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Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
2007 was designated as:
UNESCO has recognized fifteen anniversaries for 2007.[6]
[edit] Events
[edit] January
- January 1 - Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union.
- January 1 - Slovenia adopts the Euro as its official currency, replacing the tolar.
- January 1 - South Korea's Ban Ki-moon becomes the new United Nations Secretary-General, replacing Kofi Annan.
- January 1 - Smoking is banned in all public places in Hong Kong.
- January 1 - Adam Air Flight 574, a routine domestic flight in Indonesia, disappears; debris is found 10 days later, but the aircraft remains missing.
- January 1 - Angola joins OPEC.
- January 1 - War in Somalia: Fighters of the Islamic Courts Union abandon their last stronghold in Kismayo and flee for the Kenyan border.
- January 2 - The new constitution of Gibraltar comes into force.[7]
- January 3 - China conducts an anti-terror raid in Xinjiang.
- January 4 - Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
- January 5 - War in Somalia: The first shots are fired in the battle for control of the border town of Ras Kamboni.
- January 8 - Daniel Ortega becomes President of Nicaragua for the second time.
- January 8 - Russian oil supplies to Poland, Germany, and Ukraine are cut as the Russia-Belarus energy dispute escalates; restored three days later.
- January 9 - War in Somalia: U.S. planes conduct air strikes in Somalia against suspected terrorists.
- January 9 - An AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crashes in Balad, Iraq. The Islamic Army in Iraq claims to have shot it down.
- January 9 - Apple Inc. announces and introduces the highly speculated iPhone at the 2007 Macworld Conference & Expo.[8]
- January 10 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces a plan to station 21,500 additional troops in Iraq.
- January 11 - In Bangladesh, a state of emergency is declared by caretaker President Iajuddin Ahmed, following weeks of violent protests preceding upcoming parliamentary elections.
- January 11 - Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization as its 150th member.
- January 11 - China successfully tests a ground-based ballistic missile capable of destroying satellites in orbit, drawing criticisms from other countries.
- January 12 - An Argentine judge issues a warrant for the arrest of former President Isabel Martínez de Perón in connection with the disappearance of a human rights worker in 1976.
- January 12 - The US Embassy in Athens is attacked with a rocket propelled grenade, which caused minimal damage and no injuries.
- January 12 - Comet McNaught, the brightest comet in over 40 years, makes perihelion.
- January 13 - The Greek ship Server breaks in half off the Norwegian coast, releasing over 200 tons of crude oil.
- January 14 - The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopts the Red Crystal as a non-religious emblem for use in its overseas operations.
- January 17 - Hurricane force winds from storm Kyrill claim at least 40 lives in western Europe.
- January 17 - Protests occur in India and the United Kingdom against the British series of Celebrity Big Brother after Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara were alleged to have been racially abusive towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.
- January 17 - Doomsday Clock is advanced from 7 to 5 minutes to midnight.
- January 18 - Comet McNaught, the brightest comet to appear in over 40 years, becomes visible over the Southern Hemisphere.
[edit] February
- February 1 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair is questioned for a second time in the 'cash for peerages (Cash for Honours)' probe as a witness.
- February 2 - An unseasonal tornado in central Florida kills at least 20 people.
- February 2 - Palestinian factional violence: Hamas and its rival Fatah renew their truce after violence broke out following the initial ceasefire.
- February 2 - Chinese President Hu Jintao signs a series of economic deals with Sudan.
- February 2 - War in Somalia: Eight people are killed in a mortar attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
- February 2 - Martti Ahtisaari unveils a United Nations plan for the final status of Kosovo; Serbian leaders denounce the proposal.
- February 2 - The IPCC publishes its fourth assessment report, having concluded that global climate change is "very likely" to have a predominantly human cause.
- February 3 - The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is found at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk, England.
- February 3 - State of Emergency is declared in Indonesia after 'El Nino'-like flooding.
- February 3 - A truck bombing in a crowded Baghdad market kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339 others.
- February 11 - Portuguese voters agree to legalise abortion in a national referendum.
- February 12 - An armed gunman shoots and kills five people at the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, before being killed by the police, bringing the evening's rampage death toll to six.
- February 13 - North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.[10]
- February 13 - Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
- February 22 - A large fire causes 26 fatalities in care center "Reģi" which is located in Alsunga, Latvia.
- February 25 - The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The Departed wins Best Picture.
- February 26 - The International Court of Justice finds Serbia guilty of failing to prevent genocide in the Srebrenica massacre, but clears it of direct responsibility and complicity in the case.
- February 27 - The Chinese Correction: world stock markets plummet after China and Europe release less-than-expected growth reports.
- February 27 - 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing: A Taliban suicide attack at Bagram Air Base while Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney is visiting kills 23, but he is not injured.
- February 28 - The New Horizons space probe makes a gravitational slingshot against Jupiter which changes its trajectory towards Pluto.
- March 1 - International Polar Year, a $1.5 billion research program to study both the North Pole and South Pole, is launched in Paris.
- March 1 - Airbus announces that it will cease work indefinitely on the A380F freight aircraft.
- March 3 - Total lunar eclipse.
- March 6 - Mega Millions sets a new world record for the highest lottery jackpot of US $370 million.
- March 7 - Garuda Indonesia Flight 200, a Boeing 737-400, crashes at Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java, killing many on board.
- March 8 - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admits that Israel had planned an attack on Lebanon in the event of kidnapped soldiers on the border, months before Hezbollah carried out its kidnapping.
- March 12 - Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist, disappears in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip.
- March 17 - Chlorine bombs injure hundreds in Baghdad, Iraq.
- March 22 - NATO troops launch two assaults in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, killing 38.
- March 23 - Naval forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guard seize Royal Navy personnel in disputed Iran-Iraq waters.
- March 27 - Prime Minister of Latvia Aigars Kalvitis and Prime minister of Russia Mikhail Fradkov finally sign a border treaty between Latvia and Russia.
- March 31 - Sydney, Australia, turns off its lights for one hour between 7:30pm and 8:30pm as a political statement about Global Climate Change.
- May 3 - Madeleine McCann goes missing; the story receives extensive media coverage.
- May 4 - Tornado strikes Greensburg, Kansas, killing at least 12 and destroying about 90% of the town.
- May 5 - Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon.
- May 6 - The French Minister of Interior Nicolas Sarkozy, wins the French presidential election, succeeding the incumbent President Jacques Chirac, ten days later.
- May 7 - Chinese slave scandal.
- May 9 - Subtropical Storm Andrea forms off the coast of Florida, the earliest subtropical storm since Subtropical Storm Ana in 2003.
- May 15 - Coalition government of Fatah and Hamas in Palestinian National Authority appeared to break down, as massive fighting breaks out in Gaza Strip.
- May 16 - The General Assembly of the United Nations, recognizing that genuine multilingualism promotes unity in diversity and international understanding, proclaimed 2008 the International Year of Languages [1].
- May 17 - The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate re-united after eighty years of schism.
- May 20 - The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum makes the largest single charitable donation in modern history, committing €7.41 billion to an educational foundation in the Middle East.
- May 20 - Clashes in Tripoli, Lebanon, spark the 2007 Lebanon conflict.
- May 21 - The 19th century ship the Cutty Sark is badly damaged by fire in London, UK.
- May 26 - Russia is once again recognized as a full-fledged superpower by the United States.[13]
- May 27 - Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) is taken off the air after the government of Venezuela refused to renew its license. This action results in protests. On July 16, 2007, RCTV resumed broadcasting via cable and satellite.
- May 31 - A calendar blue moon occurred in the Western Hemisphere and parts of the Eastern Hemisphere.
- June 8 - The Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-117.
- June 8 - Storms in the coastal city of Newcastle, New South Wales[21] kill nine and flood the city and its surrounding areas.[22]
- June 18 - Nine Charleston, South Carolina firefighters are killed by a roof collapse while battling a furniture store fire.
- June 22 - An F5 tornado tears through Elie, Manitoba, no injuries are reported.
- June 24 - The refurbished Millennium Dome, now called The O2, reopens in London.
- June 24 - Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2007: Gordon Brown is elected Leader of the Labour Party UK, succeeding incumbent Tony Blair, and becoming Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three days later.
- June 25 - Following the wettest June on record in the United Kingdom, Sheffield and South Yorkshire are affected by flooding. Much of Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham is flooded when the River Don breaches its banks.
- June 27 - The military police of the state of Rio de Janeiro invades the favela of Complexo do Alemão ending in a massacre.
- June 28 - In the aftermath of Greece's worst heatwave in a century, at least 11 people are reported dead from heatstroke, approximately 200 wildfires break out nationwide, and the country's electricity grid nearly collapses due to record breaking demand.
- June 29 - British police defuse a bomb in Haymarket, Central London.[23]
- June 30 - A Jeep Cherokee drove into the entrance of the main terminal of Glasgow International Airport in an apparent terrorist incident, resulting in a petrol-driven fire.[24]
- June 30 - A calendar blue moon occurs in most of the Eastern Hemisphere.
- June 30 - The Hawaii Superferry arrives in Honolulu after a 7,600 mile journey from Mobile, Alabama.
- July 1 - Portugal takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Germany.
- July 1 - The Concert For Diana is held at Wembley Stadium to commemorate Diana, Princess of Wales.
- July 2 - Venus and Saturn are in conjunction, separation 46 arcsecs.
- July 3 - Torrential rains cause the onset of the 2007 Sudan floods, the worst in the Sudan's history.
- July 4 - After being held captive for 114 days, BBC journalist Alan Johnston is freed by his Palestinian kidnappers.
- July 7 - Live Earth Concerts are held throughout 9 major cities around the world.
- July 8 - Boeing launches the new Boeing 787.
- July 10 - Zheng Xiaoyu, head of State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China executed.
- July 12 - Queen Elizabeth II visits the world's largest Commonwealth war grave in Ypres, Belgium to pay respects to fallen soldiers of the Battle of Passchendaele.
- July 14 - Following a presidential decree, Russia withdraws from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
- July 15 - In Tacoma, Washington, the second span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens to traffic, making it the longest twin suspension bridge in the world.
- July 16 - Earthquake occurs in Japan, killing seven and causing a pipe at a nuclear power plant to break and release about 300 gallons of radioactive water.[citation needed]
- July 17 - TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 3054 overruns the runway of Congonhas-São Paulo International Airport and crashes, killing all 186 and others on the ground.
- July 18 - Nelson Mandela convenes a group of world leaders to contribute their ideas to tackle some of the world's toughest problems.[citation needed]
- July 19 - Russia expels four British embassy staff in a tit-for-tat response over Britain's expulsion of four of Russia's diplomats. Russia also refuses to cooperate with Britain over the war on terror.[citation needed]
- July 19 - Prathiba Patil is elected as the first female President of India.
- July 21 - The final book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released and sells over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours, becoming the fastest selling book in history.[25]
- July 22 - Floods cause chaos through wide areas of Britain, especially the counties of Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire, leaving hundreds homeless and thousands of vehicles stranded on major roads.
- July 22 - A bus carrying 50 Polish pilgrims crashes near Grenoble in France, killing 26 people and injuring 24.[citation needed]
[edit] August
Security camera images show the collapse in animation of the I-35W bridge, looking north.
- August 1 - The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge on I-35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses at 6:05 pm CST during the later part of rush hour, killing 13 people.
- August 1 - Scouting celebrates its 100th birthday with worldwide celebrations.
- August 1 - In a decision in the Supreme Court of South Australia by Justice Thomas Gray, Bruce Trevorrow, a member of the Stolen Generation, was awarded $775,000 compensation.
- August 3 - Foot and mouth disease is found on a farm at Wanborough, near to Guildford, Surrey. A UK-wide ban on movement of all livestock is put in place the following day.
- August 4 - The Phoenix spacecraft launches toward the Martian north pole.
- August 6 - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrives in historic Palestianian town of Jericho, becoming the first Prime Minister of Israel to visit the West Bank or Gaza Strip in over seven years. Olmert met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
- August 6 - The Crandall Canyon Mine in Emery County, Utah collapses, trapping six miners.
- August 14 - Multiple suicide bombings kill 572 people in Qahtaniya, northern Iraq.
- August 14 - At least 22 people are killed, and at least 39 missing, as a bridge collapses in the southeastern province of Hunan, China.[citation needed]
- August 15 - An 8.0 earthquake strikes Peru, killing 512 people, injuring more than 1,500, and causing tsunami warnings in the Pacific Ocean.
- August 16 - The Crandall Canyon Mine in Emery County, Utah, collapses a second time, killing three rescue workers and injuring six more.
- August 17 Vladimir Putin issues a statement, revealing that Russia is to resume the flight exercises of its Strategic bombers in remote areas. The flights were suspended in 1991 after the Collapse of the Soviet Union.
[edit] September
