July 28, 2011 (Thursday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- At least seven Philippine Army soldiers are killed and 21 injured in a confrontation with Abu Sayyaf militants on Jolo Island. (DPA via Monsters and Critics)
- The United Nations accuses Eritrea of attempting to bomb an African Union summit in Ethiopia. (BBC)
- Assassins kill the military commander of Libya's National Transitional Council General Abdul Fatah Younis and two other officers. (New York Times)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
- A Taliban attack in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province kills 21 people including a BBC reporter Ahmed Omed Khpulwak. (The Telegraph)
Business and economy
- Swiss bank Credit Suisse announces plans to cut 2,000 jobs due to poor profit results. (Reuters)
- Japanese electronics company Sony reduces sales and profit forecasts due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, a computer hacking attack and slowing demand in the US and Europe. (Bloomberg)
Disasters
- Asiana Airlines Flight 991 crashes in the Pacific Ocean, near Jeju Island, South Korea, killing 2 onboard. (France24)
- At least 57 people are dead and 12 are confirmed missing in the Seoul and Siheung region of South Korea due to landslides caused by heavy rain. (CTV News)(News Limited) (The Weather Network)
- At least 17 people are killed and 30 injured after a truck collides with a bus in the Bogra District of Bangladesh. (Xinhua)
- 2011 Horn of Africa famine: African Union peacekeepers launch a major offensive against Al-Shabaab militants in Mogadishu, Somalia, in order to reduce threats to relief efforts. (BBC News)
- Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say more than 100 people are feared dead after two boats collided on Tshuapa River. (Fox News)
International relations
- South Korea resumes sending food aid to North Korea to assist with chronic food shortages. (Yonhap News)
Law and crime
- News International phone hacking scandal:
- Police tell the mother of murder victim Sarah Payne that her mobile phone details have been found in notes made by private investigator Glenn Mulcaire. (BBC)
- Lord Justice Leveson sets out some of the details of the forthcoming inquiry into the phone hacking affair, which will begin in September. (BBC)
- In a legal milestone, the High Court of England and Wales rules that BT Group must block access to Newzbin 2, a members-only website providing links to pirated movies. (BBC)
- The Supreme Court of England and Wales grants veterans involved in Britain's nuclear weapons tests during the 1950s leave to appeal in their fight for compensation. (BBC)
- Former President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is sentenced to 16 years in absentia for corruption and property fraud. (Times of India)
Politics
- John Boehner delays a vote on the United States House of Representatives debt ceiling legislation with the issue deferred until at least Friday. (New York Times), (AP via Washington Post)
Science
- Astronomers using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope identify a Trojan asteroid, calling it 2010 TK7, orbiting on the same path as the Earth around the Sun. The rock poses no danger to the Earth since it sits in a what is termed a gravitational "sweet spot". (BBC) (Nature)
Sport
- In swimming, Ryan Lochte of the United States sets a new world record in the 200-meter individual medley in winning a gold medal at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Lochte becomes the first person to set a long-course world record since FINA banned rubberized swimsuits in 2010. (USA Today)
- In soccer, Bob Bradley is dismissed as manager of the United States men's national soccer team. (ESPN)