Portal:Current events/2011 August 8

Current events of August 8, 2011 (2011-08-08) (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 recalls its ambassador to Syria in protest at the violence, a day after Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador. (Daily Star Lebanon)
  • Syria rejects a statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council condemning its crackdown on protests. (Syrian Arab News Agency)
• 2011 Libyan civil war: Fighting continues on the eastern and western fronts. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Stock markets in Asia and Australia fall further after the credit rating of the United States is downgraded. (Market Watch), (AAP via SBS), (Herald Sun), (Bloomberg)
• 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)
• More than 100 people are arrested in London, England, following another night of civil disorder after Saturday's riot. (Belfast Telegraph)

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)