Portal:Current events/2014 April 30

April 30, 2014 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen:
- At least 30 people have been killed in clashes between Al-Qaeda and the Yemen Army. (Daily Star)
Syrian Civil War
- The Local Coordination Committees of Syria announces that 25 children were killed on Wednesday when Syrian army forces dropped barrel bombs on an elementary school. (BBC News)
An explosion in the Ürümqi Railway Station results in three people killed, with another 79 people injured. (The Wall Street Journal)

Business and economy

India has become the world's third-largest economy in purchasing power parity after the United States and China, moving ahead of Japan according to World Bank report. The last survey in 2005 had placed India in 10th place. (Times of India)
A ground stop is issued by the Federal Aviation Administration for multiple airports in Southern California due to a computer issue. (NBC Los Angeles)

Disasters

A gas explosion in a prison in the US town of Pensacola, Florida reportedly kills at least two people, injures 100 and forces an evacuation. (BBC News)

Law and crime

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is arrested by police for the murder of Jean McConville, a 37-year-old widowed mother of ten, who was abducted from her home in 1972. (BBC News)
The Sultan of Brunei has announced a controversial new penal code that will eventually include stoning, amputation and flogging as punishments, as 'Phase one' of Islamic law. (Al Jazeera)
A shooting occurs at a sawmill in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, killing two people and injuring two others. A former employee is arrested. (CBC.ca)

Politics and elections

Iraqi parliamentary election:
- Voters in Iraq go to the polls for parliamentary elections that have already been marred by violence from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (SBS Australia)
Indian general election
- Voting is in progress in 89 constituencies spread across seven states and two union territories. (BBC News)
- One hundred and thirty-eight million people are to vote today in India. The fate of big politicians like, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi, LK Advani and Arun Jaitley will be decided in today's polling. (Times Of India)
Protesters in the Nigerian capital Abuja hold a "million woman" march over the mass kidnapping of schoolgirls by the Boko Haram terrorist group two weeks ago. (The Guardian)
Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford takes a leave of absence to help with substance abuse, according to his lawyer. (CBC)

Sports