One planet. 195 countries. 365 days. 8760 hours. 6,602,224,175 humans. 6000 wild tigers. Fewer than 40 Gilbert’s Potoroos. Is it possible to condense the life of planet earth in 2007 into just ten events? Not really, but that hasn’t stopped the some of the world’s leading news organisations and their readers from giving it a go. Here’s a quick guide to the headline stories of 2007.

Crikey’s Top Ten Stories in 2007

10. Rates rise, Coalition vote dives: Morgan Poll. 9 November.

9. Janet, conservatism has killed this government. 7 September.

8. Kerr: Costello, bastardry and brilliance. 26 November.

7. Mungo: The dubious legacy of John Winston Howard. 27 November.

6. Howard-bothering Chasers detained by Qld police. 13 November.

5. Mungo: Thank you and good night, John Howard. 3 December.

6. Howard-bothering Chasers detained by Qld police. 13 November.

4. How to win Australian Idol. 5 October.

3. John Howard – decline and fall: Part 1. 10 December.

2. This transcript is Kevin Andrews’ “children overboard”. 22 August.

1. Never mind Nielsen, Crosby/Textor had the death sentence. 10 September.

News.com.au’s most popular stories in 2007

10. Spoiler: How Harry Potter ends

9. Tree man has experts baffled

8. Chihuahua puppy born with loveheart pattern in fur

7. Singing salesman makes Cowell’s jaw drop

6. Roswell aliens theory revived by deathbed confession

5. Man levitates outside the Whitehouse

4. Britney attempted rehab suicide

3. 15-year-old girl jailed with 20 men

2. Federal Election “Vote-a-matic”

1. Paris Hilton loses inheritance

The Bulletin’s Top Ten web stories (for more details click here)

10. McKew’s star power lights up Bennelong: McKew’s arrival at a North Ryde School on election night was met with a raucous crowd reminiscent of a rock concert.

9. Australians came out of Africa: First settlers lost contact with other humans after arriving via New Guinea about 50,000 years ago.

8. Libs chip away at Rudd edifice: Question time on TV is for hardcore political junkies.

7. Preference for dorks leaves us vulnerable: When, exactly, did Australia decide it wished to be represented on the world stage by a dork?

6. Deal of a lifetime: Now that gangland killer Carl Williams has confessed to murder, he might also cough up the names of the police who had been protecting him.

5. How low will you go?: Shelling out extra for peanuts and coffee on a two-hour flight is one thing, but will it fly on long-haul travel?

4. History of violence: Another story about Aboriginal violence from the Northern Territory.

3. Rudd family feud over dam: Kevin Rudd’s cousin is furious the opposition leader has left residents of Mary Valley to fend for themselves.

2. Britney hell-bent on self-sabotage: Spears knows no other way to help her kids than to put on a show of incompetence for the unrelenting hordes of photographers.

1. Cousins shafted by AFL club: The sacking of Ben Cousins is an outrageously gutless act by a management team more interested in protecting its cashflow and image than its players.

National Geographic (For more details click here)

10. Meteor Crash in Peru Caused Mysterious Illness. 21 September.

9. Jesus’ Tomb Found in Israel, Filmmakers Claim. 26 February.

8. Interspecies S-x: Evolution’s Hidden Secret? 14 March.

7. Huge Underground “Ocean” Found Beneath Asia. 27 February.

6. “Dinosaur Mummy” Found; Has Intact Skin, Tissue. 3 December.

5. Crater From 1908 Russian Space Impact Found, Team Says. 7 November.

4. Stonehenge Settlement Found: Builders’ Homes, “Cult Houses”. 30 January.

3. Mass Plague Graves Found on Venice “Quarantine” Island. 29 August.

2. Monster Glowing Squid Caught on Camera. 14 February.

1. Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says. 28 February.

Christianity Today (Read the full list here)

10. Supreme Court upholds 2003 federal partial-birth abortion ban

9. Campaign to oust NAE’s Richard Cizik fails

8. Francis Beckwith returns to Catholicism

7. Lions of the Religious Right pass away (Falwell and Kennedy)

6. Three Christians tortured and killed in eastern Turkey

5. Anglican Communion fractures over Scripture, homosexuality

4. Ruth Graham promoted to glory

3. Presidential campaigns start early, with some faith surprises

2. Atheism tops the bestseller charts

1. Taliban takes Korean short-term mission team hostage, killing two

Associated Press (For more details click here)

10. Iran’s nuclear program

9. Immigration debate on whether millions of illegal immigrants could move toward citizenship, while also bolstering border security.

8. Presidential campaign.

7. Bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis

6. Global warming

5. Chinese export recalls. Despite the high-profile problems, America’s trade deficit with China was running at record-high levels.

4. Oil prices going up, up, and away.

3. Iraq war.

2. Subprime mortgage crisis.

1. Virginia Tech killings

Medecins Sans Frontiers: Top Ten Under-reported Humanitarian Stories of 2007

  • Displaced Fleeing War in Somalia Face Humanitarian Crisis
  • Political and Economic Turmoil Sparks Health-Care Crisis in Zimbabwe
  • Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Spreads As New Drugs Go Untested
  • Expanded Use of Nutrient Dense Ready-to-Use Foods Crucial for Reducing Childhood Malnutrition
  • Civilians Increasingly Under Fire in Sri Lankan Conflict
  • Conditions Worsen in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Living Precariously in Colombia’s Conflict Zones
  • Humanitarian Aid Restricted in Myanmar
  • Civilians Caught Between Armed Groups in Central African Republic
  • As Chechen Conflict Ebbs, Critical Humanitarian Needs Still Remain

Time magazine: Top Ten News Stories (For more details click here)

10. iPhone Mania

9. Bonds Breaks a Record — Gets Indicted

8. Stem cells: breakthrough in reprogramming human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells

7. The Virginia Tech Tragedy

6. Chinese-Made Toy Recall

5. General Petraeus Under Fire

4. Goodbye, Harry Potter

3. The Saffron Protests in Burma

2. The Mortgage Crisis

1. Transition in Pakistan