Portal:Current events/2007 November 15

November 15, 2007 (Thursday)

Strikes in France: French transport workers' strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reform enters its second day, but energy workers and CFDT members return to work. (BBC)
German train drivers extend their strike action against Deutsche Bahn, starting a 48-hour passenger service strike. (BBC)
The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee approves a resolution draft that calls for a moratorium on the capital punishment. (Reuters)
The City of Westminster Magistrates' Court rules Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri can be extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States, where he is accused of terrorism. (BBC)
A New South Wales coroner concludes that a group of five journalists, known as the Balibo Five, were deliberately killed by Indonesian forces in 1975 in order to prevent them exposing Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor. (AAP via stuff.co.nz)
Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds is indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco for perjury and obstruction of justice, having allegedly lied under oath about his use of steroids. (AP via ESPN)
Nuclear program of Iran:
- The White House urges more sanctions on Iran, saying that "selective co-operation" is "not good enough". (BBC)
- The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is still enriching uranium. (BBC)
The Supreme Court of Canada denies asylum to Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, two United States soldiers who deserted the Iraq War. (BBC)
Iraqi insurgency: The United States Army announces it has killed 25 insurgents in Taji, but the Taji Awakening Council says airstrikes killed 45 pro-U.S. fighters. (BBC)
A Saudi Arabian gang rape victim is sentenced to jail and 200 lashes for being in the car of an unrelated man. (BBC)
Celestin Chibalonza, the governor of Sud-Kivu, is impeached for failing to curb violence and mismanaging finances. (BBC)
The United States Treasury freezes all assets of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation, claiming that it acts as a "front to facilitate fundraising" for the Tamil Tigers. (BBC)
The execution of Mark Dean Schwab in Florida is suspended while the United States Supreme Court decides if lethal injection is unconstitutional. (BBC)
Powerful aftershocks hit Chile after the Antofagasta earthquake, as President Michelle Bachelet visits the affected areas. (BBC)
United Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro visits political prisoners, including Su Su Nway, in Burma's Insein Prison. (BBC)
Rift Valley fever kills at least 96 people in the White Nile, Sennar and Gazeera states of Sudan. (BBC)
The Russian Ground Forces shut down their last remaining base in Georgia, located in the city of Batumi. (BBC)
2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
- President Pervez Musharraf appoints Muhammad Mian Soomro, Chairman of the Senate, as interim Prime Minister. (BBC)
- Pakistan's Attorney General, Malik Mohammad Qayyum, says he expects President Pervez Musharraf to step down as army chief by December 1. (BBC)
- Major General Waheed Arshad announces the Pakistan Army has killed at least 33 Taliban militants in the Swat valley. (BBC)
- Pakistani authorities drop all charges against Rashid Rauf, who was arrested in August 2006 in connection with the 2006 transatlantic aircraft plot. (BBC)
President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas states in a speech that "we have to bring down" Hamas. (BBC)
Formed in the Bay of Bengal, Category 4 Cyclone Sidr approaches the coastal districts of Bangladesh, forcing tens of thousands of people to move away. (BBC)
Farmway LRT station opened along the West Loop of the Sengkang LRT line.