Current events of 15 May 2007 (2007-05-15) (Tuesday) edit history watch

Space Shuttle Atlantis rolls out to launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station. The rollout is the second for the mission, as Atlantis's External Tank was damaged during a hailstorm on February 26, leading to the shuttle being rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs. (NASAspaceflight.com) Danish protesters clash with police in Copenhagen with the Little Mermaid being doused with red paint. The clashes followed the demolition of a building in the Freetown Christiania district. (CNN) Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute has been chosen to be President Bush's "war czar," overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (ABC News) French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin resigns. (The Globe and Mail) Palestinian factional violence claims 8 more lives as violence erupts on the Israeli border with Fatah and Hamas fighting for dominance at the Karni cargo crossing in Gaza, ending Monday night's ceasefire agreement. (USA Today) The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. (Boston Globe) Canadian publisher The Thomson Corporation agrees to buy Reuters for £8.7 billion creating the world's biggest financial news and data group. (Reuters via CNN) The death toll for violence associated with the Philippine general election rises to 126. (AFP via News Limited) A bomb attack on a hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 24 people. (Reuters) (BBC) David Bain, who was convicted for murder in one of New Zealand's most controversial trials, is released on bail while awaiting a retrial following an appeal to the Privy Council in March. (The Press via stuff.co.nz)