Portal:Current events/2011 August 18

August 18, 2011 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

At least fourteen people die after a minibus hits a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Herat province. (Voice of America)
Turkey launches an air strike on PKK positions in northern Iraq. (AP via Google News)
Southern Israel attacks
- Eight people are killed and dozens are injured in southern Israel near the Egyptian border, after a string of terrorist attacks on a highway targeting two civilian buses and cars as well a military bus responding to the attacks. (Ynetnews) (New York Times)
- In retaliation, Israel launches an air raid on the town of Rafah killing five Palestinians terrorists from the Popular Resistance Committee according to officials in Gaza. (The Guardian), (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald) (New York Times)

Business and economy

South Korean banks temporarily stop making household loans to stop the growth of household debt. (Yonhap)
August 2011 stock markets fall
- The DAX, CAC 40, Nasdaq drop over 5%, the FTSE 100 index by 4.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 3.7%. (BBC), (New York Times)
- Gold hits a high of US$1,826 an ounce. (BBC)

Disasters

More than 60,000 people are homeless after flooding in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh. (Pakistan)
An Australian Broadcasting Corporation helicopter goes missing near Lake Eyre in outback South Australia with journalist Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean feared dead. (AAP via Melbourne Herald Sun)
Five people die on the first day of the Belgian Pukkelpop festival when a hurricane hits the festival field. The rest of the festival is cancelled.

Law and crime

A rabbi in the U.S. state of New Jersey has been indicted for alleged sex crimes against two 13-year-old Israeli boys who were visiting the rabbi through a scholarship fund. The two boys had reported the abuse separately following their return. (Jerusalem Post)
Seven people are killed and 17 injured after a fight in a western Venezuelan prison in the town of Cabimas. (AP via Google News)
The BBC airs a special edition of its Crimewatch programme aimed at identifying people involved in the 2011 England riots. (The Telegraph) (The Guardian)

Politics and elections