Portal:Current events/2008 January 17

January 17, 2008 (Thursday)

NYSE Euronext, the holding company for the New York Stock Exchange, agrees to buy the American Stock Exchange for $260 million in stock. (Fox Business)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Russian security officer Vasily Khitryuk is convicted of spying for Lithuania. (PR-inside)
Crash landing at London Heathrow: A British Airways Boeing 777 flying from Beijing, China to London, England lands on the grass short of the south runway and continues onto the runway, stopping on the white stripes, injuring 13 people, but resulting in no fatalities. The chaos results in the cancellation of 200 flights. (BBC News)
War in Pakistan (2004–present): Another Pakistani security outpost near the border with Afghanistan is abandoned by government troops due to threats from pro-Taliban fighters. (Aljazeera)
Civil unrest in Kenya (2007–2008): Kenya's police fire into the air to disperse opposition supporters in cities across the country on the second day of protests against disputed polls. (BBC News)
The Russian government closes British Council offices in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. (BBC News)^{[permanent dead link‍]}