Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Chloé Zhao

• At the British Academy Film Awards, Nomadland (writer and director Chloé Zhao pictured) wins Best Film along with three other awards.
• In golf, Hideki Matsuyama wins the Masters Tournament.
• In horse racing, Minella Times wins the Grand National, with Rachael Blackmore becoming the first female jockey to win in the race's 182-year history.
• The volcano La Soufrière erupts in Saint Vincent, forcing the evacuation of around 20,000 people.

Ongoing:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• Myanmar protests

Recent deaths:

• Joye Hummel
• Ramsey Clark
• Nikki Grahame
• Grischa Huber
• Ross Young
• DMX

Current events of April 13, 2021 (2021-04-13) (Tuesday)

Diasters and accidents

• Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
  • Following a cabinet meeting, the Japanese government says it has decided to release 1.25 million tons of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, after concluding there will be no negative impact on human health or the environment. (Kyodo News)

Current events of April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Donbass
  • Two Ukrainian soldiers are killed in front line clashes with separatist forces in the Donbas, bringing the total number of troops killed in action this year to 29. Both died due to small arms fire. (The Defense Post)

Arts and culture

• Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • The BBC receives a record 110,994 complaints over their coverage of Prince Philip's death. (The Telegraph)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the Republic of Ireland
        • The National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommends that the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people over 60 years old following concerns about rare blood clots. (Thejournal.ie)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
      • Schools, libraries, zoos, and some stores in the Czech Republic reopen after months of closure as the six-month state of emergency expires and restrictions of movement are lifted. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • High schools in Greece reopen after five months of closure. Precautions, including wearing mask and COVID-19 testing for all teachers and students twice per week, are in place. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • Lockdown restrictions are relaxed in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as cases continue to fall, with non-essential shops, pubs, gyms, restaurants, hairdressers, community centres, libraries, and theme parks permitted to reopen. Domestic holidays are also permitted again in England with the same household members. A "stay at home" order is ended in Northern Ireland, and secondary school pupils from years 8–11 return to lessons. (BBC)
      • Apple Inc and Google reject an update by the National Health Service to their contact tracing app because it breaches their privacy rules. (The Telegraph)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh issues a new lockdown rules that order the closure of all government, semi-government, autonomous, and private offices for one week beginning April 14, as well as all public transport. However, the government allows the factories to remain open. (Bdnews24.com)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong announces that restaurants will be permitted to remain open until midnight and seat more customers, provided that all staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and all patrons use a government tracking app. (The Hong Kong Standard)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports 168,912 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, a record for the seventh consecutive day, thereby surpassing Brazil to become world's second-most affected country with 13.52 million cases. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record 985 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours for the second consecutive day, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 33,610. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Solomon Islands
    • Solomon Islands receives 50,000 doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine from China. (Solomon Times)
  • COVID-19 drug development
    • The U.S. government terminates a deal with Eli Lilly & Co. for 350,856 remaining doses of single antibody bamlanivimab that were scheduled to be delivered by the end of March 2021. It instead be focused on supply of combined antibodies with etesevimab. (Bloomberg)

International relations

• Philippines–United States relations, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the military
  • Philippine and U.S. troops resume the annual Balikatan military exercises following last year's cancellation of the event due to the pandemic. (Reuters)
• War in Donbass, Ukraine–NATO relations
  • Ukraine triggers Article 15 of the Charter on a Special Partnership, initiating an emergency meeting with NATO to discuss the Russian escalation in Donbas and build-up of Russian forces on its border. The article was last triggered in 2018 during the Kerch Strait incident. (Ukranews)
• Cross-Strait relations
  • Taiwan reports the largest incursion into its air defence identification zone (ADIZ) to date by People's Liberation Army Air Force warplanes. Twenty-five aircraft entered its airspace, including nuclear-capable H-6K bombers and anti-submarine aircraft. The Chinese fleet flew in an area close to the disputed Pratas Island, according to Taiwan's Defence Ministry. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• A gunman on a motorcycle opens fire in front of a COVID-19 vaccination centre at a hospital in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, killing a man and wounding a female security guard before riding away. (Reuters)
• A person is killed and a police officer injured in a shooting at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. Another person has been detained. (CNN) (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election
  • Far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is set to win the first round of the presidential election. His opponent in the runoff election in June is still to be determined, amidst a political and economic crisis. (Reuters)

Current events of April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Nuclear program of Iran
  • Iran reports that a blackout at its underground Natanz nuclear facility is an act of nuclear terrorism and says that they reserve the right to respond, but it does not specify who was responsible or how they would respond. Parts of the electrical grid at Iran's main nuclear facilities at Natanz have been compromised. Intelligence sources claim in Israeli media that the Mossad intelligence agency carried out a cyber attack on the facility. (Al Jazeera)
• War in Donbass
  • A Ukrainian soldier is killed and another is seriously wounded by Russian separatist forces artillery fire on the front line in Eastern Ukraine, bringing the total number of troops killed in combat this year to 27. (AP)

Arts and culture

• The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and exiled politician Mu Sochua condemn American-Canadian digital media company Vice for publishing an article about an art project aiming to colorize photographs of inmates interred at Khmer Rouge-era prison Tuol Sleng, after social media users noticed that the photos were edited to have the subjects smiling. The article was subsequently deleted. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• Sohag train collision
  • Egypt's prosecution service declares that nobody was at the controls of one of the trains that collided last month, in an accident that killed 20 people and injured around 200. (The New Arab)
• Rescue operations commence in Hutubi, Xinjiang, China, after a coal mine floods, trapping workers. Eight miners have been freed, but 21 still remain trapped. (BBC)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 vaccination in Australia
      • Prime Minister Scott Morrison abandons the country's plan to vaccinate all Australians by the end of the year amidst medical advice that makes the vaccination program uncertain. (ABC Australia)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports 78 deaths from COVID-19, a record for the second consecutive day, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,739. (Dhaka Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports 152,879 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, a record for the sixth consecutive day. The country also reports 839 deaths in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total since October 18. (Business Standard)
      • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare bans the export of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir, and the ingredients used to make it, following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
      • Iraq receives 50,000 doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • Pakistan reports 114 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest number of deaths this year, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 15,443. (Geo News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Greater Manila Area, the provinces of Abra and Quirino, and the city of Santiago, Isabela, are placed under the looser modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of April. (Rappler)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record 967 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 32,625. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in California
      • California surpasses 60,000 deaths from COVID-19. (The Los Angeles Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Cameroon
    • Cameroon receives 200,000 doses of the Sinovac BBIBP-CorV vaccine from China, which will be used in the first phase of their vaccination campaign. (Barron's)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in France
    • Health Minister Olivier Véran confirms that all people aged 55 and over would be eligible for a vaccine starting tomorrow, which is a week earlier than originally scheduled, with AstraZeneca, and a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (The Connexion)
  • COVID-19 vaccine, 501.V2 variant
    • An Israeli study finds that the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine may be less effective against the South African variant when compared to other strains of the virus. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Killing of Daunte Wright
  • A police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, kill a man during an attempted arrest following a traffic stop, leading to rioting and looting in the city. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
• An Egyptian court sentences university student Ahmed Bassam Zaki to an additional eight years in prison for sexually assaulting and blackmailing at least three women between 2016 and 2020. The case led to a public debate about sexual harassment and abuse within the country. Zaki was previously sentenced to three years in prison by a different court in December. (Reuters)
• Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, are kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ouest, Haiti. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Peruvian general election, 2017–2021 Peruvian political crisis
  • Peruvians head to the polls to elect their president after having four presidents in four years. (CNN)
• 2021 Chadian presidential election
  • Chadians head to the polls to elect their president. Incumbent Idriss Déby is expected to extend his three-decade mandate. (Reuters)
• 2021 Beninese presidential election
  • After violent days of protests, Beninese citizens head to the polls to elect their president. Incumbent Patrice Talon is expected to win his second term as most of his rivals are either in prison or in exile. (Al Jazeera)
• 2021 Ecuadorian general election
  • Centre-right candidate Guillermo Lasso defeats socialist Andrés Arauz in the second round of voting in Ecuador for the presidency. (The Wall Street Journal)
• 2021 Kyrgyz constitutional referendum
  • Kyrgyz citizens head to the polls on a referendum to reform the Constitution. If approved, it would increase the powers of incumbent populist President Sadyr Zhaparov and allow him to run for a second term. It would also reduce the size of the parliament by 25%. (DW)
• 2021 German federal election
  • Bavarian minister president Markus Söder and leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union Armin Laschet announce their respective candidacies to succeed current Chancellor Angela Merkel after the federal elections take place. (Bloomberg)

Sports

• 2021 Masters Tournament
  • Hideki Matsuyama wins the 85th edition of the Masters to become first male Japanese major champion. (Reuters)
• WrestleMania 37
  • The first WWE show with fans in attendance since March 2020 takes place in Tampa, Florida, US. (CBS Sports)

Current events of April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Ten officers are killed by an alliance of rebel groups during an attack at a police station in Naungmon. (Al Jazeera)
  • Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Nations Kyaw Moe Tun calls for the international community to enforce a no-fly zone over his country to protect civilians from airstrikes, and to establish an arms embargo on the junta, saying, "Your collective, strong action is needed immediately." (The Straits Times)
• 2021 Apure clashes
  • The Venezuelan Armed Forces announce the arrest of an unspecified number of Sinaloa Cartel members amidst clashes with FARC dissidents in the state of Apure. (Al Jazeera)
• Somali Civil War
  • A suicide bomber targeting the Somali Bay region's governor kills four people and wounds six others outside a bar in Baidoa. The governor escapes unharmed. (The Washington Post)
• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • A previously undisclosed document provides new details regarding the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol. The document shows that then-Vice President Mike Pence made a call to the acting Defense Secretary urging him to "clear the Capitol." Additionally, the document shows that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also made demands for the Army to deploy the National Guard. (AP) (The Guardian)
• Four people are killed and four more are wounded after security forces open fire on protesters during election-related violence in West Bengal, India. Another person is killed when unknown gunmen fire at voters at a polling booth. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Anti Monopoly Law of China
  • China's State Administration for Market Regulation issues a CN¥18.2 billion ($2.78 billion) fine against technology company Alibaba over anti-competitive practices which forced merchants to choose one of two platforms, rather than being able to work with both. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 East Java earthquake
  • An earthquake kills at least seven people and damages buildings in Java, Indonesia. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 vaccination in India
        • India becomes the fastest country in the world to administer 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. (The Hindu)
      • India reports a record 145,384 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 13.2 million. (The Times of India)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 77 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,661. (Bdnews24.com)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran imposes a 10-day lockdown in 23 of 31 provinces in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 amid a fourth wave of the pandemic. (Arab News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
      • Toronto Mayor John Tory receives his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (CTV News)
      • Ottawa reports a record 325 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (CBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Libya
    • Libya begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19, with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (Al Jazeera)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • Speaker of the General Council Roser Suñé receives the first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Diari d'Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
      • Romania surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (The New York Daily News)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Gao Fu admits at a conference in Chengdu that the vaccines developed by China "don't have very high protection rates", and that the government is considering mixing them to provide the protection needed. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia
  • Saudi Arabia executes three soldiers for "high treason" and "cooperating with the enemy" in Najran Province. (Reuters)
• 2021 Northern Ireland riots
  • Police say that overnight clashes resulted in fourteen officers injured in Belfast and Coleraine. The violence also saw a burning car used to ram a police vehicle, trash bins set on fire, and three 14-year-old children arrested. (BBC)
• Terrorism in the United States
  • The FBI charges a 28-year-old man with attempting to blow up an Amazon data center as part of a plot to disable the Internet and to specifically impede the activities of United States federal bodies. They also claim that he said he was involved in the storming of the U.S. Capitol building. (The Independent)
• 2021 Rock Hill shooting
  • The sole survivor of a mass shooting in Rock Hill, South Carolina, that killed five others three days earlier has died from his gunshot wounds, according to the local coroner. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Djiboutian presidential election
  • Incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh wins a landslide victory securing over 97% of the votes cast, in an election boycotted by the opposition. The leader of the opposition says that the results are "far from reality". Guelleh will serve his fifth consecutive term. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Nuclear program of Iran
  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurates a series of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility, revealing that Iran had violated in kind the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which mandates the testing and usage of only "first-generation" centrifuges for uranium enrichment, in response to Western sanctions violating the deal. The move comes amid indirect discussions in Vienna between Iran and the United States to revive the deal. (The Straits Times)

Sports

• 2021 Grand National
  • Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore becomes the first female winner of the Grand National. Another horse, The Grand Mile, suffers a broken leg and is euthanised. (BBC) (The Manchester Evening News)

Current events of April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War, War in Donbass, Russia–NATO relations
  • Russia deploys more troops to the Russia–Ukraine border as tensions escalate between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. (The New York Times)
• Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria
  • Eleven Nigerian Army troops, including an officer, are killed in an ambush while on patrol in Benue State. It is unclear who carried out the attack. (MSN)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Police and military officials in India claim the eradication of Islamist separatist terror group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind following two military operations today that killed seven people. (Wionews)
• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Troops shoot and kill at least 83 people in Bago, Myanmar, as junta spokesman General Zaw Min Tun says that the country is "returning to normal" as protests are "dwindling," and that government ministries and banks would resume full operations soon. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
  • Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at home in Windsor Castle aged 99. He was the longest-serving Royal Consort of the United Kingdom. (The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

• Forty people are killed during a fiery road accident involving a bus in Kiwawa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thirty-one others are wounded and hospitalized. (Reuters)
• The La Soufrière volcano on Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines erupts, prompting the evacuation of 16,000 people. (AP)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
      • Cambodia reports a record 576 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,604. (The Star)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India reports a record 131,968 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 13 million. (The Times of India)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The government designates Tokyo, Kyoto, and nine other cities in Okinawa for stricter measures, which include closing businesses at 8:00 p.m., in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. These measures will be in effect from April 15 until May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa and until May 11 for Tokyo. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • The Drug Regulatory Authority grants Emergency Use Authorization for Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. (Geo News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
      • Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announces the closure of nightclubs, bars, and other nightly entertainment facilities in the Seoul Capital Area and Busan beginning April 15, along with the extension of social distancing measures for three weeks due to concerns about a fourth wave of the pandemic. (Yonhap News Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • Greece restricts the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 30 years old following reports of a possible link with rare blood clotting cases. (Ekathimerini)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
      • Hungary surpasses 700,000 cases of COVID-19. (Daily News Hungary)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the United States has vaccinated 20% of their population. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
      • Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urges the state to halt in-person classes, indoor dining, and youth sports for two weeks due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Detroit Free Press)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada, Lineage P.1
      • Nevada reports its first three cases of the Lineage P.1 variant, which originated from Brazil. (Las Vegas Review Journal)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
      • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy receive their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Murphy also signs legislation providing $35 million in federal aid to restaurants, bars, and other businesses. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina reports 24,130 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the fourth consecutive day, thereby bringing the total cases to nearly 2.5 million. (Página 12)

Law and crime

• Far-right terrorism in the United Kingdom
  • A 17-year-old boy appears in court to deny neo-Nazi terror offences. Prosecutors allege that he was planning an attack using 3D printed firearms. (The Independent)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Former member of the Catalan parliament's bureau Joan Josep Nuet is condemned to eight months of disqualification for committing a crime of serious disobedience to the Spanish Constitutional Court for voting in favor of the processing of the unconstitutional Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia. (El Mundo)
• 2021 Northern Ireland riots
  • Rioters again clash with police using petrol bombs, stones, and fireworks as missiles. Nineteen officers are injured and in Belfast the force uses water cannons for the first time in six years to repel attackers. (BBC)
• Giorgos Karaivaz, a notable Greek journalist, is shot dead by two gunmen near his home in Athens. The murder appears to be connected to Karaivaz's investigations. (Al Jazeera)
• Indonesia increases security measures nationwide in response to recent terror attacks and announces plans to reopen Bali, Banten, and Bintan to foreign tourists as part of their plan to recover tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic. (TTG Asia)
• A Turkish court in İzmir sentences Gülen movement member Yusuf Bekmezci to 17 years and four months in prison after finding him guilty of managing an armed terrorist organisation. (Anadolu Agency)
• Rai News, Domani, and The Guardian jointly allege Italian prosecutors wiretapped thousands of confidential conversations between human rights lawyers and clients. The claims relate to prosecutions against charity officials for running migrant rescue boats. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Djiboutian presidential election
  • Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is re-elected as the President of Djibouti for a fifth term, receiving more than 98 percent of the vote. (Al Arabiya)

Current events of April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Armed protesters and troops clash in the town of Taze in the Sagaing Region, leaving at least eleven people dead and around 20 others wounded. (Reuters)
  • Burmese actor and prominent junta critic Paing Takhon is detained by the military in North Dagon Township, Yangon. (BBC)
• 2021 Beninese presidential election
  • Protests against President Patrice Talon's re-election bid in the city of Savè result in the death of one person, as troops attempt to disperse protesters with the use of weapons. Six people are also injured by gunfire. (UrduPoint)
• Insurgency in Egypt (2013-present)
  • An Egyptian court sentences former acting Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat to life imprisonment for murder and terror offences connected to 2013 clashes in Cairo. (The Times of Israel)
• Terrorism in the Netherlands, COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
  • A 37-year-old man is arrested for allegedly planning a terrorist bombing against a Covid-19 vaccination site in Den Helder. (NLTimes) (Dutch News)

Arts and culture

• Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announces the rediscovery of Aten, a 3,000-year-old "lost golden city", near Luxor. Unearthed by a team lead by Zahi Hawass, the site is the largest city ever found in Egyptian history. (AFP via MSN)

Disasters and accidents

• The Vincentian island of Saint Vincent declares a red alert and orders evacuations after seismologists warn of an imminent eruption of the La Soufrière volcano. (The Guardian)
• A Pemex petrochemical manufacturing refinery in Minatitlán, Veracruz, Mexico, suffers a large explosion followed by a fire. No deaths are reported, but seven people, including five firefighters, are injured. (Oil Price)
• An explosion at a paint plant in Ohio, United States, kills one person and injures several more. (WSYX)
• A bus loses control and runs off the road on the Interoceanic Highway in Puquio, Peru. The resulting crash kills at least nine people and injures another 20. (Xinhua)
• French agriculture minister Julien Denormandie announces the declaration of a national "agricultural disaster" in response to unseasonal spring frost. He says economic assistance will be made available to affected farms. (Phys.org)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Madhya Pradesh
        • Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces a lockdown in all urban areas across the state from 6:00 p.m. on Friday to 6:00 a.m. on Monday amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Livemint)
      • India reports a record 126,789 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 12,928,574. (The Times of India)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 6,854 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 666,132. (The Financial Express)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports 22,586 cases, a record for the third consecutive day. In the process, the country has surpassed two million cases of COVID-19. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Food and Drug Administration suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine by people under 60 years old following reports of a possible link with cases of blood clots. (ABS-CBN News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
        • Canada receives its first shipment of vaccine doses from the COVAX initiative. (CBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma
        • Oklahoma surpasses 8,000 deaths from COVID-19. (KFOR-TV)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nicaragua
      • Nicaragua says that they have slowly started vaccinations for people over 60 using a AstraZeneca vaccine that was made in India. (The Independent)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
        • Scotland surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19. (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Netherlands
      • The Netherlands officially suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine by people under 60 years old due to concerns over reports of severe blood clotting. (NL Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
      • Poland reports a record 954 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which also includes the total number of deaths from Good Friday until Easter Monday, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 56,659. (The First News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a record 54,941 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
      • Argentina reports 23,683 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the third consecutive day. (TN)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
      • Brazil reports a record 4,249 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 345,025. (ANI News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
    • Tunisia approves the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Al Arabiya)

International relations

• Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations, Hong Kong protests
  • The United Kingdom's Home Office grants political asylum to Hong Kong opposition activist and protest leader Nathan Law. (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan–Pakistan relations
  • Pakistan's parliamentary delegation cancels a visit to Afghanistan after the Kabul International Airport was closed due to security reasons. (Dunya News)

Law and crime

• 2021 Rock Hill shooting
  • Phillip Adams, a former player with the National Football League, kills five people and injures a sixth person in a mass shooting at a home before committing suicide at his parents' home. (AP)

Current events of April 7, 2021 (2021-04-07) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Darfur
  • 2021 Darfur clashes
    • The death toll from tribal clashes, which started two days ago between Masalits and Arabs in Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan, increases to 87 people killed and 191 more wounded. (Al Jazeera)
• Afar–Somali clashes
  • About 25 to 100 people have been killed in ongoing clashes between the Afar and Somali Regions of Ethiopia. Fighting had begun on Friday when the Somali Region's special forces attacked the areas of Haruk and Gewane using heavy weapons including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. (Reuters)
• 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Security forces open fire on anti-coup protesters, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more. A Chinese-owned garment factory in Yangon is also set on fire by a mob. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says that the junta appears to be shifting its focus from the cities to rural areas, and is "losing control" of the country. (Reuters)
• Syrian civil war
  • ISIL militants raid the town of al-Saan in Salamiyah District, western Hama, kidnapping dozens of people, including eight soldiers. Several people are later released by the terror group, while one person is reportedly killed. (The Times)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors agree to extend the debt moratorium period for the least developed countries until December. (CNA)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 16 people are killed in a head-on collision between two buses near Caborca in the Mexican state of Sonora. (USA Today)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Punjab, India
        • Chief Minister Amarinder Singh orders the extension of the curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. IST to the entire state, as well as banning all public gatherings, due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (India Today)
      • India reports a record 115,736 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Al Jazeera)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Bangladesh reports a record 7,626 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 659,278. (Dhaka Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 20,954 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,984,348. (Middle East Online)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar
      • Qatar announces a re-imposition of the strict lockdown beginning April 9, which will close restaurants, cafés, cinemas, hairdressers, museums, and libraries and ban most indoor activities, in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. (MedicalXpress)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • Pakistan surpasses 700,000 cases of COVID-19. (Geo News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, Lineage B.1.1.7
      • Thailand reports its first locally transmitted cases of the Lineage B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. It found 24 cases in the Thong Lor cluster in Bangkok. (Bangkok Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
      • Belgium temporarily restricts the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 55 years old following a report from the European Medicines Agency that there is a "possible link" between the vaccine and very rare blood clotting cases. (The Brussels Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Estonia
      • Estonia suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine by people under 60 years old following a report of a possible link with cases of blood clotting. (Eesti Rahvusringhääling)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
      • Bavaria signs a "preliminary contract" to purchase 2.5 million doses of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, which is subject to approval from the European Medicines Agency. (Euronews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Castile and León suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine until the European Medicines Agency's security report is published. (Reuters)
      • The Ministry of Health restricts the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 60 years old following a report of a "possible link" with very rare blood clotting. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey reports a record 54,740 new confirmed cases and 276 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Arab News)
    • COVID-19 vaccine
      • The European Medicines Agency announces that blood clotting should be listed as a "very rare" side effect of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. It also insists that benefits of using the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks. (DW)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
      • Argentina reports 22,039 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the second consecutive day. The country also reports 199 deaths. These numbers bring the total number of cases to more than 2.4 million and the total number of deaths to 56,833. (Minuto Uno)
      • President Alberto Fernández announces a three-week curfew from midnight to 6:00 p.m. beginning from April 9 to April 30 amidst a record number of COVID-19 cases. (Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, 501.V2 variant
      • Brazil reports its first case of the 501.V2 variant, which was originally detected in South Africa, in a person from São Paulo. (News24)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
    • Morocco announces a nationwide curfew during Ramadan from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to combat the spread of COVID-19. (North Africa Post)

International relations

• Ukraine–NATO relations, War in Donbass
  • Russia warns that having Ukraine join NATO "would exacerbate the Donbass conflict" after Ukraine urged NATO to "speed up" its membership application. (Meduza)
• Myanmar–United Kingdom relations
  • Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Kyaw Zwar Minn, is dismissed by a military attaché and locked out of the embassy in London. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemns the "bullying actions" but says the UK has accepted the change. (BBC)

Law and crime

• 2021 Northern Ireland riots
  • In west Belfast, Loyalist youths hijack a bus and set it on fire. A photographer is also assaulted and his cameras are damaged. (RTÉ News)
• Cannabis in Ukraine
  • The Verkhovna Rada votes to legalize the use of medical cannabis products. (Kyiv Post)

Politics and elections

• Politics of the Netherlands
  • Vera Bergkamp of the Democrats 66 party is elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives, becoming the first lesbian legislative speaker in the Dutch legislature. (DutchNews)
• Censorship in Italy
  • The government formally repeals a 1913 law, which allows the government to censor or ban films, effectively outlawing film censorship in the country. (Variety)

Sports

• FIFA indefinitely bans Chad from all global football competitions, citing government interference in the country's football federation. (BBC)

Time: 00:43 UTC|Day: 13 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
• Bulgarian protests
• East Mediterranean crisis
• Greek protests
• Indian farmers' protests
• Indonesia omnibus law protests
• Libyan peace process
• Myanmar protests
• Nicaraguan protests
• Nigerian protests
• Northern Ireland riots
• 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
  • 4: Bulgaria, National Assembly
  • 6: Greenland, Inatsisartut
  • 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

Upcoming

• April
  • 14: Cayman Islands, Parliament
  • 18: Cape Verde, National Assembly
  • 25: Albania, Parliament
  • 25: Haiti, Constitutional Referendum

Trials

Recently concluded

• France: Nicolas Sarkozy
• Israel: Faina Kirschenbaum
• Kuwait: Mohammad Shahid Islam
• Switzerland: Beny Steinmetz

Ongoing

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

Upcoming

• Canada: Raj Grewal
• Indonesia: Edhy Prabowo, Juliari Batubara, 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
• 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

• 12: Shirley Williams
• 11: Joseph Siravo
• 10: LaDonna Brave Bull Allard
• 9: Nikki Grahame
• 9: Ramsey Clark
• 9: DMX
• 9: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
• 8: Phillip Adams
• 8: Jovan Divjak
• 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: 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
• 25: Uta Ranke-Heinemann
• 25: Bi Sidi Souleymane
• 25: Bertrand Tavernier
• 24: Jessica Walter
• 24: Mahmoud al-Werfalli
• 24: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• 23: Ethel Gabriel
• 23: Don Heffington
• 23: Hana Hegerová
• 23: George Segal
• 22: Elgin Baylor
• 22: Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas
• 22: Peng Shilu
• 21: Nawal El Saadawi
• 20: José Baselga
• 20: Peter Lorimer
• 20: Richard Mendani
• 19: Glynn Lunney
• 19: Barry Orton
• 19: Elsa Peretti
• 18: Richard Gilliland
• 18: Paul Jackson
• 18: Picanyol
• 17: Antón García Abril
• 17: John Magufuli

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
• 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 conflict
  • 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
    • SDF insurgency
• 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