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The Iraqi government says it plans to appeal the recent decision by a U.S. court to dismiss charges against five Blackwater guards accused of killing 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007. The presiding judge threw out the case on Dec. 31, citing the prosecution's use of inadmissible statements by the contractors--a technicality that Iraqis called "unacceptable and unjust." Baghdad has pledged to pursue further legal action in U.S. and Iraqi courts.
7 | China
THE EAST IS WHITE
Schools, roads and airports shut down on Jan. 4 as Beijing suffered its heaviest snowstorm since 1951. Authorities in the Chinese capital dispatched thousands of workers to help clear snow-covered roads, putting them to work in temperatures as low as 10°F (-12°C). More than 30 highways were closed in northern China, and a train in the Inner Mongolia region hit a snowbank 6 ft. (2 m) high, trapping its 1,400 passengers overnight. Other parts of North Asia also experienced unprecedented winter storms; Seoul received 11 ft. (3.3 m) of snow, the most it had seen since 1937.
8 | Solomon Islands
Tsunami Survival
A series of earthquakes registering as high as 7.2 on the Richter scale caused a 10-ft.-high (3 m) wave to strike the Solomon Island of Rendova on Jan. 4, destroying the homes of more than 1,000 people--a third of its population. Recalling a deadly tsunami that claimed more than 50 lives in 2007, residents scrambled to higher ground--a move that may have saved them; no deaths or injuries have been reported.
9 | Washington
Democrats Bid a Surprise Farewell
Three senior Democratic politicians--Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter--announced they would not run for re-election this November. Dodd, retiring after 35 years in Congress, said in a press conference on Jan. 6 that there were many reasons for his decision, including finding himself "in the toughest political shape of my career." In recent weeks, several Democratic Congressmen announced their retirement, while another, Parker Griffith of Alabama, defected to the Republicans. It's not just blue dominoes: as many as 20 Republican lawmakers have said they will not run for re-election. While not all seats are likely to switch parties--Connecticut, for instance, will probably remain solidly Democratic--the departures are viewed as a sign of the difficulties facing President Obama's party.
10 | U.S.
New Year, New Laws
State legislatures passed more than 40,000 new laws last year, many of which went into effect on Jan. 1. While some were significant enough to make headlines at the time (like New Hampshire's legalization of gay marriage in June), others sneaked onto the books without much notice at all (Arkansas now prohibits the sale of toy guns that look real--unless they're of the BB, paintball or pellet variety). With the New Year, Illinois became the 19th state to outlaw texting while driving; North Carolina, a major tobacco-producing state, outlawed smoking in restaurants and bars; and California became the first state to partly ban trans fats in restaurant food.