May 8, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- War in North-West Pakistan:
- A suicide car bombing hits a police station in the Bannu District of northwest Pakistan, killing at least two people and injuring twenty. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Somali Civil War (2009–present):
- Nineteen people are killed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in suicide bombings and firefights between Al-Shabaab militants and government forces. (Xinhua)
- Amid protests for free education by tens of thousands of people in major cities across Chile, police clash with protesters. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- Following consultations with fellow academics, Stephen Hawking boycotts the Israeli Presidential Conference Facing Tomorrow 2013 in Jerusalem. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- 33 people are killed in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh when an overloaded bus falls into a fast-flowing river. (BBC), (Xinhua)
- 2013 Savar building collapse:
- The death toll in Bangladesh rises to 823. (CNN)
International relations
- The United Nations appoints a three-member panel led by Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby to investigate alleged human rights breaches in North Korea. (BBC)
- The World Trade Organization advised that Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil will be the next Director-General effective September 1, 2013. The formal announcement will be made following a special meeting of the General Council on Tuesday, May 14, 2013. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Police in France, Belgium and Switzerland arrest more than two dozen people in connection with the Brussels Airport diamond heist. (Wall Street Journal)
- An Italian appeals court upholds the conviction of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on tax fraud and sentences him to four years in prison. (Macleans Canada)
- Jodi Arias is convicted of the first-degree murder of her boyfriend by a court in Arizona. (BBC)
- Ariel Castro is charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape relating to the 2013 Cleveland, Ohio, missing trio. (Reuters)
- An 83-year-old nun and two others are found guilty of breaking into the Y-12 National Security Complex nuclear facility in Tennessee. (AP)
Politics and elections
- Indian National Congress won legislative assembly election of Indian state Karnataka with clear majority. (NDTV)
- British Conservative Party MP Nadine Dorries is allowed to rejoin the party, having been suspended in November 2012 for her appearance on a reality television show during parliamentary time. (BBC)
Sport
- In football, Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as the Manager of Manchester United at the end of the 2012–13 Premier League season after 26 years in charge having won 38 trophies. (BBC)