Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Idriss Déby

• In the United States, former police officer Derek Chauvin is found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.
• President of Chad Idriss Déby (pictured) is killed during a rebel offensive.
• Miguel Díaz-Canel is selected as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, succeeding Raúl Castro.
• On Mars, NASA's helicopter Ingenuity makes the first powered flight on another planet.
• In South Africa, a fire on Table Mountain, Cape Town, destroys historic monuments including Mostert's Mill and the University of Cape Town's special collections library.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• Myanmar protests

Recent deaths:

• Walter Mondale
• Ranjit Sinha
• Roger Soloman
• Sumitra Bhave
• John Dawes
• Kakarla Subba Rao

Current events of April 21, 2021 (2021-04-21) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Qamishli clashes (2021)
    • Clashes result in the deaths of a Asayish commander and 5 NDF militiamen in the city of Qamishli, al-Hasakah. (SOHR)
• War in Afghanistan
  • Afghan peace process
    • Germany announces that it will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by early July. (The Economic Times)
• Northern Chad offensive
  • Rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) threatened to press on, reaching Chad's capital N'Djamena following the killing of President Idriss Déby. In the capital, many civilians choose to stay home as fears grow. FACT rebels reject the military junta led by Déby's son and opposition politicians also call for a civilian transition. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• The Indonesian government reports the disappearance of submarine KRI Nanggala during a torpedo live fire exercise, requesting search and rescue assistance from Singapore and Australia. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in India
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Gujarat
      • Gujarat reports 12,553 cases, a new single-day record. (Devdiscourse.com)
      • Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani receives his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (Zee News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra
      • In Nashik, Maharashtra, 24 COVID-19 patients die after an oxygen tanker leaks outside a hospital in the city causing medical oxygen supply to be halted for around 30 minutes. (NDTV)
    • India reports a record 295,041 new cases and 2,023 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide confirmed cases to 15.6 million and confirmed deaths to 182,553. (Anadolu Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Papua New Guinea
    • Papua New Guinea surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19. (CNA)

International relations

• Belarus–United States relations
  • U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie D. Fisher visits Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the eve of a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (U.S. News & World Report)

Law and crime

• 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
  • 2020–2021 Minneapolis–Saint Paul racial justice protests, George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
    • U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that the Department of Justice will investigate the Minneapolis Police Department over whether they engaged in a “pattern or practice of unconstitutional, unlawful policing”. (ABC News)

Current events of April 20, 2021 (2021-04-20) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Northern Chad offensive
  • Chadian President Idriss Déby dies from wounds sustained while commanding forces against rebels in the northern portion of the country. The Constitution is suspended, and a Transitional Military Council headed by Déby's son, General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, will rule the country for an estimated 18 months. (The Africa Report)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • The number of intensive care patients with COVID-19 in France reaches a high of 5,984 patients. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
      • The government announces that it will ease strict COVID-19 restrictions, including ending the controversial curfew and allowing cafés to serve in outdoor terraces with a maximum of 50 people beginning April 28. In addition, people will also be allowed to have two guests at home per day. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
      • Romania reports a record 237 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 26,618. (G4)
    • The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will resume rollouts in Europe. (MarketWatch)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 1,761 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 180,530. (Firstpost)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
      • Nepal grants a conditional emergency use approval for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. (The Kathmandu Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen
      • Yemen begins their COVID-19 vaccination campaign using the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
      • Fiji records its second community transmission case in the daughter of a woman who works at a quarantine facility and who previously tested positive for COVID-19. (RNZ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • A worker at Auckland Airport tests positive a day after the country restarted reciprocal travel to Australia. (BBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
    • Egypt signs an agreement to purchase 20 million doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine and expects a delivery of 500,000 doses this month. (Arab News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    • President Andrés Manuel López Obrador receives his first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (Al Jazeera)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • The European Medicines Agency publishes a report suggesting a "possible link" between usage of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine candidate and rare blood clots. The agency maintains, however, that the overall benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of side effects. (U.S. News & World Report via MSN)

International relations

• Canada–United States relations, Deployment of COVID-19 vaccines
  • North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum announces that the state will offer COVID-19 vaccines to Manitoba truck drivers across the border. (CBC)

Law and crime

• State v. Chauvin
  • Former Minneapolis Police Department officer and murderer Derek Chauvin is found guilty on all counts in the murder of George Floyd. His sentence will be announced in eight weeks. (CNN)
• Quebec ban on religious symbols
  • The Quebec Superior Court overturns certain provisions of Bill 21, which prohibits public sector employees in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols, on the basis that it violates Sections 3 and 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the Court upholds most of the legislation. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

• The Super League
  • Following a massive negative backlash from UEFA, FIFA, national football associations and football fans alike, all six English Premier League clubs involved in the project, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur officially withdraw from The Super League, while FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta states that the club will not join the proposed competition without support from its registered members. Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward announces his resignation. (Express) (BBC)
  • Hundreds of Chelsea fans protest against the club's involvement in The Super League outside the club's stadium Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea supporters' trust denounces the proposed breakaway as the "ultimate betrayal", and "unforgivable". (The Guardian)

Current events of April 19, 2021 (2021-04-19) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Northern Chad offensive
  • The Chadian army says that 300 rebels have been killed and 150 more arrested during military operations in northern Chad. Five soldiers are also killed and 36 others wounded in the operation. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi, COVID-19 lockdown in India
        • Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces a six-day lockdown in the National Capital Region of Delhi beginning tonight due to a record 25,462 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the past 24 hours. (AP)
      • Nationwide, a record 273,810 new cases are reported in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the total number of cases to 15 million. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
      • Cambodia reports a record 634 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 7,013. (Khmer Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, variants of SARS-CoV-2
      • Hong Kong announces the suspension of all flights from India, the Philippines, and Pakistan beginning tomorrow after an unspecified variant was detected in the city. (CNA)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, Lineage B.1.617
      • South Korea reports its first cases of the B.1.617 variant in nine people who travelled from India. (KBS World)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • Greece suspends its planned rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending a review from the European Medicines Agency. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, Lineage B.1.617
      • Ireland reports its first three cases of the B.1.617 variant originally detected in India, with two of the three cases linked to travel. (Evening Standard)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
      • Slovakia reopens stores, churches, libraries, pools, and zoos. It also resumes services at limited capacity as part of the easing of COVID-19-related restrictions. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a record 341 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 36,267. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji
      • Fiji's two cities of Lautoka and Nadi enter into a lockdown after the country records its first community transmission in 12 months. (FBC News)
      • All schools will be closed for the next three weeks due to the lockdown. (FBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
      • Australia and New Zealand reopen their borders to tourists from either country for quarantine-free travel. (News.com.au)

International relations

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics, COVID-19 pandemic in India
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancels a planned trip to India due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. (Reuters)
• Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
  • An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman confirms a meeting between officials of the two countries and says that Iran has "always welcomed" dialogue with Saudi Arabia. Among the topics allegedly discussed in the meeting were the Vienna accord and a ceasefire in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has militarily intervened since 2015. Saudi sources declined to comment on the meeting. (Reuters)
• Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japan–South Korea relations
  • South Korean fishermen stage a maritime demonstration to protest against the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. Around 150 fishing vessels take part in the protest. (Yonhap News Agency)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • Washington, D.C.'s chief medical examiner announces that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes but notes that "all that transpired [during the riot] played a role in his condition." (CNBC)
• Russian opposition leader and activist Alexei Navalny, who has been on a hunger strike for three weeks, is moved from prison to a hospital, according to the Russian prison service. Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers hold a meeting to discuss Navalny's health and warn that Russia will be "held responsible" if anything happens to Navalny. (DW)

Politics and elections

• Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel is officially named First Secretary of the Communist Party following the resignation of Raúl Castro. He is the first person not of the Castro family to hold the position since the 1959 Cuban revolution. (BBC)

Science and technology

• Exploration of Mars, Mars 2020 mission
  • NASA's Ingenuity helicopter successfully performs the first powered flight of a helicopter from the surface of another planet. (Phys.org) (Wired)
• International Space Station programme
  • Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov confirms that Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station beginning in 2025. (RT)
• The Biden administration scraps Trump-era restrictions on fetal tissue research at the National Institutes of Health. (Science)
• A research team based at the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in Utah announces that the many Teratophoneus fossils unearthed at the site provide proof that, contrary to popular belief, Tyrannosaurus dinosaurs hunted in packs rather than individually. (The Washington Post)

Sports

• The Super League
  • UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin states at a press conference that the UEFA would begin making "legal assessments" on the following day, and that the organization would look to ban the twelve Super League clubs "as soon as possible", while Jesper Møller, chairman of the Danish Football Association and UEFA Executive Committee member, says that he expected the three Super League clubs in the semi-finals of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League: Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid CF, to be expelled from the competition this week. (CBS Sports)
  • The Super League announces that it is taking legal action to prevent any attempts by UEFA and FIFA to punish its member clubs and players for taking part in its inaugural season. (Daily Mirror)
  • Protests are held outside Elland Road stadium as Super League member club Liverpool plays Leeds United. Hundreds of people gathered to protest against Liverpool's involvement in the breakaway league. (BBC)

Current events of April 18, 2021 (2021-04-18) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Northern Chad offensive
  • Rebel forces of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad advance to the capital, N'Djamena, as incumbent President Idriss Déby takes a lead in the April 11 election and is expected to extend his mandate. Yesterday, the U.S. and British governments ordered some diplomatic staff to leave Chad amidst the unrest. (Reuters)
• 2021 Niger attacks
  • At least 19 civilians are killed and two are wounded when armed men raid a village in the Tillabéri Region. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Toukh train accident
  • A train derailment in Toukh, Qalyubiyya, Egypt, leaves at least 11 people dead and another 98 injured. (Al Arabiya English)
• 2021 Table Mountain fire
  • Mostert's Mill in Cape Town, South Africa, is destroyed by a fire that spread from Table Mountain. (Newzroom Afrika via Twitter) (BBC)
• A magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes the Bushehr Province in southern Iran. (Reuters via MSN)
• A crash in the Eastern Cape of South Africa kills seven people when their vehicle collides with head on with a bus. (eNCA)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 261,500 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 14.78 million. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
      • Israel lifts its outdoor mask mandate and fully reopens schools as the number of COVID-19 cases reduces and the majority of the population is vaccinated. However, masks must still be worn in indoor public spaces. (The Times of Israel)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
      • Mongolia reports a record 1,340 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 21,995. (AKIPress)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • Pakistan reports 149 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total this year. (Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record 1,767 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 42,352. The nationwide death toll also surpasses 100. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    • Turkey reports a record 318 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 35,926. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Vanuatu
    • Vanuatu halts outbound travel out of its main island of Efate following the confirmation of a COVID-19 case. Prime Minister Bob Loughman confirms that a Filipino fisherman whose body washed ashore last week near the capital of Port Vila had died of the disease. (RNZ)

Law and crime

• The daughter of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny calls on Russian authorities to allow doctors to check on her father, a day after doctors warned he could "die within days" from cardiac arrest or kidney failure. Navalny has been on a hunger strike since March in protest of prison medical conditions. (Reuters) (BBC)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Cape Verdean parliamentary election
  • Voters in Cape Verde go to the polls to elect new members of the National Assembly. (Africanews)

Sports

• The Super League
  • In a major move, six Premier League teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as several European clubs such as FC Barcelona and Juventus, agree to join into The Super League, an annual club competition for the "elite teams" of Europe. UEFA and FIFA condemn the announcement, saying that they will not recognize the competition, and that players who take part in the competition will be banned from all other football competitions, including representing their national side at the FIFA World Cup. (BBC)

Current events of April 17, 2021 (2021-04-17) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • The Houthis say they have hit King Khalid Air Base, near the city of Khamis Mushait, in Saudi Arabia, with explosive drones. There is no immediate comment from the Saudi government. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • The official funeral service takes place for Prince Philip, prince consort of the United Kingdom to Elizabeth II. The Duke's body is led in a limited procession to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for interment in the Royal Vault. (AP on MSN)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 234,692 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 14.52 million. (Hindustan Times)
      • Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a televised appeal to pilgrims to keep to "symbolic" celebrations and continue to follow safety guidelines as the festival of Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage traditionally drawing tens of millions of Hindus to the banks of the Ganges every year, begins. (al-Arabiya English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
      • Mongolia surpasses 20,000 cases of COVID-19. (Montsame)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand surpasses 40,000 cases of COVID-19. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
    • Tunisia announces the closure of all schools and restrictions on movement, which include a 7:00 p.m. curfew for vehicles, until April 30 to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Reuters)
  • The global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses three million. (NPR)

International relations

• 2021 Myanmar coup d'état
  • A Thai foreign ministry spokesman announces that Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing will attend the next ASEAN Summit on April 24 in Jakarta, Indonesia, thereby marking his first foreign trip since taking power in the February 1 coup that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint. Local junta spokespeople refused to comment. (France24)
• Foreign relations of the Czech Republic, 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions
  • Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announces that the Czech Republic is expelling eighteen Russian embassy diplomats who have been identified as spies in a case related to an ammunition warehouse explosion in 2014. (Euronews)
• Foreign relations of Uzbekistan
  • Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signs a decree for the country to open a diplomatic mission in Sweden. (Trend)

Law and crime

• Rwandan genocide
  • The United States deports Beatrice Munyenyezi to Rwanda after she served her jail term for lying on her U.S. citizenship naturalization process. Upon arrival in Rwanda, Munyenyezi was arrested on charges ranging from murder to complicity in rape during the course of the 1994 genocide. She did not comment during her arrest to local press but had previously denied the accusations while in the United States. (Reuters)
• European migrant crisis
  • A court in Sicily orders former Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to stand trial accused of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for his role in a standoff with a Spanish-flagged migrant rescue ship operated by Proactiva Open Arms that he refused to allow to dock for nineteen days in 2019. A court order allowed the ship to dock after some migrants jumped overboard. (The Guardian)
• Myanmar's State Administration Council pardons and releases more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the Burmese New Year. Those released include an Australian businessman sentenced to 13 years in prison for drug possession, and three members of the Generation Wave pro-democracy movement. (The Guardian)

Current events of April 16, 2021 (2021-04-16) (Friday)

Arts and culture

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage, COVID-19 pandemic in India
  • The Archaeological Survey of India closes all monuments, museums, and protected sites until May 15 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Times of India)

Business and economy

• The Turkish Central Bank bans transactions using cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, citing possible "irreparable damage" and transaction risks to customers. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
      • Chancellor Angela Merkel receives her first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (DW)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Russia
        • The number of Russians vaccinated against COVID-19 surpasses eight million. (Interfax)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a record 63,082 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,150,039. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine receives 117,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative. (UNICEF)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
        • Scotland relaxes its COVID-19-related restrictions, allowing non-essential travel around the country and some social gatherings. (BBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
        • Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces a six-week extension of the stay-at-home order with new restrictions until May 20, including a ban of outdoor gatherings outside the household, as the COVID-19 cases remain high. (CBC)
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
        • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Pfizer will double the amounts of vaccine that are being shipped to Canada. He also announces that the Canadian Red Cross will be deployed to Ontario to help with COVID-19 vaccinations. (AP)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia
        • British Columbia Premier John Horgan receives his first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (Vancouver Sun)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
        • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. (Bloomberg.com)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
        • Michigan extends its restrictions on gatherings and dining to May 24 due to an increase in the number of cases. The state also expands its mask mandate to children. (Detroit Free Press)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia, Lineage P.1
        • Virginia reports its first two cases of the Lineage P.1 variant, which was originally detected in Brazil. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 101 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 10,181. (The National Herald)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 217,353 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 14.29 million. The country also reports 1,185 deaths, which is the highest daily total since September, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 174,308. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The government designates Aichi, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama prefectures for tougher measures that would require restaurants and bars to close at 8:00 p.m. between April 20 and May 15. (The Mainichi)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand announces the closure of educational institutions, pubs, bars, karaoke shops, and massage parlours; a ban on alcohol sales at restaurants; and a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people for at least two weeks, beginning April 18, due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina reports a record 29,472 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total to 2,658,574 cases. (Clarín)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Tonga
    • Salote Mafileʻo Pilolevu Tuita, Princess of Tonga, received her first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, thereby becoming the first person to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the disease-free country. (RNZ)

International relations

• Russia–United States relations
  • The Russian Foreign Minister says that Moscow will ask ten U.S. diplomats to leave Russia in retaliation to expulsions of Russian diplomats ordered by the United States yesterday. (AP)
• United States involvement in regime change, Cuba–United States relations
  • Declassified documents released by the National Security Archive show that the Central Intelligence Agency was involved in a plot to assassinate Raúl Castro in 1960. (CNA)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • American guitarist and Oath Keepers member Jon Schaffer pleads guilty for his role in the storming of the United States Capitol, thus making him the first participant in the riot to do so. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• In a widely-expected move at the 8th Congress of the Communist Party, Raúl Castro officially resigns as First Secretary, the most powerful position in Cuba. Incumbent President Miguel Díaz-Canel is expected to succeed him. (NBC News)

Science and technology

• Artemis program
  • NASA awards SpaceX a contract to build its next-generation Human Landing System to return American astronauts to the lunar surface during this decade. (BBC)

Current events of April 15, 2021 (2021-04-15) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• ISIL insurgency in Iraq
  • At least four people are killed and 17 others are wounded in a car bomb attack at a market in Sadr City, Baghdad. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Security forces arrest 25-year-old Wai Moe Naing, one of the most prominent leaders of the anti-coup protests, near Monywa. Separately, soldiers open fire on protesters in Mandalay to disperse a group of medical workers, killing one person and injuring several others. (Reuters)
• Gaza–Israel conflict
  • Israeli Air Force jets and helicopters strike Hamas-linked targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for earlier rocket fire targeting southern Israel. The IDF says that an armaments production facility and a tunnel used to smuggle weapons were hit. (The Times of Israel)

Disasters and accidents

• Divers arrive at the scene of lift boat MV Seacor Power, which capsized and partially sank off the coast of the state of Louisiana in the United States. Rescuers suspect crew members may be trapped. Since the accident, six crew members have been rescued, one has died, and twelve remain missing. (KATC-TV)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Bdnews24.com)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi
        • Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces a weekend curfew in the national capital territory of Delhi from 10:00 p.m. on Saturday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday due to a substantial increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Economic Times)
      • India reports a record 200,739 new cases and 1,038 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to over 14 million and confirmed deaths to 173,123. India is also the second country to surpass 14 million cases, after the United States. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines surpasses 900,000 total cases of COVID-19. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,543 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 37,453. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Ubach tests positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak in the Ministry's headquarters. (Diari d’Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
      • President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen receives her first dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. (Politico)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • France surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a record 297 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 35,031. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
        • First Minister Nicola Sturgeon receives her first dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (The Herald)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, Lineage P.1
      • Manitoba reports its first case of the Lineage P.1 variant originally detected in Brazil in a person from the Interlake-Eastern region. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nunavut
      • Nunavut's capital Iqaluit imposes a lockdown after the first COVID-19 case was reported last night. (CTV News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina's president Alberto Fernández announces that his government is closing schools and imposing a curfew in Buenos Aires amidst a spike of the COVID-19 cases. (Reuters)

International relations

• Russia–United States relations
  • The United States imposes retaliatory measures against Russia in response to the 2020 United States federal government data breach, its interference in the 2020 United States elections, and the occupation of and human rights abuses in Crimea. The U.S. bans trade in bonds newly issued by Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, and Ministry of Finance, formally names the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as responsible for the data breach, blacklists 32 Russian entities and individuals, and expels ten Russian diplomats. Russia denies these allegations. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons the U.S. ambassador to inform him that "a series of retaliatory measures will follow soon". A spokesperson for the ministry also says that a potential summit between both countries' leaders may not take place. (CNN) (Reuters)
• Russia–Ukraine relations
  • Ukraine protests an alleged announcement by Russia that, beginning next week, it would be closing the Kerch Strait to foreign warships and state ships until October. (Interfax-Ukraine)

Law and crime

• Killing of Adam Toledo
  • The Chicago Police Department publicly releases bodycam footage of the shooting of 13-year-old Mexican American boy Adam Toledo. The footage appears to show an unarmed Toledo with both his arms raised in the air before being fatally shot in the chest by an officer. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says "Simply put, we failed Adam" and calls for calm amidst fears of unrest. (BBC)
  • Several protests take place around the city after the video is released, including one that briefly shut down northbound Michigan Avenue and another at Union Park. (WMAQ-TV)
• Indianapolis FedEx shooting
  • Eight people are killed and seven others injured in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Police say the gunman took his own life afterwards. (CNN) (CNN²) (AP)
• Residents of Essouassi, Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia, torch the local police station, and a police vehicle, after two young men are killed in a traffic accident with a police vehicle. Personnel evacuate the facility, and no one is hurt. (Middle East Monitor)
• The French National Assembly votes unanimously to amend an existing age of consent law in order to officially recognize sex with children under the age of 15 as rape and making it punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Previously, the law allowed an adult to claim the consent of a child in court. The bill also classifies incestuous sex with a minor under the age of 18 as rape. (Reuters)
• The French National Assembly approves a controversial global security law proposal that extends police powers and makes it a crime to help identify on-duty police officers "with the obvious intent of harming". Amnesty International denounces the law's "generalized surveillance practices" and "vague provisions". (AP via Daily Sabah)

Time: 18:00 UTC|Day: 21 April

	April 2021
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Ongoing events

Business

• COVID-19 recession

Disasters

• COVID-19 pandemic
• 2020–21 Australian region cyclone season
• 2020–21 European windstorm season
• 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
• 2021 Pacific typhoon season
• 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
• Yemeni famine

Politics

• Afghan peace process
• Anti-Netanyahu protests
• Armenian protests
• Belarusian protests
• East Mediterranean crisis
• Greek protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Indonesia omnibus law protests
• Libyan peace process
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Persian Gulf crisis
• Peruvian crisis
• Russian protests
• Second Arab Spring
• Sudanese protests
• Tigrayan peace process
• Thai protests
• United States racial unrest
• United States Stop Asian Hate protests
• Venezuelan presidential crisis
• Yellow vests movement

Elections and referendums

Recent

• April
  • 9: Djibouti, President
  • 9: Samoa, Legislative Assembly
  • 11: Benin, President (1st)
  • 11: Chad, President
  • 11: Ecuador, President (2nd)
  • 11: Kyrgyzstan, Constitutional referendum
  • 11: Peru, President (1st), Congress
  • 14: Cayman Islands, Parliament
  • 18: Cape Verde, National Assembly

Upcoming

• April
  • 25: Albania, Parliament
  • 25: Haiti, Constitutional Referendum

Trials

Recently concluded

• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• Israel: Faina Kirschenbaum
• Kuwait: Mohammad Shahid Islam
• Switzerland: Beny Steinmetz
• United States: Derek Chauvin

Ongoing

• Argentina: Rodolfo Martín Villa
• Armenia: Serzh Sargsyan
• Colombia: Álvaro Uribe
• India: Disha Ravi
• Indonesia: Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, Edhy Prabowo, Juliari Batubara
• Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu
• Kyrgyzstan: Almazbek Atambayev
• Malta: Yorgen Fenech
• South Africa: Jacob Zuma
• Spain: 2017 Barcelona attacks, Bárcenas affair, Barçagate
• Sudan: Omar al-Bashir
• International: The Gambia v. Myanmar

Upcoming

• Canada: Raj Grewal
• Indonesia: Nurdin Abdullah
• Kosovo: Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli
• Lesotho: Maesiah Thabane
• Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina
• United Kingdom: Apsana Begum
• United States: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Elizabeth Holmes, Meng Wanzhou, R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell
• Zimbabwe: Ignatius Chombo

Sport

• Association football
  • 2020–21 Premier League
  • 2020–21 La Liga
  • 2020–21 Serie A
  • 2020–21 Bundesliga
  • 2020–21 UEFA Champions League knockout phase
  • 2020–21 UEFA Europa League knockout phase
  • 2021 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages
  • 2020–21 UEFA Nations League
  • 2021 Major League Soccer season
• Women's association football
  • 2020–21 Champions League
  • 2020–21 Division 1 Féminine
  • 2020–21 FA WSL
  • 2020 Copa Libertadores Femenina
• American football
  • 2021 Spring NCAA Division I FCS
• Baseball
  • 2021 MLB season
• Basketball
  • 2020–21 NBA season
  • 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
  • 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
• Cricket
  • ICC World Test Championship 2019–21
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League 2020–2023
  • 2019–2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2
  • ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League 2019–2022
• Golf
  • 2020–21 PGA Tour
• Ice hockey
  • 2020–21 KHL season
  • 2020–21 NHL season
• Rugby union
  • 2020–21 Premiership Rugby
  • 2020–21 Pro14
  • 2019–20 Top 14
• Other sports seasons
  • 2020–21 international cricket season
  • 2020–21 snooker season
  • 2020–21 curling season

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

April

• 20: Idriss Déby
• 19: Walter Mondale
• 19: Jim Steinman
• 18: Mohammad Hejazi
• 17: Black Rob
• 17: Vivek
• 16: Charles Geschke
• 16: Barry Mason
• 16: Helen McCrory
• 16: Andrew Peacock
• 16: Kakarla Subba Rao
• 16: Felix Silla
• 16: Ranjit Sinha
• 15: Vartan Gregorian
• 14: Yıldırım Akbulut
• 14: Abdul Matin Khasru
• 14: Michel Louvain
• 14: Bernie Madoff
• 14: Ahmed Usman
• 13: Peter Warner
• 12: Shirley Williams
• 11: Joseph Siravo
• 10: LaDonna Brave Bull Allard
• 10: Félix del Blanco Prieto
• 9: Nikki Grahame
• 9: Ramsey Clark
• 9: Giorgos Karaivaz
• 9: DMX
• 9: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• 8: Phillip Adams
• 8: Jovan Divjak
• 8: Richard Rush
• 7: Anne Beatts
• 7: James Hampton
• 6: Charles H. Coolidge
• 6: Alcee Hastings
• 6: Julen Madariaga
• 6: Tommy Raudonikis
• 6: Predrag Živković Tozovac
• 5: Philip K. Chapman
• 5: Krzysztof Krawczyk
• 5: Izz al-Din Manasirah
• 5: Paul Ritter
• 4: Cheryl Gillan
• 4: Robert Mundell
• 4: Shashikala
• 3: Gloria Henry
• 3: Cyprian Kizito Lwanga
• 3: Brother Stair
• 3: Carla Zampatti
• 2: Arthur Kopit
• 2: Christian Tumi
• 2: April
• 1: Lee Aaker
• 1: Isamu Akasaki
• 1: Patrick Juvet

March

• 31: Lee Collins
• 31: Kamal Ganzouri
• 31: Ron Greene
• 31: Jane Manning
• 31: Ken Reitz
• 31: Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan
• 30: G. Gordon Liddy
• 29: Bashkim Fino
• 29: Sarah Onyango Obama
• 28: Joseph Edward Duncan
• 28: Liu Kai-chi
• 28: Didier Ratsiraka
• 27: Petr Kellner
• 27: Howard Schnellenberger
• 26: Haseena Moin
• 25: Bill Brock
• 25: Beverly Cleary
• 25: Larry McMurtry

Ongoing conflicts

Africa

• Algeria, Libya and Tunisia
  • Maghreb insurgency
• Cameroon
  • Anglophone Crisis
• Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
  • Boko Haram insurgency
• Central African Republic
  • Civil War
• Chad
  • Northern Chad offensive
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Kivu conflict
  • Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  • Ituri conflict
  • Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
• Ethiopia
  • Tigray War (spillover)
• Ethiopia and Sudan
  • Sudanese–Ethiopian clashes
• Ghana
  • Western Togoland Rebellion
• Mali
  • Mali War
• Mozambique
  • Insurgency in Cabo Delgado
• Nigeria
  • Communal conflicts in Nigeria
• Somalia
  • Civil war
• Sudan
  • War in Darfur
  • South Kordofan conflict
  • Sudanese nomadic conflicts (incl. South Sudan)
• Western Sahara
  • Western Sahara conflict
    • 2020–2021 Western Saharan clashes

Americas

• Colombia
  • Colombian conflict
• Mexico
  • Mexican drug war
• Peru
  • Internal conflict in Peru

Asia-Pacific

• Afghanistan
  • Afghanistan War
• China
  • Xinjiang conflict
• India
  • Khalistan movement
  • Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
  • Insurgency in Northeast India
• India and Pakistan
  • Kashmir conflict
• Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
  • Moro conflict
    • Cross border attacks in Sabah
• Indonesia
  • Papua conflict
• Myanmar
  • Internal conflict in Myanmar
    • Kachin conflict
    • Karen conflict
    • Rohingya conflict
• Pakistan
  • Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Insurgency in Balochistan
• Philippines
  • Communist rebellion
  • Philippine drug war
• Thailand
  • South Thailand insurgency

Europe

• Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
• Ukraine
  • War in Donbass
    • Russo-Ukrainian War

Global

• War on terror

Middle East

• Egypt
  • Sinai insurgency
• Iran and the Persian Gulf
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
• Iraq
  • American-led intervention in Iraq
  • Iranian intervention in Iraq
• Iraq and Syria (map)
  • International military intervention against ISIL
• Israel and Gaza
• Israel and Syria
  • Israeli-Syrian border conflict
• Syria
  • American-led intervention in Syria
  • Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war
  • Turkish occupation of northern Syria
• Turkey
  • Kurdish–Turkish conflict
• Yemen and Saudi Arabia
  • Yemeni Civil War
  • Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict

Further information: List of ongoing armed conflicts

2021 events and developments by topic

Arts

Architecture – Comics – Film – Home video – Literature – Music (Country, Rock, Metal, UK, US) – Radio – Television (UK, US) – Video games

Politics and government

Elections – International leaders – Sovereign states – Sovereign state leaders – Territorial governors

Science and technology

Archaeology – Biotechnology – Computing – Palaeontology – Quantum computing and communication – Space/Astronomy – Spaceflight

Environment and environmental sciences

Birding/Ornithology – Climate change

Transportation

Aviation – Rail transport

Establishments and disestablishments categories

Establishments – Disestablishments

Works and introductions categories

Works – Introductions – Works entering the public domain