BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The following are the top 10 world news events in the year 2006 as selected by Xinhua.     

    1. Palestine-Israel conflicts escalate 

    In January, the leader of Israel's Kadima party, Ehud Olmert, became prime minister when Ariel Sharon was in a coma. The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) took control of the new government after it defeated the long-dominant Fatah movement in the legislative elections.

    As neither government recognized the other, holding hostile attitudes against each other, conflict between Israel and Palestine escalated this year. Israel launched two major military attacks on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in June and November, inflicting more than 1,000 casualties on the Palestinian side.

    The Hamas-led cabinet faced a grave fiscal crisis after key donors cut off all direct aid. After several efforts by Palestinian parties to form a coalition government failed, the political situation within the Palestinians also worsened.   

    2. Egyptian ferry tragedy takes more than 1,000 lives

    The Egyptian ferry "Al Salam 98" sank in the Red Sea on the night of Feb. 2. More than 1,000 passengers onboard were listed as dead or missing, about 380 others were injured. The ferry was sailing between Duba in Saudi Arabia and Safaga in Egypt.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]