Portal:Current events/2013 May 7

• Syrian civil war:
  • Four Filipino UN peacekeepers are kidnapped by armed men while patrolling the demilitarized area between Syria and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. (Al Jazeera), (BBC)
• Nigerian Sharia conflict:
  • An attack in Nigeria, suspected to be perpetrated by Islamic sect Boko Haram, kills 55 people. (The Independent)

• American special effects innovator Ray Harryhausen dies at the age of 92. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• American As I Lay Dying frontman and lead vocalist Tim Lambesis is arrested on charges of attempting to hire a hitman. (MTV)

• 2013 Korean crisis:
  • The Bank of China halts business with a North Korean bank accused by the United States of financing Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs. (AP)
• Microsoft acknowledges and plans to address complaints with its Windows 8 operating system – changes will be available later this year. (AP)
• The Reserve Bank of Australia cuts its benchmark interest rate to 2.75%, down from 3.00%. (BBC)
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 15,000 mark for the first time, setting a record. The S&P 500, up 0.5%, sets a record high as well. (USA Today)
• China's April import and export figures beat expectations, potentially easing concerns that its economy is lagging. (Reuters)

• Mayon Volcano erupts in the Philippines killing four mountain climbers and requiring four other climbers trapped near the summit to be rescued. (AP via New Zealand Stuff)
• A gas tanker explodes in Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico, killing at least 20 and injuring 36. (BBC), (Reuters)
• A Nigerian warplane involved in operations within Mali crashes in Niger, killing two pilots. (BBC)
• Bears attack villages in Orissa, India, killing eight people and injuring a dozen more. The bears are said to have become aggressive due to excessive consumption of the mahua flower. (BBC)
• The Italian cargo ship Jolly Nero crashes into the port of Genoa, destroying the traffic control tower. Seven people die, four are injured and at least two are missing. (News.com.au)

• India has the highest first day infant mortality rate in the world, according to a new study. (Times of India)
• Alzheimer's drug Gammagard fails to produce results in a large-scale clinical trial. (USA Today)
• A new strain of gonorrhea, HO41, is reported to be incurable and extremely virulent. (Times of India)

• India agrees to demolish some bunkers near the Chinese border in order to end a three-week-long standoff in the Himalayas. (Reuters)

• A Pentagon study finds a sharp rise in sexual assaults among U.S. military personnel. (The New York Times)
• Paperwork filled on behalf of Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes states that he plans to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. (The New York Times)

• Thousands of striking bus workers march through South Africa's biggest city, Johannesburg. (News 24)
• Ireland's parliament, the Oireachtas, passes legislation pardoning thousands of soldiers who left the Irish Army to fight with the Allies during World War II. (BBC)
• Governor Jack Markell signs a bill making Delaware the 11th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. (Delaware Online)
• Former Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford wins a special election for South Carolina's 1st congressional district defeating Elizabeth Colbert Busch. (MSNBC)
• The United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II announces she will miss a Commonwealth meeting for the first time in 40 years. Prince Charles will attend on her behalf. (Los Angeles Times)

• A new study by the University of California, Davis suggests that all Europeans are related to small group of ancestors dating back only 1,000 years. (Nature World News)
• Researchers discover statistical evidence for the proposed Eurasiatic language superfamily, dating back 15,000 years. (Los Angeles Times)
• In a study published in Nature Communications, scientists unearth in Alberta, Canada and identify what may be the earliest known pachycephalosaur (bone-headed dinosaur), Acrotholus audeti. (Latinos Post)

• In North American baseball, Toronto Blue Jays' pitcher J. A. Happ is carted off the field after getting hit in the head by a line drive. (ABC News)
• In tennis, unseeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov pulls off a major upset over world number one Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open. (Reuters)