October 7th Major News Events

7 Oct, 1954 U.S.A. Racketeering

1954 : Following the investigation by the Federal Grand Jury on racketeering in Chicago the first indictments have been served for charges on four union agents of extortion of large sums of money from poultry dealers in Chicago's Fulton market.

7 Oct, 1959 England Southend Pier

1959 : The Pavilion at the end of the world's longest pleasure pier at Southend on Sea is gutted by the fire and three hundred people are rescued by sea. The original Southend Pier was first opened in 1830 and is 1 1/2 miles long. The Pier was rebuilt and the Pavilion was turned into a bowling alley but the pier has continued to be affected by fires but rebuilt and still in existence today as a major tourist attraction.

7 Oct, 1963 U.S.A. Learjet

1963 : The first prototype Learjet a mass produced business jet takes off in Wichita, Kansas on it's maiden test flight.

7 Oct, 1968 India Floods

1968 : Devastating floods and landslides caused through torrential rain is now believed to have claimed the lives of over 1000 in the Sub-Himalayan Region, and now the threat of major famine through the loss of crops has been made worse because there is no safe drinking water in some towns including Darjeeling, many hundreds of thousands of refugees are now looking for help and assistance.

7 Oct, 1982 Musical "Cats" Opens On Broadway

1982 : Following it's success in London (1981), the musical "Cats" opens at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway with Betty Buckley as Grizabella. The show runs for a total of 7,485 performances in New York ending it's run on September 10th 2000.

7 Oct, 1985 England Tottenham Riots

October 7th, 1985 : Roving bands of youths continue to riot in areas of London including Peckham, Tottenham and Brixton setting shops and businesses on fire and overturning cars, they are now armed with Machetes and shotguns. One policeman was killed last night and police will now be issued with rubber bullets and tear gas to quell the rioters.

7 Oct, 2000 England Wembley Stadium

2000 : England play their last match at the old Wembley stadium before it is due to be demolished to make way for the new Wembley Stadium. The match is between old rivals England and West Germany which Germany win 1-0.

7 Oct, 2001 Afghanistan US Attacks Taliban

2001 : Following the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon a U.S.-led coalition begins attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with an intense bombing campaign by American and British forces hoping to locate and destroy the terrorist Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organization.

7 Oct, 2001 Barry Bonds Record Breaking 73 Home-Runs

2001 : Barry Bonds hits his final home run of the season creating a new record breaking 73 home runs in one season against Dennis Springer of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

7 Oct, 2003 U.S.A. Gov. Gray Davis

October 7th, 2003 : The Governor of California Gray Davis becomes the second governor to be recalled (mismanagement of the state budget) in American history first was (North Dakota's Lynn J. Frazier 1921). On November 17 after the recall election Republican Arnold A. Schwarzenegger is elected.

7 Oct, 2006 Anna Politkovskaya Found Dead

2006 : Respected Russian journalist and human rights activist, Anna Politkovskaya, was found dead after being shot in an elevator in her apartment complex in Moscow. The journalist was known for exposing human rights abuses by the Russian military in Chechnya.

7 Oct, 2007 Cuba Train Crash

2007 : Some twenty-eight people died after a train and a bus crashed in Cuba. Over seventy people were also injured in the incident.

7 Oct, 2008 US Presidential Hopefuls Debate

2008 : Barack Obama and John McCain have a town hall-style debate dominated by the financial crisis and foreign policy. Currently Barack Obama is believed to be ahead in the polls by up to 8 points.

7 Oct, 2011 Netherlands Reclassifies Strong Cannabis as Hard Drug

October 7th, 2011 : The Dutch government began the process to reclassify strong cannabis into the hard drugs category. The change would mean that coffee shops that sell the drug would no longer be able to sell cannabis with more than 15% THC, the active chemical in the drug.

7 Oct, 2011 Occupy Wall Street Protests

2011 : The Occupy Wall Street Protests which begun in New York on September 17th at New York City's Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district spreads to other US cities and other cities around the World including London, England.

7 Oct, 2012 Iraq Iraq Executes Eleven People

October 7th, 2012 : Iraq executed eleven people bringing the yearly total of executions in the country to 113. Human rights groups and nations with moratoriums on the death penalty decried the executions.

7 Oct, 2013 Maldives Election Result Annulled

2013 : The Supreme Court in the Maldives has annulled the results of the country's first round presidential election. The court called for a new election on October 20. The ruling was made after electoral fraud allegations.