August 8, 2011 (Monday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- 2011 Syrian uprising
- The Syrian opposition reports that the Army has entered the town of Maarat an-Numan. (Al Jazeera)
- Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, again warns the President of Syria Bashar al-Assad to stop violence against civilians. (Ynet)
- The website of the Ministry of Defense of Syria is taken over by Anonymous. (Huffington Post)
- Kuwait and Bahrain recall their ambassadors to Syria in protest of the violence, a day after Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador. (Gulf News) (Daily Star Lebanon)
- Syria rejects a statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council condemning its crackdown on protests. (Syrian Arab News Agency)[permanent dead link]
- 2011 Libyan civil war: Fighting continues on the eastern and western fronts. (Al Jazeera)
- The Royal Navy appoints its first female war ship commander; Lieutenant Commander Sarah West, 39, will take command of HMS Portland in April 2012. (BBC)
Business and economy
- Stock markets in Asia, Australia, and the United States fall further after the credit rating of the United States is downgraded with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by over 634 points, 5.55%. (Market Watch) (AAP via SBS) (Herald Sun) (Bloomberg) (USA Today) (News Limited)
- Rice futures trading on the Tokyo Grain Exchange is suspended following fears that the Japanese crop has been contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. (Bloomberg).
Disasters
- Seven people are killed in a landslide in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands. (Straits Times)
- More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from China's Shandong Province as former Typhoon Muifa travels along the eastern coast as a tropical storm. (Xinhua)
Law and crime
- The High Court of Australia grants an injunction against the removal of asylum seekers to Malaysia until a full hearing later this month. (ABC News)
- 2011 London riots:
- More than 215 people have been arrested in London, England since the riots began. (AFP via Herald-Sun) (Belfast Telegraph)
- Fresh violence breaks out in Hackney, Lewisham, Peckham, Croydon and several other areas of London as Home Secretary Theresa May meets with police chiefs to discuss the crisis. (BBC)
- London Mayor Boris Johnson says he will return early from his family holiday on Tuesday to deal with the riots. (The Telegraph)
- British Prime Minister David Cameron returns home early to chair a meeting of the COBRA Committee. (Daily Mail)
- Unrest breaks out in Birmingham City Centre and Liverpool. (BBC) (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Mike Rann, the Premier of the Australian state of South Australia, announces that he will be resigning on October 20 to be replaced by Education Minister Jay Weatherill. (Herald Sun)