2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Veterans Committee elections, Reaction
Two months after the results were announced, Commissioner Bud Selig expressed puzzlement that figures such as Ron Santo had not been elected, and indicated that after three unsuccessful elections he now favored a revision in the voting method. Coincidentally or not, the aforementioned rules changes for the Veterans Committee election process were announced almost exactly three months after Selig's remarks.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Rick Hummel received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award honoring a baseball writer. (The award was voted at the December 2006 meeting of the BBWAA, dated 2006, and conferred in the summer 2007 ceremonies.)


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
The Spink Award has been presented by the BBWAA at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1962. It recognizes a sportswriter "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame writers" or words to that effect. Living recipients were members of the Veterans Committee for elections in odd years 2003 to 2007.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Three final candidates, selected by a BBWAA committee, were named on July 11, 2006 in Pittsburgh in conjunction with All-Star Game activities: Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nick Peters of The Sacramento Bee, and Morris Siegel, a writer for four Washington, D.C. newspapers. All 10-year members of the BBWAA were eligible to cast ballots in voting conducted by mail in November.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, J. G. Taylor Spink Award
On December 6 at baseball's winter meetings, Rick Hummel was announced as the recipient , having received 233 votes out of the 411 ballots cast, with Siegel receiving 112 votes and Peters receiving 66 .


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
Denny Matthews received the Ford C. Frick Award honoring a baseball broadcaster.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
The Frick Award has been presented at the annual summer induction ceremonies since 1978. It recognizes a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball". The recipients are not members of the Hall of the Fame, merely featured in a permanent exhibit at the National Baseball Museum, but writers and broadcasters commonly call them "Hall of Fame broadcaster" or words to that effect. Living honorees were members of the Veterans Committee for elections in odd years 2003 to 2007.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
To be eligible, an active or retired broadcaster must have a minimum of 10 years of continuous major league broadcast service with a ball club, a network, or a combination of the two; 195 candidates were eligible.


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
On December 5, 2006, the ten finalists were announced. In accordance with guidelines established in 2003, seven were chosen by a research committee at the museum: Tom Cheek, Dizzy Dean, Tony Kubek, France Laux, Denny Matthews, Graham McNamee and Dave Niehaus. Three additional candidates – Ken Harrelson, Bill King, and Joe Nuxhall – were selected through results of voting by fans conducted throughout November at the Hall's official website; more than 75,000 votes were cast .


2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, Ford C. Frick Award
On February 22, Denny Matthews was announced as the 2007 recipient ; a broadcaster of Kansas City Royals games since the franchise was established in 1969, he was selected in a January vote by a committee composed of the 14 living recipients, along with six additional broadcasting historians or columnists: Bob Costas (NBC), Barry Horn (The Dallas Morning News), Stan Isaacs (formerly of New York Newsday), Ted Patterson (historian), Curt Smith (historian) and Larry Stewart (Los Angeles Times). The committee members voted by mail, and based the selection on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.


2007 Baseball World Cup
The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the 1986 AWS. The tournament was held, for the second time, in Taiwan (which played as Chinese Taipei), from November 6 to 18. The United States defeated Cuba in the final, winning its third title.


2007 Baseball World Cup
There were 18 participating countries, split into two groups, with the first four of each group qualifying for the finals. Games were played in three cities: Taichung City (at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and Taichung Baseball Field); Taipei City; and Sinjhuang City.


2007 Baseball World Cup
At one time, Venezuela’s participation was in question due to possible sanctions to be considered by the International Baseball Federation in the wake of their refusal to grant visas to a youth team from Taichung to participate in the Youth World Baseball championships in August, 2007, but they were allowed to participate. China was originally scheduled to participate in Pool B, but dropped out and was replaced by the Thai national team, who placed fifth behind China at the 2006 Asian Games.


2007 Baseball World Cup
The next two competitions were also held as the BWC tournament, which was replaced in 2015 by the quadrennial WBSC Premier12.


2007 Baseball World Cup, Group A, Schedule
With the exception of the opening game of the tournament, all group A games are played at Taichung Baseball Field, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and Douliu Baseball Stadium.


2007 Baseball World Cup, Group B, Schedule
All group B games are played either at Tienmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei City or at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in Taipei County.


2007 Baseball World Cup, Awards
The IBAF announced the following awards at the completion of the tournament.


2007 Basilan beheading incident
The 2007 Basilan beheading incident was an armed incident in July 2007 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and the Philippine Army which led to the execution of 14 or 23 members of the Philippine Marines, amongst them 11 beheaded in the province of Basilan in the southern Philippines.


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Background
On June 10, 2007, Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) was kidnapped in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay province. His captors were believed to be renegade MILF members or Abu Sayyaf.


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Background
His captors have released photographs of Bossi as alive and well, but failed to communicate with the Philippine government negotiators about any demands. Early operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were concentrated on Zamboanga Sibugay, in the belief that the captors had not left the province.


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Operations in Basilan
On July 10, 2007, according to MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, violence broke out at Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, a known Moro region, when Marines entered the town. Lieutenant Col. Ariel Caculitan, spokesman for the Philippine Marines, said the death toll of the Marines was 23 (some document say the location of the encounter was at Al-Barka a new municipality established by Islamic soldiers at Tipo-Tipo).


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Operations in Basilan
During the firefight, which lasted a day, at least 20 armed militants were killed, and seven others were wounded. MILF soldiers which later scoured the area after the firefight found 11 headless corpses of Marines. Aside from the beheaded remains, MILF forces recovered "27 firearms were recovered from the scene. These are: six M60 machine guns; eight M203 grenade launchers, 10 M-16 Armalite rifles, a 60-mm mortar, and several night vision goggles".


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Operations in Basilan
Brigadier General Ramiro Alivio, chief of 1st Marine Brigade, said that aside from the MILF, the guerrillas consisted of Abu Sayyaf, and other rebel groups.


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Operations in Basilan
However, the Philippine Army said the Abu Sayyaf were not present in the region where Bossi was captured. The official government death toll was 14, although Philippine newspapers says 23 soldiers were dead on the Marines' side.


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Operations in Basilan
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front stated "the Marines entered the MILF territory in the town of Tipo-Tipo in complete disregard of the ceasefire agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Philippine government".


2007 Basilan beheading incident, Reaction
Matthew Lussenhop, United States press attaché in Manila, remarked that "It's a tragic incident. The United States embassy condoles with the families of killed, and wounded soldiers although it's still not clear to us what really happened".


2007 Basildon District Council election
The 2007 Basildon District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Basildon District Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2007 Basildon District Council election, Campaign
The election saw the British National Party stand in 11 of the 14 wards being contested, an increase from 6 in 2006 and more than the Liberal Democrats who only stood in 9 seats.


2007 Basildon District Council election, Campaign
There was controversy during the election over comments by the Conservative candidate in Vange, Luke Mackenzie, in an election leaflet where he called for voters who did not want asylum seekers to get council houses to vote Conservative. Other parties called on the Conservatives to disown Mackenzie, who was standing against the only ethnic minority councillor in Basildon, saying he was "peddling scare stories" and that the comments were "inflammatory". However Mackenzie denied increasing racial tension, saying voters felt immigration was "entirely out of control" and that a shortage of housing was caused by people from outside of Basildon, and was defended by the leaders of the Conservative group in Basildon.


2007 Basildon District Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservative hold control of the council after gaining one seat from Labour. The Conservatives took Laindon Park, but narrowly failed to take the targeted wards of Pitsea North West and Vange from Labour, by 19 and 68 votes respectively. The Conservative share of the vote was down on the 2006 election at 43%, while Labour won 22%. Overall turnout in the election was 30%, a decline from the 33.5% recorded in 2006.


2007 Basildon District Council election, Election result
All comparisons in vote share are to the corresponding 2003 election.


2007 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council election
The 2007 Basingstoke and Deane Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2007 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council election, Background
The Conservative party had run the council since the 2006 election and won an overall majority for the first time in 11 years after gaining a seat in a by-election in Buckskin from Labour in December 2006. In March 2007 the Conservatives also held a seat in a by-election in Rooksdown. This meant that the Conservative held 31 seats going into the election, compared to 15 Liberal Democrat, 11 Labour and 3 Independent councillors.


2007 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council election, Background
5 councillors stood down at the election, 3 Conservatives and 2 Liberal Democrats, Jonathan Curry, Terence Faulkner, Paul Findlow, Alex Green and John Wall. 20 seats were up for election, with the leader of the Conservatives on the council, Mark Ruffell, being unopposed in Upton Grey and the Candovers. Candidates stood from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties, as well as 2 independents.


2007 Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives stay in control with 31 seats, with no changes taking place in the political balance on the council. The Liberal Democrats remained on 15 seats, Labour on 11 and independents on 3 seats.


2007 Basque foral elections
The 2007 Basque foral elections were held on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 8th Juntas Generales of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa. All 153 seats in the three Juntas Generales were up for election. The elections were held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.


2007 Basque foral elections, Foral deputation control
The following table lists party control in the foral deputations. Gains for a party are displayed with the cell's background shaded in that party's colour.


2007 Bassetlaw District Council election
The 2007 Bassetlaw District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Bassetlaw District Council in Nottinghamshire, England. One third of the council was up for election.


2007 Bath and North East Somerset Council election
Elections were held on 3 May 2007 to elect 65 local councillors for Bath and North East Somerset Council. The results are show below. Following the elections, a Conservative minority administration was formed. Cllr Francine Haeberling became leader of the council. This replaced the previous Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition.


2007 Bath and North East Somerset Council election, Ward results
The ward results listed below are based on the changes from the 2003 elections, not taking into account any party defections or by-elections. Sitting councillors are marked with an asterisk (*).


2007 Batna bombing
The 2007 Batna bombing took place on 6 September 2007 in Batna, a town in Batna Province, eastern Algeria.


2007 Batna bombing
The bombing, which took place shortly before the visit of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, resulted in approximately 15-20 deaths and 107 injuries as the bomber detonated his device among a crowd waiting to see the President, who was at the end of a three-day tour of eastern Algeria.


2007 Batna bombing, The bombing
The suicide bomber was among the crowd awaiting outside the Al-Atik mosque the arrival of President Bouteflika when his device, a "plastic bag containing the explosive" and his "agitated" manner was noticed 45 minutes prior to the Presidents arrival. This forced the bomber, a "man aged 30 to 35" to detonate his device prematurely as police approached him. However it is unknown whether the bomber himself escaped the blast, however interior minister Noureddine Yazid was quoted by the Algerian news agency APS as stating that the bomber had escaped through a security cordon.


2007 Batna bombing, Aftermath and reactions
On 8 September, the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front was reported to have condemned the attacks, joining President Bouteflika in calling the perpetrators "criminals". While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the Algerian president cited Islamic militants as the perpetrators. APS also quoted the President as stating that "Terrorist acts have absolutely nothing in common with the noble values of Islam", he also visited the surviving wounded at nearby hospitals. On 9 September 2007 Al Qaeda's north Africa wing stated that it was responsible for the attack, as well as a previous bombing 48 hours earlier.


2007 Batna bombing, Aftermath and reactions
On a website, Al Qaeda stated "We reiterate that the majority of those killed in this operation were from the police and security forces ... and that our brother did not target innocent people as reported by the media," of both attacks, the group said they were carried out "in defense of Islam and the Islamic nation."


2007 Batna bombing, Aftermath and reactions
The governments of both Algeria and the United States warned citizens to avoid overland travel between Algerian cities, and for foreign tourists to remain in secure hotels.


2007 Batu Talam by-election
The Batu Talam by-election was held on 28 January 2007. The seat of Batu Talam in the state assembly of Pahang, Malaysia, fell vacant after the death of the incumbent, Tengku Paris Tengku Razlan of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the leading party of the ruling Barisan Nasional. Nominations were held on 16 January, with two candidates filing to contest — Abdul Aziz Mat Kiram of UMNO, and independent candidate Ng Chee Pang.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Background
The incumbent, Tengku Paris, died in December 2006. He had won the seat in the 2004 general election, defeating PAS candidate Mohamed Nilam Abdul Manap with 5,414 to 2,653 votes. As of nomination day for the by-election, the constituency had 10,511 registered voters, with an ethnic composition of 73% Malay, 14% Chinese, and 13% Indian or Orang Asli. There were a total of 14 registered postal voters.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Background
Batu Talam thus became the one of two constituency in Malaysia to have had more than one by-election after Kerdau (previously named as Sanggang) also in Pahang. The first was held after the 1993 death of Mazlan Idris, who was murdered by the "bomoh" (witch doctor) Mona Fandey.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Background
PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) of the opposition Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) declined to field a candidate for the by-election, citing irregularities in the electoral roll and other alleged "dirty tactics" meant to favour the government. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) also stated that it was not interested in participating.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Nominations
Despite initial appearances of a government walkover on nomination day, Ng Chee Pang filed to contest the seat as an independent candidate. His candidacy was the subject of much interest, as although the DAP had claimed it did not intend to participate, Ng was the son of DAP Pahang treasurer Ng Kwi Ling. Ng Kwi Ling and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng both denied allegations that Ng was a secret DAP candidate, insisting that the DAP would not campaign for him. However, state DAP leader Lee Tuck Chee said that although the DAP would not campaign for Ng, the party would open an operations base in Cheroh, a town with a high concentration of Chinese voters.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Nominations
Najib Tun Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, suggested that Ng was "supported by the opposition. They claim they are boycotting the by-election but they have instructed support for the independent candidate". Pahang Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth Chief Liow Tiong Lai told the press that the move was a ploy to attract support from a broad spectrum of opposition voters, as although PAS supporters would not vote for a DAP candidate and vice versa, both sides would have no issues with voting for an independent candidate.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Nominations
Ng stated that his motivation for contesting the election was "to follow in the footsteps of my father" and "fulfil his ambition of winning an election" — Ng Kwi Ling had contested in six general elections since 1982, losing in all of them. Ng, a 22-year-old businessman, also said that he intended to help petty traders like himself if he won.


2007 Batu Talam by-election, Results
Polling took place on 28 January as scheduled. The result was an increased margin of victory for the Barisan Nasional candidate.


2007 Bauchi State gubernatorial election
The 2007 Bauchi State gubernatorial election was the 6th gubernatorial election of Bauchi State. Held on April 14, 2011, the All Nigeria Peoples Party nominee Isa Yuguda won the election, defeating Mohammed Nadada Umar of the People's Democratic Party.


2007 Bauchi State gubernatorial election, Results
A total of 9 candidates contested in the election. Isa Yuguda from the All Nigeria Peoples Party won the election, defeating Mohammed Nadada Umar from the People's Democratic Party. Registered voters was 2,211,463.


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships
The 2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships was the 28th edition of that tennis tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts. The tournament was classified as a Tier II event on the 2007 WTA Tour. The event took place at the Racquet Park at the Amelia Island Plantation, in Amelia Island, Florida, U.S. from April 2 through April 8, 2007. Tatiana Golovin won the singles title.


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships, Finals, Doubles
Mara Santangelo /  Katarina Srebotnik defeated  Anabel Medina Garrigues /  Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships – Doubles
Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik were the defending champions. Asagoe had retired in 2006.


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships – Doubles
Srebotnik partnered with Mara Santangelo, successfully defending her title. They beat the Spanish couple Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in the final, 6–3, 7–6.


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships – Singles
Nadia Petrova was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Tatiana Golovin.


2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix
The 2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season. It was held on September 2 at TT Circuit Assen in Assen, Netherlands. The race was won by Justin Wilson.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Background
On January 16, 2007 the Champ Car World Series announced a multi-year agreement that briefly saw the return of Champ Cars to Europe for the first time since 2003 with inaugural races in the Netherlands and Belgium. These events added to the Champ Car calendar took place August 26 at the Zolder circuit in Belgium and September 2 at the TT Circuit in Assen, Netherlands. This marked the first time that Champ Car has raced in either of the two European nations.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Background, Title sponsor
On July 12, 2007, at a press conference held in Lieshout, Netherlands, Bart Rietbergen of the Dutch Champ Car Grand Prix, Jos Vaessen, Chairman of TT Circuit Assen, and Peer Swinkels, chairman of the Bavaria Beer company, announced that Bavaria Brewery, the second largest brewer in the Netherlands, would be the title sponsor of the 2007 Grand Prix event. Officials also announced the signing of three associate sponsors of the event; those being Audi, Gant, and Hertz. Promotional events leading up to the Grand Prix included driver appearances and track performances of a Champ Car at the Bavaria City Racing held in Rotterdam and at the Rizla Racing Days weekend at the TT Circuit.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Background, Title sponsor
The official name of the event was the "Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix Powered by Audi, Gant & Hertz."


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Qualifying results
Sébastien Bourdais won his third consecutive pole position and came closer to clinching his fourth consecutive Champ Car title. Justin Wilson was fastest in the wet on Friday to secure the front row spot beside him. Dan Clarke was reinstated from his suspension by Champ Car race director Tony Cotman, meaning the usual 17 drivers would start the race on Sunday.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Starting on the front row beside pole sitter Sébastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson drove into the lead in the first corner. Bourdais then began to lose multiple positions when a software bug in his car's ECU engaged the pit speed limiter when he pressed the power to pass button. He was able to save losing further positions when a spin by Paul Tracy brought out a full course yellow.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Wilson settled into the lead followed by PKV teammates Neel Jani and Tristan Gommendy, Graham Rahal and then Bourdais. Almost unnoticed, Bruno Junqueira pitted under green on lap 8. When a caution came out for debris on lap 14 and the rest of the field pitted for the first time Junqueira took the lead, which he held until he pitted on lap 26.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
By this point in the race it was determined that other cars were suffering the same power to pass glitch as Bourdais and Champ Car sent out an edict that all drivers must refrain from using "the button" for the remainder of the race.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
A second debris caution brought the field save Junquiera into the pits on lap 31 and once again Junquiera came out of the caution in the lead. After providing Dale Coyne Racing with its best ever finish with a second place the previous week at Zolder, it began to look as if Bruno would follow up with Coyne's first victory as he extended his lead over Wilson.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Junquiera pitted for the final time on lap 49. With a clean pit stop he should have cycled back to the lead when Wilson came in for his final stop on lap 51. However, when the stops were finished he found himself in third behind Wilson and Jan Heylen. It was later determined that on his final stop, his pit lane limiter did not properly activate, causing him to spend eight extra seconds on pit lane. This glitch likely cost him the victory.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
As it was, Justin Wilson led the final 20 laps in front of Heylen and Junquiera to take the win. It was Justin's first race win since the 2006 Edmonton Grand Prix. Heylen's second place was his best ever Champ Car result and tied the best ever result for Conquest Racing.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Bourdais' race never really got going after the trouble at the start. He was forced to battle back through the entire field after stalling his car during his second pit stop and dropping back to 16th place. His seventh-place finish wasn't good enough to seal his fourth consecutive Champ Car championship, extending the fading hopes of his competitors for at least one more race.


2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix, Attendance
Attendance for the 2007 Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix was 74,900 over the race weekend, with 61,200 fans attending the main race day Sunday event.


2007 Bavarian Cup
The 2007 Bavarian Cup was the tenth edition of this competition, organised by the Bavarian Football Association (BFV), which was started in 1998. It ended with the SV Seligenporten winning the competition. Together with the finalist, Würzburger FV, both clubs were qualified for the DFB Cup 2007-08.


2007 Bavarian Cup
The competition is open to all senior men's football teams playing within the Bavarian football league system and the Bavarian clubs in the Regionalliga Süd (III).


2007 Bavarian Cup, Rules & History
The seven Bezirke in Bavaria each play their own cup competition which in turn used to function as a qualifying to the German Cup (DFB-Pokal). Since 1998 these seven cup-winners plus the losing finalist of the region that won the previous event advance to the newly introduced Bavarian Cup, the Toto-Pokal. The two finalists of this competition advance to the German Cup. Bavarian clubs which play in the first and second Bundesliga are not permitted to take part in the event, their reserve teams however can. The seven regional cup winners plus the finalist from last season's winners region are qualified for the first round.


2007 Bavarian Cup, Participating clubs
The following eight clubs qualified for the 2007 Bavarian Cup:


2007 Bavarian Cup, DFB Cup 2007-08
The two clubs, SV Seligenporten and Würzburger FV, who qualified through the Bavarian Cup for the DFB Cup 2007-08 both were knocked out in the first round of the national cup competition:


2007 Bay Classic Series
The 2007 Bay Classic Series was a series of criterium road cycling races held from 3  to 7 January 2007 around the west of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, Australia.


2007 Bay Classic Series
The men's stages were approximately one-hour criteriums (45 minutes plus 10 laps) with three sprints at 15-minute intervals. The women's stages were approximately 45-minute criteriums (30 minutes plus 10 laps) with two sprints at 15-minute intervals. Points were awarded to the first 10 riders at the finish (12, 10, 8 to 1). Points were awarded in the intermediate sprints to the first three places (3, 2 & 1 points) towards a separate sprint classification. A team classification was calculated from the points of the highest ranked three riders in each team of five.


2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election
The 2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election was the 3rd gubernatorial election of Bayelsa State. Held on April 14, 2007, the People's Democratic Party nominee Timipre Sylva won the election, defeating Ebitimi Amgbare of the Action Congress of Nigeria.


2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election, Results
Timipre Sylva from the People's Democratic Party won the election, defeating Ebitimi Amgbare from the Action Congress of Nigeria. Registered voters was 955,279.


2007 Bayern–Rundfahrt
The 2007 Bayern–Rundfahrt was the 28th edition of the Bayern–Rundfahrt cycle race and was held on 30 May to 3 June 2007. The race started in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and finished in Fürth. The race was won by Stefan Schumacher.


2007 Baylor Bears football team
The 2007 Baylor Bears football team (variously "Baylor", "BU", or the "Bears") represented Baylor University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. The team was led by head coach Guy Morriss, who was fired on November 18, 2007, the day after the season ended. Art Briles was hired as Morriss' replacement on November 28, 2007.


2007 Beach Volleyball World Championships
The 2007 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships was a beach volleyball event, that is held from July 24 to 28, 2007 in Gstaad, Switzerland. The Swatch FIVB World Championships are organized every two years, and Switzerland hosted the event for the first time. 48 teams per gender entered the competition making 96 total.


2007 Beach Volleyball World Championships, Men's event, Round Robin, 3rd place ranked teams
The eight best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 32.


2007 Beach Volleyball World Championships, Women's event, Round Robin, 3rd place ranked teams
The eight best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 32.


2007 Beijing Guoan F.C. season
The  2007 Beijing Guoan F.C. season  was their 4th consecutive season in the Chinese Super League, established in the 2004 season, and 17th consecutive season in the top flight of Chinese football. They competed at the Chinese Super League.


2007 Beijing Guoan F.C. season, First team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2007 Belarusian First League
2007 Belarusian First League was the seventeenth season of 2nd level football championship in Belarus. It started in April and ended in November 2007.


2007 Belarusian First League, Team changes from 2006 season
Two top teams of last season (Minsk and Smorgon) were promoted to Belarusian Premier League. They were replaced by two teams that finished at the bottom of 2006 Belarusian Premier League table (Lokomotiv Minsk and Belshina Bobruisk).


2007 Belarusian First League, Team changes from 2006 season
Two teams that finished at the bottom of 2006 season table (Lida and Bereza) relegated to the Second League. They were replaced by two best teams of 2006 Second League (Dinamo-Belcard Grodno and Savit Mogilev).


2007 Belarusian First League, Team changes from 2006 season
Mikashevichi changed their name to Granit Mikashevichi and Mozyr-ZLiN to FC Mozyr prior to the season.


2007 Belarusian Premier League
The 2007 Belarusian Premier League was the 17th season of top-tier football in Belarus. It started on April 14 and ended on November 10, 2007. BATE Borisov were the defending champions.


2007 Belarusian Premier League, Team changes from 2006 season
Lokomotiv Minsk and Belshina Bobruisk were the two teams relegated after the 2006 season, having finished in 13th and 14th place respectively. They were replaced by 2005 First League champions Minsk and runners-up Smorgon. Lokomotiv Vitebsk changed their name to Vitebsk.


2007 Belarusian Premier League, Overview
BATE Borisov won their 4th champions title and qualified for the next season's Champions League. The championship runners-up Gomel and 2007–08 Cup winners MTZ-RIPO Minsk qualified for UEFA Cup. Due to Premiere League expansion to 16 teams starting with next season, only one team (Minsk, who finished in the last place) relegated to the First League.


2007 Belarusian municipal elections
2007 25th convocation local councils of Republic of Belarus elections were held on 14 January.


2007 Belarusian municipal elections, General information
Elections were organized by 1581 territorial committees — 6 regional and Minsk urban, 118 districtal, 13 urban in regional cities, 14 urban in districtal cities, 66 town and 1363 rural committees. Members of 45 political parties participated in committees. 30 October 2006 was a due date for commissions formation. In a single day of 14 January 2007 25th convocation rural, as well as district, urban and regional Concils of deputies election were hold under plurality voting. 22639 deputies were elected. According to oficial data voters participation was 79% all over the Republic and 60% in Minsk-city.


2007 Belarusian municipal elections, Participation of parties and candidates nomination
candidates nomination started from 5 November till 4 December 2006.


2007 Belfast-Murray River provincial by-election
A provincial by-election was held in Prince Edward Island on October 15, 2007 to fill the vacancy in the Legislative Assembly riding of Belfast-Murray River. It was called by Premier Robert Ghiz on September 17, 2007.


2007 Belfast-Murray River provincial by-election
The by-election was caused by the decision of PC MLA and former Premier Pat Binns to resign after he was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Ireland by Stephen Harper, following his election loss in the 2007 provincial election.


2007 Belfast-Murray River provincial by-election
The Liberal candidate was Charlie McGeoghegan, who had come within 400 votes of defeating Binns in the provincial election. The PC candidate was chosen on September 21, 2007, while both the NDP and the Greens had announced their candidates, as well; a former Liberal ran as an independent.


2007 Belfast-Murray River provincial by-election
McGeoghegan won the byelection, defeating Progressive Conservative Darlene Compton by over 400 votes.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix
The 2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season. It was held on August 26 at Circuit Zolder in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. The race was won by Sébastien Bourdais and was his sixth victory of the season.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Background
The race was part of a short tour through Europe, with the race at TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands one week later. It was the series' first and last ever race in Belgium. On January 16, 2007, the Champ Car World Series announced a multi-year agreement that would see the return of Champ Cars to Europe for the first time since 2003 with inaugural races in the Netherlands and Belgium. It was the first time that Champ Car has raced in either of the two European nations. "We are excited to bring the American equivalent of Formula 1 racing to Europe," said event promoter Bart Rietbergen. "Champ Car provides close racing that is easy for European fans to understand, and they will be very impressed with the access that they will have in the Champ Car paddock."


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Background
Conquest Racing driver Jan Heylen found himself in a home race on the circuit that lies just 30 km (19 mi) from Geel, the place where he was born. Next to Heylen, Robert Doornbos also had many fans as the track lies close to his native country, the Netherlands.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Qualifying results
Team Minardi USA driver Dan Clarke was suspended by Champ Car race director Tony Cotman for reckless driving and avoidable contact at the start of Friday's first free practice session and thus did not participate for the remainder of the weekend. Clarke had been placed on probation after an incident with Justin Wilson at the San Jose Grand Prix. Caught up in the incident were Wilson and Belgian driver Jan Heylen. Severe damage to Heylen's car prevented him from taking part in Friday's qualifying session. Mario Domínguez replaced Clarke starting on Saturday, stepping into his fourth team for the year. Clarke's suspension would be reevaluated before the next week's Grand Prix of the Netherlands. Clarke's Team Minardi teammate Robert Doornbos was also unable to take part in Friday's session after blowing an engine at the end of the practice session immediately prior to qualifying.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Qualifying results
Sébastien Bourdais was quickest on Saturday to win his fourth pole position of the season. It was also the fourth time Bourdais and Friday's fastest driver, Will Power, shared the front row. Doornbos recovered from his engine troubles on Friday to finish second fastest in the session, but started on the second row. Next to him was Dale Coyne Racing's Bruno Junqueira, who gave the long-struggling team its highest grid position since the 1999 Grand Prix of Long Beach.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
What began as another Sébastien Bourdais walkover took an interesting turn in the last thirty laps. Bourdais led away from the starting grid and held the lead until his second pit stop lap 40. On that lap, Bourdais lost the lead to a pack of alternate strategy cars who had pitted for the second time during a caution period on lap 27. Included in this pack were his teammate Graham Rahal who took the lead until he ducked into the pits on lap 47, relinquishing the lead to Bourdais.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Things got "really interesting" on lap 50 when a caution came out. Most drivers pitted a final pitstop but four drivers stayed out:  Bruno Junqueira, Simon Pagenaud, local driver Jan Heylen, and Tristan Gommendy. Of the four drivers, Junqueira's gambit was the most dangerous to Bourdais, as he had stopped on lap 49. The other drivers only real hope for success was a lot of full course caution laps.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
When the green flag came out again, the order was Pagenaud, Heylen, Gommendy, Junqueira, and Bourdais. After two hard fought laps, Junqueira gave up fourth place to Bourdais. Five laps later Gommendy gave up third spot shortly before pitting and then retiring with an oil leak.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
Heylen gave up his gambit on lap 59 and while Pagenaud gamely hung on to the lead until lap 63, he never had any reasonable chance to make the end of the race. With that stop, Bourdais re-inherited the lead, while behind him Junqueira gamely clung to second place while saving fuel at the same time. Rahal did not have fuel concerns but was not able to find his way around the veteran driver.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Race
That was the way the race ended, with Bourdais in front by more than 13 seconds. Junqueira's 2nd place was a historic achievement for the Dale Coyne Racing team, its best ever finish. Rahal settled for the fourth podium finish of his rookie season. Bourdais leads the season championship by 53 points over Robert Doornbos. Not an insurmountable lead, but one that leaves his challengers little hope of preventing the capture of his fourth straight Champ Car title.


2007 Belgian Champ Car Grand Prix, Attendance
Attendance for the weekend at Zolder was 40,000 spectators, with 25,000 attending on race day, which was in line with the organizers expectations. Additionally that was the number of fans they needed to attend to break even financially.


2007 Belgian Cup Final
The 2007 Belgian Cup Final, took place on 26 May 2007 between Club Brugge and Standard Liège. It was the 52nd Belgian Cup final and was won by Club Brugge due to a goal by Manasseh Ishiaku.


2007 Belgian Figure Skating Championships
The 2007 Belgian Figure Skating Championships (Dutch: Belgisch Kampioenschap 2007; French: Championnat de Belgique 2007) took place between 24 and 25 November 2006 in Hasselt. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's and ladies' singles.


2007 Belgian Figure Skating Championships
One skater from United Kingdom competed as guest skater and her results were discounted from the final results.


2007 Belgian Figure Skating Championships, Senior results, Ladies
Jenna McCorkell of United Kingdom finished 2nd with a total of 112.73 points, but is not included with the results.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix (officially the 2007 Formula 1 ING Belgian Grand Prix) was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the Formula One calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix
Going into the race, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton led the Drivers' Championship by three points from teammate Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari led the Constructors' Championship by 57 points from BMW Sauber after the exclusion of McLaren from the Constructors' Championship following the Ferrari/McLaren spy saga. Otherwise McLaren would have been leading the Championship.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix
The race also marked the 100th race start for Australian Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Practice
Ferrari tried the new for the first time traffic light system.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The usual drivers were eliminated in the first qualifying session—Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto went out in the Spykers along with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson in the Super Aguris, Rubens Barrichello in the Honda and Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
The second qualifying session was unusual as six drivers in six different cars were eliminated—Alexander Wurz of Williams, Vitantonio Liuzzi of Toro Rosso, Jenson Button of Honda, David Coulthard of Red Bull Racing. Giancarlo Fisichella of Renault and Ralf Schumacher of Toyota. Fisichella was later relegated right to the back of the grid after changing his engine after qualifying.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
This left seven different teams in the top 10. Heikki Kovalainen qualified tenth for Renault, just behind Jarno Trulli in the Toyota. Ahead of them were Mark Webber's Red Bull and Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber. Nico Rosberg did very well in the Williams to qualify on row 3 alongside Robert Kubica in the second BMW Sauber. However, the Pole was given a ten place grid drop for an engine change. Once again, McLaren and Ferrari occupied the top four places. Fernando Alonso pipped McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton to 3rd place, but Ferrari dominated, with Kimi Räikkönen beating Felipe Massa to get his 14th career pole and lock out the front row for the Italian team.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Qualifying
Due to FIA rules about the order in which penalties are applied, Kubica's penalty was applied first. This left him 15th and behind Fisichella. Then the Italian's penalty was applied, so Kubica ended up 14th. This meant Coulthard, Button and Liuzzi all gained two places as both drivers had been ahead of them.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The order from the start remained fairly unchanged with the Ferraris of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa led away from Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, although there was a lot of pushing between the McLarens as Hamilton attempted to pass around the outside of turn one, but Alonso pushed him wide onto the tarmac on the outside of the corner.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault suffered a suspension failure on lap 2, making him the first retirement of the race. He had been running last. Also on lap 2, Alexander Wurz spun in the Williams, slipping to the back of the field.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Sebastian Vettel soon suffered a handling problem, probably caused by a collision, which eliminated his Toro Rosso from the race on lap 9.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Massa briefly took the lead on lap 16, but Räikkönen reclaimed it a lap later after his pitstop.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
David Coulthard suffered a hydraulic failure in his Red Bull on lap 30. He was quickly followed with a fuel pressure problem for Wurz, who was still last, on lap 35, and the Honda of Jenson Button, which dropped out on lap 37 with another hydraulic failure.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Massa once again led for just one lap during Räikkönen's second stop, but he retook it the following lap.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
Räikkönen finally came home to win from Massa, clinching the World Constructors Championship for Ferrari. Alonso, Hamilton, Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber, Nico Rosberg's Williams, Mark Webber in the Red Bull and Heikki Kovalainen's Renault rounded up the top eight. The only changes from the starting top eight were Heidfeld and Rosberg swapping places and Kovalainen passing Jarno Trulli's Toyota to take eighth.


2007 Belgian Grand Prix, Report, Race
The race was overshadowed by the death of former World Rally Champion Colin McRae in a helicopter crash during Saturday's qualifying.


2007 Belgian Super Cup
The 2007 Belgian Super Cup was a football match played on 28 July 2007, between league winners R.S.C. Anderlecht and cup winners Club Brugge.


2007 Belgian federal election
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.


2007 Belgian federal election
Eligible voters were Belgian citizens 18 years and older. There was a legal electoral threshold of 5% for political parties to meet to receive representation, but in several election districts the real electoral threshold is higher than the legal, due to the small number of seats to be elected in the particular district. The 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from 11 electoral districts. The 40 Senate members were elected from the Dutch (25) and Francophone (15) electoral colleges.


2007 Belgian federal election
Of the Flemish parties, the alliance of Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) and the New-Flemish Alliance (N-VA) received an increased share of the vote from the previous election, held in 2003. The CD&V/N-VA list was headed by Yves Leterme, and became the largest political formation in Belgium, thus leading the coalition talks for a new government. Vlaams Belang received more votes than in the previous election, but lost one seat. Groen! was able to return to parliament and newcomers Lijst Dedecker surprised most by immediately grabbing six seats, including one in the Senate.


2007 Belgian federal election
Prime minister Guy Verhofstadt's "purple coalition," consisting of his Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) alliance list and Socialist Party – Different (sp.a/spirit), was punished in the election, with the sp.a/spirit alliance losing somewhat more than Verhofstadt's Open Vld alliance. The day after the election, Verhofstadt handed in the resignation of his government to King Albert II. SP.A leader Johan Vande Lanotte resigned from his leadership position as well that day.


2007 Belgian federal election
The Francophone situation did not mirror its Flemish counterpart. While Verhofstadt's Open Vld struggled, its Francophone sister party Mouvement Réformateur managed to defeat the long-dominant Parti Socialiste (PS), although the PS remained strong in Hainaut and Liège. The Humanist Democratic Centre brought in a positive result as well, but the biggest gains were for the environmentalist party Ecolo.


2007 Belgian federal election
The overall outcome of the elections was that the liberal fraction (MR, Open Vld) became the largest group in parliament with, followed by the Christian Democrats (CD&V, cdH) and N-VA with 40 seats. The electoral alliance between the Flemish CD&V and N-VA parties became the biggest single parliamentary grouping (25 seats for CD&V and 5 for N-VA).


2007 Belgian federal election, Background
The previous general election in 2003 had resulted in a coalition between the  socialist parties sp.a/spirit (Flemish) and the Parti Socialiste (Francophone), and the centrist liberal-democratic parties VLD/Vivant (Flemish) and MR (Francophone), with Guy Verhofstadt of the VLD to retaining his position of Prime Minister of Belgium until 2007.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties
Only parties who fielded candidates for the Belgian Senate are listed.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking)
These Flemish parties field candidates in the regions of Flanders and the partially bilingual electoral district Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), CD&V/N-VA
The Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) is a Christian Democratic party that has formed an alliance with the Flemish nationalist party New-Flemish Alliance (N-VA). Most polls in the run-up to the election suggested that the alliance would win the election and become the largest political force in Flanders. It is led by Yves Leterme, current prime minister of the Flemish Region and Community.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), CD&V/N-VA
Having become the largest political party in the Belgian Chamber after the 2007 election, the alliance will become the fulcrum of the coalition talks for a new government. Commentators suggest that coalition talks will be difficult, as most Francophone parties see the alliance as being overly Flemish-dominated.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), VB
It was the first time that the Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang, VB) had taken part in federal elections under its new name. Ostracized by all other political parties because of its views on foreigners and immigration, the VB is unlikely to take part in a new government. The VB's lists also included members of the right-liberal Flemish Liberal Independent Tolerant and Transparent party (VLOTT) of Hugo Coveliers.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), sp.a-spirit
The Socialistische Partij Anders is a social-democratic party and has formed a cartel list with the Flemish regionalist and left liberal party Spirit. Like their coalition partner VLD, they lost heavily in the election, which prompted sp.a party leader Johan Vande Lanotte to step down. Vande Lanotte made it also clear that the alliance will not take part in a federal government whose sole concern is state reform.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), Open VLD
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) is the alliance list of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) of prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, and the small liberal political parties Vivant (left-liberal) and Liberal Appeal (Liberaal Appèl) (right-liberal).


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), Open VLD
The VLD has seen some infighting in the last years, resulting in two prominent members leaving the party, Hugo Coveliers (VLOTT) and Jean-Marie Dedecker (Lijst Dedecker). After the 2006 municipal elections, the party had tried to revamp itself with the newly named Open Vld cartel, under direction of noted political strategist Noël Slangen.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), Groen!
Groen! is an ecological party, and the successor of Agalev. It hoped to make a return to the federal legislature after being wiped out in the 2003 general election. They managed to return to the Belgian parliament with four House seats and one senate seat, but their result of 6.3% was below expectations.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), LDD
List Dedecker (Lijst Dedecker) is a liberal offshoot of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, founded by Belgian Senator Jean-Marie Dedecker and Boudewijn Bouckaert, chairman of the Nova Civitas think tank. The party surprised some who doubted it would clear the 5% electoral threshold by receiving 6.3% of the Flemish vote.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), PVDA+
The Workers Party of Belgium (Partij van de Arbeid van België) is a radical left wing party, of Maoist origin. Its lists also contain independent candidates. The PVDA almost doubled their votes, from 0.5% to 0.9%.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Flemish parties (Dutch speaking), CAP
The Committee for Another Policy (Comité voor een Andere Politiek) is a bilingual left wing political movement, consisting of trade union militants, and political militants of communist, Trotskyist and socialist origin. It was formed in 2006 as a reaction to the more centrist course of the SP.a. Former SP.a-representative Jef Sleeckx is one of the co-founders. These elections were the first the movement participated in. They got 0.4% of the votes in Flanders.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking)
These Francophone parties fielded candidates in the Walloon Region and in the electoral district Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), PS
The Parti Socialiste (PS) is a social-democratic party that took part in the Verhofstadt I Government and the Verhofstadt II Government. It is unlikely that the PS will deliver Belgium's next prime minister, the last Francophone prime minister was Paul Vanden Boeynants in 1978-79. Largest competitor of the PS is the Mouvement Réformateur (MR), which just recently broke with the PS in Charleroi, after PS aldermen were charged with corruption.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), MR
The Mouvement Réformateur is a liberal party. It is a fusion of the Liberal Reformist Party (PRL), the French-linguistic party Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and a breakaway fraction of the Christian democratic Citizens' Movement for Change (MCC). It had taken part in the federal government of Guy Verhofstadt, which included MR leader Didier Reynders as finance minister.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), MR
The MR clearly won the elections in the French-speaking Walloon region, and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, ousting the previously dominant Parti Socialiste. The MR campaigned on three major fronts: the need for an alternative to the PS, entangled in various scandals of corruption and accused of poor governance leading to unemployment and anachronistic political systems; the need for a new fiscal reform; lowering taxes and government grip on the economy; and finally friendliness and cooperation with its Flemish counterpart, Open VLD.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), cdH
The Centre Démocrate Humaniste is a Christian democratic party. They made a small advance (0.4%) in these elections and finished with 15.8% of the votes.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), Ecolo
Ecolo is a Green party. It made the largest gains of the 2007 election among Francophone parties and went from 7.5% to 12.8%.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), FN
The Front National is a Franco-nationalist political movement known for its tough stances on immigration. They gained 5.6% of the vote, the same as in 2003.


2007 Belgian federal election, Parties, Francophone parties (French speaking), CAP
The Committee for Another Policy (Comité pour une Autre Politique) was a bilingual left wing political movement, consisting of trade union militants, and political militants of communist, Trotskyist and socialist origin. It was formed in 2006 as a reaction to the more centrist course of the PS and the SP.a. Former FGTB-chairman Georges Debunne was one of the co-founders. These elections were the first the movement participated in. The party got 0.2% of the votes in Hainaut and Liège, the two provinces where its candidates stood.


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Good governance
CD&V used the theme of good governance as a breaking point against sp.a and VLD. The party claimed that unlike in the Flemish Government, where CD&V leader Leterme heads a tripartite government, with CD&V, VLD and sp.a, the federal government lacked good governance. sp.a and VLD tried to counter this charge with similar examples in the Flemish Government of practices which CD&V accused them of.


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde and constitutionality
With the federal elections looming, the problem of the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (B-H-V) re-emerged. Because the federal government failed to comply with a ruling of the Court of Arbitration which declared the provincial electoral districts compared to the two remaining arrondisemental ones in the former province of Brabant unconstitutional. According to the ruling of the Court of Arbitration the current situation would make federal elections impossible after 24 June 2007, so the new government will have to solve the situation. Several mayors in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde area have threatened and actually have refused to compile the lists of electors. The governor took over their task.


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde and constitutionality
Professor and constitutional expert Paul Van Orshoven from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven declared that the elections would be unconstitutional. According to Van Orshoven there were two problems:


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Corruption in the Walloon Region
During the campaign new irregularities and corruption in PS-lead Charleroi emerged. The MR started using this as an example of why things in Wallonia under PS management were bad. The campaign became hostile and personal attacks between various MR, cdH and PS leaders dominated the campaign.


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Armenian genocide
In the run-up to the election, Johan Vande Lanotte, leader of the Socialist Party – Different, refused to acknowledge the Turkish genocide on its Armenian minority in the midst of a controversy about the strong allegiance to Turkey expressed in Turkish at a meeting by a Turkish-Belgian CD&V Senate candidate, Ergün Top, but also in the aftermath of a similar problem aroused during the campaign for the Dutch general election a few months earlier. The position of Yves Leterme (CD&V) on this issue was unclear at first, but he later confided to the Flemish parliament that he does acknowledge the Armenian genocide.


2007 Belgian federal election, Issues, Armenian genocide
In 1998, the Belgian Senate had already passed a resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide, including the support of SP (later sp.a) and CVP (later CD&V) senators.


2007 Belgian federal election, Opinion polls
The polls conducted by the Stemmenkampioen site of Het Laatste Nieuws and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel , yield the following overall result for Flanders, compared to the 2003 Senate elections. De Standaard and the VRT conducted a similar poll in November 2006, in March 2007 (the first poll in which Lijst Dedecker, a Flemish party founded in January 2007, was measured) and in May 2007.


2007 Belgian federal election, Results, Chamber of Representatives
The newly constituted Chamber met for the first time on Thursday 28 June 2007, when the Representatives took the oath of office.


2007 Belgian federal election, Results, Senate
21 Community Senators and 10 Coopted Senators were also be appointed. The definite distribution is not known. On Thursday 28 June 2007, the directly-elected Senators took the oath of office. One week later, on 5 July 2007, the Community Senators took the oath, and two weeks later, on 12 July 2007, the Coopted Senators took the oath. On that day, the Senate was fully constituted.


2007 Belgian federal election, Government formation
Due to differences in view with regards to constitutional reform between the Flemish and Francophone parties, the negotiations to form a new government proceeded with much difficulty.


2007 Belgian federal election, Government formation
On 13 June 2007, King Albert II appointed MR leader Didier Reynders informateur, (someone who assesses the possibilities for government coalitions). Prior to his appointment, in his position as party leader, Reynders had indicated his preference for a coalition of Christian Democratic parties CD&V (Flanders) and cdH (Wallonia) and liberal parties MR (Wallonia) and Open VLD (Flanders). Reynders presented his final report to the King on 4 July 2007. Following the report, King Albert II appointed former Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene as mediator to prepare the ground for the formateur and to look into the possibility of a state reform.


2007 Belgian federal election, Government formation
The King then appointed Yves Leterme of the CD&V as formateur (giving him the task of forming a coalition). Negotiations were temporarily halted on 17 August to give the King the possibility to mediate. Upon the further failure of the negotiations, on 23 August Leterme resigned as formateur. As no acceptable mediator could be found, on 27 August, the King took the unusual step to consult 13 Ministers of State to find way out of the political crisis.


2007 Belgian federal election, Government formation
At the end of August, the King appointed Herman Van Rompuy (also CD&V and President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives since July) as explorateur (scout). Following Rompuy's report, Leterme was again appointed formateur on 15 September. After two months of further negotiations, Leterme was still unable to form a coalition and resigned as formateur for a second time on 1 December.


2007 Belize Premier Football League
The 2007 season of the Belize Premier Football League, otherwise known as the RFG Insurance Cup, began on February 25, 2007 and concluded on June 10, 2007. FC Belize of Belize City won a twelve team league.


2007 Belmont Stakes
The 2007 Belmont Stakes was the 139th running of the Belmont Stakes. The race was held on June 9, 2007. Rags to Riches won the race by a head over Curlin before a crowd of 46,870, becoming the first filly to win the Belmont since 1905 and to win a Triple Crown race since the 1988 Kentucky Derby.


2007 Belmont Stakes, Belmont Stakes feature key prep races list
This list contains the current 2007 standings that leads to the Belmont Stakes race.


2007 Beninese parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 31 March 2007, having been delayed from an earlier date of 25 March due to organisational difficulties. Twenty-six political parties and 2,158 candidates contested the elections for the 83 seats in the National Assembly; there were 24 constituencies and 17,487 polling stations.


2007 Beninese parliamentary election
The elections saw the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin emerge as the largest party, winning 35 of the 83 seats. Turnout was estimated at 58.69%. The new National Assembly was sworn in on 23 April.


2007 Benue State gubernatorial election
The 2007 Benue State gubernatorial election was the 6th gubernatorial election of Benue State. Held on April 14, 2007, the People's Democratic Party nominee Gabriel Suswam won the election, defeating Daniel Saror of the All Nigeria Peoples Party.


2007 Benue State gubernatorial election, Results
Gabriel Suswam from the People's Democratic Party won the election, defeating Daniel Saror from the All Nigeria Peoples Party. Registered voters was 2,150,515.


2007 Berlin Marathon
The 2007 Berlin Marathon was the 34th edition of the Berlin Marathon. The marathon took place in Berlin, Germany, on 30 September 2007 and was the fourth World Marathon Majors race of the year.


2007 Berlin Marathon
The men's race was won by Haile Gebrselassie in 2:04:26 hours and the women's race was won by Gete Wami in a time of 2:23:17 hours.


2007 Berlin Thunder season
The 2007 Berlin Thunder season was the ninth and final season for the franchise in the NFL Europa League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach John Allen in his first year, and played its home games at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of two wins and eight losses. The National Football League (NFL) announced the closure of its European branch on June 29.


2007 Bermudian general election
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 December 2007 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Ewart Brown was returned for a third term, with 22 of the 36 seats of the House of Assembly, with the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) winning the remaining 14 seats.


2007 Bermudian general election, Background
Bermuda gained internal self government with the introduction of a constitution in 1968 and for the first 30 years afterwards the United Bermuda Party was in power. Their domination was broken by defeat in the 1998 election leading to the Progressive Labour Party winning government for the first time. The PLP government was returned at the 2003 election, winning 22 seats compared to 14 seats for the United Bermuda Party.


2007 Bermudian general election, Background
Bermuda remains a British overseas territory; independence was rejected in a referendum in 1995. However, in 2004 the then Premier of Bermuda, called for a debate on independence to take place.


2007 Bermudian general election, Background
Ewart Brown became Premier in October 2006, defeating the incumbent, William Alexander Scott, in a contest for the leadership of PLP, while in March 2007 Michael Dunkley became leader of the opposition United Bermuda Party, ousting Wayne Furbert.


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
On 2 November 2007, Premier Brown announced that the election would be held on 18 December. Both main parties put up 36 candidates and there were two independent candidates. Altogether 42,337 people were registered to vote with each constituency having about 1,100 voters. An opinion poll in the summer had put the UBP on 40%, the PLP on 34% and 26% undecided. Analysts saw 7 of the 36 seats as likely to be close.


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
The incumbent PLP campaigned on the basis of their record where they said they had increased tourism and attracted development to Bermuda. They pledged that they would introduce free day care, bus and ferry transportation if they were re-elected. With Bermuda having a population that was 60% of African descent, the PLP said that votes for the UBP were a vote for white people. They used the example of two black people who had left the UBP earlier in the year after saying that the white elite was still in control of the party.


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
The election was seen as being partly contested on the performance of Premier Brown. The UBP described him as a polarizing figure and accused him of being involved in corruption. A police dossier had alleged there was corruption in the public housing corporation, but prosecutors said they could not find any evidence of illegality. The PLP, however, described their leader as "the man who gets things done".


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
The UBP criticised the PLP for having failed to create enough affordable housing and for their plans for enforcing racial equality in the workplace. A former UBP premier said that the PLP's plan to fine companies if they did not promote black people to senior posts could drive away many expatriates and companies from Bermuda. The UBP said that, if they were elected, they would give Bermudian status to everyone who had lived in Bermuda for more than 20 years, which the PLP said would be a mistake which could lead to 8,000 more Bermudians.


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
Also at issue in the election was both parties' policies over independence for Bermuda. Premier Brown was in favour of independence but his party said that this was just a long-term goal and that they would not use the election as the basis for a push for independence. The UBP said that they would hold a referendum if they won the election and said that Bermuda should not become independent unless there was clear support in a referendum. An opinion poll in 2007 had shown that around two-thirds of Bermudians were opposed to independence.


2007 Bermudian general election, Campaign
The campaign lasted six weeks, the longest ever in Bermuda, and was seen as being very bitter. Polls showed the election was tight with analysts saying that they expected the result to be close. During the campaign there was an incident when someone attempted to mail a bullet to Premier Brown, but it was intercepted by a postal worker, which led both parties to try to calm the campaign down.


2007 Bermudian general election, Results
The results of the election saw no change from the 2003 election with the Progressive Labour Party still winning 22 seats and the United Bermuda Party 14 seats. The leader of the United Bermuda Party, Michael Dunkley, failed to win election in Smith's North losing by 444 votes to 536. He had given up his safe seat of Devonshire East to try to overturn the United Bermuda Party's deficit by winning a marginal seat.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak
The 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak was an occurrence of avian influenza in England caused by the H5N1 subtype of Influenza virus A that began on 30 January 2007. The infection affected poultry at one of Bernard Matthews' farms in Holton in Suffolk. It was the third instance of H5N1-subtype detected in the United Kingdom and a range of precautions were instituted to prevent spread of the disease including a large cull of turkeys, the imposition of segregation zones, and a disinfection programme for the plant.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak
The cause of the outbreak was not determined. However, it was considered significant that Bernard Matthews regularly transports turkeys and turkey products between the UK and its plant in Hungary, and that the H5N1 strains previously found in Hungary, and those found at Suffolk, were effectively genetically identical.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Background, H5N1
H5N1 is a subtype of the Influenza A virus, the viruses responsible for influenza in humans and many other animal species. A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1", is the causative agent of H5N1 flu.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Background, H5N1
HPAI A(H5N1) is considered an avian disease, although there is some evidence of limited human-to-human transmission of the virus. A risk factor for contracting the virus is handling of infected poultry, but transmission of the virus from infected birds to humans is inefficient. Poultry farming practices have changed due to H5N1. The cost of poultry farming has increased, while the cost to consumers has gone down, due to fears from H5N1 driving demand below supply.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Background, Recent outbreaks in the UK and rest of EU
The outbreak was the third instance of H5N1 detected in the United Kingdom. The first outbreak occurred in October 2005 among exotic birds imported from Taiwan and South America at a privately owned quarantine facility in Essex, England. The second instance involved a dead whooper swan found to have the virus in Cellardyke, Scotland in April 2006. A corresponding incidence on a farm in south-eastern Hungary was confirmed by the European Commission on 25 January 2007.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, The outbreak
Initial signs of the outbreak occurred on Tuesday, 30 January when 55 turkey poults died and 16 had to be killed because they were sick. At least 185 more died the following day.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, The outbreak
It was not until 1 February that the deaths were reported to Defra. The farm was sealed off while tests were carried out, on samples taken from the dead birds, at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey. Another 1,500 birds died on 2 February. Then on 3 February 2007 the H5N1 causation was confirmed.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, The outbreak
A 3 km protection zone, 10 km surveillance zone and a restricted zone encompassing 2000 km2 were set up. Another 159,000 turkeys were slaughtered with the cull being completed on the evening of 5 February. Also on 5 February there was criticism that nearby farmers had not been advised as to the action to be taken. Around 320 workers at the plant were given anti-viral drugs. Although a vet from the site was admitted into hospital, suffering from a 'mild respiratory illness' during the evening of 6 February, it was found not to be bird flu. The plant was thoroughly disinfected, with cleaning complete on 12 February, and permission being given for production to resume.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, The outbreak
It emerged in a highly critical report from Defra that there was a series of biosecurity failings at the Holton plant, some of which were drawn to the company's attention in the past. These included "gulls were taking turkey waste to roosts on top of the turkey-house 500 m away" and "holes in the turkey houses could have allowed in birds or rodents". Defra minister Jeff Rooker stated in a House of Lords debate on 22 February that the outbreak was "exclusively a Bernard Matthews Holton problem".


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
The Government, on 8 February, admitted that the outbreak may have been caused by semi-processed turkey meat imported directly from Hungary, where the disease is prevalent, despite earlier in the week the Environment Secretary, David Miliband assuring the House of Commons that there was "no Hungarian connection".


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
Bernard Matthews had been importing 38 tons of partly processed turkey meat on a weekly basis from their Saga Foods company, in Sárvár, Hungary, to a processing plant next to the farm. Though Saga Foods lies 165 miles (266 km) from where the recent Hungarian H5N1 outbreak had occurred, a company director admitted it was "possible" that some of the meat could have come from the exclusion zone. In response to this revelation, Whitehall expressed concern over biosecurity and whether any meat may have been distributed for human consumption in Britain.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
On 9 February 2007 the Hungarian authorities started an investigation to try to establish whether there was a connection between the Suffolk and Hungarian outbreaks. On 11 February the investigation revealed that turkey products were still being transported, in both directions, between the plant and Hungary with EU regulations being cited as the reason why a transport ban could not be imposed.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
The Hungary link was dismissed by the European Commission on 12 February. Even so, the H5N1 bird flu strains found in Hungary and Britain were shown to be 99.96% genetically identical and, according to an analysis of the viruses by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, Surrey, were almost certainly linked. A leak from the Government's COBRA emergency committee indicated that the authorities were not aware of the Hungarian connection until an investigator found a Gallfoods delivery wrapper in a Bernard Matthews bin.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
This raised the possibility that the outbreak was due to a "third party abattoir, Gallfoods in Hungary, just outside the restricted zone". This abattoir might have been a middle man for contaminated poultry farming tools, feed, or product from within the restricted zone, such as a Bernard Matthews owned subsidiary in Hungary.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
In response to the incident and allegations of a cover-up, Bernard Matthews himself stated on 14 February "I'm sorry – but this has not been of our making. There's been absolutely no cover-up at our end. I've been upset about allegations that we may have withheld information. That is completely untrue."


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Hungarian connection
Bernard Matthews was given permission to resume its shipments of poultry between the UK and Hungary from 17 February even though Defra indicated that Hungarian turkey products remained the "most plausible" cause of the outbreak.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Consequences
By 8 February there was a lengthening list of countries that had banned the importation of poultry products from Britain including South Africa, Russia, Japan, and many others but a spokesman for the European Commission condemned the bans as "totally disproportionate" and the British Poultry Council pointed out that exports were less than 9% of the level of domestic sales. Supermarket sales of Bernard Matthews branded turkeys halved after the onset of the outbreak as shoppers sought out alternatives. One of the biggest ongoing surveys of consumer confidence revealed that, by 13 February 2007, Bernard Matthews was the least respected and trusted brand in Britain.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Consequences
Following the outbreak the company confirmed, on 19 February 2007, that 130 workers would be laid off for a period of twenty days due to a drop in product sales. The Transport and General Workers' Union then called for the government to provide compensation to the workers affected. The Transport and General Workers' Union paid out hardship monies from union funds to union members, on top of any state benefits to which the laid-off workers were entitled and a one-off £100 payment from Bernard Matthews.


2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak, Consequences
A row broke out on 1 March 2007 when it emerged that the Government were paying compensation to the company for the 159,000 culled turkeys while laid-off workers were receiving nothing. At £3.75 each for hens and £3.53 for toms, the payout was then estimated at between £537,000 and £570,000. In the event, though, the actual compensation bill came out at £589,356.89. The crisis cost Bernard Matthews at least £20 m in lost sales and costs.


2007 Bersih rally
The 2007 Bersih rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 10 November 2007. The aim of this walk was to campaign for electoral reform. It was precipitated by allegations of corruption and discrepancies in the Malaysian election system that heavily favour the ruling political party, Barisan Nasional, which has been in power since Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957.


2007 Bersih rally
Much of the publicity for the rally was distributed through online media and blogs. Initially, the organisers planned to have a gathering point at Dataran Merdeka square. However, it was later revealed that this was a red herring to distract the police. The locations of the four gathering points were only released the day before the protests by word of mouth, mobile phones and emails.


2007 Bersih rally
Consequently, the rally began with gatherings of people at four locations: Sogo department store, Masjid India, Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni. These four groups of people combined into a single group on their march towards the palace gates to hand over a memorandum to the King demanding electoral reform. Early estimates put the number of attendees between 10,000 and 40,000.


2007 Bersih rally
Plans called for 100,000 people to join in the rally, and there are claims that this number was indeed achieved, as the many early estimates failed to include those who simultaneously gathered at different locations and those that were barred by police from continuing the walk. The title of the rally is derived from the name of the organizers, BERSIH (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections). The word "bersih" means clean in Malay.


2007 Bersih rally
Before the Bersih rally, there was a Reformasi Movement in September 1998 caused by the sacking of previous Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. It has massively formed a noteworthy change in the political scene in Malaysia. Supporters from all over went down to the lanes to show and bolster the call for Reformasi, which was driven by Anwar Ibrahim. Gigantic and exceptional demonstrations occurred in Kuala Lumpur and other major cities. A fascinating angle to note, in the meantime, the administration of Malaysia is endlessly grasping the universe of Information Technology. The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) denoted a fresh start for Malaysia, as it looks to be a world leader in Information Technology.


2007 Bersih rally
Next is The Political Tsunami Changes Malaysian Politics. This is a political wave. Much the same as the normal tidal wave that never gives any sign it happens. In any case, when the topographical plate unexpectedly shifted form and vertically uproot the overlying water, it can create an awesome tsunami. During this time, the political torrent cleared away 50% of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition's energy. Nobody expected such outcomes, included BN and the resistance as there was no obvious sign before the decisions. Without a doubt, BN has been mentally arranged.


2007 Bersih rally
It anticipated that would lose dominant part of Indian votes and part of Chinese votes. In any case, it was sure to win the national surveys by acquiring the majority of Malay votes and backings from Sabah and Sarawak. In view of this certainty, it held an early race. Therefore, the individuals who have been required to lose lost severely while the individuals who were not anticipated that would lose, lost a great deal. BN did not only lose Indian and Chinese vote but rather Malay votes in urban regions, and additionally in Northern Malaysia and the East Coast.


2007 Bersih rally
This is not quite the same as the influential current in 1990 and 1999. Resistance parties framed a coalition to battle with BN coalition in 1990. In the long run, Malay voters stressed that progressions may cause them lose the decision control. In this way, they surrendered Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and upheld United Malays National Organization. In spite of most Chinese voted in favor of the resistance, yet the restriction fizzled without the help from others.


2007 Bersih rally, Reformasi demands
These demands were incorporated into the Memorandum for submission to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Reformasi shakes Mahathir's authoritarian regime was political onlookers' fundamental concern. From a historical point of view voters' decision could realize a two-party system and end BN's overwhelming one-party dominion. This was the expectation of majority rule government followers. This awesome coalition planned to take over one third of the seats in parliament, end the matchless quality of the BN and constrain Mahathir to venture down.


2007 Bersih rally, Preparations, Organisers' preparations
Initially, organisers decided on two locations for rally participants to gather before marching on to the Istana Negara: Masjid Negara and Dataran Merdeka, two of the most significant landmarks in Kuala Lumpur. However, the day before the rallies were due, the organisers decided to change the locations to Sogo department store, Masjid India, Masjid Negara and Pasar Seni, in an attempt to divert riot police's attention. Furthermore, a decoy of 500 people were sent to Dataran Merdeka to 'attempt' to get into the square.


2007 Bersih rally, Preparations, Government preparations
In the days leading up to the rally, the government warned Malaysians not to take part in the rally as an official permit had not been granted. Citizens were warned that anyone who turned up and participate in the rally would be immediately arrested, because the rally is deemed as illegal since the current Malaysian law bans public gatherings of more than five persons without a permit. However, in July last year, a police permit has released for Umno Youth to hold a protest to demand that the US and Israel end the violence in the Middle East, while US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting with Asean leaders.


2007 Bersih rally, Preparations, Government preparations
Local television channels, controlled by the ruling party, continually showed video footage of violent protests from other countries, complemented by the tagline "Demonstration always ends in violence." The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Badawi, was quoted saying "Saya pantang dicabar" (translation: I will not be challenged). He urged Malaysians to use elections to give their feedback. He had vowed to crack down on the rally and gave his permission to the police to break up the rally and possibly arrest its participants.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Police's response
Hours before the rally was due to occur, thousands of police were stationed around Merdeka Square, and traffic coming into Kuala Lumpur had to pass through numerous security checkpoints, some saying checkpoints began at Pagoh, Johor and Kemaman, Terrengganu. This created widespread traffic congestion throughout the entire Klang Valley area. Although it was claimed by the government that the actual rally was the cause of the jam, other sources contradicted this, stating that the numerous barricades and roadblocks set up by police officers were the direct source of the congestion.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Police's response
Authorities also made changes to the train schedule in an attempt to make it more difficult for people to reach the rally area. Trains on the Kelana Jaya LRT line coming into the city from Kelana Jaya, which normally stop at Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek, instead bypassed those stations, going from KL Sentral directly to Dang Wangi Station. Passengers were not given any warning of this and many did not realise they would not be able to stop at these stations until the train was already on its way to Dang Wangi or Sentral.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Police's response
During the rally, the police responded by firing chemical laced water cannons and tear gas at rally participants at the Masjid Jamek and Bandaraya LRT meeting points. 245 people were arrested according to the local daily newspapers The Star, owned by MCA, one of the coalition parties of the current ruling government. Independent sources, however, quoted only 34 people were arrested and released the night later.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Police's response
Purportedly, the organisers of BERSIH had ordered participants to be cooperative and the assembly was to remain peaceful at all times.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Media's response
Foreign media such as Al-Jazeera covered the event with detailed videos and ground and satellite images. BBC and CNN featured the news in their online papers as well. Bangkok Post published this event on its internet edition and fine print.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Media's response
The event received almost no coverage in the local media. The most widely circulated English daily, The Star only reported a traffic congestion. Other print dailies did not report the incident.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Prime Minister
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi remarked that the Malaysian Royalty should not be dragged into Malaysian politics. He further alleged that the rally constituted an attempt by the Opposition to drag the Yang di-Pertuan Agong into the issue. Constitutionally, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the Head of the State while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government. Earlier, BERSIH had informed the public that the rally is a non-partisan activity, agreed by all organisers with NGOs (non-governmental organisations) forming the principal backbone of the movement, followed by some opposition parties.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Prime Minister
BERSIH had earlier insisted the rally was non-partisan; however, no parties from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition participated. In fact, there was a cry for a clampdown on the rally by delegates and hard-liners in the 2007 UMNO Annual General Meeting.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Information Minister
Later, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin criticised Al-Jazeera, denying reports that the police used excessive force in the demonstration. Zainuddin said that the police had to disperse the gathering with water cannons and tear gas since the rally was illegal. There are online allegations that certain journalists and civilians were beaten by authorities. Mainstream media confirmed arrests of people who had joined the rally. Most Malaysian media outlets generally gave the number of protesters present as approximately 4,000, although independent and international media reported a turnout ten times higher. Zainuddin Maidin was severely criticised in various socio-political blogs for his poor command of English shown during an interview with the Qatar-based news group Al-Jazeera regarding the rally.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Information Minister
Later the people marched towards Istana Negara to hand over the memorandum after many attempts (from the police) to disperse the mob failed. Some had travelled from other states to claim their rights.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Nazri Aziz, from the ruling party UMNO gave a negative response. He claimed there is democracy in Malaysia, therefore there is no necessity for a rally.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Nazri further predicted that the opposition parties "are going to lose, and they are going to lose badly in the next elections". He also insisted that Malaysia was a democracy, thus invalidating comparisons with Myanmar because the Buddhist monks in Myanmar were protesting for the restoration of democracy in a country where the people were oppressed.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
However, Nazri did not admit that protest is allowed in democracies. BERSIH demands, with support from citizens for the restoration of genuine democracy. Unclean elections due to unfair electoral processes is equivalent to false or absent democracy.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Government responses, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Moreover, both Myanmar and Malaysia crack down on rallies and protests not permitted by the government. Human Rights associations across the world regard freedom to assemble and rally as fundamental rights of a citizen in democratic nations.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Royals' response
According to Malaysiakini, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abdidin in a rare press statement said neither he nor Istana Negara had directly or indirectly supported the massive rally held over the weekend in Kuala Lumpur.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, Royals' response
According to Bernama, the King, in a statement issued via a palace official, expressed regret over the claim that he and the palace had supported Saturday’s illegal gathering.


2007 Bersih rally, Responses, International response
On 29 November 2007, the AFP carried a comment by an anonymous official from the United States State Department stating that "We believe citizens of any country should be allowed to peacefully assemble and express their views."


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
It was reported that the rally participants played a 'cat and mouse' game with the riot police, as many of the groups were repeatedly stopped by the police and disallowed from continuing.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
The group from Masjid Jamek were sprayed with water cannons and tear gas canisters, but still managed to continue their march by joining the group congregating in front of the Sogo departmental store.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
The group from Pasar Seni, led by Tian Chua attempted to pass through police barricades that blocked them from approaching the palace. This group also tried to negotiate with the police. As the negotiations were going on, this group found an alley that was not guarded by riot police, hence being able to bypass the police to get to the palace.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
500 people from the Pasar Seni group joined part of the Sogo group to continue their march. Meanwhile, 10,000 people from Masjid Negara had begun marching to Istana Negara. They split into two groups to increase the chance of reaching Istana Negara.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
A combined group of 40,000 people, stretching half a kilometre long along the highway were stopped by police 300 meters from the palace grounds. They were eventually joined by the group from Masjid Jamek and Sogo.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
Police allowed a delegation of 7 people, including PAS's President Abdul Hadi Awang and Nasharuddin Mat Isa, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng and Keadilan's Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to enter the palace.


2007 Bersih rally, Rally proceedings
After the memorandum was handed over to a palace secretary, most of the rally participants were seen walking back to Masjid Negara. About 20 people had been arrested earlier in the day and were held at Pudu police station. When they finally arrived at Masjid Negara, they were told to go home. Some of the rally participants went to the Pudu police station to support those who were detained.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
For 2008, voters never again settled on choice based on race and shading. Resistance votes in urban zones, blended bodies electorate that cast by Chinese, Indians and Malays helped the opposition to pick up triumph. The reasons are, first is changes in the social environment. Regarding social condition BN has been confronting the antagonistic social atmosphere before the elections. Financially, the surge of costs has shaped an awesome weight to the citizens, particularly the individuals who live in urban communities.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
Seconds is changes in civic thought. The political structure of BN coalition was as yet in view of race in which each gathering worried without anyone else racial belief system to gain support from their racial gatherings. At that point, pioneers of each gatherings collaborated and circulated control in the best administration. This structure has been kept up for half of a century and assumed its chronicled part, and also effectively settled some racial issues. In any case, there were a few shortcomings for the structure.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
As each gathering was battling for the interests of their races, it was absence of regular standards and objectives and prompted logical inconsistencies in strategies and goals. Segment parties at first made due on such conveyance of energy yet as time advances, bigotry has been bit by bit obsolete and the general national intrigue has gone past racial interests.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
There are confinements for racial gatherings and it is difficult to keep up the need of national solidarity. Under these twofold weights, the topic of the BN's statement that still worried on peace, dependability and flourishing has been conflicting with the prerequisites of the general population. Like the riptide underneath the ocean, BN coalition, who has ruled the nation for half of a century couldn't control the change of the general population's idea.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
Generally, the restriction was bolstered by the general population as it accentuated on issues like bringing down oil costs, enhancing lawfulness, lessening the hole between the rich and poor people and battling against debasement which were in accordance with the social environment and steady with the general population's desires. The belief system of the restriction has deserted racial and religious issues however yelled for change and underlined on social equity, vote based system and equity.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
Democratic Action Party's (DAP) wish to convey changes to the nation, Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) support of Divide and Rule and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia's (PAS) thought of having a welfare nation picked up them reverberation from the general population. The restriction cooperated and angled votes in favor of each other to reinforce their energy. Furthermore, PKR has exited from the shadow of Anwar while Anwar demonstrated his charm that effectively transformed the gathering into an ordinary political gathering and another constrain. Malaysia would have another face after the political tidal wave.


2007 Bersih rally, The political tsunami changes in Malaysian politics
The energy of BN coalition has declined and it needs to depend on Sabah, Sarawak and Southern Malaysia to keep up its decision control. There will be real authority changes in UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan. What's more, the belief systems of BN coalition's segment parties must be balanced. Relinquishing racial segment would be an exit plan. With respect to the resistance, they won't not have the capacity to deal with to sudden triumph in the decisions, particularly for DAP and Keadilan who won control of states and extended their impacts in the Parliament ought to.


2007 Bersih rally, Impact of Reformasi
The ascent of the Reformasi development in the late 1990s was a noteworthy point of reference in the democratization procedure in Malaysia. Amid the period before the Reformasi development, exceptional monetary development rendered a feeling of authenticity to the tyrant run; in any case, the budgetary emergency in 1997 opened the way to the introduction of the Reformasi development. Nair (2007) portrayed the Reformasi development as a reaction from the general population to the tyrant govern of the decision administration. They requested government straightforwardness, responsibility and trustworthiness.