Portal:Current events/2007 November 8

Current events of November 8, 2007 (2007-11-08) (Thursday)

EU interior ministers agreed that nine member states from central and eastern Europe are sufficiently prepared to join EU's Schengen border-free zone on December 21. (EUobserver) A United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashes in Santa Lucia di Piave, Italy, killing four people and injuring six. (BBC) The United States Senate confirms Michael Mukasey as the Attorney General of the United States. (Reuters) At least 29 miners are killed in a gas leak in a colliery in China's Guizhou province. (BBC) Pakistan Television quotes President Pervez Musharraf as saying that Pakistan will hold elections before 15 February 2008.[citation needed] 2007 North Sea flood: a 3 metre storm tide heads for the English Channel, causing dozens of flood warnings by the UK's Environment Agency. Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls an emergency COBRA meeting for Friday, as the wave could potentially affect thousands of properties and a threat to many lives. The tidal wave is thought to be caused by gale-force winds off Scotland and high tides. 200 are evacuated. (Daily Mail) (BBC) At least seven construction workers are killed and 15 others injured when a bridge under construction collapses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (BBC) 2007 Georgian demonstrations: Georgia's opposition says it is suspending anti-government protests in Tbilisi, after President Mikhail Saakashvili declared a state of emergency and closed all independent news outlets. (IHT) President Mikhail Saakashvili justifies the police action by saying that neighboring Russia was stirring trouble and that he had expelled three Russian diplomats. (VOA) President Mikhail Saakashvili announces that he will participate in a special presidential election on January 5, 2008, and that a referendum will held on the same day for the timing of parliamentary elections, which the opposition had demanded be held next spring. (NYT) The United States Congress overrides President George W. Bush's veto of the $23 billion Water Resource Bill. (CNN) Asian markets drop sharply for the third time in five sessions. The volatile Hang Seng Index drops nearly 1,000 points on the day, and the Shanghai Composite Index ends nearly 5% lower. (MarketWatch)