April 5, 2013 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Mexican Drug War:
- Recent report from Stratfor indicates that at least 60 people were killed in Tamaulipas state in March, after the Gulf Cartel leaders Miguel El Gringo Villarreal and Mario Ramírez Treviño fought for control of the organization. (Proceso)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
- An explosive-laden donkey is used in an attack on a police security post in the Alingar District of Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan, killing a policeman and wounding three civilians. (AP via Fox News)
Arts and culture
- Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom receives an honorary BAFTA award for her support of British film and television and she is honored as the "most memorable Bond girl" for her appearance at the 2012 London Olympics. (Channel NewsAsia)
Business and economy
- Japan's stock market index, the Nikkei 225, hits its highest level in almost five years, after a Bank of Japan stimulus plan raises hope of economic revival. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- A sixth person dies in the People's Republic of China from the Influenza A virus subtype H7N9, after the closure of poultry markets in the city of Shanghai and a mass culling of 20,000 birds. (International Business Times)
- At least 60 people die in Nigeria following a collision between a bus and a petrol tanker on the Benin–Ore expressway. (Nigerian Tribune)
International relations
- 2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korea deploys two warships with Aegis missile-defense systems as a precautionary measure, following reports that North Korea had repositioned intermediate-range ballistic missiles to its east coast a day earlier. (BBC)
- North Korea warns that it cannot protect their embassies in Pyongyang as of April 10. It is advised that all foreign countries consider asking the staff of their embassies to leave. (The Telegraph) (AFP via NDTV)
- Iran's negotiator Saeed Jalili defends the nation's controversial nuclear program that involves uranium enrichment, in a new round of talks with P5+1 countries in Kazakhstan. (BBC)
- The United States agrees to a plan to return some land, used by the US Military's Futenma Airbase in Okinawa, to Japan. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Law and crime
- Eight people are killed when Buddhists and Muslims from Myanmar brawl in a detention center in Indonesia. (AP via The Washington Post)
- A shooting at a daycare kills two people in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. (CBC News)
- Doan Van Vuon, a fish farmer who became a cult hero in Vietnam after fighting off an illegal eviction with homemade guns and mines, is jailed for five years for "attempted murder in a case that has stirred public anger over state-backed land grabs." (Reuters)
Sport
- In further fallout from the Rutgers University basketball scandal, assistant coach Jimmy Martelli, seen on practice videos abusing players in the same manner as fired head coach Mike Rice, and athletic director Tim Pernetti both resign. (ESPN)
- An ESPN investigation claims that 12 Auburn University football players tested positive for synthetic cannabis in the 2011 season, and that the school's athletic department kept the test results confidential. The investigation also reveals widespread use of the drug among members of Auburn's 2010 national championship team. (ESPN)