August 31, 2011 (Wednesday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- Tripoli doctor Gassem Baruni tells the Associated Press that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's daughter Hana Moammar Gadafi - thought to have been killed in 1986 US airstrikes - worked for him as a surgeon before she disappeared on August 25. (CBS News)
- Syrian Army troops reportedly raid neighbourhoods in the town of Hama looking for anti-government activists. (Jerusalem Post)
Arts and culture
- The 68th Venice International Film Festival gets underway in Venice, Italy. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- ExxonMobil and OAO Rosneft reach a deal which may reach $500 billion in projects in the Arctic, Gulf of Mexico, and the Black Sea. (Wall Street Journal) (Bloomberg) (Washington Post) (Forbes) (Reuters) (New York Times)
- The United States Justice Department files an antitrust lawsuit to prevent AT&T from taking over T-Mobile USA. (Los Angeles Times)
Disasters
- Wildfires of the Possum Kingdom Complex severely damage homes and infrastructure in the US states of Texas and Oklahoma. (AP via Detroit News)
2011 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Katia becomes the second hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season. (National Hurricane Center)
Law and crime
- The High Court of Australia rules against plans by the government of Australia to send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia. (The Courier-Mail)