August 5, 2011 (Friday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- 2011 Syrian uprising:
- Turkey confirms it has seized an Iranian arms shipment to Syria. (Today's Zaman)
- Tens of thousands of people again protest across the country, amid a government crackdown. (BBC)
- 2011 Libyan civil war: Rebels claim that a NATO airstrike has killed Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son Khamis but this is later denied. (Al Jazeera) (MSNBC) (Reuters)
- Meng Jianzhu, the Minister for Public Security in the People's Republic of China, orders a clampdown in Xinjiang following recent unrest. (AP via Washington Post)
- Burmese state media say rebels in the northeast of the country killed seven workers from a Chinese-backed hydroelectric power project. (Straits Times)
Business and economy
- Stock markets in Asia and Australia continue falls from Europe and the United States. (SBS) (BBC)
- The Standard & Poor's credit rating agency downgrades the credit rating of the United States from AAA to AA+ with a negative outlook. (Reuters) (AP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution)[permanent dead link]
Disasters and accidents
- A bus in Ivory Coast plunges into the capital Abidjan's lagoon, killing 12 people. (Reuters)
- Typhoon Muifa:
- Typhoon Muifa approaches the Japanese island of Okinawa causing localised flooding, cancellation of flights to and from Naha International Airport and 30,000 homes to lose power. (Stars and Stripes)[permanent dead link]
- The People's Republic of China warns residents of Zhejiang province and Shanghai to prepare for the arrival of Typhoon Muifa tomorrow or Sunday, which is expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit China in recent years. (China Daily)
- Zyzz dies after receiving a heart attack in Thailand.
International relations
- UNICEF calls on Australia not to send 18 asylum seekers who are allegedly unaccompanied minors to Malaysia as part of a people swap. (AFP via Google News) (AAP via SBS News)
Politics
- Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, and leader of the most numerous opposition party Yulia Tymoshenko is arrested in Kiev. (Kyiv Post)
- Philippine President Benigno Aquino III meets with rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Al Haj Murad Ibrahim in Tokyo. (Philippine Inquirer) (Radio Australia)
- Yingluck Shinawatra is officially elected as the Prime Minister of Thailand by the parliament. (Reuters)
- Former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Andrzej Lepper is found dead in what police suspect is a suicide by hanging. (WBJ) (The Telegraph)