June 19, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Nigerian Sharia conflict:
- Boko Haram gunmen kill nine children in an attack on a school in Maiduguri. (BBC)
- War in Somalia:
- An al-Shabaab-led assault on the UNDP base in Mogadishu leaves 22 dead, including militants, security personnel, and civilians. (Reuters)
- Armed bandits and robbers riding motorbikes kill 48 people in Nigeria's Zamfara State. (BBC), (Ventura County Star)
Arts and culture
- American actor James Gandolfini, best known for portraying Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, dies of a heart attack at the age of 51. (ABC News)
Disasters and accidents
- The Indian Army is deployed to help rescue people in the flood-hit northern states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where the number of confirmed deaths has reached 130. (BBC)
- A man is killed and more than 6,000 people are evacuated following an explosion at an arms depot in the Samara Oblast in central Russia. (Sky News)
- Flash flooding in southwest France claims two victims and causes the shrine at Lourdes to be closed. (AFP via Channel News Asia)
Law and crime
- Nigel Evans, Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Commons, is arrested on suspicion of three counts of indecent assault. (BBC)
- An Italian court rejects an appeal by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi against his conviction for tax fraud. (The Telegraph)
- An Italian court convicts fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion, giving them suspended sentences and heavy fines. (Reuters via The Globe and Mail)
Science and technology
- After receiving negative feedback, Microsoft decides to change many features of its upcoming Xbox One. (Xbox Wire)