Portal:Current events/2011 August 23

• 2011 Battle of Tripoli
  • Heavy fighting continues in the Libyan capital Tripoli as Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi leads a counterattack despite earlier reports of his capture. (ABC News Australia)
  • Rebels capture Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizia compound after heavy fighting. (BBC)
• Turkey claims to have killed 100 Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorists in bombing raids on positions in northern Iraq since last Wednesday.(Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review)
• Suspected Islamic insurgents kill two Thai Army soldiers and wound 14 other people in southern Thailand. (AP via Google News)
• The United Nations Human Rights Council orders an investigation into alleged human rights violations by the Government of Syria in the 2011 Syrian uprising. (BBC)
• At least one Palestinian is killed and several injured following an Israeli drone aircraft attack on Gaza shortly after an informal ceasefire was reached. (Al-Jazeera)

• Swiss bank UBS AG announces plans to cut 3,500 jobs. (Financial Times)

• Hurricane Irene reaches Category 2 strength as it hits the island of Hispaniola containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic. (CNN)
• A magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes near Mineral, Virginia; a nearby nuclear reactor is automatically shutdown due to the quake. This is the most powerful earthquake to hit Virginia since 1897. (New York Times) (The Guardian)

• Thailand says it will recognize the State of Palestine during its September bid at the United Nations General Assembly. (Ma'an News Agency)

• A judge in New York City rules in favour dropping sexual assault charges against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn. (New York Times)

• President Obama provides temporary relief for illegal immigrants who are students, veterans, the elderly, crime victims and those with family, including same-sex partners, as part of immigration reform in the United States. (Los Angeles Times) (New York Times)
• An e-petition calling for the British Government to release of Cabinet documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster collects 100,000 signatures - enough for MPs to consider a House of Commons debate on the matter. It is the first government e-petition to reach the target. (BBC)
• News International phone hacking scandal
  • The BBC reports that former News of the World editor Andy Coulson continued to receive a severance pay package from News International while working as Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. (BBC)
• Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree is declared the winner in the Democratic Party primary election in Mississippi, becoming the first black candidate to win a major party nomination in a gubernatorial race. (Clarion Ledger)