Portal:Current events/2016 April 10
April 10, 2016 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- The Taliban, in a statement claiming responsibility for yesterday's rocket attacks into Kabul, Afghanistan, says the intended target was U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in the capital to help defuse a crisis within the unity government. Kerry had departed less than an hour earlier. No casualties have been reported. (CNN)
Business and economics
- Developers announce their intention to build a new tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the tallest structure in the world. The project is expected to be roughly $1bn (£710m) and scheduled to be completed for the Dubai Expo trade fair in 2020. (BBC)
- The International Monetary Fund encourages the move toward negative interest rates because "they help deliver additional monetary stimulus and easier financial conditions." (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Kollam temple fire
- A fire occurs at a Hindu temple in the Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. At least 102 people have been killed and hundreds injured. (Indian Express) (Times of India) (inquisitr) (BBC)
- 2016 Afghanistan earthquake
- A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs in northern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border with tremors felt in north India. (BBC) (USGS)
International relations
- Iran–United States relations
- The Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif says that the country's missile program would not be up for discussion. This comes as United States Secretary of State John Kerry said last Thursday that the United States and its allies would only address Iran's concerns in the region if it makes it clear to all involved that it was prepared to cease provocative ballistic missile launches and tests. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Panama Papers
- German Justice Minister Heiko Maas, during a newspaper interview, appeals to media to hand over "Panama Papers" data that will help governments around the globe that already have started investigating possible financial wrongdoing by the world's rich and powerful. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2016 Peruvian general election
- Voters in Peru go to the polls for a general election with Keiko Fujimori and Pedro Kuczynski going through to the second round. (Telesur) (AP via Journal Times)
- Suspected Shining Path rebels kill three people, two of them Peruvian Army soldiers and the other a driver, in an attack on a vehicle carrying election materials in the remote areas of the country. (BBC)
- 2016 Chadian presidential election
- Voters in Chad go to the polls for the first round of voting in a presidential election with incumbent President Idriss Déby favoured to win a fifth term. (Reuters)
- 2016 Comorian presidential election
- Voting begins for the second round of an election in the Comoros with a tight race expected between three candidates. They are current Vice President Mohamed Ali Soilihi, who won the first round, former coup leader Azali Assoumani and Governor of Grande Comore Mouigni Baraka. (Al Jazeera)
- The Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigns from office in a televised address. Yatsenyuk said his resignation is to be immediately followed by the formation of a new government. Volodymyr Groysman has taken role as Acting Prime Minister. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- European migrant crisis
- Macedonian police fire tear gas at refugees as they attempted to break through a fence at the Greece-Macedonia border near Idomeni, sparking clashes that injured 200 people. (Al Jazeera)
- Panama Papers
- British Prime Minister David Cameron releases his tax records in an effort to remove discussion about his personal wealth from the current political discourse. His initial reluctance to admit he had benefited from his late father's offshore Panama Papers holdings still seems to be affecting the upcoming European Union referendum. Unfortunately for the PM, the main Sunday newspapers in the U.K. tell of a gift of 200,000 pounds ($282,500) from his mother in 2011, suggesting it may have been a way of avoiding inheritance tax. (Reuters)
- Several thousand people protest in Valletta, Malta, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat because the leaked Panama Papers connect his Chief of Staff, Keith Schembri, and Health and Energy Minister, Konrad Mizzi, to offshore accounts. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- The World Wildlife Fund reports global populations of tigers, an endangered species, are up about 20 percent over the past six years. This increase in tiger numbers, after declining for a century, was primarily in India, Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan. The third Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation starts Monday in New Delhi, India. (Newsweek)
Sport
- Masters Tournament
- In golf, Danny Willett of England wins the 2016 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club. (The Telegraph)
- 2015–16 NBA season
- The Golden State Warriors, with today's win at San Antonio, tie the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls NBA regular season record with their 72nd win this season. The Warriors can still break the record; on Wednesday, they host the Memphis Grizzlies in their final regular season game. (NBC News) (NBA)