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)
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)
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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)[permanent dead link]
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Four suspects are arrested in Germany for their alleged involvement in illegally providing Iran with necessary technical parts to build a nuclear reactor. (BBC)
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)
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:
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)
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)
After an outbreak of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus kills at least 17 people, the mayor of DallasMike Rawlings declares a state of emergency in the city. This paves the way for aerial spraying of synthetic pyrethroidinsecticides 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)
The president of GabonAli Bongo calls for calm following clashes between police and anti-government protesters and a subsequent attack on an opposition television station. (IOL)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia unveiles a new school system to be run by an independent Catholic foundation. The Faith in the Future Foundation will serve the archdiocese's high schools and special education programs. (Catholic News Agency)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
Harvard University investigates a widespread cheating allegation on a take-home test in one of its undergraduate classes last spring. (AP via Yahoo! News)
