Coming Events in Spain

November 2007

• Pakistani President Declares State of Emergency (Nov. 3): Pervez Musharraf suspends the country's constitution and fires Chief Justice Iftakar Mohammed Chaudhry and the other judges on the Supreme Court. In addition, police arrest at least 500 opposition figures. Analysts suggest that Musharraf was trying to preempt an upcoming ruling by the Supreme Court, which is expected to declare he could not constitutionally run for president while head of military. Musharraf, however, says he acted to stem a rising Islamist insurgency and to "preserve the democratic transition." (Nov. 5): Thousands of lawyers take to the streets to protest the emergency rule. Many clash with baton-wielding police. As many as 700 lawyers are arrested, including Chaudhry, who is placed under house arrest. (Nov. 8): Musharraf says elections will be held by Feb. 15, 2008. (Nov. 9): Thousands of police officers barricade the city of Rawalpindi, the site of a protest planned by opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. (Nov. 13): Bhutto is placed under house arrest so she cannot organize another rally. (Nov. 16): On the day that Parliament's term ends its five-year term, Musharraf swears in a caretaker government, with Mohammedmian Soomro, the chairman of Pakistan's senate, as prime minister. He also lifts Bhutto's house arrest.
• Georgian President Declares State of Emergency (Nov. 7): After days of protests by opposition parties, President Mikheil Saakashvili imposes a state of emergency. The opposition calls for early elections and the resignation of Saakashvili, who demonstrators accuse of abusing power and stifling the opposition. Earlier in the day, riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the demonstrations. (Nov. 8): Saakashvili announces that presidential elections will be held in January 2008. (Nov. 10): Parliament votes, 149 to 0, to approve the state of emergency. The opposition in the 235-seat Parliament boycotts the vote, however.
• Hamas Police Kill Civilians at Gaza Rally (Nov. 12): Fighting breaks out between members of Hama and Fatah at a Fatah-led rally commemorating the third anniversary of Yark Arafat's death. Hamas police shoot and kill at least seven civilians.
• FBI Investigation Finds Killings by Blackwater Guards Were Unjustified (Nov. 13): Report says 14 of the 17 shootings of Iraqis on Sept. 16 were unjustified and the guards were reckless in their use of deadly force.
• Number of Weekly Attacks Falls in Iraq (Nov. 18): U.S. military reports that for three consecutive weeks, the number of car bombs, roadside bombs, mines, rocket attacks, and other violence have fallen to the lowest level since January 2006.

Nation

• Senate Passes Children's Health Insurance Bill (Nov. 1): Votes, 64 to 30, to approve a modified version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that would exclude adults and illegal immigrants from the State Children's Health Insurance Program and make it available only to those with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty level. The House passed the same bill in October, and President Bush has vowed to veto it.
• Bush Vetoes Water Resource Bill (Nov. 2): President vetoes the Water Resources Development Act, a $23 billion bill which would fund 900 programs, including $3.5 billion for areas destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and almost $2 billion for the Everglades. (Nov. 6): The House of Representatives easily overrides Bush's veto, 361 to 54. (Nov. 8): Senate votes, 79 to 14, to enact the bill, thereby overriding Bush's veto. It is the first time Congress has overridden a Bush veto.
• Judiciary Committee Approves Attorney General Nominee (Nov. 6): Senate committee votes, 11 to 8, in favor of Michael Mukasey's nomination as Attorney General. Dianne Feinstein and Charles Schumer break with other Democrats and approve Mukasey. The full Senate must vote on the nomination. (Nov. 8): The Senate votes, 53-to-40, to confirm Mukasey as attorney general.
• House Passes Bill Protecting Gays (Nov. 7): Votes, 235 to 184, in favor of legislation that would make it illegal for employers to "refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation."
• House Endorses Free Trade Deal (Nov. 8): Votes, 285 to 132, in favor of trade pact with Peru that would allow Peru to import goods into the U.S. duty free and the U.S. to export to Peru many farm and industrial products duty free.

Business/Science/Society

• Mexican City Paralyzed by Floods (Nov. 4): Villahermosa, the capital of the southeastern state of Tabasco, has no clean drinking water and electricity after severe flooding caused by five days of torrential rain. At least 300,000 people evacuate their homes, 70,000 people are in shelters, and one person dies. Most of the state's crops are destroyed and 4,000 schools are damaged.
• Space Shutlte Lands Safely After Challenging Mission (Nov. 7): During its 14-day mission to the International Space Station, astronauts aboard Discovery add a "room" to the station and move a 17.5-ton solar array and truss. They unexpectedly had to repair a rotary joint and a solar array on the left side of the space station.
• Cyclone Ravages Bangladesh (Nov. 15): Cyclone Sidr, with winds over 100 miles per hour, kills nearly 3,500 people in southern Bangladesh. The United Nations reports that a million people are left homeless.
• UN Report on Climate Change Details Imminent Perils (Nov. 16): In its last of four reports on climate change, th UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, says global warming of one to three degrees will lead to a rise in sea levels that will swallow up island nations, the decimation of one-quarter or more of the world's species, famine in Africa, and increasingly violent hurricanes.