Portal:Current events/2007 April 11

April 11, 2007 (Wednesday)

Trade officials from the United States, European Union, India and Brazil meet in New Delhi, India, to revive the World Trade Organization's Doha round of negotiations. (Forbes) (BusinessWeek)
The United States Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates meets with the Defense Ministers of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark as well as officials from Estonia and Romania to discuss progress in Afghanistan in expectation of a Taliban offensive. Two Canadian soldiers are killed when a roadside bomb explodes. (New York Times) (Reuters via Washington Post) Archived 2012-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
The United States Senate votes to ease funding restrictions on stem-cell research but President Bush threatens to veto the bill. (BBC)
The United States extends the tour of duty for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from a year to 15 months. (BBC)
Joseph Biden, chair of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential candidate, calls for the use of military force in Darfur. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
A spring snow storm hits the midwestern United States, leading to the cancellation of flights and closure of schools. (CNN)
Former U.S. Senator and prospective presidential candidate Fred Thompson announces he has lymphoma. (Bloomberg)
Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina is charged with murder. (BBC)
Traces of water vapor are reported to have been found in the atmosphere of HD 209458 b, a first for extrasolar planets. (Xinhua)
Several explosions in Algiers, Algeria, leave 23 dead and dozens of people injured. (Sky) (BBC)
Russian deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov says a U.S. war against Iran would lead to a catastrophe. (RIAN)
Macau's Monetary Authority says that holders of the North Korean accounts frozen at a bank by the United States can now withdraw or transfer their money. (CNN)
North Korea claims that it can shut down its main nuclear reactor within a month. (ABC News Online) (BBC)
Protestors gather in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to call for the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. (BBC)
Premier of the People's Republic of China Wen Jiabao arrives in Japan for a summit visit that could help improve bilateral relations. He is the first Chinese Premier to visit Japan in almost seven years. (BBC)
American novelist Kurt Vonnegut dies on April 11, 2007, in Manhattan after a fall at his Manhattan home several weeks prior results in irreversible brain injuries
There will be a runoff election to select the next President of East Timor after no candidate achieves a majority of votes in the first round of voting. There are three candidates in contention for the runoff; the Prime Minister of East Timor Dr José Ramos-Horta, the Fretilin candidate Francisco Guterres and Fernando de Araújo of the Democratic Party. (ABC News Online) (AFP via News Limited) (BBC)
Ice hockey: The 2007 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. The inaugural matchup features the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario.
Football: The semi-finals of Copa del Rey begin in Nou Camp. Argentinian Lionel Messi scored a spectacular goal against Getafe CF. That goal is very similar to a Diego Maradona's goal against England in Mexico World Cup 1986. Both of them passed six defenders including goalkeeper and scored.