Portal:Current events/2013 April 2

• Mexican Drug War:
  • The Mexican police find 9 mutilated bodies inside a SUV with Texas license plates in the northern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. (EFE via GlobalPost)
• War in North-West Pakistan:
  • At least 7 people are killed in an attack by militants, suspected to be Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, on a power station in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. Ten hostages are reportedly taken by the militants. (BBC)

• The Muppets co-creator Jane Henson dies at the age of 78. (CBS News)
• The wrongful death of Michael Jackson trial gets underway with jury selection. (MTV)

• Official European Union figures shows that unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 12.0% in February 2013. (CNN)
• United States Government owned mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announce record profits during 2012. (Bloomberg)

• Thirteen children are killed in a fire at a mosque in Yangon, Burma. (The New York Times)
• A quarry accident in Arusha, Tanzania, leaves at least 13 people dead. (AFP via AllAfrica.com)
• Authorities in China report four more critical cases of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, taking the total of known cases to seven. (Reuters)

• 2013 Korean crisis:
  • North Korea announces it will resume activities in the Yongbyon nuclear complex, closed since 2007. (BBC) (CNN) (CBS News)
  • U.S. officials reveal that China has been increasing its military presence on the border with North Korea since mid-March, and conducted naval drills in the Yellow Sea. (The Washington Times)
  • Experts reveal that the 2013 North Korean nuclear test may have been conducted with a newly developed enriched uranium nuke, instead of a plutonium one. (BBC) (CNN)
• The United Nations General Assembly approves the first Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the multi-billion-dollar global trade in conventional arms with 154 votes in favor, three member states – Iran, North Korea and Syria – against the decision, and 23 abstentions. (BBC) (Xinhua) (UN News Centre)

• Three men are arrested for allegedly raping and robbing a foreign tourist on a minibus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, amid concerns about security before the country hosts 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. (Al Jazeera)
• Police in Colombo, Sri Lanka, arrest three Sinhalese Buddhist monks for torching a Muslim-owned clothing store, raising fears for safety among Muslims. (Al Jazeera)
• Palestinian prisoners stage protests in Israeli jails as the Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of deliberately delaying the treatment of Maysara Abu Hamdiya, a prisoner who died of throat cancer. (The New York Times)
• Hundreds of Egyptian students angered by an outbreak of food poisoning at Al-Azhar University that affected 479 students storm the offices of Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, a major venue for Sunni Muslim learning with which the university is affiliated. (AP via ABC News)
• Tonya S. Bundick is charged in connection with seventy arsons in Virginia, United States. (AP via Fox News)

• The Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas re-elects Khaled Meshaal as its leader. The group also passes a new law ordering gender segregation in Gaza's schools that will go into effect in September. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
• Cyprus Finance Minister Michael Sarris resigns after completing talks on a controversial bailout deal and will be replaced by current Labour Minister Charis Georgiades. (BBC) (AP via The Guardian)
• Opposition activists from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies detonate small homemade bombs and set fire to several vehicles in the latest anti-government protest to hit Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Al Jazeera)
• Sudan frees seven political prisoners, a day after President Omar al-Bashir orders the release of all such detainees. (The Guardian)
• Six people, including multiple elected officials, are arrested on charges of fraud for allegedly attempting to rig the 2013 New York City mayoral election. (CNN)
• The Senate of Uruguay votes 23–8 to legalize same-sex marriage. (AP via ABC News)

• Top NASA scientist James Hansen retires in order to concentrate on global warming activism. (The New York Times)

• In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Paris Saint-Germain secures a 2–2 draw against Barcelona while Bayern Munich beats Juventus 2–0. (BBC) (UEFA)
• In baseball, Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish comes within one batter of throwing a perfect game. (USA Today)
• Video is released showing Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball head coach Mike Rice assaulting and yelling obscenities and slurs at his players during practice. (ESPN)
• Longtime college and professional American football coach Chuck Fairbanks dies at the age of 79. (The New York Times)