2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Florida
Behind Knowshon Moreno's 188 yards (3 touchdowns) and Stafford's 223 yards passing (3 touchdowns), the Dawgs ended their hex against the rival Gators, who had won 15 of the last 17 games in the series. The game was notable for an all team end-zone celebration following Georgia's first touchdown scored on their opening drive. The team celebration was penalized twice and set the tone for a hard fought game.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Troy
Knowshon Moreno had another huge game, rushing for 196 yards and three touchdowns, as the Bulldogs avoided a post-Florida hangover with a 10-point win over the pesky Trojans from the Sun Belt.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Auburn
Georgia had their way in The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry for the second consecutive year behind a balanced offensive attack, with 237 yards passing from Matthew Stafford and 180 combined yards on the ground. The Tigers allowed their most points in a game for the entire season to Georgia for the third straight year. It was also the first game in which the Bulldogs wore their black jerseys.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Kentucky
The Dawgs had to shake off the rust after falling behind 10-0 early and did just that by scoring 24 of the game's final 27 points to complete the SEC schedule at 6-2. Georgia ran their winning streak over the Wildcats in Athens to 15 games.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Georgia Tech
Georgia tied a school-record with its seventh-consecutive win in the series of their rivals from Atlanta. Thomas Brown ran for 139 yards, unlike Moreno, who struggled and left the game with an ankle injury. The Georgia defense allowed just 12 completions on 32 pass attempts by the Yellow Jackets.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, Sugar Bowl
Georgia controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage and completely outmanned the undefeated Western Athletic Conference champs from the beginning of the game to the end. The Bulldogs' previously unheralded defensive end Marcus Howard dominated the Warrior offensive line and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. This is only the second time a defensive player has been named MVP in the Sugar Bowl's history. The last defensive player to be named MVP was Walt Yowarsky, who played tackle for Kentucky, in 1951.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Postseason, Final ranking
The Associated Press final poll lists the Bulldogs ranked 2nd (behind national champion LSU) - the highest ranking since December 6, 1982, and the highest final season ranking since the National Championship year of 1980. Buoyed by three first place votes, the Bulldogs barely outpaced the third ranked USC program. 2007 marks the eleventh consecutive final AP poll which the Bulldogs ranked in the top 25, the current longest active streak. The Bulldogs have been ranked 30 times in the final poll including 14 Top-10 and 9 Top-5 rankings.


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Postseason, Final ranking
The final USA Today poll listed the Bulldogs ranked 3rd (behind LSU and USC) – which ties the highest ranking ever in that poll (set in the final 2002 poll).


2007 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Coaching staff
The 2007 Season is Coach Richt's seventh season at Georgia. Neil Callaway, Georgia's offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2006, left at the end of 2006 to become the head coach at University of Alabama at Birmingham. Richt named former UGA quarterback Mike Bobo as the new offensive coordinator. Bobo took over play calling responsibilities during the Georgia Tech game as well as in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl. Callaway also served as the offensive line coach. Stacy Searels, offensive line coach at LSU from 2003 to 2006, was named to the same position at Georgia to replace Callaway.


2007 Georgia Force season
The 2007 Georgia Force season was the sixth season for the team in the Arena Football League. They tried to improve upon their 8–8 record from 2006 in the Southern Division, and looked to return to the playoffs. They went 14–2 and had the #2 spot in their conference in the AFL playoffs. They lost the National Conference Championship 56–66 to the Columbus Destroyers.


2007 Georgia Force season, Coaching
Doug Plank, head coach since 2005, entered his third year as Force head coach.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team
The 2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, West Georgia
It was a successful coaching debut for Chris Hatcher, who took over as Eagles coach after winning a national championship at Valdosta State in NCAA Division II. He was brought on to restore Georgia Southern's prestige as a Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse again after finishing 3–8 last season, the last when the division was recognized as 1-AA.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Coastal Carolina
Jayson Foster ran for 253 yards and six touchdowns to lead Georgia Southern past Coastal Carolina 42–34 on Saturday night... The Eagles (2v0) also got 206 yards from Lamar Lewis on 18 carries, including a 63-yard run.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Chattanooga
It was the Southern Conference opener for both teams. Georgia Southern (2–1, 0–1) got another outstanding night from quarterback Jayson Foster who rushed for 210 yards and completed 16 of 19 passes for 120 yards.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Western Carolina
Jayson Foster ran for one touchdown and threw for another while completing all 10 of his passes to lead Georgia Southern to a 50–21 Southern Conference victory over Western Carolina on Saturday. Foster, who led Division I Football Championship Subdivision rushers with an average of 231.2 yards per game, had only 96 yards rushing, but he was effective throwing the football. The 5-foot-9, 164-pound senior was 10-for-10 passing for 147 yards, including a 29-yard scoring pass to Michael McIntosh. Foster is now 27-for-30 in his last two games and his perfect performance against the Catamounts was a new school single game completion record.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, South Dakota State
Jesse Hartley kicked a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give Georgia Southern a 41–38 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday....Hartley's game winning kick, a career long, was set up by an interception by Carson Hill with 21 seconds remaining. The Jackrabbits got the ball back with 31 seconds to play and the score tied but chose not to sit on it.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Elon
The Phoenix (4–2, 2–1 Southern Conference) beat the Eagles for the first time in eight games....Hartley, who made a 49-yard try in the second quarter as one of his four field goals, missed a 38-yard attempt in the second overtime as the Eagles gained only 4 yards in three downs. The Phoenix actually lost 7 yards in three plays before Wilcox made the winning kick.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Appalachian State
Lamar Lewis ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns, including a key fourth-quarter score, as Georgia Southern held off an Appalachian State rally Saturday and took a 38–35 victory in the Southern Conference.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, The Citadel
Jayson Foster scored a pair touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help Georgia Southern rally late in a 21–17 win over The Citadel on Saturday.... Foster also completed 11-of-16 passes for 106 yards. Lamar Lewis chipped in on the running game, gaining 82 yards on 18 carries.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Wofford
Jayson Foster had 279 rushing yards and three touchdowns to lead Georgia Southern a 38–35 victory over Wofford on Saturday.... With the game tied at 35, Georgia Southern (7–2, 4–2 Southern Conference) had a 45-yard kickoff return to set up the game-winning field goal with 8:58 left in the game.


2007 Georgia Southern Eagles football team, Game summaries, Colorado State
Gartrell Johnson ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass, leading Colorado State to a 42–34 victory over Georgia Southern Saturday. Johnson finished with 136 yards on the ground. Caleb Hanie completed 13-of-16 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and Damon Morton caught four passes for 100 yards and a score for Colorado State (2–9).... Quarterback Jayson Foster ran for 195 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Eagles. He also threw for 107 yards for Georgia Southern (7-4).


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team
The 2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's coach was former Dallas Cowboys, Samford Bulldogs, and Troy Trojans coach Chan Gailey. It played its home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Previous seasons
Georgia Tech had posted five consecutive seasons with 7 or more wins under Coach Gailey. The team had been to five bowl games under Chan Gailey and has a 2–3 record in post season play. Under Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech had become notorious for having a blitzing defense and a ball control offense. In 2006 Georgia Tech proved to be slightly inconsistent holding #2 Notre Dame to 14 points (L 10-14) and upsetting #10 Virginia Tech (W 38–27), while losing to unranked archrival University of Georgia (L 12-15).


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Pre-season
Head Coach Chan Gailey returned for his sixth year at the helm of the program. Reggie Ball, after four years starting for Tech, was replaced by Taylor Bennett. Taylor Bennett started his first game against UConn in 2005 after Reggie came down with viral meningitis and had his break out game against West Virginia in the 2007 Gator Bowl. Tashard Choice was the 2006 ACC rushing champion and returned behind a veteran offensive line led by tackle Andrew Gardner and center Kevin Tuminello. Georgia Tech was ranked as high as #14 in the preseason.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Notre Dame
Running Back Tashard Choice ran for a career-high 196 yards for 2 touchdowns in the worst loss suffered by Notre Dame in a season opener in its history. Notre Dame accumulated −9 rushing yards and 130 passing yards. Georgia Tech amassed 260 yards on the ground while Taylor Bennett went 11/23 for 121 yards for his third career start. The Georgia Tech defense added nine quarterback sacks and recovered three fumbles.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Samford
Georgia Tech scored 9 rushing touchdowns in an offensive exhibition that also featured 389 yards of rushing yards. Tashard Choice continued his 100 yards per game streak with a 110 yard, 2 touchdown effort. True freshman Jon Dwyer racked up 3 rushing touchdowns as well. The Tech defense held Samford to 84 yards rushing and recovered two fumbles.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Boston College
Georgia Tech hosted Boston College for the first time since 1998, and it was also the first meeting of the two schools since Boston College joined the ACC. Senior BC quarterback Matt Ryan threw for a career-high 435 yards and the Eagles outgained the Jackets 527–267 in the game. Tech's defense held BC to 93 yards rushing, recovered a fumble, and attained two sacks. Offensive highlights included Jon Dwyer's fifth career touchdown and Demaryius Thomas reeling in 5 catches for 68 yards. Durant Brooks boomed 10 punts for a 45.3 yard average as well. The loss was Tech's first of the year, dropping them to 2–1, and 0–1 in the ACC.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Virginia
Tech lost its eighth straight road trip in Charlottesville. The Jackets gave up 21 points in the first thirteen minutes of the game. UVA scored two rushing touchdowns and on a Chris Long pass deflection that Taylor Bennett attempted to knock down. After Bennett attempted to knockdown the pass it was picked off by a UVA linebacker and returned for a touchdown. Georgia Tech answered back scoring 16 unanswered points to take the lead 23–21 late in the third quarter.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Virginia
After a muffed punt with nine minutes remaining in the game, UVA took the lead with a touchdown pass, which would be the last score of the game. Georgia Tech wide receiver Corey Earls suffered a severe nick injury late in the fourth quarter after a Taylor Bennett scramble. Tech was led by Jon Dwyer's 83 yards rushing and Demaryius Thomas' 86 receiving yards and a touchdown. Tech's defense recovered two fumbles, garnered two sacks, and intercepted one pass. Safety Jamal Lewis led the team with 12 tackles and a tackle for a loss.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Clemson
The Yellow Jackets got their first conference win against rival Clemson. The Tigers averaged 38 points a game leading up to the contest but only managed a field goal. The Tech defense held C. J. Spiller and James Davis to a combined 62 yards on 21 attempts. The Tech defense also accumulated 6 sacks and an interception in their effort. Tech's Travis Bell kicked two field goals while Clemson's Mark Buchholz missed four of his five attempted field goals. Georgia Tech's offense controlled the clock with a ferocious ground attack, which featured Tashard Choice's 142 rushing yards and a touchdown. Clemson has not scored a touchdown in Bobby Dodd Stadium since 2003. Tech will be on the road for the next two weeks before returning to Atlanta to play the Army Black Knights for the annual homecoming celebration.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Maryland
Placekicker Travis Bell missed two of four field goal attempts including a 52 yarder on Tech's last possession in a 28–26 loss to Maryland. Maryland stormed ahead of Tech taking a 21–3 lead by the beginning of the second quarter. Tech rallied and by the fourth quarter had closed the gap to 2 points on a Taylor Bennett to Demaryius Thomas touchdown pass. The two-point conversion attempt failed and Tech would not score again. Tech was led by the rushing of Tashard Choice who carried 32 times for 135 yards and Demaryius Thomas' 9 receptions and 139 yards. Tech's defense amassed four sacks and recovered a fumble.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Miami
Taylor Bennett scored on two rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to lead Tech past the Hurricanes 17–14. Tech racked up 265 yards rushing against a Canes defense that only allowed 111 rushing yards per game coming into the contest. Tashard Choice carried the bulk of the rushing load carrying the ball 37 times for 204 yards. The Patrick Nix offense of Miami only passed for 56 yards and gained 225 total yards of offense against Jon Tenuta's defense. Travis Bell kicked the go-ahead field goal with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter and Tech never relented the lead. Since 1984, only Tech, Virginia Tech, and Florida State have beaten Miami at least 3 years in a row.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Army
Tech beat Army 34–10 at the cost of two running backs. Tashard Choice and Rashaun Grant were both injured in the contest during Tech's 292-rushing-yard game. Tech's offense was led by Rashaun Grant's 135 all-purpose yardage and a touchdown. Tashard Choice, Jamaal Evans, and Jon Dwyer also scored rushing touchdowns. Mike Cox rushed for a career 38 yards on 3 carries. Freshman safety Morgan Burnett picked off his third pass of the season, which stymied Army's last attempt at taking the lead for the rest of the game. Tech's defense recorded 3 total interceptions and 2 sacks. Senior defensive end Darryl Robertson recorded 4 tackles for losses and a sack in the effort. Tech was now one victory away from bowl eligibility.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech only mustered a field goal in a game that saw Tech's offense turn the ball over 6 times. Taylor Bennett threw 4 interceptions and was sacked twice in the effort while freshman quarterback Josh Nesbitt threw another interception in the fourth quarter. James Johnson accounted for another turnover when he fumbled after a 35 yard reception. The Tech defense brought pressure all game long and sacked Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon seven times and stripped runningback Branden Ore of the football once in the effort.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Virginia Tech
James Johnson had 7 receptions for a 136 yards while freshmen Jon Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt carried the load for injured seniors Tashard Choice and Rashaun Grant. The freshmen pair ran for 101 yards on 14 carries. Durant Brooks pinned the Hokies inside the twenty 4 times out of 6 punts. Tech is now eliminated from ACC Title contention. Also of note, Big Boi of Outkast performed at half-time.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Duke
Georgia Tech prevailed after trailing the Blue Devils 10–7 in the first quarter. The Tech defense recovered a fumble and recorded eight sacks in the effort. Tashard Choice eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the second straight season with his two touchdown, 174 yard effort. Tech, with the win, became the 8th bowl eligible team in the ACC and ensured that Georgia Tech's 11 year bowl streak would continue to twelve years.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, North Carolina
Georgia Tech survived four lost fumbles to overcome a late UNC rally and win 27–25. Travis Bell connected on two of three field goal attempts, which included Tech's winning score with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Taylor Bennett passed for 196 yards, threw for a touchdown, and caught a touchdown pass from Tashard Choice. Choice added 127 yards on the ground. The Tech defense added four sacks to the effort led by Gary Guyton who accounted for 8 solo tackles and three tackles for loss. Durant Brooks punted the ball 4 times for 240 total yards including a booming 76 yard punt. Tech's 4–4 ACC mark helps Tech finish the season third in the ACC Coastal division and tied for fifth with Wake Forest for fifth overall in the conference.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Georgia
Tech dropped its seventh straight season finale to UGA with a 31–17 loss. Tech's defense picked up one sack in the effort. Tech's offense was led by Tashard Choice's 133 yards and a touchdown. Durant Brooks boomed four punts for a 52.8 yard average while placekicker Travis Bell knocked down a field goal in the fourth quarter for Tech's last points of the game.


2007 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, Game summaries, Humanitarian Bowl
Tech was coached by interim head coach Jon Tenuta as head coach Chan Gailey was terminated the Monday after the UGA loss. Tech dropped the decision 40–28. Tech's only lead of 7–0 held until the Bulldogs scored 27 straight unanswered points. Tech never recuperated from the 17 point Fresno 2nd quarter as Tech and Fresno exchanged touchdowns for the rest of the game. Tech highlights included Jon Dwyer rushing for two touchdowns and Demaryius Thomas catching 4 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. Tech receiver D.J. Donley blocked his second punt of the year as well.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident
The 2007 Georgia helicopter incident refers to the accusation by Georgia that three Russian helicopters fired  on the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia on March 11, 2007. It was a break-away autonomous republic in north-western Georgia (at that time, the Kodori Gorge was the only portion of Abkhazia still under Georgia's control.) The attack was at the village of Chkhalta, which damaged a school, and the government headquarters of the Georgian-backed Abkhaz government-in-exile. Russia denied any attacks and said all its aircraft near the area were grounded over the weekend.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, Georgia
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili held an emergency meeting after the alleged incident and told the Security Council that the incident created a grave situation and constituted "a very dangerous, serious and far-reaching provocation" but he stopped short of pointing the finger at Russia directly. He said that he didn't "want to make accusations against one particular side. The [Georgian] foreign minister has received instructions to contact his Russian counterpart and firmly demand that Russia react to this situation."


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, Georgia
On March 14, Nikoloz Rurua, the then deputy chairman of the Georgian parliament's Committee for Defense and Security, did point the finger at Russia as he said that the helicopters came from Russian territory. He further said that the "helicopters, preliminarily identified as Mi-24 attack gunships, flew [into the Kodori Gorge] from Russian territory or, to be precise, from the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria. They made a circle above the villages of Upper Abkhazia, and as they were making a second circle they dropped about 20 unguided rockets, or so-called NURS (Russian-made unguided) rockets." Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Eka Sguladze made similar allegations in remarks to foreign diplomats that day.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, Russia
The deputy commander of Russia's ground forces, Lieutenant General Valery Yevnevich responded that helicopters could not have flown over the Caucasus mountain range. Yevnevich said:


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, Russia
"From the Russian side, it is impossible for helicopters to find a passage to fly through because of the high mountains. Mount Elbrus is over 5,000 meters high. Helicopters cannot fly over the Caucasus mountain range for technical reasons."


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin added that Russia was investigating the circumstances of the shooting, but noted that the air force said it did not conduct flights in the area at the time.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Reactions, United Nations
A quadripartite Joint Fact-Finding Group (JFFG) was convened to investigate the incident. The JFFG, headed by the UN Observer Mission in Georgia, also involved representatives of Russian peacekeepers, and both the Georgian and Abkhaz sides. The interim report was released on April 2, 2007, followed by a supplementary report on June 13. The report was inconclusive, but it confirmed that "helicopters used multiple approaches from the north" to reach the upper Kodori Gorge. It also ruled out the possibility of Georgia's involvement in the incident.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Aftermath
Georgia accused Russia of a similar incident in August 2007 when a missile was allegedly fired upon Georgian soil, which was denied by Russia. Georgia pressed the UN Security Council to look into both the helicopter and the missile incident.


2007 Georgia helicopter incident, Aftermath
On August 22, 2007, a plane downing incident took place that involved the downing by Georgia's anti-aircraft system, of a military plane that violated Georgia's air space. Abkhazia's break-away government stated that a plane was crashed by itself, and rejected that it was shot down.


2007 Georgia missile incident
The 2007 Georgia missile incident refers to the landing of a missile in the Georgian village of Tsitelubani in the Gori district near the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone, some 65 km (40 mi) north-west of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on 7 August 2007. Georgian officials said that two Russian combat aircraft violated its airspace and fired a missile, which fell on the edge of a village but did not explode. Russia denied this allegation and said that Georgia may have fired the missile on its own territory as a way of provoking tensions in the region.


2007 Georgia missile incident
Several expert teams were sent to Georgia to investigate the incident. While two international investigation teams confirmed Georgia's claims, the Russian team dismissed them. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) stated that it was "extremely difficult to have a clear picture", given the conflicting nature of the experts' findings. The organization decided not to launch its own probe into the incident. The Portuguese ambassador to the OSCE has issued a statement on behalf of the EU, which refrained from supporting either Georgian or Russian version of the events.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Background
The missile incident occurred amids rising tensions between Georgia and Russia since the 2003 Rose Revolution, which brought Mikhail Saakashvili, a pro-western president to power. Among others, his wish for Georgia to join NATO and the EU, as well as seeking greater economic and military ties with the West, irked Russia as it marked a loss of Russian influence in the region. Since then, several crises, incidents and accusations have succeeded each other: the 2004 Adjara crisis, the 2006 North Ossetia sabotages, the 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines, the 2006 Kodori crisis, the 2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy and the March 2007 Georgia helicopter attack incident.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Incident
Vano Merabishvili, Georgia's interior minister, said that two Sukhoi attack aircraft entered Georgian airspace from Russia at 7.30 pm on 7 August and fired at least one air-to-surface missile at the village of Tsitelubani. The missile left a 16-foot crater in a field but failed to detonate. Sappers later defused the missile.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Georgia
Georgian experts have identified the missile as a Soviet-designed Kh-58 ARM. The remains of the missile were destroyed by the Georgian authorities before its identity could be confirmed by the Joint Control Commission. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the incident was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against its neighbors and urged European states to condemn Moscow. Georgia claimed to have radar evidence proving that the invading aircraft flew in from Russia and said that the strike had aimed, unsuccessfully, at destroying radar equipment recently installed near the South Ossetian conflict zone. The Georgian experts suggested the pilot did not fire but jettisoned the missile and fled after friendly forces of South Ossetia mistakenly fired an anti-aircraft missile at his jet.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Georgia
Former President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, said that during his time in office, Russian jets on a regular basis bombed Georgian forces during the wars in the 1990s when Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from central government control. "I won't be revealing any great secrets if I say that that such violations of Georgia's air space and bombings were common during my presidency. But Russian forces never acknowledged any of this," Shevardnadze said.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Georgia
The Georgian opposition politicians Salome Zourabichvili and Shalva Natelashvili suggested that the Georgian authorities might have been behind the incident, intended as a provocation.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Georgia
On 22 August, after the conclusions of the two international and the Russian investigations (see below), Georgia's UN ambassador, Irakli Alasania, accused Russia of attempting to "intimidate Georgia and assess Georgian military readiness." He further added that Georgia had to "take an absolutely resolute and non-negotiable stance in the face of efforts to use military force to destabilize a democratic state, and to attempt to influence its domestic and foreign policy".


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, South Ossetia
South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity described the incident as "a provocation staged by the Georgian side, aimed at discrediting Russia", claiming that another bomb fell in South Ossetia. In his words, "a Georgian military plane crossed into South Ossetia on Monday, performed manoeuvres above Ossetian villages and dropped two bombs." On 9 August 2007, South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity announced that he intends to request that Russia deploys air-defense systems in the republic, to discourage any such future incidents.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Russia
Russia also denied the Georgian claim. Later that day, Russia's foreign ministry said that Georgian jets may have fired the missile on their own territory as a way of provoking tensions in the region and derailing a session of the Joint Control Commission on Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict Resolution. Georgia immediately denounced the claim as absurdity. Pavel Akulyonok, a Russian Air Force engineer working for the Russian team investigating the incident, said that "the Georgian side has forged facts". He said many parts of the missile which usually remain after an impact could not be found.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Other
The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Matthew Bryza rejected the Russian allegations, advising Moscow to tone down its rhetoric on Georgia. European Commission spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann urged Georgia and Russia to show restraint and said it is not possible to further comment on the incident until the full facts are known. She added a team from the OSCE is looking into the affair. The OSCE has also appealed for both sides to show restraint.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Other
Adrian Blomfield reported in The Daily Telegraph that some commentators suggested that a group of Kremlin hardliners were intent on provoking a military confrontation to provide an excuse to change the Russian constitution and allow Russian president Vladimir Putin to stay in power. Alexei Malashenko, an expert on the Caucasus at the Moscow Carnegie Centre, said it was possible that this faction had ordered the firing of a dummy missile in a bid to fuel the crisis. But he said it was more likely that the missile attack could have been carried out by local Russian army units without the knowledge of the Russian government.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Reactions and views, Other
Stratfor, a private intelligence agency based in the United States, speculates that "considering regional developments in the past few weeks, this "bomb" was far more likely a Georgian ploy than a Russian one. (And it is even more likely that it was accidentally dropped by an under-loved and under-maintained Georgian aircraft rather than deliberately targeted. )".


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, OSCE report
According to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) spokeswoman in Vienna, the OSCE mission reported "one aircraft flying from north-east" though the report has not yet been publicly released. The spokeswoman stressed that it was "an internal report that does not represent the position of the OSCE". The Georgian state minister Davit Bakradze added that "there is no other country than Russia to the north-east."


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, OSCE report
On 17 August 2007, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, appointed Croatian diplomat and ex-minister Miomir Žužul, "to be his personal representative in a mission to Georgia on (a) missile incident that took place on 6 August," alleged to be a Russian missile strike on Georgian territory. Žužul will reportedly travel to Georgia and the Russian Federation early on the week of 20 August. He will reportedly be joined by the Chargé d'Affaires of the Spanish Permanent Mission to the OSCE, Arturo Perez Martinez.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, OSCE report
On 30 August, the OSCE's chairman-in-office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The ministers discussed among others the missile incident and Moratinos outlined the contents of the report prepared by his special envoy Žužul on meetings he had the week before in Moscow and Tbilisi. The report, which is not yet publicly available, will be presented by Žužul at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on 6 September.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, OSCE report
An OSCE spokesman said that "the key point here is that it's not the OSCE's role to pass judgment, or point the finger. It's to listen to all sides, and to recommend and seek ways to avoid similar incidents and tensions in the future. So this is not about trying to establish who was responsible, or what exactly happened, but to look to the future to try to find ways to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again."


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, OSCE report
On 6 September 2007, a months after the incident, a closed-door OSCE Council session was held. Julie Finley, the US ambassador to the OSCE, dismissed the report of the Russian experts and called for the OSCE to launch its own investigation. This motion was not supported by Žužul; there will be no OSCE probe into the incident. Instead, the organization will focus on preventing similar incidents in the future, promptly intervening in the event of a crisis.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, UN Security Council
The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to secure the holding of a UN Security Council session to discuss the incident and to encourage the international involvement into the investigation of the attack. Former Georgian president Shevardnadze dismissed efforts to involve the United Nations, as Russia would use its veto as a permanent member of the Security Council to thwart any real investigation or criticism.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, UN Security Council
On 16 August, the United States, which backed Georgia's call for a special session, attempted to have the Security Council issue a statement on the alleged incident. Russia, however, blocked the move, calling it "premature."


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, International investigation
On 15 August, the group of defense specialists from the United States, Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania, involved in the international investigation at Georgia's request, released their findings in Tbilisi. The group confirmed that the plane flew from Russia into Georgian airspace and back three times and described the missile as a Russian-designed KH-58, which is intended to take out radar systems. The team added that Georgian Air Force "does not possess aircraft equipped with or able to launch" that missile.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, International investigation
A team of Russian investigators also arrived in Georgia on 16 August to conduct its own probe. Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi, Russian ambassador Valery Kenyaikin said on 16 August that Moscow did not find the evidence of the international team convincing. He also said the Russian team presented evidence that refuted the team's findings, commenting that: "The documents handed to the Georgian side show – and I hope prove – the absence of any information or elements [of information] testifying to the violation of Georgian airspace by Russia." A Russian Air Force official also claimed that Georgian authorities presented the Russian investigators with parts of several different missiles, some of which had traces of rust on them.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, International investigation
An envoy appointed by the OSCE to investigate the incident met Georgian officials in Tbilisi, and traveled to Moscow.


2007 Georgia missile incident, Aftermath, International investigation
A group of experts from Britain, Poland, and Estonia corroborated the results of the previous international investigation that a military jet illegally entered its airspace from Russia and dropped or jettisoned a missile before flying back to Russia.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election
On June 19, 2007, the U.S. state of Georgia held a special election to fill a vacancy in Georgia's 10th congressional district. A runoff was held on July 17 with Paul Broun defeating Jim Whitehead by less than 1%.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election, History
The vacancy was created by the death of incumbent Republican Charlie Norwood. Norwood won reelection in 2006 with 67% of the vote.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election, History
Since this is a nonpartisan special election, all candidates for the election were listed alphabetically, though their party affiliations are noted on the ballot. According to Georgia law, to win outright, a candidate needed a majority vote; since no candidate won more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers competed in a runoff election on July 17, 2007.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election, Candidates
The following candidates were on the June 19 ballot. They are listed here alphabetically: first by party, then by name.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election, Results
No candidate received a majority in the June 19 election so a runoff between Republicans Jim Whitehead and Paul Broun  was held on July 17. Democrat James Marlow, the third-place finisher, had the right to request a recount within 48 hours of the official certification of the election results on June 25, 2007, due to the very small difference in total votes for himself and Broun, but did not do so.


2007 Georgia's 10th congressional district special election, Results
The official returns for the June 19 election and the July 17 run-off are:


2007 Georgia's 24th state senate district special election
A special election was held in Georgia's 24th state senate district on June 19, 2007, to replace State Senator Jim Whitehead, who resigned from the seat to run for US Congress in Georgia's 10th congressional district's special election. Four candidates qualified for the election. The election was won by Bill Jackson who received over 62% of the vote.


2007 Georgian demonstrations
In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 40,000-50,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili. Protests triggered by detention of Georgian politician Irakli Okruashvili on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office during his tenure as defense minister of the country were organized by the National Council, an ad hoc coalition of ten opposition parties, and financed by the media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili.


2007 Georgian demonstrations
Demonstrations occurred both in September and November 2007 and were initially largely peaceful. The protests went downhill by 6 November 2007, but turned violent the next day when the police, using heavy-handed tactics, including tear gas and water cannon, unblocked Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi's main boulevard, dislodged the protesters from the territory adjoining to the House of Parliament, and prevented the demonstrators from resuming the protests. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup d'état and declared a nationwide state of emergency later that day which lasted until late 16 November 2007.


2007 Georgian demonstrations
On 8 November 2007, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold an early presidential election for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a referendum in parallel to snap presidential elections about when to hold parliamentary polls – in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008.


2007 Georgian demonstrations
It is said to have been the worst political crisis in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in 2003 that brought Saakashvili's government to power in the first place.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Background
Georgia in 2003 underwent a change of leadership that saw the coming to power of Mikheil Saakashvili in 2004. Saakashvili, a U.S. trained lawyer and staunch advocate for closer integration with NATO and the European Union, instituted reforms that saw the nation's GDP triple and corruption drop since taking office. In 2006, the World Bank named Georgia as the top reformer in the world. Despite the progress, a significant portion of Georgia's population still live below the poverty line and Georgia is one of the poorest countries in the CIS.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Background
Growing incomes are offset by rising inflation; radical economic reforms and a crackdown on the black market left thousands unemployed; and since the reforms, many Georgians are having to pay tax and utility bills in full. Although the Saakashvili government has declared war on corruption, its critics alleges corruption in Saakashvili's own team, including his uncle – the entrepreneur Temur Alasania – and several ministers. The opponents say the authorities use selective application of the law to sideline political opponents, and accuse Saakashvili of authoritarian rule. The government has also come under the fire of criticism due to the use of heavy-handed police against the 2006 prison riot, as well as due to the underinvestigated high-profile murder case involving police officers.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Background
Saakashvili also inherited the issues of the Russian-backed unrecognized breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which seceded from Georgia in the early 1990s. As of the time of the demonstrations, they were de facto independent but de jure part of Georgia. Saakashvili had made it part of his agenda to reincorporate them through peaceful means. Others within Saakashvili's government, such as the defence minister Irakli Okruashvili had been pushing for a military solution for these de facto republics.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Background
Saaskashvili reassigned the portfolio of Okruashvili from defence to Minister of the Economy in November 2006. It was believed that the reassignment came due to Okruashvili's aggressive stance on the secessionist conflicts. Okruashvili subsequently resigned his post.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Background
On 25 September 2007, he announced the formation of the new opposition Movement for United Georgia and unleashed criticism on President Saakashvili, accusing him of corruption, incompetency and human rights violations. He also raised new concerns around Zurab Zhvania's death, challenging the official investigation point of view and personally accused the Georgian president of planning the murder of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests
Protests started on 28 September 2007. There was no major trouble reported at the rally, except for some minor scuffles between protesters and police when the protesters spilled out onto Rustaveli Avenue, blocking Tbilisi's main thoroughfare in front of the parliament. Demonstrators were demanding early elections, more accountability and honesty in politics. The demonstration, held merely a day after Okruashvili's arrest, attracted an estimated 10–15 thousand protesters, making it, at the time, the largest demonstration since Rose Revolution. Some noted the peculiar skill and unusual quickness in how these protests were organized.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests
The rally was organized by an alliance of major opposition parties with the exception of the New Rights Party (NRP) which didn't participate in manifestation stating that it was "not the way from one temple to another, it is substitute of one leader with another."


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Okruashvili's comments
Previously, former Georgian Minister of Defense and long-time critic of Moscow's policy towards Georgia Irakly Okruashvili has lashed out at his former associate President Mikheil Saakashvili. Okruashvili had been sacked by the president, in November 2006, from his post of Defense Minister allegedly under pressure from the West in September 2006.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Okruashvili's comments
At the presentation of his party For United Georgia, he accused Saakashvili of corruption, lobbying the interests of his own family, weakness towards separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and a lack of morals. Okruashvili also claimed that the Georgian government had intentionally obscured the true reasons behind the death of former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania. Zhvania had died while Prime Minister in February 2005. Okruashvili said that Zhvania's corpse had been taken to the apartment where he was found dead.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Okruashvili's comments
Okruashvili retracted his statements and admitted to the charges raised against him on 8 October 2007 on television, but he later said he made the statements due to being "psychologically pressured".


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Okruashvili's comments
Okruashvili left Georgia around 1 November 2007. He subsequently said he was forced into exile; the government said he left to seek medical treatment. The following April he was granted political asylum by the government of France. In September 2008, a French court rejected Georgia's extradition request. Okruashvili has been described as "a likely candidate to replace Saakashvili, if and when Georgian public opinion turns against the president."


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Government's response
Okruashvili's political comeback and his arrest coincided with Saakashvili's visit to New York City where he addressed the U.N. General Assembly and heavily criticized Russia's involvement in Georgia's breakaway territories. Meanwhile, Giga Bokeria, an influential member of the Parliament of Georgia from the ruling United National Movement party, said by voicing stunning, but groundless accusations Okruashvili wanted "to create some kind of immunity and untouchable status." On 29 September, President Saakashvili headed to Upper Abkhazia where he attended opening of a new road linking Georgian-controlled areas in breakaway Abkhazia with Georgia proper. He made his first remarks on Okruashvili's accusations:


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 28 September 2007 protests, Government's response
I want to tell you that personally for me it is very difficult what Okruashvili has done. I am accustomed to any accusations leveled against me and against my relatives. But this person [Okruashvili] – unlike those persons, who just believed in or made allegations – knows precisely that it is a lie.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
On 2 November 2007, tens of thousands of Georgians protested outside the parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, urging President Mikhail Saakashvili to step down. The crowd also called for early parliamentary elections. They accused Saakashvili of heading a corrupt, authoritarian government and wanted him to be ousted democratically.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
The protests continued in the following days; a televised statement from Okruashvili was seen as a boost in support for the opposition.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
Twenty-three law enforcement officers were injured and 21 people were arrested during the riots.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
TV footage showed some protesters throwing stones at riot policemen. They were dispersed by police a second time.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
Two pro-opposition independent TV stations have gone off the air after Badri Patarkatsishvili declared that "Nobody should doubt that all my efforts, my financial resources including the last tetri will be applied for freeing Georgia from Fascist regime": Imedi TV (that is co-owned by the media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili who sponsored the National Council recently set up by the ten opposition parties and has pledged to finance the rallies until the government is removed) and Kavkasia, located in the same building as Imedi TV. Police officers in masks and assault rifles were seen sealing off the Imedi office. Shortly afterwards, Mikheil Saakashvili declared a state of emergency Georgia-wide to last for 15 days. As a result, news programs at all the private television stations will be shut down for 15 days. The publicly funded Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) remained the only station allowed to provide news coverage.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
On 8 November, a "small group of students" gathered at Batumi State University to rally against what they saw as the "police violence" that had occurred the previous day. According to eyewitnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch, "police attacked the group without warning, chasing and beating protesters trying to flee." Holly Cartner, Executive Director [of] Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch condemned what she described as "police attacks on peaceful protesters".


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
Soon, Georgia's opposition announced the suspension of anti-government protests in Tbilisi. Most of the opposition parties hailed President Saakashvili's decision as the first step to end the political standoff, and agreed to the negotiations with Nino Burjanadze, the parliamentary chairperson.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests
By 9 November 2007, riot police and troops had been withdrawn from the main sites of 7 November unrest. On the same day, Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church met separately with Nino Burjanadze and opposition leaders and said that he was ready to mediate between the opposition and the authorities.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Government's response
Saakasvili commented the clashes by saying "We have been hearing for recent months that turmoil was expected in Georgia by autumn. We have been receiving this information from our intelligence" and that "alternative government has already been set up in Moscow".


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Government's response
Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said a coup attempt was made.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Government's response
On 7 November, Georgia's Interior Ministry released taped audio and video material purporting to show some opposition leaders – Levan Berdzenishvili of the Republican Party, Giorgi Khaindrava of opposition group Equality Institute, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, the leader of the Freedom Movement and Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of Labor Party – cooperating with the Russian counter-intelligence service during a meeting with three Russian diplomats.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Government's response
Gigi Ugulava, Tbilisi's mayor, defended the action by police, saying: "I was listening to one of the opposition leaders who was saying proudly they planned to pitch tents and set up a tent town in Tbilisi. "What we did is stop this because it is the will of the people not to have a tent town in Tbilisi."


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Criticism of government actions
The opposition leaders, NGOs and the public defender of Georgia have harshly criticised the government actions. The police was accused of excessiveness, and it was alleged that groups of organized civilians were also engaged in the crackdown on the protesters. Illegal arrests, beatings and intimidations were reported. Concerns have been expressed about widespread practice of tapping private telephone conversations. The government has been accused of media control.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Criticism of government actions
In December 2008, Sozar Subari, Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia, claimed he had evidence that then Georgia's Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili had ordered police to beat protesters, "mainly in the kidneys and the stomach." In his testimony before Georgian Parliament, Subari claimed that he possessed evidence that Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili, Justice Minister Zurab Adeishvili and Davit Akhalaia (who had no official office then) had had a secret meeting at the office of Interior Ministry on 4 November 2007 where they had decided on the course of action for handling the demonstrations:


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 2 November 2007 protests, Criticism of government actions
"The interior minister ordered that the demonstrators be hit mainly in the kidneys and the stomach, or in the face only when necessary. The interior minister also said at the meeting that not a single participant in the action must escape unbeaten in order to teach them a lesson for the future."


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Timeline, 25 November 2007 protests
On 25 November 2007, thousands of protesters staged a three-hour peaceful demonstration demanding the re-opening of Imedi TV and radio stations. The protest, organized by a nine party opposition coalition, gathered in an area called the Rike in Tblisi and then moved to the front of the Parliament.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
United States – The United States welcomed the Georgian government's decision to hold early presidential elections, while urging to end the state of emergency and restore all media broadcasts. On 13 November 2007, Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs and the top U.S. envoy to the Caucasus, told reporters that he would be very surprised if there had been a real threat from Russia to destabilize Georgia.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
Russia – The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected Saakashvili's accusations of backing the opposition rally calling it an "irresponsible provocation" designed by Georgian authorities to distract attention from domestic problems and blame them on a foreign scapegoat. It later issued a statement heavily criticizing the Georgian government for police lawlessness, arrests of opposition leaders and human rights activists, ban on activities of the independent media and beating of foreign journalists.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
Sweden – Foreign minister Carl Bildt said that 7 November was a "very dark day for Georgia", but praised the decision to hold early presidential elections, adding that all parties now have to "return to the democratic path". "This is also a way to address the simplistic propaganda that is currently blazoned abroad by the big neighbor in the north (Russia)" /.../ "and to secure long-term stability in the country." Carl Bildt, who met with President Saakashvili in Tbilisi on 2 November, has repeatedly said that: "To support and help the young democracies (in Eastern Europe) /.../ is something we (Europe) must do."


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
United Nations – Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, rebuked Georgia for its "disproportionate use of force" against protesters and said it must uphold fundamental rights even under a state of emergency. In a statement, she also expressed support for Georgia's public defender, or human rights ombudsman, and voiced concern at the silencing of independent television stations in the former Soviet republic.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
NATO – Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in a statement on 8 November 2007 said that "The imposition of Emergency Rule, and the closure of media outlets in Georgia, a Partner with which the Alliance has an Intensified Dialogue, are of particular concern and not in line with Euro-Atlantic values"


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
European Union – The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, urged restraint from both sides, saying "political differences should be resolved within the democratic institutions".


2007 Georgian demonstrations, International reaction
Human Rights Watch – On 20 December 2007, Human Rights Watch released a 102-page report, named Crossing the Line: Georgia’s Violent Dispersal of Protestors and Raid on Imedi Television, criticising what it saw as the Government's "usage of excessive force" on protesters the police's raide on Imedi.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Crisis recedes
On 8 November 2007, Saakashvili announced he was planning snap presidential elections for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a simultaneous plebiscite about when to hold parliamentary polls – in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008. He also called for dialogue with the opposition parties which, he said, did not cooperate with the Russian intelligence, and promised to end the state of emergency within a few days.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Crisis recedes
The Georgian authorities charged Patarkatsishvili, who had earlier left for London, with plotting a coup. He died on 12 February 2008, in London.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Crisis recedes
On 9 November 2007, the Parliament of Georgia, in a complete absence of opposition lawmakers, backed the presidential decree imposing state of emergency and restrictions on media on the entire territory of Georgia to be in force until late 22 November.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Crisis recedes
On 10 November 2007, the talks regarding the election code resumed between the ruling and opposition parties.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Crisis recedes
The nationwide state of emergency was lifted at 7 pm local time on 16 November 2007, in accordance to the parliament's decree passed two days earlier. All media sources resumed broadcasting with the exception of Imedi TV which returned on air on 12 December.


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Economic impact
Robert Christiansen, the head of the IMF's Georgia mission, indicated that the turmoil and pre-election uncertainty has dented Georgia's image with investors, adding that recovery was possible. He added that "recent political developments add considerable uncertainty to the projected volume of inflows for the remainder of this year and 2008".


2007 Georgian demonstrations, Aftermath, Economic impact
According to Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze, during the November turmoils Georgian economy lost nearly half a billion dollars of potential investments.


2007 German Athletics Championships
The 2007 German Athletics Championships were held at the Steigerwaldstadion in Erfurt on 21–22 July 2007.


2007 German Figure Skating Championships
The 2007 German Figure Skating Championships (German: Deutsche Meisterschaften im Eiskunstlaufen) took place between January 4 and 7, 2007 at the Eislaufzentrum Oberstdorf in Oberstdorf. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing, and synchronized skating on the senior, junior, and novice levels.


2007 German Figure Skating Championships
The first senior compulsory dance was the Golden Waltz and the second was the Rhumba. The first junior compulsory dance was the Silver Samba and the second was the Midnight Blues.


2007 German Formula Three Championship
The 2007 ATS F3 cup was the fifth edition of the German F3 Cup. It commenced on 28 April 2007 and ended on 30 September after eighteen races. The title was won by Carlo van Dam in penultimate Sachsenring round.


2007 German Formula Three Championship, Calendar
With the exception of two rounds at TT Circuit Assen, all rounds took place on German soil.


2007 German National Badminton Championships
The 2007 German National Badminton Championship was held in February 2007.


2007 German Open Grand Prix
The 2007 German Open Grand Prix (officially known as the Yonex German Open 2007 for sponsorship reasons) was a badminton tournament which took place in Mülheim from 27 February to 4 Mach 2007. It had a total purse of $80,000.


2007 German Open Grand Prix, Tournament
The 2007 German Open Grand Prix was the inaugural tournament of the 2007 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix and also part of the German Open championships which has been held since 1955. This tournament was organized by the German Badminton Association and sanctioned by the BWF.


2007 German Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Venue
This international tournament was held at Innogy Sporthalle in Mülheim, Germany.


2007 German Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Point distribution
Below is the point distribution for each phase of the tournament based on the BWF points system for the BWF Grand Prix event.


2007 German Open Grand Prix, Tournament, Prize money
The total prize money for this tournament was US$80,000. Distribution of prize money was in accordance with BWF regulations.


2007 German Skeleton Championship
The 41st German Skeleton Championship 2007 was organized on 3 March 2007 in Königssee.


2007 German motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2007 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2007 MotoGP championship. It took place on the weekend of 13–15 July 2007 at the Sachsenring in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany.


2007 German motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round ten has concluded.


2007 German national rail strike
The German national rail strike of 2007 was a strike in Germany by the locomotive engineers union, Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL, or German Train Drivers' Union), which began on November 14, 2007 and ended on November 17, 2007. The union struck Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned company which operates the German rail system. It was the largest strike in history (as of 2007) against Deutsche Bahn.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
German Train Drivers' Union/Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (known by its German initials, GDL) is a relatively small union which represents about 34,000 train drivers in Germany.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
In the fall of 2007, the union demanded a 31 percent wage increase from Deutsche Bahn, the state-owned company which operates the German rail system. The wage demand was far higher than the 4.5 percent wage increase won in July by Transnet Gewerkschaft (Transnet) and Verkehrsgewerkschaft GDBA (GDBA), the railway's two other large unions which together represent about 195,000 workers.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
But GDL argued that German locomotive engineers are paid less than their counterparts in other European countries.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
Deutsche Bahn rejected the wage demand. The company said that it was committed to the long-standing German trade union practice of bargaining a coordinated contract with all its unions at once to create uniform wage standards. Deutsche Bahn argued that meeting GDL's wage demands would break this pattern and lead to wage demands from other unions.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
Deutsche Bahn countered by offering a one-time payment of €2,000 (about $2,934) and a 10 percent wage increase, with a two-hour extension of the work week. But GDL chairman Manfred Schell said the Deutsche Bahn offer was not acceptable as a basis for reopening talks. Deutsche Bahn refused to make another wage offer, and the company's 20-member supervisory board announced that it supported management's decision.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
Both sides also engaged in a vitriolic war of words which held out little chance of avoiding a strike. Schell accused Deutsche Bahn of "raping" the country and the union, and declared DB had "provoked" the strike. Deutsche Bahn, in turn, accused GDL of "blackmail" and "madness" and said any strike would be "destructive" and an "economic disaster." Schell denounced the company, declaring, "This is all a theatrical performance by the railway."


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
Any strike was considered "...a bold gamble by an isolated union." GDL represented a mere 3 percent of Deutsche Bahn's workforce. No other Deutsche Bahn union supported the engineers' strike, nor did the German federation of trade unions, Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB). But GDL had a tradition of breaking with other unions in wage negotiations. GDL also believed the time was ripe for a nationwide strike. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had planned to sell a 49 percent stake in Deutsche Bahn to the public. The union believed it had to seek its wage demands now before the privatization effort began.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
GDL engaged in a series of strikes throughout the summer and fall designed to increase pressure on the railway prior to engaging in a nationwide walkout. A short strike occurred in July 2007, and Deutsche Bahn sued the union for €5 million ($7.3 million) in damages. In October and early November 2007, GDL held several short strikes against local commuter lines, stopping work for a total of 65 hours. On November 10, 2007, the union held a 42-hour strike which stopped about 90 percent of all freight trains in the country. Deutsche Bahn estimated the November 10 freight strike cost €50 million ($73 million) each day.


2007 German national rail strike, Origins of the strike
Public sector workers in Germany have a severely restricted right to strike. Deutsche Bahn had previously won a court ruling limiting any strike to local service. But in early November 2007, the GDL union won the right to strike freight and long-distance trains as well.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
GDL announced that the strike against freight service would begin at noon Central European Time (CET) on November 14, while the strike against local and long-distance passenger trains would start at 2:00 a.m. CET on November 15. The union said the walkout would end at 2:00 a.m. CET on November 17, 2007.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
Chancellor Merkel, adhering to the federal government's tradition of not intervening in labor disputes, declined to intervene. But other federal government officials pleaded for the resumption of negotiations. Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said ministry officials were working behind the scenes to mediate the dispute.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
As anticipated, the strike affected train service nationwide. However, the company brought in 1,000 managers and other employees to keep trains running. Still, more than 40 percent of all freight trains were halted. While 50 percent of regional passenger trains in western Germany were running, only one in 10 regional passenger trains operated in eastern Germany. Disruptions in local service varied. In Berlin and Munich, commuter service was only minimally interrupted, but by the end of the day only a third of all trains had run. But in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart, major cutbacks in train schedules occurred. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, trains ran every hour. Two-thirds of the country's high-speed InterCityExpress trains were running normally.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
The economic impact of the strike appeared to be heavy. Deutsche Bahn said the strike cost it €50 million ($73 million) a day. Automobile manufacturers, which depended heavily on trains for moving vehicles, found inventories backing up immediately. Audi shuttered at least one plant in order prevent an additional backlog from occurring. Seaports, especially Hamburg, were clogged with containers. Germany's steel industry, which transports half its goods by rail, was also badly affected. Federal officials expressed public concern that the strike could affect the economy, which had slowed in recent months


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
Public support for the strike was relatively strong. Unscientific polls of commuters by newspapers and television stations showed support for the train drivers. A scientific poll conducted by Infratest Dimap for the public-service broadcaster ARD found that 61 percent of the people support the workers. Of 1,003 people surveyed, 47 percent said Deutsche Bahn was to blame for the strike, while only 25 percent fingered GDL. Nevertheless, the ARD poll found that public support for the union had slipped by five percentage points since mid-October. A second poll for the public opinion company Forsa for the newspaper Bild showed only 45 percent of the public supported GDL.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
As the strike neared its conclusion, GDL Chairman Schell said he was open to a 31 percent pay increase without a separate collective bargaining agreement. Other union leaders suggested that the union might even accept a pay raise as low as 15 percent.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
But Schell and other union officials reiterated their determination to win the labor dispute. Schell announced that the union might engage in a new, open-ended strike if no new offer was forthcoming from the employer. One report suggested that the union might extend its current strike through Christmas.


2007 German national rail strike, The strike
Deutsche Bahn did not take such threats lightly. It advertised throughout Europe for new train drivers. The company received 5,000 applications, and hired 1,000 new drivers. Deutsche Bahn said the newly hired locomotive engineers would be used to meet increases in demand, and not to help break any future strike.


2007 German national rail strike, Conclusion and aftermath
The national rail strike ended as the union had planned, at 2:00 a.m. CET on the morning of Saturday, November 17, 2007.


2007 German national rail strike, Conclusion and aftermath
GDL Chairman Schell declared that the union was "very happy" with the results of the national rail strike. However, Schell threatened another national rail strike if the union did not receive a new wage offer from Deutsche Bahn by November 19, 2007. Schell said the union would meet early on the week of November 19 to decide its next move.


2007 German national rail strike, Conclusion and aftermath
Several news outlets subsequently reported that Deutsche Bahn planned to make a new wage proposal in order to avoid an indefinite strike. At least one newspaper said Deutsche Bahn planned to agree to the union's primary demand—a different contract from the one reached with the railway's two other labor unions last July.


2007 German national rail strike, Conclusion and aftermath
GDL and DB finally concluded a separate agreement for 30,000 GDL members on 9 March 2008. This agreement was eventually approved by the bargaining association formed by Transnet and GDBA and was thus extended to the engine drivers in these two trade unions. The agreement took retroactive effect from 1 March 2008. Approximately 40,000 work days had been lost due to the strike in 2007


2007 German national rail strike, Conclusion and aftermath
By contrast, in January 2009, DB was able to conclude an agreement that covered all 3 trade unions after only 2 weeks of negotiations.


2007 Gerry Weber Open
The 2007 Gerry Weber Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 15th edition of the Gerry Weber Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from 11 June through 17 June 2007.


2007 Gerry Weber Open
The announced top seeds were World No. 1, Australian Open champion, French Open runner-up and defending champion Roger Federer, ATP No. 3 and French Open semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko, and Sydney titlist James Blake. Other top players competing were 2006 Halle finalist Tomáš Berdych, Estoril runner-up Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny, David Nalbandian and Marcos Baghdatis.


2007 Gerry Weber Open, Finals, Doubles
Simon Aspelin /  Julian Knowle defeated  Fabrice Santoro /  Nenad Zimonjić, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)


2007 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles
Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjić were the defending champions, but Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle defeated them 6–4, 7–6(7–5), in the final.


2007 Gerry Weber Open – Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but withdrew due to fatigue.


2007 Gerry Weber Open – Singles
Tomáš Berdych won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against Marcos Baghdatis.


2007 Gibraltar general election
The 2007 Gibraltar general election was held on 11 October 2007. The incumbent Chief Minister Peter Caruana narrowly won a fourth term, but opposition leader Joe Bossano had a very strong showing. Joe Bossano noted that this would be his last term as an MP, and joked that he would not join the government, despite receiving a higher personal vote than some members of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD).


2007 Gibraltar general election
The GSD had ten candidates (all of whom were elected), Bossano's party the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) had seven candidates (four of whom were elected) and the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG) led by Dr. Joseph Garcia had three candidates (all of whom were elected). The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) fielded six candidates, five of whom obtained the fewest votes in the election after a lacklustre campaign. Two independents were unable to break through Gibraltar's party block vote system but did relatively well. They were the right wing lawyer Charles Gomez of New Gibraltar Democracy and Richard Martinez of the Parental Support Group.


2007 Gibraltar general election
An exit poll organised by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) gave victory to the GSLP/Liberal coalition, but as counting progressed this proved incorrect.


2007 Ginetta Junior Championship
The 2007 Ginetta GT Junior Championship season was the third season of the Ginetta Junior Championship. The season began at Anglesey on 30 June 2007 and concluded after 16 races over 7 events at Brands Hatch on 27 October 2007.


2007 Girabola
The 2007 Girabola was the 29th season of the top-tier football league in Angola. The season ran from 14 February to 21 October 2007. Primeiro de Agosto were the defending champions.


2007 Girabola
The league comprised 14 teams, the bottom three of which were relegated to the 2008 Gira Angola.


2007 Girabola
Petro Atlético de Luanda were crowned champions, while Académica do Soyo, Atlético do Namibe and Juventude do Moxico were relegated. Manucho Gonçalves of Petro de Luanda finished as the top scorer with 14 goals.


2007 Girabola, Changes from the 2006 season
Relegated: Bravos do Maquis, Progresso do Sambizanga, Sporting de Cabinda Promoted: Juventude do Moxico, Petro do Huambo, Santos FC


2007 Giro d'Italia
The 2007 Giro d'Italia was the 90th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 12 May to 3 June 2007. The race began in Sardinia and finished in Milan, and featured five mountain top finishes, of which one was an individual time trial. The race also visited France and Austria in three stages.


2007 Giro d'Italia
Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team won the race, with Andy Schleck from Team CSC and Eddy Mazzoleni from Astana rounding out the podium. Schleck also won the youth classification, which featured in the Giro for the first time since 1994. Di Luca's team dominated the overall classification, holding the race leader's pink jersey for 17 of the 21 stages.


2007 Giro d'Italia
During the race, Alessandro Petacchi tested positive for elevated levels of salbutamol at a doping control on 23 May, after winning Stage 11. Petacchi has a medical exemption to use salbutamol in the treatment of asthma, but the concentration of the drug in his urine sample from this control was above the therapeutically accepted level. Though the Italian Cycling Federation originally refused to punish him, the Italian National Olympic Committee appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, resulting in a suspension for the rider and forfeiture of all his results from the Giro.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Teams
The Giro, along with the season's other Grand Tours (the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España), was one of several events run in 2007 as a UCI ProTour event but without a ProTour license. This meant that while ProTour points were awarded in the race, the organizers were not obligated to invite the 20 ProTour teams. Nineteen of the twenty ProTour teams, Unibet.com being the exception, were invited, with three UCI Professional Continental teams rounding out the event's 22-team peloton. Each team entered nine riders, so the race began with 198 in total.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Teams
The 22 teams who took part in the race were:


2007 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favorites
In the months leading up to the Giro, headlines centered on defending champion Ivan Basso. After having been removed from Team CSC's start list for the 2006 Tour de France due to his apparent involvement in the Operación Puerto doping case, Basso and Team CSC mutually agreed on the termination of his contract with them. Days later, Basso appeared to be cleared of any connection to Puerto, as the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) shelved his case, and he signed with Discovery Channel.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favorites
He rode part of the 2007 season with Discovery, and had intended to seek overall victory both in this Giro and in the 2007 Tour de France with his new team. In April 2007, Basso's case was re-opened by the FCI, a step rarely taken on cases formally shelved. Facing further investigations into his involvement with the doping ring, team Discovery asked him to stop racing late in April. Shortly afterward, just two weeks before the Giro was to begin, Basso terminated his contract with Discovery, meaning the Giro started without its defending champion. Basso subsequently admitted to planning on doping in the 2006 Tour, and the FCI handed him a two-year suspension, with credit for time already served in 2006 after he was first connected to the doping ring. Paolo Bettini, the reigning world champion, wore bib number one in Basso's place.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favorites
Basso's removal left wide open the possibilities for overall victory in this Giro. Four former Giro winners started this race – Damiano Cunego, Paolo Savoldelli, Gilberto Simoni, and Stefano Garzelli – and they were expected to be among the favorites. Simoni's Saunier Duval–Prodir team was noted to contain many strong climbers, including Riccardo Riccò and Leonardo Piepoli. The passage of the Giro over Monte Zoncolan, where Simoni won a stage en route to overall victory in the 2003 Giro d'Italia, was also noted as a factor in his favor. Classics specialist Danilo Di Luca of Liquigas was also named as a contender, chiefly because of his strong team. Further riders named as contenders included Pietro Caucchioli and Yaroslav Popovych.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favorites
The most high-profile sprinters lined up to begin the 2007 Giro were Alessandro Petacchi and Robbie McEwen. They, along with countrymen Mario Cipollini and Baden Cooke, had had a back-and-forth rivalry for sprinting supremacy that had gone back several years but had been stunted in 2006 when Petacchi missed most of the season, including all but the first three stages of the Giro, due to a fractured kneecap sustained from a crash. One pre-race analysis viewed Petacchi's 2007 Giro and season as a chance at redemption for him. Other fast men in the race noted to be contenders in the flat stages included two-time points classification winner Bettini, Danilo Napolitano, and Graeme Brown.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
Race director Angelo Zomegnan commented that the route was designed to be easier than that of the extremely climbing-intensive 2006 Giro. The Giro's twenty-one stages were divided into the following classifications: three time trials (one team and two individual), eleven flat or undulating stages (officially there was no distinction made between flat and undulating), four intermediate stages, and three mountain stages. The race began with a team time trial on the island of Sardinia. This was followed by two flat stages and an unusually early rest day to transfer from Sardinia to Italy's mainland. The riders transferred by plane while the Giro caravan, race officials and team cars made the trip by boat. The final stage, as was tradition, was a flat, mostly ceremonial road stage to Milan, finishing with ten circuits on the Corso Venezia of the Via Montenapoleone.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
There were three stages that began or ended outside Italy. Stage 12, the first high mountain stage, ended at the French city Briançon, a frequent destination for the Tour de France. The 16th stage ended at Lienz in Austria, and the 17th began there.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
Five stages ended with climbs. Stage 4, the first intermediate stage, ended at Montevergine di Mercogliano at 1,260 m (4,130 ft). The tenth stage, also classified intermediate, had a less imposing final climb of 760 m (2,490 ft), but it was nonetheless expected to change the race's overall standings as it was very long it had numerous small climbs. Stage 13 was a climbing time trial, to Santuario di Oropa at 1,142 m (3,747 ft), with gradients on the climb reaching as high as 13%.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
Two stages later was perhaps the race's most difficult stage, featuring four major climbs and ending at 2,304 m (7,559 ft) at Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The last mountaintop arrival was in the seventeenth stage, and featured one of the hardest climbs in the world, Monte Zoncolan. Though the summit of this climb was lesser than some other peaks visited in the race, at 1,730 m (5,680 ft), its gradients were crushing, with the steepest stretches reaching over 20% incline. Though the number of mountain stages was small, it was nonetheless expected that it would take a strong climber to win the race.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The Giro began with a team time trial on the island of Sardinia. The winning team was Liquigas, but due to unusual stage-ending tactics, it was Enrico Gasparotto and not team leader Danilo Di Luca who took the first pink jersey. Gasparotto faced intense questioning from his teammates and the media after not yielding first position to his team's captain, as is usual practice in a team time trial.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Gasparotto yielded the jersey to Di Luca after stage 2, when Di Luca finished higher-placed in the mass finish, but took it back again after stage 3 when he contested the sprint and finished eighth. Finally, after stage 4, the six-way tie involving the Liquigas riders who finished together in the team time trial was broken, as Di Luca won the stage into Montevergine and took the pink jersey again.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Di Luca held the race lead until the conclusion of stage 6, which was decided by a breakaway. Luis Felipe Laverde and Marco Pinotti were the last members of a five-man morning breakaway still together at the finish. Since Pinotti started the day better-placed in the overall classification and became the new race leader because of their time gap over the peloton, he allowed Laverde to take the stage win. Laverde took the green jersey as mountains classification leader after the stage. The next three stages were flat and contested among sprinters and breakaways.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
This meant Pinotti was able to maintain his race lead with little difficulty, until stage 10, the Giro's next intermediate stage. The race's overall contenders showed themselves on this stage, with Leonardo Piepoli putting in a decisive attack 5 km (3.1 mi) from the summit of the Santuario Nostra Signora della Guardia to claim victory by 19 seconds over Di Luca. Pinotti finished more than four minutes back, and surrendered the pink jersey to Di Luca's teammate Andrea Noè, who was tenth on the stage.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
At age 38, Noè was the oldest rider in the Giro and the oldest ever to lead a Grand Tour. Di Luca took the green jersey after this stage, his second stint in the maglia verde to go along with his two in pink. Team CSC's Andy Schleck took the white jersey after this stage by finishing third, after Di Luca passed him for second in the final kilometer.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Stage 12 into Briançon in France was the Giro's first high mountain stage, and it shook up the standings for the final time. Di Luca took the stage win, twice attacking from an elite group of five that had made the climb together. As Noè finished nearly ten minutes behind, Di Luca took the pink jersey for a third time, while still holding the green jersey. As Di Luca concentrated on winning the race overall, Piepoli took the green jersey after stage 15, the race's queen stage, topping two of that stage's climbs in first position.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
His lead in the mountains classification quickly became unassailable, and he won the jersey in Milan. It was also on this stage that Astana's Eddy Mazzoleni distinguished himself as a podium contender, taking a minute and a half out of Di Luca to move into second overall. Schleck lost time to Di Luca and Mazzoleni, but gained time over other riders in the top of the overall standings and stood third overall.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The last minor change to the top of the overall standings took place during stage 17, to Monte Zoncolan. The stage itself was conquered by the Saunier Duval–Prodir duo of Gilberto Simoni and Piepoli. Since the climb had personal significance for Simoni, having won a stage there four years earlier, his teammate allowed him to cross the line first. Schleck, for his part, was third, just seven seconds back, and gained over two minutes against Mazzoleni to move up to the second step of the podium.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Mazzoleni fell to fifth on this stage, but returned to the podium after the race's final time trial. Mazzoleni's teammate Paolo Savoldelli won the stage by a comfortable margin, but Mazzoleni took back nearly all the time he had lost on the Zoncolan stage and finished the race third overall. Di Luca was not seriously challenged after taking the race lead in stage 12, and comfortably won the Giro in Milan with a two-minute gap over Schleck in second.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Di Luca's team Liquigas was dominant. They took three stage wins, two with Di Luca himself to go along with the race's opening team time trial, and held the pink jersey for all but four days. With Alessandro Petacchi's disqualification (see below), Saunier Duval-Prodir took the most stage wins. Three of their victories came in the high mountains, with Piepoli, Riccò, and Simoni all winning high-profile stages. Iban Mayo added a breakaway win in Stage 18. Acqua & Sapone–Caffè Mokambo team leader Stefano Garzelli, a former Giro winner, also won two stages. Danilo Napolitano and Marzio Bruseghin both took wins for Lampre–Fondital, and four other teams were single stage winners. The teams classifications and the classifications which awarded jerseys were all won by teams who had won stages, meaning eight of the 22 teams in the race took significant victories.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
The most noteworthy doping case from the 2007 Giro involved sprinter Alessandro Petacchi. Petacchi took five stage wins, but after the third of them, he tested non-negative for salbutamol, an asthma medication which Petacchi has a medical exemption to use. Petacchi was obligated as the stage winner to give a urine sample to the doping authorities, and it had a concentration of 1,352 nanograms per milliliter of salbutamol, above the 1,000 allowed by the medical exemption. Salbutamol has anabolic effects at high concentrations. Team Milram placed Petacchi on immediate provisional suspension following the Giro, which kept him from participating in the Tour de France later that season as he had planned. The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) asked the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) for a one-year ban for Petacchi.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
The FCI refused to suspend Petacchi, and he returned to racing in late July. Their decision, however, was not made to exonerate Petacchi, but rather because they did not believe they should hear the case, instead deferring to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
The CAS heard the case, and Petacchi testified to the court, stating that the hot and humid day on which the stage was the run had made it so that he took several extra puffs from his inhaler, but that this was accidental and that most had come after he had already crossed the finish line and won the stage.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
In its decision, the CAS ruled that Petacchi had likely not intended to cheat, but that he had not exercised the "utmost caution" it deemed necessary to abide by doping rules. Petacchi was suspended for a year, minus the time he had already sat out after Team Milram first provisionally suspended him, and his results from the Giro were all stripped. Team Milram subsequently fired Petacchi, and he was without a team until late in the 2008 season. While the court's decision explicitly stripped Petacchi of his results from this race, it does not seem that it granted those victories retroactively to other riders.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
Petacchi was not the only rider identified as giving a non-negative doping test during the Giro. Reports emerged in June that three riders were under suspicion of doping, later identified as Petacchi, Leonardo Piepoli, and Iban Mayo. Petacchi and Piepoli both gave tests showing elevated levels of salbutamol, while Mayo's had abnormally high testosterone levels. Mayo was quickly cleared, as further testing revealed that his testosterone levels were of natural origin and that his team Saunier Duval–Prodir had informed the UCI of this. Though Piepoli's level of salbutamol was, at 1,800 nanograms per milliliter, even higher than Petacchi's, he was cleared by his national federation of any doping charges in August.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
Giro champion Danilo Di Luca also gave an irregular doping test, after stage 17 to Monte Zoncolan. The test, given spontaneously hours after the routine test Di Luca gave for being race leader at the time, reportedly showed hormone levels like "those of a child," causing anti-doping authorities to suspect that Di Luca was using some means to cover the presence of banned substances. These unusual levels were not present in the routine test, leading to suspicions that Di Luca had received an autologous blood transfusion between the two tests. A CONI commission later cleared Di Luca on the basis of insufficient evidence to conclude that he had doped.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Race overview, Doping cases
Mayo and Piepoli would both test positive for erythropoietin later in their careers at the Tour de France, and Di Luca likewise at the 2009 Giro d'Italia, all leading to lengthy suspensions, while Petacchi made a successful return to top-level cycling and to the Giro in 2009.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
In the 2007 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner is considered the winner of the Giro.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a mauve jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. The stage win awarded 25 points, second place awarded 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point less per place down the line, to a single point for 15th. In addition, some points could be won in intermediate sprints.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized, either first, second, or third category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The highest point in the Giro (called the Cima Coppi), which in 2007 was the Colle dell'Agnello in stage 12, afforded still more points than the other first-category climbs.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The fourth was the young rider classification, which awarded a white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born on or after 1 January 1982 were eligible. This classification was featured in the Giro in 2007 for the first time since 1994.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There were also two classifications for teams. The first was the Trofeo Fast Team. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage are added, and the team with the lowest time is leading team. The Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run. A year after the race, Alessandro Petacchi was stripped of all his results; this table reflects the stages and jersey awards he originally won.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Other less well-known classifications were awarded during the Giro, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey. These awards were based on points earned throughout the three weeks of the tour. Each mass start stage had one intermediate sprint, awarding points to the Traguardo Volante Garibaldi classification. These sprints gave bonus seconds towards the general classification, points towards the regular points classification, and also points towards the Traguardo Volante Garibaldi. This award was known in previous years as the Intergiro, and was previously time-based, awarding a blue jersey. Tinkoff Credit Systems rider Mikhail Ignatiev won this classification.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Additional minor classifications included the combativity classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes. Alessandro Petacchi was the original winner, but with all his 2007 Giro results forfeited, it appears there is no official winner of this award. The Azzurri d'Italia classification was based on finishing order, but points were awarded only to the top three finishers in each stage. Petacchi originally won this as well.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Also, the Trofeo Fuga Gilera rewarded riders who took part in a breakaway at the head of the field, each rider in an escape of ten or fewer riders getting one point for each kilometre that the group stays clear. Along with the Traguardo Volante Garibadli, Mikhail Ignatiev also finished first in this classification. Teams were given penalty points for minor technical infringements. Française des Jeux was not assessed any penalties, and so was the winner of the Fair Play classification.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2007 Giro d'Italia began on 12 May, with Stage 11 occurring on 23 May. The route began in Caprera in Sardinia, with the first three stages being held on the island. These were followed by an unusually early rest day to transfer to Italy's mainland.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The first stage was a team time trial, a stage where each member of the team raced together against the clock. The Italian Liquigas team won this stage, but it was sprinter Enrico Gasparotto and not team leader Danilo Di Luca who was the first across the line and thus the first wearer of the pink jersey. Gasparotto and Di Luca traded the jersey back and forth over the next few days' flat stages.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Stage 6 featured a winning breakaway, and it accounted for the only time in the 2007 Giro when the Liquigas team did not hold the race leadership. Marco Pinotti and Luis Felipe Laverde were the last riders remaining from that day's morning escape, claiming the pink jersey and the stage win, respectively. Pinotti held the race leadership through the flat stages that followed, before yielding it to the Giro's oldest rider, Di Luca's Liquigas teammate Andrea Noè.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of Team Milram won three of the first eleven stages of this Giro, but his subsequent disqualification for a non-negative salbutamol test after stage 11 nullified these victories.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
12 May 2007 — Caprera to La Maddalena, 25.6 km (15.9 mi) (team time trial)


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
This was the Giro's first visit to Sardinia since 1991. The course for the team time trial was technical, with many twists and turns in the road. It took the squads from Caprera on the island of Sardinia across a bridge to the tiny Maddalena island to the northwest. Favorites for the stage included Team CSC, Discovery Channel, and Quick-Step–Innergetic.


2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
The early time to beat was set by Predictor–Lotto, the second team to take the course. They stopped the clock in 35'06". Euskaltel–Euskadi was well on pace to knock them off, but a crash 750 m (2,460 ft) from the finish line dashed any hopes of theirs for a stage win. Their fifth rider didn't cross the line until a minute after their first four had, and they finished 21st, better than only Française des Jeux. Team CSC was the first team under 35 minutes, clocking in at 34'08", which would eventually be good for third on the day.