Portal:Current events/2013 August 29

August 29, 2013 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- The French frigate Chevalier Paul leaves the port city of Toulon, though the shipping authorities declined to confirm a media report that it was headed to Syria. (Reuters) (Voice of Russia)
- The Parliament of the United Kingdom defeats a government motion supporting intervention in the war by 13 votes, effectively ruling out British military involvement in an international response to the chemical attacks. (BBC)
- French President François Hollande says "political solution" is the ultimate goal for Syria, sounding more cautious than earlier. "Everything must be done for a political solution but it will only happen if the coalition is able to appear as an alternative with the necessary force, notably from its army," he said. (Reuters)
- Russia sends two warships to the eastern Mediterranean. (Reuters)
- Lebanon and Jordan say the Lebanese air space and the Jordanian territories would not be made available for military intervention in Syria. (Xinhua)
- Allegations are made that the lines between Hezbollah and the Syrian regime are so blurred that Israel will hold Damascus responsible if Hezbollah bombards Israel in the coming days. (Jerusalem Post)
- A Kuwaiti newspaper reports that Gulf leaders have been in touch with Israel, and have asked that Israel act “with restraint” in the event of an attack by Western nations on Syria. (Israel National News)
- Britain is sending six Typhoon fighter jets to Cyprus to guard against potential retaliation by the Assad regime in the event of air strikes against Syria. (The Telegraph)
- Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee concludes it is "highly likely" that the regime of Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the chemical weapons attacks in Syria last week that have prompted moves towards launching military strikes. (The Guardian)
Aftermath of the 2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea warns against an underway joint military drill by South Korea and the United States, stating that the exercise could jeopardize a recent easing of tension on the Korean Peninsula. (Bloomberg)

Business and economy

Zurich Insurance Group chairman Josef Ackermann steps down after the CFO Pierre Wauthier committed suicide earlier this week. (Reuters)
NASDAQ OMX issues a preliminary report on the halt in NASDAQ-listed equities and options that took place on August 22. (NSADAQ website)^{[permanent dead link]}

Disasters and accidents

A bus accident kills 41 people and injures 33 in Kenya. (MSN Kenya)

Health

8.6 million Americans take prescription sleeping pills to catch some sleep, according to the first federal health study to focus on actual use. (NBC)
Scientists at Vienna's Institute of Molecular Biotechnology and Edinburgh University's Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland, clone a human mini-brain (a cerebral organoid), using stem cells; the first time brain tissue development has been replicated in three dimensions – which could help with schizophrenia and autism neurological research. (MSN)

Law and crime

The head of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), Yasin Bhatkal, is arrested by police. (BBC)

Natural disasters

The Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, now 30% contained, has grown to about 300 square miles. (NBC Bay Area)

Politics and elections

Members of the UK's Fire Brigades Union vote to take industrial action in a dispute over pensions, threatening the country's first national firefighters' strike since 2002. (BBC)