THE YEAR THAT WAS - Best of 2007
DECEMBER
xxn bear parents enjoy a New Years visit to Japan (Osaka, Kyoto, Yohohama and Tokyo) 2007dec28 - 2008jan02.
Nepal's lawmakers have voted (12/29) to abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic. But King Gyanendra will remain on the throne, stripped of powers, until assembly elections expected by mid-April.
China has ruled out (12/29) full democracy in Hong Kong by 2012 but flagged universal suffrage for 2017. The decision is likely to upset democrats pushing for 2012 as a deadline for changes in the way the chief executive and the legislature are chosen.
Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto 貝娜齊爾布托 has been killed (12/27) in a gun and bomb attack as she left a political rally in the city of Rawalapindi. A suicide bomber exploded after shooting the former Prime Minister, killing 20 people and wounding 56.
In Thailand's first elections Sunday (12/23) after a coup 15 months ago, the People Power Party, which has an anti-coup platform and has campaigned to bring back the ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has won the most seats but failed to secure a majority in Parliament. PPP won 228 seats -- just 13 short of an absolute majority.
South Korea has chosen a new head of state, with Lee Myung Bak 李明博 claiming victory in the presidential poll (12/19).
Dmitry Medvedev 第一副總理梅德韋杰夫, Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor to Russia's presidency, invited Mr. Putin (12/11) to become his prime minister if he is elected in March.
Climate Change: The Indonesian island of Bali and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change hosted the largest gathering of climate experts and countries in a decade 12/3-14. The Bali conference aims to address the planet's growing emissions amid warnings the Asia-Pacific region is already suffering rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions.
Japanese and Chinese diplomacy is tested on the 70th anniversary of the "rape of Nanking".
Sailors set off from Fremantle on the inaugural Antarctica Cup, a non-stop race to circumnavigate Antarctica, over a distance of 14,600 nautical miles.
NOVEMBER
Australian Labor party leader Kevin Rudd has taken the party to victory in Australia's federal election (SAT 11/24) ending Prime Minister John Howard's 11-year rule. Kevin Rudd becomes the 26th prime minister of Australia less than 12 months after becoming Labor leader.
BHP Billiton in November 2007 proposed acquiring Rio Tinto for more than USD130 billion in a deal that would unite the world's No. 1 and No. 3 miners.
OCTOBER
nxx dog parents start investing in China's A-share market after the Shanghai Composite, one of the best performing indexes in the year 2007, takes a sharp tumble following a record high of 6092.06.
China's Communist Party elite gathers on Monday (10/15-21) for the nation's most important political event in five years. At the 17th Congress, careers of top personnel will be killed off and rising stars are expected to emerge as successors to President Hu, while revamped policies will be unveiled. 十七大 胡锦涛 吴邦国 温家宝 贾庆林 李长春 习近平 李克强 贺国强 周永康当选中央政治局常委 “科学发展观”写入党章
A year before the Beijing Summer Games, the 2007 Special Olympics (10/02-11) in Shanghai will be China's biggest international event ever and comes as the country is trying to improve its treatment of people with disabilities. MM nxx struggles back to work with TeamUSA SB118998640035929205
DPRK state media broadcast (10/2) still images of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il 北韓領袖金正日 meeting South Korea's president Roh Moo-hyun 南韓總統盧武鉉, describing the summit as a positive step for reunification. President Roh has been feted at a state dinner in Pyongyang. The summit is only the second time the leaders of the two Koreas have met. The last meeting was in 2000, also in Pyongyang.
Presidential election in Argentina.
Pakistan decides who follows Pervez Musharraf as president—or at least how a new president is to be chosen.
SEPTEMBER
Taiwan's DPP has passed a resolution (9/30) recommending a new constitution - with its implications of independence from China - in a move that will outrage both rival China and chief ally, the United States. After two hours of debate, about 300 representatives of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party approved a Normal Country Resolution, 民進黨全會通過正常國家決議文提出要早日完成台灣正名制定新憲法（正名制憲和入聯公投）which will serve as road map for the government in its efforts to create a Taiwan identity.
China aims to play a stabilization role in global markets through its USD200-billion sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation (CIC) chairman Lou Jiwei says. 中國投資有限公司09/29成立，註冊資本金為兩千億美元，由樓繼偉出任董事長，高西慶任總經理，胡懷邦做監事長。中國投資有限公司，是依據《公司法》設立的國有獨資公司，目前從事的外匯投資業務，以境外金融組合產品為主。
Thousands of Burmese protesters have been marching in Rangoon despite a bloody crackdown by police (9/26), one day after President Bush announced new economic sanctions against Burma.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 安倍晉三 announced his resignation at a nationally televised press conference in Tokyo (9/12). Six weeks ago, Mr. Abe's Liberal Democratic Party was heavily defeated in parliamentary elections. Yasuo Fukuda (前內閣官房長官福田康夫和父親福田赳夫同於71歲高齡出任首相 ) won the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (9/23), but he won't be sworn in as prime minister until Tuesday (9/25).
The Women's World Cup soccer tournament kicked off (9/10-30) in China's five host cities Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Tianjin. And the winner is ... Germany, again! Birgit Prinz and company secured their second world championship in a row with a 2-0 triumph over Brazil. Even Brazilian superstar Marta could not crack the German defense which finished the tournament without conceding a single goal. Brazil showed the much stronger performance in the first half, but Prinz put Germany in the 52nd minute. Ten minutes later German goalie Nadine Angerer prevented a possible Brazilian comeback by saving a Marta penalty before Simone Laudehr put the game away four minutes from time. US v Norway 4-1 takes the bronze. Entire FIFA schedule, Groups and standings, and Info on the US team
More than 20 heads of state and government from APEC meet in Sydney to discuss regional issues.
The UN General Assembly meets in New York, and the Rugby World Cup kicks off in France.
AUGUST
xxn visits nxx in Tianshui (08/10), Lixian (08/11-13), and Lanzhou (08/13-15) before flying back to the US (08/24) to join HWL (08/27) in LA as diamond expert to earn her crust. nxx inspects new home at Lake Mälaren.
More than 3,000 athletes from 200-odd countries compete in the World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
Experts gather at the European Marine Biology Symposium in Kiel, Germany, to discuss the effects of climate change on the ocean's ecosystems.
JULY
The boards of Dow Jones and News Corp meet and seal a deal (7/31) after a key Bancroft trust decides to vote for the USD60-a-share offer. More than a century of Bancroft family ownership of Dow Jones will officially end with a shareholders' vote (12/13) on the USD5.16 billion sale to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. People close to the matter said a proxy-vote count showed holders owning more than half the voting power approved the deal.
China condemned the former Communist chief of Shanghai for "totally betraying" party principles, state media Xinhua reported on Thursday (7/26), promising to make a public example of him ahead of a key congress later this year. Chen Liangyu has been accused of abusing power to give cronies access to city social welfare funds, helping them illegally buy state-owned businesses, and "dallying with women and trading power for sex".
Iraq won the Asian Cup at the continental competition.
The fifth Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," took in USD44.8 million on its opening day, the biggest single-day gross on a Wednesday (7/11) while "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final installment of J.K. Rowling's seven-book Harry Potter saga, hits stores July 21.
Portugal takes over the EU presidency.
JUNE
Britain remained on its highest security-alert level after a string of attempted terrorist attacks over the weekend. The arrest of several suspects and TV surveillance footage are helping police uncover how the attacks were planned.
The G8 summit is held in Heiligendamm, Germany.
For the first time since 1851, the America's Cup is hosted in Europe—in Valencia, Spain. Also for the first time, Venezuela hosts the Copa América, Latin America's football championship.
MAY
BV xxn graduates from GIA in Carlsbad as gemologist and starts to make a meager living at GIA lab.
England and Scotland mark the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union of their parliaments.
Presidential elections in France and Turkey.
Lovers of good movies flock to the Cannes film festival; lovers of bad music tune in to the Eurovision song contest.
The winner of the Lulu Blooker prize, the world's first literary prize devoted to books based on blogs or websites, is announced.
APRIL
Deadline for the complete destruction of Libya's chemical weapons.
America commemorates the 400th anniversary of its first English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
Nicholas Negroponte's "USD100 laptop" goes on sale to developing countries, initially for about USD130.
MARCH
The League of Arab States summit takes place in Cairo.
The world's most-wanted man, Osama bin Laden, turns 50.
FEBRUARY
MM nxx signs Thggold contract which is backdated Sept 2006 and starts to travel between Perth WA and Gansu.
Chinese celebrate the Year of the Pig (2/18), MM nxx in Epping, Haberfield, and Constitution Hill.
Britain relinquishes command of NATO forces in Afghanistan to a "composite command", likely to be headed by American troops.
JANUARY
Microsoft launches the consumer edition of its new operating system, Windows Vista.
Germany takes over the presidency of the EU from Finland, and that of the G8 from Russia.
Ban Ki-moon 潘基文 replaces Kofi Annan 安南 as secretary-general of the UN.
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And What's Ahead
The World in 2008 Audio Slideshow
Merriam-Webster Words of the Year | New words and senses from the 2007 update of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
Also of note:
WSJ Year-End Review of Markets and Finance
2007: TOP STORIES, VIDEOS AND PHOTOS
Top Ten OZ
News stories missed in 2007
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