Spanish fishermen stage Gibraltar artificial reef protest

Dozens of Spanish fishermen sailed into Gibraltar’s waters to stage a protest over an artificial reef that prevents them from fishing, the latest move in an escalating diplomatic row over the territory.

Egypt declared national emergency

Egypt has declared a month-long state of emergency after scores of people were killed when security forces stormed two camps set up by supporters of the ousted President, Mohamed Morsy, as part of their campaign for his reinstatement. 

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali Presidential Elections

Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali’s presidency after his opponent conceded defeat in an election aimed at restoring stability to a country wracked by a rebellion, a coup and an Islamic insurgency.

 

Colin Michael Foale, the First British to Perform a Space Walk, Retired from NASA

Colin Michael Foale, is a British-American astrophysicist and former NASA astronaut retired from NASA in the second week of August 2013.

International Day of the World's Indigenous People is observed on August 9

The International Day of the World's Indigenous People is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. It was first pronounced by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994, marking the day of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in 1982.

Turkey conducted the trial Run through rail tunnel under Bosphorus Strait

Turkey has successfully completed a trial run of a rail tunnel connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides, the first of several planned mega-projects in the country's largest city.

The 13.6km (8.5-mile) tunnel, including a 1.4km immersed tube – the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres – passes under the Bosphorus strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea.

The 13.6 km (8.5 mile) tunnel, including a 1.4 km immersed tube tunnel is the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres. It passes under Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. The tunnel is part of a larger 5 billion US dollars Marmaray project which also includes an upgrade of existing suburban rail lines to create a 76 km line that according to the government will carry 1.5 million people a day across the city's two sides. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/turkey-completed-a-trial-run-of-worlds-deepest-rail-tunnel-1375784152-1#sthash.T1OQSInS.dpuf

The 13.6 km (8.5 mile) tunnel, including a 1.4 km immersed tube tunnel is the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres. It passes under Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. The tunnel is part of a larger 5 billion US dollars Marmaray project which also includes an upgrade of existing suburban rail lines to create a 76 km line that according to the government will carry 1.5 million people a day across the city's two sides. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/turkey-completed-a-trial-run-of-worlds-deepest-rail-tunnel-1375784152-1#sthash.T1OQSInS.dpuf

The 13.6 km (8.5 mile) tunnel, including a 1.4 km immersed tube tunnel is the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres. It passes under Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. The tunnel is part of a larger 5 billion US dollars Marmaray project which also includes an upgrade of existing suburban rail lines to create a 76 km line that according to the government will carry 1.5 million people a day across the city's two sides. - See more at: http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/turkey-completed-a-trial-run-of-worlds-deepest-rail-tunnel-1375784152-1#sthash.T1OQSInS.dpuf

Hassan Rouhani sworn in as president of Iran

Hassan Rouhani, Iran's seventh president since the 1979 Islamic revolution, formally began his four-year presidential term on 3 August 2013.

In a seperate ceremony Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, endorsed his sensational victory in June's presidential election.

Samantha Power sworn in as new US ambassador to UN

Samantha Power on 2 August 2013 took oath to the office of US ambassador to United Nations. Vice-President, Joe Biden administered her, the oath to the office in a ceremony at the White House. Samantha Power succeeded Susan Rice, now the President Barack Obama’s National Security Adviser.

Robert Mugabe declared Winner in Zimbabwe Parliamentary Election 2013.

The incumbent President, Robert Mugabe, was re-elected, whilst his Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front party won a two-thirds majority in the House of Assembly.Robert Mugabe won 61 percent of the vote to claim a seventh term as president. Morgan Tsvangirai finished second with 34 percent of the vote. Mugabe's Zanu-PF party also dominated the parliamentary election winning 160 seats. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party won 49 seats

Russia Granted Asylum to Edward J. Snowden

 Russia granted temporary asylum to Edward Joseph Snowden , an American computer specialist, who worked for the CIA and the NSA and leaked details of several top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs to the press.

He left  the United States prior to the publication of his disclosures to Hong Kong. Mean time,

United States federal prosecutors charged Snowden with espionage and theft of government property.  He later moved to Russia where he was given temporary asylum and moved to undisclosed location

Willem-Alexander sworn in as new Dutch king

Willem-Alexander of the House of Orange-Nassau became the Netherlands’ first king in 123 years as his mother, Queen Beatrix, ended a 33-year reign.

She signed the act of abdication in an ornate chamber at the palace.

The Dutch monarch is sworn in before a joint session of the Houses of Parliament in the deconsecrated church, rather than crowned, because church and royalty are separated in the Netherlands

Israel Army not to use white phosphorous

Israel’s army said Thursday that it would soon halt its use of white phosphorus shells after years of international criticism for using the incendiary munitions in crowded Palestinian areas.

The army said in a statement that it would replace white phosphorus shells with ones based entirely on gas.

Israel was internationally condemned of its use during a military operation against Gaza in 2008-2009.

Israel launched a 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008 in response to rocket fire from the Islamist Hamas-run territory. The war killed 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, and it sparked widespread international criticism of Israel for using disproportionate force.

International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous shells in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops. A Human Rights Watch report claimed Israel committed war crimes in its use of air-burst white phosphorus artillery shells

Death toll crosses 200 in Banglasdesh Building collapse

The death toll from building collapse in Savar, in the outskirts of Dhaka, reached 219 on sday as the rescuers continued frantic efforts to save those trapped inside the rubble of the building, for the second day.

Rana Plaza, a nine-storey building collapsed in Savar, in the outskirts of Dhaka, with a number of people inside. The initial reports says that at least 200 persons died.

Musharraf formally arrested in held in Benazir case

Former President Pervez Musharraf was formally arrested by the Pakistani investigators over the murder of Benazir Bhutto after an Anti-terrorism court directed them to include him in the probe into the 2007 assassination. A team of officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) formally arrested Gen. Musharraf at his palatial farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, which was declared a “sub-jail” after he was remanded in judicial custody last week

Etihad will invest in Jet Airways

The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will pick up a 24 per in the Jet Airways, at a cost of Rs. 2,058 crore ($379 million). The foreign direct investment norms for the airline industry were liberalised in September last year.

The Board of Directors of the Indian carrier approved the stake sale in terms of which Etihad will be investing $600 million, including $70 million paid to Jet for its landing rights at London Heathrow airport. Within the next six months, the gulf carrier will also buy a majority stake in Jet’s frequent flyer programme, JetPrivilege, for $150 million.

Chinese troops intrusion in Indian territory

Several dozen Chinese soldiers have set up a remote camp some 10 km (6 miles) inside the Indian territory in the high altitude Himalayan desert of Ladakh.

However to reduce tensions between the two countries, New Delhi favours diplomatic strings to get Beijing to revert to status quo prior to this incursion.

India has sent an equal complement of the Indian Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel. They are camping 200 yards away from the Chinese in a classic face-to-face posture. A reluctant Chinese side agreed to an Indian request for a second flag meeting in a week to resolve the issue.

In New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin basically made three points, besides calling on the Chinese to revert to status quo. He admitted it was now a face-to-face situation, but localised; this was not the first time such an incident has happened and; the accent was on resolving the stand-off peacefully through mechanisms agreed upon by the two sides.

NASA launches three smartphone-powered satellites into space

NASA has successfully launched three smartphones into space to snap images of Earth, and the handsets may prove to be the lowest-cost satellites ever flown into space.

Each smartphone is housed in a standard cubesat structure, measuring about 4 inches square. The smartphone acts as the satellite’s onboard computer. Its sensors are used for attitude determination and its camera for Earth observation.

The smartphones destined to become low-cost satellites rode to space on Sunday aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Science Corporation’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia.

The trio of “PhoneSats” is operating in orbit, and may prove to be the lowest-cost satellites ever flown in space. The goal of NASA’s PhoneSat mission is to determine whether a consumer-grade smartphone can be used as the main flight avionics of a capable, yet very inexpensive, satellite.

NASA engineers kept the total cost of the components for the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project between $3,500 and $7,000 by using primarily commercial hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum.

The hardware for this mission is the Google-HTC Nexus One smartphone running the Android operating system.

NASA added items a satellite needs that the smartphones do not have — a larger, external lithium-ion battery bank and a more powerful radio for messages it sends from space. The smartphone’s ability to send and receive calls and text messages has been disabled.

Serbian government approves Kosovo deal

The Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo reached in Brussels that would give Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership authority over rebel Kosovo Serbs. In turn, the minority Serbs would get wide autonomy within Kosovo.

However, the serbs living in northern Kosovo, rejected the agreement, demanded that the EU-brokered agreement be annulled and branded the Serbian officials who endorsed it “traitors”.

Ending the partition of Kosovo between the Albanian majority and the Serb-controlled north —about a fifth of the country — is a key condition of Serbia’s further progress toward EU membership.

Former Pak. President Musharraf was arrested

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was arrested from his Chak Shahzad farmhouse. Musharraf yesterday fled from the Islamabad High Court after it had ordered his arrest in a 2007 case and remained closeted in his farmhouse with police blocking access to it

Russia launches bio-satellite

Russia launched an ’orbital Noah’s Ark’ to space — a bio-satellite packed with an array of mice and other small creatures to study the effects of long flights on living organisms. Russia’s latest BION-M1 biological research capsule carrying 45 mice, eight Mongolian gerbils, 15 geckos, snails, fish eggs, micro-organisms and plants blasted off aboard the modernised Soyuz 2 rocket from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.