April 3, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- Israeli warplanes strike targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire, the first air strikes launched by Israel since an informal ceasefire ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza in November 2012. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
- At least 46 people are killed and more than 100 injured following an attack by Taliban militants armed with suicide vests on a courthouse in Farah, Afghanistan. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- War in North-West Pakistan:
- Suspected militants throw a grenade at a vehicle carrying paramilitary security officers in southern Pakistan, killing three people and wounding three others. (AP via ABC News)[permanent dead link]
Arts and culture
- Writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, the only person to have won both an Academy Award and a Booker Prize, dies at the age of 85. (BBC)
- Writer Iain Banks announces he is terminally ill with gallbladder cancer at the age of 59 and has months to live. The publication of his final novel is to be brought forward by several months in the hope of allowing him to see it in print. (The Guardian) (The Irish Times) (AFP via The Times of India)
- U.S. intellectual Noam Chomsky is awarded the Ulysses Medal by University College Dublin. (The Belfast Telegraph)
- U.S. commercial TV network NBC announces the departure of Jay Leno from the The Tonight Show in spring 2014. Leno is to be replaced by Jimmy Fallon, host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. (CNN)
Business and economy
- Subaru recalls around 200,000 vehicles in the United States to fix a defect which could lead to corrosion of the brake lines. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- Disney announces that it is ceasing all internal development at its LucasArts game division. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Disasters and accidents
- 2013 Argentina floods: More than 50 people are killed in major floods in Buenos Aires and La Plata, Argentina, due to heavy rain. (The Wall Street Journal) (The New York Times)
- A third man dies in China from the H7N9 strain of bird flu. (BBC)
- Construction work near Berlin's main train station reveals a 100-kilogram Soviet bomb from World War II. It was successfully removed several hours after it was found. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- At least 24 people are killed and two are critically injured after a bus carrying tribesmen plunges off a cliff near Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea. (BBC)
International relations
- 2013 Korean crisis:
- South Korea's Ministry of Unification says that North Korea is denying workers entry to joint-Korean Kaesong complex amid tensions on the peninsula. The Ministry of Defence will consider a military action if the workers' security is threatened. The U.S. Navy sends USS John McCain and USS Decatur into the area. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- The North Korean army says it has final approval to launch "merciless" military strikes on the United States, involving the possible use of "cutting-edge" nuclear weapons. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
- The United States plans to set up a missile defence system in Guam. U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel describes North Korea as a "real and clear danger". (Reuters)
Health and environment
- According to a new study, more than one million people per year die prematurely due to the air pollution in China. (NPR)
- A new study suggests that common cholesterol reducing drugs may also prevent macular degeneration. (Health Central)
- Japanese researchers find a correlation between male pattern baldness and heart disease. (BBC)
Law and crime
- Australia opens a national probe into child sex abuse, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard warning of "uncomfortable truths" as institutions including schools and churches come under scrutiny. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
- Four sisters are burned by motorcyclists throwing acid in India's Uttar Pradesh province. (Press Trust of India)
- Thirty-five American teachers from Atlanta are indicted on fraud charges for allegedly facilitating cheating on standardized tests dating back to 2001. (USA Today)
- In the U.S. state of West Virginia, a sheriff is shot and killed in Mingo County. (The Charleston Gazette)
Politics and elections
- Nicolás Maduro, acting President of Venezuela, officially begins his campaign to succeed Hugo Chávez in the late leader's hometown ahead of the April 14 election. (Al Jazeera)
- Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak dissolves parliament and advises all the state governments, except Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak to do the same, in preparation for general election. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)
Science and technology
- NASA announces that the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer module on board the International Space Station has found possible evidence of dark matter. (Space.com) (BBC)
Sport
- In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, Málaga secures a 0–0 draw against Borussia Dortmund while Real Madrid beats Galatasaray S.K. 3–0. (BBC) (UEFA)
- In cricket, Afghanistan defeats Nepal by 7 wickets to win the 2013 ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kathmandu. United Arab Emirates defeats Hong Kong by 32 runs for the third place. All four have qualified for the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. (ESPN Cricinfo)
- In cricket, the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League begins with the Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Delhi Daredevils. (ESPN Cricinfo)
- Rutgers University men's basketball coach Mike Rice, Jr. is fired after a video is released of him abusing players during practice. (CNN)
- The football-sponsoring conference that will operate under the charter of the soon-to-split Big East Conference announces it will operate as the American Athletic Conference effective July 1. The AAC schools previously sold the "Big East" name to a group of seven schools that will leave the conference at that time. (ESPN)