World news is different from the local or regional news in that it relates to incidents of international concerns and informs about the current affairs and events of global importance. World news is either received from the foreign correspondents or collected through advanced information technology. The world news is mostly about new scientific discoveries, environmental issues, wars and political conflicts, large scale devastations, economic issues, business developments and literary developments at international level. Whereas most of the countries, particularly the developing or the less privileged countries, are quite clear about the their international boundaries, a few developed countries like the U.S. are not so clear about them; therefore, they cannot differentiate clearly between regional and international news. At times the world news is treated by such countries as their national news. Their self-assumed role of the global policeman, in the name of national security or protection of the American lives, has taken lives of more Americans than anything else.

1. Worldwide embassy closings-August 02, 2013

In view of the intelligence reports about the possible Al Qaeda attacks, the U.S. closed 22 embassies in North Africa and the Middle East. The U.S. has also issued a global travel warning. Germany, France and Britain have also closed their embassies in Yemen in view of the terror threats. Officials told CNN that according to some analysts, the threat is solely in Yemen. The gravity of he threat may be realized by the U.K. warning to its citizens, that ‘If you don’t leave the country now while commercial carriers are still flying it is extremely unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate you or provide consular assistance.’

2. The world’s first in-vitro meat hamburger eaten in London’August 05, 2013

On August 5, 2013 the first in vitro beef burger, produced in a laboratory by a Dutch team, was cooked and eaten in a press conference held in London. The in vitro meat is variously known as cruelty-free meat, cultured meat, test tube meat, victimless meat and tube steak. Led by Professor Mark post, a team of scientists from Netherlands took a stem cell from a cow and produced strips of meat from it, which was cooked by Chef Richard McGowan. The cost of its production is only too prohibitive to be commercially viable at the moment, but the scientists are hopeful for its commercial production in future.

3. An isolated tribe in the Amazon rainforest-August 13, 2013

Recent footage has revealed the presence of an isolated, Kawahiva tribe in the Amazon rainforest. The tribe had never been seen before this recording. The area is double of Sao Paulo and is out of bounds for all except employees of Funai, deployed for the protection from intruders. The spot, where the hunting, naked man and running woman carrying an infant were seen is located in the heart of the forest. The nearest population is 150 km away from the spot. The tribe is unaware of cultivation and lives a nomadic lifestyle and it is due to that nomadic way of life that they need a large area to live. The photographer, Sertanista Jair Condor, commented, ‘We were not there to meet them. We had to check out some raids on the edge of the earth.’

4. Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns’August 14, 2013

Riots have erupted in consequence of the 2013 coup d’état in Egypt. Hundreds of people, including 43 policemen, have been killed. Clashes between Morsi’s supporters and the Egyptian security forces have erupted throughout Egypt. To control the situation, the Egyptian government has declared a one-month state of emergency. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate who had been the acting Vice President of Egypt since July 14, 2013, has resigned to protest the killings of the protesters.

5. Wildfire erupts near Yosemite National Park-August 17, 2013

On August 17, 2013, at 3:25 p.m., a wildfire erupted near Yosemite National Park, in the Stanislaus National Forest. Only 40 acres of the forest was on fire at the time it was detected, but within 36 hours it engulfed an area of 10,000 acres. A record-breaking drought, heat wave, previous fire suppression, increased population and Forest Services budget cut are said to have contributed to the unprecedented spread of the fire. Having burned 255,858 acres , it is the biggest wildfire in Sierra Nevada and is the third largest wildfire in the recorded history of California.

6. Syrian Use of chemical weapons-August 21, 2013

Syrian activists claimed that the Syrian government forces had attacked the 16 kilometers apart Eastern and Western Ghouta, in the suburbs of Damascus. The attacks have killed more than 600 people, including, infants, children and elderly men and women. According to three doctors who attended the patients, the symptoms included constricted, irregular, and infrequent breathing; involuntary muscle spasms; suffocation; nausea; convulsing; frothing at the mouth; fluid coming out of noses and eyes; dizziness; blurred vision; red and irritated eyes; and pin-point pupils termed as myosis. Cyanosis, a bluish coloring on the face consistent with suffocation or asphyxiation, has also been observed in the victims. Two types of rockets have been used in the alleged chemical attack by the Syrian Government. The 330 mms liquid carrying rocket is used in Western Ghouta and the 140 mm rocket capable of carrying 2.2 kgs of Sarin has been used in the Eastern Ghouta.

7. Genting Highlands bus crash’August 21, 2013

On August 21, 2013 at 2:15 pm, 37 passengers were killed in a bus accident which took place near Chin Swee Temple, Pahang, Malaysia. Additionally 16 passengers were badly injured. The bus was carrying 53 passengers and while moving toward an inclination on the Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway, lost control and fell into a deep ravine. The driver died on the spot. It was the deadliest bus accident in Malaysia. The bus was heading toward a gambling and entertainment resort owned by Getting, one of the largest Malaysian companies.

8. The fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech-August 24, 2013

The United States commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic speech, I Have a Dream. Standing at the podium, where King stood 50 years ago, President Barack Obama delivered a 30-minute speech and urged Americans to continue fighting for equality as spoken by King. Although many dignitaries, including the First Lady, former U.S. Presidents, senators, Oprah Winfrey and many others were present on the occasion, the five-year-old granddaughter of king, Yolanda Renee King, was the central attraction. A commemorative postal stamp was also issued on the day.

9. Discovery of a new element, Ununpentium-August 27, 2013.

Existence of a new element, temporarily named as Ununpentium, has been confirmed by researchers from the Lund University in Sweden. The element has an atomic weight of 115 and has been given the symbol Uup in the Periodic Table. The element does not exist freely in nature and as of now its 50 atoms have been synthesized. Its synthesis was first reported on February 2, 2004 in Physical Review by the Russian scientists working at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna.

10. Strike on Syria may come within the next few days-August 28, 2013

Day by day, the situation relating to Syrian conflict is aggravating fast and U.S. led West has said that strike on Syria may come within a few days. Moscow has evacuated its nationals from Syria. Jordan has indicated that no strikes on Syria shall be allowed from its soil. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has stated that there ‘is no doubt that Syria’s government was responsible for a recent chemical attack in Damascus.’ British Prime Minister David Cameron has also favored the strike on Syria. U.N. Special to Syria; Lakhdar Brahimi said that any military action against Syria must be taken after a decision by the United Nations Security Council.

Conclusion

The most important world news of August 2013 is related to the Syrian conflict. While UNO is still in the process of determining if the chemical weapons had been used by the Syrian government, the U.S. President Barack Obama has clearly spoken his mind and seems bent upon striking Syria, regardless of reviewing the history of similar steps in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. There is imminent danger of the U.S. attack on Syria, which is most likely to cause more loss of human life, than the number of the Syrian lives U.S. is lamenting. More than half of Americans are not in favor of attacking Syria.