Portal:Current events/2013 February 9

February 9, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Clashes between government forces continue around Damascus and Homs, with heavy aerial bombardment by the Syrian Air Force being reported. (Al Jazeera)
- President of Syria Bashar al-Assad reshuffles his cabinet, appointing seven new ministers in a move analysts describe as an attempt to stabilize the country's economy. (The New York Times)
- Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi makes an official statement, extending an invitation to the opposition for dialogue aimed at achieving a political solution to the conflict. (Al Jazeera)
Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- A rocket kills six people and injures over 50 others at Camp Liberty, an Iraqi facility near Baghdad that shelters members of People's Mujahedin of Iran. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

February 2013 nor'easter: The death toll from a massive blizzard across the Northeastern United States and southeastern Canada rises to at least 15, with 40 inches of snow reported from Hamden, Connecticut. More than 900,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm, while airports in the region cancelled over 5,300 flights. (Reuters)
2013 Nariño earthquake: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes southwest Colombia causing major disruption to the region and injuring at least 8 people. (AP via USA Today) (USGS) (El Tiempo)
Five people are killed when a small airplane Cessna crashes on the side of the runway at Brussels South Charleroi Airport in Belgium after suffering difficulties on take-off. The incident forced the airport to shut down for six hours, before resuming services. (Reuters) (BBC)

Health and environment

Law and crime

Former Canadian navy intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle is jailed for 20 years after pleading guilty to selling classified NATO information to Russia. (BBC)
Four people are wounded after a shooting in Bourbon Street, New Orleans, United States, while it was crowded with party-goers and people setting up for Mardi Gras parades. (AP via The New York Times) (Reuters) (Huffington Post)
Afzal Guru is hanged at Tihar Jail in New Delhi, India, for his role in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack. (BBC) (CNN) (Fox News)

Politics and elections

Annette Schavan, the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, resigns after the University of Düsseldorf stripped Schavan of her doctorate for plagiarism. (BBC)
2013 Bangladesh protests: In Bangladesh, mass protests continue, with over 100,000 peacefully congregating and demanding the death penalty for the atrocities committed during the Bangladesh Liberation War. (BBC)

Sport