Portal:Current events/2013 June 8

June 8, 2013 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
- In Afghanistan, a man wearing an Afghan military uniform attacks and kills three American soldiers, in what appears to be an insider attack on U.S. International Security Assistance Force soldiers, based in east Afghanistan's Paktika Province. (Voice of America)
- In a separate unrelated incident, an Italian soldier is killed and three are wounded when a child throws a grenade at a NATO convoy in west Afghanistan's Farah Province. (NBC)
Syrian civil war:
- The Syrian military captures the town of Al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah. (Bloomberg)
Clashes between protestors and militia members in Benghazi, Libya, leads to at least 27 deaths and 117 injuries. (Tripoli Post)
Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- At least 21 people are killed in Maiduguri, Nigeria, as the government continues its crack down on Boko Haram militants. (Voice of America)
Northern Mali conflict (2012–present):
- The government of Mali opens talks with Tuareg separatists in the hopes of reaching a ceasefire agreement. (Reuters)
Clashes between the Ras Kamboni Movement and pro-government militia leave at least 18 dead in the Somali port of Kismayu. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

International relations

US-China summit:
- US president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping finish up their two day summit by discussing cyber espionage. (The Hindu)
- The United States and China agree to work together to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons which are thought to contribute significantly to global warming. (AFP via Google)

Law and crime

U.S. government surveillance programs (including PRISM):
- The existence of Boundless Informant, an NSA tool used by the U.S. government to watch every country on planet Earth, is revealed. (The Guardian) (Gizmodo)
- Larry Page of Google and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook deny having any knowledge of PRISM as Barack Obama confirms the existence of the program used to spy on U.S. citizens, in part through their websites. (The Guardian)
- The New York Times contradicts some of the company figureheads by reporting that companies which negotiated with the U.S. government on spying on their customers include Google (owner of YouTube), Microsoft (owner of Hotmail and Skype), Yahoo!, Facebook, AOL, Apple and Paltalk. (The Guardian) (The New York Times)
With governor Peter Shumlin signing the law, Vermont becomes the 17th state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

Former South African president Nelson Mandela is readmitted to a Pretoria hospital in a serious condition with a recurring lung infection. (AP via News24) (BBC)
Michael Polley, Australia's longest serving current Member of Parliament, retires. (ABC Online)
Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir orders the closure of oil pipelines coming from South Sudan. (Fox News)
Former governor of Massachusetts and US ambassador Paul Cellucci dies at age 65. (ABC News)

Science and technology

Asteroid 2013 LR6 passes within 65,000 miles of Earth the day after it is discovered. (Nature World News)

Sports