Portal:Current events/August 2012

Arts and culture

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 suspense thriller Vertigo is named as the greatest film of all time in a poll by the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine. (BBC)

Business and economy

Power is restored in India following an earlier blackout in three grids that left over 600 million people without power. (AFP via France 24)
Saudi Aramco is ranked by Forbes as the first among the world's 25 largest oil companies. (Global Financial Network)

Disasters

Heading toward Taiwan, slow-moving Typhoon Saola's torrential rains lead to the deaths of at least 12 people and displacement of 154,000 in the Philippines. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

The Tal Law, which granted a sweeping exemption from military service to a majority of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox population in Israel, expires. As a result Defense Minister Ehud Barak orders the Israeli Defense Forces to prepare for a universal draft of ultra-Orthodox Jewish males in 30 days. (BBC) (Jerusalem Post) (Ynet) (USA Today)
Somali security forces kill two suicide bombers trying to infiltrate a meeting of 825 Somali elders discussing the country's new constitution in Mogadishu. (AP via Chron.com)
Prosecutors formally charge three Mexican Army generals, including active General Roberto Dawe Gonzalez and retired General Tomás Ángeles Dauahare, and a lieutenant-colonel for their alleged links to a drug trafficking organization known as the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. (The Washington Post)
Four coordinated low intensity bombs explode in the Indian city of Pune. (CNN-IBN) (DNA India)

Politics and elections

A second Israeli who set himself on fire in protest of economic difficulties in Tel Aviv dies of his injuries in hospital. (Reuters)

Sport

2012 Summer Olympics: The Badminton World Federation charges eight women's doubles players from South Korea, China and Indonesia with "not using one's best efforts to win a match". (BBC)

August 2, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- A United States government source reveals that Barack Obama signed a secret order in early 2012 permitting the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide the rebels in Syria with support in order to overthrow the al-Assad regime. (The Guardian)
- 71 people are killed through Syria by mid-day, including dozens in a massacre perpetrated by the Syrian army in the Damascus suburbs. (Al Arabiya) (The Guardian)
- Kofi Annan resigns as the head of the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, according to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. (CNN)
War in Afghanistan:
- Afghan security forces kill five insurgents planning a suicide attack in Kabul. (AFP via Google News)
- Two dozen Taliban fighters are killed in operations across Afghanistan during the last 24 hours. (Xinhua)
At least 23 people are injured as two blasts hit a fruit market in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. (Xinhua)

Business and economy

French L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt sells D'Arros Island for $60 million. (BBC)
Italian football club Inter Milan sells a 15% stake to a Chinese investor group. (BBC)
Japanese media reports that electronics company Sharp Corporation plans to cut 5,000 positions worldwide. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters

Taiwan closes schools and offices ahead of Typhoon Saola. (BusinessWeek)
One person dies and at least ten other people are seriously injured when a fully loaded double-decker Megabus crashes into a bridge support on Interstate 55 in Illinois, ten miles north of Litchfield.(St.Louis Post-Dispatch) (NBC News)
Tropical Storm Ernesto forms in the Atlantic Ocean with storm warnings issued for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Guadelope. (AP via the Washington Post)

Law and crime

20 people are jailed in China on charges of terrorism in the Xinjiang region. (The Hindu)
Peru seizes $2.3 million in counterfeit U.S. 50 dollar bills heading to other South American countries. (Reuters)
Three men are arrested due to their alleged ties with al Qaeda in Spain. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

The Constitutional Court of Romania postpones a decision regarding the impeachment referendum of suspended President Traian Băsescu until 31 August 2012, to allow time for the reevaluation of the permanent electoral lists. (Financial Magazine)
Egypt's new cabinet members are sworn in. (CNN)
Quebec premier Jean Charest calls a general election for September 2012 amidst student protests against tuition fee increases. (Hamilton Spectator)

Sport

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes an unofficial visit to the London Olympics to watch the judo competition. (BBC)

August 3, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War: The Mexican Army arrests another member of Los Zetas drug cartel responsible for decapitating 49 bodies and dumping them on a roadside in May 2012; the suspect is one of the 37 fugitives of the Apodaca prison riot earlier this year. (Fox News)
Syrian civil war:
- The Syrian Army increases artillery shelling of Aleppo as the Free Syrian Army tries to consolidate its control of the city's eastern districts. (Al Jazeera)
- The opposition claims that over 60 people were allegedly massacred by the Syrian Army in the Arbaeen neighborhood of the city of Hama. (CNN)
- The United Nations General Assembly adopts a non-binding resolution condemning the Syrian government for its use of force against civilians, noting "human rights abuses" by opposition forces, and reproaching the United Nations Security Council for its "failure" to counter the crisis. (CNN)
An explosion in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi kills at least one person. (BBC)

Disasters

North Korea asks for food aid from the United Nations after last month's floods. (BBC)

August 4, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Arab Spring:
- Syrian civil war:
  - Clashes continue in Aleppo, with fighting near the city's television and radio station. (Al Jazeera)
  - Renewed fighting erupts in the capital, Damascus. (MSN)
  - Russia and China–two of the 12 countries that opposed a United Nations General Assembly resolution concerning Syria–criticise the resolution as one-sided. (Al Jazeera)
  - Nearly 48 Iranian pilgrims are kidnapped from a bus in the vicinity of a shrine near Damascus. (BBC)
- 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests:
  - A soldier and protester are killed in a demonstration in the eastern city of Qatif. (Al Jazeera)
- Bahraini uprising (2011–present):
  - The daughter of activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has her detention extended and is charged with "destroying government property". (The Huffington Post)
A suicide bombing in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan kills at least 45 people. (BBC)
Gunmen attack an oil barge off the Niger Delta in Nigeria, killing two navy sailors and kidnapping four foreigners. (BBC)
Iran claims to have successfully test fired a Fateh-110 missile. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Disasters

North Korea raises the death toll from recent floods to 169, with 400 missing. (IOL)
Heavy rains in the Indian state of Uttarakhand causes the loss of at least six lives in floods and landslides. (The Times of India)

International relations

Jailed Islamist cleric Abu Bakar Bashir threatens to wage war in Burma following alleged abuses by Buddhists against the country's Rohingya people by the Tatmadaw, in a letter to Burmese president Thein Sein. (Bangkok Post)
Sudan confirms an oil agreement with neighbouring South Sudan. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

The defence lawyer for the Russian band Pussy Riot says the accused face long jail terms, and accuses the court of pressuring the defendants and witnesses. (Bangladesh News 24)

Politics

The Parliament of Afghanistan votes to dismiss the Defence and Interior Ministers over continued cross-border shelling by Pakistan. (Reuters)

Sport

2012 Summer Olympics:
- In athletics, Oscar Pistorius of South Africa becomes the first amputee to compete at the Olympic Games in the 400 meters. (The Daily Telegraph)
- Britain wins six gold medals and a silver on Day Eight of the 2012 London Olympics, making it the greatest British success in one day at an Olympics since 1908. (BBC Sport)
- Erick Barrondo wins the first Olympic medal in Guatemala's history in the 20km racewalking competition. (Chicago Tribune)

August 5, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- General Muhammed Ahmed Faris, a military aviator who became the first Syrian in space, defects to Turkey. (AFP via Arab News)
Mexican Drug War:
- Armed men kidnap the mayor of Tecpán de Galeana, Guerrero. (El Universal)
- Cartel members armed with AK-47 assault rifles gun down and kill five teenage boys in Escobedo, Nuevo León. (Fox News)
Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting
- A gunman opens fire at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator later dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. (CNN) (BBC)
Clashes between Turkish government troops and Kurdish rebels at a Turkish border post in the southeastern province of Hakkâri kill at least 19 people, including 11 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party. (CNN) (BBC)
A suicide bombing in the northeastern Nigerian city of Damaturu kills at least five soldiers. (BBC)
Two gunmen kill a Sudanese employee of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the southern border state of South Kordofan, Sudan. (Reuters)
Miners in Zambia kill a Chinese mine manager during a riot over pay. (BBC)

Business and economy

American automaker General Motors strikes a $559 million marketing deal with English football club Manchester United. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An outbreak of cholera hits a refugee camp in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo where thousands have fled fighting between M23 rebels and government troops. (Al Jazeera)
Flash floods in India's Uttarakhand state kill 12 people with up to 40 missing. (Jagran Post)

Sport

2012 Summer Olympics:
- In tennis, Andy Murray defeats Roger Federer to win the men's singles final, securing Britain's 16th gold medal in the process. (BBC Sport)
- In athletics, sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins the 100 metres final. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Mixed martial arts: The light-heavyweight fighter Lyoto Machida defeats Ryan Bader on UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera, earning a rematch with the current champion in the division, Jon Jones. (ESPN)

August 6, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Clashes take place between protesters and Islamists in Gao, Mali, over a planned amputation of a robber and beating of a journalist covering the demonstration. (Reuters)
2012 Rakhine State riots: Renewed fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya in western Burma kills three people. (Dawn)
Mexican Drug War: Alleged members of Los Zetas, a drug cartel originally set up by former soldiers of the Mexican Army, attack several media outlets in Monterrey for publishing on a rumored split between the two principal Zetas bosses. (InSight Crime)
Arab Spring:
- Syrian civil war
  - A bomb explodes at the headquarters of Syrian state television in Damascus. (AP via Google News)
  - Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab and his family defect to Jordan to join the opposition. State-run media claims he was fired, but the Free Syrian Army states this was only after he arrived in Jordan. (BBC)
  - Syrian rebels state that three Iranians abducted on 4 August 2012 are killed during an air attack in Damascus province by government forces, and threaten to kill the others in their custody unless the army stops its attack. (Reuters)
- Tunisian revolution:
  - Anti-government protesters and police clash in the capital Tunis over alleged corruption and nepotism within the government. (Al Jazeera)
- Bahraini uprising:
  - The chief prosecutor charges 15 police officers with torturing doctors who were arrested during protests. (Now Lebanon)
North Caucasus insurgency:
- Two police officers are killed and one injured in an ambush in the Tsuntinsky District, Dagestan. (RIA)
- Four people are confirmed dead and 3 wounded in an apparent suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.(RIA)
An attack on an army base in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, kills six people. (France 24)

Arts and culture

Australian art critic, historian and documentary maker Robert Hughes dies in New York City. (AAP via Business Day)

Disasters

New Zealand's Mount Tongariro erupts for the first time in a century, spreading volcanic ash across the central North Island and affecting airports. (New Zealand Herald) (Stuff.co.nz)
A fire at the Chevron Richmond Refinery in Richmond, California spreads thick black smoke over Contra Costa County, prompting warnings from officials to shelter in place. (Mercury News)

International relations

Sri Lanka arrests 37 Chinese fisherman for illegally fishing in Sri Lankan waters. (Hong Kong Standard)

Law and crime

Police in Oak Creek, Wisconsin investigate a shooting incident at a Sikh temple which left seven people dead, including the gunman. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg announces that plans to reform the House of Lords will be abandoned after his party's coalition partners, the Conservatives, failed to support the proposals. The Lib Dems will also not support Conservative plans to reduce the number of MPs in the House of Commons. (BBC)
British Conservative MP Louise Mensch announces she will leave the House of Commons, triggering a by-election in her constituency. (BBC)

Science

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover lands safely on the surface of Mars. (Reuters)

Sport

2012 Summer Olympics:
- Nicholas Delpopolo, an American Judo fighter, is expelled from competition after testing positive for marijuana. (The Huffington Post)

August 7, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War: The United States freezes the assets of three Belize-based associates of Mexico's top drug lord, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. (The Huffington Post)
Syrian civil war: Saeed Jalili, a senior Iranian official, reaffirms the Iranian government's support for the Syrian government throughout the crisis. (Al Jazeera)
A bomb hits a minibus in the Paghman District in Afghanistan's Kabul Province, killing at least nine people. (BBC)
At least 21 people are killed in a gun attack on a church and later an Army patrol near the city of Okene in Kogi state, central Nigeria. (BBC) (Christian Science Monitor)
Tuareg rebellion (2012): Burkina Faso's foreign minister Djibrill Bassole visits fighters linked to Al-Qaeda in northern Mali in an attempt to solve an ongoing crisis. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters

Flooding in the Philippines capital Manila forces at least 20,000 people to flee their homes with the death toll after eight days of heavy rain throughout the country reaching 53. (AFP via Google)
The People's Republic of China evacuates 200,000 people from Shanghai ahead of Typhoon Haikui which is expected to make landfall in Zhejiang early tonight or tomorrow morning. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Law and crime

Police in Malaysia detain eight people after a toddler reportedly dies during a 20 hour exorcism ritual. (Bangkok Post)
Investigators probing the disappearance of Tia Sharp find CCTV film of the missing girl. (BBC)

Politics

A Tibetan man sets himself on fire in Sichuan, in the latest in a series of protests against Chinese rule. (Radio Television Hong Kong)

Sports

2012 Summer Olympics:
- In the semi-finals of association football, Mexico defeats Japan 3–1 and advances to the final, facing Brazil. (Yahoo! Sports)
- Seven athletes from Cameroon go missing. (CNN)
- In athletics, Sally Pearson of Australia wins the 100 metres hurdles setting a new Olympic record of 12.35 seconds. (Herald Sun)

August 8, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Armed men open fire at a checkpoint in the Egyptian city of Arish on the Sinai Peninsula. (Reuters)
- The Egyptian Air Force responds with air strikes leaving 20 people dead. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian civil war:
- Heavy fighting continues in the Salaheddine district in Aleppo. (Washington Post)
- A Jordanian government spokesman says Syria's ex-prime minister, Riad Hijab, arrives in Jordan, contradicting earlier reports that he had fled Syria on August 6. (Washington Post)

Business and economy

China announces plan to close one-third of the nation's 23 rare earth mines and about half of 99 smelting companies. (CNN)

Disasters

2012 Pacific typhoon season:
- Typhoon Haikui makes landfall over Xiangshan County in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. (CNN)
- The death toll in the Philippines capital Manila from flooding rises to 16 with rain continuing to fall. (BBC)
- Philippine news agencies report that several cities, provinces and towns in Luzon are now under state of calamity. (The Philippine STAR) (INQUIRER.net) (ABS-CBNnews.com)
Hurricane Ernesto hits the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. (CNN)
A welding fire breaks out but is soon extinguished, with no injuries, on the 88th floor of One World Trade Center in New York City.(NBC)
A preliminary magnitude 4.5 earthquake strikes Orange County, California. Minimal damage was reported.(NBC)

Arts and culture

Anthropologists find the skeleton of a young woman inside a burial in Templo Mayor, surrounded by piles of 1,789 human bones. This finding is "unprecedented for the Aztec culture." (The Huffington Post)

Law and crime

Marvin Lee Wilson is executed by the state of Texas despite the low IQ results that could have invalidated his punishment. (CBS News)
The Supreme Court of Pakistan orders the Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to appear before it to explain his alleged failure to comply with orders reopening corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari. (Reuters)
A police dog team searches a grandmother's house after the disappearance of Tia Sharp. (Sky News)
A man is sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the kidnapping and Murder of Anni Dewani in South Africa.(Sky News)
Jared Lee Loughner, the shooter in the 2011 Tucson shooting, pleads guilty to all charges and is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. (CBS News)

Politics

30 leading German managers write a letter to the leaders of the parliamentary groups where they ask for the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption. (The Local)
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan has reached an agreement with the opposition Liberal Democratic and New Komeito parties to pass a bill that will raise Japan's consumption tax rate. This will "shortly" be followed by dissolution of the Diet and a snap election, although no timetable has been set. (NHK World) (Bloomberg)
President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signs a controversial law about official status of 18 languages (including Russian, Hungarian, Crimean Tatar language, etc.) as regional and minority languages, allowing officials in Russian-speaking regions of the country to use Russian at public events and in documents. (The Washington Post)

Sport

German footballer Robert Huth is hospitalised with suspected meningitis. (ESPN)

August 9, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- The Syrian Army claims success in its major ground offensive against the opposition-held neighborhoods of Aleppo. (Reuters)
- Tehran, Iran, hosts a foreign ministers' conference on Syria, but the attendees remain unknown. Russia is to be represented by its ambassador to Iran. (Reuters) (The Voice of Russia)
- A White House government official says the United States may consider a no-fly zone over the rebel-held territory in Syria. (Reuters)
- Retired Major-General Vladimir Kuzheyev, a Russian military adviser to the Syrian government, rejects the rebel claims of his death in clashes outside Damascus. (The Moscow Times)
Mexican Drug War:
- Fourteen bodies are abandoned inside a van on a major avenue in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is the fifth time this year drug traffickers leave 14 bodies as a message to their rivals, signaling that the number may be some sort of code. (Chicago Tribune)
North Caucasus insurgency:
- At least 5 police officers and 3 militants are killed in clash in the Botlikhsky District in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan. (RIA)
A gunman in Afghan military uniform kills three U.S. soldiers in the southwestern Afghan province of Helmand. (BBC)

Business and economy

Barclays appoints Sir David Walker as its new chairman following the Libor scandal. (BBC)

Disasters

The death toll from floods in the Philippines over the past ten days rises to 70. (CNN)
Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall in the Mexican state of Veracruz causing at least three deaths. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Law and crime

The trial of Gu Kailai, wife of former Communist powerbroker Bo Xilai, for the alleged murder of British businessman Neil Haywood begins in the Chinese city of Hefei. (ABC News Australia)
The female Mexican drug lord Sandra Ávila Beltrán is extradited to the United States from Mexico. (The New York Times)
Two journalists are arrested for posing for photographs holding teddy bears in a pro-democracy stunt in Belarus. (Reuters)

Sport

2012 Summer Olympics:
- Ireland's Katie Taylor wins gold by defeating Russia's Sofya Ochigava in the women's boxing event at ExCeL London. (BBC) (RTÉ)
- Great Britain's Nicola Adams becomes the first female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal after defeating China's Ren Cancan in the flyweight final. (BBC Sport)
- Great Britain's Jade Jones wins Britain's first ever taekwondo Olympic gold medal after defeating China's Yuzhuo Hou. BBC Sport taekwondo commentator Nick Mullins says, "If there has been a finer moment in taekwondo in this country, then we have never seen it." (The Leader)
- Kenya's David Rudisha becomes the first athlete to set a new world track record at London 2012 as he claims the 800m gold at the Olympic Stadium. (BBC Sport)
- Jamaica's Usain Bolt becomes the first person to win the 100m and 200m events in back-to-back Summer Olympics. (Los Angeles Times)

August 10, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- Four suspected drug traffickers of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the cousin of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, are captured in Spain. (BBC News)
A Libyan army general Mohammed Hadia al Feitouri is shot dead in Benghazi. (BBC)

Disasters

The death toll from recent floods in the Philippines capital Manila and surrounding regions rises to 60. (AAP via SBS)
The United States says they are planning to help clean up herbicide Agent Orange from areas of Vietnam, the first time since the Vietnam War ended in 1975. (CNN)

International relations

The South Korean Yonhap news agency reports that the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak is considering visiting the disputed Liancourt Rocks, which are also claimed by Japan. (Yonhap)

Politics and elections

Tens of thousands of people attend the state funeral for President John Atta Mills in Accra, Ghana. (BBC)

Law and crime

Disappearance of Tia Sharp: A body is discovered in Tia Sharp's grandmother's house, and police announce that they are looking for the girl's step-grandfather. (Sky News)

Sports

2012 Summer Olympics:
- Colombia's Mariana Pajón wins gold at the Women's BMX final, making it the second gold medal in the history of the South American country. (El Tiempo)
Juventus coach Antonio Conte is banned for 10 months due to his alleged role in match-fixing. (BBC)

August 11, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Istanbul for talks on the Syrian civil war with Turkish leaders. (AAP via The Daily Telegraph)
- Gunmen detonate roadside bombs as they clash with police in central Damascus. (ABC)
- Britain plans to give 5-million-pounds worth of equipment to Syrian rebels trying to topple President Bashar Al-Assad, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) says. (SBS)
- One of Syria’s state news agency (SANA) reporters is assassinated at his home in Damascus. (AP via Boston.com)
Mexican Drug War:
- A total of 12 decomposing bodies are found inside an abandoned vehicle in Zacatecas. (Global Post)
- At least five people are killed as suspected gang members go on rampage in drug-violence-ravaged western state of Michoacan. (Al Jazeera)
An Afghan policeman kills ten of his colleagues at a checkpoint in southwestern Afghanistan. (AP via The Wall Street Journal)
At least two people are killed and 18 others injured as protests held in Mumbai, India, against religious riots in Assam and Myanmar turn violent. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters

Two earthquakes, the strongest a magnitude 6.4, strike near the northwestern Iranian cities of Tabriz and Ahar, killing at least 250 people and injuring up to 1,800 others. (BBC)
At least 52 people are killed and 46 wounded in a bus crash in Himachal Pradesh state of India. (Hindustan Times)
At least 13 people are killed and 15 injured as a result of a lightning strike at a mosque in a remote village in northeast Bangladesh. (Al Ahram)

Politics and elections

Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the United States presidency, names Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in the presidential election in November. (BBC)

Sports

2012 Summer Olympics:
- In the association football final, Mexico defeats Brazil 2–1 and wins the gold medal. This victory marks the first medal in association football for Mexico. (The New York Times)
- Usain Bolt wins his third gold medal of the 2012 Olympics as he anchors Jamaica's sprint relay team to a world record. (BBC)

August 12, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- The meeting of the Arab Foreign ministers in Jeddah to tackle Syria conflict is postponed. (BBC)
- Syrian opposition reports that ten men are killed by pro-regime forces in Homs. (CNN)
- Renewed violence is reported in the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Idlib, as Syrian state television reports the death of one of its reporters. (Al Jazeera)
Mexican Drug War:
- Edgar Morales Pérez, the mayor-elect of Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, is shot to death by gunmen while riding his vehicle. (The Huffington Post)
- The state police commander of the Mexican state of Chihuahua is gunned down and killed in Ciudad Juárez. (KTSM Channel 9)
Egyptian forces kill six suspected militants in a village near the city of el-Arīsh in northern Sinai. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Billy Graham, who had recently suffered from pneumonia in November 2011, is hospitalized again, likely for several days, at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, due to bronchitis, and is being treated with antibiotics. (NBC News)

Business and economy

Qatar is to deposit US$2bn at the Egyptian Central Bank in an effort to help support an economy battered by a year and a half of political turmoil, an Egyptian presidency statement reports. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi fires Mohamad Hussein Tantawi, head of the country's armed forces. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

2012 Summer Olympics:
- The 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony is held, featuring a celebration of British pop music and the handover of the Olympic Flag to the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the 2016 Games. (BBC)
- Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda wins the Olympic men's marathon in London, beating the Kenyan pairing of Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang. (BBC Sport)
Golfer Rory McIlroy wins the 2012 US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. (BBC)

August 13, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Syrian forces kill at least 10 people at the entrance of Jdeidet Artouz district of Damascus according to opposition sources. (CNN)
- Opposition forces in eastern Syria report downing a fighter jet; the Syrian government denies this claim, stating that the plane crashed due to technical problems. (The Telegraph)
- Danny Al Baaj, Syria’s representative at the UN Human Rights Council, defects to Switzerland. (Arab News)
WikiLeaks revelations and attack:
- WikiLeaks reveals data showing that the U.S. government has been secretly spying on the public using civilian security cameras with Trapwire. (Wired) (Daily Mail) (PC Mag)
- The Wikileaks website is targeted by a sustained online attack. (Sky News)

Arts and culture

American publisher and editor Helen Gurley Brown, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and a leader of 1960s sexual revolution dies at the age of 90 in New York City. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
Two new potential pyramid sites are discovered in Egypt. (Daily Mail)
Outgoing BBC Director-General Mark Thompson is appointed CEO of The New York Times, taking up his role in November. (BBC)

Disasters

Iran announces that the death toll from the 2012 Ahar-Varzaqan earthquakes is 306 with 3,037 injured. (AP via Sydney Morning Herald)

Law and crime

Police involved shooting in College Station, Texas results in line of duty death of Constable Brian Bachmann; gunman, as well as one civilian are also killed
The Vatican orders Pope Benedict XVI's former butler to stand trial for his alleged involvement in leaking allegations of corruption in the Holy See. (Reuters)
Two Egyptian journalists, critics of President Mohammed Mursi, are to be put on trial for their alleged incitement to murder Mursi and lead sectarian discord. (BBC)
Three people are found dead in a burning car in a parking lot in Maine, in the United States. (AP via ABC)

Politics and elections

Thousands of Tunisians, mostly women, protest in Tunis against attempts by the Islamist-led government to reduce women's rights. (BBC)

Sports

2012 Summer Olympics:
- Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus is stripped of her shot put gold medal after failing a doping test. (BBC Sport)
- Boxing gold medallist Katie Taylor arrives back in her hometown Bray, where thousands of people flock to the seafront to see her. (Irish Independent)

August 14, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- One journalist, three lieutenant colonels and one auditor defect to and participate in the Free Syrian Army (FSA). (Anadolu Agency via The Journal of Turkish Weekly)
Mexican Drug War:
- Alleged members of the Gulf Cartel storm a bar in Monterrey and kill 10 people. (Fox News)
A series of suicide bombings across Afghanistan kill at least 46 people and injure up to 80 others. (BBC) (CBS)
Turkish lawmaker Hüseyin Aygün, who was kidnapped by Kurdish rebels on 12 August 2012, is released. (AP via The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Kariem McFarlin, 35, of Alameda, California, is arrested and charged with residential burglary and selling stolen property from the Northern California home of the late Steve Jobs. (MSN)
Eleven bodies of individuals stabbed to death are found in the mountainous Ile Alatau national park, near Kazakh capital Almaty. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Mohamed Salem, an Egyptian lawyer, files a lawsuit over President Morsi's removal of Hussein Tantawi and Sami Anan. (Reuters)

August 15, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- Mexican authorities confirm that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is responsible for murdering five journalists in the state of Veracruz. This information was confirmed after the arrest of some of the members in the criminal organization. (Milenio via Google)
- The Mexican criminal group known as Los Zetas is discovered to contraband cigarettes in Panama. (Milenio via Google)
Syrian civil war:
- In Damascus, an explosion at a military compound near a hotel where UN observers are staying is claimed by a Free Syrian Army brigade. (Al-Jazeera)
- In response to the Syrian civil war, the Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation begins in Makkah Al Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia, for two days. (CNN)
- According to a UN investigation report by Commissioners Pinheiro and Abuzayd, both Syrian government troops and, to a lesser extent, anti-government groups are responsible for war crimes. Government forces and shabbiha fighters are responsible for the Houla massacre. (UNHCR)
- Activists say at least 30 people are killed in the town of Azaz, Aleppo province, after the Syrian government launches airstrikes on homes in the area. (Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates urge their citizens to leave Lebanon over a series of recent kidnappings involving nationals from Syria, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. (Daily Star Lebanon)

Arts and culture

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is taken to hospital as a "precautionary measure" after a recurrence of a bladder infection that affected him earlier in the year. (BBC)
Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon is taken to hospital in grave condition due to complications of pneumonia and respiratory problems. (Korea Times)

Disasters

The tour bus of American heavy metal band Baroness falls off a 30-foot viaduct in Monkton Combe, near Bath. All nine passengers on board are injured, two seriously. (BBC)

International relations

Two Japanese cabinet ministers, Jin Matsubara and Yuichiro Hata, visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine amid territorial disputes with both the People's Republic of China and South Korea. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Law and crime

The High Court of Australia upholds legislation providing for plain packaging of cigarettes. (ITV News)
Four suspects are arrested in Germany for their alleged involvement in illegally providing Iran with necessary technical parts to build a nuclear reactor. (BBC)

Sports

Rafael Nadal is not to take part in the US Open due to knee injury. (The New York Times)
Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba announces his retirement from football following medical advice he was given by doctors after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match earlier in the year. (BBC Sport)
Félix Hernández pitches the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history for the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. (Seattle Times)

August 16, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspends Syria's membership in the group. (The Jakarta Post)
- The United Nations Security Council ends its observer mission in Syria. (Al Jazeera)
- A diplomat claims that Maher Assad lost a leg in the Damascus bombing on 18 July 2012. (Reuters via The Telegraph)
- An UN official estimates that 1 million people are uprooted by the conflict. 2.5 million people need urgent humanitarian aid, up from 1 million in March.(Evening Standard)
Stand-off between Ecuador and Britain over Julian Assange:
- British police mass near the Ecuadorean embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange resides, after Britain threatens to use force to extract him. (Reuters) (AFP/AP/PA via The Sydney Morning Herald) (The New York Times)
- At least five supporters of Julian Assange are forcibly led away by uniformed officers. Some protesters use loudspeakers to criticize the actions of British authorities in threatening to breach the embassy's diplomatic immunity. (AAP via The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Ecuador grants political asylum to Assange. (The Guardian) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
War on Terror:
- Afghanistan: ISAF announces 11 people have been killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, including seven U.S. soldiers and four members of the Afghan National Army. Taliban insurgents claim they downed it. (Reuters)
- Pakistan: Gunmen attack the Pakistan Air Force Minhas base in Punjab with five soldiers and nine attackers reported dead. (Reuters)
- Iraq: At least 113 people are killed and almost 200 wounded in a series of attacks across Baghdad and five other provinces. The authorities believe al-Qaeda to be responsible. The deadliest explosion strikes an amusement park in the east of the capital, claiming 34 lives and injuring 54, most of them women and children. (New York Times) (CNN)
Ten people are injured following clashes between anti-government protesters and police in Gabon. (IOL)
South African police open fire on striking workers at a mine after violent clashes, leaving at least 12 dead. (SABC) (Al Jazeera)

Environment and health

Nuclear regulators from nine countries hold an emergency meeting in Brussels after unusual fissures were detected in the basic steel material of the Doel 3 pressurized water reactor vessel. This vessel type was built by now-defunct Rotterdam Drydocks with Krupp steel in 22 operating reactors worldwide, among which 10 in the US. Two 1 GW Belgian reactors will remain shut down at least until October. (Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control) (HLN, in Dutch)
After an outbreak of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus kills at least 17 people, the mayor of Dallas Mike Rawlings declares a state of emergency in the city. This paves the way for aerial spraying of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides from tonight on. Many residents express their concerns over safety and effectiveness; they suggest other preventive methods of mosquito control. Officials said the measures could cost as much as $1.2 million. (Al Jazeera) (Los Angeles Times) (Dallas News)

International relations

Japan is to deport 14 pro-China activists who landed on the disputed Senkaku Islands. (Channel News Asia)
The U.S. State Department calls the UN Secretary-General's decision to attend the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement summit "strange" and "not a good signal". (DPB)

Law and crime

Two Louisiana sheriff's deputies are killed and two others wounded in a shooting outside the Bayou Steel Plant, in LaPlace, Louisiana, Louisiana State Police report. Two suspects are in custody and one remains on the loose. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Gay rights activists hack the website of the Ugandan prime minister over the government's stance towards homosexuality. (BBC)

August 17, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Fighting continues in major cities as Lakhdar Brahimi is named as the new United Nations envoy for Syria. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters)
War on Terror:
- Afghanistan: ISAF announces two U.S. soldiers are killed by an Afghan policeman. The shooter is also killed. (BBC)
- Afghanistan: Mullah Mohammed Omar orders the Taliban to avoid civilian losses in the conflict. (Reuters)
Turkey urges its citizens not to travel to Lebanon after the kidnapping of two Turkish nationals. (AP via The Washington Post)
More than 60 fishermen are rescued after being abducted by pirates in the Bay of Bengal. (Bangkok Post)
The president of Gabon Ali Bongo calls for calm following clashes between police and anti-government protesters and a subsequent attack on an opposition television station. (IOL)
North Caucasus insurgency: 4 police officers are killed in an attack near Grozny, the capital of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya. (RIA Novosti)

Environment

An unusual spider discovered in 2010 is described as a separate family, the Trogloraptoridae. The single species will be named Trogloraptor marchingtoni, after Neil Marchington, a deputy sheriff, amateur biologist and local cave explorer who helped with the discovery. (San Francisco Chronicle)

International relations

Médecins Sans Frontières state that Sudanese refugees are in 'humanitarian disaster' in South Sudan. (BBC)
Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, meets Chinese president Hu Jintao. (AFP via Google News)

Law and crime

Russia:
- A Moscow court convicts three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and enmity" and jails them for two years. (Al Jazeera)
- Gay pride events are banned in Moscow for 100 years. (BBC)
The death toll following yesterday's clash between South African police and Lonmin striking miners in Marikana, Rustenburg, rises to 34. South African President Jacob Zuma announces an inquiry. (Mail and Guardian) (BBC)
The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rules that the German constitution allows its military to start operations inside Germany, for the first time since 1945. (BBC)

August 18, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Syrian opposition forces claim to have advanced close to the Aleppo International Airport in the course of the ongoing Battle of Aleppo. The Syrian state media claim the attacks were repulsed. Heavy fighting is ongoing in Aleppo and Damascus. (The New York Times) (Al Arabiya)
- According to the Free Syrian Army, the defected Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa arrives in Jordan. The government denies the claim. (Al Arabiya) (CNN) (Reuters)
- United Nations observers start leaving Syria. (AP)
War on Terror:
- Al-Qaeda militants attack an intelligence headquarters in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, killing at least 14 people. (BBC)
- Airstrikes carried out by NATO kill at least 13 Taliban militants in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar. (BBC)
- Five security personnel are killed by a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Quetta, Pakistan. (The Times of India)
- A drone attack conducted by the United States kills five people in North Waziristan, Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issues an official protest. (Al Jazeera)
- An explosion kills at least four people and wounds 12 others in western Afghanistan. (AP via USA Today)
- NATO says one soldier died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on August 17. (AP via USA Today)
Four Egyptian Army soldiers are injured in a raid on militants in the Sinai Peninsula. (AP via The Washington Post)
Bahraini security forces kill a 16-year-old boy during rioting in the city of Muharraq. (BBC)

Disasters

Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots are killed after a plane crash in the sea off central Masbate. (BBC)

Environment

Tropical Storm Helene approaches Mexico. (CNN)
The Reserve Bank of India acknowledges poor data for the current monsoon season. (Indian Express)

International relations

Egypt's state news agency says President Mohammed Morsi is to attend the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Iran at the end of August. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

A U.S. District Court judge declines Facebook's $20 million offer to settle a lawsuit revolving around privacy, expressing among other concerns that up to half of that money would be paid to attorneys, and none to the victims. (Bloomberg)
The Treasury Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom releases the first volume of a planned two-volume report on the LIBOR fixing scandal. (Commons Committees)

Sport

Indian cricketer V. V. S. Laxman retires from international cricket, bringing an end to a 16 year illustrious international career. (ESPN Cricinfo)

August 19, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- A photo journalist is ambushed and killed by unknown assailants while driving a vehicle in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. (Milenio)
- Two photographers are tortured and killed execution-style in the state of Michoacán. Their bodies were found inside the trunk of a car with a bullet through their heads. (Proceso)
Syrian civil war: At least 19 people are killed across Syria in ongoing violence on Eid-ul-Fitr holiday. President Assad makes a public appearance, praying in Damascus. Lakhdar Brahimi accepts to become the new UN envoy. (Al Jazeera) (Washington Times)
Two explosions strike near government buildings in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, killing at least two people. These are the first bomb attacks since the end of the Libyan Civil War.(BBC)
War on Terror:
- Afghanistan: A bomb kills three NATO soldiers in east Afghanistan. An explosion in a cemetery in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, in Afghanistan kills two people. A NATO soldier is killed by an Afghan police officer. Three New Zealand soldiers are killed in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan when the convoy in which they were traveling was hit by an improvised explosive device. (AP via Chron)(Christian Science Monitor) (New Zealand Herald)
- Pakistan: A U.S. drone missile attack kills at least seven presumed militants in two vehicles in the Mana area of North Waziristan in Pakistan. (AP via USA Today)
- Yemen: A suspected Al Qaeda suicide bomber kills the commander of a local pro-army militia and injures six people in the town of Mudiyah in the Abyan province of Yemen. (AFP via France 24)
North Caucasus insurgency:
- Seven policemen are killed and at least eight wounded in a suicide bombing attack in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia. (Reuters)
- At least eight people are wounded in shooting and bombing in a mosque in the town of Khasavyurt, Dagestan. (BBC)
Sonia Gandhi says stern action should happen against those responsible for the violence in Assam and the social media messages that drove 30,000 migrant workers out of their homes in South India. (IBN Live)

Arts and culture

British-born film director Tony Scott dies after leaping 200ft from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles. (The Telegraph) (BBC)

Disasters

32 people, among which Sudanese government officials, including Ghazi al-Sadiq, the head of the ministry of guidance and endowments, and two state ministers, are killed in a plane crash in Talodi. (BBC) (SUNA)
Four people are killed in a magnitude 6.6 earthquake near the city of Palu, Sulawesi in Indonesia. (CNN)
Typhoon Kai-tak hits southeast China, leaving at least two people dead and affecting 530,000. At least 27 people are reported dead in north Vietnam. (UPI) (BBC)

Environment and health

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake hits off the West coast of Washington state. (Reuters)
Scotland's Roman Catholic leader Cardinal Keith O'Brien suspends direct communication with the Scottish government on same-sex marriage. (BBC)
Radioactive contamination causes hereditary genetic mutations in life forms. This has been proven on butterfly generations. At stated times, the effect on humans remains unclear. (20 minutes, in German) (Philadelphia Inquirer)

International relations

Senkaku Islands dispute:
- At least 10 Japanese nationalist activists land on the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, amid a dispute between China and Japan. (BBC)
- Anti-Japanese protests take place in more than a dozen cities across China. (Al Jazeera)
In the stand-off between Britain and Ecuador over Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gives a speech critical of the United States' policy against Wikileaks, "dragging us all in a dark, repressive world in which journalists live under fear of prosecution", from the balcony of Ecuador's London embassy. (Channel 4) (BBC) (Fox News)

Politics

It is reported that UK Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith's department has made a formal complaint to the BBC over claims of anti-Government bias, as Duncan Smith himself attacks the Corporation in a Mail on Sunday article for what he perceives to be its negative stance towards the coalition. (The Independent) (The Telegraph)

Sports

Japan wins the 2012 Women's Baseball World Cup for their 3rd straight title. (Toronto Sun)

August 20, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- United Nations observers leave the country as their mandate expires. The total number of casualties over the previous weekend is now estimated at more than 100 deaths. The UN envoy describes the conflict as a civil war. Russia says only the UN should decide on force against Syria. The U.S. claims it has "contingency plans" and threatens to change its "calculus" if it finds Syria moving or using chemical or biological weapons. Fighting continues. (Reuters) (Atlanta Journal Constitution) (Bloomberg) (Jerusalem Post) (Washington Post) (Christian Science Monitor)
War on Terror:
- Afghanistan: John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, announces that the Government will withdraw forces from Afghanistan early in 2013. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Iraq: AFP says at least 409 people were killed and 975 wounded during the previous month in Iraq. (Al Arabiya)
A riot in the Yare I prison in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas kills at least 20 people. (BBC)
At least eight people are killed by a bomb attack in the city of Gaziantep, Turkey. (BBC)
Officials say three suspected Islamic militants die while plotting a car bombing in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. (RFERL)

Arts and culture

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is discharged from hospital following treatment for a bladder infection. (BBC)
American comedienne Phyllis Diller dies at the age of 95. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

An ocean surge into nearby shanties kills one person and leaves 15 others missing off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. (IOL)

Health

United States Congressman Todd Akin, who is also a candidate for the United States Senate, says "legitimate rape" would lead to pregnancy only in "really rare" cases. In a follow-up statement, he says that he "clearly misspoke" and that he holds a "deep empathy" for the "thousands of women who are raped each year". He stirs a US-wide controversy over the issue of abortion. (Fox News) (NPR) (Los Angeles Times)

Law and crime

Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chongqing Politburo leader Bo Xilai, is given a suspended death sentence for the murder of Neil Heywood in China. (AP via The Washington Post)
Former Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir is found guilty on three counts of stealing millions of pounds from his company by a jury at London's Old Bailey. (BBC)
In a case before the Supreme Court, the Indian Patent Office and pharmaceutical giant Novartis will present final arguments this week concerning the right to make and sell patented medicine. (Business Standard)

Politics and elections

Meles Zenawi, the long-term Prime Minister of Ethiopia, dies of a mystery illness after not having been seen in public for weeks. (AP via New Zealand Herald)
Myanmar announces that it is ending media censorship, as part of the ongoing political reforms in the country. (AFP via Google News)
In Somalia, a new parliament is formed, with the new task of electing the country's president. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

South Africa win the third test to clinch victory in their three match series with England and move into first place in the ICC cricket ratings.

August 21, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Russia sends a warning in reaction to what it perceives as threats by the United States, made yesterday. Russia still proposes to help negotiate a deadline to stop violence. (Reuters) (RIA Novosti)
- The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) threatens to attack Turkey if Turkey continues its policy regarding Syria. (Hürriyet Daily News)
- The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the death of journalist Mika Yamamoto, who was shot and killed while reporting on fighting in the northwestern city of Aleppo. (AP via The Washington Post)
Ireland's Army Bomb Disposal Team receives four calls in the capital Dublin: among them is a false alarm, dealt with at the Israeli embassy in Ballsbridge. (RTÉ News) (Reuters)

Business and economy

Oil imports to China from Iran fall 28 percent in July and 30 percent in 2012. (Reuters)

Disasters

2012 Philippine Piper Seneca crash:
- A search and rescue team recovers the body of former Philippines Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo after a crash that claimed his life and two others on Saturday off Masbate. (Reuters) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III declares national days of mourning with flags flying at half-mast with a state funeral to be held within several days. (Rappler)
- Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. is named acting Secretary of Interior and Local Government. (GMA News)

Health and environment

At least 20 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo die from the Ebola virus disease. (CNN)
Tropical Storm Isaac forms in the Atlantic Ocean with tropical storm warnings in place for Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands, Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, St Martin, St Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, Anguilla, Saba, St Eustatius, St Maarten, Culebra and Vieques. (AAP via News Limited)

Politics and elections

United States Congressman Todd Akin, who is also a candidate for the United States Senate, vows to continue as the US-wide fall-out over his rape, pregnancy and anti-abortion comments rages on. (RTÉ News)
The Constitutional Court of Romania invalidates the presidential impeachment referendum held on July 29. (Antena 3)
Iran unveils a newer version of a short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, named the Fateh-110 or Conqueror, and five pieces of military hardware. (BBC) (Mehrnews)

Science

In the debate on cosmogony, Physical Review publishes a study describing the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago, as actually a phase change ruled by event symmetry, possibly explaining better how our well-known spacetime could originate from original matter. (Space.com)

August 22, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- A Chinese state news commentary on recent U.S. "red line" remarks states that, once again, Western powers are digging deep for excuses to intervene militarily in another conflict-torn Middle East country. It sharply denounces the U.S.' "calculus". (Xinhua)
- Syrian forces shell two separate districts in the capital Damascus; rebels say at least 47 people are killed. Frequent fighting is reported in Aleppo and other parts of the country. The United Nations estimate that 18,000 people have been killed in the conflict. (Reuters)
At least 48 people are killed during clashes, over grazing rights for cattle, between the Pokomo and Orma tribes in Kenya. (Deutsche Welle)

Arts and culture

Nina Bawden, the writer of seminal work Carrie's War and shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987 and the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010, dies at her London home. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Daily Telegraph)
The BBC turns down "flat" a proposal for a statue to George Orwell who resigned from the organisation "because for some time past I have been conscious that I was wasting my time and the public money on doing work that produces no results." (The Guardian) (BBC)

Disasters

A plane carrying 11 tourists crashes in the Maasai Mara game reserve in southwestern Kenya, killing at least four people and injuring up to three others. (BBC)
A state of emergency is declared in California over wildfires threatening hundreds of buildings (Reuters)
Hurricane Isaac causes so much disruption that hearings at Guantánamo Bay are cancelled again. (Huffington Post)

Health

Tony Nicklinson, a 58-year-old British man with locked-in syndrome who lost his fight for doctors to legally end his life, dies after refusing food at his home in Melksham, Wiltshire. (BBC)
Research finds that elderly men pass on more genetic mutations to their children if they become fathers. (Los Angeles Times)
Penn State's ex-president Graham Spanier rejects the report by former FBI head Louis Freeh accusing the university of a cover-up, saying he never heard even a hint of child sex abuse by Jerry Sandusky, despite indications of "horseplay", having never met a higher level of awareness. (Reuters)

International relations

Russia becomes the 156th member of the World Trade Organization. Vanuatu becomes the 157th member. (Bloomberg)

Sport

Former Irish footballer Kevin Sheedy is diagnosed with bowel cancer at the age of 52. (Irish Independent) (RTE)

Technology

It becomes known that a freight train derailment, yesterday near Baltimore, caused military fiber optic cables to be cut so much that communications were quite seriously disrupted. This in turn caused to justify further delaying the start of the big-gun suspects' trial at Guantánamo Bay by two more days, to within "likely more than a year". (Huffington Post)

August 23, 2012 (Thursday)

Disasters

Tropical Storm Isaac (2012): The U.S. National Hurricane Center lowers its previous hurricane warning threat level for Hispaniola island in the Caribbean Sea to a storm warning and hurricane watch in its 23.00 PM bulletin. (NHC)
Typhoon Tembin (2012): Taiwanese authorities evacuate almost 5,000 people ahead of the typhoon. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
At least 30 people are killed as a result of heavy monsoon rain in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. (BBC)
A hot-air balloon crashes near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, killing four people and injuring 28 others. (BBC) (STA)

Environment and health

A new, seemingly chronic but non-contagious, immunodeficiency disease is diagnosed since 2004, affecting mainly people of Asian genotype aged around 50. Most patients create interferon-gamma-blocking autoantibodies more frequently. Genetic factors are suspected but it would not "run in families". Also, something in the environment may trigger the disease. (The Washington Post) (The Voice of Russia)
The Waddenvereniging in the Netherlands expects the human-friendly starry smooth-hound shark to return to the Wadden Sea in a few years, after specimina were marked in the Oosterschelde and in another Zeeland part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. (HLN) (Waddenvereniging, in Dutch)
Israel's President Shimon Peres stresses that circumcision is "at the core of Jewish identity", in a letter on a controversy in Germany over circumcision. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

International relations

Baltasar Garzón promises he has a surprise in the case against his client Julian Assange. The Swedish prosecutor refuses to travel to London. (De Standaard, in Dutch) (MSN Malaysia)
Russia says that it is working closely with the Syrian government to establish guarantees that Assad won't move or use Syria's chemical weapons. (AP via Haaretz)
Pakistan again officially protests against the U.S. drone strikes, calling them unlawful, against international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Pakistan states emphatically that the attacks are "unacceptable". (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Law and crime

Former Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir is jailed for 10 years for stealing £29m ($46m) from the company. (BBC)
The 7th parole request of Mark David Chapman, murderer of former Beatle John Lennon, is denied. (Chicago Tribune)

Sport

American cyclist Lance Armstrong announces that he will not contest United States Anti-Doping Agency charges of doping paving the way for him to be stripped of his titles including seven Tour de France victories. (USA Today) (AP via Washington Post)

Technology

The U.S. tests helium-filled surveillance balloons on the Mexican border. The two airships float about 800 meter high and are equipped with very advanced cameras. It is said that the balloons will not watch too far into Mexican territory. (Associated Press via Google)

August 24, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Three people, including a 28-year-old anti-Assad sheikh, are killed in combat between pro-Assad and anti-Assad groups in the Lebanese city of Tripoli. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- Syriaonline.sy reminds of the fate of captured Syrian TV journalist Mohammed al-Saeed. (Syria Online)
War on terror:
- Afghanistan: Insurgents kill four men including three soldiers in the Afghan Army in Paktia Province. (AP via ABC News)
- Pakistan: A drone attack conducted by the United States kills 18 alleged Taliban militants in North Waziristan. (USA Today)

Disasters

Typhoon Tembin makes landfall on Taiwan. (AP via Yahoo! News)
Tropical Storm Isaac hits the island of Hispaniola containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A hurricane watch threat level is set for Haiti. (BBC) (NHC)
Heavy monsoon rain and floods kill 26 people in Pakistan. (Daily Times)
The newly-built Yangmingtan Bridge in Harbin City in China collapses, killing three and injuring five people. (BBC)

International relations

The House of Representatives of Japan passes a resolution criticising the President of South Korea Lee Myung-bak's recent visit to the disputed Liancourt Rocks. (Kyodo News)

Law and crime

Two U.S. government employees are ambushed and wounded by gunshots near Huitzilac, Morelos, by Mexican Federal Police officers. Details are still unclear. (BBC News)
A court in Oslo, Norway, deems Anders Behring Breivik sane and sentences him to 21 years' imprisonment for intentionally killing 77 people in two terror attacks in July 2011. (BBC)
A South Korean court rules that Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics infringed each other's patents on mobile computing technology. (The Wall Street Journal)
A jury in the U.S. state of California rules that Samsung Electronics owes Apple Inc. over US$1 billion for patent infringement. (Gizmodo)
The High Court of Australia quashes the conviction of former Bundaberg, Queensland surgeon Jayant Patel on manslaughter charges due to a miscarriage of justice with a fresh trial to be held. (The Australian)
A gunman shoots and kills a former coworker near the Empire State Building in New York City. Following the initial shooting, police kill the gunman, and nine other people are wounded. (CNN)
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in the case Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum, awards Sony BMG US$675,000 in statutory damages against Joel Tenenbaum, who shared 30 MP3 files through the defunct Kazaa network. (Decrypted Tech)
A court in Romania, at the request of the Romanian Intelligence Service, expels 8 Palestinians suspected of being involved with Hamas and Hezbollah. (Antena 3)

Politics and elections

Mir-Hossein Mousavi, leader of the Iranian opposition and former Prime Minister, returns home from a hospital after a heart attack. (Tabnak)

Sports

The United States Anti-Doping Agency says it will ban former professional road racing cyclist Lance Armstrong for life and recommend he be stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles. (The Washington Post)

August 25, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- At least 330 people are killed in Syria, marking the highest single-day death toll in the uprising according to the opposition. (CNN)
- According to activists, at least 79 dead bodies are found in Daraa. (Reuters)
- Syrian opposition forces free one of eleven Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted three months ago in Syria; according to rebels, at Turkey's request. (AP via The Miami Herald) (Huffington Post)
Libya: Unnamed organized assailants bulldoze a Sufi mosque with graves, in broad daylight in the centre of the Libyan capital Tripoli. It is the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days. De facto head of state Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf tells reporters: "What is truly regrettable and suspicious is that some of those who took part in these destruction activities are supposed to be of the security forces and from the revolutionaries." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Arts and culture

Neil Armstrong, the first person on the Moon, dies at age 82. (The Telegraph) (The Guardian)

Disasters

A historic drought develops in the Balkans causing severe losses to agriculture. Towns in Serbia introduce water restrictions while scorching temperatures fuel hundreds of fires. Russia stations a second fire fighting aircraft to help in Niš. (AFP via FOCUS) (RIA Novosti)
Tropical Storm Isaac causes floodings and kills at least three people in Haiti, a nation still recovering from the 2010 earthquake. The storm moves Northwest over east Cuba. (CBS) (NHC)
At least 85,000 people are displaced in Myanmar as weeks of heavy rain contribute to severe flooding in the Irrawaddy Delta. (Al Jazeera)
A gas-leak blast at the Paraguaná Refinery Complex in Amuay, in north Venezuela kills at least 39 people and injures more than 80. (AP via WVEC)

Law and crime

Thirty-seven Chinese nationals, arrested in Angola due to their alleged involvement in criminal acts, are extradited and due to be tried in China. (BBC)

Politics

Voters in Australia's Northern Territory elect the Country Liberal Party. (Sky News)

Sports

The 2012 Rugby League Challenge Cup is won by Warrington Wolves, defeating Leeds Rhinos by 35 points to 18. (BBC)

August 26, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Seventeen villagers including two women in Afghanistan's southern Kajaki district are beheaded by unknown organised people. (AP via The Australian)

Disasters

Thirty-six people are killed in a bus crash near Yan'an, Shaanxi province of China. (Reuters)
Tropical Storm Isaac:
- The United States National Hurricane Center issues hurricane warnings for the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. A state of emergency is in effect in these four areas. (Fox News)
- Tropical Storm Isaac has so far caused 10 direct fatalities on Hispaniola and one indirect in Puerto Rico. (Fox News)
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of El Salvador with tsunami warnings in place for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico. (AP via Fox News)

Environment and health

An outbreak of Legionellosis (Legionnaires' disease) in Quebec City, Canada, kills 8 people and infects 104. (CBC)
Women in Togo announce that they will go on sex strike for a week, starting Monday, following the example of women in Liberia. (CNN)
Several hundred earthquakes hit Southern California, with the largest one measuring 5.5 on the Richter magnitude scale near San Diego. (CNN)

International relations

Heads of state meet at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, Iran, until August 31. (Oman Tribune) (Xinhua) (Radio Free Europe)

Politics and elections

Two Pussy Riot members, alleged to be the two participants in the band's Cathedral protest on February 21 who remain unarrested, "leave" Russia. (The Guardian)
Libya Abdullah Al-Sha Mausoleum's destruction:
- The president of Libya's newly elected legislative congress, Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf, calls the prime minister to an emergency meeting, after Saturday's bulldozing of the Sidi el-Sha'ab mausoleum in Tripoli by unnamed organized assailants. (Reuters via Yahoo! News) (Wall Street Journal)
- Libyan interior minister Fawzi Abdelali resigns after harsh criticism due to the Mausoleum attack. An aide says he resigned "to defend the revolutionaries". It becomes known that deputy PM Mustafa A.G. Abushagur on Saturday, referring to Friday's desecrations, sent a tweet saying "I have asked the interior and defence ministers to intervene yesterday but did not do their duty to protect these sites." (BBC) (Google Translate)

Sports

15-year-old amateur Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins the Canadian Women's Open, becoming the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour and the first amateur to win on that tour since JoAnne Carner in 1969. (Vancouver Sun)

August 27, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Blockade of the Gaza Strip: A United Nations report finds that the Gaza Strip will not be "a liveable place" by 2020 as basic infrastructure in water, health, education and sanitation "is struggling to keep pace with a growing population". (BBC)
Syrian civil war:
- Heavy combat continues in Damascus and Aleppo. (Xinhua)
- A Syrian army helicopter crashes in Damascus; rebels claim they downed it. (Reuters via ABC)
War on Terror:
- ISAF states that an Afghan National Army soldier opens fire on NATO troops, killing two, before being killed himself. (CNN)
- Ten Afghan soldiers are killed by Taliban fighters in southern Helmand province. (The Wall Street Journal)
Kenyan Islamic cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed is shot dead by unnamed organised assailants in Mombasa, triggering protests. (BBC)

Business and economics

Leslie Buckley, a close associate of Denis O'Brien, is elected chairman of Independent News & Media. (RTE) (The Irish Times)

Disasters

Typhoon Bolaven moves past the Japanese island of Okinawa en route to the Korean Peninsula. (BBC)
A missing tourist in Iceland has been searching for herself, involved in her own rescue operation for hours. (Iceland Review)

Politics

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf appears in the Pakistani Supreme Court over his failure to reopen investigations of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari. (AAP via Melbourne Herald-Sun)
The Burmese President Thein Sein changes nine ministers in the cabinet, in an apparent bid to demonstrate that promised reforms are firmly on course. (BBC)
The Leuven municipal council holds a minute of silence for a deceased deminer. (De Standaard)

Sports

The 75-year-old official who got a javelin in the throat at a junior athletics meeting, on Sunday in Düsseldorf, dies. (Yahoo! Eurosports) (BBC)

Science and technology

The Mars Rover Curiosity broadcasts the first audio recording of a human voice from the surface of another planet. The message from NASA administrator Charles Bolden is beamed to Earth along with new images of the Martian surface. (The Telegraph)

August 28, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Twelve people are killed in a twin-blast bomb attack by unknown people at the entrance of a Druze cemetery in the Jaramana district of southeast Damascus. (Reuters) (RIA Novosti)
At least one person is killed and another four injured in renewed fighting in the Indian city of Kokrajhar in the state of Assam. (BBC)
Clashes continue in Mombasa, protesting the killing of radical Muslim Kenyan cleric Aboud Rogo. The government of Kenya orders a swift investigation. (Reuters) (coastweek.com)
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos announces the start of preliminary peace talks with the FARC-EP guerrilla group. (Washington Post)
A Muslim Sufi leader, Safi Afandi, is killed in a suicide bomb attack in the Russian republic of Dagestan. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Wong Kar-wai is to be jury president of the 2013 Berlinale film festival. (Xinhua)

Disasters

At least four Chinese fishermen die and another twelve are missing in the Korea Strait as Typhoon Bolaven hits South Korea. The Chinese meteo service issues a blue alert. (BBC) (Xinhua)
Tropical Storm Isaac is upgraded to a category 1 hurricane as the storm makes landfall along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana. (CNN)

Law and crime

An Israeli court rules that Israel is not responsible for the death of American activist Rachel Corrie at the hands of an Israeli Army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003. (BBC) (The Times of Israel)
French officials open up a murder case in the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following a "complaint against X" by his widow. (CNN) (Le Monde)

Politics

The United States Republican Party officially nominates Mitt Romney as its candidate in the 2012 presidential election at the National Convention in Tampa, Florida. (Boston Globe)

Science and technology

IBM sells a "most powerful and advanced" server. (Wall Street Journal)

Sports

A teen-aged boy proposes Novak Djokovic for marriage at a US Open training and gets some playtime in return. (Huffington Post)

August 29, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Russia calls for a joint United Nations-Arab League inquiry on terrorist mass slaughters of civilians. (Ria Novosti)
- The Free Syrian Army claims to have surrounded Tiftinaz military airport in the city of Aleppo. (Al-Arabiya)
- The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, arriving in Iran for the Non-Aligned Movement summit, says Iran "can play an important role in the peaceful settlement of (the) Syrian crisis". (Xinhua)
War in Afghanistan:
- Three Australian Army soldiers are killed and another two injured in a shooting by someone wearing an Afghan Army uniform in Oruzgan province. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Another two Australian special forces are killed in a helicopter crash in Helmund province, making it the worst day for Australians in combat since the Vietnam War. (The Daily Telegraph)
Anonymous officials say the Taliban has attacked a Pakistan Army post in South Waziristan killing nine soldiers. Pakistani Taliban say they killed twelve. (AP via Yahoo! News) (BBC)
Georgian forces free 10 hostages held by militants from Russia's North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. Three Georgian police officers and 11 militants die in a clash. (The Seattle Times) (RIA Novosti)
With Operation Eagle, its biggest since 1979, the Egyptian Army says it used tanks and helicopters to kill 11 suspected terrorists and arrest 23 others in the Sinai, following the attack that killed 16 border guards. (Ahram)

Business and economy

Gazprom completes building the second leg of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline connecting Russia, Germany and neighbouring countries. (RIA Novosti)
The UK's Serious Fraud Office launches an investigation into payments between Barclays and Qatar Holding LLC after Barclays sought investment from the latter during the financial crisis in 2008. (The Guardian)

Disasters

Hurricane Isaac arrives in the US city of New Orleans on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the city. Damage is limited. (Reuters)

International relations

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon expresses "serious concerns on the human rights abuses and violations" in Iran at the meeting of non-aligned nations being held in Teheran. (The Los Angeles Times) (AP)
Japan and North Korea hold their first talks in four years in Beijing. (BBC)
President Hu officially receives Egypt's president Morsi, who is in China for in-depth discussion and cooperation talks. (Xinhua)

Law and crime

A judge orders the arrest of Tomás Yarrington, a former governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, for allegedly fomenting drug trafficking. (The Monitor)
The Indian Supreme Court upholds the death sentence of Pakistani Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. (BBC)
A special Gujarat state court charges 32 people with murder, including Maya Kodnani, later a minister in the Narendra Modi government, for their parts in the riots that led to the killing of 95 people in the Patia neighborhood of Naroda, India. (The Washington Post) (Firstpost)

Science and technology

The banana spider venom is found by Brazilian researchers in some cases to relieve erectile dysfunctions in less than 20 minutes. (Medical Daily)

Sports

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics is held in London. (BBC)
The USADA claims it has stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles. The UCI again claims it has jurisdiction and asks for evidence. (Euronews) (The Daily Telegraph)

August 30, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi describes the conflict as an uprising against an "oppressive regime" and likens it to the Palestinians, sparking a walkout from the Syrian delegation at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Iran. (BBC)
- The United Nations Security Council is to convene an emergency meeting about the crisis, with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan present. (Al Jazeera)
- Syrian activists report that rebels shot down a Syrian army warplane over the Idlib province. (The Washington Post)
The Venezuelan government is to investigate an alleged massacre of indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest whom were attacked from a helicopter. (Merco Press)

Business and economy

Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, finds a large crude oil deposit in the northern state of Tamaulipas. The deposits could contain 250 million to 400 million barrels of oil – nearly one-third of the company's annual production. (GlobalPost)
Barclays bank appoints Antony Jenkins as its new chief executive. (BBC)
The socialist mayor of Liège, Belgium, defends as a political choice his refusal to let the Salvation Army distribute soup on a city main square. He favours the more dignifying model of Restaurants du Cœur. (RTBF)

Disasters

At least 26 miners are killed and 21 still missing after Wednesday's blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, located at Panzhihua in Sichuan Province, China. (Reuters) (Bloomberg Businessweek)
At least 229 people die in a cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone, the worst outbreak in the country for 15 years. (The Telegraph)

International relations

Iran and Egypt describe each other as "strategic allies" at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Iran. (PressTV)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges Iran to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions concerning the nuclear program of Iran, and implicitly criticises it for its Israel policy at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. (China Post)
The International Atomic Energy Agency releases a report on the Nuclear program of Iran, stating that Iran has doubled its number of centrifuges at the Fordow facility and highlighting concern over the nuclear program. (Yedioth Ahronot)
An ex-Navy Seal's book that seems to contradict the official version of the death of Osama bin Laden is not written with politics in mind, says the author. (NBC News)

Law and crime

Russian investigators find the bodies of two murdered women in an apartment in Kazan and the shout "Free! Pussy Riot" written on the wall. The perpetrator is as of yet unknown. Observers warn against radicalism and false flags. (The Guardian)
Three journalists jailed in Eritrea for over a decade have died in prison, according to prison guards who fled the country. (IOL)

Politics

Burma releases the names of over 2,000 people who were previously blacklisted by the former military government; they are to be removed from the list in the latest in a series of reforms. (BBC)
2012 Maldives Crisis: A Commonwealth-backed inquiry dismisses claims that a military coup forced former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed from power. (Al Jazeera)
The Cabinet of Germany accepts a project on Leistungsschutzrecht; they feel it at its third attempt as now ready to send to the Bundestag for voting into law. (Der Spiegel)
Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei calls nuclear weapons and their use "an unforgivable sin" and defends Iran's right to use nuclear energy for medical and peaceful purposes. (CNN)
Mitt Romney accepts the nomination of the Republican Party to be its candidate in the 2012 US presidential election. (Boston Globe)
Mexico's electoral tribunal unanimously rejects a challenge to the 2012 presidential election victory won by Enrique Peña Nieto. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Sky News shows a study where it is claimed that the polygraph helps reduce crime. The device is being presented as "about 85% accurate" and sufficient legal evidence in combination with "other information". (Sky News)
The Belgian Army assigns 16 sapping instructors to a train-the-trainer program in Katanga, DR Congo, from Saturday until year's end. (Het Laatste Nieuws)

August 31, 2012 (Friday)