May 2, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- The Chad government announces that it foiled a coup attempt that "had been in preparation for several months." (Reuters)
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- At least 14 members of the Sons of Iraq are killed in two separate attacks within Fallujah. (BBC)
- Syrian civil war:
- Up to 100 people are killed in a raid of al-Bayda, Baniyas by the Syrian Army. (The Daily Star)
Business and economy
- U.S. jobless claims fall to their lowest level in five years. (New York Daily News)
- Intel elects American Brian Krzanich as their new CEO. (MarketWatch)
Disasters and accidents
- More than 60 miners die when a recently reopened gold mine collapses in Jebel Amir, North Darfur, Sudan. (Reuters)
- Hundreds of homes in California, U.S. are evacuated due to wildfires in the region. (Reuters)
Health and environment
- The last known rhinoceroses in Mozambique are revealed to have been killed by poachers. (The Telegraph)
- The central northern United States experiences record snow fall. (USA Today)
International relations
- North Korea sentences American Kenneth Bae to 15 years of prison labor for "hostile acts" against the regime. The United States calls for amnesty. (The Australian) (BBC)
Law and crime
- A man fires two shots into the ceiling of Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, United States with a rifle before killing himself. (CNN)
- The U.S. state of Maryland abolishes capital punishment for future offenders. (Reuters)
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rules that five relatives of Osama bin Laden and a construction company started by his father cannot be held liable for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (NBC)
- English broadcaster Stuart Hall pleads guilty to 14 charges of sexual assault. (BBC)
- British businessman James McCormick, who sold ADE 651 fake bomb detector to Iraq and other countries, is jailed for ten years at the Old Bailey. (BBC)
- Convicted Indian spy Sarabjit Singh dies after being attacked by fellow inmates in a Pakistani prison. He is flown home to India where the government of Punjab has declared him a martyr. (NDTV)
- The U.S. state of Rhode Island becomes the tenth state to legalize same-sex marriage. (AP via Fox News)
- Two kindergarteners are poisoned to death by the owner of a rival school in northern China. (International Business Times)
Politics and government
- The Egyptian government announces it will replace six cabinet ministers. (Reuters)
- Voters in England and the Isle of Anglesey in Wales go to the polls for local elections. (BBC)
- Voting also gets underway in the South Shields by-election to fill the parliamentary seat vacated by former Foreign Secretary David Miliband. (BBC)
Religion
- Two months after his resignation, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI returns to live in Vatican City at the Mater Ecclesiae. (BBC)
Science and technology
- Harvard scientists unveil RoboBee, a robot with the smallest ever man-made wings capable of flight. (Los Angeles Times)