Portal:Current events/2007 November 18

November 18, 2007 (Sunday)

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former Prime Minister, announces he will dissolve the Forza Italia party and found a new one called Freedom People's Party. (BBC)
Japan resumes whaling of humpbacks for the first time in 40 years. Greenpeace and other environmentalist groups condemn the decision. (BBC)
Cyclone Sidr: Rescue efforts reach the most remote areas of Bangladesh, as the death toll rises to 2,400 people. (BBC)
2007 Burmese anti-government protests: ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong says Burma will not be suspended from the organization. (BBC)
Hong Kong voters go to the polls in District Council elections, with pro-Beijing parties expected to recover. (BBC)
2007 Pakistani state of emergency:
- Hina Jilani leads a protest in London to ask for the release of all political prisoners and to vocalize the call for President Pervez Musharraf's resignation. (BBC)
- United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says President Pervez Musharraf should lift the state of emergency and free political opponents. (BBC)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez opens the 2007 OPEC meeting in Saudi Arabia, warning the United States against attacking Iran. (BBC)
2007 Writers Guild of America strike: Screenwriters announce they will resume negotiations with movie studios on November 26. (BBC)
Cyclone Sidr: Rescue efforts in Bangladesh continue, with helicopters and ships being used to reach isolated areas. (BBC)
28 people die in a fire at a Saudi Aramco gas pipeline in Hawiya, Saudi Arabia. Twelve more people are missing. (BBC)
Strikes in France: Transport workers strike for the fifth consecutive day, rejecting an offer by public railway company SNCF. (BBC)
George Charamba, the spokesman for Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, says the Mugabe government is preparing for a British invasion. (BBC)
Hashim Thaçi, a former rebel leader who has promised to declare Kosovo's independence if mediation efforts fail, declares victory for his party in the parliamentary election. (AP via Google News)
An explosion in a coal mine in Zasyadko, Ukraine, kills at least 63 people and leaves many more trapped below ground. (BBC)
Jimmie Johnson wins his second straight NASCAR Nextel Cup championship for the 2007 season. (NYT) (Bloomberg) (LA Times)