Portal:Current events/2013 May 21

May 21, 2013 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War:
- Israel and Syria exchange gunfire on the Golan Heights. (Reuters)
- Elite Hezbollah reinforcements are sent from Lebanon across the border to al-Qusayr, Syria. Activists report that much of the city has been destroyed. (Al Arabiya)
French historian Dominique Venner shoots himself dead inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Chinua Achebe's body is flown into Lagos to be greeted by a funeral processional. His remains await burial in Ogidi, the author's hometown. (AllAfrica)
Gerbrand Bakker wins the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for translation. (The Guardian)
Iain Banks posts an update on his cancer battle for the first time since announcing his impending death. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

The death toll from the 2013 Moore tornado in the U.S. state of Oklahoma is revised sharply downward to 24, with over one hundred people injured and many missing. (Reuters)

International relations

Xinhua reports that North Korea has released 16 Chinese fishermen after their boat was seized on May 6. (AFP via Asia One)

Law and crime

Criminal investigation of Saab Automobile:
- Three former top executives of Swedish car manufacturer Saab Automobile, Jan-Åke Jonsson (President and CEO), Kristina Geers (Chief Counsel), and Karl Lindström (CFO), are arrested on suspicion of accounting fraud and tax evasion during the bankruptcy procedure of the company. (Göteborgs-Tidningen) (Sveriges Radio)
Carl Pistorius, the brother of Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius, is acquitted of culpable homicide over the death of a motorcyclist in South Africa. (BBC)
U.S. Army Brigadier General Bryan T. Roberts, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training Center, Fort Jackson (South Carolina), is suspended from his duties because of an investigation into alleged adultery (which is treated as a criminal violation, not just a civil matter, in the U.S. military), and for allegedly being in a physical altercation. (NBC)

Politics

MPs in the House of Commons vote 366–161 in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill taking an important step towards allowing gay marriage in England and Wales. (BBC)
2013 Iranian presidential election:
- Final list of candidates are announced by Guardian Council. This included Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Hassan Rouhani, Saeed Jalili, Mohsen Rezaee and four others. (PreesTv)
- Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei are rejected by the council due to their age and health problems. (newser)
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary approves immigration reform legislation that would give citizenship to millions living in the country illegally. (AP via Washington Post)

Science and technology

Sport

Premier League club Stoke City unexpectedly sack manager Tony Pulis after seven years in charge. Pulis led the side to the Premier League, then the 2011 FA Cup Final and the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. (The Guardian)
In basketball, the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA draft lottery for number one pick in the 2013 NBA draft. (USA Today)