Portal:Current events/2007 July 31

July 31, 2007 (Tuesday)

Nuradin Abdi, a Somali citizen living in the United States, pleads guilty to providing material support to terrorists in connection with a plot to blow up a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. (CNN)
The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega offers to give up SAM-7 surface-to-air missiles in exchange for helicopters, surgical supplies and medicine from the United States. (AP via Washington Post)
The board of News Corporation formally approves a $5 billion bid for Dow Jones with Dow Jones agreeing to the terms. (Reuters) (ABC News Australia), (CNN Money)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Archaeologists discover the remains of the lost city of Rhakotis in Alexandria's East Bay. (National Geographic)
Retired United States Army Lieutenant-General Philip Kensinger is censured by the Army over his role in the series of errors following the death of Ranger Pat Tillman in 2004. (AP via New York Times)
The United Nations Security Council authorises up to 26,000 troops and soldiers being sent to the Darfur region of Sudan (United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur or UNAMID). (Reuters)
The United States House of Representatives passes the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill 411-8. It bans lobbyists and their clients from giving members of the United States Congress gifts and provides for mandatory disclosure of earmarks in expenditure bills. (Fox News)
Australia and New Zealand refer a dispute over an Australian ban on apple imports from New Zealand to the World Trade Organization. (ABC News Australia)
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is jailed for six years, fined Rs. 25,000 and his probation plea rejected on charges of obtaining weapons from gangsters in a case associated with the 1993 Mumbai bombings. (Sky)
Worsening floods affecting eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal has led to millions of people leaving their homes. (BBC News) 160 people confirmed dead in Bangladesh alone.
Flood alerts are issued for Hubei province in China as the swollen Yangtze River puts the Three Gorges Dam to the test. Another 27 people have died and Beijing's airport was closed on Monday night due to heavy rain. (Reuters) (AP via Washington Post) Archived 2012-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
Khang Khek Ieu aka Comrade Duch, a former Khmer Rouge prison chief, has been handed over to a United Nations backed genocide tribunal. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
Operation Banner, the deployment of British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland, ends at midnight marking the conclusion of the Northern Ireland peace process. Operation Banner has been the longest British Army operation in history, lasting 38 years. (RTÉ) (BBC)
Zimbabwe:
- The ZANU-PF political party in Zimbabwe declares its support for making President Robert Mugabe, head of state since 1979, president-for-life. (IRIN)
- The International Monetary Fund estimates that inflation in Zimbabwe could reach 100,000% by the end of 2007. (ABC)
The Australian Synchrotron officially opens in Melbourne, Victoria. (ABC News Australia)