Portal:Current events/2013 June 7

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June 7, 2013 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Drone attacks in Pakistan: A U.S. drone attack kills at least seven people in Pakistan. (The New York Times)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- At least 19 people are killed when two suicide bombers drive cars packed with explosives into targets in the Baghdad area. (Newsday)
Syrian civil war:
- The United Nations appeals for $4.4 billion of aid for refugees, the largest such request in the UN's history. (Xinhua)
A suspected rapist is attacked and buried alive by an angry mob in Bolivia. (Reuters)
A gunman opens fire at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, after setting a house on fire nearby, killing five people, including the suspect. (CNN)
Villagers in Assam kill a 55-year-old man suspected of practicing black magic to "appease" a goddess. (India Today)

Arts and culture

Elizabeth II appears in the BBC newsroom behind the BBC News Channel's newsreaders while they are live on air. (The Guardian) (BBC)
Bangkok tops the list of world's most visited cities. (Forbes)
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his wife of thirty years announce their divorce on live television. (BBC)

Business and economics

Southern California Edison announces it will permanently close its San Onofre nuclear power plant near San Diego. (Christian Science Monitor)
The U.S. Justice Department approves SoftBank's proposed $20.1 billion purchase of Sprint Nextel. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is the final hurdle in the way of the deal's final approval. (Bloomberg)
Air New Zealand agrees to a record-setting AU$7.5 million fine for its part in a price-fixing scandal. (National Business Review)

Disasters and accidents

A bus catches fire in the Chinese city of Xiamen, killing at least 42 people and injuring more than 30 others. (AP via ABC News)
A bus plunges off a mountain road in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, killing at least 18 people and injuring 14 others. (BBC)
A passenger bus hits a mountainside near Nha Trang, Viet Nam, killing at least nine people and injuring many others. (vietnambreakingnews)

Health and environment

Breast milk boosts brain development by 30%, as compared to formula-fed babies, according to a new study. (Daily Mail)

International relations

U.S. president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping begin a two-day meeting of Sino-American relations. (BBC)
UK premier David Cameron attracts criticism for attending the 61st annual summit of the secretive Bilderberg Group at The Grove, Watford. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

PRISM (U.S. government surveillance program):
- The US government comes under heavy criticism at home and abroad when news of its secret PRISM surveillance program to monitor emails and other person information is leaked. (Welt)
- The Wall Street Journal reveals the National Security Agency's monitoring of American citizens includes credit-card transactions and customer records from the three major phone networks. (The Wall Street Journal)
- Democratic Senator Joe Manchin calls on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over the U.S. Department of Justice's seizure of journalist phone records. (TPM)
- The Guardian reveals U.S. President Barack Obama ordered a list of foreign targets for cyber-attacks "to advance US national objectives around the world with little or no warning to the adversary or target and with potential effects ranging from subtle to severely damaging". Obama's order also authorizes hits on foreign nations without their government's consent. (The Guardian)
- U.S. director of national intelligence James Clapper denounces the revelations of government surveillance into civilian lives as "reprehensible". (The Guardian)
- British Prime Minister David Cameron is urged to launch an investigation into allegations that the UK's electronic listening post GCHQ had access to data from the program. (BBC)
Richard Ramirez, a prolific American serial killer during the 1980s, dies on death row from liver failure. (Reuters)
Ariel Castro, the man accused of kidnapping 3 Cleveland, Ohio women is indicted on 329 charges, including 2 counts of murder. (CBS News)
Cambodia passes a controversial law that makes it illegal to deny atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Iranian presidential election:
- Candidates hold a third and final televised debate, giving their plans on domestic and foreign policies and also criticizing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear and human rights policies. (PressTV) (Reuters)
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf clashes with Hassan Rouhani over the July 1999 student protests and reminds Rouhani that he did not give permission for students to protest during his time as Secretary of Supreme National Security Council. (Live Blog)

Sport

In association football, on the night he becomes Ireland's most capped player, Robbie Keane scores a hat-trick to take his international goals tally to 59 and become the 5th all-time goal scorer in European football, after Puskás, Kocsis, Müller and Klose. (Sky Sports) (The Guardian) (RTÉ)
In tennis, Rafael Nadal edges Novak Djokovic in five sets to advance to the finals of the French Open where he will play David Ferrer. (ABC News)