Portal:Current events/2013 April 23

Current events of April 23, 2013 (2013-04-23) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks 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) 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)