BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) — The A/H1N1 flu outbreak topped the list of the “Voice of Emerging Powers: 2009 Globe Top Ten News Events”, released here Saturday by the Globe Magazine, affiliated to the Xinhua News Agency.

The election of Barack Obama to U.S. presidency and new wave of Somali pirate attacks followed A/H1N1 flu outbreak on the list, jointly composed by the Globe Magazine, Tehelka news magazine of India, October Magazine of Egypt and Kommersant of Russia.

The other seven news events on the list were global efforts to fight the financial crisis, the Copenhagen climate change summit, Michael Jackson’s death, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the G20 summit, gas supply dispute between Russia and Ukraine and the Democratic Party of Japan’s election victory.

The selection, the first of its kind, indicated a step forward for emerging countries to have their say in global media community, Cheng Manli, vice dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of Peking University, said at the releasing ceremony.

Although the “voice of emerging powers” was not loud and clear, it reflected a change in the situation, said Ren Xiao, vice dean of the Institute of International Studies under Fudan University from Shanghai.