World Events: 2007Q3

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World Event

1-Jul-07

Chicago, IL - U.S. - Sen. Barack Obama raised $32.5 million in 2007Q2; more than 258,000 Americans have contributed to Obama's campaign so far (Obama for America). The Clinton campaign raised $27 million (HillaryClinton,com, 28-Jun-07; VOA News, 2-Jul-07). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 2-Jul-07).

2-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 126.81 points closing at 13,535.43 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Marib - Yemen - Suicide bomber killed at least 9 people, including 7 Spanish tourists and 2 Yemenis (Washington Post-AP; BBC News; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Kennebunkport, ME - U.S. - President George W. Bush Meets with President Vladimir V. Putin (White House); Putin expanded on his proposal for a shared missile-defense system with the U.S. (NYT, 3-Jul-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies) and for more NATO involvement (Kommersant, 3-Jul-07).

Washington, DC - Paul Wolfowitz joined the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research as a visiting scholar (AEI).

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Boris Berezovsky with conspiring to stage a coup against President Vladimir Putin; Berezovsky has been accused in Russia of money laundering and embezzlement; Berezovsky denied the fraud charges (Guardian Unlimited; BBC News; Bloomberg). Boris Abramovich Berezovsky (Platon Elenin) is a Russian-born billionaire of Jewish provenance (Wikipedia).

Zhari, Kandahar - Afghanistan - Afghan and NATO forces killed 33 suspected insurgents (Washington Post-AP, 3-Jul-07). (See also: China View-Xinhua.) [2-Jul-07 - 3-Jul-07.]

3-Jul-07

Beverly Hills, CA - U.S. - Blackstone Group to buy Hilton Hotels Corp. for $26 billion, including debt (Hilton Hotels-Blackstone Group). (See also: CNN Money-Reuters, 4-Jul-07; Washington Post-AP, 4-Jul-07.)

Baghdad - Iraq - Car bomb killed at least 18 people in a Sadr City (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Nineveh; South of Baghdad - Iraq - 2 U.S. helicopters crashed; 1 U.S. soldier was killed (China Daily-Xinhua, 5-Jul-07). (See also: VOA News-AP-Reuters, 5-Jul-07.) [3-Jul-07 - 4-Jul-07.]

4-Jul-07

Islamabad - Pakistan - 9 people were killed in a shootout at the besieged Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque (San Francisco Chronicle-Los Angeles Times; Tehran Times-AP, 5-Jul-07). Pakistani security forces captured the leader of the Lal Masjid Mosque, Mohammad Abdul Aziz (NYT). (See also: BBC News.)

Kandahar - Afghanistan - Bomb targeting NATO forces killed 6 Canadian soldiers and their translator (BBC News).

5-Jul-07

Islamabad - Pakistan - Mortar attack on Jamia Hafsa, a seminary affiliated with the Red Mosque, killed 27 female students (Pak Tribune; BBC News).

Benxi, Liaoning - China - Blast at a nightclub killed 25 people (VOA News-AP; Washington Post-Reuters).

Baghdad - Iraq - Car bomb killed at least 17 people (VOA News-AP-Reuters).

London - U.K. - The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee raised the bank rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.25% to 5.75% (BOE). (See also: Bloomberg.)

6-Jul-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - China's currency reserves exceed $1 trillion; some U.S. economists expressed concern about a possible stock market bubble in China (VOA News).

New York, NY - U.S. - Threats against investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were reported (VOA News-Reuters; Bloomberg; CNN Money).

7-Jul-07

Amrli, Salahaddin - Iraq - Suicide truck bomber killed more than 150 people (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 7-8-Jul-07). (See also: Washington Post, 9-Jul-07; CNN International, 8-Jul-07; CTV-AP).

Sri Lanka - Sea battle between Sri Lanka's navy and Tamil Tiger rebels killed 28 people (CNN International-AP, 8-Jul-07). (See also: International Herald Tribune-AP.) [7-Jul-07 - 8-Jul-07.]

Vatican City - Vatican - Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to all the bishops of the world concerning his Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum" laying down new rules for the use of the Roman liturgy that preceded the reform of 1970 (Vatican).

8-Jul-07

Haswa - Iraq - A suicide truck bomber killed 23 Iraqi Sunni army recruits (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: CNN International.)

Everett, WA - U.S. - Boeing rolled out its 787 Dreamliner: as at 8-Jul-07, 47 customers worldwide have ordered 677 airplanes worth more than $110 billion (Boeing).

10-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 148.27 points, closing at 13,501.70 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Islamabad - Pakistan - Pakistani security forces raided the Lal Masjid or Red Mosque and killed its leader, Abdul Rashid Ghazi {Al Jazeera-Agencies). 102 people, including 11 soldiers, were killed since 3-Jul-07 (BBC News, 13-Jul-07). (See also: VOA News, 10-11-Jul-07; Washington Post-AP, 13-Jul-07; Bloomberg, 12-Jul-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 11-Jul-07.) [10-Jul-07 - 11-Jul-07.]

Internet - Dr. Ayman al-Zawahri issued a statement titled “Malicious Britain and its Indian Slaves” (Bloomberg; The Hindu, 12-Jul-07); and called on Muslims to take revenge against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; BBC News). (See also: SITE Institute.)

Vatican City - Vatican - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document clarifying the "Dominus Iesus" document which was issued in 2000 (See Vatican). (See also: CWNews.com; Washington Post; NYT, 11-Jul-07.)

11-Jul-07

Philippines - The bodies of 14 marines were found beheaded following a clash with Muslim fighters; at least 20 MILF fighters were also killed (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Lakhdaria - Algeria - A suicide bomber killed at least 8 Algerian soldiers (Al Jazeera-Agencies; International Herald Tribune-AP; BBC News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Daft National Intelligence Estimate: Al Qaeda has reconstituted most of the capabilities needed to strike the U.S. (International Herald Tribune-AP; Forbes-AP, 12-Jul-07). (See also: Guardian Unlimited, 12-Jul-07.)

Sichuan - China - Floods and landslides in rainy season killed at least 360 people (BBC News).

12-Jul-07

Montréal, PQ; Melbourne; London - Canada; Australia; U.K. - Rio Tinto Group to buy Alcan Inc. for $38.1 billion (Rio Tinto; Alcan). (See also: Bloomberg; Washington Post-Reuters, 13-Jul-07).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 283.86 points, closing at a record 13,861.73 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. congressional investigators (GAO) demonstrate how a company can be licensed to buy radioactive material for a radiological bomb (VOA News).

13-Jul-07

Pakistan - Thousands protested against President Pervez Musharraf's pro-US policies (NEWS.com.au, 14-Jul-07; Taipei Times-AFP, 14-Jul-07).

Chicago, IL - U.S. - Former Hollinger International Inc. CEO Conrad Black (Baron Black of Crossharbour) was found guilty on 3 counts of criminal fraud and 1 count of obstruction of justice (Bloomberg); Black was accused of "corporate kleptocracy" (Al Jazeera-Agencies). Black declared he was innocent and intended to appeal (NYT, 14-Jul-07). (See also: U.S. v. Black et al, 1:05-cr-727, United States District Court Northern District of Illinois-Chicago; Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 14-Jul-07.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The US Senate to double the reward for the death or capture of Osama bin Laden to $50 million (BBC News). (See also: H.R.1585 and S.AMDT.2135, Library of Congress-THOMAS.)

14-Jul-07

Moscow - Russia - Russia to pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty (RIA Novosti; Interfax; Washington Post; Guardian Unlimited-The Observer).

U.S. - According to an analysis of U.S. tax returns by the economists Emmanuel Saez (University of California, Berkeley) and Thomas Piketty (Paris School of Economics), the top 0.01% — almost 15,000 families with annual incomes of $9.5 million or more — received about 5% of the national income (Louis Uchitelle, NYT-14-Jul-07).

Nahr al-Bared - Lebanon - The Lebanese army continued to battle Fatah al-Islam fighters in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 14-15-Jul-07); death toll since 20-May-07: 100 Lebanese soldiers; 81 Fatah al-Islam fighters, and 40 civilians (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 16-Jul-07). [14-Jul-07 - 16-Jul-07.]

North Waziristan; North-West Frontier - Pakistan - Army attack on Red Mosque spawned violence: A suicide bomb and an attack on a military convoy killed 45 people (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 16-Jul-07); about 80 people were killed in 2 days (BBC News, 15-Jul-07). The U.S. backs Pakistani military attacks on Islamic militants (BBC News, 15-Jul-07). (See also Washington Post, 15-16-Jul-07). [14-Jul-07 - 15-Jul-07.]

Yongbyon - North Korea - North Korea shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon (BBC News; Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 15-Jul-07; NYT, 15-Jul-07.)

15-Jul-07

Los Angeles, CA - U.S. - The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to settle for $660 million with 508 victims of sexual abuse (VOA News-AP-Reuters; NYT, 16-Jul-07; BBC, 16-Jul-07).

16-Jul-07

Internet - Osama bin Laden praised al-Qaeda's "martyrs" in a new video (Christian Science Monitor).

Niigata, Honshu; Fukui, Honshu - Japan - Magnitude 6.7 and 6.8 quakes hit Japan (USGS); at least 7 were killed and about 700 were injured (VOA News-AFP-AP). (See also: Bloomberg; VOA News; Al Jazeera.)

Kirkuk - Iraq - 2 suicide car bombers killed at least 80 people (VOA News). (See also: Washington Post; Guardian Unlimited-AP.)

17-Jul-07

Washington, DC - U,S, - The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released "National Intelligence Estimate (NIE): The Terrorist Threat to the Homeland." Key judgments include: (1) "We assess that al-Qa’ida will continue to try to acquire and employ chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material in attacks and would not hesitate to use them if it develops what it deems is sufficient capability"; (2) "The ability to detect broader and more diverse terrorist plotting in this environment will challenge current US defensive efforts and the tools we use to detect and disrupt plots." (Office of the Director of National Intelligence; White House). (See also: Slate; Washington Post-AP.)

Sao Paolo - Brazil - TAM airlines Airbus A320 crashed in Sao Paulo, Brazil; at least 200 people were killed (CNN). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Bloomberg; BBC News.)

Islamabad - Pakistan - Suicide bomber killed at least 15 people (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: VOA News.)

18-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - 2 Bear Stearns hedge funds implicated in the subprime meltdown have reportedly “very little value” (NYT-Reuters; MarketWatch). (See also: Bloomberg, 18-Jul-07.)

Hangu; Hub; Kohat - Pakistan - 3 Suicide bombings killed at least 49 people; more than 140 people were killed since the army raided the Red Mosque (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 19-Jul-07). (See also: Bloomberg, 19-Jul-07; NYT, 19-Jul-07.) [18-Jul-07 - 19-Jul-07.]

Washington, DC - U.S. - Monetary Policy Report submitted to the Congress on July 18, 200: "In the first quarter of 2007, an estimated 325,000 foreclosure proceedings were initiated, up from an average quarterly rate of 230,000 over the preceding two years; about half of the foreclosures this year were on subprime mortgages" (The Federal Reserve Board).

Sudan - Floods killed about 39 people and destroyed or damaged more than 35,000 homes (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). (See also: VOA News, 19-Jul-07; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 12 and 19-Jul-07).

New York, NY - U.S. - Steam pipe explosion in Manhattan (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

19-Jul-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to Senate Banking Committee, on subprime mortgage losses: "Some estimates are in the order of between $50 billion and $100 billion of losses associated with subprime credit problems" (Washington Post-Reuters; CNN Money-Wire Reports). U.S. household net worth is estimated at $56.2 trillion (Washington Post-Reuters). (See also: VOA News; Times Online.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 82.19 points, closing at a record 14,000.41 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

20-Jul-07

Investors dumped junk bonds related to subprime mortgage loans (Los Angeles Times-Times Wire Services, 21-Jul-07). (See also: CNN Money-AP, 19-Jul-07.)

U.S. - Concerns about foreclosure laws mount: mortgages v. deeds of trust; and deficiency judgments. (CNN Money).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 149.33 points, closing at 13,851.08 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Pakistan - Storms killed more than 80 people (NYT-AP, 22-Jul-07). (See also: CBS News; The Times of India, 21-Jul-07.)

21-Jul-07

Husseiniya - Iraq - Witnesses claimed that a U.S. helicopter attack killed at least 18 people, including women and children (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Los Angeles Times). (See also: ABC News-AP.)

Bakwa, Farah - Afghanistan - 25 Taliban rebels and 4 security guards were reportedly killed (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

China - Floods killed more than 100 people (CNN International-Reuters; Washington Post-Reuters); a total of more than 400 have been killed by floods and landslides over a few weeks (BBC News, 22-Jul-07).

22-Jul-07

Turkey - The Justice and Development Party (AKP) won Turkey's parliamentary election (VOA News; China View-Xinhua).

Isère - France - Bus crash killed 20 Polish pilgrims (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). (See also: Le Monde-Reuters; France 3-AFP.)

Helmand - Afghanistan - U.S. and Afghan forces killed more than 50 suspected insurgents (VOA News). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies.) [22-Jul-07 - 23-Jul-07.]

23-Jul-07

Baghdad - Iraq - Car bombs killed at least 17 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

24-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Delinquencies have not been limited to subprime loans; quarterly delinquencies in the prime home equity loans market have more than doubled (MarketWatch). Angelo Mozilo, CEO, Countrywide Financial Corp.: "We are experiencing home price depreciation almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression" (Bloomberg). (See also: Countrywide Reports 2007 Second Quarter Results, Countrywide Financial Corp.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 226.47 points, closing at 13,716.95 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Hilla - Iraq - Suicide bomber killed at least 26 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Beijing - China - The FBI and China's Public Security Ministry seized more than $500 million worth of counterfeit software (VOA News; NYT; CNN International-Reuters).

25-Jul-07

Iraq - Car bombs killed more than 50 people while Iraqis were celebrating their Asia Cup 2007 victory (Al Jazeera; CBC News-AP).

Europe - Southern Europe suffered an extreme heat wave. About 500 people were killed by heat in Hungary, and 33 in Romania (BBC News; VOA-AFP-AP-Reuters; CNN International-Reuters; Bloomberg).

Beijing - China - Auditor-general of the National Audit Office (NAO) Li Jinhua said China needs new laws to eradicate corruption (China View-Xinhua).

Dallas, TX - U.S. - Gas tanks exploded at the Southwest Industrial Gases Inc. facility (Washington Post-AP; CNN-AP; Houston Chronicle-AP).

26-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Global stock markets tumbled (NYT, 27-Jul-07; BBC News). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 312.22 points, closing at 13,473.57 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance). Investor concerns included credit problems and subprime mortgage market problems (VOA News; CBC News).

Baghdad - Iraq - Bomb-and-rocket attack killed at least 28 people in Baghdad (Guardian Unlimited-AP). About 41 were killed throughout Iraq; 6 U.S. troops were reported dead (VOA News). (See also: BBC News; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Kennedy Space Center, FL - U.S. - NASA found that a computer scheduled to fly aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on 7-Aug-07 was sabotaged (VOA News, 27-Jul-07; BBC News).

27-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 208.10 points, closing at 13,265.47 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

30-Jul-07

Japan - The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a major defeat in the House of Councilors election; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not intend to resign (Washington Post-AP; Yomiuri Shimbun-AP, 31-Jul-07; China View-Xinhua).

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson requested that Congress raise the statutory debt limit above the $8.965 trillion cap (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1-Aug-07; MarketWatch; Washington Post-AP). (See also: Forbes-Thomson Financial.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - Secretary Condoleezza Rice to forge new assistance agreements with the Gulf States, Israel, and Egypt (U.S. Department of State; VOA News). The U.S. wants: to sell military technologies to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf State worth at least $20 billion; to provide defense assistance to Israel worth $30 billion; and to obtain a $13 billion military assistance agreement with Egypt (U.S. Department of State; Washington Post-31-Jul-07; CNN International, 31-Jul-07). (See also: VOA News-AFP-Reuters.)

31-Jul-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 146.32 points, closing at 13,211.99 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

1-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - News Corp. and Dow Jones & Company agreed to merge in a transaction valued at about $5.6 billion (Dow Jones).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 150.38 points, closing at 13362.37 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Baghdad - Iraq - Bomb blasts killed at least 70 people (VOA News-AP-Reuters).

Minneapolis, MN - U.S. - "Structurally deficient" I-35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River (NYT, 3-Aug-07). 5 people were confirmed killed (CNN, 3-Aug-07). According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), as of 2003, about 160,570 or 27.1% of America's bridges were "structurally deficient or functionally obsolete" (CNN, 3-Aug-07). America's infrastructure investment needs were estimated at $1.6 trillion over 5 years (The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure.)

2-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 100.96 points, closing at 13463.33 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Baghran, Helmand - Afghanistan - NATO air raids reportedly killed or wounded about 200 people, including about 50 civilians (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 3-Aug-07). (See also, VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters, 3-Aug-07.)

3-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 281.42 points, closing at 13,181.91 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. Senate expanded the authority of U.S. spy agencies to monitor and track overseas communications, including phone calls and e-mails, without court warrants (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 4-Aug-07; Los Angeles Times, 4-Aug-07; NYT).

Stuttgart - Germany - Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. took over 80.1% in Chrysler Holding LLC, DaimlerChrysler retained a 19.9% interest (DaimlerChrysler). Cerberus's investment in Chrysler is $7.4 billion (Bloomberg). (See also: CNN Money; Deutsche Welle, 4-Aug-07.)

4-Aug-07

Guildford - U.K. - Foot-and-mouth disease discovered in the U.K. (VOA News).

5-Aug-07

Internet - Adam Yahiye Gaddahn (Azzan al-Amriki) issued threats in new Al Qaeda tape by As Sahab against the United States and U.S. interests (Laura Mansfield). Gaddahn: "We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad . . . " (Washington Post-AP; CNN).

6-Aug-07

Melville, NY - U.S. - American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; the company's warehouse lenders include: Deutsche Bank, UBS AG, Lehman Brothers and ABN Amro Bank NV (American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation). Claimed cause for filing: "margin calls" by large creditors; new bankruptcy law allows warehouse lenders to take possession of an estimated $19.3 billion in American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. assets (Bloomberg). (See also: BBC News.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 286.87 points, closing at 13,468.78 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - President George W. Bush signed into law S.1927 The Protect America Act (White House). The bill allows warrantless eavesdropping on foreign terror suspects; the bill's lifetime is 6 months (Washington Post; Christian Science Monitor, 7-Aug-07; BBC News, 6-Aug-07). The law does not provide for external oversight (Washington Post, 7-Aug-07). (See also: VOA News, 5-Aug-07; China View-Xinhua, 4-Aug-07.)

Venezuela; Argentina; Uruguay; Ecuador; Bolivia - Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador and Bolivia signed energy cooperation deals (BBC News, 11-Aug-07; China View-Xinhua, 11-Aug-07). (See also: VOA News-AP, 10-Aug-07; BusinessWeek, 9-Aug-07.) [6-Aug-07 - 10-Aug-07.]

Tal Afar; Baghdad - Iraq - Violence killed at least 33 people (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters).

India; Bangladesh - Monsoon floods killed at least 297 people in India and Bangladesh over 7 days; 1,200 people were killed in India since Jun-07 (Washington Post-AP). (See also: The Hindu-PTI, 5-Aug-07; VOA News, 3-Aug-07.)

Huntington, UT - U.S. - Murray Energy Group's Crandall Canyon Mine collapsed; 6 miners were trapped (Christian Science Monitor, 8-Aug-07; CNN, 7-Aug-07; Guardian Unlimited-AP, 7-Aug-07).

7-Aug-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept its target for the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25% (Federal Reserve).

Iraq - The number of U.S. troops in Iraq climaxed at about 162,000 (U.S. DOD-American Forces Press Service; VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters).

8-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Global market indexes soared: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 153.56 points, closing at 13,657.86 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance); the NASDAQ Composite gained 51.38 points, closing at 2,612.98 (NASDAQ).

Beijing - China - China's "nuclear option": China holds $1.33 trillion of foreign reserves; it can liquidate its U.S. treasuries (Telegraph), which can trigger a "U.S. dollar crash" (China View-Xinhua, 12-Aug-07).

Baghdad - Iraq - U.S. forces killed 30 suspected militants in Shia Sadr City (VOA News). (See also: NYT; CNN International.)

Netherlands - Geert Wilders, leader of the right-wing Freedom Party, and member of the parliament, called, in a letter to the editor in de Volkskrant, for banning the Quran in the Netherlands (Radio Netherlands; Al Jazeera-Agencies; Daily Times-Reuters, 9-Aug-07.)

9-Aug-07

France - BNP Paribas Investment Partners temporarily suspended the calculation of the Net Asset Value of 3 funds (BNP Paribas). (See also: Washington Post; NYT, 10-Aug-07.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 387.18 points, closing at 13,270.68 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Washington, DC - U.S. - The subprime mortgage credit crisis has spread: The Federal Reserve (Fed) intervened (Federal Reserve, 10-Aug-07); central banks injected $323 billion into money markets (Telegraph, 13-Aug-07). The Fed injected about $62 billion into financial markets over 2 days; and the European Central Bank (ECB) injected about $213 billion into money markets, also over 2 days (China View-Xinhua, 10-Aug-07). Note 1: The subprime mortgage market meltdown forced more than 90 lenders out of business (Bloomberg, 18-Aug-07). Note 2: The money injection is greater than the $300 billion of debt lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank AG, "have been left on the hook for" (Bloomberg, 18-Aug-07). Note 3: The Fed injected an average $75.3 billion per day, over the 7 days following 9/11; and a record $81.25 billion on 14-Sep-07 (Bloomberg, 10-Aug-07). (See also: Los Angeles Times, 11-Aug-07; CNN Money, 10-Aug-07; Telegraph, 8-Aug-07.) [9-Aug-07 - 10-Aug-07.]

10-Aug-07

Ottawa, ON - Canada - Canada asserts its sovereignty over its Arctic territory: Canada announced it will establish 2 new military facilities, one in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, and one in Nanisivik, Baffin Island (Globe & Mail; CBC News, 11-Aug-07; NYT, 11-Aug-07). (See also: BBC News, 11-Aug-07; Spiegel International.)

Venezuela; Argentina; Bolivia; Ecuador; Uruguay - Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Uruguay signed energy deals (China View-Xinhua, 11-Aug-07; BBC News, 11-Aug-07). (See also: VOA News-AP.)

12-Aug-07

Beijing - China - The People's Bank of China (PBC) denied Western media report of "China threatening to sell dollar"; PBC: "As the U.S. financial markets are very deep and highly liquid, dollar-denominated assets including U.S. government securities are an important component in China's foreign exchange reserve investment portfolio. . . In the international financial markets, China is a responsible investor" (PBC; 13-Aug-07; China View-Xinhua, 12-Aug-07). China has $1.33 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves (Bloomberg, 12-Aug-07; MarketWatch, 12-Aug-07). (See also: Telegraph, 8- and 12-Aug-07.)
[12-Aug-07 - 13-Aug-07.]

13-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - Goldman Sachs and others, including C.V. Starr & Co., Inc., Perry Capital LLC and Eli Broad, to inject $3 billion into the Global Equity Opportunities (GEO) Fund, a quantitative hedge fund (Goldman Sachs). Goldman Sachs denied the injection is a bail out (NYT, 14-Aug-07). Hedge fund assets worldwide increased from $625 billion to $1.7 trillion in 5 years (Los Angeles Times, 14-Aug-07). (See also: TheStreet; WSJ, 14-Aug-07.)

Fenghuang, Hunan - China - A new bridge collapsed in Hunan province killing 36 people (China View-Xinhua, 14-15-Aug-07). China has more than 6,000 "dangerous" bridges (Bloomberg, 14-Aug-07; Guardian Unlimited, 14-Aug-07).

Malaya Vishera, Novgorod - Russia - Bomb blast caused a Moscow-St. Petersburg passenger train to derail; at least 60 were injured (NYT, 14-Aug-07; BBC News, 14-Aug-07).

Iraq - Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), on widows and economic despair in Iraq: 15% of Iraqi women widowed by the Iraq war have sought temporary marriages or prostitution (Al Jazeera).

14-Aug-07

Qahataniya; Adnaniyah; Al-Jazeera; Tal Uzair - Iraq - Suicide truck-bombs targeting the Yazidi Kurdish sect killed more than 400 people (Washington Post, 17-Aug-07). Yazidis favor joining Kurdistan (Al Jazeera, 19-Aug-07). Bombings killed at least 500 people in Northern Iraq over just 4 days (CNN-AP, 16-Aug-07). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP, 15-Aug-07; Bloomberg, 15-Aug-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies; BBC News; NYT-AP.)

Baghdad - Iraq - Suicide truck bombing targeting a bridge linking Baghdad and Taji killed 10 people (VOA News; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Taqaddum - Iraq - A U.S. CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed killing 5 soldiers (Al Jazeera-Agencies).

North Korea - Floods killed more than 100 people and destroyed at least 30,000 homes (The Korea Times; Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: BBC News.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 207.61 points, closing at 13,028.92 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

15-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 167.45 points, closing at 12,861.47 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance). The Dow tumbled more than 1,000 points since its record high of 14,000.41 on 19-Jul-07.

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a "specially designated global terrorist" (Washington Post; BBC News). (See also: NYT; VOA News.)

Ica - Peru - A magnitude 8 earthquake hit Peru (USGS); 510 people were killed (NYT, 17-Aug-07). (See also: CNN-AP, 17-Aug-07; VOA News, 16-Aug-07; NYT, 16-Aug-07; Bloomberg, 16-Aug-16.)

Tora Bora - Afghanistan - U.S. and Afghan forces launched a military operation against al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Tora Bora (BBC News, 16-Aug-07); 3 Germans were killed in Kabul on 15-Aug-07 (The Times of India-AFP, 16-Aug-07). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies, 15-Aug-07; Dawn, 15-Aug-07.) [15-Aug-07 - 16-Aug-07.]

U.S. - Suicide rate for U.S. active duty soldiers: 101 in 2006; 88 in 2005; 102 in 1991 (CNN; Washington Post-AP, 16-Aug-07).

New York, NY - U.S. - The NYPD released "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat," a report on "the radicalization process in the West that drives 'unremarkable' people to become terrorists"; according to the authors, the radicalization process consists of 4 stages: Pre-Radicalization; Self-Identification; Indoctrination; and Jihadization (NYPD). Parvez Ahmed, Chairman of The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), reacted to the report as follows: "By promoting stereotypes and unwarranted suspicions, the report's authors encourage marginalization of and hostility toward the American Muslim community" (CAIR, 15-Aug-07). (See also: NYT, 16-Aug-07; The Washington Times, 16-Aug-07.)

16-Aug-07

Bishkek - Kyrgyzstan - Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit; SCO members include Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan (SCO, 16-Aug-07; Guardian Unlimited, 17-Aug-07; The Moscow Times, 17-Aug-7; ITAR-TASS, 17-Aug-07; WSJ, 17-Aug-07).

17-Aug-07

Tokyo; Hong Kong - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 lost 874.81 points, closing at 15,273.68. In just 3 days (15-17-Aug-07), the NIKKEI and the HANG SENG tumbled 1,570.93 points and 1,620.19 points, respectively. (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve Board reduced the primary credit rate (primary credit discount) temporarily by 50 points to 5.75%; claimed reason: "To promote the restoration of orderly conditions in financial markets" (Federal Reserve). FOMC statement: "Financial market conditions have deteriorated, and tighter credit conditions and increased uncertainty have the potential to restrain economic growth going forward. . . The Committee is monitoring the situation and is prepared to act as needed to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy arising from the disruptions in financial markets" (FOMC). Stocks immediately rallied in Europe and the U.S. (Bloomberg, 18-Aug-07). (See also: WSJ, 18-Aug-07.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 233.30 points, closing at 13,079.08 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Chebarkul Range, Chelyabinsk - Russia - Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan conducted joint military exercises ("Peace Mission 2007" anti-terror drill, sponsored by SCO) in the Russian Ural mountains (China View, Xinhua); Vladimir Putin: "We have decided to restore flights by Russian strategic aviation on a permanent basis" (Guardian Unlimited).

Xintai, Shandong - China - 172 coal miners were trapped after their mine was flooded (China View-Xinhua). (See also: VOA-AFP.)

19-Aug-07

Ottawa, ON - Canada - Hundreds of people protested against the Montebello Summit and President George W. Bush's policies (Globe & Mail, 20-Aug-07). Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians protested that the agenda is set by the 30 business leaders who control the North American Competitiveness Council (Globe & Mail-Canadian Press, 19-Aug-07). [19-Aug-07 - 21-Aug-07.]

20-Aug-07

Montebello, QC - Canada - Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Montebello Summit; key issues: Arctic sovereignty, war in Afghanistan, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (Globe & Mail, 20-Aug-07; National Post-CanWest, 21-Aug-07); border security and efficient free flow of trade (Bloomberg, 20-Aug-07; Calgary Sun, 20-Aug-07). (See also: The Chronicle Herald-Canadian Press, 21-Aug-07.) [20-Aug-07 - 21-Aug-07.]

Tokyo; Hong Kong - Japan; China - The NIKKEI 225 gained 458.80 points, closing at 15,732.48; the HANG SENG gained 1,208.50 points, closing at 21,595.63 (Nikkei; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

Okinawa - Japan - Engine of a China Airlines Boeing Co. 737-800 exploded after landing; no fatalities reported (Asahi Shimbun-IHT-Asahi; Bloomberg; VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters).

Fujian; Zhejiang - China - Typhoon Sepat killed at least 19 people (China View-Xinhua).

21-Aug-07

Irvine, CA - U.S. - RealtyTrac Inc.'s July 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report: The number of U.S. foreclosure filings in Jul-07 was 179,599 (39,013 in California; 19,179 in Florida; 13,979 in Michigan), up 9% from Jun-07, and up 93% from Jul-06; Nevada suffered the highest state foreclosure rate -- one foreclosure filing for every 199 households (RealtyTrac). Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's executive VP for marketing, reportedly estimated that about 2 million foreclosure filings can be expected in 2007 (Bloomberg). (See also: MSNBC, 22-Aug-07; NYT; Sacramento Business Journal; Boston Globe.)

The Federal Reserve injected an additional $3.75 billion of temporary reserves into the financial system; since 9-Aug-07, the Fed has injected a total of $101.25-billion into money markets (Globe & Mail-Bloomberg Financial Services-Thomson Datastream, 22-Aug-07). Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: "We’re in a 37-year high rate of foreclosures in this country, a 10-year low on housing starts. It’s a very serious issue” (NYT-The Caucus). (See also: BusinessWeek; CQ Today; CNN Money, 22-Aug-07.)

22-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 145.27 points, closing at 13,236.13 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance). The Hang Seng (HSI) gained 617.53 points, closing at 22,346.88 (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited; Hang Seng; Yahoo! Finance).

U.K. - Bankruptcies in the U.K. hit an all-time high; foreclosures hit an 8-year high (NYT). (See also: U.K. Ministry of Justice, 3-Aug-07; Council of Mortgage Lenders.)

Baiji - Iraq - Truck bomber killed 20 people (Bloomberg; NYT; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

Iraq - U.S. military UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed killing 14 soldiers (Multinational Force Iraq). (See also: Bloomberg; NYT; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

23-Aug-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Reserve injected an additional $7 billion into the financial system; since 9-Aug-07, the Fed has injected a total of $110.25 -billion into the financial system (China View-Xinhua).

Tokyo - Japan - The Bank of Japan to keep the uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at 0.5% (BOJ).

Sheikh Tamim; Ibrahim Yehia - Iraq - Gunmen attacked Sunnis who opposed al-Qaeda; 25 people were killed (VOA News-AFP-Reuters). (See also: Los Angeles Times.)

Minneapolis, MN - U.S. - Astronomers discovered a huge hole, about 1 billion light-years in diameter, that appears to be devoid of matter, including stars, galaxies, black holes, or dark matter (Space.com; Washington Post-AP, 24-Aug-07; BBC News, 24-Aug-07). (See also: Lawrence Rudnick, et al., to be published in Astrophysical Journal.)

24-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 142.99 points, closing at 13,378.87 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Peloponnese Peninsula - Greece - Forest fires killed at least 64 people (ENS, 29-Aug-07; Los Angeles Times, 30-Aug-07; NYT, 27-Aug-07). 15 people were charged with arson (Bloomberg, 27-Aug-07). H554 (See also: VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 25-Aug-07; VOA, 24-Aug-07; CNN International-Reuters, 24-Aug-07; Spiegel International, 25-Aug-07.) [24-Aug-07 - 30-Aug-07.]

Baghdad - Iraq - U.S. forces killed 18 Shiites; coalition forces also killed 12 people (VOA-AFP-AP-Reuters).

25-Aug-07

Hyderabad, Andhra - India - 2 blasts killed at least 40 people (The Times of India, 26-Aug-07). (See also: BBC News; China View-Xinhua.)

26-Aug-07

Uganda - Army truck crash killed at least 72 people, including 57 soldiers (VOA News, 27-Aug-07).

27-Aug-07

France - President Sarkozy: "The Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," a “catastrophic" alternative (France Diplomatie-French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 17-Sep-07). (See also: Jerusalem Post, 18-Sep-07.)

Afghanistan - 2007 Annual Opium Survey, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): Afghanistan's opium cultivation area increased 17%, from 165,000 ha in 2006 to 193,000 ha; the potential opium harvest is expected to soar about 34.3%, from 6,100 tonnes in 2006 to 8,200 tonnes in 2007; about 3.3 million people are involved in opium cultivation (14.3% of the population); the total farm-gate value of opium production increased 32%, from US$ 0.76 billion in 2006 to US$ 1 billion (UN). (See also: BBC News; NYT, 28-Aug-07.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - Carl Tannenbaum, NABE President and Chief Economist, La Salle Bank/ABN-AMRO: “Financial market turmoil has shifted the focus away from terrorism and toward subprime and other credit problems as the most important near-term threats to the U.S. economy”; Key NABE Economic Policy Survey findings regarding short-term risks to the US economy: Combined subprime loan defaults and excessive household/corporate debt, 32%; defense/terrorism, 20%; energy prices, 13% (National Association for Business Economics). (See also: WSJ; Financial Post.)

Karbala - Iraq - Thousands of Shia pilgrims gathered in the holy city of Karbala; gun fights killed at least 52 people (Al Jazeera-Agencies, 28-Aug-07). (See also: BBC News, 28-Aug-07; China View-Xinhua, 28-Aug-07.) [27-Aug-07 - 28-Aug-07.]

28-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 280.28 points, closing at 13,041.85 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Khalis; Gobia - Iraq - US and Iraqi soldiers killed 33 insurgents (BBC News; Al Jazeera-Agencies). (See also: China View-Xinhua.)

29-Aug-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 247.44 points, closing at 13,289.29 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Athens - Greece - Thousands protest against the government for its bungled handling of forest fires; many Greeks suspect unscrupulous builders of using arson to grab land for development and corrupt officials (ENS, 29-Aug-07; Los Angeles Times, 30-Aug-07).

New Orleans, LA - U.S. - Second anniversary of hurricane Katrina: The hurricane flooded 80% of New Orleans, killed at least 1,836 people, and caused damages estimated at $81.2 billion (ENS, 29-Aug-07). A Tribunal at the PanAmerican Conference Center was set to try the U.S. government "for human rights violations and crimes against humanity" before, during, and after Katrina (ENS, 29-Aug-07).

31-Aug-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - President George W. Bush announced steps to help American families avoid foreclosure on their homes and reform the Mortgage Finance System (White House). President Bush: "A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem. It's not the government's job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford. Yet there are many American homeowners who could get through this difficult time with a little flexibility from their lenders, or a little help from their government. . . Owning a home has always been at the center of the American Dream. Together with the United States Congress I will continue working to help make that dream a reality for more of our citizens. Thank you" (White House).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 119.01 points, closing at 13,257.74 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

1-Sep-07

U.K. - Gen Sir Mike Jackson, former Chief of General Staff, said U.S. post-war doctrine for Iraq was "naive" and "intellectually bankrupt", and U.S. strategy was "very short-sighted"; the general criticized U.S. Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, for having pursued radical neoconservative policies (Daily Telegraph, 3-Sep-07). (See also: BBC News.)

2-Sep-07

Nahr Al-Bared - Lebanon - The Lebanese army completed its assault on Islamists in the Palestinian refugee camp in Nahr al-Bared and killed at least 38 people (AFP, 3-Sep-07). The fighting, which started on 20-May-07, killed more than 300 people dead, including 157 Lebanese troops, and displaced 31,000 people (Los Angeles Times, 3-Sep-07). (See also: VOA News; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 3-Sep-07.)

Sriharikota - India - The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV-F04, and successfully injected the Insat-4CR communications satellite into orbit; India wants to capture 5%-10% of the satellite launch market (ISRO; The Hindu, 3-Sep-07). (See also: China View-Xinhua, 3-Sep-07.)

3-Sep-07

France - Suez and state-controlled natural gas supplier Gaz de France (GDF) announced a mega merger deal; the market capitalization of the combined company (GDF Suez) is estimated at €90 billion (Gaz de France; Suez). (See also: AFP; WSJ, 4-Sep-07; MarketWatch, 4-Sep-07; Reuter UK-Citywire, 4-Sep-07; Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 4-Sep-07.)

Basra - Iraq - British troops withdraw from Basra (BBC News).

4-Sep-07

Rawalpindi - Pakistan - 2 suicide bombers killed at least 25 people, including members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency (NYT, 5-sep-07; China View-Xinhua). (See also: Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Copenhagen - Denmark - Danish police prevented an alleged "major'' terrorist attack; 8 "militant Islamists'' were arrested (Bloomberg; CNN International; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters).

Bay of Bengal - India - India and 4 other countries, the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Singapore, participate in the Malabar 2007 naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal (VOA News, 8-Sep-07; AFP, 9-Sep-07). NATO standards were used during the war games (Indian Express, 9-Sep-07). [4-Sep-07 - 9-Sep-07.]

Nicaragua - Hurricane Felix hit Nicaragua as a Category 5 storm (National Geographic News); Felix killed at least 130 people (Reuters, 7-Sep-07). (See also: CNN, 6-Sep-07.) [4-Sep-07 - 7-Sep-07.]

5-Sep-07

Oberschledorn, North-Rhine Westphalia - Germany - German police foil an alleged "massive" terrorist attack targeting Frankfurt airport, a U.S. military base in Ramstein, and other sites frequented by Americans; 2 suspects are German, one is Turkish (Deutsche Welle; Bloomberg; CNN; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

ND; LA - U.S. - 6 Advanced Cruise Missiles loaded with W80-1 nuclear warheads, each with a yield of 5 to 150 kilotons, were mistakenly transported on a B-52 Stratofortress bomber, from Minot Air Force Base, ND, to Barksdale Air Force Base, LA, on 30-Aug-07 (Military Times). (See also: Army Times; NYT; CNN.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 143.39 points, closing at 13,305.47 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

6-Sep-07

Frankfurt am Main - Germany - The European Central Bank (ECB) injected an additional €42.25 billion ($57.7 billion) into money markets to reduce the cost of borrowing (WSJ, Bloomberg; AFP). The ECB injected €211 billion in the 4 previous days (WSJ).

Frankfurt am Main - Germany - The Governing Council of the ECB kept the minimum bid rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 4.00%, 5.00%, and 3.00% respectively (ECB).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Mortgage Bankers Association's National Delinquency Survey: The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on 1-to-4-unit residential properties, including loans in the process of foreclosure, climbed to 6.52% in 2007Q2, up 1.14% from 2006; more than 1-in-7 homebuyers with subprime loans failed to meet their mortgage obligations during 2007Q2; more than 619,000 homeowners could have their homes repossessed (MBA). (See also: MSNBC-FT.com, 7-Sep-07; Bloomberg; TheStreet.com.)

Sydney - Australia - Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Australia 2007 Business Summit (APEC Australia 2007). Agenda includes climate change and trade liberalization (VOA News, 3-Sep-07). Major sponsors include Chevron, GM, AT&T, Microsoft, Dow, and Visa (APEC Australia 2007). APEC Launched a business code aimed at combating bribery and corruption in business; according to the World Bank Institute, more than $1 trillion is paid in bribes worldwide each year (APEC, 6-Sep-07; AFP, 7-Sep-07). [6-Sep-07 - 7-Sep-07.]

Khabarovsk - Russia - Sixth international meeting of the heads of special services, security agencies and law-enforcement organizations (Russia Today). [6-Sep-07 - 7-Sep-07.]

Batna - Algeria - Suicide bomber killed at least 20 people (BBC News, 7-Sep-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 6-7-Sep-07). (See also: NYT-AP, 7-Sep-07.)

Israel; Syria - Israeli planes violated Syria's airspace and dropped munitions; Syrian forces fired at the intruders and repulsed them; Israel may be probing Syria's detection and response capabilities (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies; Haaretz; NYT, 7-Sep-07).

China - “Summer Davos”: Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian (World Economic Forum, 23-Jul-07). [6-Sep-07 - 8-Sep-07.]

Modena - Italy - Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest tenors, died at the age of 71 of pancreatic cancer (NYT; CNN International-AP; AFP).

7-Sep-07

Al-Qaeda released a video of Bin Laden in which he addresses the Americans as follows: "You permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you - with your full knowledge and consent - to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan. . . There are two solutions to stopping it. One is from our side, and it is to escalate the fighting and killing against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out. The second solution is from your side. I invite you to embrace Islam" (BBC News). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; NYT, 8-Sep-07; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 249.97 points, closing at 13,113.38 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Calabasas, CA - U.S. - Countrywide Financial Corp. plans to cut 10,000 to 12,000 employees from its workforce over 3 months (Countrywide Financial Corp-PRNewswire-FirstCall). The U.S. Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe injected more than $400 billion into money markets since 9-Aug-07 (Bloomberg). (See also: Washington Post, 8-Sep-07.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The U.S. House of Representatives approved overhauled patent law which opponents of the bill believe favors big high-tech and financial services corporations at the expense of drug companies and small inventors (Washington Post, 8-Sep-07). Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who opposed the bill, called it the "Steal American Technologies Act" (CNET News). The Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform stated that the new legislation is "not supportable" (The Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, 5-Sep-07). (See H.R.1908: To amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for patent reform, Library of Congress, THOMAS.) (See also: CNN Money-Dow Jones Newswires.)

8-Sep-07

Dellys - Algeria - Car bomb targeting barracks killed at least 30 people; al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility (BBC News). (See also: NYT-AP, 9-Sep-07; VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

10-Sep-07

Maltrata, Veracruz - Mexico - 6 gas and oil pipeline explosions caused damages to Pemex estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars; the People's Revolutionary Army (EPR) claimed responsibility for the attack. A truck collision caused an explosion that killed 29 people. (VOA News-Reuters-AP; Los Angeles Times, 12-Sep-07.) (See also: Bloomberg.)

11-Sep-07

U.S. - 6th anniversary of the 9/11 attack upon the U.S.

Vienna - Austria - OPEC to increase output by 500,000 barrels per day effective 1-Nov-07 (VOA News

Russia - Russia tested the world's most powerful bomb, the thermobaric vacuum bomb (RIA Novosti).

12-Sep-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Senate Finance Committee approved an $850 billion increase in the public debt limit, from $8.965 trillion to $9.815 trillion (Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate).

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 180.54 points (1.4%), closing at 13,308.39 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Moscow - Russia - Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and his entire cabinet resigned; President Vladimir Putin's nominee to become Russia's new prime minister is Viktor Zubkov (The Moscow Times, 13-Sep-07; VOA News). As head of Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Zubkov investigated money laundering by Russian oligarchs (The Moscow Times, 13-Sep-07). (See also: BBC News.)

Tokyo - Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Liberal Democratic Party) resigned (NYT; WSJ; The Japan Times-Kyodo News, 13-Sep-07). Abe pushed for an anti-terrorism law; he wanted Japan to continue to provide naval logistical support to US military operations in Afghanistan (BBC News).

New York, NY - U.S. - Crude oil prices hit a record $80 per barrel (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters, 12-Sep-07; CNN Money-AP, 13-Sep-07; WSJ, 13-Sep-07). [12-Sep-07 - 13-Sep-07.]

Sumatra - Indonesia - A series of earthquakes, including a magnitude-8.4 earthquake (USGS, 12-Sep-07), killed at least 10 people in Indonesia (NYT, 12-Sep-07; Bloomberg, 13-Sep-07; CNN International, 13-Sep-07). [12-Sep-07 - 13-Sep-07.]

13-Sep-07

New York, NY - U.S. - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 133.23 points (1.0%), closing at 13,424.88 (DJ; Yahoo! Finance).

Ramadi, Anbar - Iraq - Sheikh Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, Sunni anti-al-Qaeda leader of the Anbar Awakening alliance, was assassinated (VOA News; BBC News, 14-Sep-07; Washington Post-AP, 14-Sep-07). The assassination is a blow to President George W. Bush's and General David Petraeus's occupation strategy in Iraq (Asia Times, 15-Sep-07; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 14-Sep-07).

14-Sep-07

London - U.K. - Run on the bank financial crisis: The Bank of England bailed out Northern Rock Plc, the U.K.'s 3rd-largest mortgage lender (Bloomberg); Northern Rock depended on raising money in capital markets instead of consumer bank deposits (NYT; MarketWatch). Northern Rock Plc: "It has now become clear that the global credit and liquidity markets have not recovered in the early part of September, and that there continues to be a severe liquidity squeeze" (Northern Rock). Bank of England (BOE): "The FSA judges that Northern Rock is solvent, exceeds its regulatory capital requirement and has a good quality loan book" (BOE). (See also: Economist; Guardian Unlimited.)

Moscow - Russia - The Russian Parliament overwhelmingly approved Viktor Zubkov, President Vladimir Putin's nominee, as new Prime Minister (VOA News). (See also: RIA Novosti.)

Tanegashima, Kagoshima - Japan - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched successfully the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selene) probe aboard the "Kaguya" H-IIA rocket; the probe will orbit the moon (JAXA; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; Kyodo News, 15-Sep-07; China View-Xinhua; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

16-Sep-07

Paris - France - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, founder of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres): ”To prepare for the worst," France is planning for possible military action against Iran, if negotiations fail (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies; NYT, 18-Sep-07; VOA News, 18-Sep-07). Pepe Escobar (author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War; Nimble Books, 2007): "Kouchner was in favor of the war on Iraq - on the basis of human rights serially violated by Saddam . . . The French doctor is arguably the most popular European proponent of imperialism with a human face" (Asia Times, 19-Sep-07). (See also: Bloomberg, 18-Sep-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies, 18-Sep-07.)

17-Sep-07

Phuket - Thailand - One-Two-Go Airlines MD-82 passenger jet crashed killing 89 people (Bangkok Post, 17-18-Sep-07; China View-Xinhua, 18-Sep-07).

Iran - Threatened by Israeli incursions into Syrian airspace and by a bellicose statement regarding French preparations for a possible war on Iran, Iran has reportedly 600 Shihab-3 missiles targeting Israel (Jerusalem Post, 18-Sep-07).

Iraq - Iraq withdrew the license of the U.S. security company Blackwater USA after it was accused of killing 8 Iraqi civilians; Iraq's government to review the operations of all security companies in Iraq (VOA News-AFP-Reuters, 17-18-Sep-07).

18-Sep-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 4.75% (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

New York, NY - U.S. - Markets soared (NYT). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 335.97 points (2.51%), closing at 13,739.39 (DJ; H615

Irvine, CA - U.S. - RealtyTrac: The total number of U.S. foreclosure filings, rose to a record 243,947 in Aug-07, up 115.31% from Aug-06 (RealtyTrac). (See also: Bloomberg; NYT; MarketWatch.)

Vienna - Austria - Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), regarding the bellicose statement by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on preparing for war on Iran: "There are rules on how to use force . . . and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons" (Spiegel International, 18-Sep-07). (See also: The Jerusalem Post-AP, 18-Sep-07.)

Iraq - Bomb attacks killed at least 20 people (VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

19-Sep-07

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. Senate block the right of habeas corpus for “enemy combatants" (VOA News; NYT; AP) - bill S.AMDT. 2022: To restore Habeas Corpus for those detained by the United States (ACLU).

Beirut - Lebanon - A car bomb killed 7 people, including anti-Syria MP Antoine Ghanem; Ghanem was a member of the Christian Kataeb Party (VOA News; Guardian Unlimited-AP).

20-Sep-07

Qatar; UAE - The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) acquired 20% of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Borse Dubai to acquire 28% of the London Stock Exchange from NASDAQ (Dubai). (See also: Borse MarketWatch.)

New York, NY - U.S. - The Forbes 400: The total net worth of the U.S.'s top "plutocrats" increased to $1.54 trillion, up $290 billion (23.2%). The 5 richest Americans are: 1. William Gates III ($59 billion); 2. Warren Buffett ($52 billion); 3. Sheldon Adelson ($28 billion); 4. Lawrence Ellison ($26 billion); 5. Sergey Brin ($18.5 billion); and 5. Larry Page ($18.5 billion). (Forbes.)

The CBOE Gold Index gained 5.45 points (3.24%), closing at a 27-year record 173.50 (CBOE; Yahoo! Finance). (See also: MarketWatch.)

Internet - Osama bin Laden called for a Pakistani rebellion against "the apostate ruler" President Pervez Musharraf (Guardian Unlimited-Agencies). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Christian Science Monitor, 21-Sep-07.)

Berlin - Germany - According to Ernst Uhrlau, head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency, the private security industry is worth about $100 billion (Reuters).

Jena, LA - U.S. - Thousands (15,000 to 20,000 according to the police; 50,000 according to organizers) supported of the "Jena 6" protested against "unequal justice" (CNN, 21-Sep-07; BlackAmericaWeb-AP, 21-Sep-07). (See also: NAACP.)

23-Sep-07

Rangoon - Myanmar - Anti-government protests, started on 18-Sep-07, by Buddhist monks, swelled to include about 20,000 people; the protests followed an exorbitant increase in fuel prices (Herald Sun; VOA News). According to one estimate, from 5,000 to 50,000 of Burma's 400,000 monks joined the protest movement (Bangkok Post-dpa). (See also: The Hindu-AP; BBC News.)

24-Sep-07

Rangoon - Myanmar - About 100,000 people, including Buddhist monks and nuns, protested against the military regime in Burma (VOA News-AFP-AP; Herald Sun-AFP, 25-Sep-07). (See also: Economist; Bangkok Post.)

Detroit, MI - U.S. - United Auto Workers (UAW) launched a strike at General Motors (GM) plants ; 73,000 members were affected (UAW; MarketWatch; BBC News).

Washington, DC - U.S. - Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), International Monetary Fund (IMF): "Credit conditions may not normalize soon, and some of the practices that have developed in the structured credit markets will have to change. . . Our assessment is that credit losses and the liquidity constriction experienced to date will [nevertheless] likely slow the global expansion. . . if the intermediation process stalls and financial conditions deteriorate further, the global financial sector and real economy could experience more serious negative repercussions" (IMF).

25-Sep-07

Uruzgan; Helmand - Afghanistan - U.S.-led coalition forces reportedly killed at least 169 Taliban insurgents (VOA News, 26-Sep-07). The Talibans dismissed the report (Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies, 26-Sep-07; BBC News, 26-Sep-07);and villagers claimed that foreign air strikes killed at least 24 civilians (BBC News, 26-Sep-07). (See also: Guardian Unlimited-Agencies, 26-Sep-07; CNN International, 26-Sep-07.) [25-Sep-07 - 26-Sep-07.]

New York, NY - U.S. - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad address before the UN General Assembly: "For about 5 years, some of the aforementioned powers . . . have derailed Iran's nuclear issue from its legal tracks, and have politicized the atmosphere to impose their wishes through taking advantage of all their potentials. The government of Iran spared no effort to build confidence, but they were not satisfied with anything . . . They were only after depriving the Iranian people of all their inalienable rights . . . Fortunately, the IAEA has recently tried to regain its legal role as supporter of the rights of its members while supervising nuclear activities. . . . Previously, they illegally insisted on politicizing the Iranian nation's nuclear case, but today, because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the Agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary Agency matter" (UN Observer). (See also: VOA News, 26-Sep-07.)

26-Sep-07

Sinjar; Shurqat; Mosul - Iraq - Bomb attacks killed at least 19 people (VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters). The 3-day death toll from violence in Iraq was about 70 people (AFP).

Washington, DC - U.S. - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested about $190 billion more for war in Iraq and Afghanistan (VOA News).

Yangon - Myanmar - Security forces open fire at protesters; at least 10 people were killed, including a Japanese journalist ((International Herald Tribune-AP, 28-Sep-07; VOA News-AP-Reuters, 29-Sep-07). (See also: CNN International-AP, 28-Sep07.) [26-Sep-07 - 28-Sep-07.]

Washington, DC - U.S. - CRS Report for Congress: Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1999-2006: key findings regarding the value of arms transfer agreements worldwide in 2006: (1) All arms transfer agreements worldwide: $40.3 billion, down about 13% from 2005; (2) U.S. arms transfer agreements worldwide: $16.9 billion (41.9% of all agreements), up from $13.5 billion in 2005; Russian arms transfer agreements worldwide: $8.7 billion (21.6% of all agreements), up from $7.5 billion in 2005; U.K. arms transfer agreements worldwide: $3.1 billion, up from $2.9 billion in 2005. For From 2003 through 2006, developing nations accounted for 73.3% of the value of all international arms deliveries. (Congressional Research Service.)

27-Sep-07

Cape Canaveral, FL - U.S. - NASA successfully launched a Delta II rocket with the Dawn probe to explore 2 asteroids, Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015 (NASA). (See also: VOA News-AFP-Reuters).

28-Sep-07

Taiwan - Taiwan has tested a cruise missile capable of delivering a 400-kilogram warhead within a range of 1,000 kilometers (International Herald Tribune).

Detroit, MI - U,S. - United Automobile Workers (UAW) GM National Council unanimously approved a 4-year agreement with General Motors (GM) (UAW); the agreement calls for GM to invest $29.9 billion in a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA), a retiree health care trust (NYT; Bloomberg). (See also: GM, 26-Sep-07.)

Washington, DC - U.S. - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board named Former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the new head of the IMF (VOA News; Bloomberg; Al Jazeera-Agencies).

29-Sep-07

Kabul - Afghanistan - A bomb targeting a bus carrying Afghan soldiers killed at least 27 people (VOA News-AP-AFP-Reuters). (See also: Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Camp Taji - Iraq - U.S. military aircraft killed 20 suspected insurgents (VOA News).

30-Sep-07

Haskanita, Darfur - Soudan - Hundreds of Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) rebels killed at least 10 African Union peacekeepers (CNN-AP; Guardian Unlimited-The Guardian, 1-Oct-07). (See also: VOA News-AFP-AP-Reuters; Al Jazeera-Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

Tehran - Iran - Iran's parliament labeled the U.S. Army and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) "terrorist organizations," after the U.S. labeled Iran's Revolutionary Guards force a "terrorist group" (VOA News-AP-AFP).

Jabal al-Tair - Yemen - Volcano eruption killed 4 Yemeni soldiers; 9 went missing (Bloomberg-AFP, 1-Oct-07). (See also: CNN Money, 1-Oct-07; SABA, 1-Oct-07; Al Jazeera-Agencies.)

WE7Q3/6-Apr-08