|
- Russia's supreme court declares the imperial dynasty victims of political repression, marking the official rehabilitation of the house of Romanov. The decision overturns a lower court ruling that classified the killings as plain murder, and exonerates Emperor Nicholas II and his family of the alleged crimes the Bolshevik regime used to justify their killing. (Reuters)[dead link]
- The United States Senate passes the civilian nuclear agreement with India by a vote of 86–13. India has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but may now undertake nuclear trade to the States (TOI)
- The National Transportation Safety Board reports that a Metrolink engineer sent a text message 22 seconds before the Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles, California, that killed 25 people. (CBS)
- Mayor of Melbourne John So announces his resignation. (news.com.au)
- United States Army General David D. McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, says that a greater military presence is "needed as quickly as possible." (CNN)
- Subprime mortgage crisis:
- A new U.S. Armed Forces Unified Combatant Command for Africa—AFRICOM—is created. Main functions of AFRICOM include fighting terror, securing oil supplies in Africa, and supporting U.S. foreign policy in the region where Chinese influence is growing. (BBC) (The Nation)
- A series of 4 blasts set off in Agartala, capital of the Indian state of Tripura, killing at least 4 people and injuring 100. Times of India
|
|
- Sarah Palin and Joe Biden have their only scheduled debate for the vice presidency of the United States. (ABC)(WP)
- Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko may face impeachment on charges of undermining national security, and illegal arms trade with Georgia months before the attack on Tskhinvali, South Ossetia, says Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko earlier said the arms trade charges are "unsubstantiated". (USA Today) (Bikilar.Az) (The Times) (France24) (BBC News) (Izvestia)
- The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service and the most senior policeman in the United Kingdom, Sir Ian Blair, announces that he will stand down from his post in December of this year, citing a lack of support from London Mayor Boris Johnson. (BBC News)
- A search team finds the wreckage of the airplane flown by adventurer Steve Fossett in the mountains of Madera County, California, and what appears to be some of his personal effects nearby. Fossett had disappeared on September 3, 2007. (Sydney Daily Telegraph)
- Subprime mortgage crisis:
|
|
- Narcoterrorist attack on a military convoy by Shining Path guerrillas kills 19 including women and children in southeast Peru. (AFP via Yahoo News)
- Montenegro and Macedonia recognize Kosovo, bringing the total number of United Nations members recognising Kosovo to fifty. (International Herald Tribune)
- The U.S. National Security Agency is accused of listening to Americans' private phone conversations.(ABC News)
- Nobel Prize:
- 2008 Pacific hurricane season : Tropical Storm Odile forms south of Mexico while Hurricane Norbert weakens to tropical storm strength northwest of Odile. (AP via Google News)
- Global financial crisis of September–October 2008:
- Head of International Monetary Fund says the US financial crisis threatens to send the world into a recession. IMF releases World Economic Outlook report with gloomy projections for the global financial system. (Deutsche Welle)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 678.91 points to 8,579.19 points. (New York Times)
- Greece introduces a 100,000 Euro guarantee for the 230 billion Euro bank deposits in the country for three years, well above the EU-wide Ecofin-mandated minimum of 50,000 Euro for one year, and gives assurances that the Greek banking system is stable, while the Greek central bank announces a drop in the expected growth of the Greek economy to 3.3% (from 4%) because of decreased consumption caused by high petrol and food prices. (ekathimerini), (ekathimerini), (Forbes), (Wikinews)
- Kaupthing Bank, Iceland's largest bank, is nationalized by the country's Financial Supervisory Authority. (Bloomberg)
- North Korea has forbidden ships to sail in an area of the Yellow Sea as it prepares for the launch of 10 short-range missiles. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Rwanda of sending troops across the border, threatening the city of Goma. (BBC News)
- War on Terrorism:
- Court in the United Kingdom hears of how two doctors planned car bomb attacks on London and Glasgow airports in revenge for how UK was treating Muslims (BBC News)
- NATO plans on sending seven warships to protect United Nations food aid from Piracy in Somalia. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
- North Korea ends its nuclear freeze as it prepares to restart a nuclear facility (AP via Yahoo News)
- No candidate wins a majority in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election; the incumbent Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will face Mohamed Nasheed in a runoff. (Minivan News)
- Los Zetas of the Gulf Cartel suspected killers of 5 police near Guadalajara during nationwide crackdown in Mexico. (AP via Yahoo News)
|
|
- Business and economy
- Religion
|
|
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Arts and culture
|
|
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Disasters and accidents
|
|
- United States Special Operations Forces, stationed in Iraq, launch a cross-border raid in Syria, attacking a civilian building under construction near Abu Kamal, Syria. The Syrian government states 8 civilians were killed. (Sky News) (SANA) (IHT)
- A shooter kills two people and injures another at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. (CNN)
- A light aircraft en route from Gloucester, England, to Kilrush, Ireland, crashes in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, killing four people. (RTÉ)
- Kadima Party leader and Acting Prime Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni abandons efforts to form a coalition government and calls for early elections. (CNN)
- Georgian–Abkhazian conflict:
- Óscar Tulio Lizcano, a Conservative congressman kidnapped by the FARC in August 2000, is freed by the military in Chocó Department, Colombia. (BBC News)
- Municipal elections take place in Chile. The conservative opposition Alliance for Chile reaches 40% of the mayoral vote, winning an election for the first time in 50 years, in what is considered a barometer for the 2009 presidential election. (El Mercurio)
|
|
Elections |
Recent
October
- 8 October: Maldives, President
- 12 October: Lithuania, Parliament (1st Round) and nuclear power referendum
- 14 October: Canada, Parliament
- 15 October: Azerbaijan, President
- 15 October: Jersey, General (1st Round)
- 16 October: United Nations, Security Council
- 17/18 October and 24/25 October: Czech Republic, Senate (one third)
- 26 October: Lithuania, Parliament (2nd Round)
- 26 October: Chile, Municipal
- 29 October: Maldives, President (2nd Round)
- 30 October: Zambia, President
Upcoming
November
- 4 November: United States: President, House of Representatives, Senate (one third: "Class II" Senators)
- 4 November: American Samoa, General
- 4 November: Guam, General
- 4 November: Palau, President, Senate and House of Delegates
- 4 November: Puerto Rico, Governor, Legislative
- 8 November: New Zealand, General
- 9 November: San Marino, Parliament
edit this archived sidebar
|
|