Portal:Current events/2007 September 19

September 19, 2007 (Wednesday)

Abbas El Fassi, leader of the Istiqlal Party, is appointed Prime Minister of Morocco by King Mohammed VI following the resignation of Driss Jettou and his cabinet.
France calls for a joint force of United Nations and European Union peacekeepers in parts of Chad and the Central African Republic bordering the Darfur region of Sudan. (AFP)
2007 Pacific hurricane season: Hurricane Ivo forms off the coast of Baja California. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
The United States Senate fails to pass a bill providing more home leave to United States troops in Iraq with the necessary 60 percent margin with 56 for and 44 against. (Reuters)
Four fossil skeletons of early human ancestors are discovered in Georgia. (NYT)
The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautions the International Atomic Energy Agency that it "is not in the business of diplomacy." (CNN)
José Mourinho, manager of Chelsea Football Club, leaves the club by mutual consent. (BBC)
Six hundred thousand people are made homeless by floods in Africa with at least 270 deaths with more rain expected. (ABC News Australia)
Nevada authorities call off the search for missing US adventurer Steve Fossett two weeks after he goes missing. (Sky News Australia)
Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls for a change to the country's Constitution to end the ban on the wearing of headscarves in universities. (AP via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
Due to increasing rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilians, The Government of Israel declares the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip an "enemy entity", and announces plans to cut utilities to the territory. (Guardian Unlimited)
U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announces that he will begin an investigation into the activities of Howard Krongard, Inspector General of the State Department. Krongard has been accused of interfering with investigations into corruption involving fraud in the building of the new United States Embassy in Iraq, the smuggling of illegal weapons into Iraq by Blackwater USA employees, and the activities of former chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Kenneth Tomlinson, in the use of his office for personal gain. (VOA)^{[permanent dead link]}
The Deputy Commander of the Iranian Air Force claims that Iran has plans to retaliate if attacked by Israel. (RIA Novosti)
A car bomb in Beirut kills Lebanese legislator Antoine Ghanem of the Christian Phalange party and at least seven others. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
Coalition parties and Maoists meet at Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's official residence to resolve the political deadlock.
War in Afghanistan: Coalition forces led by the British Army launch a major offensive in Helmand province. (BBC)
Officials from a UN-backed genocide tribunal detain Nuon Chea, the most senior surviving member of the Khmer Rouge regime. (BBC)
Republican lawmakers block the United States Senate from taking up a bill to grant voting rights to Washington DC. (Washington Post)
2007 Pacific typhoon season:
- Typhoon Wipha (Goring) makes landfall in eastern China before weakening to a Category 2 typhoon as it heads inland. (Reuters)
- At least five people are killed and three are missing according to the Xinhua newsagency. (News Limited)