ONS: 17 August 2012

by TRG Alerts Admin on August 17, 2012

KEY STORYLINES

AFRICA: In South Africa, clashes between police and striking miners killed at least 30.
AMERICAS: Mexican activists expressed skepticism that authorities in Veracruz had solved the killing of five news workers.
ASIA: Four Afghan and seven American soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern part of the country.
EUROPE: Germany’s top court ruled the military might be deployed within its territory during extraordinary circumstances
MIDDLE EAST: In Iraq, the death toll from a series of attacks across the country rose to 90.
TECHNOLOGY: Twitter announced upcoming changes to its application programming interface restricting third-party applications.

TOP STORIES

Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a rare statement, claiming the militant group had great success at infiltrating the Afghan government.
An Afghan policemen in the country’s west killed two US soldiers.
A second green-on-blue attack took place in Kandahar, but no casualties were inflicted.
Coverage: Al Jazeera, AP, AP-2, Reuters

Syria: Fighting continued in Aleppo, Brahimi took over Annan’s post, UN ends observer mission

Rebel and government forces continued to fight for Aleppo.
Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi has reportedly agreed to take Kofi Annan’s place as the UN’s lead envoy.
The UN ordered an end to its observer mission and will replace it with a smaller monitoring office.
Coverage: Reuters, Al Jazeera, CNN, NYT

AFRICA

Gambia: The press union and an opposition party condemned the shutting down of a community radio station for providing a daily review of the independent press. (AFP)
Ivory Coast: Gunmen attacked security posts, leaving at least five dead, and freed over 100 prisoners in a town west of Abidjan. (Reuters)
Somalia: Kenyan forces reported killing 73 al Shabaab fighters during operations in the southern part of the country. (Xinhua)
South Africa: Clashes between police and striking miners killed at least 30. (Reuters)
Sudan: Clashes in Darfur killed six and injured 12. (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Colombia: President Santos revealed a supposed FARC memo ordering his death. (EFE)
Ecuador: The country granted political asylum to Julian Assange, triggering a diplomatic standoff with the UK. (WSJ)
Mexico: Activists expressed skepticism that authorities in Veracruz had solved the killing of five news workers. (LA Times)

ASIA

Region: The uncle of Kim Jong-Un held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao. (AP)
Afghanistan: A roadside bombing in the southern part of the country killed one NATO soldier. (AP)
Afghanistan: Four Afghan and seven American soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in the southern part of the country. (AP)
Kazakhstan: Police reported a clash with militants outside Almaty left nine dead. (AFP)
Korea, North: The country could build an arsenal of up to 48 nuclear weapons if the country were able to step up its program unchecked. (AFP)

EUROPE

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Germany will end its peacekeeping mission in the country on 27SEP. (DPA)
Germany: The country’s top court ruled the military might be deployed within its territory during extraordinary circumstances. (AFP)
Norway: National police commissioner Oystein Meland resigned his position following a report critical of police response to last year’s terror attack that left 77 dead. (WSJ)
Russia: Protests were held in cities around the world in support of opposition activist performers facing a verdict. (AP)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: Tension increased between Iran and Israel due to open debate on an Israeli strike and incendiary comments by Iranian leadership. (AP)
Region: Arab countries started evacuating their citizens from Lebanon over a series of kidnappings of Sunni Muslim foreigners by a Lebanese Shiite clan demanding the release of one of its members held by Syrian rebels. (Reuters)
Bahrain: Prominent activist Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison for involvement in anti-government protests. (NYT Lede Blog)
Iraq: The death toll from a series of attacks across the country rose to 90. (AP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Social Media: Twitter announced upcoming changes to its application programming interface restricting third-party applications. (Mashable)

WORLD

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (18AUG)

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