July 9, 2012 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Mexican Drug War:
- Ten decapitated bodies are discovered inside an abandoned vehicle along a roadside in the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila. Reportedly, a written message was left behind by the perpetrators. (BBC)
- A gunbattle breaks out near Choix, Sinaloa, after alleged drug traffickers ambushed and killed seven police officers; upon the aggression, the officers gunned down four cartel members. The area is a stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization. (BBC)
- Syrian uprising (2011–present):
- UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, states that talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus are "constructive". (BBC)
- The death-toll from the uprising reportedly surpasses 17,000, mostly civilians. (Al Arabiya)
- 31 people are reportedly killed by the Syrian army, primarily in Homs. (Yahoo! News)
- Gunmen open fire at a Pakistan Army training camp near the city of Wazirabad resulting in seven deaths and five people being injured. (AFP via ninemsn)[permanent dead link]
- Two men are killed after protests in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, following the arrest of a Shi'ite cleric, Nimr al Nimr yesterday.(Reuters)
Business and economy
- Thousands of computer users around the world lose Internet access as a result of the expiration of a Federal Bureau of Investigation temporary fix to the Internet Doomsday virus. (Yahoo! News) (The Guardian)
- Oil and gas companies in Norway lock out workers as a result of an ongoing industrial dispute over pensions. (BBC)
- Rolling blackouts hit Alberta, Canada in response to record heat taking multiple power plants offline. The Alberta Electric System Operator coordinates the effort. (Edmonton Journal)
Law and crime
- More than $200 million in customer funds is reportedly missing from the accounts of U.S. futures broker PFGBest, after the firm's founder Russell Wasendorf attempted suicide outside the company's Iowa headquarters. (The Guardian)
- The Mexican drug cartel known as Los Zetas laundered millions of dollars through accounts at Bank of America; that money was then used to finance a horse racing business in the United States, allegedly ran by José Treviño Morales. (The Huffington Post)
- The United States Department of Justice unseals an indictment charging five people for their alleged involvement in the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and offers up to $1 million reward for information leading to their arrest. (Fox News)
Politics and elections
- Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi's order to reopen parliament is rejected by the highest court, stating that its ruling dissolving the assembly is binding. (BBC)
- Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez says that he has completely recovered from cancer in the pelvic region. (Reuters)