Portal:Current events/2014 May 6
May 6, 2014 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
- Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov rules out any fresh talks in Geneva to defuse the crisis unless pro-Russian groups are also involved. (BBC News)
Arts and culture
- Monica Lewinsky releases a book recalling her affair with then United States President Bill Clinton. (U.S. News & World Report)
- Thirty young men join the ranks of the Swiss Guards today, taking an oath of allegiance to Pope Francis and promising to serve the Church by protecting him and his successors. Present at the guards' swearing-in are a number of Vatican dignitaries, the new Swiss ambassador to the Holy See, Pierre-Yves Fux, and Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who is the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. (Catholic News Agency)
Business and economy
- Merck & Co Inc announces plans to sell its consumer business to Bayer AG of Germany for $14 billion. (Reuters)
- Office Depot says it will close at least 400 of its U.S. stores. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- The Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra appears before the Thai Constitutional Court to defend herself against charges of abuse of power. (Reuters via DNA India)
- Eight additional Nigerian girls are abducted by suspected Boko Haram militants following the Chibok kidnappings. (CNN)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signs into law a bill that bans profanity at arts, cultural and entertainment events. (CNN)
- Six people are injured in a knife attack at a Chinese train station in Guangzhou. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- An Egyptian court bans top members of the former ruling National Democratic Party of ousted President Hosni Mubarak from running in any future elections. (Al-Ahram) (The Washington Post)