October 23, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war:
- The Al-Nusra Front captures the Syriac Orthodox village of Sadad, killing at least 9 people and sparking heavy fighting with Syrian Army forces. (Reuters)
- Syrian rebels attack a gas pipeline close to Damascus International Airport, causing a country-wide power outage. (Reuters)
- Eight police officers and two Islamist militants are killed in clashes near Sidi Bouzid in the southern part of Tunisia. (Global Post)
- A suicide bomber kills two Chadian troops and injures six other MINUSMA peacekeepers in an attack on a checkpoint at the entry to the northern town of Tessalit, Mali. (Reuters)
- A teenager in Bahrain dies following an explosion in the village of Bani Jamra, east of the capital Manama. (BBC)
International relations
- China and India sign a new border defence agreement aimed at improving bilateral relations. (Al Jazeera) (ABC)
Law and crime
- Iran spares the life of a convicted drug trafficker who survived a hanging. (Bangkok Post)
- A 14-year-old student from Danvers, Massachusetts is accused of killing his math teacher at Danvers High School and dumping the body in the woods. (ABC)(CNN)
Politics
- 2013 protests in Tunisia:
- Thousands of Tunisian protesters take to the streets calling for the Islamist government led by the Ennahda Movement to step down hours before crisis talks between the government and opposition leaders. (Reuters)
- A Chinese newspaper publishes a rare appeal for the release of one of its journalists held by police. (BBC)
- Thousands of opposition supporters protest in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh following disputed July elections which saw incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen re-elected. (Times of India)
- President Obama's staff has unmasked and fired a national security official who tweeted critical comments under a pseudonym. (USA Today)
Sports
- 2013 World Series: Jon Lester, Red Sox win Game 1 against mistake-ridden Cardinals (washingtonpost.com)