Portal:Current events/2012 August 18

Current events of August 18, 2012 (2012-08-18) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian civil war: Syrian opposition forces claim to have advanced close to the Aleppo International Airport in the course of the ongoing Battle of Aleppo. The Syrian state media claim the attacks were repulsed. Heavy fighting is ongoing in Aleppo and Damascus. (The New York Times) (Al Arabiya) According to the Free Syrian Army, the defected Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa arrives in Jordan. The government denies the claim. (Al Arabiya) (CNN) (Reuters) United Nations observers start leaving Syria. (AP) War on Terror: Al-Qaeda militants attack an intelligence headquarters in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, killing at least 14 people. (BBC) Airstrikes carried out by NATO kill at least 13 Taliban militants in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar. (BBC) Five security personnel are killed by a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Quetta, Pakistan. (The Times of India) A drone attack conducted by the United States kills five people in North Waziristan, Pakistan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issues an official protest. (Al Jazeera) An explosion kills at least four people and wounds 12 others in western Afghanistan. (AP via USA Today) NATO says one soldier died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on August 17. (AP via USA Today) Four Egyptian Army soldiers are injured in a raid on militants in the Sinai Peninsula. (AP via The Washington Post) Bahraini security forces kill a 16-year-old boy during rioting in the city of Muharraq. (BBC) Disasters Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and two pilots are killed after a plane crash in the sea off central Masbate. (BBC) Environment Tropical Storm Helene approaches Mexico. (CNN) The Reserve Bank of India acknowledges poor data for the current monsoon season. (Indian Express) International relations Egypt's state news agency says President Mohammed Morsi is to attend the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Iran at the end of August. (Al Jazeera) Law and crime 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) The Treasury Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom releases the first volume of a planned two-volume report on the LIBOR fixing scandal. (Commons Committees) Sport Indian cricketer V. V. S. Laxman retires from international cricket, bringing an end to a 16 year illustrious international career. (ESPN Cricinfo)