ONS: 09 August 2012

by TRG Alerts Admin on August 9, 2012

KEY STORYLINES

AFRICA: Egypt’s Sinai saw fresh clashes between gunmen and police.
AMERICAS: Colombian authorities arrested drug lord Erikson Vargas, also known as “Sebastian.”
ASIA: An Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on NATO troops in the country’s east.
EUROPE: In Turkey, a bomb attack on a bus carrying soldiers wounded 11 and killed one.
MIDDLE EAST: Israeli DM Barak stated that Iran’s nuclear program was increasingly difficult for US and Israeli intelligence services to track and predict.
TECHNOLOGY: Google announced it would trial a feature allowing search results to also display a user’s personal e-mails.

TOP STORY

Syria: Rebel forces, government claimed setbacks and victories in Aleppo respectively; Iran reached for more prominent role

Rebel groups stated they had been forced to withdraw from parts of Aleppo due to a ground offensive by the government and lack of ammunition.
Rebel forces withdrew from the Salaheddine district after countering the government’s offensive.
Iran will host an international conference on the crisis amid skepticism by Western powers.
Coverage: NYT, BBC, Al Jazeera, NYT-2, AP, Reuters

AFRICA

DR Congo: The government stated it would not negotiate with the M23 rebel group. (AFP)
Egypt: Fresh clashes broke out between gunmen and police in the Sinai. (BBC)
Libya: The NTC handed power to the newly elected governing national assembly. (BBC)
Mali: UNSG Ban Ki-Moon urged the imposition of sanctions on rebel groups in the northern part of the country. (Al Jazeera)
Sudan: Peacekeepers in Darfur said they received reports of aerial bombing that displaced villagers from the Dolma area. (AFP)
Tunisia: An upsurge in violence in Tunisia involving Islamist radicals has been engineered by supporters of deposed dictator Ben Ali, the country’s religious affairs minister said. (AFP)

AMERICAS

Colombia: Authorities arrested drug lord Erikson Vargas, also known as “Sebastian.” (BBC)
Honduras: Extortion of homeowners by gangs is a new trend in the country. While authorities have no numbers about how widespread the crime has become, a survey by the AP of police in a dozen neighborhoods indicates at least hundreds of families have been affected. (AP)
Mexico: Authorities discovered five bodies with gunshot wounds in suburban Acapulco. (EFE)
United States: Authorities reported an operation conducted on 01AUG broke up a drug-smuggling ring operating in and around Atlanta. (AP)

ASIA

Afghanistan: Police backed by the army and the NATO-led force have killed 36 Taliban fighters, wounded 19 and captured 34 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said. (Xinhua)
Afghanistan: An Afghan soldier was killed after he opened fire on NATO troops in the country’s east. (AP)
India: The country successfully test-fired the nuclear capable Agni-II ballistic missile. (Kyodo)
Korea, North: The UN reported a large-scale famine was not imminent in the country, but that a full assessment of food levels wasn’t possible until the full impact of recent flooding could be determined. (Reuters)
Myanmar: Local authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Kyauktaw in western Rakhine state since Wednesday night following days of renewed sectarian riot in the area. (Xinhua)
Philippines: Troops launched assaults on two strongholds of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement rebel group. (AP)

EUROPE

Greece: The country expects to receive its next aid tranche after lenders complete a review of the country’s finances in mid-September. (Reuters)
Russia: The Federal Service for Control over Drug Circulation reported higher drug supplies in Russia from European countries. (Itar-Tass)
Spain: Several financial-services companies reportedly took steps to reduce their exposure to the country, amid fears of a debt crisis. (WSJ)
Turkey: A bomb attack on a bus carrying soldiers near Foca wounded 11 and killed one. (Reuters)
Ukraine: The Central Election Commission banned former PM Tymoshenko and former Interior Minister Lutsenko from running in the upcoming parliamentary elections. (Xinhua)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: Saudi Arabia reportedly threatened to shoot down any Iran-bound Israeli aircraft. (RIA Novosti)
Region: Israeli DM Barak stated Iran’s nuclear program was increasingly difficult for US and Israeli intelligence services to track and predict. (Reuters)
Region: Amid a spike in militant activities in Egypt’s Sinai, Israel’s intelligence community is in a competition for leading efforts to foil militant plots in the neighboring peninsula. (Xinhua)
Iraq: A car bomb targeting Shiite Muslims south of Baghdad killed 11. (AP)
Lebanon: A man was killed and several people were wounded in a Syria-related clash between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in northern Lebanon. (AFP)
Yemen: Soldiers protesting a decision to reorganize parts of the army abandoned their posts in the southern part of the country. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Search Engines: Google announced it would do a trial on a feature allowing search results to also display a user’s personal e-mails. (ZDNet)

WORLD

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (10AUG)

END