2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Party breakdown
15 parties were eligible to participate in the elections. On 13 September 2007, Patriots of Russia and Party of Russia's Rebirth created a coalition, leaving only 14 parties to participate. All 14 parties have presented their lists of candidates to the Central Election commission. However, the Electoral Commission decided the Russian Ecological Party "The Greens" would not be able to stand, due to an alleged large number of faked signatures (17%, more than the allowed 5%) in their supporters' lists. Nationalist People's Union decided to endorse the Communist Party.


2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Party breakdown
A number of parties contested the election. The biggest and most popular party in Russia is United Russia, which supports the policies of Vladimir Putin. On 1 October 2007, Putin announced he would run first place on the United Russia list and that he might consider becoming Prime Minister after the elections.


2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Party breakdown
Other pro-Kremlin parties crossing the seven percent threshold include the new Fair Russia party, led by the Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia Sergey Mironov, and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (whose candidates included Andrei Lugovoi, wanted in the UK for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko and elected ), which has also been favourable towards President Putin's policies.


2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Party breakdown
The largest opposition party is the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which saw its share of the vote cut in half between 1999 and 2003. It came in second with over 11% of the vote, however. The liberal democratic opposition was represented by the free-market Union of Rightist Forces, the more socially minded Yabloko, and Civilian Power representing right liberal ideology, none of which won any seats.


2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Foreign election observers
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) planned to send a large team of election monitors to Russia for the election, but scuttled the plans after accusing Moscow of imposing curbs and delaying monitors' visas (Russian officials denied the claim). Consequently, only 400 foreign monitors from international organisations (330 of them from OSCE) were on hand to observe at some of Russia's 95,000 polling stations.


2007 Russian legislative election, Parties, Foreign election observers
Observers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) inspected 30 precinct election commissions in the electoral district of the city of Moscow. The statement issued by the mission states the election of deputies of the State Duma "in the election district observed by the Mission was legitimate, free and open, and basically conformed to the requirements of the national legislation of the Russian Federation and its international obligations."


2007 Russian legislative election, Campaign
The campaign season was permitted by law to begin on 3 November and end on 30 November. All the parties were provided with some free television and print access, and on-air candidate debates at times appeared informative.


2007 Russian legislative election, Campaign, United Russia
On 1 October 2007 President Putin announced at the convention of the United Russiaparty that he would "accept" its invitation to head its list of candidates, although hedeclined to join the party. In his acceptance speech, Putin stated that a suggestion by a previous speaker that he become the prime minister after his second term as president ends "is entirely realistic, but it is too soon to talk about this at the moment because at least two conditions would first need to be met. United Russia declined to participate in any broadcast political debates, but on 1 October approved the program that pledged to continue Putin's policy course." The election programme was entitled "Putin's Plan: a worthy future for a great country". The United Russia stressed Russian nationalism and an anti-Western image.


2007 Russian legislative election, Results, Preliminaries
As of 02:00, 3 December Moscow Time about 47.14% votes had been counted. Four parties passed the 7% threshold: United Russia 63.2%, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 11.5%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 9.1%, and Fair Russia 7.8%. This was consistent with exit polls conducted by VTsIOM, which predicted 61%, 11.5%, 8.8%, 8.4% respectively. Exit polls conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation showed similar results: 62.3%, 11.8%, 8.4%, 8.3%.


2007 Russian legislative election, Results, Official results
Results mostly repeated the ones of the previous legislative election. The ruling centrist party United Russia, leftist Communist Party and nationalist LDPR passed the threshold again; the moderately socialist Fair Russia took the place of Rodina, absorbing many of its members and most of its electorate. United Russia kept its leading position, again receiving a supermajority (more than ⅔ of seats), which gives it an opportunity to make changes to the Constitution of Russia.


2007 Russian legislative election, Results, Regional results
Although the United Russia became the leading party in each region, in different regions of the Russian Federation, election results vary considerably. While in metropolitan areas of Moscow and Saint Petersburg with 50-55% turnout United Russia got only about 50% of the votes, the national republics, especially in North Caucasus, provided much stronger voter turnout and support for the ruling party.


2007 Russian legislative election, Results, Regional results
According to the official results, the highest turnout was in Chechnya at 99.5%, of which 99.36% votes were cast for United Russia; the Chechen pro-Moscow leader Ramzan Kadyrov had publicly promised beforehand to deliver 100 percent of his republic's vote for Putin. In the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia, where the official results also said around 99 percent of the republic's population had voted and nearly all of them for the pro-Putin party, the elections were preceded by mass protests against the government, and observers suggested that in fact only 8% of people turned out to vote there.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
Opposition parties and some independent observers reported widespread abuses, such as strong bias in the Russian media, ballot stuffing, bribery of voters, and coercion of workers and students to vote for United Russia. Nevertheless, critics mostly agree that the United Russia would gain majority even if the election were fair.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
Alexander Kynev, a political analyst with the monitoring organisation Golos, said they "have seen a campaign of unprecedented pressure on the voters." Golos said it had received more than 3,000 reports of election abuse on a special hotline. It said various violations during the voting amounted to "an organised campaign". Golos made public an analysis of the 1,329 complaints that were filed during the elections and of the observations of its 2,500 election monitors. According to the report, 23% of all complaints involved officials and police hindering the work of election monitors, 22% involved reports of illegal campaigning, 15% percent involved purported manipulations of the voter lists, 11% percent involved pressure on voters and 9% involved alleged violations of regulations protecting voter privacy.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
The Russia's Communist Party said its 300,000 observers identified about 10,000 violations, among them the alleged mass falsification of Duma vote in the Caucasus republic of Dagestan. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov called a news conference to criticize the official results. Journalist Grigory Belonuchkin, delegated as an observer by the CPRF in Moscow Oblast, claims that the chairpersons of several polling stations attempted to forge the results while transmitting them to the above committee, rigging vote count in favor of the United Russia.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky said "The results of this election were not counted, were not analyzed, were not gathered. They were ordered." He also issued a warning to Yabloko supporters: "Be very careful. We are entering a time when, if something happens, there will be nowhere to turn. A one-party system is built in such a way that there is no court, no law, no defense of any kind."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
The Communist Party, Yabloko, and the Union of Rightist Forces are considering filing a joint complaint with the Russian Supreme Court against the official results of the Duma elections. The parties also said they will likely appeal the election results to the European Court of Human Rights, even though a Yabloko-filed case contesting the results of the 2003 elections is still pending there.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
Pro -Kremlin Vladimir Zhirinovsky complained of vote-rigging in several regions where his ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia did worse than in the rest of the country, but blaming only local authorities. "Just as road accidents cannot be avoided in any country in the world, there are officials who manipulate (elections), who falsify, even though no one has asked them to do it," Zhirinovsky said.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who heads the opposition movement The Other Russia, has dismissed the elections as a "farce" and "rigged from the start". Kasparov, who spent five days in jail previous week for holding an unauthorised march, said he plans to lay a wreath outside the Central Election Commission to "mourn the death of Russian democracy". Former Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov also said the elections were illegitimate. "There is not doubt that these elections were not free. They were dishonest and unfair. The result is that this Parliament will not be legitimate," he said.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
The deputy head of Central Election Commission of Russia, Nikolai Konkin, said "all complaints and allegations will be carefully examined" and pledged to respond in the coming days. Already on 3 December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told CNN the complaints were "groundless". He also said he had no reason to doubt the Chechen result. President Putin himself described the "honest, as transparent as possible and open" election as a "good example of domestic political stability".


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
In mid-December journalist of The New Times (Russia) Natalia Morar published an article titled "Black Fund of Kremlin" in which she's alleged political parties in Russia being funded from a secret unaccountable fund of the Kremlin. After that Natalia Morar, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova and a permanent resident of Russia, was forbidden to enter the Russian Federation. The International Federation of Journalists called on the European bodies to investigate the case. Russia's Union of Journalists also condemned the deportation.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism
To protest the official results of the election (according to which 98.4% of registered voters participated in the election, and 99.2% of them voted for the United Russia), voters in the republic of Ingushetia collected written and signed claims from adult people who did not vote, 87,340 as of 10 January 2008. This is 54.5% of the republic's totalelectorate.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Domestic criticism, Court challenges to the election results
On 19 March 2008 the court of town Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast started hearings on the falsification of the election results in two districts of town. In particular the plaintiffs, representatives of Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Fair Russia and Yabloko parties allege that the results of the United Russia were artificially increased from 54.4% to 82.4%. According to the plaintiffs the falsification of similar magnitude were registered throughout all eight districts of Dolgoprudny but on the most of the other districts the observers managed to prevent the counterfeit reports from getting into the final results. If the allegation will be found to be true the central electoral commission would have to modify the final national results; it also may be the grounds of starting criminal prosecution against the electoral officials of Dolgoprudny with a possible sentence of up to four years of imprisonment.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
According to a joint statement by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, elections on 2 December "were not fair and failed to meet many OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections". According to the statement,


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
In general, the elections were well organised and observers noticed significant technical improvements. However, they took place in an atmosphere which seriously limited political competition and with frequent abuse of administrative resources, media coverage strongly in favour of the ruling party, and an election code whose cumulative effect hindered political pluralism. There was not a level political playing field in Russia in 2007.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
As chief of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) mission Luc Van den Brande said at a news conference in Moscow the elections were not fair, including the "unprecedented" example of a president still in office running in parliamentary elections. Van den Brande said the president and his office had exerted an "overwhelming" influence on the campaign, and also criticized flaws in the secrecy of the vote. "If Russia has managed democracy, then these were managed elections," he said, and warned: "While we are happy that there was the fall of the (Berlin) Wall, we don't want to have a new dividing line in Europe in terms of democracy."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
Swedish parliamentarian Goran Lennmarker, who headed the OSCE team, said he was disappointed by the election process and said: "It was not fair election."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
Finnish parliamentarian Kimmo Kiljunen, the deputy president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and a member of its election monitoring mission in Russia, questioned the accuracy of the reported Chechen election results in an interview to a Russian radio station, saying that it is "impossible that all voters come and vote for one and the same party." Commenting on his personal experience of observing about 10 polling stations, he said "my general point is that in principle what happened yesterday were normal elections and in technical sense they worked well."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
He also said, "And there's one specific aspect that is also problematic: the executive branch has made the election so that they almost chose this Parliament [...] And this is a problem. Government forces have been blended with the party base. And it is a very problematic situation that the president will be a candidate for one party, and will not be a member of the council, as well as governors of various regions who were candidates of one party - and will not be members of the Duma.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
This party political interference, and this is my own opinion, is the big problem. I will say the election was made in a Russian style – I can't say whether democratic or not – I can't analyze it in this aspect". Commenting a statement by the host that "the president had a formal right to head the list of one of the parties" he said "I also think so. You didn't do it against your law. [ ...] I think the president has the right to be a candidate, the governor has the right to be a candidate - I'm not criticizing it, I just ask - how is this possible?"


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, European institutions
According to Russian RIA Novosti news agency, Igor Borisov of Russia's Central Election Commission said the OSCE and Council of Europe allegations were ungrounded and that the commission had not received any official reports from these organizations. Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov dismissed the criticisms of the Western election monitors as "politically motivated and subjective".


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Foreign criticism, Foreign governments
there were many reports and allegations of media restrictions as well as harassment of opposition parties and non-governmental organizations in the run-up to the elections and on election day, and that procedures during the electoral campaign did not meet international standards and commitments voluntarily assumed by Moscow. The EU hopes that investigations will clarify the accuracy of these allegations.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) published a detailed report on election day why they considered the elections a show election.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
According to British newspaper The Independent, "critics condemned the election as an exercise in phantom democracy. Although voters had a choice of 11 parties, the only ones with a chance of making it into Russia's notoriously feckless Duma are either creations of the Kremlin, or loyal to it" and "Many Russians believe that the loss of freedom has been an acceptable price to pay for the stability."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
However, according to Nikolai N. Petro's opinion article in the International Herald Tribune, "Far from indicating a retreat from democracy, the Russian electorate's rejection of the current opposition may be a sign of the country's progress toward a mature democracy."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
Norman Stone in The Times guest comment article though admitting that "No doubt there are elements of truth in [the allegations]", wrote "President Putin is popular, and from a Russian perspective, you can easily see why. Indeed, the outcome of his recent election more than slightly resembles General de Gaulle's success in 1958". He concluded on Putin: "if Russians see him as the best hope, they should be understood."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
On the other hand, Denmark's daily Politiken, noted that the Russian election "could be best described as a swindle." The paper argued that Western countries should not accept its results "lest they compromise their own democratic values and deprive Russians of hope in a democratic future for their country".


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
Britain's Financial Times observed that "Russia's relations with the West threatened to hit a new low...as Western leaders and institutions denounced parliamentary elections at the weekend as unfair and undemocratic. But independent observers suggested both sides could seek to contain the damage as Russia heads into a crucial and uncertain period."


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said through his spokesman that he is concerned "about the conduct of the elections, in particular when it comes to freedom of expression and association," but there was no sign of any change of the alliance's policy towards Moscow. Van den Brande also said there was no prospect of Russia being thrown out of the Council of Europe.


2007 Russian legislative election, Criticism, Western media criticism and commentary
According to Zbigniew Brzezinski "the overt and increasingly arbitrary political manipulation of Russia's political process culminated in the elections to Duma in late 2007 that were not much more than a state controlled public plebiscite. The ultimate irony is that, at the time, Putin could in all probability prevailed even in a truly contested electoral process".


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute
The Russia–Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices paid by Belarus, a country which has been closely allied with Moscow and forms a loose union state with Russia. It escalated on 8 January 2007, when the Russian state-owned pipeline company Transneft stopped pumping oil into the Druzhba pipeline which runs through Belarus because Belarus was siphoning the oil off the pipe without mutual agreement. On 10 January, Transneft resumed oil exports through the pipeline after Belarus ended the tariff that sparked the shutdown, despite differing messages from the parties on the state of negotiations.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute
The Druzhba pipeline, the world's longest, supplies around 20% of Germany's oil. It also supplies oil to Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
For a long time, the gas price for most of the former USSR republics was significantly lower than for the Western European countries. In 2006 Belarus paid only $46 per 1000 m³, a fraction compared to $290 per 1000 m³ paid by Germany. The annual Russian subsidies to the Belarusian economy were around $4 billion, as Russian president Vladimir Putin said on 9 January 2007. In 2006 Russia announced a higher price for 2007. After Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, rejected this price change, and without a new treaty, Gazprom threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus from 10:00 MSK on 1 January 2007. Both sides finally agreed on the following terms:


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
Another part of the energy dispute is the dispute over oil. In 1995, Russia and Belarus agreed that no customs would be imposed on oil exported to Belarus. In exchange, the revenues from this oil processed in Belarus would be shared by 15% for Belarus and 85% for Russia. In 2001, Belarus unilaterally canceled this agreement while Russia continued its duty-free exports. Lukashenko's state kept all the revenues, and many Russian oil companies moved their processing capacities to Belarus. On this arrangement, Russia also lost billions of dollars annually.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
Belarus imposed a tariff of US$45 per ton of oil flowing through the Druzhba pipeline, prompting Russia to claim that the move was illegal and to threaten retaliation, since it contradicts bilateral trade agreements and worldwide practice. Only imported or exported goods are being tariffed while transit goods are not objects of tariffing. Russia rejected paying the newly imposed Belarusian tariffs.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
In compensation, Belarus began siphoning off oil from the pipeline. According to Semyon Vainshtok, the head of Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft, Belarus had siphoned off 79,900 metric tons of oil since 6 January. Vainshtok said this was illegal and the move was made "without warning anyone." In response, Russia stopped oil transport on 8 January.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
A Belarusian team led by Vice-Premier Andrei Kobyakov flew to Moscow on 9 January to pursue a solution but initially reported that they had not been able to start negotiations.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Background
On 10 January, the Belarusian government lifted the tariff, and Russia agreed to start negotiations. The oil flow was resumed at 05:30 GMT on 11 January. In the wake of the dispute, Gazprom acquired 50% stake in the Belarusian gas pipeline operator Beltransgaz for US$2.5 Billion.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, August 2007 developments
Following the alleged violation of previous agreements and the failure of negotiations, on 1 August 2007 Gazprom announced that it would cut gas supplies to Belarus by 45% from 3 August over a $456 million debt. Talks are continuing and Belarus has asked for more time to pay. Although the revived dispute is not expected to hit supplies to Europe, the European Commission is said to view the situation 'very seriously'. Following overnight negotiations in Moscow, on 3 August, $190 million of the debt was repaid, and Belarus was given a further week to pay the remainder or face a 30% cut in supplies.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, August 2007 developments
As of 8 August Belarus has fully paid its $460 million debt for Russian natural gas supplies, ending a dispute between the country and Gazprom [RTS: GAZP].


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Related disputes
The situation is reminiscent of other recent price tensions between Russia, one of the world's energy superpowers, and other states since the start of 2005. These have resulted in increases in the prices paid for gas by Moldova (now paying US$170 per 1,000 cubic meter), Georgia (US$235 per 1,000 cubic meter) and Ukraine (following the 2006 Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, which also resulted in a 4-day cut to European gas supplies).|  with Azerbaijan having recently stopped oil exports to Russia.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Related disputes
On 29 July 2006 Russia shut down oil export to Mažeikių oil refinery in Lithuania after an oil spill on the Druzhba pipeline system occurred in Russia's Bryansk oblast, near the point where a line to Belarus and Lithuania branches off the main export pipeline. Transneft said it would need one year and nine months to repair the damaged section. Although Russia cited technical reasons for stopping oil deliveries to Lithuania, Lithuania claims that the oil supply was stopped because Lithuania sold the Mažeikių refinery to Polish company PKN Orlen.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Impact
All IEA member countries who are net oil importers have legal obligation to hold emergency oil reserves, which is equivalent to at least 90 days of net oil imports of the previous year. Furthermore, under the EU regulations there is obligation to hold reserves equivalent to 90 days of consumption, so unlike the gas dispute with Ukraine in 2006, consumers were not affected. Poland had an 80-day oil reserve. The Czech Republic reported drawing oil from its 100-day reserves. Had the dispute prolonged, it is likely that alternative supplies would have been secured. International oil prices were not significantly affected.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Impact
The involved countries have, however, expressed concerns about the reliability of the Russia-Belarus oil pipeline and Belarus as an oil middleman supplier.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Impact
The events have also provoked renewed discussion on the government policy of phasing out nuclear power in Germany.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Reaction
The European Union has demanded an "urgent and detailed" explanation, according to a spokesman for Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Reaction
Piotr Naimski, Poland's deputy economics minister who is responsible for energy security, stated "This shows once again that arguments among various countries of the former Soviet Union between suppliers and transit countries mean that these deliveries are unreliable from our perspective."


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Reaction
German Economy Minister Michael Glos stated that the dispute showed that "one-side dependencies must not be allowed to develop."


2007 Russia–Belarus energy dispute, Reaction
Following a meeting with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the action, stating "It is not acceptable when there are no consultations about such actions". Commenting on the importance of trust in energy security, she said "That always destroys trust and no trusting, undisturbed cooperation can be built on that." Merkel continued by saying "We will certainly say to our Russian partners but also to Belarus that such consultations are the minimum when there are problems, and I think that that must become normality, as it would be within the European Union." Barroso said that "while there is no immediate risk to supplies, it is not acceptable" for such actions to be undertaken without prior consultation.


2007 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
The 2007 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Greg Schiano.


2007 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
For the first time in the history of Rutgers football, the team entered a season ranked—they were 16th in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. The Scarlet Knights finished the season with an 8–5 record that included a 52–30 victory over the Ball State Cardinals in the 2008 International Bowl. It marked the third consecutive appearance of the team in a post-season bowl game, and the second bowl game won by the team.


2007 Ryedale District Council election
The 2007 Ryedale District Council election to the Ryedale District Council was held on 3 May 2007. The whole council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. One seat was vacant in Pickering East until a by-election in June.


2007 Ryedale District Council election, Election result
3 Independent, 2 Conservative and 1 Liberal Democrat candidates were unopposed.


2007 S.League
2007 S.League was the twelfth season of Singapore's professional football league. It was won by Singapore Armed Forces, which was their sixth league title.


2007 S.League, Foreign players
Each club is allowed to have up to a maximum of 4 foreign players.


2007 SANFL Grand Final
The 2007 South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final saw the Central District Bulldogs defeat North Adelaide by 65 points to claim the club's sixth premiership victory.


2007 SANFL Grand Final
The match was played on Sunday 7 October 2007 at Football Park in front of a crowd of 30,493.


2007 SANFL season
The 2007 South Australian National Football League season was the 128th season of the top-level Australian rules football competition in South Australia.


2007 SAP Open
The 2007 SAP Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 118th edition of the tournament, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 12 through February 18, 2007. Third-seeded and reigning champion Andy Murray won the singles title.


2007 SAP Open, Finals, Doubles
Eric Butorac /  Jamie Murray defeated  Chris Haggard /  Rainer Schüttler 7–5, 7–6(8–6)


2007 SAP Open – Doubles
Jonas Björkman and John McEnroe were the defending champions, but did not participate this year.


2007 SAP Open – Doubles
Eric Butorac and Jamie Murray won the title, defeating Chris Haggard and Rainer Schüttler 7–5, 7–6(8–6) in the final.


2007 SAP Open – Singles
Andy Murray was the defending champion, and as the third seed won in the final 6–7(3–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–2), against unseeded Ivo Karlović.


2007 SCSA season
The 2007 SCSA Season was the 7th season of United Kingdom-based NASCAR style stock car racing, originally known as ASCAR.


2007 SCSA season, Race calendar
All races were held at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire.


2007 SCSA season, Race calendar
The season consisted of five meetings of two races each. The grid for the opening race of each meeting was set by a qualifying session with the second race grid being set by the finishing order of the first.


2007 SEABA Championship for Women
The 2007 SEABA Championship for Women was held in Phuket, Thailand from October 14 to October 20. The Philippines swept all of their assignments in the elimination round and beat Indonesia in the semifinals, but Thailand beat them in the championship match to clinch their fourth title.


2007 SEAT Cupra Championship
The 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship season was the fifth season of the SEAT Cupra Championship. It began on 1 April at Brands Hatch, and ended on 14 October at Thruxton, supporting rounds of the British Touring Car Championship.


2007 SEAT Cupra Championship, Teams and drivers
Drivers in the main class drove the new Mk2 SEAT León and drivers in the Cupra R class drove the older Mk1 SEAT León.


2007 SEAT Cupra Championship, Championship standings
Note: bold signifies pole position in class, italics signifies fastest lap in class


2007 SEC Championship Game
The 2007 SEC Championship Game was played on December 1, 2007 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The game determined the 2007 football champion of the Southeastern Conference. The LSU Tigers, winners of the Western division of the SEC, defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, who won the Eastern division, by a score of 21–14. This was the second time the two teams have met in the conference championship game. The first time was in 2001 when LSU defeated Tennessee, 31–20. The loss knocked the Volunteers, ranked #2 at the time, out of the BCS National Championship Game which was played at the 2002 Rose Bowl.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Selection process
The SEC Championship Game matches up the winner of the Eastern and Western divisions of the Southeastern Conference. The game was first played in 1992, when the conference expanded from 10 to 12 teams with the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina. The SEC was the first conference in college football to have a conference championship game.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
LSU was ranked as high as #1 in the country and was a favorite to play in the national title game, however those dreams were thought to have been shattered when the Tigers lost to unranked Arkansas in 3 overtime periods at home on the final game of the regular season. LSU finished the regular season with a 10–2 record. They were 6–2 in the SEC and won the SEC Western Division outright.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
Tennessee began the season with a highly anticipated out-of-conference matchup with California in Berkeley. The 15th ranked Vols lost to the 12th ranked Golden Bears, 45–31. Tennessee slipped in the polls, eventually losing twice more to Florida and Alabama, however, they finished the season strong, winning their last five games. In the final game of the regular season, the Volunteers needed to beat Kentucky in order to secure a berth in the SEC Championship Game. If Kentucky won, then Georgia would be the representative from the Eastern division.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Regular season
The game was an exciting one as it went into 4 overtime periods. The Volunteers eventually won it by sacking Kentucky QB Andre Woodson during a 2-point conversion attempt. Tennessee finished the regular season with a 9–3 overall record and a 6–2 record in the SEC Eastern division. They tied with Georgia as champions of the SEC East, however, by virtue of a head-to-head victory over Georgia, the Volunteers were the SEC East representatives in the championship game.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Pre-Game
Prior to the game, LSU was faced with many distractions. On Friday, November 30, news sources leaked that Nebraska had hired defensive coordinator Bo Pelini to be their new head coach. On the morning of game day, ESPN reported that LSU head coach Les Miles would be announced as the new head coach of Michigan. Later on that day, Les Miles called a press conference to announce that he was would not be leaving LSU to coach Michigan. Also on the minds of the Tigers, quarterback Matt Flynn would not start due to an injury. Instead, Ryan Perrilloux would get the start.


2007 SEC Championship Game, Game summary
LSU won the game by a score of 21–14, after Erik Ainge threw two interceptions in the 4th quarter.


2007 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2007 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 8–11, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome. The first, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds were televised by Raycom/LF Sports, and the SEC Championship Game was televised by CBS.


2007 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Florida won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Arkansas on March 11, 2007 by the score of 77 to 56.


2007 SEC Softball Tournament
The 2007 SEC Softball Tournament was held at Jane B. Moore Field on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama from May 10 through May 12, 2007. LSU won the tournament and earned the Southeastern Conference's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.


2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament took place on March 1–4, 2007 in Duluth, Georgia at the Arena at Gwinnett Center.


2007 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament
Vanderbilt won the tournament and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating LSU on March 4, 2007 by the score of 51 to 45.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team
The 2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2007 NCAA Division II softball season. The Cougars, led by nineteenth year head coach Sandy Montgomery, played their home games at Cougar Field on the SIUE campus as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). They finished the season as the NCAA Division II National Champions. In July 2017, the team was elected to the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Preseason
Despite the loss of graduated 1st Team All-American and GLVC Player of the Year Alicia DeShasier, good things were expected of the Cougars. Thirteen players returned from the 52–11 2006 squad that had played in the Division II Women's College World Series, including 3rd Team All-American and 1st team All-GLCV pitcher Sabra McCune and 1st team All-GLCV shortstop Kaeleigh Rousey, along with All-GLVC 2nd team first baseman Emily Lenart, plus All-GLVC honorable mentions pitcher Kaitlin Colosimo and catcher Libby Lenart.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Preseason
The Cougars were the No. 5-ranked team in the NFCA/ NCAA Division II preseason coaches poll.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season
The season began with the Cougars winning three of five games at the West Georgia Tournament, with both losses to nationally-ranked teams. They then won both ends of a doubleheader at Lincoln before going back South to win twelve of thirteen of games at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida, losing only to St. Cloud State. The GLVC schedule started with a Cougars' loss in the first half of a doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season
The loss was followed by a seven-game win streak (five in-conference) before SIUE lost one of two at Wisconsin–Parkside and two at eventual GLVC co-champion Lewis. They followed that up with nine wins in a row before dropping one at Missouri–Rolla, then closing out the GLVC schedule with four more wins.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season
The regular season ended with an overall record of 37–8 and a GLVC record of 19–5, which tied Lewis for the conference championship.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season, Highlights
During the regular season, sophomore Kaitlin Colosimo pitched a no-hit game against Missouri-St. Louis.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season, Highlights
Six Cougars were named to the All–Great Lakes Valley Conference teams:


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season, Highlights
Pitcher Kaitlin Colosimp was named to the Daktronics All-America Softball Third Team. She and outfielder Jodie Ohlau were also members of the Daktrronics Great Lakes All-Region team.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Regular season, Highlights
Coach Sandy Montgomery and assistants Valerie McCoy and Shannon Evans were selected as both the Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year and the 2007 NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason
The Cougars entered the double-elimination Great Lakes Valley Conference at  in East Peoria, Illinois as the #2 seed.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason
SIUE beat St. Joseph's in the opening round, Wisconsin–Parkside in the quarterfinals, and top seed Lewis in the first semifinal. After Lewis defeated Missouri–Rolla in the second semifinal, the Cougars won the Final to earn the GLVS's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason
The Cougars were the #3 seed at the Great Lakes Regional, hosted by top-seeded Lewis. After SIUE beat Shepherd in the first round, Kaitlin Colosimo pitched her second no-hitter of the season against Wayne State in the quarterfinals. SIUE then bested 4th seed Ferris State in the first semifinal. The regional final matched the Cougars with Grand Valley State, which had won four elimination games after falling to Wayne State in the first round. SIUE scored six runs in the first inning and went on to win the final 10–1 in five innings and advance to the Division II Women's College World Series.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason
SIUE arrived at the Division II Women's College World Series at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio on a 12-game winning streak. The Cougars continued their winning ways by downing Florida Southern in the opening round and Cal St. Stanislaus in the quarterfinals. In the first semifinal, Kaitlin Colosimo tossed her third no-hitter of the season against the defending champion and top-seeded Lock Haven Bald Eagles. Lock Haven came back to win the elimination bracket semifinal and set up the final. Lock Haven scored one run in the third inning.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason
The Cougars tied in the top half of the fourth only to have the Bald Eagles go back on top with a run in the bottom of the inning. SIUE once more tied the score in the sixth, and the game evolved into a pitching duel between Lock Haven's Kristin Erb and Kaitlin Colosimo, pitching in relief. The Cougars finally managed to score in the top of the twelfth inning, then held on to win the 2007 NCAA Division II Softball Championship.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason, Highlights
In the Great Lakes Regional, Kaitlin Colosimo threw her second no-hit game of the season versus Wayne State and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by outfielders Jodie Ohlau and Courtney Mall, catcher Libby Lenart, and shortstop Kaeleigh Rousey.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason, Highlights
In the Women's College World Series, Kaitlin Colosimo threw her third no-hitter against Lock Haven in the first semifinal and was again named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by outfielder Jodie Ohlau, catcher Libby Lenart, and shortstop Kaeleigh Rousey.


2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team, Postseason, Highlights
The National Championship game was the longest ever played, two innings longer than the previous record of ten innings set when Augustana defeated Bloomsburg for the 1991 title.


2007 SK Brann season
The 2007 season was SK Brann's 99th season and their 21st consecutive season in the Norwegian Premier League. Brann won the Norwegian Premier League in 2007. In the end, they finished 6 points ahead of their nearest rival, Stabæk. The team did cause a small sensation, and bitter disappointment among tens of thousands of Brann-supporters who had gathered in Bergen to watch the game live, on 20 October, by losing to Ålesund 1–2 in the 24th of 26 rounds, a match where a draw would have set aside all doubt about Brann's league win. However two days later, Viking defeated Brann's last rival to the gold medals Stabæk with a 2-1 result, thereby securing Brann the first league championship since 1963 anyway.


2007 SK Brann season
Brann also qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Cup for the first time after beating Club Brugge from Belgium in the qualifier. The team won its first victory in the group stage of the UEFA Cup by defeating the Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. On 21 December, the draw for the Round of 32 of The UEFA Cup was made and Brann will face a tough test against Premiership side Everton who won all four of the games in Group A. The first leg was lost at home 0 -2, 13 February. The return leg is at Goodison Park a week later. They lost the return leg 6-1


2007 SK Brann season
The Norwegian football cup ended for Brann in the 4th round, as in the 2006 season, where they was defeated by Viking.


2007 SK Brann season, Information
Manager: Mons Ivar MjeldeLeague: Norwegian Premier LeagueShirt supplier: Kappa Shirt sponsor: Sparebanken VestAverage league attendance: 17,225 League: Champions Norwegian Cup: 4th round (0-2 vs. Viking) UEFA Cup: Qualified for Round of 32Top goal scorer: Thorstein Helstad (22 in league, 27 in total)Player of the year: Thorstein Helstad


2007 SK Brann season, Squad
As of July 2007. Matches and goals updated as of 28 October and is for league only. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2007 SK Brann season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2007 SK Brann season, Matches (goals)
The table shows matches and goals in the Norwegian Premier League, Norwegian Cup, Royal League and European Cup/UEFA Cup, and was last updated after the game against FC Basel on 5 December 2007.


2007 SVL season
The 2007 Shakey's V-League (SVL) season was the fourth season of the Shakey's V-League.


2007 SVL season, 1st conference
The Shakey's V-League 4th Season 1st Conference was the 6th conference of the Shakey's V-League. The tournament was held from May 2007 until July 2007.


2007 SVL season, 2nd conference
The Shakey's V-League 4th Season 2nd Conference was the 7th conference of the Shakey's V-League.


2007 Sacramento Monarchs season
The 2007 WNBA season was the 11th for the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs qualified for the playoffs, but later fell to the San Antonio Silver Stars in three games.


2007 Sacramento Monarchs season, Offseason, Dispersal Draft
Based on the Monarchs' 2006 record, they would pick 10th in the Charlotte Sting dispersal draft. The Monarchs picked LaToya Bond.


2007 Sacramento State Hornets football team
The 2007 Sacramento State Hornets football team represented Sacramento State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season.


2007 Sacramento State Hornets football team
Sacramento State competed in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets were led by first-year head coach Marshall Sperbeck and played home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. They finished the season with a record of three wins and eight losses (3–8, 3–5 Big Sky). Sacramento State was outscored by its opponents 201–305 for the season.


2007 Sacramento State Hornets football team, Team players in the NFL
No Sacramento State players were selected in the 2008 NFL Draft.


2007 Saga gubernatorial election
A gubernatorial election was held on 8 April 2007 to elect the Governor of Saga Prefecture. Incumbent Yasushi Furukawa was re-elected.


2007 Sagan Tosu season
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2007 Sai Kung District Council election
The 2007 Sai Kung District Council election was held on 18 November 2007 to elect all 23 elected members to the 30-member District Council.


2007 Saint Barthélemy Territorial Council election
Elections to the Territorial Council were held in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Barthélemy for the first time on 1 July 2007. Since Bruno Magras, the incumbent mayor of Saint Barthélemy, got an absolute majority in the first round, a second round was not held. If a second round had been necessary, it would have been held on 8 July 2007.


2007 Saint Francis Cougars football team
The 2007 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2007 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 10th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 2nd place in the MSFA MEL division, but they received an at-large bid to the 2007 postseason NAIA playoffs.


2007 Saint Francis Cougars football team, Schedule
On September 29, 2007, the Saint Francis loss to Ohio Dominican snapped a 54-game regular season winning streak dating back to 2001.


2007 Saint Francis Red Flash football team
The 2007 Saint Francis Red Flash football team represented Saint Francis University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Red Flash were led by sixth-year head coach Dave Opfar and played their home games at DeGol Field. They finished the season 3–7 overall and 2–4 in NEC play to place fourth.


2007 Saint John, New Brunswick ward plebiscite
On October 9, 2007 the city of Saint John, New Brunswick held a plebiscite on a proposal regarding how its Common Council would be composed in the future. The question asked:


2007 Saint John, New Brunswick ward plebiscite
"Do you want the City to be divided into four wards of approximately equal population with two councillors to be elected by the voters in that ward, and two councillors to be elected at large?"


2007 Saint John, New Brunswick ward plebiscite, Results requirements
The results of the plebiscite were to be binding if greater than 60% of the voters approved the proposed mixed ward system. Any result of less than a 60% majority would not have been binding, and would have permitted the Common Council to decide how to proceed.


2007 Saint John, New Brunswick ward plebiscite, Voting dates, Advance polls at returning office
Tuesday, October 2, 2007Wednesday, October 3, 2007Thursday, October 4, 2007


2007 Saint Martin Territorial Council election
Elections to the Territorial Council were held in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin for the first time on 1 July and 8 July 2007. Since no candidate's list got an absolute majority in the first round, all lists with more than 10% of the vote went to a second round, where Louis Constant-Fleming obtained a relative majority.


2007 Saitama gubernatorial election
Saitama Prefecture held a gubernatorial election on August 26, 2007. Incumbent Ueda Kiyoshi was re-elected.


2007 Salford City Council election
The 2007 Salford City Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Salford City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council. Overall turnout was 29.36%.


2007 Salisbury District Council election
Elections to Salisbury District Council were held on 3 May 2007. The whole council was up for election, and the Conservatives lost overall control, but were still the largest party winning twenty-two of the fifty-five seats available.


2007 Salisbury District Council election
This was the last election of district councillors to take place in Salisbury. The following year, a government review of local government determined that the four district councils of Wiltshire were to be merged with Wiltshire County Council to form a new unitary authority with effect from 1 April 2009, when Salisbury would be abolished and its councillors' term of office would end two years early.


2007 Salisbury District Council election
Elections to the new unitary authority, Wiltshire Council, took place in June 2009.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred around midnight on 18 February 2007 on the Samjhauta Express, a twice-weekly train service connecting Delhi, India, and Lahore, Pakistan. Bombs were set off in two carriages, both filled with passengers, just after the train passed Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi. 70 people were killed in the ensuing fire and dozens more were injured. Of the 70 fatalities, most were Pakistani civilians. The victims also included some Indian civilians and three railway policemen.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
Investigators subsequently found evidence of suitcases with explosives and flammable material, including three undetonated bombs. Inside one of the undetonated suitcases, a digital timer encased in transparent plastic was packed alongside a dozen plastic bottles containing fuel oils and chemicals. After the bombing, eight unaffected carriages were allowed to continue onwards to Lahore with passengers.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
Both the Indian and Pakistani governments condemned the attack, and officials on both sides speculated that the perpetrators intended to disrupt improving relations between the two nations, since the attack came just a day before Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri was to arrive in New Delhi to resume peace talks with Indian leaders. There have been a number of breaks in the investigation of the bombing.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged eight people in the terrorist attack, including Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu cleric formerly affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. While Aseemanand has been released on bail, three persons charged in the case are absconding, and three others are in prison. The alleged mastermind, Sunil Joshi, was killed in 2007. In 2019, NIA court has acquitted all the accused.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
It has been allegedly linked to Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu fundamentalist group in India. Allegations were also concurred on Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic fundamentalist terror group in Pakistan. A United States report declared Arif Qasmani to be involved in the attack. Consequently, after consulting with the United Nations, the United States declared him an international terrorist.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
Questions were raised over a Pakistani national who was arrested after the bombings for not carrying valid papers and was seen as suspicious by the investigators, but was discharged within 14 days according to a statement of the first investigation officer assigned to the case. A court order had noted the statement of the police that no proof had been found against him, which was also stated later by one of the senior officers.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
A narco-analysis test was conducted on SIMI's leaders Safdar Nagori, Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez who had stated about Abdul Razzaq's involvement in the blasts and him informing Safdar about it. Times Now had broadcast a video of the test in 2017. The later statements of Swami Aseemanand of Sunil Joshi telling him of involvement of his men in the blast had caused confusion for the investigators. One of the investigating officers stated in 2016 that they had investigated the Islamists including Safdar but didn't find them involved. Razzaq who had been in prison since 2005 had been interrogated and had brought Qasmani to the notice of Intelligence Bureau as a key Lashkar financier. He was questioned regarding the case, but no evidence of his involvement were found. Some officers had also questioned the reliability of narco-analysis.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Background
Since their formation resulting from the Partition of India in 1947, India and Pakistan have had a conflict-ridden relationship. In their plan for the partition, the British allowed all 565 princely states to decide which country they wanted to join. Most Hindu-majority princely states acceded to the Republic of India, while most Muslim-majority princely states joined the Dominion (now Islamic Republic) of Pakistan. The decision made by the leaders of some of these princely states has been a source of conflict and tension between the two countries.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Background
Kashmir is one of these princely states—its population was mostly Muslim, but the Hindu ruler Hari Singh of the state decided to join India. The countries have fought four wars over this disputed region: the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (resulting in the formation of Bangladesh), and the Kargil War in 1999. Since the 1980s, militants in Jammu and Kashmir have targeted attacks on civilians, members of the government and the Indian Army. Some groups, like the Islamist militant organisations Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, believe that Kashmir should be integrated into Pakistan, while others—such as the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front—believe it should become an independent state. All told, thousands of civilians have died due to the insurgency.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Background
In recent years, the Indian and Pakistani governments have made attempts to bring peace or to at least calm the tensions between the countries. One such attempt in the peace process came with the launch of the Samjhauta Express, so-named because the word samjhauta means "accord" and "compromise" in Hindi and Urdu, respectively. This twice-weekly train service runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan. Launched in 1976, the Samjhauta Express served as the only rail connection between the two countries until the launch of the Thar Express.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Background
Given the nature of the transnational service and the ongoing violence in the region, the Samjhauta Express was always heavily guarded, as it was a high-risk target for terrorist attacks. Weeks after the Indian Parliament terrorist attack on 13 December 2001, the train service was discontinued amid security concerns. Although it resumed service on 15 January 2004, the train was placed on high security. Just days before the attack, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri announced that he was going to Delhi on 21 February 2007 to meet with Indian government officials to continue peace talks and to sign a nuclear risk reduction agreement.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Details
Twin blasts shook two coaches of the Samjhauta Express travelling between India and Pakistan at around 23:53 IST (18:23 UTC) on Sunday, 18 February 2007, shortly after the train had passed through the railway station in the village of Diwana, near the Indian city of Panipat. One railway employee manning the level crossing at the time stated:


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Details
It was about 11.52 when I showed the signal lantern to the Attari [Samjhauta] Express which was coming in very fast, probably at over 100 kilometers an hour (62.1 mph). Just as [it] reached near the home signal, I could hear two loud explosions from the coaches near the guards' van at the rear.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Details
After the explosions, both carriages were engulfed in flames and many passengers were incapacitated by the smoke. Witnesses claim to have seen passengers screaming and attempting to escape, but since most of the train's windows were barred for security reasons, many could not escape in time. The injured were pulled out of the burning carriages by fellow passengers and local residents.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Details
In the end, the terrorist attack left 70 people dead and 50 injured. Most of the dead and injured were Pakistani nationals, though some Indians, including railway workers, were also killed. Initial identification of the victims was hindered by the fact that many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition. The rest of the train, which was left undamaged by the attack, continued on to the border town of Attari. There, passengers were transferred to a Pakistani train which took them to their destination in Lahore.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, India
The Indian government and media initially began pointing the finger at Pakistan for the terror attacks. Widespread condemnation of Pakistan ensued, particularly from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, and Pakistan was accused of harbouring terrorists and intentionally derailing peace attempts with India. Indian Minister of Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav, condemned the incident and went on to say that the attack was "an attempt to derail the improving relationship between India and Pakistan." He also announced compensation payments of Rs. 1,000,000 (approx. €17,500 or US$22,750) for the next-of-kin of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, India
Home Minister Shivraj Patil claimed that "whoever is behind the incident is against peace and wants to spoil our growing relationship with other countries". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed "anguish and grief" at the loss of life, and vowed that the culprits would be caught. India's foreign ministry also promised to issue visas for Pakistani relatives of those killed or injured in the blasts. Indian journalist Siddharth Varadarajan argued that the peace process should stay on track and that any wavering would be tantamount to surrendering to terrorism.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, India
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the attacks and petitioned the ruling Indian National Congress to ask Pakistan to comply with its 2004 promise to crack down on cross-border terrorism. The party also argued for a harsher anti-terror bill to take a "zero tolerance" approach to terrorism in India.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, Pakistan
The government of Pakistan reacted in the same vein, through its Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, proclaiming that this was an act of terrorism that should be investigated by Indian authorities. Kasuri said that the terrorist attack would not halt his trip to India, as he "will be leaving tomorrow for Delhi to further the peace process." He went on to say that "we should hasten the peace process."


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, Pakistan
In response to the terrorist attack, President Pervez Musharraf stated "such wanton acts of terrorism will only serve to further strengthen our resolve to attain the mutually desired objective of sustainable peace between the two countries." Musharraf also said that there must be a full Indian investigation of the attack. In regards to the upcoming peace talks, he stated "we will not allow elements which want to sabotage the ongoing peace process to succeed in their nefarious designs."


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, Others
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Office minister Kim Howells condemned what he termed "utterly shameful" attacks, offered his "condolences to the family and friends of those killed and injured", and offered "the Governments of India and Pakistan whatever assistance they require, to bring to justice the perpetrators of this brutal attack." Leaders in the British Pakistani community called the terrorist attack a "despicable act" and urged for a speedy investigation into the tragedy so that those responsible could be arrested and jailed.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, Others
In the United States, the Bush administration condemned those responsible for the bomb explosions aboard the Samjhauta Express. On behalf of the United States government, White House spokesman David Almacy stated:


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Reactions, Others
We express our deepest sorrow for this tragedy and extend condolences to the families of the victims. We appreciate the leadership of Indian Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh and Pakistani President (Pervez) Musharraf, and condemn those who seek to undermine the progress in relations between the two countries.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Tension
On 23 February, a Pakistani Air Force C-130 plane landed, upon being granted approval, in New Delhi to evacuate Pakistanis injured in the train bombing. Of the ten people to be evacuated, three were missing, all from the same family. Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasneem Aslam, claimed that the father, Rana Shaukat Ali, was harassed by Indian intelligence agency personnel at the Safdarjung Hospital. Aslam also said that Pakistan High Commission officials were denied entrance into the hospital. An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Navtej Sarna, denied these allegations and stated that the patients would be taken to the airport.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Tension
Sarna told the press that Ali's family was not missing, and that hospital doctors had decided not to allow Pakistani officials access into the hospital. He also stated that the C-130 plane had developed a problem and could not take off. Later, Aslam told press correspondents that the "[C-130] aircraft was still at the airport" and that Mr. Ali had chosen to travel back to Pakistan via a land route. Despite the tensions between the two countries' External Affairs ministries, the C-130 aircraft took off from New Delhi at around 21:00 local time. After the incident, Ali criticised the media, who asked him for "stories for their publications at a time when I am not in my senses because of the death of my five children." He also stated that Indian officials showed him sketches of suspects, but he could not identify them.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation
The day after the bombing, Indian police stated that the suitcase bomb attack was the work of at least four or five people with a possible militant connection. The police also released sketches of two suspects who the police Inspector General said had left the train just fifteen minutes before the explosions. The police say that one of the men was around 35 or 36 years old, "plumpish" and dark, with a moustache, and the second was around 26 or 27, wearing a scarf wrapped around his head. The police also stated that both men were speaking Hindi.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation
Another man, a Pakistani national who was drunk at the time, was being questioned because he said he threw one of the bomb-containing suitcases off the train. A senior Haryana state railway police official said that the man's "account has been inconsistent and we have no definite conclusions yet." Later, the Inspector General said "the suitcase was thrown on the track" and that the Pakistani national "was there and said he had thrown it."


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation
In early March, Haryana police arrested two people from the city of Indore who allegedly sold the suitcases used in the bombing. No charges were pressed on the individuals. A probe conducted by the commissioner of Railway Safety officially determined that the explosions and fire on the Samjhauta Express had been caused by bombs located in the upper compartments in coaches GS 03431 and GS 14857. The probe also showed that the train slowed to a speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) just before it was going to pass the Diwana train station. The results strengthened the belief that the suspects got off the train before the explosions. On 31 March, a 25-year-old man was interrogated after being arrested in Amritsar after jumping off a moving train under suspicious circumstances.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
No major developments took place in the investigation since late March 2007. Meanwhile, the Indian and Pakistan governments agreed to a bilateral pact to extend passenger train and freight services between the two countries until 2010. In late April, the Indian and Pakistan governments initiated steps for safety and security measures for the Samjhauta Express. The two countries started sharing information on passengers travelling on the trains.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
The train is now under a reservation system, and as one Railway Ministry source said, "[w]ith no unreserved coaches, we now have complete passenger details from their ticket reservation data a few hours prior to their boarding, and departure of the train." Also in late April, three new coaches equipped with India's most advanced fire fighting systems were added to the Samjhauta Express. Indian Railway Ministry sources commented that the system acts with brake pressure, and this glass-encased system could throw water up to 15 metres (49 ft). Indian and Pakistani members of the Anti- Terror Mechanism (ATM) group met on 22 October 2007 to update each other regarding the status of the investigation.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
In November 2008, it was reported that Indian officials suspected the attacks were linked to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, an Indian army officer also alleged member of Hindu nationalist group Abhinav Bharat. Purohit himself claimed that he had "infiltrated" the Abhinav Bharat and he was only doing his job. During an army's Court of Inquiry as many as 59 witnesses stated to the court that Purohit was doing his job (of gathering intelligence inputs) by infiltrating extremist organizations. Officers have testified that he was doing what he was asked to do as a military intelligence man.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Investigators concluded that the suitcases used to make the suitcase bombs originated from Indore in India, based on their stitching. Indian officials said they were prepared to share their findings with Pakistan.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
In January 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused India of not pursuing the case seriously, and of refusing to divulge details about the role of Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit. Malik alleged that Purohit had hired Pakistani extremists to carry out the bombing. In October 2010, an 806-page chargesheet prepared by the Rajasthan anti-terrorist squad revealed that the Samjhauta Express had been discussed as a potential target for an attack at a meeting of Hindutva bomb makers in February 2006; the group subsequently travelled to Indore.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
On 30 December 2010, National Investigation Agency claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts. On 8 January 2011, Aseemanand confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, a statement his council later stated was obtained under duress. Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organisations and individuals. However, in late March 2011, Aseemanand came out and stated: "I have been pressurised mentally and physically by the investigating agencies to confess that I was behind these blasts." Aseemanand was charged on 20 June 2011 for planning the blast.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
In November 2011, Indian High Courts issued a stay notice to the National Intelligence Agency on the point that Aseemanand was tortured and coerced in prison and on the allegations that the investigation agency itself was biased by its association to the United Progressive Alliance government In early 2012, commentators started questioning the "Hindu" angle to the terror attacks, noting both the existence of an equally plausible "Muslim" angle and the near impossibility of proving any claims


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Many initial reports suggested that the prime suspects in the bombing were the Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, both of whom have been blamed for many high-profile bombings in the past. On 1 July 2009, the United States Treasury and UNSC placed sanctions on Lashkar-e-Toiba, and named Arif Qasmani as having played a role in the bombing. In 2009, Qasmani was hit with a travel ban and an asset freeze by the 1267 committee of the United Nations Security Council Qasmani, as of 2011, was still the United States' main suspect in the Samjhauta bombing.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
On 12 February 2012, the National Investigation Agency of India arrested a suspect identified as Kamal Chouhan, former RSS worker from the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh and conducted intense questioning. According to sources, Chouhan had a possible role in planting the bomb in the train. Chouhan is believed to be a close aide of Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, two key Indian suspects in the case on whom the agency has announced a cash reward of ₹ 1 million for information of their whereabouts. The National Investigation Agency is likely to file a fresh chargesheet in a next couple of days which will name Kamal Chauhan and Amit Chauhan as the two alleged bombers who along with Lokesh Sharma and Rajendra Pehalwan allegedly planted the four suitcase bombs in the train.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
In April 2016, Director General of NIA requested the United States government to provide information on LeT Key financier Arif Qasmani. The US charge sheet in 2009 accused Qasmani of funding the blasts. Later, in April 2016, NIA declared that Lt Col Purohit was never an accused in the case and there was no evidence of his involvement in the bombing.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
In late-June 2017, Times Now and India TV reported that a Pakistani national Ajmat Ali who was a suspect in the case were discharged within 14 days based on the statements of Gurdeep Singh who was the first investigation officer assigned to the case which were also mentioned in a deposition to a court 12 days earlier. Al was arrested by Punjab police for not carrying valid papers and he was handed over to police of Haryana for interrogation.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
He was stated to match the description of the suspect who planted the bombs according to eyewitnesses and was accused of having used false identities by the police. Per a report, he had stated about undertaking reconnaissance of many prominent cities. He however was discharged by senior officials probing the case with the court order noting the police's statement that no proof had been found.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Per India TV, top police officials in a meeting on 21 July 2010 had decided to hand over the investigation to NIA as Haryana Police failed to bring the case to any logical conclusion and had also decided to probe the role of Hindu groups. The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hinted the UPA government had planted the angle of role of "Hindu terror" and questioned the suspect's release.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
A report carried by The Hindu in July 2017 contained a statement of one of the senior officer Bharti Arora who had directed the suspect to be discharged, had headed the SIT at that time and was named by Gurdeep Singh in his statement, stated that his statement was being misread. She added that Ali was properly interrogated and discharged when nothing was found against him. She also stated that she would take legal action against the channel stating a sting report of letting-off the suspects in 14 days, for what she claimed was a "false report". NIA stated it would not investigate the claims about the case till court orders.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
The Hindustan Times carried a report in September 2008 of statements from the narco-analysis test conducted on SIMI's extremist wing chief Safdar Nagori as well as other leaders who were Kamruddin Nagori and Amil Parvez. Safdar at the time was of the blast was in a hospital in Madhya Pradesh due to a fractured hand. Per reports of the test, he stated that Abdul Razzaq was involved in the blast and had informed him the blasts would be carried out with the help of a few Pakistani nationals.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Kamruddin and Amil Parvez had stated that Razzak was close to Nagori, had informed him and discussed about the blasts. Safdar however denied any meeting was held to plot the blast. A video of Safdar's test was broadcast by Times Now in July 2017. Rediff carried a report in 2011 that the later statements by Aseemanand on Sunil Joshi telling him of his role in the blasts had caused confusion among NIA and both the testimonies were contrary to each other.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Vikash Narain Rai, the former Haryana police officer who headed the SIT from 2007 to early 2010, told The Wire in June 2016 mentioned that the SIT's first suspect were Pakistan-based terror groups or organisations like SIMI, stating that they had investigated many Islamists including Nagori. He stated that it became clear they were not involved as investigations progressed.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Per a report by The Indian Express Razzaq who had been in prison since August 2005 after being deported from Iran, was interrogated after Safdar's narcoanalysis and brought Qasmani to the attention of Intelligence Bureau as a Lashkar financier. Per diplomatic sources due to this a dossier was given with Qasmani's purported involvement to the United States which according to a note recording an informal meeting between the NIA probe team and FBI was the cause for sanctions by Treasury Department on him.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
Razzaq was questioned by Madhya Pradesh and Haryana Police regarding the blast, but no evidence of his involvement was stated to be found. Some police officers had also questioned the reliability of narcoanalysis, barred in USA and Europe, with a senior NIA officer stating that they had nothing but the statements of a man given under the effect of sodium pentathol.


2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, Investigation, Later developments
On 20 March 2019, Special NIA court acquitted all four accused. "The NIA Special Court has concluded that the investigating agency has failed to prove the conspiracy charge and ruled that accused deserve a benefit of doubt", NIA Counsel RK Handa said. .


2007 Samoa National League
The 2007 Samoa National League, or also known as the Upolo First Division, was the 19th edition of the Samoa National League, the top league of the Football Federation Samoa. Cruz Azul (Samoa) won their first title, defeating Strickland Brothers Lepea in the final.


2007 Samoan o le Ao o le Malo election
The Samoan Fono elected the second o le Ao o le Malo (the head of state of Samoa) on June 16, 2007 after the death of the country's head of state for four and a half decades, Malietoa Tanumafili II, in May 2007. Former Prime Minister Tupuola Taisi Tufuga Efi was elected unopposed by the 49-member strong parliament.


2007 Samsung 500
The 2007 Samsung 500, the seventh race of the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, was held on Sunday, April 15 of that year at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was won by Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing. Jeff Gordon would lead the most laps with 173 laps led.


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
It was the third race to feature the Car of Tomorrow. Hendrick Motorsports was shooting for its fifth consecutive win as a team. The last team to accomplish this feat was Petty Enterprises in 1971. HMS driver Jeff Gordon started from pole as qualifying was rained out. The race itself featured many attritions, including a hard first lap crash involving David Ragan, J.J. Yeley, and Ricky Rudd. Gordon dominated the early part of the race until a pit mistake forced him to lose the lead.


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
November Texas winner Tony Stewart struggled throughout the day, first being spun out after contact with rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, and being hit by Jimmie Johnson in the driver's side, and spun again later. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who got his first cup win at Texas, slowed to avoid the spinning Stewart, but was hit from behind by Kyle Busch, who was traveling over 30 mph faster. In the end, the race came down to former Texas Motor Speedway winners and ex-teammates Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Burton attempted many times to pass Kenseth low, but he held the top spot. On the last lap, however, Burton was able to get underneath and clear Kenseth off turn 2 and hold him off to become the first repeat winner of a Cup series event held at the speedway.


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
While Burton won his second race, being the first repeat winner, still the past twelve races have been won by twelve different drivers, and it was the fourth different winning team at Texas Motor Speedway in the past four races (Roush, Evernham, Gibbs, Childress), with the past three teams winning at Texas winning for the first time.


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
On lap 288, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s engine blew up, forcing him to retire. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, who was also wrecked was out, but the team still wanted to compete until the end. However, Busch was nowhere to be found as he had already left the speedway. Therefore, a crew member from Busch's team asked Earnhardt Jr. if he would drive the rest of the laps to finish the car. Earnhardt agreed, and would ride the last 10 laps in Kyle Busch's No. 5 car owned by Rick Hendrick.


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
Earnhardt Jr. said of the incident "I’ll always jump at a chance to climb into someone else’s car to see what it’s like. They used to do that all the time back in the day. You’d have relief drivers getting into someone’s car almost every week, so it was kinda like a step back into NASCAR history or something. Old school! It was cool.”


2007 Samsung 500, Race recap
Earnhardt signed a contract with Hendrick one day after the race. Busch signed a contract to go to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18 car.


2007 Samsung 500, Race results
Failed to Qualify-#00-David Reutimann, #36-Jeremy Mayfield, #37-John Andretti, #84-A. J. Allmendinger, #55-Michael Waltrip, #4-Ward Burton, #33-Scott Wimmer, #34-Kevin Lepage


2007 San Antonio Silver Stars season
The 2007 WNBA season was the 11th season for the franchise and their 5th season in San Antonio. The team went to the playoffs for the first time in five years, losing in the conference finals to eventual champion Phoenix Mercury.


2007 San Antonio mayoral election
On May 12, 2007, the city of San Antonio, Texas, held an election to choose who would serve as Mayor of San Antonio for a two year term to expire in 2009. Incumbent mayor Phil Hardberger won over 77 percent of the vote, securing re-election to a second and final two year term. (Term limits were relaxed from two two-year terms to four two-year terms starting with the 2009 election, however such relief does not apply to those who have already been elected to an office in which the two term limit applies.)


2007 San Antonio mayoral election, Background
Phil Hardberger, who was first elected mayor in the 2005 mayoral election, decided to pursue election to a second and final term. His opponent in the runoff, Julian Castro opted not to seek a rematch against Hardberger in the 2007 mayoral election, thus leaving Hardberger to face six minor candidates in the election (Castro would instead seek, and successfully gain election to the mayoralty of San Antonio two years later).


2007 San Antonio mayoral election, Results
On May 12, 2007, the election for Mayor was held. Phil Hardberger secured re-election with over 77% of the vote, thus negating the need of a runoff election (which would have been required if no candidate got 50%+1 of all votes cast).


2007 San Antonio mayoral election, Results
* Vote percentage include all of Bexar County with a total of 17,493 (2.06%) either voting in another municipal election, casting a spoiled vote or casting no ballot for San Antonio mayor.


2007 San Diego Chargers season
The 2007 season was the San Diego Chargers' 38th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 48th overall. The team failed to equal their 14–2 2006 regular season record, As they went 5–5 under new head coach Norv Turner. However, they finished the regular season strongly, with six straight wins, an overall record of 11–5, and the AFC West title. The Chargers went further in the playoffs than the previous year, but fell again to the undefeated New England Patriots, this time in the AFC Championship game. For the second consecutive season, star running back LaDainian Tomlinson led the NFL in rushing with 1,474 yards.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Offseason
After a postseason loss to the New England Patriots, offensive and defensive coordinators Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips left for new coaching jobs with the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys respectively. Marty Schottenheimer, after originally being told he would stay as head coach, was fired in February. Replacing Schottenheimer was Norv Turner, who was signed to take over the helm later in the month.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Offseason
Turner, who installed the Chargers offensive set when he was their offensive coordinator in 2001, was selected to be the head coach largely because he was expected to maintain the offensive game plan that led the team to its best regular season record in team history. Turner also agreed with general manager A.J. Smith on the hiring of defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who had worked with Phillips when both were with the Buffalo Bills and later was the defensive coordinator with the Bills.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Offseason
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who interviewed for the Chargers' head coaching job, was hired to coach the Chargers' linebackers instead. Smith also re-signed Charger free agent offensive guard Kris Dielman to a six-year contract that will virtually guarantee him almost $17 million and put him around $40 million over the life of the deal. Linebacker Donnie Edwards was not offered a contract and signed with his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers released veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell during the offseason along with safety Terrence Kiel.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Offseason, Draft
The Chargers started out by making the 30th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft due to their 14–2 season in 2006. They selected Craig Davis out of Louisiana State University. In the second round, the Chargers made a trade with the Bears in order to move up and select safety Eric Weddle at slot 37#. He was selected as a possible replacement to Terrence Kiel, who was released earlier in the off-season following his arrest on drug charges during the 2006 season. The Chargers exchanged their second round selection in 2007 as well as third round, fifth round and 2008 third round selection. The Chargers also selected linebacker Anthony Waters from Clemson University, who missed his senior season due to a leg injury.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears
The Chargers began their 2007 campaign at home as they matched up their offensive firepower against the Chicago Bears and their rock-hard defense. In this defensive slugfest, the Bears held RB LaDainian Tomlinson, the previous year's league MVP, to just 12 yards rushing on 11 attempts, while getting a 27-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould in the second quarter. This game also marked the first time since 2001 that the Chargers were shut out in the first half. In the third quarter, San Diego started to bounce back as Tomlinson threw his 7th career touchdown pass to TE Antonio Gates from 17 yards out. In the fourth, Tomlinson delivered the final blow with a 7-yard TD run.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears
With the win, the Chargers began their season at 1–0.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 2: at New England Patriots
Following their low-scoring home win over the Bears, the Chargers flew to Gillette Stadium for a Week 2 Sunday night fight against the New England Patriots, in a rematch of last year's AFC Divisional game. In the first quarter, San Diego trailed early as the Patriots took their opening drive and ended it with QB Tom Brady completing a 7-yard TD pass to TE Benjamin Watson. Afterwards, New England continued its opening assault as Brady completed a 23-yard TD pass to WR Randy Moss. In the second quarter, the Chargers continued to show last week's first half struggles as Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski getting a 24-yard field goal, while LB Adalius Thomas intercepted one of QB Philip Rivers' passes and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 2: at New England Patriots
In the third quarter, the Chargers finally managed to score as Rivers completed a 1-yard TD pass to FB Lorenzo Neal, but New England responded with Brady and Moss hooking up with each other again on a 24-yard TD pass. In the fourth quarter, San Diego tried to fight back with Rivers completing a 12-yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates, but the Patriots ended the game with RB Sammy Morris getting a 3-yard TD run.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 2: at New England Patriots
RB LaDainian Tomlinson was a non-factor, as he was only able to muster 43 yards on 18 carries. At this point, he was off to a rough start, totalling only 68 rushing yards in the first two games.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Green Bay Packers
Trying to rebound from their primetime road loss to the Patriots, the Chargers flew to Lambeau Field for Week 3, as they played an interconference game with the Green Bay Packers. In the first quarter, San Diego struck first with QB Philip Rivers completing a 27-yard TD pass to WR Vincent Jackson. The Packers responded with kicker Mason Crosby getting a 28-yard field goal. In the second quarter, Green Bay took the lead with QB Brett Favre completing a pair of 5-yard TD passes, one to WR Donald Driver and one to TE Bubba Franks. The Chargers responded with Rivers completing a 9-yard TD pass to WR Craig Davis.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Green Bay Packers
In the third quarter, the Chargers took the lead with Rivers completing a 21-yard TD pass to RB LaDainian Tomlinson for the only score of the period. However, in the fourth quarter, the Packers retook the lead with Favre's record-tying 57-yard TD pass to WR Greg Jennings, along with RB Brandon Jackson getting a 1-yard TD run. San Diego tried to come back, as kicker Nate Kaeding got a 44-yard field goal. However, the onside kick failed with Green Bay holding on to win.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 3: at Green Bay Packers
Notable: Philip Rivers broke a Chargers record completing 15 consecutive passes in the first half. With the loss, the Chargers fell to 1–2.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Trying to snap a two-game skid, the Chargers went home for an AFC West duel with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the first quarter, San Diego's struggling offense found some life with kicker Nate Kaeding getting a 24-yard field goal, while RB LaDainian Tomlinson got a 5-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Chargers increased its lead with Kaeding kicking a 51-yard field goal. The Chiefs answered with a 25-yard field goal by Dave Rayner. Afterwards, San Diego ended the half with Kaeding getting a 38-yard field goal.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
In the third quarter, the Chargers lost their lead, with Kansas City getting a 41-yard field goal from Rayner and QB Damon Huard completing a 22-yard TD pass to TE Tony Gonzalez. Even worse, San Diego ended up losing in the fourth quarter with Huard completing a 51-yard TD pass to WR Dwayne Bowe, along with CB Tyron Brackenridge returning a fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
One of the few positives from the game, Tomlinson finally got his first 100-yard game of the year, with 132 rushing yards on 20 carries.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 5: at Denver Broncos
Hoping to rebound from their embarrassing divisional home loss to the Chiefs, the Chargers flew to Invesco Field at Mile High for a Week 5 divisional duel with the Denver Broncos. In the first quarter, San Diego got off to a fast start with QB Philip Rivers getting a 2-yard TD run. Immediately afterwards on the ensuing kickoff, rookie LB Brandon Siler returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, the Chargers increased its lead with kicker Nate Kaeding getting a 26-yard field goal. Afterwards, the Broncos got their only score of the game with kicker Jason Elam getting a 30-yard field goal. San Diego ended the half with Kaeding nailing a 45-yard field goal.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 5: at Denver Broncos
In the third quarter, the Chargers continued their offensive revival with Rivers completing a 9-yard TD pass to TE Antonio Gates and a 15-yard TD pass to WR Vincent Jackson. In the fourth quarter, RB Michael Turner helped San Diego seal their easy victory with a 74-yard TD run.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 5: at Denver Broncos
With the win, the Chargers improved to 2–3. The win also marked San Diego's first back-to-back wins in Denver since 1967 and 1968.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders
Coming off of their blowout divisional road win over the Broncos, the Chargers went home for a Week 6 divisional duel with the Oakland Raiders. In the first quarter, the Chargers came out striking with RB LaDainian Tomlinson got a 3-yard and a 27-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Raiders managed to get on the board with LB Thomas Howard returning an interception 66 yards for a touchdown, along with the only score of the period.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders
In the third quarter, San Diego went back to work with Tomlinson getting a 13-yard TD run for the only score of the period. In the fourth quarter, Oakland tried to salvage a comeback as QB Daunte Culpepper threw a 1-yard TD pass to TE Zach Miller. However, the Chargers sealed the victory a 41-yard TD run by Tomlinson.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 6: vs. Oakland Raiders
With the win, the Chargers entered their bye week at 3–3.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 8: vs. Houston Texans
After speculation about the games location because of the ongoing California wildfires, it was confirmed on October 26, 2007 that Qualcomm Stadium would no longer be an evacuation site for San Diego residents, with most of the evacuees moved to Del Mar. Before, sites in the Phoenix area were being considered to host the game, as well as Houston's Reliant Stadium, and also the Dallas Cowboys’ Texas Stadium. Before the game a special tribute was paid to at the stadium for the fire fighters, National Guard, and volunteers who assisted in fighting the fires and helping the evacuees.


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 8: vs. Houston Texans
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the game and flipped the coin, which the Chargers won. With an emotional charge from both the players and fans, as well as some victims, the Chargers played one of the best games of their season. Philip Rivers threw 3 touchdown passes despite only throwing 11 passes. Two TDs went to tight end Antonio Gates, and the remainder went to newly acquired wideout Chris Chambers, who was just traded from the Miami Dolphins a two weeks earlier and played his first game as a Charger (due to San Diego's bye week).


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 8: vs. Houston Texans
However, that performance was second to second-year corner Antonio Cromartie, who performance included two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. He had a 70-yard INT return for a score, and the other was a complicated snap where the Texans snapped the ball over punter Matt Turk’s head, and the ball fell into the end zone. Quickly having to recover, Turk missed grabbing the ball and it fell into the hands of Cromartie, easily scoring. The Chargers won, 35–10 in a home blowout, which was, in the quote of LaDainian Tomlinson, "one for the fans.”


2007 San Diego Chargers season, Regular season results, Week 9: at Minnesota Vikings
After an emotional home win over the Texans, the Chargers flew to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for a Week 9 interconference duel with the Minnesota Vikings. In the first quarter, San Diego struck first with RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting a 1-yard TD run. The Vikings responded with RB Adrian Peterson getting a 1-yard TD run. In the second quarter, there was no scoring until the final play of the half, as CB Antonio Cromartie returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown, the longest play in NFL history.