Timeline: July 2007

THE NATION

1 Salik toll system, installed near the Al Garhoud Bridge and the Fourth Interchange of Shaikh Zayed Road in Dubai, comes into effect.

4 Etisalat blocks Orkut.com, which stirred controversies due to its sexually explicit content, on the orders of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority.

21 Burj Dubai becomes the tallest tower at 512.1 metres (1,680 feet). It is now taller than Taiwan's Taipei 101, which stands 508 metres.

THE REGION

1 Israel transfers more than $110 million in takes and duties to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), ending a 17-month economic boycott.

2 A suicide bomber drives his car into a tourist site in east Yemen, killing seven Spaniards and two Yemenis.

5 Israeli troops kill 11 Palestinians in one of the deadliest attacks since Hamas controlled Gaza.

7 Unesco chooses Beirut as the World Book Capital for its commitment to dialogue.

11 A suicide bomber blows up a truck packed with explosives in a military camp southeast of Algiers, killing 10 soldiers and wounding 35.

13 Nahr Al Bared refugee camp comes under fire when Lebanese army fires rockets and seizes buildings.

14 Bahrain and Iran announce the formation of a joint panel that will hold its first meeting in Manama to discuss economic and security cooperation.

16 Three car bombs explode in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least 85 and wounding more than 185.

20 Israel releases 255 Palestinian prisoners to the Beitunya border post, a move promoted to bolster moderate president Mahmoud Abbas.

24 Iranian police start to enforce Islamic dress code and launch a three-stage process to crack down on hairstyles and dress which deemed unIslamic.

- Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, convicted of infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, are released after spending eight years in Libyan jail.

26 Fatah's onetime strongman Mohammad Dahlan quits as national security adviser after a panel blamed him for the Gaza debacle.

- An ammunition dump explodes at a military complex in northern Syria, killing 15 soldiers and wounding 50.

31 Jordan's first municipal elections since a new law gave women 20 per cent quota are thrown into turmoil as Islamist Action Front (IAF) pulls out.

THE WORLD

2 Indian doctor Mohammad Haneef is arrested at Brisbane Airport, Australia, in connection with the Glasgow Airport attack.

- Medical researchers announce the first test-tube baby created from an egg matured in a laboratory and then frozen has been born in Canada.

3 Japan's defence minister Fumio Kyuma resigns over remarks which appear to accept the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

- At least nine people are killed in gunfire exchanged between security forces and armed students of the Red Mosque in Islamabad.

4 Yuriko Koike is sworn in as Japan's first female defence minister.

7 Pope Benedict XVI issues a papal decree allowing the use of the old Latin mass, signalling a bid to heal a decades-old split in the Roman Catholic Church.

- A new list of the Seven Wonders of the World is announced, including: the Great Wall of China; Petra, Jordan; the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil; Machu Picchu, Peru; Chichen Itza pyramid, Mexico; The Colosseum, Italy; and the Taj Mahal, India.

8 An Indian train arrives in Bangladesh on the first trial run upon resumption of the rail services suspended 42 years ago.

10 Twenty-three soldiers are killed, including 10 beheaded, in a fierce eight-hour clash in rebel territory in southern Philippines.
14 North Korea tells the US the Yongbyon reactor has been shut down.

15 The Human Security Act, a landmark anti-terror law, takes effect in the Philippines. Activists claim it will usher an era of fear.

16 British endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh becomes the first person to complete a 1km swim along a temporary crack in Arctic waters. It takes him 18 minutes and 50 seconds.

- Former Bangladesh prime minister Shaikh Hasina is arrested and detained to face extortion charges.

- Gordon Brown hails a ‘historic' new era as he makes his first trip to Belfast to meet his Irish counterpart for the first time since taking office.

- Britain announces the expulsion of four Russian diplomats as a protest to Russia's refusal to extradite a murder suspect in the killing of Russian agent in London.

- Russia expels four British diplomats and suspends cooperation with London in fighting terrorism.

20 Taliban insurgents kidnap 23 Korean Christians from a bus in Afghanistan.

- Pakistan's Chief Justie Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is reinstated after being suspended from his position for four months and 10 days.

21 Pratibha Patil is elected the first female president of India.

22 Turks cast their vote for a new parliament and polls show the Islamist-rooted AK Party winning a fresh five-year mandate.

23 Tony Blair launches his Middle East mission by visiting Israel - his first as an international envoy.

- The Environment Agency issues nine severe flood warnings in parts of England due to flood water levels reaching a 60-year high.

- Mohammad Zahir Shah, Afghanistan's last king, dies in Kabul.

25 French president Nicolas Sarkozy says the West should trust Arab states in developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

27 India and the US reach a historic nuclear deal after completing negotiations on an agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation.

29 Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe's conservative ruling camp is defeated in upper house elections.

31 Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is sentenced by an Indian anti-terror court to six years in jail for illegal weapons possession.

BUSINESS

2 Iran and Venezuela launch the construction of a joint petrochemical plant, a methanol facility with an annual capacity of 1.65 million tonnes.

- Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim overtakes Bill Gates as the world's richest man with an estimated fortune of $67.8 billion.

3 DP World lists a conventional bond worth $1.75 billion and a sukuk issue of $1.5 billion on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX).

- Sterling rises to its highest level against the dollar, in a quarter of a century. It hits its 26-year peak of $2.0197

4 Dubai International Airport reports an 18 per cent rise in passenger traffic in the first half of 2007. It is now the 10th biggest airport in the world.

8 The UAE stays in 18th spot among top 20 retail markets in the world, according to a study conduced by A.T. Kearney

- Boeing unveils the 787 Dreamliner that promises to burn less fuel and cost less to maintain.

- Qatar Airways places a firm order for 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in a $4.5 billion deal.

10 Dolphin Energy begins delivering Qatari gas from its own processing plant to the UAE under the region's biggest cross-border gas project.

12 Dubai unveils Emirates NBD, a merger of Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai, with an approximate market capitalisation of Dh41.3 billion.

18 Jafza International quits a 15-year contract to manage Malaysia's Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

19 UAE scores 83.5 — the highest among Middle East and North African (Mena) countries — in controlling corruption, according to the World Bank.

25 Dnata signs a deal to provide airport ground handling services in Xi'an Xiangyang International Airport (XXIA), China.

29 Dubai's Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) raises the price of diesel by six per cent to Dh10.60 per gallon for fourth time in 40 days.

31 Murdoch's News Corp wins control over Dow Jones & Co and its flagship business newspaper The Wall Street Journal in a $5 billion takeover.

SPORTS

1 Kimi Raikkonen of Finland wins the French Formula One Grand Prix ahead of his Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa in Magny-Cours, central France.

- Cristie Kerr captures her first major title after winning the final round at the Women's US Open in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

4 Sochi wins the bid to become the first Russian venue to host the Winter Olympics in 2014.

7 Venus Williams clinches her fourth trophy after winning Wimbledon.

- Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara wins the opening prologue of the 2007 Tour de France.

8 Roger Federer captures his fifth successive Wimbledon title after beating Rafael Nadal. It is his 11th Grand Slam title and emulating the legendary Bjorn Borg.

- Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen wins the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England.

12 Khalid Al Beloushi and his team is crowned champions in the UAE Drag Racing Championship 2007.

13 England soccer player David Beckham is unveiled as the newest member of LA Galaxy.

14 Muttiah Muralitharan becomes the second bowler after Shane Warne to take 700 wickets, as Sri Lanka thrashes Bangladesh by an innings and 193 runs in the final Test.

16 Brazil defeats Argentina 3-0 to claim the Copa America trophy at Panchencho Romero stadium in Maracaibo.

20 Thiago Pereira earns two more gold medals, securing his status as the undisputed star of the Pan American Games.

29 Iraq's national team wins the 2007 Asian Cup in Jakarta, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0. It is the war-torn country's first Asian Cup success.

- Spaniard Alberto Contador wins the 94th Tour de France.

ENTERTAINMENT

1 A charity music concert in memory of Princess Diana is held at Wembley Stadium.

27 Bahrain's Wafaa Ganahi wins the Miss Arab World 2007 paegant held in Cairo.

30 Ingmar Bergman, one of the most influential film directors of the 20th century, dies at the age of 89.