August 7, 2009 (Friday)
- The leaders of three South African opposition parties urge President Jacob Zuma to withdraw his statement on the nomination of Sandile Ngcobo to replace outgoing Chief Justice Pius Langa, calling it "unconstitutional". (IOL)
- Senator Miguel Carrioza says the Congress of Paraguay is not interested in considering the protocol for Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur. (MercoPress)
- Mel Martinez, U.S. Senator from Florida, announces his resignation. (MSNBC)
- Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the new leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, is detained in Thailand. (BBC)
- According to both Pakistani officials and Taliban insurgents, Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was killed in a drone strike. (New York Times)
- Shootouts leave at least 11 dead in the escalating violence since Mexico's continuing national crackdown on the illegal drug trade. (AP foreign-UK Guardian)
- Ronnie Biggs, one of the participants of the Great Train Robbery, is freed on medical grounds. (UK Guardian)
- Bomb attacks on a Shia mosque and pilgrims at Shreikhan village near Mosul kill at least 36 people as Iraq's largest Muslim community marks one of its biggest feasts, gathering in Karbala to mark the birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi. (BBC)