Portal:Current events/April 2013

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- A suicide attacker blows up a tanker lorry at the police headquarters in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, killing at least nine people. Three people are killed in a separate shooting in Baghdad. (CNN)
Syrian civil war:
- Lebanese gunmen kidnap eight Syrians from the Alawites minority and demand a hostage exchange. (The Jerusalem Post)

Arts and culture

Eli Reimer, aged sixteen, becomes the first teenager with Down syndrome to climb to Mount Everest's Base Camp. (Fox News)
Numerous high-profile websites participate in April Fools' Day jokes. (PC World)
Production of the American reality TV show Buckwild is suspended after cast member Shain Gandee and two other people are found dead. (Fox News)

Business and economy

India's Supreme Court rejects a plea by Novartis to patent an updated version of its cancer drug, Glivec (Imatinib), amid concerns that a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of drugs in poorer countries. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Washington Post) (The New York Times)
Apple Inc. publishes a letter, signed by CEO Tim Cook, to Chinese customers, to address the growing controversy over the company's warranty policies in the country. (CNN)
Privately owned newspapers go on sale in Myanmar for the first time since 1964. (BBC) (Reuters) (GlobalPost)

Disasters and accidents

At least six people are killed in a explosion at a coal mine near Baishan, China. (AP)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis: The annual session of North Korea's Parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, takes place in Pyongyang, following repeated threats of violence by the leader Kim Jong-Un against South Korea and the United States. Choi Bu-Il is appointed Minister of Internal Security. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Japan accuses three Chinese surveillance ships of entering the territorial waters of Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Law and crime

Scotland's eight regional police forces are merged to create the nationwide Police Service of Scotland. (The Guardian)
Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler decides, after speaking with survivors and relatives of the deceased, to pursue the death penalty against James Holmes, the perpetrator of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting; the case is given to a new judge. (NBC News)
Pirates drown 16 fishermen in southern Bangladesh in order to steal their boats. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Major changes to welfare payments in the United Kingdom introduced by the Welfare Reform Act 2012 begin to go into effect. (Channel 4 News)
Health experts warn that the National Health Service in England is "not ready for" major changes passed in 2012 that go into effect today. (MSN News)
President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir orders the release of all political prisoners. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Japanese researchers unveil the smelling screen, a digital display screen capable of emitting pinpointed smells. (Daily Mail)

Sport

Chelsea F.C. advances to the semi-finals of the 2012–13 FA Cup defeating Manchester United 1–0 with Demba Ba's winning goal. (BBC) (ESPN)
In chess, Magnus Carlsen wins FIDE Candidates Tournament in London ahead of Vladimir Kramnik to become the challenger for the world crown. (ChessVibes) (Chess News)
Police in India's Punjab claim Olympic medal winning boxer Vijender Singh consumed heroin procured from drug smugglers, after he refuses to give blood samples. (BBC)
The 2013 Major League Baseball season gets underway with the first full day of competition. (Missoulian)
A report alleges that Ed T. Rush, head of men's basketball officiating for the Pac-12 Conference, offered $5,000 or a trip to Cancún to any referee who would call a technical foul against or eject Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller during the 2013 Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. (CBS Sports)

April 2, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- The Mexican police find 9 mutilated bodies inside a SUV with Texas license plates in the northern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. (EFE via GlobalPost)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- At least 7 people are killed in an attack by militants, suspected to be Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, on a power station in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Ten hostages are reportedly taken by the militants. (BBC)

Arts and culture

The Muppets co-creator Jane Henson dies at the age of 78. (CBS News)
The wrongful death of Michael Jackson trial gets underway with jury selection. (MTV)

Business and economy

Official European Union figures shows that unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 12.0% in February 2013. (CNN)
United States Government owned mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announce record profits during 2012. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Thirteen children are killed in a fire at a mosque in Yangon, Burma. (The New York Times)
A quarry accident in Arusha, Tanzania, leaves at least 13 people dead. (AFP via AllAfrica.com)
Authorities in China report four more critical cases of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, taking the total of known cases to seven. (Reuters)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea announces it will resume activities in the Yongbyon nuclear complex, closed since 2007. (BBC) (CNN) (CBS News)
- U.S. officials reveal that China has been increasing its military presence on the border with North Korea since mid-March, and conducted naval drills in the Yellow Sea. (The Washington Times)
- Experts reveal that the 2013 North Korean nuclear test may have been conducted with a newly developed enriched uranium nuke, instead of a plutonium one. (BBC) (CNN)
The United Nations General Assembly approves the first Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the multi-billion-dollar global trade in conventional arms with 154 votes in favor, three member states – Iran, North Korea and Syria – against the decision, and 23 abstentions. (BBC) (Xinhua) (UN News Centre)

Law and crime

Three men are arrested for allegedly raping and robbing a foreign tourist on a minibus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, amid concerns about security before the country hosts 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. (Al Jazeera)
Police in Colombo, Sri Lanka, arrest three Sinhalese Buddhist monks for torching a Muslim-owned clothing store, raising fears for safety among Muslims. (Al Jazeera)
Palestinian prisoners stage protests in Israeli jails as the Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of deliberately delaying the treatment of Maysara Abu Hamdiya, a prisoner who died of throat cancer. (The New York Times)
Hundreds of Egyptian students angered by an outbreak of food poisoning at Al-Azhar University that affected 479 students storm the offices of Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, a major venue for Sunni Muslim learning with which the university is affiliated. (AP via ABC News)
Tonya S. Bundick is charged in connection with seventy arsons in Virginia, United States. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

The Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas re-elects Khaled Meshaal as its leader. The group also passes a new law ordering gender segregation in Gaza's schools that will go into effect in September. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
Cyprus Finance Minister Michael Sarris resigns after completing talks on a controversial bailout deal and will be replaced by current Labour Minister Charis Georgiades. (BBC) (AP via The Guardian)
Opposition activists from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies detonate small homemade bombs and set fire to several vehicles in the latest anti-government protest to hit Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Al Jazeera)
Sudan frees seven political prisoners, a day after President Omar al-Bashir orders the release of all such detainees. (The Guardian)
Six people, including multiple elected officials, are arrested on charges of fraud for allegedly attempting to rig the 2013 New York City mayoral election. (CNN)
The Senate of Uruguay votes 23–8 to legalize same-sex marriage. (AP via ABC News)^{[permanent dead link]}

Science and technology

Top NASA scientist James Hansen retires in order to concentrate on global warming activism. (The New York Times)

Sport

In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Paris Saint-Germain secures a 2–2 draw against Barcelona while Bayern Munich beats Juventus 2–0. (BBC) (UEFA)
In baseball, Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish comes within one batter of throwing a perfect game. (USA Today)
Video is released showing Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball head coach Mike Rice assaulting and yelling obscenities and slurs at his players during practice. (ESPN)
Longtime college and professional American football coach Chuck Fairbanks dies at the age of 79. (The New York Times)

April 3, 2013 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- Israeli warplanes strike targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire, the first air strikes launched by Israel since an informal ceasefire ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza in November 2012. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- At least 46 people are killed and more than 100 injured following an attack by Taliban militants armed with suicide vests on a courthouse in Farah, Afghanistan. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- Suspected militants throw a grenade at a vehicle carrying paramilitary security officers in southern Pakistan, killing three people and wounding three others. (AP via ABC News)^{[permanent dead link]}

Arts and culture

Writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the only person to have won both an Academy Award and a Booker Prize, dies at the age of 85. (BBC)
Writer Iain Banks announces he is terminally ill with gallbladder cancer at the age of 59 and has months to live. The publication of his final novel is to be brought forward by several months in the hope of allowing him to see it in print. (The Guardian) (The Irish Times) (AFP via The Times of India)
U.S. intellectual Noam Chomsky is awarded the Ulysses Medal by University College Dublin. (The Belfast Telegraph)
U.S. commercial TV network NBC announces the departure of Jay Leno from the The Tonight Show in spring 2014. Leno is to be replaced by Jimmy Fallon, host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. (CNN)

Business and economy

Subaru recalls around 200,000 vehicles in the United States to fix a defect which could lead to corrosion of the brake lines. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Disney announces that it is ceasing all internal development at its LucasArts game division. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Argentina floods: More than 50 people are killed in major floods in Buenos Aires and La Plata, Argentina, due to heavy rain. (The Wall Street Journal) (The New York Times)
A third man dies in China from the H7N9 strain of bird flu. (BBC)
Construction work near Berlin's main train station reveals a 100-kilogram Soviet bomb from World War II. It was successfully removed several hours after it was found. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
At least 24 people are killed and two are critically injured after a bus carrying tribesmen plunges off a cliff near Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. (BBC)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korea's Ministry of Unification says that North Korea is denying workers entry to joint-Korean Kaesong complex amid tensions on the peninsula. The Ministry of Defence will consider a military action if the workers' security is threatened. The U.S. Navy sends USS John McCain and USS Decatur into the area. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- The North Korean army says it has final approval to launch "merciless" military strikes on the United States, involving the possible use of "cutting-edge" nuclear weapons. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
- The United States plans to set up a missile defence system in Guam. U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel describes North Korea as a "real and clear danger". (Reuters)

Health and environment

According to a new study, more than one million people per year die prematurely due to the air pollution in China. (NPR)
A new study suggests that common cholesterol reducing drugs may also prevent macular degeneration. (Health Central)
Japanese researchers find a correlation between male pattern baldness and heart disease. (BBC)

Law and crime

Australia opens a national probe into child sex abuse, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard warning of "uncomfortable truths" as institutions including schools and churches come under scrutiny. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Four sisters are burned by motorcyclists throwing acid in India's Uttar Pradesh province. (Press Trust of India)
Thirty-five American teachers from Atlanta are indicted on fraud charges for allegedly facilitating cheating on standardized tests dating back to 2001. (USA Today)
In the U.S. state of West Virginia, a sheriff is shot and killed in Mingo County. (The Charleston Gazette)

Politics and elections

Nicolás Maduro, acting President of Venezuela, officially begins his campaign to succeed Hugo Chávez in the late leader's hometown ahead of the April 14 election. (Al Jazeera)
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak dissolves parliament and advises all the state governments, except Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak to do the same, in preparation for general election. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Science and technology

NASA announces that the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer module on board the International Space Station has found possible evidence of dark matter. (Space.com) (BBC)

Sport

In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Málaga secures a 0–0 draw against Borussia Dortmund while Real Madrid beats Galatasaray S.K. 3–0. (BBC) (UEFA)
In cricket, Afghanistan defeats Nepal by 7 wickets to win the 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kathmandu. United Arab Emirates defeats Hong Kong by 32 runs for the third place. All four have qualified for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. (ESPN Cricinfo)
In cricket, the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League begins with the Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Delhi Daredevils. (ESPN Cricinfo)
Rutgers University men's basketball coach Mike Rice, Jr. is fired after a video is released of him abusing players during practice. (CNN)
The football-sponsoring conference that will operate under the charter of the soon-to-split Big East Conference announces it will operate as the American Athletic Conference effective July 1. The AAC schools previously sold the "Big East" name to a group of seven schools that will leave the conference at that time. (ESPN)

April 4, 2013 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- An airstrike conducted by NATO kills at least five people in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni. (BBC)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- The Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for a grenade attack on a vehicle which killed four security officers and wounded seven others in Karachi. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- A Palestinian, Naji Balbisi, dies from injuries he suffered during a clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, a day after his cousin, Amer al-Najjar, died in the clashes after they tried to firebomb a checkpoint. (CNN) (The Times of Israel)
Central African Republic conflict (2012–present):
- South Africa's President Jacob Zuma announces full withdrawal from the Central African Republic after criticism over death of 13 soldiers during the fall of the government there. (Al Jazeera)
- Uganda's military orders army units hunting for Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in the Central African Republic to return to their bases, following political instability in the CAR. Meanwhile the United States has offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to his capture. (The Wall Street Journal) (BBC)

Arts and culture

American Pulitzer Prize-winning film reviewer Roger Ebert dies at the age of 70 following a battle with cancer which initially cost him his voice. (NPR) (Chicago Sun-Times)

Business and economy

Mining giant Rio Tinto, continuing a program of asset divestment, asks Macquarie Group to find a buyer for its interest in the Australian Northparkes copper and gold mine. (The Wall Street Journal)
Ex-CEO of Enron Jeffrey Skilling is in talks with federal prosecutors to discuss a reduction in his sentence. (The Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Thane building collapse: At least 46 people are killed when an illegally constructed building collapses in Mumbra, a suburb of Thane, India. (BBC) (AP via CBS News) (CNN)
2013 Argentina floods: The death toll of the floods in Argentina reaches 59, with more than 1500 displaced. (AFP via Google News)
One of the Grozny-City Towers, the tallest building in Chechnya, Russia, is damaged in a large fire. (RIA Novosti)
The death toll from the recently discovered H7N9 bird flu rises to six. China begin slaughtering birds in hopes of containing the disease. (The Washington Post)

Health and environment

A group of American scientists at Washington University announce in a study published in the journal Neuron that they have identified a number of genetic markers that are associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. (BBC)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korean sources say a North Korean medium range missile has been moved to the eastern coast and that it may be ready for testing or for attacking Japan or Guam. (CNN)
- The United States announces that it is moving an advanced missile defence system to the Pacific island of Guam in response to North Korean threats. (BBC)
- South Korea Defence Minister Kim Kwan-jin says the country is ready for possible military action, as the Kaesong industrial complex blockade enters its second day. (Al Jazeera)
- The United States announces its intent to cool down its rhetoric towards North Korea. (CNN)
Egypt intercepts a Togolese flagged ship carrying a large arsenal of weapons. It is believed the ship was headed to Iran. (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

The Greater Manchester Police becomes the first force in the United Kingdom to record attacks on members of subcultures, such as goths and emos, as hate crime. (BBC)
Mick Philpott is sentenced to life imprisonment and his wife and a family friend, Paul Mosley, are sentenced to 17 years for the Allenton house fire manslaughter of their six children. (Sky News)
A man goes on a rampage with an axe, killing nine people in Chhattisgarh state in central India. (BBC)
Former navy chief of Guinea-Bissau and suspected drug kingpin, Bubo Na Tchuto, is arrested in a United States-led sting operation off the coast of West Africa. (Reuters)
In Jackson, Mississippi, Jeremy Powell, 23, a suspect in the stabbing death of a 20-year-old male, and Eric Smith, a Jackson Police Department homicide detective, who had been conducting the police interview with Powell, are found dead in a 3rd floor room of the department, according to Jackson Police Chief Rebecca Coleman. (AP via NBC News)

Politics and elections

Thousands of demonstrators rally in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, in support of local leaders' bid to adopt a separatist flag as the staunchly Islamic province's official emblem. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Science and technology

The Hubble Space Telescope observes the most distant supernova on record. (Space.com)
Scientists unveil a 3D printer which creates material very similar to human tissue. (Los Angeles Times)
A new species of giant tarantula, Poecilotheria rajaei, is discovered in Sri Lanka. (New York Daily News)

Sport

The first legs of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals are held in Europe. Fernando Torres scores twice and helps Chelsea to a 3–1 defeat of Rubin Kazan. (BBC)
Commonwealth Games Minister Jann Stuckey unveils the logo and a countdown clock for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, at an official launch ceremony. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
In association football, former England and current Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson is sidelined after developing a pulmonary embolism. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Pac-12 Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating Ed T. Rush resigns amid controversy over comments he made about Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller. (The Miami Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
In college basketball, Miami's Jim Larrañaga is named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

April 5, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- Recent report from Stratfor indicates that at least 60 people were killed in Tamaulipas state in March, after the Gulf Cartel leaders Miguel El Gringo Villarreal and Mario Ramírez Treviño fought for control of the organization. (Proceso)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- An explosive-laden donkey is used in an attack on a police security post in the Alingar District of Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan, killing a policeman and wounding three civilians. (AP via Fox News)

Arts and culture

Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom receives an honorary BAFTA award for her support of British film and television and she is honored as the "most memorable Bond girl" for her appearance at the 2012 London Olympics. (Channel NewsAsia)

Business and economy

Japan's stock market index, the Nikkei 225, hits its highest level in almost five years, after a Bank of Japan stimulus plan raises hope of economic revival. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A sixth person dies in the People's Republic of China from the Influenza A virus subtype H7N9, after the closure of poultry markets in the city of Shanghai and a mass culling of 20,000 birds. (International Business Times)
At least 60 people die in Nigeria following a collision between a bus and a petrol tanker on the Benin–Ore expressway. (Nigerian Tribune)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korea deploys two warships with Aegis missile-defense systems as a precautionary measure, following reports that North Korea had repositioned intermediate-range ballistic missiles to its east coast a day earlier. (BBC)
- North Korea warns that it cannot protect their embassies in Pyongyang as of April 10. It is advised that all foreign countries consider asking the staff of their embassies to leave. (The Telegraph) (AFP via NDTV)
Iran's negotiator Saeed Jalili defends the nation's controversial nuclear program that involves uranium enrichment, in a new round of talks with P5+1 countries in Kazakhstan. (BBC)
The United States agrees to a plan to return some land, used by the US Military's Futenma Airbase in Okinawa, to Japan. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Law and crime

Eight people are killed when Buddhists and Muslims from Myanmar brawl in a detention center in Indonesia. (AP via The Washington Post)
A shooting at a daycare kills two people in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. (CBC News)
Doan Van Vuon, a fish farmer who became a cult hero in Vietnam after fighting off an illegal eviction with homemade guns and mines, is jailed for five years for "attempted murder in a case that has stirred public anger over state-backed land grabs." (Reuters)

Sport

In further fallout from the Rutgers University basketball scandal, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli, seen on practice videos abusing players in the same manner as fired head coach Mike Rice, and athletic director Tim Pernetti both resign. (ESPN)
An ESPN investigation claims that 12 Auburn University football players tested positive for synthetic cannabis in the 2011 season, and that the school's athletic department kept the test results confidential. The investigation also reveals widespread use of the drug among members of Auburn's 2010 national championship team. (ESPN)

April 6, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- At least 22 people are killed and more than 60 others injured when a suicide bomber blows himself up in a busy election campaign tent in the Iraqi city of Baquba. (Reuters)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- 11 people are killed in a gun and machete attack in a village of Midlu in Northern Nigeria. (ABC News)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- A bombing in Qalat, capital of the southern Zabul Province, kills three U.S. soldiers and two U.S. civilians, along with an Afghan doctor. An American civilian dies in another attack in the east of the country. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Northern Mali conflict:
- Tuareg separatists in Northern Mali mark the one year anniversary since the founding of the unilaterally declared Azawad. (AP via The Washington Post)
- One soldier is killed when the National Guard attacked a camp occupied by police who supported the 2012 Malian coup d'état that ousted the Malian president. (AP via Fox News)

Disasters and accidents

Tokyo Electric Power Company says that it is moving tons of highly radioactive water from a temporary storage tank to another after detecting signs of leakage at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (AP via USA Today)
2013 Thane building collapse: Rescuers in India end the search for survivors of a building collapse which killed 74 people in the city of Thane on April 4. (BBC)

Health and environment

2013 meat adulteration scandal: The Swedish furniture giant Ikea withdraws moose meat lasagne, sold in its worldwide stores. Unlabelled pork is found after increased scrutiny from the scandal. (BBC)

Law and crime

Five people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. (AP via Fox News)
A 24-year-old British tourist is found dead in a houseboat in Jammu and Kashmir, India. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Former South African president Nelson Mandela is discharged after spending nine days in hospital. (SAPA via News24)^{[permanent dead link]}
In Bangladesh, thousands of protesters call for blasphemy laws that would include death penalty for bloggers who insult Islam, the majority religion of the country. (Al Jazeera)
In Lebanon, President Michel Suleiman asks Tammam Salam, a legislator and a former minister of culture, to head a new cabinet after a vast majority of the members of Parliament chose him for the job. (The New York Times)

Religion

Pope Francis appoints Spain's José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M., as Secretary to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, which oversees all Catholic religious orders, his first nomination to the Vatican bureaucracy. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Sport

In the 2012–13 Fußball-Bundesliga, Bayern Munich wins their 23rd Bundesliga title with a record six games to spare. (UEFA) (Goal.com) (BBC)
In road bicycle racing, Colombia's Nairo Quintana wins the 2013 Tour of the Basque Country. (Cycling News)
In horse racing, Auroras Encore springs a 66/1 surprise to win the 2013 Grand National by nine lengths at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (BBC)
In college basketball, the University of Louisville and University of Michigan advance to the championship game of the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. (ESPN) (AP via ESPN)
In synchronized skating, Team Unique of Finland wins the 2013 World Championships, with NEXXICE of Canada placing second and Haydenettes of the United States third. (U.S. Figure Skating)

April 7, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- An air strike on Aleppo by the Syrian Air Force kills 15 people, including nine children. (Euronews) (Al Arabiya)
- Syrian Armed Forces fire OTR-21 Tochka missiles at Baraza region of Damascus. (Al Arabiya)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- An airstrike conducted by NATO kills at least 12 people in the Afghan province of Kunar. (BBC)
Conflict in the Niger Delta:
- 12 Nigerian policemen are missing and presumed dead after their boat was ambushed by militants in the Niger Delta region. (BBC)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- The United States decides to delay a long-planned intercontinental ballistic missile test scheduled for next week at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, following tensions with North Korea. (CNN) (Al Jazeera)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea:
- China says it will open disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea to tourism before the May Day holiday, a move to which Vietnam is strongly opposed, as the United States expresses concern. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia) (Wired UK)
- Taiwan plans to expand a pier on one of the disputed Spratly Islands, parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines, as the other claimants strengthen military deployment in the South China Sea. (AFP via Channel News Asia)
Hundreds of delegates meet in Doha, Qatar, to raise funds to rebuild the Sudanese region of Darfur, that has been racked by conflict. (Al Jazeera)
United States Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Turkey, where he is to have talks addressing relations with Israel and the conflict in Syria. (BBC)

Law and crime

Egyptian Christians and Muslims clash after a funeral for a Christian who was killed in earlier clashes. (The Daily Star)
Eric Ding Si Yang, a Singaporean businessman, is charged with corruption for offering free sex to three Lebanese football referees to induce them to fix a match in the AFC Cup. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old Canadian gang-rape victim from Halifax, Novia Scotia, is taken off of life support and dies three days after a suicide attempt. Parson's claimed to have been raped when she was 15, she had been bullied ever since the alleged incident; officials with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the justice system are deciding whether to file charges. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Voters in Montenegro go to the polls for a presidential election with both candidates declaring themselves winner. (Al Jazeera) (Xinhua)

Sport

In road bicycle racing, Fabian Cancellara wins 2013 Paris–Roubaix ahead of Sep Vanmarcke and Niki Terpstra. (VeloNews) (VeloNation)
In motorcycle racing, Spain's Jorge Lorenzo wins 2013 Qatar Grand Prix, the first stage of the 2013 MotoGP season. (AP via ESPN) (CNN)
In curling, Sweden wins the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship defeating Canada 8–6 in the final. (CBS) (Curling.ca)
In tennis, Canada, Serbia, Argentina and Czech Republic reach 2013 Davis Cup semifinals. (AFP via NDTV) (Tennis Connected)
In college basketball:
- The University of Louisville and University of Connecticut advance to the championship game of the 2013 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. (AP via ESPN) (ESPN)
- Drury University defeats Metropolitan State University of Denver 73–72 to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. (AP via ESPN)
- Amherst College defeats the University of Mary Hardin–Baylor 87–80 to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship. (CBS) (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

April 8, 2013 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- A car bomb explodes in the center of the capital, Damascus, killing at least 15 people and wounding 53 others. (BBC)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai denounces the reported death of eleven children at the hands of NATO forces in Kunar Province and orders a government inquiry into the killings. (Al Jazeera)
- Taliban fighters are suspected of being responsible for a bus explosion that kills at least nine people and injures more than twenty others in Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera)
South Yemen insurgency:
- 4 army deserters and 3 tribesmen are killed in clashes in Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen. (Reuters)
Sudanese nomadic conflicts:
- Tribal violence in Darfur, Sudan, kills at least 163 people and displaces 50,000 others. (AllAfrica.com) (Reuters)

Arts and culture

American actress Annette Funicello dies at the age of 70. (The New York Times)
Spanish actress and singer Sara Montiel dies in her Madrid residence at the age of 85. (Reuters via New York Daily News)

Business and economy

Chinese President Xi Jinping opens the Boao Forum for Asia in Boao, Hainan, by calling on entrepreneurs to form a united voice and vision for the common development of Asia. (Xinhua)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on a trip to Shanghai, China, announces that the Australian dollar is set to trade directly with the Chinese yuan, becoming the third currency to do so. (CNN)
Caribou Coffee announces plans to close all of its stores in the Chicago area. (Chicago Tribune)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- A senior South Korean government official says that North Korea may be preparing for its fourth nuclear test, as increased activity is detected at its main test site. However, the South Korean Defence Ministry denied having clear signs that the test may be imminent. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia) (BBC)
- North Korea says it will withdraw all of its workers from the Kaesong Industrial Region, an industrial complex that is jointly run with South Korea, and consider shuttering the complex permanently. (BBC) (The Wall Street Journal)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is "extremely concerned about the situation that may lead to a nuclear disaster worse than Chernobyl". (BBC)
Wikileaks announces the release of 1.7 million United States diplomatic and intelligence documents from 1973–1976 when Henry Kissinger was United States Secretary of State. (BBC) (Daily Mail)
United States Secretary of State John Kerry meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and urges him to restart peace talks, before holding talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Egypt President Mohamed Morsi condemns sectarian violence and orders a probe after one person is killed in clashes at the Cairo headquarters of the Coptic Christian pope. (Al Jazeera)
A Dutch tourist, Richard de Wit, allegedly confesses to killing Sarah Groves, a British fitness instructor from Guernsey, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds on a houseboat in Jammu and Kashmir, India. (The Daily Telegraph)
Lindsay Sandiford loses her appeal against the death penalty in Indonesia for a charge of drug smuggling. (BBC)
The body of the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda is exhumed to determine the cause of his death in 1973. (BBC)
Pakistan's former leader Pervez Musharraf is directed to appear before the country's Supreme Court on allegations of treason. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Death of Margaret Thatcher:
- Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, dies of a stroke at the age of 87 in London. (BBC) (ABC News)
- Ceremonial funeral events are planned for next week. (Reuters)
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rejects demands by Islamists for a new anti-blasphemy law to punish those who defame Islam and Prophet Muhammad. (BBC)
Electoral Commission chairman announces that Filip Vujanović is re-elected as President of Montenegro. (AFP via France24)^{[permanent dead link]} (AP via Yahoo! News) (Al Jazeera)

Sport

In the 2012–13 Premier League, Manchester City claims a 2–1 victory over their rivals and leaders Manchester United with Sergio Aguero's winning goal. (BBC) (CNN)
Bernard King, Gary Payton, Rick Pitino, Sylvia Hatchell, Dawn Staley, Guy Lewis, and Jerry Tarkanian are announced as 2013 inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They will be inducted alongside previously announced class members Roger Brown, Russ Granik, Richie Guerin, Edwin Henderson, and Oscar Schmidt on September 8. (Bloomberg)
The Louisville Cardinals win the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament defeating the Michigan Wolverines 82–76. (AP via The Washington Post)

April 9, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

South Sudan internal conflict (2011–present):
- Gunmen kill 12 United Nations peacekeepers and civilian staff in an ambush in Jonglei, South Sudan. (AFP via Google News) (CNN) (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Haruki Murakami, Michel Houellebecq, Sjón and Andrew Miller go head-to-head on the shortlist for the 2013 International Dublin Literary Award. (The Guardian) (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Bushehr earthquake: A 6.1–magnitude earthquake rocks the Iranian towns of Khvormuj, Bandar Deyr and Kangan, killing 37 people and injuring over 850, and was felt as far as Bahrain. (BBC) (CNN) (Reuters)
A helicopter crash kills two American NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan. (Reuters) (CNN) (NBC News)

International relations

Kissinger cables:
- Among the cables available now on WikiLeaks are the Nixon administration's early comments on recently-deceased former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. (CNN) (Democracy Now)
- Also released information on sources the U.S. used to spy on the Indira Gandhi household in 1970s India. (Hindustan Times)
- Information in the cables also recall the days of The Emergency and the roles of Sanjay Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. (The Indian Express)
2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea announces its plans to launch a missile tomorrow; an event on that day had been warned about before. (Daily Express)
- North Korean authorities advise foreigners to leave South Korea soon, forecasting a possible conflict. (BBC)
- Japan sends two warships to patrol the Sea of Japan and sets Patriot missiles in central Tokyo and Okinawa Island. (Sky News)
- North Korea forbids all its workers to reach the Kaesong industrial plant, which may be permanently closed. (CNN)
- UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon warns that the crisis may soon become "uncontrollable". The Commander of the United States Pacific Command Samuel J. Locklear describes the situation as a threat to the U.S but states that North Korean missiles will not be destroyed, unless a serious threat. (BBC) (CNN)
Iran announces that a new uranium ore mine and an enrichment plant will be added to the country's nuclear policy, defying the U.N. resolutions. (CNN)

Law and crime

Velika Ivanča shooting: At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the village of Velika Ivanča near the Serbian capital Belgrade. (Time) (The New York Times) (San Francisco Chronicle)
At least 15 people are stabbed and wounded at Lone Star College–CyFair in Cypress, Texas, United States, with student Dylan Quick named as a suspect. (ABC News) (The Huffington Post) (ABC Local)

Politics and elections

Thatcher funeral events:
- Downing Street announces the funeral for Margaret Thatcher is scheduled for Wednesday, 17 April. She will be afforded a ceremonial exit, ranking her alongside Diana Spencer and the Queen Mother. (BBC)
- Tony Blair, who continued many of Thatcher's policies, expresses irritation at the response to her death, claiming people are being disrespectful. Blair appears on CNN to reveal his admiration for his predecessor, calling her "a huge figure, a towering figure." (BBC) (CNN via YouTube)
- Theatregoers at Billy Elliot the Musical – set in County Durham during the miners' strike of 1984–85 – elect to have a song calling for the death of Margaret Thatcher performed as usual. (The Guardian) (BBC)
Kenya officially swears in their new president, Uhuru Kenyatta. (Reuters) (BBC) (AP via ABC News)
The French Senate adopts article 1 of Bill 344, which legalizes same-sex marriage, in a 179–157 vote. (Libération)
Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell announces that Dr. Cecile La Grenade will become the country's first female Governor General. She will succeed Sir Carlyle Glean. (Caribbean Journal)

Sport

2012–13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals:
- Borussia Dortmund score twice against Málaga in a dramatic period of injury time and wins 3–2, securing the semi-final berth. The British match officials are lambasted for their incompetence, with replays showing that at least two of the game's goals – including the winner – were scored illegally. (The Guardian) (BBC) (UEFA)
- Galatasaray nearly overthrow Real Madrid 3–2 during a surprising second half in Istanbul. Galatasaray's goals fly in from Emmanuel Eboué, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba, but Cristiano Ronaldo score twice and Real Madrid win 5–3 on aggregate in the end, progressing to the semi-final stage for a record 24th time. (The Guardian) (BBC) (UEFA)
In ice hockey, the United States win 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship defeating Canada 3–2 in the final. (IIHF) (TSN)

April 10, 2013 (Wednesday)

Business and economy

Worldwide sales of personal computers fall 14% during the first quarter of 2013, the largest drop on record since tracking began in 1994. (eWeek) (The New York Times)
Costa Cruises is fined US$1.3 million in lieu of criminal charges relating to the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster last year. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea shuts down tourism from China as nuclear tensions mount, but business travel is allowed to continue. (AFP via Brisbane Times)
- South Korea and the United States raise their military watch alert to "vital threat" (level 2) ahead of an expected North Korean missile launch. (AFP via Channel News Asia)
- South Korea announces that North Korea was behind the wave of cyber attacks against several companies last month. (Yonhap)
Senkaku Islands dispute:
- Japan and Taiwan sign an agreement over fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands. China voices "extreme concerns" over the deal. (BBC) (NHK World)^{[permanent dead link]}
An Arabian camel gifted to President of France François Hollande for liberating Mali is killed and stewed by a family in Timbuktu, in whose care Hollande had left it. (The Telegraph)
The United States, Canada, and Jordan boycott a meeting of the UN General Assembly organized by a former Serbian foreign minister, Vuk Jeremić. (AP via Huffington Post)

Law and crime

Liu Zhijun, the leader of the construction of the Chinese bullet train system and Minister of Railways, is arrested on corruption charges for allegedly taking bribes and abusing his power as Minister of Railways. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times) (Bloomberg Businessweek)
A man who took four firefighters hostage in Suwanee, Georgia, United States, is killed in a gun battle with police. (NBC News)
In Pakistan, a gunman kills one police officer and injures another who were guarding health workers fighting polio. (The New York Times)
The Chamber of Deputies (Congress) of Uruguay votes to legalize same-sex marriage. (BBC)

Politics and elections

A May 5 date is set for the 2013 Malaysian general election. (AAP via The Australian)^{[permanent dead link]}
The Parliament of the United Kingdom gather for a special session to debate the legacy of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Sally Jewell is confirmed as the new United States Secretary of the Interior. (AP via The New York Times)

Science and technology

Robert G. Edwards, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner for in vitro fertilisation, dies at the age of 87. (Reuters)

Sport

Spain's Barcelona and Germany's Bayern Munich reach 2012–13 UEFA Champions League semi-finals defeating Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus respectively. (UEFA)
In tennis, the draw for the 2013 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs is held. Great Britain will face Croatia away after a heroic victory over Russia. (The Guardian)

April 11, 2013 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mexican Drug War:
- At least 14 people are killed in a series of clashes between alleged drug traffickers and police in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The government states that a high-profile drug lord was killed in the battle. (AP via The Washington Post)
South Thailand insurgency:
- Two soldiers are killed and six security officers are wounded as insurgents mount dozens of coordinated bombing, shooting and arson attacks in the Pattani region of Thailand. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Syrian civil war:
- At least 57 people are killed by the Syrian Army in the towns of Sanamayn and Ghabaghib, Daraa Governorate, Syria. (Al Jazeera)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- Boko Haram rejects the idea of an amnesty offer for militants by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. (BBC)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- A candidate for election in Pakistan is attacked and killed by assumed Taliban militants. (AP via Hindustan Times)

Arts and culture

Singer Madonna is accused by the office of Malawi President Joyce Banda of "bullying state officials" after she reportedly exaggerated her charity's contribution and complained about her treatment on a recent visit to the country. (BBC)
An episode of the American TV show Glee causes controversy by featuring a school shooting scene. (USA Today)
American comedian Jonathan Winters dies at the age of 87 in Montecito, California. (AP via Entertainment Weekly)
Maria Tallchief, the first Native American to achieve the rank of prima ballerina at a major ballet company, dies at the age of 88. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Mazda recall around 3.4 million cars due to airbag defects. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

Tornadoes destroy a church and damage dozens of homes in the Midwestern United States, cutting off electricity in several areas, and prompting Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency. (Daily Mail)
Two people are killed and 41 injured in a bus crash in Irving, Texas, United States. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea renews a threat to permanently close its Kaesong joint industrial zone with South Korea, blaming the "confrontation" policies of the South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- The United States military places a Sea-based X-band Radar in a position where it can detect any possible missile launches by North Korea, while President Barack Obama vows to protect both the U.S. and its allies. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- The G8 foreign ministers condemn "in the strongest way" North Korea's recent threats and vow to apply stronger measures if the country does not step down its rhetoric. (CNN)
- According to a released incorrectly declassified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report, North Korea may have the technology to miniaturize, mount, and deliver a nuclear warhead with a long-range missile. The accuracy of the system should, however, be low. (CNN)
The top foreign affairs officials of the G8 group of nations meet in London, where the Korean crisis, Syrian conflict and Iran's nuclear threats are expected to be major talking points. (BBC) (Reuters)
Former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl blames recently deceased former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's hostility towards a closer Europe as the cause for ongoing tensions between the United Kingdom and the European Union. (Sky News)

Law and crime

Two women are beheaded while another woman and her two daughters await the same fate as they are held captive on accusations of sorcery in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. (The New Zealand Herald)
Thirty-six policemen in Mumbai, India are suspended after they are filmed allegedly taking bribes. (BBC)
The Bangladesh Police hold editor Mahmudur Rahman from Amar Desh, an opposition newspaper, in custody on charges of sedition, illegal publication of Skype conversations of a judge in Bangladesh's ongoing war crimes trial, and inciting violence in recent protests. (AP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Father Emil Kapaun is awarded a Medal of Honor posthumously by U.S. President Barack Obama. (CBS News)
In the United States, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley decides to impose a storm management fee. (Metro) (Fox News)

Religion

France's top rabbi, Gilles Bernheim resigns after admitting he does not hold a philosophy degree as claimed and had engaged in plagiarism. (The Jerusalem Post)

Science and technology

Scientist find a rare dinosaur egg with the remaining fossil of an embryo in China. (The Register)
A study finds that carefully timed sounds played during sleep can enhance memory. (The Telegraph)

Sport

2012–13 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals:
- Fenerbahçe defeat Lazio and Basel see off Tottenham to reach their first European semi-finals. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- Benfica ease past Newcastle and Chelsea overcome Rubin Kazan. (BBC) (The Star)

April 12, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- Thirteen soldiers of the Afghan National Army are killed and one is injured in an ambush in the eastern Kunar Province. (CNN) (AP via ABC News)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- At least 11 people are killed and more than 30 are wounded in bomb attacks at Sunni mosques in Baghdad and in the province of Diyala. (BBC)
Northern Mali conflict (2012–present):
- 2013 Kidal suicide attack: Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali. (AP via Montreal Gazette)

Arts and culture

The BBC confirms that it will not be playing "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" in full when it counts down the UK pop chart on Sunday, saying it finds "distasteful" the timing of the song's rise up the charts in the wake of Margaret Thatcher's death. (The Irish Times) (Time)
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is released in Japan as fans of Haruki Murakami queue at midnight outside Tokyo bookshops. (The Guardian)
Veteran Bollywood actor Pran is announced as the winner of the 2012 Dadasaheb Phalke Award. (The Hindu) (The Indian Express) (The Times of India)

Business and economy

European Union finance ministers and central bank governors begin a two-day meeting at Dublin Castle to talk about austerity, the collapse of the Cypriot economy and the creation of a federal bank. (RTÉ News) (Reuters)
Australian company Woodside Petroleum shelves its controversial $45 billion Browse LNG project planned for James Price Point on Western Australia's Dampier Peninsula. (ABC News Australia)
Macy's loses a bid to stop JC Penney from selling unbranded housewares designed by Martha Stewart. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency searches for an asylum-seeking boat carrying more than seventy people, which is feared to have sunk in the Sunda Strait. (AAP via The Australian)
A powerful storm system hits Midwestern and Southern United States spawning a dozen tornadoes and killing 3 people. (AP via Fox News)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korea's defense ministry says it doubts North Korea has the ability to launch a nuclear-armed ballistic missile as claimed in a report by the United States Defense Intelligence Agency. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- United States Secretary of State John Kerry lands in Seoul, South Korea, as he embarks on three-day trip through South Korea, Japan, and China to send a "tough" message to North Korea. (Al Jazeera)
- North Korea declares that Japan will face annihilation if it threatens to wage war. Japan declares that the Patriot missiles deployed in Okinawa Island will be permanent. (The Japan Daily Press) (AFP via The Economic Times)
British Prime Minister David Cameron travels to Berlin to discuss his demands for sweeping reform of the European Union with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (BBC)
Israel reopens a trade route in the Gaza Strip after closing it for several days earlier in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave. (The Daily Star)
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir visits South Sudan for the first time since the country won its independence in 2011 to meet with President Salva Kiir. (AFP via Capital FM Kenya)
The United States imposes sanctions on 18 "Magnitsky list" Russians accused of human rights violations. Russia threatens to retaliate. (The New York Times)
A representative from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s National Boundary Commission hands over a diplomatic note to a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi to protest China's recent plan to bring tourists to the disputed Paracel archipelago. (TalkVietnam)

Law and crime

India's Supreme Court clears the way for the execution of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a Sikh militant, rejecting his appeal for his sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
The French Senate approves same-sex marriage in France putting the bill on track to become law by summer. (AP via ABC News)
In Taiwan, 600 people are evacuated from a high-speed train en route to Zuoying from Taipei after timed explosives are found in a restroom. (CNN)
North Carolina A&T State University, a college in Greensboro, North Carolina, is put into lockdown in response to reports of a gunman on campus. No gunman is found in the resulting search. (Reuters) (AP via CBS News)
Police are tipped off when a posting on 4chan reveals plans to commit a mass shooting at New River Community College in Christiansburg, Virginia, United States. Two women are injured and a suspect is apprehended. (CNN) (AP via ABC News) (Gawker)

Politics and elections

Iran's former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rouhani enters the race to succeed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, accusing the incumbent of needlessly incurring crippling economic sanctions. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

Russian President Vladimir Putin unveils a new $50 billion drive for the country to preserve its status as a top space power, including the construction of the new Vostochny Cosmodrome to fly humans to space by the end of the decade. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia) (Wired UK)
A 32-foot tall, 60,000 ton stone monument found in the Sea of Galilee in 2003 is determined to be man-made, dating to approximately 2000 B.C. (Los Angeles Times)

Sport

The draw for the semi-finals of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League is held in Nyon, Switzerland. Bayern Munich will play Barcelona while Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid. (UEFA)
The draw for the semi-finals of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League is held in Nyon, Switzerland. Basel will play Chelsea while Fenerbahçe will face Benfica. (UEFA)
Kobe hits two free throws after tearing his achilles, leading the team to a 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

April 13, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan:
- A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least eight people. (BBC) (AP via USA Today)
Syrian civil war:
- Twenty civilians are killed in Saraqib, Idlib, after a government warplane bombs the city. (AP via CBC News)
- The Times reports that evidence smuggled out of Syria indicates the use of chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict. (Euronews) (The Times of Israel) (Haaretz)

Disasters and accidents

An earthquake estimated at a magnitude of 6.0 hits Kobe, Japan, injuring at least 22 people. (AP via The Hindu) (CBC News)
Lion Air Flight 904 lands short of the runway at Ngurah Rai International Airport near Denpasar, Indonesia. All 108 people survived with minor injuries. (The Daily Telegraph) (Xinhua)
The main airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is shutdown due to smoke from a forest fire. (AP via Google News)

Health and environment

A seven-year-old girl is confirmed as the first person in Beijing, China, to catch the Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 bird flu. (AFP via The Times of India) (AP via The Vancouver Sun)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korean police stop a planned launch of anti-North Korean leaflets across the border, as the government of South Korea seeks to open dialogue with the North and defuse soaring tensions in the Korean Peninsula. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- The United States and People's Republic of China agree to work towards ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
- The Philippines offers the use of its military bases to the United States. (AFP via The Express Tribune)
The Iranian Army announces the successful completion of three rocket tests. (The Jerusalem Post)
China and the United States agree to collaborate on resolving cybersecurity issues between the two countries. (AFP via Google News)
Russia bans 18 American diplomats from entering the country, in retaliation for similar restrictions placed on 18 Russian officials by the Magnitsky Act. (The News International)

Law and crime

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's retrial on charges of corruption and conspiracy to kill protesters during the 2011 Egyptian revolution is transferred to another court. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)
A man suspected of a shooting at the New River Community College in Christiansburg, Virginia, United States, is charged with multiple counts of malicious wounding and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and held without bail. (CNN) (AP via Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

In Ireland, thousands of people attend an anti-austerity rally at Dublin Castle, where EU finance ministers are meeting. Opposition TDs Richard Boyd Barrett, Joan Collins and Joe Higgins address the demonstration. (The Irish Times)
In Chile, 100,000 students take to the streets to demand educational reforms. (BBC)
Salam Fayyad resigns as Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority following an ongoing dispute with the President Mahmoud Abbas. (BBC)
The National Transitional Council of the Central African Republic elects Michel Djotodia as the President confirming a position he has held since a coup last month. (Press TV)

Religion

Pope Francis appoints a panel of nine high-ranking prelates from around the world to advise him of the running of the Catholic Church and advise him on the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy. (AP via USA Today)

Sport

In golf, Tiger Woods receives a two-stroke penalty for a bad drop at the 2013 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, United States. (AP via The Calgary Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
In basketball, Kobe Bryant's 2012–13 NBA season ends with an Achilles tendon tear. (The New York Times)
Russian basketball club PBC Lokomotiv Kuban wins 2012–13 Eurocup Basketball defeating Spain's Bilbao Basket 75–64 in the final in Charleroi, Belgium. (Eurocup)

April 14, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali Civil War (2009–present):
- At least 20 people are killed in a series of bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times) (AP via Fox News)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- A drone attack conducted by the United States kills at least five people in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, Pakistan. (NBC News) (AP via CBS News) (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

At least 33 people die when a bus tumbles into a river near Trujillo, Peru. (CNN) (Al Jazeera) (The Nation)
Five people are killed, including the driver, and five are injured when a tourist bus carrying Russian and Ukrainian teenagers plummets off a bridge and rolls down an embankment near Ranst outside of Antwerp, Belgium. (The Telegraph) (Reuters) (Euronews)
At least 11 people are killed and 50 people are injured after a fire destroys a hotel in Xiangyang, Hubei, China. (AP via The Times of India) (Al Jazeera)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea rebuffs an offer of dialogue by South Korea. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia) (Sahara Samay)
- Professor Craig Calhoun, Director of the London School of Economics, calls on the BBC to pull a scheduled edition of its Panorama documentary strand, North Korea Undercover in which three journalists travelled undercover to the country with a group of students. Calhoun argues that the group was placed at risk by the BBC's actions. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Voters in Venezuela go to the polls for a snap presidential election, which was called after the death of President Hugo Chávez on March 5. (BBC)
In Croatia, people go to the polls to elect the first ever European MPs of the country, anticipating the formal entry of Croatia in the European Union, in July. (BBC)
Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, is chosen as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. (CBC News)

Sport

Manchester City will meet Wigan Athletic in the 2012–13 FA Cup Final after winning the semi-final against Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley Stadium. (BBC)
In the 2012–13 Serie A, Milan and Napoli play out an entertaining 1–1 draw at San Siro in a battle for an automatic Champions League spot. (Goal.com)
In the 2013 Formula One season, Fernando Alonso of Scuderia Ferrari wins the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton. (BBC)
France's Sébastien Ogier at the wheel of his Volkswagen Polo R WRC wins the 2013 Rally de Portugal, the fourth stage of the 2013 WRC season. (WRC) (Autosport)
In road bicycle racing, Czech racer Roman Kreuziger wins 2013 Amstel Gold Race, the 11th race of the 2013 UCI World Tour. (Cycling News)
In weightlifting, Russia wins the medal table of the 2013 European Weightlifting Championships that ended in Tirana, Albania. (EWF)
In golf, Adam Scott becomes the first Australian to win the Masters Tournament by defeating Ángel Cabrera in a sudden-death final. (AP via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
In figure skating, the United States win the 2013 ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating in Tokyo ahead of Canada and Japan. (AP via TSN)

April 15, 2013 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boston Marathon bombings:
- Two explosions in Boston, United States, near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon leave 3 people dead and 183 injured. (BBC) (CNN) (Reuters)
- The Pakistani Taliban denies any involvement in the Boston marathon bombings. (Los Angeles Times)
15 April 2013 Iraq attacks:
- At least 33 people are killed and more than 160 others are wounded during a wave of bombings in Kirkuk, Baqubah, Tikrit, Fallujah, Nassiriyah, Mussayab and Baghdad. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (Reuters)
Somali Civil War (2009–present):
- Canadian and Somali security forces probe for evidence that Mahad Ali Dhore, a former York University student, was part of the Mogadishu suicide bombings. (BBC) (The Star)

Disasters and accidents

The pilot and co-pilot of a Lion Air plane that crashed at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia, pass initial drug tests, as investigators probe the causes of the accident that left dozens injured. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- BBC says that an edition of Panorama filmed secretly on a university study trip to North Korea will be broadcast, despite claims by the London School of Economics that students may have been put in danger. (BBC)
- North Korea suggests that it is open to peaceful negotiations, on the condition that its status as a nuclear power is not challenged. (RT)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces that the late Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg has been made an honorary Australian citizen. (AFP via The Australian)
A hearing into the territorial row between Thailand and Cambodia begins at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. (ABC/AFP via Radio Australia)

Law and crime

Kuwaiti opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak is given a five-year prison sentence for insulting Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Nicolás Maduro wins a narrow victory in Venezuela's presidential election over Henrique Capriles. Maduro is due to be sworn in as President of Venezuela on 19 April and is set to serve until January 2019, to complete the term of recently deceased President Hugo Chávez. Capriles refuses to acknowledge defeat and calls for a recount. (BBC) (The Hindu) (Al Jazeera)
Croatia’s opposition coalition led by the Croatian Democratic Union wins six out of twelve seats in the country’s first ever vote for the European Parliament, while the ruling coalition led by the Social Democratic Party manages to take five seats. (Euronews)

Sport

Ethiopian long-distance runner Lelisa Desisa wins the 2013 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:10:22, two hours before the Boston Marathon bombings occur. (AP via USA Today)
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone dismisses concerns over this week's 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix as pro-democracy protests threaten to overshadow the event for the third year running. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Two football fans killed in the Brazilian football clashes near Fortaleza, Brazil. (BBC Sport)

April 16, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2013 ricin attacks:
- Mail to the US Senate is suspended after letter sent to U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) tests positive for the poisonous substance ricin at an offsite Congressional mail facility. The letter is being sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for further testing. (NBC News) (The New York Times)
Boston Marathon bombings:
- Organisers and security officials reassess security plans for Sunday's 2013 London Marathon. This follows yesterday's incident at the 2013 Boston Marathon which killed three people. (BBC)
- The 2012–13 NBA season game between the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics, which was originally scheduled for April 16, is cancelled after blasts in Boston. (ESPN)

Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta threatens to launch a terror campaign to "defend Christianity" in Nigeria in response to attacks by Islamist group Boko Haram. (The Guardian)
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency:
- Ten members of the Naxalite insurgent movement are killed in a clash with Indian police in Chhattisgarh state. (PTI via Business Standard)

Arts and culture

Gospel singer George Beverly Shea died at the age of 104, following a brief illness. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar rejects a plan by the adult entertainment company Playboy to open its first club in India. (BBC)
American Airlines grounds flights across the United States due to a glitch in its computer system until 5pm EDT leaving thousands of passengers stranded. (AP via The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Sistan and Baluchestan earthquake:
- At least 37 people are dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes with its epicenter below Khash County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, near the border with Pakistan. Tremors are felt throughout the Middle East, Pakistan and North India, and hundreds of deaths are expected by the Iran government. (The New York Times) (BBC) (Reuters)
A United States military Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter crashes near South Korea's border with North Korea, with no reported casualties. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
A gold mine collapses in Kyekyewere, Ghana, killing 16 people. (BBC)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea issues an "ultimatum" to South Korea, demanding blanket apologies and an immediate cessation of anti-DPRK activities. Some protesters in Seoul were noted burning portraits of North Korean leaders on Monday, while North Korea celebrated the birthday of the late Kim Il-sung. The new threat comes amid what is otherwise perceived as an easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korean authorities say that an attack may occur without warning at any moment. (Reuters) (RT)
China's defense ministry criticizes the United States for allegedly increasing tensions in the Asia-Pacific region by increasing its military presence and supporting Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in longstanding territorial disputes. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Three teenagers in Liverpool, England, are convicted for beating a homeless man to death as part of a dare. (Liverpool Echo)
Former Mexican anchorman Alonso de la Colina Sordo is assassinated by an unidentified gunman in the state of Puebla. His death adds to the long list of more than 80 journalists killed in Mexico since 2005. (EFE via Fox News)

Politics and elections

A bipartisan group of eight United States Senators releases its plan to overhaul the immigration system potentially allowing millions of illegal aliens the chance to become citizens. (The Washington Post)
A Pakistani election tribunal comprising judges of the Lahore High Court declares former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf ineligible for contesting the upcoming general election. (PTI via FirstPost)

April 17, 2013 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan:
- A United States drone attack kills at least five people in the Pakistani city of Wana, located in the South Waziristan Agency. (The Nation)
Arab–Israeli conflict:
- Two rockets fired from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula hit the Israeli resort of Eilat, but land in open areas, causing no damage. Three more rockets hit open areas in neighboring Jordan. (Reuters)
2013 Bangalore blast:
- Sixteen people, including eight policemen, are injured in a bomb blast at a BJP office in Bangalore, India, weeks ahead of elections in the state of Karnataka. (BBC)
Boston Marathon bombings:
- The U.S. FBI recovers forensic evidence suggesting the two explosive devices which exploded near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon were pressure cooker bombs, placed inside heavy black nylon bags containing shrapnel. (Al Jazeera)
- An episode of the popular U.S. sitcom Family Guy is pulled by the Fox Network over its depiction of people being run over by a car at the Boston Marathon. The film Four Lions is also pulled by Film4 due to the hysteria surrounding the recent Boston Marathon bombings in which three people died. (BBC)
2013 ricin attacks:
- Further suspicious letters are found addressed to President Barack Obama and to members of the United States Senate. (CNN)
- The United States Senate is evacuated following the scare. (US News & World Report) (The Huffington Post)

Disasters and accidents

West Fertilizer Company explosion:
- An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, United States, kills 15 and injures more than 100 people and damages many nearby buildings, including residences, a nursing home, and a middle school. (Reuters) (BBC)

Health and environment

The H7N9 strain of avian influenza kills two more people in Shanghai, raising the national death toll to 16. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Taiwan prepares to permanently ban killing of poultry in traditional markets amid concerns over the spread of the H7N9 avian flu virus in mainland China. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea blocks a delegation of South Korean businessmen from delivering food and supplies to 200 of their staff inside the closed Kaesong joint industrial zone. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Law and crime

The Indian state of Gujarat seeks the death penalty for ten people involved in the Naroda Patiya massacre in 2002 including former minister Maya Kodnani who had been earlier sentenced to prison sentences. (Zee News)
Leading Russian political activist Alexei Navalny goes on trial in the city of Kirov for embezzlement. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Funeral of Margaret Thatcher:
- The former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's ceremonial funeral is held in London. (The Guardian) (Metro)
- Among the foreigners at the funeral are Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, former Apartheid-era South African President F. W. de Klerk, former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former United States Vice President Dick Cheney, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard and current Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper. (The Guardian)
- Hundreds of protesters arrive at Ludgate Circus near the end of the procession route, protesting variously by turning their backs to the coffin, chanting slogans or standing in silence. (The Guardian)
The Italy Parliament prepares to vote for a new President to succeed Giorgio Napolitano, in order to end a two-month impasse between political parties by forming a coalition government. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Venezuela's opposition leader Henrique Capriles distances himself from post-election street violence after seven people are killed in riots over the results of the presidential election. Capriles had previously planned to march on the National Electoral Council to demand a recount. (Reuters)
Parliament of New Zealand legalizes same-sex marriage in New Zealand. (The New Zealand Herald)
A proposal to tighten gun control in the United States fails in a Senate vote. (The Washington Post)

Sport

In horse racing, the owners and trainer Peter Moody announce the retirement of Australian Thoroughbred racehorse Black Caviar undefeated over 25 races, the second-most of all time. (BBC) (The Australian) (ABC News Australia)
In basketball, Brittney Griner, who was selected two days earlier by the Phoenix Mercury as the top overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, comes out as lesbian. (ESPN)
In ice hockey, Dynamo Moscow wins 2013 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the KHL defeating Traktor Chelyabinsk in sixth game with a 3–2 overtime win. (RIA Novosti)

April 18, 2013 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boston Marathon bombing:
- U.S. President Barack Obama visits the city of Boston in the wake of the recent marathon attack. (Los Angeles Times)
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation posts photos of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. (BBC) (Reuters) (FBI)
- A campus police officer is shot dead in his vehicle at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. (ABC News Australia) (Reuters)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- 18 April 2013 Baghdad bombing: At least 27 people, including two children, are killed and 65 injured in a bomb attack on a cafe in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. (BBC)
- At least five people are killed in separate incidents in Iraq including a suspected al-Qaida leader in Mosul. (Xinhua)

Arts and culture

Prominent Hillsborough disaster justice campaigner Anne Williams dies from cancer, having made her last public appearance at Anfield's recent 24th anniversary memorial. (The Independent)

Business and economy

The United States reclaims its spot as the top export market for Japan as China slips due to economic slowdown. Japan's overall annual trade deficit meanwhile reaches 8.2 trillion yen, the highest on record. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson says free trade talks between Australia and China are deadlocked over differences of opinion on the removal of investment limits for state-owned enterprises. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
YouTube successfully defends itself in a billion dollar copyright infringement suit by Viacom. (Los Angeles Times)

Disasters and accidents

West Fertilizer Company explosion:
- 15 people are confirmed dead after the Texas fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, United States. (CNN) (BBC) (The Washington Post)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea demands an end to United Nations sanctions on the country as a condition for dialogue with the United States. (Reuters)

Law and crime

A Pakistani court issues an arrest warrant for former President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the house arrest of judges in 2007. (BBC) (AP via Houston Chronicle)
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say they have arrested seven suspected members of an al-Qaeda-linked "terrorist cell" seeking to carry out operations in the country and the region. (AP via Fox News)
Around 30 migrant workers, mainly from Bangladesh, are injured in a shooting by at least one farm supervisor on a strawberry farm in Greece after requesting salaries that had yet to be paid to them. The farm's owner, and at least one of the supervisors, are arrested. (BBC)

Science and technology

Two Earth-like planets, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, are discovered cirulating around the star Kepler-62 in the habitable zone. (Sky News Australia)

Sport

Scottish cyclist Sir Chris Hoy announces his retirement from track cycling. (BBC)

April 19, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boston Marathon bombings:
- The Boston Police Department chases two carjacking suspects in the MIT shooting death of a campus policeman to the nearby suburb of Watertown where, after a gunfight that included explosives, an MBTA officer is injured, one suspect is dead, and the other flees but is later captured. (Boston Herald)
- The suspects are brothers. The at-large suspect is identified as a Kyrgyzstan-born Cambridge resident, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The deceased brother is identified as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev. A number of YouTube videos, posted by the suspects, surface that seek Muslim takeover of Chechnya. (AP via WTSP) (Fox News)
- Boston and its suburbs are on lockdown as a result of the manhunt. People were not allowed to go out until the lockdown was lifted, and businesses were also closed. (Boston Herald) (NBC News)
- Shortly after officials announce that they have lost track of the suspect and lifted the lockdown, a tip leads police to the back yard of a home in the Boston suburb of Watertown, Massachusetts, where the second suspect is captured after an exchange of gunfire and a brief standoff. (The Guardian)
- Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is captured and taken in serious condition to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. U.S. President Barack Obama gives a news conference, where he praises the collaboration between government law enforcement agencies. With the suspect's capture and presumed interrogation (if he survives), the lockdown and emergency state will likely be lifted. (CNN)

Business and economy

The FAA has approved a fix of the lithium-ion battery in Boeing's 787s, clearing the way for its resumption of service. (Bloomberg)

International relations

Serbia and its former province of Kosovo reach an accord aimed at normalizing relations between the Balkan neighbours, potentially setting Belgrade on the path to membership of the European Union. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is arrested at his home on charges relating to unlawful detention of judges in 2007. He was present at the court when the arrest warrant was issued on Thursday, but had left before the warrant was served. (BBC)
A court in India sentences Mirza Himayat Baig to death for plotting the 2010 Pune bombing of a bakery which killed 17 people in Pune. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Nicolás Maduro is sworn in as the President of Venezuela despite a review of the results of the Venezuelan presidential election. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
In Italy, after failing to elect the President of Italy on the fourth ballot, Democratic leader Pier Luigi Bersani is to step down, pointing out traitors in his own party. (BBC)

Sport

Russia's Aliya Mustafina and David Belyavskiy win all-around titles at the 2013 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Moscow, Russia. (R-Sport)

April 20, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan:
- A female suicide bomber kills four and injures four outside a hospital in Khaar, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. (PTI via The Hindu)

Disasters and accidents

2013 Lushan earthquake: An earthquake of 7.0 magnitude strikes Lushan County, Sichuan province, China, with the latest estimate showing 193 people dead, 24 missing and 11,826 injured. (China Daily) (Reuters) (RT)
Five snowboarders are killed in a backcountry avalanche on Loveland Pass in the U.S. state of Colorado in the deadliest US avalanche since 1962. (AP via ABC News)
In southern California, United States, 200 residents are evacuated due to a brush fire. (AP via San Jose Mercury News)
Five people are killed and 17 are injured in Vail, Arizona, United States, when a car accident occurs during a U.S. Border Patrol pursuit. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea rules out denuclearization but says it is open to negotiating an arms reduction. (The Hindu)
Japan is permitted to join the Trans Pacific Partnership trade talks by the 11 other nations participating. (The New Zealand Herald)

Law and crime

3 Doors Down bass player Todd Harrell is charged in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, with vehicular homicide by intoxication after being involved in a car crash which killed another driver. (Reuters)
Former LulzSec hacker Cody Andrew Kretsinger is sentenced to a year in jail for a 2011 cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

Giorgio Napolitano is re-elected President of Italy with 738 votes in the sixth ballot amid widespread protests by MPs eager to elect Stefano Rodotà. (BBC)
The Saudi Arabian monarch appoints Fahd bin Abdullah as the nation's new deputy defense minister. (AP via ABC News)

Science and technology

Antares A-ONE: Bad weather delays the first launch of the Antares rocket. (The Washington Post)
A study finds that men who wear kilts and no underwear have higher sperm counts than men who sport underwear. (Science Recorder)

Sport

In snooker, the 2013 World Snooker Championship begins in Sheffield, England. Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan takes part after one-year break. (BBC)
In Formula One, Germany's Nico Rosberg wins qualifying for the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix, the fourth stage of the 2013 Formula One season. (BBC)
In sledge hockey, Canada wins the 2013 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships defeating the United States 1–0 in the final. (CP via CBC News)
In ice hockey, Kazakhstan and Italy win the 2013 IIHF World Championship Division I and will be promoted to the 2014 IIHF World Championship. (IIHF)
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez: Benson Henderson narrowly defeats Gilbert Melendez to retain his lightweight UFC title. (ESPN)
Michigan wins the men's NCAA gymnastics title, Florida takes the women's title. (AP via ESPN) (Los Angeles Times)

April 21, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Locals and activists in Damascus report that the Syrian Army killed over 500 people in the suburb of Jdeit al-Fadel. (CNN)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- In Nigeria, a clash between the military and Islamic extremists leaves at least 185 people dead. (AP via USA Today)
Somali Civil War (2009–present):
- A Somali journalist is shot and killed in an attack by unknown gunmen. (The New York Times)

Arts and culture

American actress Reese Witherspoon is arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, on charges of disorderly conduct. (Entertainment Weekly)
Australian rock singer Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls – "I Touch Myself"), dies at the age of 53 from breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. (The Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

A mining accident in China's Jilin Province kills at least 18 people and injures 12 others. (Business Standard)
River flooding continues in six states in the midwestern United States with several towns north of St. Louis, Missouri, expecting the Mississippi River to reach a crest. (AP via The Washington Post)

International relations

2013 Korean crisis:
- North Korea reportedly moves two more missile launchers to its east coast in anticipation of an expected missile launch. (AFP via The Melbourne Age)

Law and crime

Twenty-three Brazilian police officers are sentenced to 156 years in jail each for their involvement in the 1992 Carandiru prison massacre. (BBC)
Five people are killed in a shooting incident at an apartment complex in Federal Way, Washington, south of Seattle, United States. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Egypt's Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki resigns in protest of perceived attacks on judiciary by the nation's leadership. (BBC)
Online auctioneer eBay asks its customers to fight against a proposed U.S. online sales tax. (The Street)
Horacio Cartes, of the Colorado Party, is elected President of Paraguay with 45.91% percent of the vote. (BBC)

Science and technology

American astronauts Curtis Brown, Eileen Collins, and Bonnie Dunbar are inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. (Sacramento Bee)^{[permanent dead link]}
Antares A-ONE: The Antares rocket makes its maiden flight, successfully carrying a mockup Cygnus spacecraft into orbit. (BBC)
A study concludes that stress leads to faster growth in squirrels. (HNGN)

Sport

In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean. (BBC) (The Guardian)
In road bicycle racing, Daniel Martin wins 2013 Liège–Bastogne–Liège ahead of Joaquim Rodríguez and Alejandro Valverde. (BBC) (Cycling News)
In football, Central Coast Mariners defeat Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0 to win the 2013 A-League Grand Final and are crowned the 2012–13 A-League champions. (A-League)
In tennis, Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal to win the singles at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. (CNN)
In athletics, Tsegaye Kebede wins the 2013 London Marathon men's race; Priscah Jeptoo wins the women's race. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
In volleyball, Russia wins the 2013 Boys' Youth European Volleyball Championship defeating Poland 3–1 in the final in Laktaši, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (CEV)

April 22, 2013 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2013 Belgorod shooting:
- A man goes on a shooting rampage outside a firearm shop in Belgorod, Russia, killing six. (BBC)
2013 Via Rail Canada terrorism plot:
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrest and charge two men with plotting to disrupt a Toronto area train service in a plot claimed to be backed by al-Qaeda elements. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- 11 people are kidnapped in Afghanistan after the helicopter they were in was forced to land. The Taliban takes responsibility for the abductions. (Los Angeles Times)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- The Nigerian Red Cross claims that 185 people have been killed in Borno State in the north of country over the past few days as a result of fighting between militants and government state forces. The local military claim the numbers are inflated. (Voice of America)

Arts and culture

Comedy Central decides to not renew Futurama, meaning that the show may end on September 4, 2013. (Inside TV)

Business and economy

News Corporation agrees to pay $139 million to American shareholders due to the phone hacking scandal. (The New York Times)

International relations

The European Union lifts an oil trade embargo it imposed on Syria during the early stages of the civil war to help the finances of the opposition. (AP via Fox News)
The European Union lifts all sanctions and trade embargoes on Myanmar excluding arms trade and other trade of equipment that could be used for internal repression, citing the improvement of political freedoms. (AP via Fox News)

Law and crime

Clothing retailer Ralph Lauren agrees to pay $1.6 million for claims of bribery to public officials in Argentina from 2005 to 2009. (Bloomberg)
In Germany, a Hamburg court fines Google €145,000 for violating privacy laws with its Street View service. (RT)
UK police announce that they are calling off the search for missing girl April Jones. (Sky News)
The U.S. International Trade Commission sides with Apple against a claim by Google that Apple's popular iPhones violate a Google patent. (Reuters)

Sport

2012–13 Premier League:
- Manchester United secure the 2012–13 Premier League title thanks to a Robin van Persie hat trick against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, which moves them 16 points clear of rivals and reigning champions Manchester City who have only a maximum of 15 points left to play for. This is Sir Alex Ferguson's 13th title of his 27-year tenure as United's manager. (Goal.com)
- Liverpool fines star striker Luis Suárez after he bit into the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanović during Sunday's live televised 2–2 draw at Anfield. (The Guardian)
- Downing Street takes the unusual step of responding to a bizarre incident during a football game, calling on The Football Association to make an example of Luis Suárez. (The Guardian)
In tennis, Russia and Italy advance to the final of the 2013 Fed Cup World Group defeating Slovakia and Czech Republic respectively. (Fed Cup)

April 23, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Taliban spirtual leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar passed away on this day.
Syrian civil war:
- An Israeli military intelligence analyst states that Syria has used chemical weapons repeatedly over the past month. He also criticizes the international community for not responding to the use of the weapons. (The New York Times)
- Two Orthodox Christian bishops kidnapped by gunmen in a rebel-held area in northern Syria are released. (BBC)
War on Terror:
- A car bomb detonates outside the French embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, resulting in injury to two guards and extensive damage to the embassy. (AFP via Yahoo!7)
2013 Hawija clashes:
- At least 28 are dead and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq, between police forces and Sunni Muslim activists. (CNN)
- Two roadside bombs detonate outside a Sunni mosque killing at least 4 people and wounding 13 in Dora, Baghdad, Iraq. (CNN)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- Pakistani police defuse a car bomb near a fortified farmhouse, where the former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is under house arrest. (The Guardian)
2013 Xinjiang unrest:
- Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in 21 people killed, including 15 police and social workers. Of the 15 government casualties, 10 members are ethnic Uighur, 3 are Han Chinese, and 2 are ethnic Mongolian. (Bloomberg) (AFP via Google News) (Xinhua)

International relations

Senkaku Islands dispute:
- The Government of Japan summons the ambassador from the People's Republic of China after a flotilla of Chinese ships sail near the dispute Senkaku Islands. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

The United States stock market undergoes a flash crash (similar to 2010) of 1 percent when the Twitter feed from the Associated Press news agency is hacked and erroneously states that several explosions have injured President Barack Obama. (CNBC)
British businessman James McCormick is convicted at the Old Bailey on three counts of fraud after selling fake bomb detectors based on a device for finding golf balls to countries including Iraq and Georgia. (BBC)
President of Myanmar Thein Sein grants amnesty to 93 prisoners. Some prisoners are reported as prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. (AP via Sun Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
2013 ricin letters: All charges against a suspect of sending letters containing ricin to US President Barack Obama are dropped due to lack of evidence. (CNN)
The Australian Federal Police arrest 24-year-old Matthew Flannery of Sydney, the self-proclaimed leader of the LulzSec hacking group in the New South Wales city of Gosford. (ABC News Australia)

Politics and elections

The French National Assembly passes an amended bill legalizing same-sex marriage, paving the way for President François Hollande to promulgate it. (AP via Yahoo! News)

Sport

Bayern Munich thrash Barcelona 4–0 in their 2012–13 UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg. (BBC)
Wimbledon announced that the prize money will be raised by 40% in the 2013 tournament, marking the largest payout in tennis history. (AP via USA Today)
West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle slams the fastest century in cricket history, reaching the triple figure in just 30 balls. (The Times of India)

April 24, 2013 (Wednesday)

Disasters

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake strikes 25 kilometers from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, leaving 33 people dead and another 115 injured. Heavy damage of buildings are reported across Nangarhar Province. (Voice of America)
2013 Savar building collapse:
- An eight-story commercial building collapses in Savar Upazila near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, resulting in at least 256 people dead, one thousand injured and scores more trapped. (AP via ABC News), (Reuters via Sydney Morning Herald), (Daily Mail)
Syrian Civil War:
- The 11th-century minaret of the Umayyad Great Mosque at the World Heritage Site of Aleppo is destroyed. Both warring parties blame each other. (BBC), (AP via The Guardian)

Law and crime

A shooting occurs in Manchester, Illinois, United States, leaving 5 dead and another injured. The suspect is then killed in a gunfight with police. (Fox News)
The U.S. government wins an early round in its litigation against The Bank of New York Mellon over the latter's allegedly fraudulent practices in the trading of currencies. (Reuters)

International Relations

Boston Marathon bombings:
- The FBI and the CIA admit that Russian intelligence had warned the U.S. intelligence agencies several times regarding the extremist connections of Tamerlan Tsarnaev prior to the Boston marathon bombings. (GLOBO News)

Politics and elections

Malaysian police claim that there have been hundreds of cases of election-related violence since campaigning for the Malaysian general election went underway last weekend. (My Sinchew)
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano gives vice-secretary of the Democratic Party Enrico Letta the mandate to form a new government. (The Guardian), (France 24)

Sport

Liverpool striker Luis Suárez is banned for 10 games by the FA for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanović. (BBC Sport)

April 25, 2013 (Thursday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Boston Marathon bombings:
- Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, claims that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation briefed him that suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said that the bombers intended to attack New York City next. (CBC)
The Israeli Air Force shoots down a Hezbollah drone from Lebanon off the coast of Haifa. (Jerusalem Post)
A gunman kills three people with a Kalashnikov rifle in a shooting attack in Istres, France. (The Local)

Business and economy

French unemployment reaches a record level of 3.22 million. (Reuters)

International relations

Northern Mali conflict (2012–present):
- The United Nations Security Council votes to send a peacekeeping force to Mali to replace French and African forces battling Islamist guerrillas. (AAP via News Limited)
Syrian Civil War:
- The United States Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel claims that US intelligence has concluded "with some degree of varying confidence" that the Government of Syria has used sarin gas during the past two years in the civil war. The Israeli and British governments made similar statements. (CBS News)
The United Kingdom reopens its embassy in Somalia 22 years after it closed as a result of the chaos after the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre's government and subsequent Somali Civil War. (Voice of America)

Law and crime

Mexican photojournalist Daniel Alejandro Martínez Bazaldúa is found dead in Saltillo, Coahuila, an area where Los Zetas drug cartel operates. With his death, Mexico consolidates itself as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, where more than 80 have been killed since 2000. (The Huffington Post)
After being missing for over a week, the body of Sunil Tripathi is found in the Providence River. (Boston)

Politics and elections

The George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, is dedicated in the presence of President of the United States Barack Obama, former president George W. Bush and all living former presidents. The complex will be opened to the public on May 1. (CBS News)

Sport

In American football, the 2013 NFL Draft begins with Kansas City Chiefs selecting Eric Fisher in New York City's Radio City Music Hall. (The Guardian)
In horse racing, the British Horseracing Authority bans Godolphin Racing trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni for eight years after 11 racehorses in his care test positive for anabolic steroids. (AP via Washington Post)

April 26, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Six police officers are poisoned and fatally shot in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan while another one is missing. (Los Angeles Times)

Business and Economy

The central bank of Mexico announces that it is holding its benchmark interest rate at 4%, where it has been since a half-point cut announced in March, despite recent reports of inflating consumer prices. (Reuters)
Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King announces that Winston Churchill will be featured on the 5 pound bank note which he says will likely begin circulation in 2016. (AP via ABC)

Disasters

A fire in a psychiatric hospital in the Russian town of Ramensky in Dmitrovsky District near Moscow kills 38 people. (AP via USA Today) (BBC)
2013 Savar building collapse:
- The death toll in Bangladesh rises to 401. (AP via Miami Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
At least 30 people die in southern Afghanistan after a bus crashes into the wreckage of a truck attacked by Taliban insurgents. (The News Pakistan)

International relations

South Korea announces that it will withdraw its remaining workers from North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Region to protect their safety after the North Korean government rejects talks. (Deutsche Welle)
The White House reports that the United States may have to use military action against Syria. (FOX News)

Law and crime

Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is transferred from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to the federal prison facility in Fort Devens in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. (Reuters)
Eleven members of a Birmingham, United Kingdom, terror cell are jailed for planning an attack to rival the 7 July and 9/11 atrocities. (BBC)
Russian police and security agents detain 140 people at a mosque in Moscow on suspicion of involvement with Islamic extremism. (ABC News)

Arts and culture

American country music singer George Jones dies at the age of 81. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Mining billionaire Clive Palmer announces that he is reviving the United Australia Party and standing candidates at the 2013 Australian election. (ABC News Australia)

April 27, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War:
- The Free Syrian Army accuses the government of Iraq of conducting an airstrike against its forces in Deir ez-Zor, a town in eastern Syria. (The New York Times)
A bomb explodes outside a police station in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi causing extensive damage to the building but no injuries. (Reuters)
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen:
- Five Yemeni soldiers and two Al-Qaeda militants are killed in fighting in the central town of Rada. A senior intelligence officer is also gunned down by a drive-by shooting in the south. (Fox News) (ABC News)^{[permanent dead link]}
War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
- The Taliban announces the start of their spring offensive, signaling plans to step up attacks as the weather warms across Afghanistan, making both travel and fighting easier. (AP via News24)
- A plane crashes in Southern Afghanistan killing four military personnel. (BBC)
The death toll of the recent spate of anti-government violence in Iraq surpasses 190 as protests against the leadership of Nouri al-Maliki continue. (al Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- A bomb attack by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan on an Awami National Party office in Karachi kills at least ten people and injures 25. (International Business Times)
2013 ricin attacks:
- After release of a previous suspect without charge, an adversary of his, Everett Dutschke of Mississippi, has been arrested for mailing letters containing ricin to the President of the United States, a senator, and a federal judge. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea announces that it will place American Pae Jun-Ho on trial for unspecified "crimes aimed to topple the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". (al Jazeera)

Law and crime

United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer is taken to hospital by ambulance after he breaks his shoulder in a fall from his bicycle. (The Washington Post)

Politics and elections

Voters in Iceland go to the polls for a parliamentary election with a centre-right coalition expected to regain office. (BBC)
A deal on the formation of a new government has been reached in Italy, two months after the 2013 Italian parliamentary election was held. (BBC)

April 28, 2013 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Syrian rebels capture three military airbases in the north. (The Washington Post)
Men in technicals, pickup trucks with anti-aircraft guns, block off and surround the Libyan foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli demanding a ban on Gaddafi-era officials working in the government (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan:
- At least eight people are dead and dozens injured as a result of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacks on election candidates in Kohat and Peshawar. (The New York Times)

Disasters

At least three people die and fourteen are injured when an apartment building in the French city of Reims collapses after a suspected gas explosion, leaving people trapped under debris. (AFP via News24)^{[permanent dead link]}
Four people are killed when a small bridge collapses near Thailand's ancient capital of Ayutthaya. (ABC News)

Law and crime

A man stabs and wounds four people at a church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. (CNN)
In Italy, a man shoots and wounds two policemen outside Palazzo Chigi, during the swearing ceremony of the new Prime Minister Enrico Letta. (BBC)
In Valley Springs, California (a rural town of about 2,500 people) authorities are searching for an intruder who fatally stabbed an 8-year-old girl, Leila Fowler, at her home. After her 12-year-old brother discovered him, the intruder fled. (NBC News)

April 29, 2013 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan:
- A suicide bomber kills at least four people in an attack on a police station in Peshawar, Pakistan. (AP via Fox News)
Syrian Civil War:
- Syrian state TV reports that the Prime Minister Wael Nader Al-Halqi escaped an assassination attempt in the western Damascus suburb of Mazzeh when a bomb explodes near his convoy. (AP via CTV News)
2012 Northern Mali conflict
- A sixth French soldier is killed in Mali when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb, seriously injuring two more. (BBC news)
2012–13 Iraqi protests:
- The government of Iraq shuts down 10 television stations including Al Jazeera, accusing them of encouraging the sectarian violence by Sunni muslims in the country. (Los Angeles Times)
2013 ricin attacks:
- It is revealed that Everett Dutschke was, earlier this month, charged with two child molestations involving three girls younger than 16. (Fox News)
Boston Marathon bombings:
- Prosecutors discuss a plea deal (avoidance of the death penalty in exchange for a likely sentence of life in prison without parole) for the surviving Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Police have taken DNA from Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wife and are exploring the brothers' connection to two deceased Russian extremists. (NBC)

Business and economy

The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a petition (Eaton Corp v. Z F Meritor) from Eaton Corp., letting stand a U.S. 3rd Circuit Court ruling on an antitrust issue that may limit the use of loyalty discounts in the form of rebates as a way of locking in customers. (Reuters)

Disasters

A powerful explosion occurs in an office building in Prague, Czech Republic, believed to have been caused by natural gas, injures 35 people. Both the nearby Faculty of Arts and Sciences building of Charles University and the National Theater also sustain damage. (NBC News)(AP via Vancouver Sun)
A Boeing 747 crashes near an American military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, killing all seven American crew members onboard. (AP via Belfast Telegraph UK)

Sports

NBA news:
- Veteran center Jason Collins becomes the first active player in one of the United States' Big Four sports leagues to announce he is gay. (Sports Illustrated) (The New York Times)
- A league committee unanimously recommends that NBA owners reject the bid of a Seattle-based group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer to purchase the Sacramento Kings and move the team to Seattle. (ESPN)

April 30, 2013 (Tuesday)