• Syrian civil war:
  • A United States government source reveals that Barack Obama signed a secret order in early 2012 permitting the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide the rebels in Syria with support in order to overthrow the al-Assad regime. (The Guardian)
  • 71 people are killed through Syria by mid-day, including dozens in a massacre perpetrated by the Syrian army in the Damascus suburbs. (Al Arabiya) (The Guardian)
  • Kofi Annan resigns as the head of the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, according to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon. (CNN)
• War in Afghanistan:
  • Afghan security forces kill five insurgents planning a suicide attack in Kabul. (AFP via Google News)
  • Two dozen Taliban fighters are killed in operations across Afghanistan during the last 24 hours. (Xinhua)
• At least 23 people are injured as two blasts hit a fruit market in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. (Xinhua)

• French L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt sells D'Arros Island for $60 million. (BBC)
• Italian football club Inter Milan sells a 15% stake to a Chinese investor group. (BBC)
• Japanese media reports that electronics company Sharp Corporation plans to cut 5,000 positions worldwide. (AFP via France 24)

• Taiwan closes schools and offices ahead of Typhoon Saola. (BusinessWeek)
• One person dies and at least ten other people are seriously injured when a fully loaded double-decker Megabus crashes into a bridge support on Interstate 55 in Illinois, ten miles north of Litchfield.(St.Louis Post-Dispatch) (NBC News)
• Tropical Storm Ernesto forms in the Atlantic Ocean with storm warnings issued for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Guadelope. (AP via the Washington Post)

• 20 people are jailed in China on charges of terrorism in the Xinjiang region. (The Hindu)
• Peru seizes $2.3 million in counterfeit U.S. 50 dollar bills heading to other South American countries. (Reuters)
• Three men are arrested due to their alleged ties with al Qaeda in Spain. (The New York Times)

• The Constitutional Court of Romania postpones a decision regarding the impeachment referendum of suspended President Traian Băsescu until 31 August 2012, to allow time for the reevaluation of the permanent electoral lists. (Financial Magazine)
• Egypt's new cabinet members are sworn in. (CNN)
• Quebec premier Jean Charest calls a general election for September 2012 amidst student protests against tuition fee increases. (Hamilton Spectator)

• Russian President Vladimir Putin makes an unofficial visit to the London Olympics to watch the judo competition. (BBC)