Portal:Current events/2013 June 19

June 19, 2013 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- Boko Haram gunmen kill nine children in an attack on a school in Maiduguri. (BBC)
War in Somalia:
- An al-Shabaab-led assault on the UNDP base in Mogadishu leaves 22 dead, including militants, security personnel, and civilians. (Reuters)
Armed bandits and robbers riding motorbikes kill 48 people in Nigeria's Zamfara State. (BBC), (Ventura County Star)

Arts and culture

American actor James Gandolfini, best known for portraying Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, dies of a heart attack at the age of 51. (ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

The Indian Army is deployed to help rescue people in the flood-hit northern states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where the number of confirmed deaths has reached 130. (BBC)
A man is killed and more than 6,000 people are evacuated following an explosion at an arms depot in the Samara Oblast in central Russia. (Sky News)
Flash flooding in southwest France claims two victims and causes the shrine at Lourdes to be closed. (AFP via Channel News Asia)

Law and crime

Nigel Evans, Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Commons, is arrested on suspicion of three counts of indecent assault. (BBC)
An Italian court rejects an appeal by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi against his conviction for tax fraud. (The Telegraph)
An Italian court convicts fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion, giving them suspended sentences and heavy fines. (Reuters via The Globe and Mail)

Science and technology

After receiving negative feedback, Microsoft decides to change many features of its upcoming Xbox One. (Xbox Wire)