuts.

4. A/H1N1 influenza broke out globally. After first appearing in Mexico and the US, the A/H1N1 influenza spread out swiftly to more than 200 countries and territories, leaving over 10,000 dead and half a million others infected. In June, the World Health Organisation lifted the warning for this flu to the highest level of 6.

5. Lisbon treaty started to come into force. The Republic of Czech is the last nation to ratify the treaty, completing the process for the ratification of the pact to make it effective as of Dec. 1 this year. The event helped accelerate the unification process of the European Union through the appointment of a European Council President and a European Council Foreign Minister.

6. Russia and the US decided to improve bilateral relations. In March this year, the US and Russia announced they would soon sign an agreement to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-I) that expired on Dec. 5, 2009.

7. Sri Lanka defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) force. After a series of massive offensives, the Sri Lankan government forces ended the battle against the rebellious LTTE in the middle of May this year, putting an end to the war that lasted for many decades in Sri Lanka and left over 70,000 dead.

8. Political situation worsened in South America. The coup d'eìtat in Honduras and the prolonged diplomatic disputes between Venezuela and Colombia, Ecuador and Colombia, Chile and Peru complicated the situation in South America . There are still differences among regional countries and the US regarding solutions to defuse the tension.

9. The Middle East continues to be of global focus. Israel’s attacks on the Gaza strip, peace dialogue between Israel, Palestine and Syria coming to a deadlock, complicated developments after presidential election in Iran, security and terrorism in Iraq , especially in regards to the Al-Qaeda make the region to be a "hot spot" of the world.

|10. Pop king Michael Jackson’s sudden death. The death of US King of Pop Michael Jackson on June 25 shocked the world entertainment industry and his fans around the globe./.