Portal:Current events/2012 July 20
July 20, 2012 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian uprising (2011–present):
- Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar, the head of Syrian national security, dies of wounds he received from a bombing in the capital Damascus on July 18. (BBC)
- Thousands of people flee the country. (Financial Times)
- Fighting continues in Damascus and other cities. (Al Jazeera)
- The United Nations Security Council extends the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria for 30 days. (Al Jazeera)
- 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting
- A gunman opens fire at a movie premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, killing at least 12 people and injuring 59 others. (BBC) (CNN)
- South Thailand insurgency:
- Bomb and shooting attacks kill two people and wound four in southern Thailand. (Naharnet)
- At least 13 people are killed in clashes in Duékoué and a camp for displaced people in Ivory Coast. (IOL)
- Amnesty International says Muslim Rohingyas in western Burma have been subject to attacks and arbitrary arrests. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- The Olympic Torch arrives in London for the final stages of the UK-wide relay ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics. (BBC)
Business and economy
Disasters and accidents
- 21 people were killed and 29 others were injured in bus accident in the Mexican state of Nayarit. (Fox News)
Law and crime
- The custody of three anti-Putin protesters from the Pussy Riot group is extended for another six months before their trial begins. (RIA Novosti) (AP via Google News)
- David Burgess, already serving life imprisonment on two counts of murder, is given a fresh life sentence after being convicted of the 1966 murder of Yolande Waddington, a nanny from Berkshire, England. (BBC)