Portal:Current events/2013 June 5

June 5, 2013 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2013 protests in Turkey:
- Turkey's Ahmet Davutoğlu announces an investigation into police attacks on civilians with tear gas and water cannon in cities nationwide. (Al Jazeera)
- An image known as "The Lady in the Red Dress" showing a policeman in a gas mask hosing a woman with pepper spray becomes the defining image of Turkey's pro-democracy demonstrations thus far. (The Huffington Post) (The Guardian) (The National)
- Following Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's denunciation of Twitter as a "menace to society", police arrest 25 people on charges relating to the use of social media to speak ill of the government. (The Guardian)
Kandahar massacre: U.S. staff sergeant Robert Bales avoids the death penalty by pleading guilty to the murder of 16 Afghan civilians, including 9 children. (Al Jazeera) (New York Times)
After a long-running battle, Britain announces a compensation fund of £2,600 each for more than 5,000 survivors of the prison camps it operated across Kenya in the 1950s. (The Guardian)
Syrian civil war:
- The Syrian Army regains control of the strategic town of Al-Qusayr, as rebels pull out. (Reuters) (BBC)
- In an official statement, the Iranian government congratulates the Syrian army and people for capturing Al-Qusayr. (The Guardian)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- Fourteen people are killed at a fake security checkpoint manned by gunmen in western Iraq. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Actor Stephen Fry reveals that he nearly died after taking a cocktail of drugs and alcohol last year. (The Independent) (The Daily Telegraph)
Novelist Turki al-Hamad, who was jailed in December for six months without trial over his calls for reform in Saudi Arabia, is released. (Al Jazeera)
An 84-year-old woman from the U.S. state of Florida comes forward as the sole winner of the record-breaking $590 million Powerball lottery drawing in May. (Reuters)
Bangladesh lifts a ban on YouTube that had been in effect since September 2012. (Tri-Valley Herald)
Prince Philip is admitted to a London hospital for an exploratory operation. (CNN)
Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson's daughter, tries to commit suicide by cutting her wrists and overdosing on pills. (MSN Music Wonderwall)

Business and economics

The Australian dollar hits a 20-month low against the United States dollar. (Daily Telegraph)
The United States International Trade Commission rules that Apple is infringing on a Samsung patent and bans the import of several popular Apple products. (Reuters)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it underestimated the damage austerity would do to Greece. (The Guardian)
Online retailer Amazon.com begins operations in India. (Economic Times)

Disasters and accidents

At least 44 people are killed by lightning in the Indian state of Bihar during a severe storm. (Independent Online)
22nd and Market building collapse. A building collapse in Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania kills 6, wounds 13, and traps at least 10. (CNN) (Jacksonville.com)
A fire in the Moscow Metro leads to large-scale evacuations and 47 injuries. (The Telegraph)
The Chinese government pledges to upgrade workplace safety in the aftermath of the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Plant fire which killed 120 people. (Xinhua)

Health and environment

A second case of Legionnaires' Disease in less than a week is confirmed in Australia, leading to fears of a possible outbreak of the rare disease. (Herald Sun)

Law and crime

United States v. Bradley Manning:
- The judge disallows discussion of Bradley Manning's motives for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks at this time. (The Guardian)
- Brian Madrid, who trained Manning, testifies that he ordered him to undergo "corrective training" for an unauthorized use of the phrase "top secret". (The Guardian)
The jailing for two years of former Met Police officer Paul Flattley, who sold information to News International daily tabloid The Sun about Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Paul Gascoigne and a 15-year-old girl who died of an overdose, is revealed for the first time today, "legal reasons" having prevented its disclosure until now. (The Guardian) (The Independent)

Politics and elections

Nawaz Sharif is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan and calls for an end to U.S. drone attacks. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
As the ongoing Guantánamo Bay hunger strikes enters its 120th day, the United States House of Representatives votes to keep the prison camp open. (RT)
Juan Ponce Enrile resigns as the President of the Senate of the Philippines; President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada assumes the position of interim Senate President until assumption of the new Congress in July. (Rappler)
Chen Xitong, who was mayor of Beijing during the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, dies at age 82. (New York Times)
Tom Donilon resigns his post as U.S. National Security Advisor and is replaced by Susan Rice. (Financial Times)
An Egyptian court sentences 43 non-profit workers who advocated for democracy, many of them foreigners, to prison. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

A newly discovered fossil species, Archicebus achilles, is described as the oldest known primate. (BBC)

Sport

In tennis, Maria Sharapova beats Jelena Jankovic to advance to the semi-finals of the French Open; Serena Williams wins her match, setting up a showdown between her and Sharapova. (ESPN)