Portal:Current events/April 2016

2016

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

April 2016 was the fourth month of that leap year. The month, which began on a Friday, ended on a Saturday after 30 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from April 2016.

Current events of April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports airstrikes on the village of Deir al-Asafir, Rif Dimashq Governorate, have killed at least 30 people and left dozens more injured. (The Telegraph) War in Donbass International monitors from the OSCE report that fighting has intensified in Eastern Ukraine as a second year of a shaky truce begins. The worst of the fighting is located between government-controlled Avdiivka and separatist-controlled Yasynuvata. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Somali Civil War (2009–present) A U.S. drone strike reportedly kills a key Al-Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, and two other militants, near the town of Jilib, Somalia, according to several U.S. officials. (AP) Disasters and accidents In a second day of severe weather, at least seven people are injured as tornadoes sweep across the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States, with more severe weather expected. (Al Jazeera) Health and medicine Health authorities in Fiji are urging people to observe strict personal hygiene as the country goes through a massive outbreak of conjunctivitis. In the past 14 days alone the number of cases of the virus in one district of Suva have jumped from 700 to 5000 cases. (Radio New Zealand) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction North Korea fires another ballistic missile off its east coast, according to South Korean officials. This occurred while world leaders are attending the annual Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., where North Korea is on the agenda for discussion. (The Guardian) (Yonhap) Politics and elections Gian Nicola Berti of We Sammarinese and Massimo Andrea Ugolini of the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party take office as the Captains Regents of San Marino. (San Marino Notizie) Moldovan presidential election, 2016, 2015–16 protests in Moldova The Parliament of Moldova announces that the country will hold a Presidential election on October 30. A court in early March ruled in favor of having a direct national election to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament, a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite. This will be the first time since 2001 that the public will choose their country's president directly. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2015–16 protests in Brazil President Dilma Rousseff loses another key member of the country's 2016 Summer Olympics organization. Colonel Adilson Moreira of the National Public Security Force, who was in charge of organizing security, in an email to his colleagues reportedly criticizes the President and other senior officials, saying he is ashamed of the country's being led by an "unscrupulous group." Brazilian officials, who earlier received Sports Minister George Hilton's resignation, say the planning for the Olympic Games will not be affected. (BBC) (International Business Times) Current events of April 2, 2016 (2016-04-02) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks Armenian–Azerbaijani border conflict 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes Armenia and Azerbaijan exchange gunfire for the third successive day after an escalation of a dispute over the boundaries between Azerbaijan and the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. (RT) Syrian Civil War The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the Al-Nusra Front as well as other insurgents have captured the village of Tel el-Ais in a strategic position overlooking the highway between Aleppo and Damascus. (AP) The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports a mass grave, containing the bodies of beheaded women and children, has been found in the former ISIL-controlled city of Palmyra, recently retaken by the Syrian government. (The Independent) Libyan Civil War (2014–present) Two security guards are killed while repelling an ISIL attack on the Bayda oil field, near the town of Marada, Libya. (Reuters) Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Hīt offensive (2016) Iraqi security forces free a large number of prisoners from an underground ISIL-operated jail in the city of Hīt. Malallah al-Obeidi, a local official in the Al Anbar Governorate, put the number of freed prisoners at around 1,500, saying most of them were civilians. (AFP via Al Arabiya) PKK rebellion (2015–present) A bombing kills at least five Turkish soldiers and one special forces police officer in the southeastern city of Nusaybin, near the Syria–Turkey border. (BBC) Arts and culture Archaeologists claim to have discovered a probable Viking settlement in North America on Newfoundland's Point Rosee. (AFP via ABC Australia) American pornographic actress Amber Rayne dies at the age of 31. (BBC) Hong Kong terrestrial television provider Asia Television ceases all broadcasts at midnight, following a 2015 decision by the Hong Kong Government not to renew its television license. (Fortune.com) Disasters and accidents In the United States, a Lancair IV plane crashes into a car stopped along a highway, 50 miles north of San Diego, California, killing car passenger Antoinette "Toni" Frances Isbelle, a member of the WFTDA's San Diego Starlettes roller derby team. Five others, including the pilot, are hospitalized. (The San Diego Union Tribune) (New York Daily News) International relations European migrant crisis, Austria–Italy relations Austria plans to deploy soldiers on its border with Italy to stem an expected increase in migrants trying to get to northern Europe, according to Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil. "As the EU's external borders are not yet effectively protected, Austria will soon ramp up strict border controls. That means massive border controls on the Brenner Pass, and with soldiers," Doskozil told German daily newspaper Die Welt. (Reuters) Burundian unrest (2015–present) The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution setting the stage for the deployment of UN Police to Burundi, where political unrest that has lasted nearly a year killed over 400 people and displaced tens of thousands. The resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present options within 15 days for the deployment of UN police in order to monitor the security situation, promote respect for human rights and advance the rule of law. (Al Jazeera) NATO–Russia relations The United States Air Force sends 12 F-15C Eagles and 350 personnel to Iceland and the Netherlands to deter further Russian aggression in Europe. (CNN) Greek government-debt crisis Greece demands an explanation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after an apparent leaked transcript suggested the IMF may threaten to pull out of the country's bailout as a tactic to force European lenders to offer more debt relief. Whistleblowing site WikiLeaks published what it said was the transcript of a March 19 conference call of three senior IMF officials discussing tactics to apply pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU to reach a deal in April. (Reuters) Law and crime Indian women's rights activists are barred by angry villagers and local authorities from entering Shani Shingnapur temple despite a court ruling guaranteeing access. Breaking with a centuries-old tradition, the high court in Mumbai ruled women have a fundamental right to enter Hindu temples across the state of Maharashtra, and the government has the responsibility to protect their rights. Bhumata Ranragini Brigade leader Trupti Desai and 25 other supporters were detained by police. All India Mahila Congress President Shobha Oza and Delhi Commission for Women chairwoman Swati Maliwal called the actions of locals and authorities "completely shameful." (UPI) Politics and elections 2016 United States presidential election, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016 The Republican National Committeeman for North Dakota, Curly Haugland, says that the likelihood for outsiders such as Donald Trump to get state electoral votes are slim as the party honor its own elders. (Politico) Trần Đại Quang is sworn in as the President of Vietnam. (Reuters via The Star) The Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya shuts its offices in Beirut, Lebanon and dismisses 27 employees in a sudden move reflecting tensions between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Saudi Arabia interpreted Lebanon's lack of public solidarity as a sign that it had become beholden to Hezbollah. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) The Governor of the U.S. territory of Guam Eddie Calvo announces his intention to hold a plebiscite to decide the future political status of the island. Calvo said he hopes to start a successful "education campaign" on the issue before filing a petition to start a referendum. If the plebiscite does take place, voters on Guam would be asked to select which political status they would prefer; independence, statehood, or free association However, the possible vote would be non-binding as any change in political status would require an act of Congress in Washington, D.C.. Guam is currently on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories in need of decolonization. (Radio New Zealand) Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings Police in Brussels, Belgium arrest multiple right-wing and anti-racist protesters, with riot squads engaged in a tense confrontation with local youths in the district of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. A standoff grew when far-right protesters faced a counter-demonstration, despite protests being banned by local authorities who were fearful of last Sunday's event, in which police forcefully dispersed a right-wing protest with water cannons. (Reuters) Sport 2016 World Figure Skating Championships Spanish figure skater Javier Fernández defends his world title after making a stunning comeback from behind Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who was ahead by 12 points, to win gold. (The Guardian) 2015–16 NBA season In basketball, the visiting Boston Celtics defeat the Golden State Warriors, snapping the Warrior's 14-month, 54-game home win streak which leaves the San Antonio Spurs with the only undefeated home record this season. (Basketball-Reference.com) (SBNation) (ESPN) 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament In the U.S. men's national college basketball tournament semifinals in Houston's NRG Stadium, the Villanova Wildcats thrash the Oklahoma Sooners 95–51, the most lopsided result in men's Final Four history; and in a battle between Atlantic Coast Conference members, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the Syracuse Orange 83–66. The title game on April 4 pits the Wildcats, 1985 champions, and the five-time champion Tar Heels. (NBC Sports) (Toronto Sun) Current events of April 3, 2016 (2016-04-03) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes Azerbaijan calls a unilateral ceasefire in its fight with ethnic Armenians one day after 30 soldiers died. The Associated Press reports rebel forces reject Azerbaijan's claims, saying they see no sign the government has stopped fighting. (AP), (BBC) (NPR) Syrian Civil War Battle of al-Qaryatayn (March–April 2016) The Syrian Army retakes control of al-Qaryatayn, Homs Governorate, after driving out ISIL militants. (Reuters) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the al-Nusra Front's spokesperson Abu Firas al-Suri was among 20 militants killed in a suspected Russian airstrike on a village near the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria. (Reuters) Moro attacks on Sabah, Moro Conflict Four Sarawakian Malaysians are kidnapped off the coast of Sabah by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (The New York Times) Military intervention against ISIL, Iraq Civil War The United States military reports a drone attack killed ISIL rocket expert Jasim Khadijah. The unmanned airstrike also killed other IS militants and destroyed at least one makeshift drone. Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer, is believed responsible for the March attack that killed a U.S. Marine in northern Iraq. (UPI) (Daily Mail) Iraqi forces capture the northern part of the ISIL held town of Hīt, west of Baghdad. (AP) An attacker throws a grenade and fires shots outside a sports hall in the small town of Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo, just hours before Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić was due to hold an election rally there. "A hand grenade exploded outside the sports hall but there are no injuries," Besim Hoti, a Kosovo police commander in the area, told Reuters. (Reuters) Business and economics Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings Two weeks after the deadly suicide bombings, Brussels Zaventem International Airport will reopen today with three symbolic flights to Faro, Athens, and Turin. On Thursday, the airport had said it was "technically ready" to resume partial services, but the opening was held up because police unions threatened to strike unless additional security checks were introduced. (AsiaOne) (The Jewish Press) Panama Papers A leak of 11.5 million documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca reveals details of shell companies used by 12 current or former world leaders including President of Russia Vladimir Putin whose aides allegedly shuffled billions of dollars. (ABC News via 9MSN) The documents, 2.6 terabytes of information, were obtained more than a year ago from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Journalists from more than 80 countries have been working with this data. The documents expose holdings of 12 current and former world leaders, and 128 more politicians and public officials worldwide. The national leaders named include Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko, and Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. (The Guardian)(USA Today) The Health Information Trust Alliance, a nonprofit industry group, warns that hospitals in the United States must prepare for more ransomware attacks. A review late last year of some 30 mid-sized U.S. hospitals found 52 percent were infected with malicious software. This week, an attack on MedStar Health forced the largest healthcare provider in the Washington, D.C. area, to shut down much of its computer network. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2016 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa flood At least 45 people are killed and another 34 hospitalized following heavy rains and flash floods in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Dawn) (AP) A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Vanuatu with a tsunami warning issued. (USGS) 2016 Chester, Pennsylvania train derailment Two people are killed and 35 injured when a United States Amtrak passenger train on the Palmetto route traveling from New York City to Savannah, Georgia, with 341 passengers and seven crew on board, derails in Chester, Pennsylvania, after striking a backhoe that was on the track. Local media reports the deceased are veteran Amtrak workers. Area hospitals are treating the injured; none in life-threatening condition. (CNN) (NBC Philadelphia) (BBC) (Reuters) At least 18 people are injured following a collision between two trains at Plymouth railway station in the city of Plymouth, Devon. The crash has caused significant disruption to rail services in South West England. (Sky News) International relations India–Saudi Arabia relations In Riyadh, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia's King Salman sign five agreements, including plans to increase investments, and to cooperate in intelligence sharing. (AP) European migrant crisis Czech Minister of the Interior Milan Chovanec says that authorities in Prague will send a group of 25 Iraqi Christians back to Iraq after they tried to move to Germany rather than staying in the Czech Republic. The refugees were on their way to Germany via bus before being stopped at the border. Czech authorities agreed to a request by the German police to take the people back. Chovanec said the 25 Iraqis abused Czech generosity and should go back to Iraq within seven days. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Last month's agreement between the European Union and Turkey will be implemented Monday as migrants currently on Greek islands will be returned to the Turkish mainland. (AP) Japan–Philippines relations A Japanese Navy submarine makes a port call in the Philippines, the first in fifteen years, in a show of growing military cooperation amid tension triggered by China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. It was escorted into the former U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay by two Japanese destroyers on a tour of Southeast Asia. (Reuters) Law and crime Guillaume Pepy, France's national railway company president, announces armed train marshals, in civilian dress, will be patrolling some passenger trains. (AP) Politics and elections The Parliament of South Africa announces it will debate a motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma this coming Tuesday. This comes after Zuma is facing mounting pressure when the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma violated the constitution by using state funds to renovate his mansion. Yesterday, anti-apartheid veteran Ahmed Kathrada joined opposition leaders in calling for Zuma's resignation. (Al Jazeera) Police forcibly break up a protest in Malé, Maldives, with tear gas and pepper spray and detain multiple journalists. The demonstration was against government moves to introduce a new law to criminalize defamation. (BBC) Abortion in Poland Thousands of people attended a pro-choice rally outside Parliament of Poland in Warsaw after Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, backed a call by Polish Catholic bishops for a full ban on abortion. (Euronews via Reuters) Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi sacks Prime Minister and Vice President of Yemen Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah. Hadi named top general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as his new Vice President and appointed Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, a former official in Saleh's General People's Congress as the new Prime Minister. (Reuters) Science and technology The Associated Press reports a government-sponsored committee of 27 companies/trade associations, set up by the U.S. FAA in February, on Friday submitted recommendations that could clear the way for commercial drone flights over populated areas, and help speed the introduction of package delivery drones. (AP) Sport ICC Women's World Twenty20, 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 West Indies women's national cricket team beat defending champions Australia women's national cricket team by 8 wickets the final in Kolkata. (ICC) 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Defending champions The West Indies beat England by 4 wickets in the final in Kolkata. (BBC) 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2016 United States women's college basketball national championship will be decided when two former Big East Conference foes meet at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 8:30 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Connecticut topped Oregon State 80–51, and Syracuse claimed an 80–59 win over Washington in Sunday's semifinals. Syracuse (30–7, 13–3 ACC) will be making its first appearance in the NCAA title game. UConn (37–0, 18–0 American), a 10-time national champion and defending champion for the fourth straight season, has won every title game it has played in. (ESPN) (ESPN²) Current events of April 4, 2016 (2016-04-04) (Monday) Armed conflicts Boko Haram insurgency Nigeria's army says it has arrested Khalid al-Barnawi, a leader of the Boko Haram splinter group Ansaru. (Reuters) Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) More than 20 people have been killed in attacks targeting Shiite militias and government forces. (Reuters) Business and economy Alaska Airlines announces plans to acquire Virgin America for $4 billion. (Street Insider) Tax inversion The U.S. Treasury Department announces new regulations to curb tax-avoiding corporate inversions, i.e., where U.S. companies slash their tax bills by claiming a new tax home overseas, though their core operations and management remain in the United States. The pending $160 billion merger of Pfizer Inc. and Allergan, Plc could be cancelled because of these new rules. (CNN Money) (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2016 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa flood At least 63 people are killed and over 30 are injured as flash floods ravage Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and other parts of northwest Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) Five people are killed when a tourist helicopter crashes in the American town of Sevierville, Tennessee. (Fox News) Health and medicine Mexico City authorities declare a pollution alert after smog rose to 1.5 times acceptable limits the day before implementation of the City's new, temporary air quality program that will keep one-fifth of the city's cars at home every weekday. (AP) International relations China–Vietnam relations Vietnam seizes a Chinese fishing vessel for intruding in its waters and tows the vessel to the port of Hai Phong. (AP) European migrant crisis Greece starts deporting migrants to Turkey. (BBC) Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia–Azerbaijan relations Armenia will recognize the independence of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from Azerbaijan if military actions there continue, according to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. Azerbaijan has resorted to an "unprecedented provocation along the entire perimeter of the contact line" with Nagorno-Karabakh, Sargsyan told a meeting with ambassadors from member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, referring to the latest flare-up of the conflict. (Reuters) North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, North Korea–United States relations North Korea threatens a genocide against the United States of America. (News.com.au) Law and crime South Korea announces plans to reduce the number of immigrants entering the country illegally. (Yonhap) The United States Supreme Court unanimously rules the one person, one vote requirement may be satisfied by drawing election districts based on the total population of a place, turning down a legal effort to reinterpret the rule that it be based only on the number of people eligible to vote. (The Washington Post) (The Atlantic) The Supreme Court decided two cases where businesses appealed the previous rulings, finding for the plaintiffs in both. The Court upheld a more than $150 million class action judgment on Walmart's treatment of workers in Pennsylvania, and upheld a $203 million judgment against Wells Fargo over allegations the bank imposed excessive overdraft fees. (Reuters via CNBC) Politics and elections Panama Papers Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson refuses to resign after leaked "Panama Papers" tax documents showed he and his wife used an offshore firm to allegedly hide million-dollar investments. "I have not considered quitting because of this matter nor am I going to quit because of this matter," Gunnlaugsson told Icelandic television Channel 2. (AFP via Times Live) The President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev signs a presidential decree officially recognizing March 17, March 24, and April 7 as public holidays for Kyrgyzstan. The dates are meant to commemorate the days of Kyrgyzstan's massive anti-government revolts. On March 17, 2002, during anti-government protests in the Aksy District, police killed four protesters, while March 24 and April 7 commemorate the Tulip Revolution of 2006 and the Second Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, respectively. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2016 Fighting erupts between unknown assailants and police in the southern part of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, after a disputed Presidential election that brought Denis Sassou Nguesso back to power for a third term. The reason for the clashes is not immediately clear but they have taken place in districts where support for the opposition is strong. The government blames the violence on the Ninjas, a militant group active during the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, becomes Jammu and Kashmir's first female Chief Minister. (The Guardian) United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2016 Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark is running for Secretary-General of the United Nations, to succeed Ban Ki-moon whose second term expires at the end of this year. Clark, who is the first non-European and fourth woman among the eight announced candidates, was prime minister for nine years (1999–2008) and has been Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme since April 2009. The United Nations Trusteeship Council will begin preliminary meetings with candidates next week in New York City. (The Guardian) (AP via The Washington Post) Sport Basketball 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game In American college basketball, the Villanova Wildcats defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 77–74. (NBC Sports) The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces its 2016 induction class, consisting of 10 individuals who will formally enter the Hall on September 9. Zelmo Beaty, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Cumberland Posey, Sheryl Swoopes, and Yao Ming will be inducted as players, Tom Izzo and John McLendon as coaches, Jerry Reinsdorf as a contributor, and Darell Garretson as a referee. (Hall of Fame press release) Current events of April 5, 2016 (2016-04-05) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Al-Nusra Front militants shoot down a Syrian Arab Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jet and capture its pilot in the northern Aleppo Governorate. (The Telegraph) PKK rebellion (2015–present) The Turkish military say it carried out air strikes in northern Iraq against targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, hitting weapon stores and shelters. (Al Jazeera) Business and economics In American football, Twitter wins the bidding contest over Amazon, Verizon, and others, for streaming rights to 10 of 16 National Football League (NFL) regular season Thursday Night Football Games, ones that will also be telecast by either CBS or NBC. The league streamed one game last year with Yahoo!. Verizon, meanwhile, already owns the mobile rights to all NFL games which are available to subscribers via a mobile app; the 10 NFL games on Twitter will be free. (Re/code) (ESPN) (NFL.com) Tax inversion Pfizer Inc. decides to terminate its $160 billion merger with Allergan, Plc as officials in Washington crack down on corporate inversions. Pfizer will need to pay a $400 million fee to Allergan for expenses relating to the deal. (Bloomberg) Health and medicine India's health ministry orders government agencies to enforce a new rule for larger health warnings that cover 85 percent of a cigarette pack's surface, up from 20 percent now. India's biggest cigarette maker ITC Ltd., part-owned by British American Tobacco, and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., a partner of U.S.-based Philip Morris International, shut factories on Friday in protest. (Reuters) International relations China–North Korea relations China's Ministry of Commerce says that it is restricting trade with North Korea, in line with the recent sanctions approved by the United Nations Security Council last March. China will be banning the export of jet fuel and import of gold, some coal and "rare earth metals" used in high-tech goods. (BBC) North Korea and weapons of mass destruction South Korea has determined North Korea is capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on its medium-range Rodong-1 ballistic missile, which could reach all of South Korea and most of Japan, according to a senior government official. (The New York Times) Panama Papers France places Panama back on its list of countries that do not cooperate in catching tax evaders. "France has decided to put Panama back on the list of uncooperative countries, with all the consequences that will have for those who have transactions" with the Central American state, Finance Minister Michel Sapin, told Parliament on Tuesday. (AFP via Al Jazeera) Mexico–United States relations Due to concerns about an increasingly anti-Mexican climate across the border, Mexico unexpectedly changes two of its top officials responsible for U.S. relations. Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told local media, "We have been warning that our citizens have begun to feel a more hostile climate. This (anti-Mexican) rhetoric has made it clear that we have to act in a different way so that this tendency being generated doesn't damage the bilateral relationship." (Reuters) Law and crime The International Criminal Court terminates the case against Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto and ends his trial, saying there is insufficient evidence he was involved in deadly violence that erupted after his country's 2007 presidential election. (Al Jazeera) The Military junta of Thailand gives the Royal Thai Armed Forces broad police-like powers. The military is now allowed to prevent or suppress over 27 types of offenses. The move created an outcry from human rights organizations and prompted the United States to express its concern over the growing influence of the military in the country. (The Guardian) LGBT rights in the United States Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant approves a new law that allows religious groups and private businesses to deny services to gay and transgender people. (AP via The Washington Post) Politics and elections Panama Papers Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson temporarily steps down amid allegations his family attempted to hide millions in an offshore account. (The Guardian) The Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif sets an independent judicial commission to investigate allegations of graft against his family following documents leaked as part of the Panama papers showed his sons owned several offshore accounts. (AP via ABC News America) 2016 Philippine general election Imee Marcos (daughter of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and sister of vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos), her three sons, and JV Ejercito (son of Manila mayoral candidate Joseph Estrada) are among hundreds of Filipino celebrities and politicians implicated for laundering money in tax havens. (GMA News), (Philippine Daily Inquirer) 2016 United States presidential election Voters in the U.S. state of Wisconsin go to the polls for a primary election with Ted Cruz winning the Republican Party contest and Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic Party primary. (ABC News America), (Reuters via ABC News Australia) 2016 Queensland term length referendum The results of a referendum last month in the Australian state of Queensland with voters agreeing to plans for a four-year fixed parliamentary term. (AAP via Yahoo! News) The South African Parliament debates a minority motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma following last week's Constitutional Court judgment that Zuma had violated the constitution in a spending scandal involving the president's private home. The African National Congress has a 249–151 majority, making this motion's chance of gaining a two-thirds majority unlikely. (AP via The Washington Post) (Reuters) The motion failed by 243 votes to 133. (News24) 2015–16 protests in Brazil Marco Aurélio Mello, a Supreme Federal Court judge orders Brazil's Chamber of Deputies to start impeachment proceedings against Vice President Michel Temer over charges he helped doctor budget accounting as part of President Dilma Rousseff's administration. (Reuters) 2016 Peruvian general election Peruvians protest in five cities, including the capital Lima, against the presidential candidacy of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who exactly 24 years ago this day carried out a coup by shutting down Congress and taking over the courts with the support of the military. Keiko Fujimori is the front runner in Sunday's April 10, 2016, election. Yesterday, Fujimori committed to respect democratic liberties and the rule of law, and to work against corruption, which some opponents have rejected. The Organization of American States says the election could lack credibility unless two recently disqualified candidates are allowed to run. (NBC News) (AP via The Washington Post) (Prensa Latina) Sports 2016 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Game In women's college basketball, the Connecticut Huskies top the Syracuse Orange to cap a perfect season (38-0) with the program's fourth straight national championship, and in all four, UConn's senior center Breanna Stewart wins the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. (CNN) (ESPN) 2015–16 Rangers F.C. season Rangers F.C., the association football club with the most domestic league titles in the world, earn promotion to the Scottish Premiership, returning to the nation's top division for the first time since their triple relegation for financial reasons in 2012. (BBC Sport) Transportation The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover C810As entered service on the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines, operated by SBS Transit Ltd. Current events of April 6, 2016 (2016-04-06) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Aleppo offensive (April 2016) The Syrian Army and its allies launch an offensive south of Aleppo. (Jerusalem Post) Business and Economics Hedge fund impresario Bill Ackman faces skeptical questioning from investors after his Pershing Square fund loses big on both Herbalife and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season Cyclone Zena, now a category 3 storm, heads for Fiji, where a tropical depression already dumped up to 12 inches of rain on the western and northern parts of Fiji's largest and most populous island, Viti Levu, triggering major flash flooding that's killed at least two people. The archipelago is still recovering from category 5 Cyclone Winston that killed 44 people in February. (Weather.com) (Television New Zealand) 2016 Ethiopia flood Deadly floods hit Ethiopia, leaving at least 28 people dead as seasonal rains come early to the country. The majority of these deaths occurred in the city of Jijiga while elsewhere, heavy downpours of rain were reported with more floods expected in the next few days. (Al Jazeera) Law and crime The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in a majority vote, ordered an "indefinite" halt in the war crimes trial of Croatian Serb rebel leader Goran Hadžić, who is terminally ill with brain cancer and declared "unfit to stand trial." Hadžić was charged with 14 war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the 1991–95 war in Croatia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) The President of Russia Vladimir Putin announces the creation of a new National Guard, which he said would fight terrorism and organized crime. However, some critics claim the creation of the National Guard is linked to the upcoming legislative election this September with them saying that Putin fears unrest, something Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies. (BBC) Politics and elections Dutch Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement referendum, 2016 Voters in the Netherlands go to the polls for a non-binding referendum on approval of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. (EU Observer) The results, while not official yet, show voters solidly rejecting the approval of the Association Agreement with 61.1 percent and turnout reaching over the 30 percent threshold for the referendum to be valid. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Libyan Civil War (2014–present) The self-declared National Salvation government, one of the rival governments of Libya, resigns and gives up power to the UN-backed Libyan Presidential Council in Tripoli. (The Guardian) Beninese businessman Patrice Talon is sworn in as the new President of Benin. (Euronews via Reuters) Current events of April 7, 2016 (2016-04-07) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War According to Syrian state television, ISIL militants kidnapped over 300 staff members from a cement factory outside of the city of Al-Dumayr earlier this week and no contact with them has been made since. (Al Jazeera) Military intervention against ISIL Turkish Armed Forces shell ISIL positions hours after projectiles hit Turkey's Kilis Province. (Hurriyet) Arts and culture American Idol (season 15) Trent Harmon is declared as the last winner of the American singing competition series, American Idol, which concluded after 15 seasons. (E! Online) LGBT rights in the United States The Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, in response to the potential backlash from Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant's signing of the known-as religious freedom bill which permits denial of services because of religious belief, will distribute decals that say "Everyone's Welcome Here." Mike Cashion, MHRA director, says the bill "created a level of controversy" that affects Mississippi's image. (Jackson Free Press) Business and economy Australian mining and materials company Arrium goes into voluntary administration with 7,000 jobs under threat in Australia, including 1,000 at the Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia. (ABC News) Bloomberg News reports Verizon Communications plans a bid for Yahoo Inc.’s Web business, including Yahoo Japan Corp., next week. Google, Time Inc., and private equity funds Bain and TPG are considering bidding for Yahoo’s core business. AT&T Inc., Comcast, and Microsoft Corp. reportedly aren't interested. (Reuters) (Bloomberg News) Disasters and accidents Another earthquake measuring at 6.7 strikes off the northwest of Vanuatu, the third earthquake in the same region this week. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the earthquake poses no tsunami threat. (Radio New Zealand) Law and crime Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh Attackers in Bangladesh wielding machetes kill Nazimuddin Samad, a liberal blogger. (Reuters) Students from Jagannath University in Dhaka, where Nazimuddin Samad studied, protest the killing and tell reporters that police inaction over previous killings contributed to the death of Samad. (BBC) Panama Papers The government of Panama announces that it is creating an "international panel" to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry. The move follows the leak of millions of documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca, showing it helped some clients evade tax and avoid sanctions. (BBC) Colombia's Constitutional Court votes in favor of same-sex marriage, in a 6-3 decision. (ABC News) (The Advocate) Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union sue Indiana stating the U.S. state's new abortion law is unconstitutional because it bans the procedure if sought because of genetic abnormalities. (CBS News with AP) (Reuters) Politics and elections The National Assembly of Vietnam approves Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as the country's new prime minister, succeeding Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. (Reuters) (Shanghai Daily) Hashim Thaçi is sworn in as the new President of Kosovo. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) South Sudanese Civil War Former Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar says he will return to the capital Juba on April 18 to form a transitional government with President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the hopes of bringing peace to South Sudan after their acrimonious split ignited more than two years of war. (Al Jazeera) Aung San Suu Kyi, now the State Counsellor of Myanmar, says she will press for the release of political prisoners and student activists in the country, hinting that a mass amnesty may be imminent, a week after her government took power. (The Guardian) 2016 United States presidential election, Donald Trump endorsements Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani endorses Donald Trump for U.S. President, predicting Trump will get more than 50% of the statewide vote. (CBS News) Panama Papers United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron admits he benefited from a Panama-based offshore trust, Blairmore Holdings Inc., set up by his late father. Cameron says he divested himself of his shares, for £31,500 (US$44,300), before becoming prime minister in 2010. (The Guardian) (AP via The Washington Post) Jürgen Mossack, co-founder of the Mossack Fonseca law firm, resigns from an honorary, unpaid post on the National Council of Foreign Relations, which advises Panama's government on foreign policy. (The New York Times) Current events of April 8, 2016 (2016-04-08) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Sinai insurgency At least seven people are killed, including five Egyptian Army soldiers, a military officer and a civilian woman in two separate blasts in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. ISIL's Sinai branch claimed responsibility for the attacks on several websites. (Reuters) Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Hīt offensive (2016) The Iraqi Army recaptures the western town of Hīt, Al Anbar Governorate, after driving out hundreds of ISIL militants. (Reuters) Syrian Civil War Damascus offensive (April 2016) ISIL militants reportedly execute 175 workers who were captured earlier this week at a cement factory situated to the east of Damascus. (RT) (Daily Mail) 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes An ethnic Armenian soldier dies in overnight clashes. (News Armenia) Arts and culture Pope Francis issues Amoris Laetitia or the Joy of Love, a document on the Roman Catholic approach to love, sex, marriage and family life. (AP) In the 256-page document, the Pope encourages the clergy to embrace sinners as well as saints, opens the door a bit for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, and stresses that Catholics, with their own informed consciences guided by the light of the Gospel, address tricky moral questions in their life, and not only be guided by dogmatic rules from above. Francis also asserts the right to a natural death without aggressive treatment; firmly rejects the death penalty; and reiterates the Church's opposition to same-sex marriage. (AP²) (The Washington Post) (Vatican) North Carolina bathroom bill Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band cancels their Sunday night concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest the state's controversial "bathroom bill." (Rolling Stone) Business and economics Both Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Marriott International shareholders approve Marriott's acquisition of Starwood, which will create the world's largest hotelier. The deal has cleared the pre-merger antitrust reviews in the United States and Canada; approvals from the European Union and China is pending. Last week, Anbang Insurance Group topped Marriott's bid, then withdrew their offer three days later. (Reuters) (UPI) Disasters and accidents At least 245 people are reportedly injured following a head-on collision between two commuter trains in San José, Costa Rica. (The Star) Three people are killed, and there was one survivor, following the crash of a small plane headed to Angoon in Southeast Alaska, United States. (KTUU-TV) International relations North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean defectors A group of 13 North Koreans working at a restaurant in an unidentified country defect en masse to South Korea, according to Seoul's Ministry of Unification. (USA Today) Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announces, during his trip to Cairo, that a bridge crossing the Red Sea will be built, linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says the bridge will be named after the Saudi monarch. A Saudi–Egypt Causeway project has been in the works for years. (BBC) Syria–United States relations Syria releases American freelance photographer Kevin Patrick Dawes who was kidnapped in 2012. (Washington Post) NATO–Russia relations NATO announces it will hold a meeting of the NATO–Russia Council at the ambassadorial level at NATO headquarters in Brussels in the next two weeks after a two-year break since NATO cut all practical cooperation with Russia in 2014. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Egypt–Italy relations, Murder of Giulio Regeni Italy recalls its ambassador to Egypt for consultations in protest over the lack of progress in a probe into the fate of murdered Cambridge University student Giulio Regeni. "We want only one thing, the truth about what happened to Giulio," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday. (AFP via Yahoo! News) China-Russia relations Russia postpones a transfer of missile engines to China. There is concern the technology could be passed on to a third country, such as North Korea. China is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a voluntary, informal partnership between 34 countries to prevent proliferation of missile delivery systems that could carry weapons of mass destruction. (UPI) Bangladesh–United States relations U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemns Wednesday's "barbaric murder" of Nazimuddin Samad, and says federal officials are considering granting refuge to a select number of Bangladeshi writers who are under "imminent danger" because of their critical views of radical Islamists. (UPI) Law and crime At least two people are reported dead following a shooting at Lackland Air Force Base, in the U.S. state of Texas. (CNBC) Aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks Six people are arrested in Belgium including: Mohamed Abrini, wanted in connection with the 2015 Paris attacks, is arrested in Belgium. (Reuters via Ynet) Osama Krayem, thought to have assisted the bomber at the subway during the 2016 Brussels bombings. (BBC News) Panama Papers El Salvador officials seize documents and equipment during a raid of the local offices of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Attorney General Douglas Melendez says authorities interviewed seven employees, and confiscated 20 computers and some documents. (Reuters) Politics and elections The French occupy movement known as Nuit debout enters its ninth day, "March 40," spreading across dozens of French cities and to Belgium, Germany, and Spain. (The Guardian) Djiboutian presidential election, 2016 Voters in Djibouti go to the polls for the first round of voting in a presidential election with current President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh winning a fourth term in office. (BBC), (AFP via Daily Mail) A Myanmar court releases 69 jailed student activists in the first wave of amnesty for the country's political prisoners, with more releases expected. This comes after State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi vowed to push for the release of all the political prisoners in Myanmar. (Al Jazeera) The Prime Minister of Madagascar Jean Ravelonarivo and his cabinet resign from office with no explanation given. (The Guardian) Macedonian opposition leader Zoran Zaev pledges to boycott the early Macedonian parliamentary elections, saying it is due to a lack of government reforms. (Business Insider) LGBT rights in the United States A group of United States mayors forms "Mayors Against Discrimination" in the wake of recent discriminatory laws enacted in North Carolina and Mississippi against LBGT individuals. The founding members are city leaders from Honolulu, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco, Sante Fe, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. (AP) (Huffington Post) (Mayor Edward Murray) 2016 United States presidential election The Colorado Republican Party continues choosing its delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Ted Cruz has swept all of the delegates available so far. The process which began last Saturday (April 2, 2016) will conclude tomorrow. (Washington Post) Science and technology SpaceX CRS-8 SpaceX launches a NASA cargo run to the International Space Station, and in a spaceflight first, successfully lands its reusable main-stage booster on an autonomous spaceport drone ship. (The Verge) (Reuters) Sport Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says they will not open up a formal investigation into the doping scandals that were reported by the World Anti-Doping Agency last November, where it documented Russian athletes systematically taking banned performance-enhancing drugs with state support. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Current events of April 9, 2016 (2016-04-09) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks Moro Conflict 2016 Battle of Basilan At least 18 soldiers are killed and 52 injured in clashes with Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen in Basilan island, Philippines. (FOX News) Military intervention against ISIL The United States Air Force deploys B-52 bombers to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to join operations against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. This is the first time they have been stationed in the Middle East since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. (Reuters) Internal conflict in Peru At least two people are killed in a remote part of Peru in an attack by Shining Path guerillas. (Daily Mail) Disasters and accidents European migrant crisis Five migrants drown off the island of Samos close to Turkey. (AP) At least 23 people are killed and 32 others injured after a bus plunges into a river in southeastern Peru. (AFP via ABC News) International relations Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations Egypt and Saudi Arabia reach an agreement on the disputed islands of Tiran Island and Sanafir Island, placing the formerly Egyptian-administered islands officially under Saudi Arabian sovereignty. (Daily Mail) North Korea and weapons of mass destruction North Korea claims to have successfully tested the engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile. (BBC) Law and crime 2016 Brussels bombings Mohamed Abrini has reportedly admitted to being the "man in the hat" sought after the Brussels bombings. He is also being charged with involvement in the November 2015 Paris attacks. (BNO News) Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith is shot dead in a road rage incident. (CNN) Politics and elections 2016 United States presidential election Registered Democratic voters in the U.S. state of Wyoming gather, by county, for the Wyoming Democratic caucuses. Bernie Sanders is projected to win. (Wyoming Tribune), (The Hill) Panama Papers Thousands of people protest in Whitehall calling on British Prime Minister David Cameron to resign over his financial affairs and his handling of them in relation to revelations made by the leak of the Panama Papers. (Independent) Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro García Padilla announces he declared a state of emergency at the Commonwealth's Government Development Bank yesterday, which allows withdrawals only to fund necessary costs for health, public safety, and education services. Without this measure and debt restructuring, the United States territory would be forced to default as it faces nearly $2.5 billion in bond payments from May through July. (AP via The Washington Post) Sport British horse Rule The World wins the 2016 Grand National. (BBC) In boxing, Anthony Joshua wins the International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship defeating Charles Martin the defending champion. (The Guardian) Current events of April 10, 2016 (2016-04-10) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) 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) Welsh drug smuggler turned author Howard Marks dies at age 70, after suffering from cancer for more than one year. (BBC) 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) Current events of April 11, 2016 (2016-04-11) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2016 Stavropol bombings At least three suicide bombers attack a police station in Stavropol, Russia. (Sputnik News) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Clashes and air strikes are reported in Yemen despite a fragile truce between the government and Houthis taking effect. However, the truce appears to be largely holding as members from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are granted unhindered access to give humanitarian aid and personnel across the country. (BBC) War in Afghanistan (2001–present) A suicide bomber kills 12 new police recruits in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. The Taliban claims responsibility for the attack. (BBC) Somali Civil War (2009–present) At least five people are killed and seven are wounded following a car bomb attack near a government building in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack. (BBC) Business and economics 2008 financial crisis Goldman Sachs agrees to pay $5.06 billion to settle allegations that it sold packages of shoddy mortgages prior to the global financial crisis.. The U.S. Justice Department settlement includes a $2.385 billion civil penalty, and $1.8 billion for distressed borrowers and communities affected by the housing crisis. (The Washington Post) (UPI) Disasters and accidents 2014–16 El Niño event A severe heat wave grips Malaysia as much of Southeast Asia struggles with unusually hot and dry weather created by the El Niño season. Temperatures in Malaysia soared above 37°C, prompting more than 250 schools to close. (Al Jazeera) International relations G7 foreign ministers meeting John Kerry, along with the other Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers, laid wreaths at Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to the victims of the 1945 U.S. nuclear attack. Kerry is the first Secretary of State to visit the memorial. Then-U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was previously the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the memorial, in 2008. The Hiroshima foreign ministers meeting is part of the preparations for the 42nd G7 summit the end of next month at Japan's Kashiko Island, Shima, Mie Prefecture. (Reuters) (Channel NewsAsia) Houthi insurgency in Yemen, Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, says he welcomes the tentative truce that started at midnight Yemen time. The truce opens unhindered access for relief aid to all of Yemen. Peace talks are set to start later this month. (Reuters) North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean defectors South Korea announces that a colonel from North Korea's military spy agency defected to the south last year. Senior-level defections are rare, most being low level operatives. (AP) European migrant crisis The Italian Coast Guard rescues 1,850 in the Strait of Sicily. (AFP via Daily Star) Law and crime CIA Director John Brennan, in an exclusive interview to air on NBC News tonight, says the United States intelligence agency will not use harsh, enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, even if ordered by a future president. Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have discussed using waterboarding if elected. (The Hill via MSN.com) (NBC News) Kollam temple fire Five workers from the company that supplied fireworks to the Puttingal Temple have been detained by Indian police with the death toll rising to 106. (CNN) Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present) Israeli security forces arrest 18 Palestinians on the West Bank for alleged terrorism related offences. (Jerusalem Post) Politics and elections Hundreds of arrests are reported in the U.S. Capitol in response to the Democracy Spring protests. (CNN) (Democracy Spring) The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Temir Sariyev announces he will resign from his post. This comes after several Parliament members accused Sariyev and his cabinet of corruption. The Kyrgyz presidential press service said President Almazbek Atambayev accepted his resignation. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2016 Darfurian status referendum Voting for a referendum begins in Darfur, Sudan. Voters will be asked during the three-day referendum to decide on the permanent administrative status of the region. The choices are for the creation of a Darfur Region composed of the States of Darfur, or the retention of the status quo states system. Darfur is currently divided into five states. Voters will decide this week whether the area should go back to being one region, as it was until 1994. However, there are fears of voter apathy and if the referendum will be credible. (Al Jazeera) The President of the Georgian breakaway state of South Ossetia Leonid Tibilov announces his plan to hold a referendum on whether to become part of Russia or to keep its de facto independence before August of this year. This comes after South Ossetia signed various agreements further integrating the region with Russia. (TASS) 2015–16 protests in Brazil, Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff A committee of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies votes 38–27 to recommend the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, who faces charges of breaking budget laws to support her re-election in 2014. (Reuters) Current events of April 12, 2016 (2016-04-12) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) The Taliban announces its annual spring offensive to be named "Operation Omari". (Voice of America) PKK rebellion (2015–present) A car bomb attack on a Turkish gendarmerie in the town of Hani kills at least two people and injures 50. (Reuters) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War A Russian Air Force Mi-28 attack helicopter crashes near the Syrian city of Homs, killing two pilots. (BBC) Operation Barkhane A French Army soldier is killed and three others are injured after their convoy hit a landmine in northern Mali. (AP via ABC News) War in Somalia U.S. officials say unmanned airstrikes in southern Somalia killed about a dozen suspected militants from the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab on Monday and Tuesday. (Reuters) Arts and culture A painting, Judith Beheading Holofernes, believed to be from Italian painter Caravaggio, is discovered in an attic in the French city of Toulouse. (The Guardian) Business and economics Reuters reports that it has seen a draft memorandum generated by the International Monetary Fund that describes the debt owed by Greece to its European partners as "highly unsustainable." (Reuters) Disasters and accidents A massive fire occurs in a textile factory in the Mumbai suburb of Bhiwandi in India's Maharashtra state. Fifty people are feared trapped. (IBN Live) A Pakistani police officer accidentally detonates a grenade in an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, injuring himself and a court assistant. The officer was attempting to demonstrate a grenade detonator to a judge and said the grenade was defused before pulling the pin. (The Guardian) International relations Cross-Strait relations Taiwan accuses China of "extrajudicial abduction" after 45 Taiwanese acquitted of fraud in Kenya were forcibly deported to China. (BBC News) (The New York Times) (Los Angeles Times) (Voice of America) North Korea – South Korea relations, North Korean defectors North Korea accuses South Korea of kidnapping its citizens and demands their immediate return after Seoul's Ministry of Unification said 13 of them had defected to South Korea from China, where they worked in a Pyongyang-operated restaurant. China says that the 13 people, a male manager and 12 young female employees, had legitimate passports and had freely exited China. (The Straits Times) Iran – Italy relations During a visit to Iran, Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi signs various bilateral agreements to enhance relations between the two countries, including plans for cooperation between the Italian electricity and gas company Enel and the National Iranian Oil Company. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Bolivia – Russia relations Russia and Bolivia meet to discuss how Russian defense firms can help the South American nation's long-term rearmament plan. (UPI) Law and crime Australian 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown and her crew are reportedly facing kidnapping charges in Lebanon following a bungled child recovery attempt. (Courier Mail) 2016 Brussels bombings Belgium federal prosecutors say two more men have been charged with terrorist offenses linked to last month's Brussels bombing. Also, three people connected to the last year's Paris attacks are in custody. (Reuters) North Carolina House Bill 2 North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signs Executive Order 73 that addresses some, but not all, troublesome provisions in House Bill 2 that caused businesses, traveling recording stars, etc., to stay clear of the state. The order does expand the state's anti-discrimination employment policy to include LBGT protection, but reiterates that people use the marked facility consistent with "... their biological sex." The American Civil Liberties Union says the order, "... fall(s) far short of correcting the damage done ... (and that)... transgender people are still explicitly targeted by being forced to use the wrong restroom." Equality North Carolina says, "... the order doubles down on the Governor's support for some of the most problematic provisions of HB2." (NPR) (WSOC) (WNCN) Panama Papers Authorities in Panama raid law firm Mossack Fonseca, the source of the data leaked about offshore companies. (AFP via The Rappler) Bad Aibling rail accident A German train controller, who was operating the tracks where two trains collided on February 9 near the town of Bad Aibling, Bavaria, is arrested on possible manslaughter charges. Prosecutors say the controller had been playing a game on his mobile phone, which led to his making signalling errors. The crash resulted in 11 deaths and 85 injuries, 24 serious. (UPI) Politics and elections Hundreds of people take to the streets of Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir after Indian Army soldiers shot dead at least two people during a protest against an alleged case of sexual harassment by an army soldier against a young woman. (Al Jazeera) 2016 United States presidential election Paul Ryan, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, rules out seeking or accepting the Republican Party nomination in 2016. (Fox News) Brazil impeachment process, 2016 President Dilma Rousseff, speaking with teachers and students, says Vice President Michel Temer and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Eduardo Cunha are jointly plotting her downfall. The two men are in line to succeed her if she is impeached. (AP via The Washington Post) In a 13-minute audio tape he released Monday, Vice President Temer outlines his administration in the event that President Rousseff is impeached. Temer says he unintentionally sent the tape to lawmakers through an instant messenger app. (Bloomberg) (AP via The Washington Post) Science and technology A British brain scan study of Lysergic acid diethylamide shows LSD may be useful in treating mental disorders such as major depressive disorder. (BBC) (Nature) British cosmologist Stephen Hawking and Russian venture capitalist and physicist Yuri Milner announce " Breaktrough Starshot," a $100 million effort to plan a trip to the sun's closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, via developing nanotechnology that would put the craft within the star system roughly 20 years after leaving Earth. (UPI) Sport In rugby union, Allister Coetzee is named as the new coach of the South Africa national rugby team. (IOL) Current events of April 13, 2016 (2016-04-13) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Donbass The Ukrainian Army says eight of its soldiers were wounded in fighting against Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country during the previous 24 hours. A military spokesman said there had been 29 shelling incidents around Mariupol. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Moro Conflict Battle of Tipo-Tipo ISIL claims responsibility for clashes between militants linked to the group and the Philippine Army that claimed 23 lives. (Reuters via Trust) Business and economics Peabody Energy, the largest privately-owned producer of coal in the world headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, files for bankruptcy court protection due to high debts and a drop in world prices. (Reuters) (ABC News Australia) Disasters and accidents At least 15 people are killed and 20 injured following a road accident in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad. (Samaa) April 2016 Myanmar earthquake A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Myanmar 396 kilometers (246 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (AP via CBS News) The government of Malawi declares a state of emergency across the country over worsening food shortages caused by a severe drought that is affecting much of Southern Africa with about 2.8 million Malawians, or 20% of the population, facing food insecurity. (Al Jazeera) 2014–16 El Niño event Indian officials report, with 24 deaths today, the heatwave in the eastern state of Odisha has killed 135 people. Temperatures of 105.5°F (40.8°C) were recorded yesterday at 19 locations across the state. Meteorologists say the heat, an after-effect of El Niño, has delayed the traditional April rains. (UPI) A Britten-Norman Islander light aircraft crashes in the Papua New Guinea town of Kiunga resulting in the deaths of all twelve people on board. (ABC News Australia) Health Zika virus outbreak (2015–present) The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the Zika virus causes birth defects like microcephaly. (Fox News) International relations Russia–United States relations, Cold War II Two unarmed Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 jets flew simulated attacks on United States Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official, who described it as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory. A Russian Kamov Ka-27 naval helicopter also made seven passes around the USS Donald Cook, taking pictures of the warship. (Reuters) Law and crime Recognition of same-sex unions in China A judge rules against a gay couple in China's first same-sex marriage case. (AP) November 2015 Paris attacks Three people arrested yesterday in connection with last year's attacks in Paris are released without charge. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News) LGBT rights in the United States Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signs an anti-discrimination order protecting the rights of gay and transgender people that rescinds one his immediate predecessor, Bobby Jindal, signed that sought to limit same-sex marriage rights and the ability of transgender people to choose which public restrooms they may use. (Reuters via Huffington Post) Politics and elections South Korean legislative election, 2016 Voters in South Korea go to the polls for a legislative election with the ruling Saenuri Party losing seats in a surprise setback. (AP) (Bloomberg) The opposition Minjoo Party of Korea wins the most seats in the Parliament. (BBC) Syrian parliamentary election, 2016 Voters in mostly government controlled areas of Syria will head to the polls to elect 250 members to the People's Council of Syria. (RT) (TeleSUR) 2015–16 protests in Brazil The Progressive Party announces it is leaving President Dilma Rousseff's coalition government and that its 47 politicians would support her impeachment. (Al Jazeera) Papua conflict Massive demonstrations in support of the Free Papua Movement take place in various cities in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. The demonstrations voice support for the Liberation Movement to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. (Radio New Zealand) A number of people were injured in clashes between police and several thousand protestors in Skopje, Macedonia, with demonstrators breaking into President Gjorge Ivanov's offices. (RT) Sport The World Anti-Doping Agency advises that WADA-accredited laboratories are currently conducting studies on meldonium excretion rates since existing data is lacking. Meldonium became a banned substance on January 1, 2016. A large number of athletes, including grand-slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova, had taken the medication in the past, and have tested positive this year. The new data will address how long meldonium stays in the body and determine if athletes were provided a reasonable amount of time to adhere to the new restrictions prior to testing. The drug was used by many Soviet-bloc athletes since the 80s. (Reuters) (WADA) 2015-16 NBA season In basketball, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors team sets a new NBA record for regular season wins with 73 wins this season. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls previously held the record with 72. (Washington Post) Kobe Bryant plays his last game in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers. He sets a new points record for a final match scoring 60 against the Utah Jazz. (Washington Post) Miscellaneous The world's longest webcomic, Homestuck, ends. Current events of April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Taliban militants kill eight people, including a police commander, in an ambush in northern Afghanistan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Israeli–Palestinian conflict A Palestinian wielding an ax attacks an Israeli soldier near Hebron and is shot dead while two 12-year-old Palestinians in Jerusalem are arrested by Israeli Police with three knives concealed in their coats on suspicion of planning to carry out a stabbing attack. (The Times of Israel) Arts and culture Authorities in Ukraine recover four Dutch Golden Age paintings stolen from a museum in the Netherlands a decade ago. (AP via Seattle Times) Disasters and accidents 2016 Kumamoto earthquake A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes near Kumamoto, Japan, collapsing several buildings killing at least four people and injuring 400. However, no tsunami warning was issued and local nuclear power plants reported no problems. (Reuters), (CNN), (Japan Today) At least 18 people are killed after an 80-tonne crane collapses on a temporary structure during a thunderstorm in the city of Dongguan, China. (The Times of India) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction North Korea deploys one or two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on its east coast, possibly preparing for launch on or around Friday, the anniversary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. (Euronews via Reuters) Law and crime The People's Republic of China announces that it will prosecute 357 people for the illegal sale of vaccines. (BBC) The U.S. company Microsoft has sued the United States, alleging that it has been prevented from disclosing warrants to the company's customers in violation of the company's constitutional rights. (NYT) Politics and elections The Verkhovna Rada appoints Volodmyr Groysman as the Prime Minister of Ukraine, replacing Arseny Yatseniuk. (Reuters) Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir impose a curfew around the capital of Srinagar, Handwara, and neighbouring villages as protests turn violent. People began to protest last Tuesday when allegations were circulated by residents in Handwara that an Indian Army soldier tried to sexually assault a teenage schoolgirl. (Al Jazeera) Hong Kong's June 4th Museum, the first museum dedicated to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, is to close down. Organizers say they believe they are being targeted for political reasons. It comes at a time when concerns are growing in Hong Kong that Beijing is tightening its grip on the city. (The Guardian) Thousands of opposition supporters rally in Harare, Zimbabwe, against President Robert Mugabe and the deteriorating economy. The rally was banned by the police, however, it went ahead after a ruling by the High Court sanctioned the protest. (BBC) Sports In basketball, the WNBA draft is held in Uncasville, Connecticut. The top pick is Connecticut's Breanna Stewart, followed by her college teammates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. This marks the first time in any major North American sports draft that a single school produced the top three selections. (ESPN) Current events of April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) A battle rages in the Kunduz Province of Afghanistan as the Taliban launches its spring offensive to capture the city of Kunduz. According to a Taliban spokesperson, several outposts already fell to them but this could not be verified immediately while a police chief says that the security forces were keeping "the situation under control". (Al Jazeera) PKK rebellion (2015–present) At least four Turkish Army soldiers are killed and two others are wounded after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the southeast Mardin Province. (Reuters) Arts and culture Human rights abuse victims during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos stake a claim on auction proceeds from Imelda Marcos' art collection, which includes pieces by Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso. (Rappler) Disasters and accidents 2016 Kumamoto earthquake The death toll from yesterday's earthquake rises to nine with eight dead in the town of Mashiki. Eight hundred people have been injured including over 50 seriously injured. (AP) At least two people are killed and five missing after a building collapses in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. (France 24) A tornado hits the Uruguayan town of Dolores resulting in at least four deaths and seven injuries. (AP via Star Tribune) A Malayan tiger attacks and kills a 38-year-old American zookeeper at the Palm Beach Zoo in Florida. (Reuters) International relations Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Philippine general election, 2016 Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte says he will set aside the Philippine claim on the Spratly islands and forge better economic relations with China. (Rappler) North Korea and weapons of mass destruction South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that North Korea tried to launch a BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile but was unsuccessful. (Reuters) Chinese state media condemn the action saying that saber-rattling will "lead the country to nowhere". (The Guardian) Russia–United States relations John Kerry informs Russia that under the rules of engagement the plane that flew over the USS Donald Cook on April 13th could have been shot down. (AFP via MSN) Poland–Russia relations, NATO–Russia relations Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, during a visit to Slovakia for talks on the future of NATO, says Russia is more dangerous than the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). “By all evidence, Russia’s activity is a sort of existential threat because this activity can destroy countries,” Waszczykowski told reporters in Bratislava. He described ISIL as a very serious threat but said “it is not an existential threat for Europe”. (The Guardian) Law and crime Authorities in Rwanda jail former politician Léon Mugesera for life. Mugesera was known for describing Tutsis as "cockroaches" and called for their extermination in a speech in 1992 and is said to be a precursor to the Rwandan genocide. (BBC) Two firefighters are shot, one fatally and the other is in critical condition, during a welfare check in Temple Hills, Maryland. (AP) Politics and elections The New York Post, a daily newspaper controlled by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, makes a u-turn and endorses Donald Trump for President of the United States. (Washington Post) (New York Post) Philippine presidential election, 2016 Presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago, who lags in surveys, accuses pollsters of fabricating results by excluding her name in opinion polls. (GMA News) (Inquirer) (The Manila Bulletin) Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil rejects a bid by the Attorney General to suspend a vote in the parliament to begin impeachment procedures against the President Dilma Rousseff. (Reuters) Brazil's Chamber of Deputies begins debating the impeachment of the President. (AP) Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings Belgian Minister of Transportation Jacqueline Galant resigns in the wake of the recent bombings that shook Brussels last March. Galant resigned amid accusations her ministry ignored EU criticism of security at Belgium's airports. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Riot police violently break up an anti-Sisi protest in Cairo, Egypt. In the first sign of public discontent with President Sisi's rule, hundreds of people gathered and shouted slogans calling for his overthrow. (Al Jazeera) Leaders of the Czech Republic choose “Czechia” as the one-word alternative name of their country to make it easier for companies, politicians and sportsmen to use on products, name tags and sporting jerseys. However, this change must still win cabinet approval before the foreign ministry can lodge the name with the United Nations for it to become the country’s official short name. (The Guardian) Current events of April 16, 2016 (2016-04-16) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) According to a police chief, at least 40 Taliban fighters are killed after launching an offensive against Afghan security forces to seize the strategic northern city of Kunduz while four security force personnel are also killed. (Al Jazeera) Somali Civil War (2009–present) AMISOM soldiers kill four Somali civilians in the town of Bulla Marer, southwest of Mogadishu. The AU Mission said scared soldiers opened fire when the car the civilians were driving failed to stop at a roadblock. (BBC) Moro conflict Philippine officials report four Indonesian sailors were kidnapped last night off the Philippines' southernmost town of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi, near Malaysia's Sabah state. Seven gunmen in a blue speedboat attacked two Indonesian-flagged tugboats. Six other sailors, including one who was shot, were not taken by ISIL-linked Abu Sayyaf militants. (Reuters) Syrian Civil War Syrian government airstrikes, and rockets from Islamist insurgents, hit many neighborhoods in Aleppo. Fatalities are reported on both sides of the city. This continued fighting threatens the truce and peace talks being held in Geneva, Switzerland. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says he will meet the government delegation Monday, and will sit down with the main opposition High Negotiations Committee later in the week. (Reuters) (AFP via Thanh Niên) Ethiopia claims that members of South Sudan's Murle people have killed 140 people and abducted 39 children. (BBC) German police report an apparent deliberate explosion at a Sikh temple in Essen while a wedding was being celebrated, has injured three people, one in serious condition. Police say there is no indication this was a terrorist incident. (AP) Arts and culture The United States Army approves 22 soldiers requests to become the service's first female infantry and armor unit officers. Thirteen women will enter the armor branch, and nine others will enter infantry as second lieutenants. (UPI) Disasters and accidents 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes A second earthquake hits southern Japan with a magnitude of 7.1 killing at least 32 people with the death toll from both earthquakes rising to 42. The new quake traps even more people. In Kumamoto a landslide occurs as well as a bridge collapse. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (AP) (AP via Yahoo! News) A new aftershock with a magnitude of 5.4 hits southern Kyushu island. A Japanese spokesman says 1,500 people have been injured, 80 seriously, since Thursday. (AP) (USA Today) Japan's Mount Aso in the Kumamoto Prefecture erupts sending ash about 100 meters (300 feet) into the air. The Japan Meteorological Agency kept its alert level at 2 on a scale of 5 for Aso following the eruption. It is unclear if the eruption is related to Saturday’s Kumamoto quake. (The Japan Times) Saturday's earthquake forces Sony to close its plant in the Kumamoto Prefecture. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan also stop work at several plants in the region. (UPI) A helicopter crashes near Baltimore–Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland. However, no fatalities are reported. (Reuters via Euronews) Five people are dead and five are in hospital after taking ecstasy at an Argentine version of the Time Warp Festival featuring electronic music acts. (Reuters via Yahoo!) The death toll rises to seven from Thursday's building collapse in the Canary Islands' southern coastal town of Los Cristianos on the island of Tenerife. (AP) 2016 Ecuador earthquake A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes off the coast of Ecuador, near the town of Muisne. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issues a tsunami alert for coastal areas of Ecuador and Colombia. At least 42 people are reported dead with deaths reported in the cities of Manta, Guayaquil and Portoviejo. (BNO News) (USGS) (Reuters via NBC News) (AP via Fox News) A state of emergency is declared in six provinces. (BBC) Later, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center announces the threat has largely passed. The United States Geological Survey reports the 7.8 magnitude quake was preceded, 11 minutes earlier, by a 4.8 earthquake. Production at the 110,000 barrel-per-day Esmeraldas refinery is suspended as a precautionary measure. (The Straits Times) International relations European migrant crisis Pope Francis arrives on the Greek island of Lesbos. Francis is expected to visit the Moria detention facility, where he will have lunch with some of the 3,060 men, women, and children there. (The Washington Post) Pope Francis offers refuge to a dozen Syrian Muslims, three families with six children, who faced deportation from Lesbos. The refugees accompanied the Pope on his return trip to Rome. (The Guardian) Iran–European Union relations EU Foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini holds the highest-level talks between the EU and Iran in decades to mark a new phase in relations between the two. Both sides are keen to focus on trade, energy and the environment as possible areas of cooperation. (BBC) The United States announces that it will transfer nine Yemeni detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to Saudi Arabia. (CNN) (AP) Russia–United States relations, Cold War II A United States Air Force Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted and threatened by a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on Thursday (April 14), according to the United States European Command (EUCOM). (Fox News) Law and crime General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, Mexico's Secretary of National Defence, apologises for an incident in which two soldiers and a policewoman torture a woman. (AFP via France 24) Politics and elections Iraq's Parliament cancels its third session in a week to discuss political reforms as some MPs dispute the legitimacy of speaker Salim al-Jabouri to chair the meeting. Also, protesters gathered in the streets of Baghdad to protest the growing political deadlock in the country. (Al Jazeera) Macedonian parliamentary election, 2016 As protesters continue to take to the streets of Skopje, Macedonia, lawmakers confirmed that a snap election will take place on June 5 despite the protesters being angry at President Gjorge Ivanov’s decision to halt investigations into more than 50 public figures, including top politicians embroiled in a wire-tapping scandal. Zoran Zaev, the main opposition leader, vowed to boycott the election. (The Guardian) Veteran President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso is sworn in for another term after a contentious election. (AFP via Daily Mail) Current events of April 17, 2016 (2016-04-17) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Heavy fighting continues in the north of Afghanistan as Taliban fighters intensify their attacks in several districts around Kunduz in their bid to retake the city. According to a police chief, militants overnight attacked several police checkpoints in the southwest outskirts of the city while government forces repelled a major attack to the east of Kunduz. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Disasters and accidents 2016 Ecuador earthquake The death toll from Saturday night's earthquake in Ecuador rises to 262 with more than 2,500 people injured. (AP via Fox News) (BBC) (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia) (AP² via Miami Herald) A bus carrying members of the Bharati Gananatya opera troupe crashes into a gorge in India's Odisha state resulting in 25 people killed and 11 injured. (AFP via ABC News Australia) A drone collides at London's Heathrow Airport with an Airbus A320 carrying 132 passengers and five crew, with no injuries reported. (Sydney Morning Herald) International relations Members of OPEC meet in Doha, Qatar, amid uncertainty in the markets and the outcome of the meeting. Since 2014, the price of oil has dropped dramatically. Analysts hope that an agreement to freeze output will reassure global energy markets that the recent recovery in prices is sustainable. (Al Jazeera) Israel–Syria relations The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu vows that the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, recognized as part of Syria, will forever stay in the country's hands and called on the international community to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area. (BBC) The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemns the Israeli cabinet meeting held on occupied Syrian-territory and, in letters to both the Security Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, calls on the U.N. to condemn Israel's action. (The Daily Star) Russia–United States relations A Russian Su-27 jet intercepts a United States Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane while in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says, "We condemn this kind of behavior. It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous." (AFP via The Strait Times) Law and crime Human rights in Myanmar The President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw pardons 83 political prisoners. A total of 282 people accused of political crimes have been released or had charges dropped since the new National League for Democracy government gained power on April 1. (Reuters) (Deutsche Welle,) Politics and elections Philippine presidential election, 2016 Presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte jokes about an Australian woman being raped and murdered in Davao City. (Rappler) (ABC News Australia) (Sydney Morning Herald) (BBC News) Italian oil drilling referendum, 2016 The Italian referendum proposes repealing the law that allows oil drilling concessions extracting Hydrocarbon within 12 nautical miles of the Italian coast to be prolonged until the exhaustion of the useful life of the fields. (Euronews) Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings At least 7,000 people take to the streets of Brussels, Belgium, in a march "against terror and hate." However, turnout was less than half of what was hoped for by organizers. (BBC) Protests continue in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, against President Gjorge Ivanov's decision to suspend an investigation into the alleged corruption of a number of politicians. (The Sofia Globe) Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff Brazil's Chamber of Deputies votes overwhelmingly (367-137) in favor of impeachment procedures against President Dilma Rousseff. (Reuters via Yahoo! News) United States presidential election in California, 2016 The Los Angeles Times reports that close to 500,000 California voters, who wanted to register as an Independent but checked the American Independent Party box instead, may be ineligible to vote in the state's Democratic and Republican primaries. (Los Angeles Times) (Newsweek) Current events of April 18, 2016 (2016-04-18) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Syrian rebels launch new offensives against government forces in the country's Latakia Governorate and Hama Governorate. Several rebel groups earlier announced they were launching a new battle against government forces in response to claimed violations of the cease-fire agreement, further putting a strain on the Syrian peace process. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit the Turkish town of Kilis killing four people, most of them children. (BBC) Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present) 2016 Jerusalem bus bombing A bomb explosion in Jerusalem set two buses on fire and injured 21 people with ball bearing and nails. Israeli police say they believe the incident was a suicide bombing but no group has claimed responsibility. (Euronews) (Ynetnews) Ethnic violence in South Sudan, Sudanese nomadic conflicts According to the government of Ethiopia, the death toll from a raid carried out by attackers from South Sudan has risen to 208 from a figure of 140 a day earlier, with 108 children being kidnapped in the process. Ethiopian forces killed 60 of the attackers and says it would cross the border into South Sudan to pursue the assailants if necessary. (Al Jazeera) Arts and culture Pulitzer Prizes The Associated Press wins the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for documenting the use of slave labor in Southeast Asia to supply seafood to American tables. (AP) Lin-Manuel Miranda wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Hamilton based on the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. (Buzzfeed) Business and economics The meeting in Doha, Qatar, of the world's top oil producers, from both OPEC and non-OPEC countries, fails to agree on an output freeze. Oil analysts say the failure was due to Iran's non-participation, and Saudi Arabia linking its cooperation to Iran's inclusion. Oil prices drop in early Asian trading and on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (AFP via Bangkok Post) (CNBC) (Oilprice.com) A member of the board of the Bundesbank in Germany says that the European Central Bank ought to crack down on the political practice, in EU's member states, by which banks that are no longer viable are nonetheless kept in business, as so-called Zombie banks. (Reuters) Cuba-United States relations Carnival Cruise Lines says it will postpone its first cruise in 50 years from the United States to Havana, if Cuba does not waive its rule and allow Cuban-Americans passengers. Current Cuban law does not allow those born on the island to return by sea. (UPI) (AP via CNBC) Disasters and accidents 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes The Japanese Red Cross says that 250,000 people have been asked to leave their homes due to further tremors. (BBC) 2016 Ecuador earthquake Aid starts to flow in after an earthquake kills over 270 people in Ecuador. (AP via Fox News) (BBC) European migrant crisis More than 400 migrants, mostly from Somalia, drown in the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Egypt to Italy. (The Telegraph) Violent storms cause floods across Uruguay with seven people killed and more than 2,000 left homeless. Four of those were killed by a tornado that struck Dolores. Four million people in the Chilean capital of Santiago were left without tap water as heavy rains triggered landslides. This led to the fouling of the city's water supply. (Al Jazeera) 2016 Houston floods Heavy rain of more than 1 foot (0.30 m) causes major flooding in Houston, Texas, affecting 1,000 homes, causing five deaths and causing power outages for over 100,000 residents. (CNN), (USA Today), (Time) Texas Governor Greg Abbott declares nine counties in the southeastern part of the state disaster areas. (UPI) International relations Australia–Philippines relations, Philippine presidential election, 2016 Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely criticizes Philippine presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte regarding his remarks about the rape of an Australian citizen. (Rappler) (The New York Times) Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) During a visit to Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces that the United States will be sending more troops to the country to help in the fight against ISIL. The U.S. also plans to give Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which are fighting ISIL on the ground, more than $400m (£280m; €350m) in assistance. (BBC) Law and crime War in Donbass, Russia–Ukraine relations A Ukrainian court sentences two Russian nationals to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Moscow contends that the two Russians were no longer employed by the state when they were captured. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Politics and elections Philippine general election, 2016 Bongbong Marcos, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and top vice presidential candidate, defends Duterte's remarks about rape. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Italian oil drilling referendum, 2016 The referendum fails to exceed the 50% turnout level necessary to make the results binding; turnout was recorded at 31.2%. (Reuters) 2016 Macedonian protests Protests against President Gjorge Ivanov continue in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, after his decision to pardon politicians involved in a scandal. (The Seattle Times) Sports More than 30,000 runners participate in the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. Two Ethiopian runners win. Adriana Haslett and Patrick Downes, survivors of the 2013 bombing who each lost a leg in the blast, were in the field. (The Boston Globe) (NPR) Current events of April 19, 2016 (2016-04-19) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan April 2016 Kabul attack A large explosion is reported in the Afghan capital Kabul a week after the Taliban declared the start of their annual spring offensive. The target was an Afghan government security compound with at least 28 people reported killed and more than 200 others injured. (Times of India), (AP via Fox News) The United Nations Security Council condemns today's attack in Kabul by the Taliban. (AP via The Washington Post) War in North-West Pakistan A suicide bomber explodes his vest next to a government building in Mardan, Pakistan, killing one person and critically wounding three more. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Iraqi Civil War Iraqi officials, following arrested IS militants' directions, uncover two mass graves with bodies of about 40 people in Ramadi. (AP via Fox News) Syrian Civil War Airstrikes that were likely carried out by Syrian government forces kill around 40 people in a crowded market in rebel territory in Syria's Idlib Governorate. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2016 Ecuador earthquake The death toll from Saturday's earthquake has risen to at least 480 with 1,700 missing. Another 2,500 have been injured. President Rafael Correa states it is the worst disaster in Ecuador in seven decades, and the reconstruction will have a "huge economic impact" on the country. (BBC) (CBS News) International relations Sweden–United States relations Swedish deputy prime minister Åsa Romson is criticized after referring to the September 11 attacks in New York as mere "accidents". Romson made the comments on public television while discussing the resignation of housing minister Mehmet Kaplan who had compared Israel's treatment of Arabs to the Nazis' treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. (Daily Mail) (The Local) Cross-Strait relations Under pressure from the Chinese delegation, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters ejects the Taiwanese delegation from a symposium of the OECD Steel Committee; it was the first such incident since Taiwan joined the OECD Steel Committee in 2005. (Focus Taiwan) (AP via Daily Mail) (AFP via The Daily Star) The European Union offers to help the fledgling new UN-backed Libyan unity government with assistance in its security sector, managing migration, border management and police capacity building. This comes after Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj appealed to foreign governments for help in fighting ISIL and aid to rebuild the country. (The Guardian) India–United Kingdom relations In response to an ongoing Supreme Court case regarding the ownership of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the government of India said it should not try to reclaim it from the United Kingdom. The government argues that the diamond was given to the British as a gift and was not stolen. However, the Supreme Court says it will continue with the case. (BBC) Law and crime Authorities in China sentence Huang Yu, a computer technician from Sichuan who worked for a government department which handled state secrets, to death for leaking more than 150,000 classified documents to an unidentified foreign power. The documents in question covered secrets ranging from the ruling Communist Party to military and financial issues. (The Guardian) Lutz Bachmann, the leader of the German far-right and anti-Islam Pegida movement, goes on trial in Dresden on charges of hate speech. (BBC) Transgender rights in the United States An American federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, rules a transgender high school student who was banned from the boys' bathroom can proceed with the lawsuit against the school board. (Richmond Times-Dispatch) Yesterday, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a statement that North Carolina House Bill 2, a so-called bathroom bill, "...jeopardizes not only the dignity, but also the actual physical safety, of transgender people." (The Washington Post) Kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir A Jerusalem district court rejects an insanity plea and convicts Yosef Chaim Ben-David as the ringleader of the terrorist kidnapping and murder of the 16-year-old Palestinian. In November, the court convicted Ben-David's two accomplices, both minors, of murder. (Haaretz) (Al Bawaba) While South Korea prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Associated Press reports the country has covered up widespread human rights violations, including rapes and murders, when it swept so-called vagrants off the streets in the years prior to the 1988 Games in Seoul. Thousands of victims have received no compensation, nor public recognition nor an apology. The AP says two early attempts to investigate were suppressed by senior officials and the current government refuses to revisit the case and is blocking a push by an opposition lawmaker. (AP) Flint water crisis According to government officials, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette tomorrow will announce criminal charges against two state regulators and a Flint employee in connection with the city's lead-tainted water crisis. (AP via Fox News) Politics and elections 2016 United States presidential election Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016, Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016 Voters in the U.S. state of New York go to the polls for a primary election with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump expected to win the respective contests for their parties in that state. (Reuters via The Star) Donald Trump wins by a large margin in the Republican Party primary. (AP via OregonLive) Hillary Clinton gains a decisive win (57.6 percent to 42.4 percent) over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party primary. (New York Times) (Five Thirty Eight) (The Washington Post) Philippine presidential election, 2016 Rodrigo Duterte apologizes for making remarks about rape. (Rappler) The government of the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island announces it is going to take its governance issue to the United Nations. Former and final Chief Minister of the island Lisle Snell said he seeks to have Norfolk Island added on the UN's list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and be given the rights that are accorded under the terms and conditions of being on the list. In 2015, the Australian government terminated Norfolk Island's self-governing status in response to serious financial issues but without the islanders' or government's consent. (Radio New Zealand) Princess Sofia of Sweden and Prince Carl Philip announce birth of first son. (Daily Mail) Current events of April 20, 2016 (2016-04-20) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2001–present) April 2016 Kabul attack The death toll from yesterday's Taliban attack on the National Directorate of Security in Kabul rises to 64, with 347 others wounded, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry. (Reuters) War in Donbass A Ukrainian military spokesman says three of its soldiers were killed by a mortar attack in the country's east, the heaviest toll reported in the region in nearly two months. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) War in North-West Pakistan Pakistani Taliban militants, in two attacks, kill seven police officers who were guarding medical workers administering polio vaccinations in Karachi. (The Guardian) Business and economics The Kuwait Oil Workers Union ends their three-day strike that had cut Kuwait's crude production by nearly half. (Gulf News) (CNBC) Mitsubishi admits that its fuel efficiency tests broke Japanese rules for about 625,000 "ultrasmall" vehicles sold in Japan. (BBC) (UPI) The European Union accuses Google of abusing the dominance of its Android by preloading its own apps. (Irish Times) Volkswagen emissions scandal Volkswagen and United States officials agree in principle on a deal where the automaker could buy back up to 500,000 diesel cars. (Reuters) Former slave Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the United States twenty-dollar bill while Alexander Hamilton keeps his place on the ten after the public consultation process. (The New York Times) (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2016 Ecuador earthquake A magnitude-6.1 aftershock has struck off the coast of Ecuador at 3:33 a.m. local time, the US Geological Survey says, in the same area as the massive earthquake on Saturday. (USGS), (Reuters via Asia-Pacific News) People in Ecuador start burying their dead as the death toll from the earthquake passes 500. (AP) President Rafael Correa announces a sales tax increase, and a one-time levy on millionaires as the country deals with the enormous damage from this disaster. (AP) The death toll rises to 570 with 163 people listed as missing. Those made homeless climbs to over 23,500. (AP) European migrant crisis Up to 500 people are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean last week, in what would be the deadliest migrant shipwreck in months. (The Guardian) A small-plane crashes near Chugiak, Anchorage in Alaska, killing at least four people, according to the Anchorage Fire Department. (Alaska Dispatch News) Hundreds of people are evacuated following a large explosion at an oil facility in Coatzacoalcos in southern Mexico. (BBC) International relations Yemeni Crisis The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United States agree to carry out joint naval patrols to prevent Iranian arms shipments reaching Yemen, the Gulf bloc's secretary general Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said on Wednesday, following a meeting with United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Iran denies it supplies weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. (Reuters) Ukraine–European Union relations The European Union proposes offering Ukraine visa-free travel to its members. However, it is still unclear how fast the liberalization process will be dealt with in the European Parliament and European Council, where some EU member states might want to slow down the process. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) NATO–Russia relations NATO reopens informal talks with Russia for the first time in nearly two years. According to the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg "NATO and Russia have profound and persistent disagreements, today’s meeting did not change that." (Euronews) United Kingdom–United States relations The United Kingdom's Foreign Office issues a travel advisory for gay people concerning travel to parts of the United States due to new legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi. (The Independent) Law and crime A women's rights group files a lawsuit in the Philippine Commission on Human Rights against Rodrigo Duterte for his rape remarks. (The New York Times) Australian media reports that a deal has been reached on an alleged kidnapping case against Tara Brown and the Australian 60 Minutes crew. (9 News) The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rules that an anti-terrorism law is unconstitutional and violates right to privacy. (DPA) The U.S. state of Utah declares pornography a "public health risk" in a move Governor of Utah Gary Herbert says is to "protect our families and our young people". The bill, signed by the governor, does not ban pornography in the state but does call for greater "efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction". (BBC) Anders Behring Breivik, a convicted mass murderer in the 2011 Norway attacks, wins a human rights case against the government of Norway. (BBC) Flint water crisis The first criminal charges are laid against three people, two state officials and a municipal official, involved in the Flint water crisis. (New York Times) Panama Papers In a letter to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the United States Department of Justice announces it is opening a criminal investigation into tax avoidance schemes exposed by the Panama Papers with U.S. attorney Preet Bharara asking the ICIJ for help. (BBC) Two people are burned alive amid xenophobic riots in Lusaka, Zambia. The riots started after rumours spread that Rwandans were behind recent ritual killings in the city. More than 250 people have been arrested after more than 60 Rwandan-owned shops were looted in two days of violence. (BBC) Drug policy of Canada Canada's Minister of Health Jane Philpott says federal legislation to legalize marijuana will be introduced in spring of 2017. (CBC) The United States Supreme Court rules that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in attacks blamed on Iran, including the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. (Reuters) Politics and elections Yasri Khan, a senior member of Swedish Green Party (part of the ruling coalition), who was refusing to shake hands with a female reporter on grounds that it violated his Muslim faith, announces that he is quitting politics. (The Local) Philippine presidential election, 2016 Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte reneges on his apology and denies a statement by his party, PDP-Laban, which said he was sorry for his rape comments. (The Manila Bulletin) 2016 Macedonian protests Protests continue against President Gjorge Ivanov in Skopje, Macedonia. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev said he will only take part in EU-brokered negotiations with the government if certain conditions are met. (The Irish Times) Current events of April 21, 2016 (2016-04-21) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Sudanese nomadic conflicts, Ethnic violence in South Sudan The Ethiopian Army crosses the border into South Sudan with the latter's approval in search of more than 100 children who were kidnapped and spirited across the border in a surprise attack by unknown assailants that also killed 208 people a few days ago. (Al Jazeera) Northern Mali conflict Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group claims responsibility for kidnapping three International Committee of the Red Cross staffers this weekend in Abeïbara in northeastern Mali. (AP) Amnesty International says the Nigerian Army killed 350 members of the Islamic Movement and secretly buried them in mass graves in the city of Zaria in Kaduna State. (The Guardian) Arts and culture Elizabeth II, queen regnant of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, celebrates her 90th birthday. (BBC) Bongbong Marcos admits that his family is blocking forfeiture of 200 masterpiece paintings sought by the government saying that the works were not subject of a court order case. The artworks, accumulated during the administration of his father, Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are believed to be part of the family's alleged ill-gotten wealth. (ABS-CBN News) The Bunyadi, a London pop-up restaurant where diners will be encouraged to eat in the nude, has a reservation waiting list of more than 13,000 people for its June opening. The restaurant will operate for three months. (UPI) Musician Prince dies at his home at Paisley Park in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen, Minnesota. (News Limited) Business and economy Volkswagen emissions scandal Volkswagen reaches a deal with the United States government that includes vehicle buybacks and cash compensation. (AP via Fox News) The Vatican suspends PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit of its finances over questions whether proper procedures were followed when the December 2015 contract, reportedly worth $3 million, was enacted. Analysts say this move exposes the rift between the church’s old guard and supporters of financial reform, and raises questions about the Catholic Church’s commitment to cleaning up its finances. (Reuters) (The Guardian) (BBC) Disasters and accidents More than 100 are feared dead in an early summer heatwave in India which has forced the closure of schools. (Reuters) At least 24 people are killed, 136 others injured, and eight workers still missing from yesterday's blast at the major Clorados 3 petrochemical plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo. Nineteen people remain hospitalized, with 13 in serious condition. The plant is run by Mexichem under agreement with Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the national petrochemical company, in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, on the country's southern Gulf of Mexico coast. Pemex had an earlier fire at the same facility in February 2016 that killed one worker; also that month, an offshore Pemex Gulf platform fire killed two and injured eight. (Reuters) (AP) At least two people are killed after an oceanfront stretch of an elevated bike lane in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, collapses when it was hit by a strong wave. Two other people were rescued alive, while another may be missing. The bike lane was among the projects built in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics. No Olympic event will be held on the path. (AP) (AP² via CBS News) (Hindustan Times) International relations Australia–Philippines relations, Philippines–United States relations, 2016 Philippine presidential election Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte said that Australia and the United States should go ahead and cut their ties with the Philippines if he was elected president, following critical comments of their ambassadors on his rape remarks. (Rappler) Gulf Cooperation Council Summit United States President Barack Obama, at the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Saudi Arabia, says the United States will continue to deter and confront aggression against Gulf Arab states; joins others in warning the fragile cease-fire in Syria is on the verge of collapse; pledges vigilance about Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East; wants Gulf allies to offer more democratic reforms and improve human rights; and, says the U.S. and its Gulf partners should wait to see whether Iraq can resolve its political crisis before committing more financial aid which is impeding the fight against ISIL. (AP) (Reuters) Syrian peace process Staffan de Mistura, U.N. envoy to Syria, says there has been "real but modest" progress in the country's humanitarian situation, despite the shaken ceasefire. Aid convoys have reached 560,000 people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas; six areas still remain off limits. Yesterday, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent medically evacuated 515 people from four communities—Zabadani, Madaya, Kfarya, and Foua—besieged by government and rebel groups. (AP) United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union U.S. President Barack Obama, in an op-ed in London's Daily Telegraph, urges Britons to keep the U.K. in the European Union. Tomorrow, Obama is scheduled to have lunch with Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday today. He then will hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (The Daily Telegraph) Philippines–United Kingdom relations, Philippines–United States relations The United States and the United Kingdom issue travel alerts for their citizens to avoid the Sulu Archipelago in the southwestern Philippines where a wave of kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf militants has occurred. (AP) Law and crime Crime in El Salvador The government of El Salvador unveils and deploys a new heavily armed special forces unit to fight criminal gangs in rural areas of the country. Officials say it will target gang leaders who left the cities because of a government crackdown. (BBC) Six high ranking Pakistan Army officers, including a lieutenant-general and major-general, are sacked by Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif amid corruption allegations within the army. Sharif said corruption had to be uprooted to fight terrorism. (BBC) Politics and elections Philippine general election, 2016 Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte says he shot a fellow law student at San Beda College. The victim, Octavio Goco, who was also a Lex Talionis fraternity brother of Duterte, survived the assault. Duerte was not allowed to participate in his graduation ceremony. (Rappler) (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Russia–Ukraine relations Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signs legislation banning all Russian films made after January 1, 2014. The legislation also bans movies produced by Russia after 1991 if they "glorify the work of government bodies" of Russia, citing such movies to be a threat to national security. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2016 Macedonian protests The European Union cancels mediation talks on resolving the political crisis in Macedonia after that country's main political opposition, led by Zoran Zaev, declined to take part. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Chadian presidential election, 2016 The incumbent President of Chad Idriss Deby is reelected for a fifth term amid allegations of fraud. (Voice of America) Science and technology Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, takes off from Kalaeloa, Hawaii, USA, on the ninth leg of its around-the-world journey. This portion of the trip will cover 2,542 nautical miles and, in about three days, is scheduled to touch down in Mountain View, California. The journey originated in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 9, 2015, and, after another 8,130 nmi, will complete the circle when it lands in Abu Dhabi. (AP) Sport 2016 Summer Olympics The Olympic flame is lit outside the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, by Greek actress Katerina Lehou. Brazilian volleyball legend Giovane Gávio starts the relay that will reach the capital Brasilia on May 3 for transport throughout the South American country by 12,000 torchbearers, arriving at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 5. (AP via WMAR-TV) Zika virus outbreak Some Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball players, who are scheduled to play a two-game series the end of May in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to honor Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, are concerned about being exposed to the Zika virus. About 400 cases have been confirmed in the Commonwealth. (AP via ESPN) (The Sporting News) (Yahoo! Sports) Current events of April 22, 2016 (2016-04-22) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Moro conflict The U.K. Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department issue travel advisories regarding the Philippine island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago after a recent kidnapping near Davao City. (Sun Star Cebu),(Rappler) Syrian Civil War The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that airstrikes have killed at least seven people in Aleppo. (AP) Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) A suicide bomber kills at least nine people at a Shi'ite mosque in southwestern Baghdad. A second attacker was shot dead by security forces before he could detonate his explosives. (Reuters) The United States admits it has killed 20 civilians and wounded 11 others in airstrikes in Syria and Iraq between September 10, 2015, and February 2, 2016. (UPI) Arts and culture Eurovision Song Contest 2016, Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Romania is expelled from this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden, after its national broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR) failed to pay outstanding debts dating back to 2007. Ovidiu Anton was due to perform the song "Moment of Silence" at the contest. (Sky News) The Carver County, Minnesota Sheriff's office conducts an autopsy on Prince to determine cause of death. (Reuters) Business and economics Creditors, including 800 sacked workers, vote to place Queensland Nickel into liquidation allowing creditors to pursue its owner, Australian politician Clive Palmer, for costs. (Australia) Fiat Chrysler announces plans to withdraw 1.1 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with the gearshift confusing drivers. (BBC) Valeant, a Canada based pharmaceutical company, says it has received new notices of default from its bondholders. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents A passenger train derails near the South Korean city of Yeosu resulting in the death of a railroad engineer and eight people being injured. (Reuters) A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel catches fire in the Chinese city of Jingjiang resulting in an unknown number of casualties. (AFP via Channel News Asia) At least 15 people have been killed in a landslide in the Tawang District in India's Arunachal Pradesh state. (Times of India) 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season The Samoan Islands and Wallis and Futuna brace for the impact of Cyclone Amos as the Fiji Meteorological Service upgrades the cyclone to a category three storm, with sustained winds as high as 140 km/h at its centre. (Radio New Zealand) State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos reports the death toll has risen to 28 from Wednesday's explosion at Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo's Clorados 3 petrochemical plant in the Gulf port city of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Some workers are still missing while 18 others remain hospitalized. Officials say the explosion came from an unspecified leak. The plant produces the hazardous industrial chemical vinyl chloride. (AP) International relations United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union Mayor of London and cabinet member Boris Johnson says that U.S. President Barack Obama is "inconsistent and hypocritical" in persuading the British people to remain in the European Union. (The Sun) Taiwan–United States relations The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously passes a resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. (Taipei Times) (Focus Taiwan) 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference A record 175 states sign the United Nations climate agreement in New York on opening day. The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions formally join it. (ABC News Australia) (AP) NATO–Russia relations, Cold War II U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, the incoming head of the United States military forces in Europe, says he supports a permanent brigade-sized presence of U.S. combat troops in Eastern Europe to deter Russia’s expanded and assertive actions. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute Belize accuses Guatemala of "amassing" troops on the disputed Belize–Guatemala border following the death of a teenage Guatemalan boy in a shooting incident apparently involving Belize Defence Force soldiers. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called the shooting a "cowardly and excessive attack" that merits the "total condemnation of the Guatemalan state". (AP via ABC News) Law and crime Former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra K. Pachauri is to face a court in Delhi, India on charges of sexual harassment. Pachauri is accused of stalking, intimidation and sexual assault of a former employee. (The Guardian) Pike County, Ohio, shootings Eight family members are murdered in four different locations in Pike County, Ohio. Three children, including a four-day-old baby, survived the killings. (Fox News), (AP) (AP²) Five people have been killed in two separate shootings in the American town of Appling, Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Felony disenfranchisement In the United States, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signs an executive order restoring the rights of an estimated 200,000 convicted felons to vote and run for office. (AP) Politics and elections 2016 Macedonian protests The European Union announces it is considering imposing sanctions on Macedonia's leaders for reneging on an agreement last year to investigate corruption in the ruling class and issuing an amnesty instead to those involved. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Thousands of Sudanese students take to the streets around the University of Kordofan in Khartoum and other parts of the country to protest the recent killing of students last Monday. Security forces opened fire on a peaceful protest, killing many students after they attempted to nominate pro-opposition candidates for their campus elections. (The Guardian) Mexican Drug War, War on Drugs Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proposes legalizing marijuana for medical purposes and easing limits for personal use of the drug. He said he would be sending a bill to the Congress to increase the amount users can legally carry from the current five grams to 28 (0.18-1oz). The news comes just two days after he addressed the United Nations General Assembly at a special session on drug policy and is seen as a chance to re-think the current strategy of fighting drug-trafficking, especially in Mexico where the fighting has killed tens of thousands of people. (BBC) Philippine general election, 2016 The Commission on Election announced that the May 9 elections shall push through despite a massive breach on its database by hackers which puts 55 million registered Filipino voters at risk. Science and technology Amazon Reef Oceanographers discover an extensive reef system near the Amazon River, estimated to span an area of 3,600 square miles (9,300 km2). (The Atlantic), (The Guardian), (Los Angeles Times), (Phys.org), (CNN) China's National Space Administration says it is working on a program to land a rover on Mars by 2020. (AP) Energy development The Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward, Alaska) announces that 98 percent of the center's heating and cooling now comes from low-cost, alternative energy derived from seawater. (Tech Times) Scientists discover the quantum tunneling of water molecules. (Phys. Rev. Letters), (Phys.org), (Tech Times) Sport 2022 FIFA World Cup President of FIFA Gianni Infantino says a new independent committee will be set up to monitor working conditions at Qatar's 2022 World Cup venues. The move is an attempt by the world football's governing body to ease fears of human rights abuses in the state, where organizations like Amnesty International documented multiple cases of poor working conditions and abuses against migrant workers. (BBC) Current events of April 23, 2016 (2016-04-23) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in North-West Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban claims the killing of a Sikh lawmaker, Soran Singh. (The New York Times) Syrian Civil War ISIL claims to have shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force MiG-23, southeast of Damascus, and captured its pilot. Amaq News Agency, which supports ISIL, gave the pilot’s name as Azzam Eid, from Hama. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it was not clear whether the plane had been shot down or crashed because of mechanical failure. (Daily Mail) (Times of Israel) Syrian government airstrikes kill 25 people, mostly civilians, in attacks on rebel-held areas near the capital Damascus. (NY Times) Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Yemeni government forces along with Popular Resistance militia kill dozens of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in clashes in southern Yemen. A drone strike kills two others further north, near Ma'rib. (Reuters) Iraqi Civil War Two separate car bombs kill at least 12 people in Iraq's capital, Baghdad. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the blast at the security checkpoint in a northern district that killed nine and injured 28 others. Three people are killed and 11 injured at the second bombing in southern Baghdad that targeted an army convoy; no group has claimed responsibility. (Reuters) Arts and culture The continuing influence of English dramatist William Shakespeare is celebrated on the 400th anniversary of his death in Stratford-upon-Avon. (Time) Spain commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of its most famous author Miguel de Cervantes. (AFP via France 24) Beyoncé releases the best selling album of 2016, Lemonade. The album is a visual album that was released with a film that detailed every song on the album. Disasters and accidents 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season Samoan authorities prepared for Severe Tropical Cyclone Amos which is forecast to make landfall later tonight. (Weather Zone) A Russian oil tanker catches fire in the Caspian Sea, killing at least one crew member. A total of 10 crew members were evacuated from the ship, which was in the territorial waters of Turkmenistan when the fire broke out. It was unclear what caused the blaze. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2016 Ecuador earthquake The death toll from the earthquake passes 650 with over 50 people missing. It is now the deadliest earthquake in South America this century. (AP via ABC News) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction North Korea is reported to have launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile for the first time. (Reuters) Russia–United States relations President of Russia Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of reneging on a 16-year-old deal that called for reducing Russia's and the United States' stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium. He accused Washington of trying to preserve its ability to turn some of its plutonium stockpile back into a form usable for nuclear weapons. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Syrian peace process Reuters reports the Friday afternoon truce between Kurdish Asayish forces and pro-Syrian government forces, declared following a three-day outbreak of violence that killed at least 26 people, is holding. (Reuters) European migrant crisis German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk, and European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans meet with Syrian refugees at a camp in the southeastern Turkish town of Nizip prior to talks with a delegation led by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. Davutoğlu stresses the importance of implementation of European Union visa liberalization for Turkish citizens in assuring the success of Europe's migrant readmission agreement with his country. Tusk announces that the EU will spend 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) this summer on projects to improve the lives of Syrian migrants. (Hürriyet Daily News) (Reuters) (Journal of Turkish Weekly) North Korea-United States relations Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong says North Korea is ready to halt nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea. (AP via Time) Law and crime Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique is killed in the Bangladeshi city of Rajshahi in an ISIL attack. (Hindustan Times) (AFP via Yahoo!) Böhmermann affair During a rally in support of German comedian Jan Böhmermann, outside the Turkish embassy in Berlin, Bruno Kramm, head of the Berlin branch of Germany's Pirate Party, is arrested for “insulting a representative of a foreign state” by quoting a line from the comic’s satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (RT) Panama Papers Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif bows to opposition demands that he ask Pakistan's chief justice to set up an independent commission to investigate offshore accounts linked to his family. Sharif said he would accept the commission's findings and even resign if called upon. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) European Union finance ministers approve a series of measures to tackle tax-evading methods that were exposed by the Panama Papers. (The Guardian) United States Federal agents are combing three states for 32 cases of commercial grade explosives, about 500 pounds of 2½ to 5 inch aerial shells, stolen from a CSX train traveling from Chicago, Illinois, through Ohio that arrived in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday. (CBS News) (Detroit Free Press) Politics and elections Philippine presidential election, 2016 Human rights activists, lawyers, labor rights groups and other advocates endorse Leni Robredo for vice president. (Rappler) South Sudanese Civil War Rebel leader Riek Machar misses an international deadline to return to the capital Juba to take the post of Vice President. Machar was offered the position by President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the hopes of putting an end to the civil war but has repeatedly delayed his return. (Al Jazeera) Thousands of people protest in the German city of Hanover against the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal. They say the deal would drive down wages, and weaken environmental protection and labour rights. (BBC) Darfurian status referendum, 2016 According to the Sudanese electoral commission, more than 97% of voters in Darfur choose to remain as five states rather than form a single region. However, The vote was held amid ongoing insecurity and many of Sudan's 2.5 million displaced people were not registered to vote, with the U.S. State Department warning that the referendum could not be considered credible "under current rules and conditions". (BBC) Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso names former opposition leader Clément Mouamba as prime minister. (Reuters) Science and Technology Solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 lands in Mountain View, California after a 62-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii. (NBC News) (BBC) Current events of April 24, 2016 (2016-04-24) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War At least 14 people have been killed in suicide bombing attacks in Baghdad. (Daily Times) Yemeni Civil War Saudi-led air strikes kill at least ten al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in southern Yemen. (Reuters) Yemeni and United Arab Emirates troops capture the seaport of Mukalla from al Qaeda. The Saudi Arabia led coalition claims to have killed more than 800 militants(Reuters), (Reuters) Syrian Civil War Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit a poor neighborhood and a mosque in the Turkish city of Kilis, killing one person and injuring 26 others. Turkish security forces responded by returning fire into Syria. (Euronews) (Reuters) International relations North Korea–South Korea relations North Korea reportedly deploys 300 new multiple launch rocket systems along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap) Syrian Civil War U.S. President Barack Obama rules out deploying U.S. ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country's problems. He also said he did not think that ISIL would be defeated in his last nine months of office. (BBC) U.S. officials report President Obama will announce plans to send as many as 250 more U.S. troops to Syria to help fight ISIL militants. The troops are likely to include special operations forces and medical or intelligence support personnel, an official added. The decision is scheduled to be announced around noon tomorrow in Hanover, Germany, during the President's farewell tour of Europe. (CBS News) (Reuters) North Korea-United States relations President Barack Obama says the United States isn't taking North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong's proposal to halt nuclear activity seriously. Pyongyang would "have to do better than that," he added. (AP) Law and crime Ebru Umar, a Dutch journalist of Turkish descent, is arrested in Kuşadası, Turkey, for tweets deemed critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This comes as a political storm erupted this week over reports that the Turkish consulate asked Turkish organizations in the Netherlands to forward emails and social media posts which insult Erdoğan or Turkey. (The Guardian) Israeli–Palestinian conflict Following an appeal, 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi is freed from an Israeli prison. She is believed to be the youngest female Palestinian ever imprisoned. Israeli civil law, which does not allow anyone under 14 to go to jail, did not affect her imprisonment. Palestinian residents in the occupied territories are subject to military law that can sentence suspects as young as 12 to prison. (AP via ABC News) Politics and elections Austrian presidential election, 2016 Austrians vote in the first round of electing the next president. Preliminary estimates indicate FPÖ's Norbert Hofer won the first round with 36 percent of the vote. Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Green Party, garnered 20%, and another independent, Irmgard Griss, took 18.5 percent. President Heinz Fischer was not eligible to be re-elected. Candidates representing the two leading parties, that have ruled for the past 70 years, were eliminated. Hofer and Van der Bellen will compete in the runoff election on May 22, 2016. (Bloomberg) (Election website) (Deutsche Welle), (Euro News) Equatorial Guinean presidential election, 2016 Equatorial Guinean voters go to the polls with incumbent Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo expected to win as the opposition boycotts the election. (Voice of America) (Al Jazeera) Japanese House of Representatives by-elections, 2016: By-elections were held for two seats controlled by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (Japan Times) Hokkaido 5th district by-election, 2016: LDP candidate Yoshiaki Wada staved off the competition from independent candidate Maki Ikeda. Despite the LDP's winning margin decreasing from 14% (in 2014) to 2%, this win is seen as a boost for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the upcoming upper house election. Kyoto 3rd district by-election, 2016: The newly formed Democratic Party wrested back the seat from the LDP after their candidate and former MP for the district Kenta Izumi won by a landslide. Philippine presidential election, 2016. The final leg of the Philippine presidential debate series is held in Dagupan. (The Manila Bulletin) Serbian parliamentary election, 2016 Serbians elect a new parliament under the backdrop of its accession to the European Union. Preliminary results indicate the incumbent, pro-EU populists sweeping the election. (Bloomberg) (AP via The Washington Post) 2015–16 protests in Moldova Protests continue in Moldova as thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrate in the capital Chișinău despite concessions given to the protesters last month by the government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Around 1,000 people stage a rare public protest in the Kazakh city of Atyrau, rallying against the government's decision to sell land in auctions amid a heavy police presence, though they did not forcibly disperse the rally. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Current events of April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present) Two Turkish soldiers are killed and four are wounded in an attack by Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey. (Daily Mail) The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) warns Turkey it is preparing to intensify its fight. (BBC) Syrian Civil War At least eight people are reportedly killed as a car bomb explodes at a checkpoint south of Damascus. (Xinhua) American-led intervention in Syria The President of the United States Barack Obama announces that the U.S. will send an additional 250 troops to fight ISIL in Syria. (The Guardian) Burundian unrest (2015–present) A senior Burundian Army general, Athanase Kararuza, an ethnic Tutsi and security advisor to Burundi Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo, is shot dead by heavily armed men in the capital Bujumbura. (AFP via Daily Mail) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announces that the International Criminal Court will conduct a preliminary examination of the violence in Burundi over the past year that has killed hundreds, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad. (The Washington Post) Mexican Drug War Mexican police come under attack in a two-hour gunfight in the city of Acapulco, killing one gunman. At the same time, a separate group of gunmen attacked a federal police base in the city. (BBC) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Yemeni and Saudi-led coalition forces recapture the port city of Al Mukalla from al-Qaeda militants. (BBC) Moro conflict Abu Sayyaf militants, who threatened to kill three foreigners kidnapped from a "high-end" Philippine resort in September 2015, unless they were paid 900 million pesos (17 mil Euros) by midnight today (15:00 UTC), have beheaded one of the hostages, Canadian John Ridsdel. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III had ordered an all-out effort to rescue the hostages, including a Philippine woman, kidnapped by the Daesh-linked group. (Straits Times) (Journal of Turkish Weekly) (Reuters via EuroNews), (BBC) Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh Xulhaz Mannan, a Bangladeshi employee of a U.S. charity (USAID), who is also an editor for the country's only LGBT magazine, and a friend are hacked to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by suspected Islamist militants. Guards at the building were also injured. (NBC News with Reuters) (Al Jazeera) Business and economics British department store chain British Home Stores (BHS) collapses into administration after a last-minute rescue deal fails. The collapse of the retailer, which employs 11,000 people, is the biggest failure on the UK's high street since the collapse of Woolworths Group in 2008. (The Guardian) Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers announces a broad-based economic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, which will help the oil-reliant state to diversify its economy over the next 14 years. (Al Jazeera) In the United States, Gannett Company, Inc., announces that two weeks ago it made an unsolicited, $815 million takeover bid for the Tribune Publishing Company, whose holdings include a number of major newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Gannett, the publisher of the national American daily USA Today as well as 107 daily newspapers, made the offer public since Tribune had not yet responded. Last month, Tribune Publishing's winning bid for the Orange County Register was blocked by the U.S. Justice Department because of an antitrust challenge. (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune) (Orange County Register) Goldman Sachs, the American multinational investment banking firm, launches an FDIC-insured, Internet-based savings bank. The Wall Street institution, whose investment banking account minimums are in the millions, sets a minimum deposit of $1 dollar for GSBank.com. (TechCrunch) (GS Bank website) Disasters and accidents A Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter jet, taking part in a mock attack on Tarva on April 12, mistakenly opened fire on a control tower with three officers inside, who survived unharmed, according to the Norwegian military. (The Guardian) At least 23 people have died and dozens of others have become sick in Karor Lal Esan, central Pakistan, after eating sweets suspected of being contaminated with pesticides. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) At least two people are killed and seven are injured following an explosion on a bus in Yerevan, Armenia. The cause of the blast is being investigated. (RT) Hillsborough disaster The jury in the second inquest for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster reach their verdicts. These will be given at 11:00 BST tomorrow.(BBC) International relations The People's Republic of China urges North Korea to abide by a United Nations Security Council resolution that bans the North from conducting ballistic missile tests, two days after Pyongyang claimed it conducted a test from a submarine. (Yonhap) Belarus–United States relations The top U.S. diplomat in Belarus Scott Rauland and Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey said that their countries are ready to discuss the possible return of their ambassadors. Makey told reporters in Minsk that "there is readiness from both sides for a full normalization of our relations." Belarus recalled its ambassador from Washington in 2008 after the United States imposed sanctions against Belarusian oil giant Belneftekhim following tensions between Minsk and the West. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2016 Ecuador earthquake The United Nations World Food Programme announces it is stepping up assistance to Ecuador’s most vulnerable areas following an earthquake that killed over 650 people. (Euronews) Afghanistan–Pakistan relations, Taliban insurgency Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani says Pakistan must take military action against Taliban, operating from Pakistan, who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency across his country. Otherwise, "... we will be forced to turn to the UN Security Council and start serious diplomatic efforts." (The New York Times) (Penske Media Corporation) European migrant crisis Turkey says it has deported more than 3,300 foreigners suspected of links to jihadi groups, and barred another 41,000 foreigners from entering the country. (AP) Law and crime Shooting of Tamir Rice The U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio, agrees to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of Tamir Rice. Rice was a 12-year-old boy who was walking outside a recreation center holding an air pellet gun when he was shot and killed by a Cleveland Police officer on November 22, 2014. Prosecutor Tim McGinty reported in December 2015 that an Ohio grand jury decided not to indict the police officers. (NPR) (CNN) Constitution of Venezuela Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal rules that opposition's proposed amendment to change the President's term of office from six to four years can not be applied retroactively, thereby ending this attempt to cut short President Nicolás Maduro's time in office. (BBC) (AP) Politics and elections 2016 United States presidential election The presidential campaigns of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Governor of Ohio John Kasich announce they will now coordinate strategies to stop fellow Republican Donald Trump from becoming the party's nominee. Cruz's campaign will cut campaigning in Oregon and New Mexico to help Kasich, while the Kasich campaign will give Cruz a "clear path" in Indiana. (BBC) 2016 United States presidential election in Arizona A Maricopa County judge rejects Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich's request to throw out a court challenge prompted by major polling problems during the March primary. (KPNX) (KPNX²) Sports 2015–16 Serie A Juventus win Italy's association football championship for the fifth consecutive time. (BBC) In American football, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals rules that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve a four-game suspension imposed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the Deflategate scandal. The suspension had been stayed due to a lower court ruling. (ESPN) In basketball, the Golden State Warriors, the top seed in the ongoing NBA playoffs, announce that the NBA's reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, will miss at least two weeks with a sprained MCL. (ESPN) Current events of April 26, 2016 (2016-04-26) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War A Syrian government airstrike near Aleppo kills at least five members of the Syrian Civil Defense rescue organisation. Dozens of people have been killed in Aleppo over the past few days from government airstrikes and opposition bombardment. (Reuters) Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh Ansar-al Islam, the Bangladeshi branch of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, claims responsibility for yesterday's murder of USAID employee and LGBT activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend, actor Tanay Majumder. (AP) Arts and culture Ukraine commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. (AP) Business and economy Collins-class submarine replacement project The Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull announces that French company DCNS has been awarded a $50 billion contract to build a new fleet of submarines for the Royal Australian Navy with the subs to be built in Adelaide. (ABC News Australia) Mitsubishi Motors admits that it has used fuel economy measuring methods that have not complied with Japanese government regulations for 25 years. (Reuters) British doctors go on strike for the first time in the history of the National Health Service. (AP) Disasters and accidents A massive fire severely damages the National Museum of Natural History in the Indian capital New Delhi. (AP via Washington Post) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, North Korea appears to be preparing a test-launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. This comes after what the United States described as the "fiery, catastrophic" failure of the first attempt a few days prior. (Reuters) Chile–Germany relations German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologizes that, for decades, German diplomats failed to act on abuses at Colonia Dignidad, the secretive German enclave in Chile whose story is told in the movie Colonia. (AP) Romania–United States relations The United States deploys F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Romania's RoAF 86th Air Base, near the Black Sea, in a show of strength and cooperation against Russia. "The United States and Romania enjoy a very strong partnership," said Hans G. Klemm, the United States Ambassador to Romania. (Voice of America) Law and crime The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea rules that Australia's detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island breaches the right to personal liberty under the constitution. (ABC News Australia) An inquest into the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 when 96 fans of Liverpool FC were killed finds the fans were illegally killed. (The Guardian) After facing mounting pressure since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Supreme Court of Crimea officially brands the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People an extremist organization and bans it. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Monte Tchota massacre Eight soldiers and three civilians are killed at a military barracks in Cape Verde. The government says it suspects a missing disgruntled soldier is responsible for the incident. (AP via Fox News) (Reuters) Politics and elections 2016 United States presidential election Voters in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island head to the polls to vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. (Decision Desk HQ Dem) (Decision Desk HQ GOP) Donald Trump is forecast to win the Republican Party primaries in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut based on exit polls and results. (Washington Post), (CNN) Hillary Clinton is forecast to win the Democratic Party primary in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware while Bernie Sanders wins Rhode Island. With her victory, Clinton came close to securing the number of delegates she needs to win the nomination. (NBC News), (CNN), (The Hill), (AP) Tens of thousands of people, mostly Shi'ites, take to the streets of Baghdad, Iraq in a protest calling for Parliament to vote on a cabinet reshuffle. The protest was called for by powerful Shi'te Muslim critic Muqtada al-Sadr. The proposed cabinet reshuffle is aimed at fighting corruption in the midst of divisions between lawmakers that have hampered the work of the government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) South Sudanese Civil War Rebel leader Riek Machar arrives in the capital Juba and is immediately sworn is as Vice President upon arrival. It is hoped that this appointment will put an end to the civil war that has plagued the country since late 2013. (Al Jazeera) European migrant crisis Clashes break out between migrants and riot police at the Mòria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after a policeman reportedly hit a minor. The violence occurred as a Greek migration minister was visiting the center. Several refugees/migrants are reported injured. (BBC) (The Telegraph) Yemeni Civil War Following heavy pressure from world powers, Yemen's warring factions agree on an agenda for U.N.-backed peace negotiations to continue. (Reuters) After many delays, Venezuela's electoral council releases petition sheets to the opposition alliance that wants to initiate a recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro. Within three days, the petitioners need to collect about 200,000 signatures (1 percent of registered voters) before proceeding to the next step, the collection of 20 million signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. (AP) (Bloomberg) Slovak parliamentary election, 2016 Slovakia's newly-formed coalition government gains a vote of confidence as the legislature approves its program manifesto, 79-61. The ruling Direction – Social Democracy party, which did not win an absolute majority in March, has joined with the three other parties—Slovak National Party, Most–Híd, and Network—to total 85 of the National Council's 150 seats. (AP) (Reuters via StreetInsider.co) Spanish general election, 2016 Spain's King Felipe VI announces an unprecedented, repeat parliamentary election for June 26, 2016, since none of the country's political parties has been able to form a government. The prior election, which was held on December 20, 2015, resulted in a hung parliament. Previously, Spain had been ruled via a two-party system. (AP) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who previously gave most of the country's 2.8 million state employees Fridays off through May, announces public workers will also have Wednesdays and Thursdays off for at least two weeks as an energy-saving measure. Full salaries will still be paid despite the two-day week. (Reuters) Current events of April 27, 2016 (2016-04-27) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Moro conflict Philippine president Benigno Aquino III says that the Abu Sayyaf militants plan to kidnap his sister actress Kris Aquino and boxer Manny Pacquiao. (CBS) 2016 Bursa bombing A suicide bomber blows herself up in the Turkish city of Bursa, injuring at least seven people. (AP via The Washington Post) Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli forces kill two Palestinian assailants at a checkpoint in the West Bank. (Reuters) 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes According to officials from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, one of their soldiers was killed overnight by Azerbaijani troops. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) War in Donbass Representatives of the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic in Eastern Ukraine say at least five civilians are killed by artillery fire at a checkpoint in the town of Olenivka, with another 10 injured. Kiev denies the accusation. A local border-guard spokesman says there was an explosion at the checkpoint but he saw no artillery fired from either side, suggesting the blast could have been a bomb. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) War in Afghanistan The U.S. military warns that the Kabul Attack Network, comprised of fighters from various jihadist groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani networks, is planning attacks on people in the Parwan, Khost, Kabul, and Logar Provinces, Afghanistan, and asks for information from the Afghan public. (The Long War Journal) Arts and culture Archaeologists in Taiwan discover 48 sets of remains unearthed in graves in Taichung. The most striking discovery among them is the 4,800-year-old skeleton of a mother looking down at a child cradled in her arms. (The Guardian) The German cities of Augsburg and Cologne are testing a scheme of traffic lights embedded in the ground to reduce cell phone-texting pedestrian accidents with vehicles that happen when so-called "smombies" step out into the street against the signal. (The Guardian) (RT) Business and economy Philippine presidential election, 2016 The Philippine peso sinks to become the "worst performing currency in Asia" as a result of a volatile and unpredictable presidential election. (Bloomberg) Disasters and accidents Heavy rain pelts earthquake-hit Ecuador causing floods, mostly in the town of Alluriquin in the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, killing at least four people and injuring several more. About 300 people have been affected by the floods after a local river burst its banks, engulfing the town with water. (Al Jazeera) Health and medicine In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Physicians reports e-cigarettes are "much safer" than tobacco smoking, and should be widely promoted as an option for smoking cessation. (BBC) (Daily Mail) International relations The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill states that the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre will be closed following the ruling of the Supreme Court and that he will ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers detained there. (ABC News) Libyan Civil War The unrecognized House of Representatives, one of the rival governments based in eastern Libya, ships its first cargo of crude oil in defiance of the U.N.-backed authorities in the capital Tripoli in a move that could deepen divisions within the country. The Tripoli-based government asked the United Nations Security Council yesterday to blacklist the tanker. (The Guardian) European migrant crisis The government of Austria passes a new law that restricts the right of asylum in the country and allows claimants to be rejected directly at the border, a move criticized by rights groups. Officials say they are also considering building a fence at the main border crossing with Italy at the Brenner Pass. (BBC) Taliban insurgency The Taliban's Qatar office confirms its leaders are in Pakistan to talk about Afghan refugees and the release of prisoners. The representative did not say if the delegation will discuss the peace process. (The Nation PK) (Pakistan Today) United Nations Security Council members are considering a draft resolution that would restore the UN mission in Western Sahara to full functionality. Last month, Morocco expelled 75 UN staffers. (AFP via GlobalPost) Iraqi Civil War Senior Kurdish and Shi'ite Muslim leaders agree to withdraw from Tuz Khurmato, Iraq, where recent violence has killed more than 10 people. (Reuters) Law and crime Two days before the one-year anniversary of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the Bali Nine, member Michael Czugaj is discovered to be in possession of drugs in prison. (SBS) November 2015 Paris attacks Belgian prosecutors hand over Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, to French authorities. (Washington Post) Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is sentenced to 15 months in prison for breaking banking laws in order to make payments to cover sexual misconduct from past decades. (Wall Street Journal) Iraqi authorities ban Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera from broadcasting in the country and closes its offices in Baghdad, accusing it of violating government guidelines issued in 2014 to regulate media “during the war on terror". (Reuters) Censorship in Iran Iran sentences four reformist newspaper journalists to long prison terms for so-called national security crimes. Analysts say this case indicates that President Hassan Rouhani's calls for press freedoms will likey face an unsympathetic hearing from Iran's conservative judiciary. (UPI) Monte Tchota massacre Cape Verdean police capture a suspect in the murder of eight soldiers and three civilians. (AFP) Politics and elections An Iranian asylum seeker self-immolates himself in Nauru to protest Australia's treatment of refugees. The protest coincides with a visit by representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the island. Instead of admitting refugees into the country, Australia has been sending them to Nauru or Papua New Guinea. (Radio New Zealand) The government of North Korea announces its ruling Workers' Party of Korea will hold a party congress on May 6, the first in nearly 40 years. (BBC) 2016 United States presidential election, Ted Cruz 2016 presidential campaign Texas Senator Ted Cruz names former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate. (CNN) Bradford West MP Naz Shah is suspended from the opposition Labour Party over comments she made on Facebook about Israel. (BBC) German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office confirms German Federal Intelligence Service President Gerhard Schindler will be replaced by Bruno Kahl. Schindler has been widely criticized following the disclosure his agency spied for the U.S. National Security Agency. (BBC) Current events of April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Moro conflict Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines agree on joint naval patrols after an increase of kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf militants. (Jakarta Post) Syrian Civil War A wave of airstrikes on Aleppo, Syria, kill at least 61 people, including children. (FOX News) (CNN) Médecins Sans Frontières claims that victims of a strike on a hospital include 14 patients and doctors. (Washington Post) According to sources from the Turkish military, they returned fire into Syria, killing 11 ISIL militants, after its artillery near the border town of Karkamış was hit by mortars. (Reuters) Arts and culture The Armenian-American community responds with outrage after the The Wall Street Journal publishes an ad denying the Armenian Genocide. (Newsweek) Business and economy The Japanese government announces that it will start testing mileage figures of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles following recent revelations that testing data had been manipulated over a 25-year period. (Reuters) Comcast's NBCUniversal acquires Dreamworks Animation for $3.8 billion. (CNN) American billionaire Carl Icahn, in an interview on the cable network CNBC says he has closed his position in Apple. (AP) Disasters and accidents Belgium is to provide iodine pills to all its citizens, around 11 million people, to protect against radioactivity in the event of a nuclear accident at either of Belgium's ageing nuclear power plants, the Tihange Nuclear Power Station and Doel Nuclear Power Station, according to Health Minister Maggie De Block. Germany has recently called for the Belgian government to close the nuclear power plants over safety fears. (AFP via Yahoo News!) International relations Refugee rights, Australia–Papua New Guinea relations Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says Australia and Papua New Guinea will hold emergency talks next week about asylum seekers Australia has been holding on PNG's Los Negros Island in Manus Province. Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled this detention is illegal, and ordered the PNG and Australian governments to immediately take steps to end it. An Iranian refugee detainee remains in critical condition after setting himself on fire yesterday to protest Australia's treatment of refugees while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was visiting the island. (BBC) (Radio New Zealand) Syrian peace process United Nations envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura appeals to the United States and Russia to intervene to help revive the failing Syrian peace talks. He stressed fighting needs to decrease for the talks to work, and that won't happen "without some sort of political solution on the horizon." (AP) North Korea–South Korea relations Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of China, assures that China will prevent war breaking out between North Korea and South Korea. (Time) North Korea tries and fails to launch the medium range BM25 Musudan missile. (AFP via Malay Mail) France–Russia relations, International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis France's National Assembly votes to adopt a non-binding resolution to lift European Union sanctions against Russia, applied after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans, as well as center-right and far-left groups voted in favor of lifting the sanctions, while the ruling Socialist Party and The Greens voted against the resolution. (Reuters) War in Donbass The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe warns that the situation in Eastern Ukraine is worsening. Chief monitor for Ukraine Ertuğrul Apakan says that "during the past weeks, the OSCE has registered the highest number of cease-fire violations in months" and warned that artillery and mortars banned under Minsk II "are being used again in increased numbers." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) South Sudan–United States relations, South Sudanese Civil War U.S. Special Envoy to South Sudan Donald E. Booth said that the United States would consider imposing sanctions or an arms embargo on South Sudan's leaders if they fail to form and cooperate in a proposed unity government to end the country's civil war. (Al Jazeera) Israeli–Palestinian peace process Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects a French-sponsored international conference to continue peace negotiations that have stalled since 2014 in settling the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, saying that direct talks were the only way to resolve the decades-long conflict. France wants to immediately recognize a Palestinian state without discussion over its borders or security issues. (The Guardian) (The Times of Israel) Libyan Civil War In response to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord's plea, the United Nations Security Council blacklists the tanker shipping crude oil by the unrecognized rival House of Representatives government in eastern Libya. (The Guardian) Law and crime Filipino domestic helper Mary Jane Veloso commemorates the first anniversary of her being spared from the death penalty in Indonesia for allegedly smuggling controlled substances. A trial to determine her innocence is ongoing. (The Guardian) LGBT rights in Colombia Colombia becomes the fourth state in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. (BBC) Politics and elections The new government of Kyrgyzstan is sworn in with Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov taking the oath of office. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is suspended by the Labour Party for claiming that Adolf Hitler was a Zionist. (The Daily Telegraph) The Parliament of Finland holds a debate on whether or not to abandon the Euro as its currency following a petition that garnered enough signatures to force the issue into parliament. This comes as Finland as dealing with a weakening economy but the petition is unlikely to lead to the country leaving the Eurozone. (Reuters) Elections in Equatorial Guinea Africa's longest serving leader Teodoro Obiang, the President of Equatorial Guinea is declared the winner of the recent election with 93.7 per cent of the vote. His government has been heavily criticised by human rights group. (AP via Tulsa World) Science and technology India launches IRNSS-1G, the seventh and final series of satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC) (Business Standard) Sport 2016 NFL draft In American football, the National Football League starts its draft for the 2016 NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams choosing Jared Goff with the first pick. (USA Today) Current events of April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War According to Russian ambassador to the United Nations Aleksi Borodavkin, the Syrian Army is preparing to launch an offensive against the ISIL strongholds of Al-Raqqah and the countryside around Deir ez-Zor and that the Russian Air Force will be providing the ground campaign with air support. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Airstrikes hit the Syrian city of Aleppo, destroying another medical facility and killing two civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera) Business and economics According to Eurostat, the Eurozone's economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of 2016, faster than what was originally expected, with unemployment falling to 10.2%. This growth suggest that the eurozone's economy is now bigger than it was before the start of the financial crisis of 2007–08. (BBC) Disasters and accidents A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits off the coast of the Vanuatu island of Malakula, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) to issue a tsunami warning for the coasts of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which was later cancelled. (ABC News) (9 News Australia) 2016 Turøy helicopter crash Thirteen people were killed when a helicopter carrying offshore workers from Gullfaks B crash landed off the western coast of Norway. (LA Times) (VG.no, Norwegian) Kenya flooding Heavy rain in Nairobi, Kenya, causes floods killing at least four people. (Standard Media) A six story residential building collapses in Nairobi. At least three people have died and scores are thought to be trapped. (BBC), (CNN) At least 13 people die in a collision between a taxi and truck in the South African city of Bloemfontein. (Eyewitness News) A mosque under refurbishment in the Somalian capital Mogadishu collapses during Friday prayers resulting in at least 15 deaths. (BBC) Health Zika virus outbreak (2015–present) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the first Zika virus related death in the United States, an elderly man in Puerto Rico. (Washington Post), (New York Times) International relations Lithuania–United States relations The United States Air Force lands two of its most advanced fighter jets in Lithuania for the first time in a show of support for the Baltic states which have become worried about Russia's actions in Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Law and crime Australia commemorates the one-year anniversary of the execution of the ringleaders the Bali Nine. (ABC News) North Korea sentences South Korean-born American businessman Kim Dong Chul to ten years imprisonment for alleged spying. (Reuters via Trust) A court in South Africa rules that the decision in 2009 to drop over 750 corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma was irrational and called for a review of them. However, the court ruling does not automatically reinstate the charges against Zuma as a legal team must be set up to decide on whether to charge him or not. (Al Jazeera) The states of Oklahoma and Nebraska, having recently suffered a loss in their frontal attack on Colorado's state-legal cannabis policy, launch another litigation strategy to the same end. (Lincoln Journal-Star) Politics and elections Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016: Republican front runner Donald Trump says he now has 1001 confirmed delegates for the Cleveland convention in June. (USA Today) Iranian legislative election, 2016 Iran goes to the polls for second round elections in constituencies where no candidate achieved 25 per cent of the vote in February's elections. (Reuters via Trust) Reformists taking 39 of the 68 seats, which Principlists won 19 seats. (euronews) 2014–16 Venezuelan protests Protests erupt in various cities of Venezuela as the country faces increased food and power shortages, forcing the government to ration them, leading to widespread looting and violence. According to the opposition, who control the National Assembly, over a million people support its bid to start a referendum on ousting President Nicolás Maduro. (Al Jazeera) Protests in France turn violent as protesters clash with police, injuring over 20 police officers and resulting in over 120 arrests nationwide. The protests are against a labour law being proposed in the National Assembly, saying it will reduce rights and deepen job insecurity for youth. (The Guardian) Irish general election, 2016, 2016 Irish government formation Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil agree to the formation of a Fine Gael-led government. (Newstalk) Protesters on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia, occupy the former Legislative Assembly to protest Australia's termination of the island's autonomy. In July, Norfolk Island is set to become part of the State of New South Wales. (Radio New Zealand) Current events of April 30, 2016 (2016-04-30) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) April 2016 Baghdad bombing A car bombing in southeastern Baghdad kills at least 19 and injures nearly 50 Shi'ite pilgrims. ISIL has claimed responsibility. (AP) (Reuters) Syrian Civil War The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that twenty air strikes have hit the northern areas of Aleppo. Bombardments by both sides have killed nearly 250 people since April 22. (Reuters) Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh A Hindu man is hacked to death in Tangail district. He is alleged to have made comments against Prophet Muhammad. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack. (Washington Post) (Reuters) Arts and culture Sweden celebrates the 70th birthday of their King Carl XVI Gustaf, whose celebration was attended by fellow European royals, including Denmark's Margrethe II, former King of Spain Juan Carlos I and former Queen of the Netherlands Beatrix. (Euronews) Disasters and accidents A heatwave in India has claimed 300 lives in April with daytime cooking banned in some parts of the country to prevent fires which have claimed an additional 80 lives. (AP) 2016 Kenya floods Search and rescue efforts continue in Nairobi after the collapse of a building yesterday. Kenyan police have confirmed seven deaths so far. (AP via Daily Mail) The death toll from the Kenya floods including the Nairobi building collapse rises to fourteen. (Capital FM) A three-storey building collapses in the Indian city of Mumbai, resulting in six deaths and trapping many others. (Times of India) At least five people are killed by floods in the U.S. state of Texas. (FOX News) A mosque under refurbishment in Mogadishu, Somalia, collapses, killing at least 15 people and injuring around 40. Hundreds more are thought to be buried under the rubble. (BBC) European migrant crisis According to survivors, at least 70 migrants are missing after their dinghy sank off the coast of Libya. 26 people were rescued by the Italian coast guard. (BBC) Five people are killed in a military plane crash in Sudan. (Reuters) International relations China denies a Hong Kong port call by the U.S. Carrier Strike Group 3, which includes the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) and accompanying vessels. (CNN) (AP via USA Today) Destruction of ivory Kenya burns 105 tonnes of elephant ivory and 1.05 tonnes of rhinoceros horn in order to call for a total ban on the ivory trade. (AFP via Yahoo! News) According to the United States Department of Defense, an airstrike that hit a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last October did not amount to a war crime because the airstrike was "unintentional" and that those involved would face suspension but not criminal charges. In response to the briefing, a president of the organization which operated the hospital described it as "an admission of an uncontrolled military operation in a densely populated urban area, during which US forces failed to follow the basic laws of war." (BBC) Russia–United States relations Russia says it intercepted a U.S. Air Force plane approaching its border over the Baltic Sea on Friday because the aircraft had turned off its transponder which is needed for identification. The Pentagon says the U.S. RC-135 was flying a routine route in international airspace when the Russian SU-27 fighter intercepted it in an "unsafe and unprofessional" way. (Reuters) Law and crime Police in Stuttgart, Germany, arrest at least 400 left-wing demonstrators after they attempted to stop a conference by the Alternative for Germany from being held. The protest grew violent when they began to throw stones and use fireworks against the police. (The Guardian) Egypt tries 237 activists, who face jail terms of up to three years, arrested for protesting without permits against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Thousands demonstrated this month following the Sisi government's decision to hand over two uninhabited islands in the Straits of Tiran to Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch says at least 382 had been arrested. (Reuters) Politics and elections Philippine presidential election, 2016 The influential Christian sect Iglesia ni Cristo endorses Grace Poe for president and Bongbong Marcos for vice president. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Serbian parliamentary election, 2016 Roughly 2,000 people protest in Belgrade against alleged fraud in the country's recent election. The protesters accuse Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić of manipulating the results in order to prevent the far-right Dveri party from reaching the 5-percent threshold and gaining seats in the National Assembly. A repeat vote is expected on May 4 in locations where voting irregularities have been found. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) 2015–16 Iraqi protests Iraqi officials declare a state of emergency for all of Baghdad after protesters loyal to popular Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed into Iraq’s parliament in the Green Zone. (The News Hub) (NBC News) (Washington Post)

April 2016 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 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist Panama Papers Health Flint water crisis Zika virus outbreak Political War in Afghanistan Boko Haram insurgency Brazil protests Burundian unrest Iraqi Civil War Military intervention against ISIL American-led Iranian Israeli–Palestinian conflict Lebanese political deadlock Macedonia protests Moldova protests Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian–Azeri border conflict Nepal blockade PKK rebellion Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention Second Libyan Civil War Sinai insurgency South China Sea disputes Syrian Civil War American-led intervention Russian military intervention Venezuelan protests War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine More details on ongoing conflicts below Sports 2015–16 La Liga season 2016 NBA Playoffs 2016 NHL Playoffs 2015–16 Premier League season 2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2016 ATP World Tour 2016 Major League Baseball season 2016 WTA Tour  Recent deaths April 29: Renato Corona 29: Erediauwa 28: Conrad Burns 28: Jenny Diski 28: Joe Durham 27: Willie Williams 26: Winston Hill 26: Lucy Kibaki 26: Ozzie Silna 26: Harry Wu 25: Mei Baojiu 24: Zafar Ishaq Ansari 24: Ron Brace 24: Martin Gray 24: Inge King 24: Tommy Kono 24: Benjamin Manglona 24: Billy Paul 24: Papa Wemba 24: George Alexis Weymouth 23: Bill Sevesi 23: Madeleine Sherwood 23: Banharn Silpa-archa 22: Phife Dawg 22: Ariffin Mohammed 22: Dene Smuts 21: Lonnie Mack 21: Ferenc Paragi 21: Prince 20: Chyna 20: Velda González 20: Guy Hamilton 20: Leonie Kramer 20: Attila Özdemiroğlu 20: Qi Benyu 20: Giannis Voglis 20: Dwayne Washington 20: Victoria Wood 19: Ken Aldred (death announced on this date) 19: Patricio Aylwin 19: Estelle Balet 19: Ronit Elkabetz 19: Walter Kohn 19: Mehrdad Oladi 19: Milt Pappas 18: Brian Asawa 18: William Campbell 17: Bruce Mansfield 17: Doris Roberts 16: Ron Bonham 16: Miloud Chaabi 16: Rod Daniel 16: William M. Gray 16: Charlie Hodge 16: Maurice Kenny 15: Frederick Mayer 15: A. A. Raiba 15: Richard Smith 14: Fred Hayman 14: David J. C. MacKay 14: Malick Sidibé 13: Manouchehr Sotodeh 13: Srinivas Aravamudan 13: Kurtis Haiu 13: Mariano Mores 13: Rex Patterson 13: Gareth Thomas 13: Ray Thornton 13: Nera White 12: Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. 12: Paul Carey 12: Gianroberto Casaleggio 12: David Gest 12: Balls Mahoney 12: Arnold Wesker 11: Ruth Gilbert 11: Ed Snider 10: Howard Marks 9: Arthur Anderson 9: Duane Clarridge 9: Tony Conrad 9: Will Smith 8: Wei Chueh 8: David Dore 8: Charles Hirsch 7: Freda Briggs 7: Frank E. Denholm 7: Vladimir Kagan 7: Blackjack Mulligan 6: Merle Haggard 6: Robert MacCrate 6: Ogden Mills Phipps 6: Murray Wier 5: Zyta Gilowska 5: Roman Gribbs 5: Mick Sullivan 4: Carlo Mastrangelo 4: Mike Sandlock 5: Barbara Turner 3: Abu Firas al-Suri 3: Erik Bauersfeld 3: Joe Medicine Crow 3: Bob Ellis 3: Lars Gustafsson 3: Cesare Maldini 2: Gato Barbieri 2: Amber Rayne 1: Tom Coughlin 1: Artur Górski 1: Denise Robertson March 31: Béla Biszku 31: Ronnie Corbett 31: Hans-Dietrich Genscher 31: Zaha Hadid 31: Imre Kertész 31: Douglas Wilmer 30: Shirley Hufstedler 30: John King 30: Andy "Thunderclap" Newman  Ongoing conflicts Africa Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Maghreb insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Katanga insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Boko Haram insurgency Somalia Civil war South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Moro conflict Cross border attacks in Sabah Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe European Migrant Crisis Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemeni crisis Houthi rebellion Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency  Elections and Referendums Recent April 6: Netherlands, EU referendum 8: Djibouti, President (1st round) 10: Chad, President (1st round) 10: Comoros, President (2nd round) 10: Peru, President, Congress 11: Sudan, Darfur status referendum 13: South Korea, National Assembly 13: Syria, People's Council 17: Italy, Oil drilling referendum 24: Austria, President (1st round) 24: Equatorial Guinea, President 24: Serbia, National Assembly Upcoming May 9: Philippines, President, Senate, House of Representatives 15: Dominican Republic, President, Senate, Chamber of Deputies 22: Cyprus, House of Representatives 22: Tajikistan, Constitutional referendum 22: Vietnam, National Assembly  Trials Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Philippines: Joseph Scott Pemberton Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Eston Kohver, Vladimir Kvachkov South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot, Adam Johnson United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Jodi Arias, Anas al-Libi, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Sheldon Silver International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina, Zdravko Tolimir, Radovan Karadžić Ongoing China: Yao Mugen, Guo Youming, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani Netherlands: Geert Wilders Philippines: Andal Ampatuan Jr., Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu, Relu Fenechiu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United Kingdom: Rolf Harris United States: Dean Skelos International ICTY: Ratko Mladić PCA: China Upcoming China: Wu Changshun, Ling Jihua Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United Kingdom: Max Clifford United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo