Portal:Current events/2012 July 5

July 5, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian uprising (2011–present)
- The bodies of two Turkish pilots of a F-4 Phantom jet shot down by Syria on 22 June 2012 are recovered in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN)
- It is reported by Syrian Security apparatus that Manaf Tlass, a senior officer in the Syrian Republican Guard and a son of Mustafa Tlas, fled to Turkey with his wife. (Reuters)(The Guardian)
- The opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria report that at least 31 people are killed across Syria. (CNN)
- Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari declares that al Qaida insurgents are streaming out of Iraq to carry out attacks in Syria. (The Washington Post)

Arts and culture

The Shard, the tallest building in Europe and the tallest habitable free-standing structure in the UK at 309.6 metres (1,016 ft), is officially opened. (LondonSEI) (Gulf Times)

Business and economy

Libor inter-bank lending rate
- Moody's and Standard and Poor's lower their rating for Barclays from stable to negative in the wake of the Libor scandal. (BBC)
- MPs vote for a government proposal to establish a Parliamentary Committee to investigate the scandal, but an opposition motion for a judge-led inquiry is rejected. (BBC)
The central banks of the European Union, Great Britain, and the People's Republic of China, in what appears to be a co-ordinated action, each loosen their respective monetary systems. (Reuters)

Disasters

Torrential rain in Northern Ireland causes flooding in the towns of Newry and Newcastle in County Down. (BBC)
France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis issues its final report on the crash of Air France Flight 447, determining that a series of errors by pilots and a failure to react to technical problems led to the disaster that killed all 228 people on board. (CNN)

International relations

Law and crime

A high-ranking drug boss in the Mexican criminal group known as Gulf Cartel is apprehended in the country of Costa Rica. (Fox News)

Politics and elections

WikiLeaks begins publishing the Syria Files, more than two million emails from Syrian political figures, ministries and associated companies, dating from August 2006 to March 2012, which WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims are embarrassing to Syria, but also to Syria’s opponents. (BBC News) (CNN)
A recount of ballot papers in the 2012 Mexican presidential election confirms Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party as the winner. (AP via Washington Post)