Portal:Current events/2015 May 6
May 6, 2015 (Wednesday)
Business and economy
- Alexion Pharmaceuticals agrees to purchase Synageva BioPharma, a maker of rare disease treatments, for US$8.6 billion. (New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
- Japanese authorities raise alert level for the Mount Hakone volcano in the Lake Ashi tourist area. (Bangkok Post)
- A French investigation finds that Andreas Lubitz, perpetrator copilot of the murder-suicide disaster of Germanwings Flight 9525 had practised rapid descent on a previous flight. (BBC)
- Tornadoes of 2015: Tornadoes are reported across several states in the Great Plains region of the United States including Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. (NBC News)
Law and crime
- Bollywood star Salman Khan is convicted of culpable homicide for running over five men in Bombay in 2002, causing the death of one, and is sentenced to five years imprisonment. (BBC)
- 2015 Baltimore riots: The Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, rescinds a state of emergency imposed following the riots prompted by the death of Freddie Gray. (Baltimore Sun)
- Chicago City Council announces "reparations" to victims of the Chicago police torture squad under Jon Burge in the 1970s to 1990s. (Philly.com)
Politics and elections
- Senator Christine Milne announces her resignation as leader of the Australian Greens. Senator Richard Di Natale is elected as the new leader. (Sydney Morning Herald) (ABC)
- Israeli legislative election, 2015: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at an agreement with Habayit Hayehudi - the last party to join - just before the midnight deadline for the talks. With Naftali Bennett's party agreeing to a deal, Netanyahu's coalition will number 61 Members of the Knesset - the bare minimum needed. (Haaretz)
- Finnish parliamentary election, 2015
- The Centre Party, led by Juha Sipilä, starts negotiations which will lead to a coalition government with the centre-right National Coalition and the Eurosceptic Finns Party; for the first time since 1979, the Swedish People's Party of Finland is not invited into the government. (The Irish Times)
Sport
- Deflategate: In American football, the National Football League finds that two New England Patriots employees intentionally deflated footballs used in the American Football Conference game against the Indianapolis Colts and that quarterback Tom Brady was generally aware of the deflation. (NBC News)