Portal:Current events/2007 January 1

January 1, 2007 (Monday)

Raymond van Barneveld beats Phil Taylor 7-6 in sets to win the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship and collects £100,000.
The First ever episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures called Invasion of the Bane was aired
The Bulgarian political party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, which had only been founded on 2006-12-03 by Sofia mayor Boyko Borisov, instantly comes second in a public poll on party support, trailing only the Bulgarian Socialist Party. (Angus-Reid)^{[permanent dead link]}
The Palestinian factional violence flares up again. (Ynet)
War in Somalia:
- The Islamic Courts Union collapses in the Battle of Jilib, and flees from its last major stronghold in Kismayo towards the Kenyan border. (MSNBC)
- The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia assumes control of Kismayo after the Islamic Courts Union retreats. (MSNBC)
- Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi calls for a disarmament of the country's militias and businesses, and offers an amnesty to former members of the Islamic militias. (Shabelle)
Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union. (IHT) (BBC)
Slovenia adopts the euro, replacing the tolar and becoming the second enlargement to the eurozone. (IHT) (BBC)
CITIC, a state-owned investment enterprise of the Chinese government, buys Nations Energy Company, a Canadian petroleum extraction company, giving it a majority stake in KazMunayGas, the state-owned oil and gas company in Kazakhstan, for USD $1.91 billion. The deal is highly controversial because of the amount of control China now has over Kazakhstan's natural resources. Kazakh Oil Minister Baktykozha Izmukhambetov has criticized the deal since it was first considered in October 2006. (The Boston Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
The Armenian government detains citizen Vahan Aroyan for allegedly plotting a coup d'état against Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. The Association of Armenian Volunteers, a political opposition group, denounces Aroyan's detainment, saying the move is an attempt to silence dissidence. (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty)
Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board. (Sky News)
In Switzerland civil unions for same-sex partners are possible.(Tagesanzeiger)
Irish becomes the 21st official language of the European Union