Portal:Current events/2007 September 12

September 12, 2007 (Wednesday)

Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates reaches 555.3 metres, surpassing the 553.3 metre CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario Canada as the world's tallest free-standing structure on land, which it had been since 1976. The building is due for completion 2008 with a final projected height of 818 metres. (Bloomberg) (Yahoo) (CNews)(PressTV)
Russian President Vladimir Putin fires the chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Masorin, and appoints in his place the commander of the Russian Northern Fleet, Vladimir Vysotsky. (The Moscow Times)^{[permanent dead link]}
Airstrikes and Afghan army gunfire kills more than 45 Taliban insurgents on the first day of Ramadan. (The Canadian Press)^{[permanent dead link]}
Bombardier Aerospace orders the grounding of at least 40 percent of its Q-400 turboprop following recent incidents in Scandinavian Airlines aircraft in Denmark and Lithuania. (Associated Press)^{[permanent dead link]} (Wikinews)
Somali Islamists and opposition leaders meeting in Eritrea have joined forces in a new alliance to overthrow Somalia's transitional government. (BBC)
A new case of Foot-and-mouth disease in the UK was confirmed after it was assumed that the outbreak of 2007 had been under control. (BBC)
A major earthquake with a magnitude of 8.4 occurs off the west-coast of the island Sumatra, Indonesia. Sea level readings indicate a tsunami might follow and a tsunami watch is put in place for the whole of the Indian Ocean. (AP) (PTWC/NOAA/NWS) (Reuters)
Vladimir Putin sacks Mikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet and nominates Viktor Zubkov as his replacement. (Reuters)
Thousands of ex-soldiers are rioting in the People's Republic of China in the cities of Baotou, Wuhan, and Baoji, breaking into cars, destroying classrooms, and setting fires. The riot is the largest protest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest. (TIME)
A cholera epidemic occurs in northern Iraq with 7,000 infected and 10 deaths so far. (NYT)
Anna Bligh is endorsed as the next Premier of Queensland by the Queensland Labor Party caucus with Paul Lucas as her deputy. (ABC News Australia)
Former President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is found guilty of corruption in his 6-year trial and sentenced to Life Imprisonment. (BBC)
Shinzo Abe, the current Prime Minister of Japan, announces his resignation after failing to win popular support in the aftermath of ruling Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in Upper House elections in July. The resignation comes into effect with the election of his successor in an LDP party conference on 19 September 2007. (Forbes)
2007 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Depression Eight and Tropical Depression Nine form near the Lesser Antilles and Gulf of Mexico respectively. (NOAA), (NOAA)
- Tropical Depression Nine becomes Tropical Storm Humberto and is moving north towards Texas and Louisiana. (CNN)