Directory

2007 CE

A year marked by the beginning of the global financial crisis, the iPhone's launch, continued instability in Iraq and Afghanistan, and rising awareness of climate change.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • President George W. Bush announced a troop surge of 20,000 additional soldiers in Iraq in January, aiming to stabilize Baghdad and Anbar province amid escalating sectarian violence.
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a confrontational speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, criticizing U.S. unilateralism and NATO expansion.
  • The European Union expanded to 27 member states with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria on January 1.
  • French President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected in May, succeeding Jacques Chirac and signaling a more pro-American and reform-oriented foreign policy.
  • British Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned in June after a decade in office. Gordon Brown succeeded him as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister.
  • The Annapolis Conference in November brought together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for renewed peace talks, brokered by the Bush administration.
  • North Korea agreed to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor under the Six-Party Talks framework, with verification and disarmament timelines negotiated throughout the year.
  • The African Union deployed peacekeeping forces to Darfur, Sudan, though the mission was widely regarded as underfunded and undermanned relative to the scale of the crisis.
  • Ban Ki-moon succeeded Kofi Annan as Secretary-General of the United Nations on January 1, prioritizing climate change and Darfur as early focal points.
  • The Lisbon Treaty was signed by EU member states in December, reforming institutional structures and decision-making processes following the failed European Constitution.

Conflict & Security

  • Violence in Iraq reached its peak in the first half of the year before declining following the U.S. troop surge. Civilian casualties exceeded 25,000 according to Iraq Body Count estimates.
  • The Battle of Charikar and other engagements in Afghanistan saw intensified Taliban offensives, with NATO forces expanding operations across southern and eastern provinces.
  • Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June after armed clashes with Fatah, splitting Palestinian governance between Gaza and the West Bank.
  • The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27 destabilized the country ahead of scheduled parliamentary elections.
  • Turkey conducted cross-border military operations against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq, straining Turkish-Kurdish and Turkish-Iraqi relations.
  • The Lebanese army besieged the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp for over three months in a conflict with Fatah al-Islam militants, displacing approximately 30,000 Palestinian refugees.
  • Sri Lanka's civil war intensified as the government launched major offensives against the Tamil Tigers in the north and east of the island.
  • The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Sudanese officials connected to atrocities in Darfur, though enforcement remained limited.
  • Car bombings in Algiers targeted the United Nations offices and the Constitutional Council in April, killing over 30 people in attacks claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
  • Piracy off the coast of Somalia increased significantly, with over 50 attacks reported on commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden.

Economy & Finance

  • The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis escalated rapidly. The collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds in June signaled deepening instability in mortgage-backed securities markets.
  • Northern Rock, a major British bank, experienced the first bank run in the United Kingdom in over 150 years in September, eventually requiring government nationalization.
  • Oil prices surged past $90 per barrel by late year, driven by rising demand from China and India and supply concerns in the Middle East.
  • The U.S. Federal Reserve under Chair Ben Bernanke cut the federal funds rate three times between September and December as credit markets tightened.
  • China's economy grew at 14.2%, its fastest rate in over a decade, fueled by exports, infrastructure investment, and preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
  • The euro reached record highs against the U.S. dollar, trading above $1.45 by November as the dollar weakened amid financial uncertainty.
  • Global food prices began a sharp increase, with wheat, corn, and rice futures rising significantly due to drought, biofuel demand, and speculation.
  • India's economy grew at approximately 9.8%, continuing its emergence as a major global economic power alongside rapid urbanization.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached an all-time high of 14,164 in October before declining as financial sector stress intensified.
  • Private equity buyouts reached record levels, with firms including Blackstone and KKR completing some of the largest leveraged transactions in history before credit markets contracted.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Apple released the first iPhone on June 29, fundamentally altering the mobile phone industry and establishing the smartphone as a dominant personal computing platform.
  • Amazon launched the Kindle e-reader in November, introducing a dedicated digital reading device that reshaped the publishing industry.
  • Google launched Android as an open-source mobile operating system, forming the Open Handset Alliance with hardware and telecom partners.
  • Facebook opened its platform to third-party developers in May, enabling external applications and accelerating growth beyond college campuses to over 50 million users.
  • Twitter gained mainstream attention after its prominent use at the South by Southwest conference in March, growing rapidly as a microblogging platform.
  • IBM's Blue Gene/L supercomputer maintained its position as the world's fastest computer, though competition from Japan and China intensified in high-performance computing.
  • The One Laptop Per Child initiative began distributing its XO-1 laptops in developing nations, aiming to provide affordable computing to children in low-income countries.
  • Broadband internet penetration continued expanding in developed nations, surpassing 50% of households in the United States and much of Western Europe.
  • China's Three Gorges Dam became fully operational, reaching its designed capacity as the world's largest hydroelectric power station.
  • VMware's initial public offering in August valued the company at over $19 billion, reflecting the growing importance of server virtualization in enterprise computing.

Science & Discovery

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Fourth Assessment Report, concluding with greater than 90% certainty that human activities were driving observed warming.
  • Craig Venter's team synthesized key components of bacterial genomes, advancing early synthetic biology research toward the eventual creation of artificial organisms.
  • Scientists at Kyoto University led by Shinya Yamanaka demonstrated induced pluripotent stem cells from human skin cells, offering an alternative to embryonic stem cell research.
  • The Phoenix Mars Lander was launched in August, beginning its journey to study the Martian arctic surface and confirm the presence of water ice.
  • The Hubble Space Telescope captured detailed images of dark matter distribution in galaxy cluster CL0024+17, providing visual evidence for the invisible mass.
  • Researchers sequenced the complete genome of the domestic cat, adding to a growing library of mammalian genomes for comparative evolutionary studies.
  • The discovery of a 10-million-year-old fossil primate in Ethiopia provided new evidence regarding the divergence of African and Asian great apes.
  • Researchers identified the oldest known fossilized forest in Gilboa, New York, dating to approximately 385 million years ago and providing new evidence of early tree evolution.
  • The European Space Agency's COROT satellite discovered its first exoplanet, COROT-1b, advancing the search for planets beyond the solar system.
  • Researchers at the Max Planck Institute completed initial phases of sequencing the Neanderthal genome, comparing it to modern human DNA for evolutionary insights.

Health & Medicine

  • The WHO reported that HIV/AIDS had infected an estimated 33 million people globally, though access to antiretroviral therapy expanded significantly in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Merck voluntarily halted a major HIV vaccine trial (STEP study) in September after the candidate failed to prevent infection and may have increased susceptibility in some recipients.
  • Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) emerged as a major global health concern, with outbreaks documented in South Africa and Eastern Europe.
  • The World Health Organization declared that tuberculosis remained the leading infectious disease killer worldwide, with an estimated 1.7 million deaths, prompting renewed calls for improved diagnostics and treatment.
  • Tobacco control measures advanced globally, with the United Kingdom and France implementing comprehensive indoor smoking bans effective during the year.
  • China faced food and product safety scandals, including contaminated pet food exports, toothpaste, and toys, leading to international recalls and heightened import scrutiny.
  • The global burden of diabetes continued to rise, with the International Diabetes Federation estimating 246 million adults affected worldwide.
  • Researchers published findings linking air pollution to cardiovascular disease mortality, strengthening the evidence base for stricter emissions standards.
  • Mental health awareness gained momentum in several nations, with the United Kingdom launching its Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program.
  • The WHO updated its International Health Regulations, expanding the framework for global disease surveillance and response coordination among member states.

Climate & Environment

  • The IPCC shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore for their work on climate change awareness and research.
  • Arctic sea ice extent reached a record summer minimum in September, declining far below previous records and shocking climate scientists.
  • The Bali Climate Conference (COP13) established the Bali Action Plan, setting a two-year timeline to negotiate a comprehensive post-Kyoto climate agreement.
  • Australia experienced severe drought conditions across much of the Murray-Darling Basin, devastating agricultural production and prompting water rationing in major cities.
  • Flooding in South Asia affected over 30 million people across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal during the monsoon season, displacing millions.
  • Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh in November, killing over 3,400 people and causing widespread destruction to coastal infrastructure and agriculture.
  • Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon declined for the third consecutive year, though absolute losses remained significant at approximately 11,000 square kilometers.
  • California experienced devastating wildfires in October that burned over 500,000 acres and forced the evacuation of more than 500,000 residents in San Diego County.
  • China surpassed the United States as the world's largest annual emitter of carbon dioxide, according to estimates from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
  • The extinction of the baiji, or Yangtze River dolphin, was functionally declared after an extensive survey failed to locate any surviving individuals.

Culture & Society

  • The final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold over 11 million copies in its first 24 hours globally upon release in July.
  • Virginia Tech experienced the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time in April, with 32 people killed on campus.
  • The writers' strike by the Writers Guild of America began in November, shutting down television and film production across Hollywood for over three months.
  • Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December prompted international mourning and fears of wider destabilization in South Asia.
  • Immigration reform efforts in the United States failed in the Senate, reflecting deep political divisions over border security and pathways to citizenship.
  • The Don Imus controversy in April prompted national debate in the United States over racial language, media accountability, and broadcast standards.
  • The Madeleine McCann disappearance in Portugal in May generated global media attention and became one of the most publicized missing-persons cases in history.
  • Live Earth concerts organized by Al Gore took place across seven continents on July 7, promoting climate change awareness to a global audience.
  • The subprime mortgage crisis began displacing American homeowners, with foreclosure filings increasing by 75% over the previous year.
  • Myanmar's military junta violently suppressed the Saffron Revolution in September, cracking down on Buddhist monks and pro-democracy protesters in Yangon and other cities.