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)