Swinburne University of Technology Scientists at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne announce their discovery of J1719-143, a planet made entirely of diamond orbiting a pulsar - only the second time such a planetary mass has been discovered.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen calls for Parliamentary elections to be held on September 15 - nearly two months ahead of the scheduled date.
Deloitte An investigation by the consultancy firm Deloitte clears Iris Robinson, the wife of the Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, of any wrongdoing over a council contract which was awarded to an individual with whom she was conducting an affair.
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon resigns as the Mayor of Seoul after losing a referendum on free school lunches.
Barack Obama The Associated Press reports that U.S. President Barack Obama's uncle, Onyango Obama, 67, is stopped on suspicion of drunken driving in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Hurricane Irene The President of the United States Barack Obama urges Americans in the path of the hurricane to take appropriate precautions for a "historic storm".
The Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg orders the mandatory evacuation of some low-lying parts of the city, and the shutdown of the subway.
The unveiling of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington D.C. is postponed indefinitely.
A state of emergency is declared in a number of states including North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut as well as the city of Baltimore in the state of Maryland.
The United States Navy sends its Second Fleet out of its base in Naval Station Norfolk to ride the storm out at sea.
Hurricane Irene approaches the east coast of the United States ahead of making landfall on Saturday with 50 million people in its path.
Capital One The Federal Reserve announces that it will hold hearings on the proposed acquisition, by Capital One, of ING Direct, a potential $9 billion deal.
Ben Bernanke Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, gives a keynote address at a central banks conference at the US resort of Jackson Hole, Wyoming as statistics show that the US economy grew by 1%.
Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China The Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China bars 100 songs from music download sites including Lady Gaga's "Judas" and Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)".
Bomb explodes As many as ten people are feared dead after a bomb explodes at a United Nations building in Abuja, Nigeria.
Al Arabiya Al Arabiya television reports that three rockets have hit the border area between Kuwait and Iraq.