Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis
  • Iran–Israel proxy conflict
    • A missile strikes the Israeli-owned cargo ship MV Hyperion Ray off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. There is no immediate claim of responsibility, however Israeli officials suspect Iran of being behind the attack on the vessel. (Times of Israel)
• War in Afghanistan
  • 2021 Afghanistan attacks
    • A car bombing in western Afghanistan kills three civilians and 10 security forces. (ABC News)
  • Afghan peace process
    • U.S. President Joe Biden says he plans to withdraw the remaining American troops in Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The United States also reiterates its support for the Afghan government against the Taliban, which declines to comment on the apparent change from its previously-agreed deadline of May 1. (Reuters)
    • The United Kingdom announces that it will withdraw nearly all of its troops from Afghanistan, following the announcement of a U.S. withdrawal. There are around 750 British soldiers still stationed in Afghanistan, mostly in the capital Kabul. (Reuters)
    • Turkey says that it will host a summit from April 24 to May 4 as a effort to end the war in Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera)
• Terrorism in Pakistan
  • An improvised explosive device explodes at a football ground in Allahabad, Balochistan, Pakistan, injuring twelve. The attack occurred during a match organised as a commemorative tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty. (The Times of India)
• Nuclear program of Iran
  • The New York Times claims that a blackout at Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility was an act of nuclear terrorism perpetrated by remotely detonating an improvised explosive device that had previously been smuggled into the site. (i24news)
• A military court in Burkina Faso indicts ex-President Blaise Compaore, charged with the 1987 murder of his immediate predecessor Thomas Sankara. Compaore ruled the nation for 27 years following Sankara's assassination before resigning in the face of protests in 2014. The court indicts thirteen other Burkinabe ex-officials accused of various crimes including murder. (al-Jazeera)

Business and economy

• COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland, Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
  • Talks between rail workers and ScotRail aimed at preventing a strike collapse, as the rail firm cites financial pressures caused by the ongoing pandemic to justify refusing a payrise and revocation of some day-off entitlements. Unite union rejects this explanation. The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland are appraised of the situation. (The Glasgow Times)

Disasters and accidents

• Dumping of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichii Nuclear Power Plant
  • Following a cabinet meeting, the Japanese government says it has decided to release 1.25 million tons of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years, after concluding there will be no negative impact on human health or the environment. (Kyodo News) (BBC)
  • South Korea summons Japan's ambassador over the decision while China's Foreign Ministry condemns the decision. The United States and Taiwan say they trust the Japanese government decision. (Reuters)
• 2021 Suez Canal obstruction
  • A court in Ismailia grants the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority's request to seize CS Ever Given pending payment of a compensation claim of over US$900,000,000. (Bloomberg)
• 2019 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crash
  • The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States concludes pilot error and inadequate maintenance were behind the crash, which killed seven people, injured six others, and destroyed the historic aircraft. (CJNI-FM)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran reports a record 24,760 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,118,212. (Arab News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Osaka reports a record 1,099 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
      • Kurdish authorities impose a 10-day curfew in northeast Syria after a rapid increase of cases of COVID-19 in the region. The US-backed Kurdish authorities also closed all borders of its Syrian Democratic Forces territories with those controlled by the government and insurgent groups. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • Prime Minister Jean Castex announces the suspension of flights from Brazil in order to prevent the spread of the new variants of COVID-19 in the country. (Yahoo! News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • President of Cantabria Miguel Ángel Revilla receives his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. (ABC.es)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces a two-week partial lockdown across Turkey on Ramadan, which includes expanded curfew from 7:00 p.m. and ban of non-essential inter-city travel beginning tomorrow evening amidst the rising number of the COVID-19 cases. (Anadolu Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    • Argentina reports a record 27,001 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,578,946. (Página 12)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • States halt the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine following concerns of blood clots. (The New York Times)
      • Moderna says that their vaccine is 90% effective against COVID-19, and 95% effective against severe disease for 6 months after the second dose. This brings the vaccine a step for full U.S. approval for the vaccine. (CNBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the Marshall Islands
    • The Marshall Islands reaches a nearly 75% of its adult population vaccinated against COVID-19. After finishing with the urban areas, the Ministry of Health and Human Services plans to distribute Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to the most remote islands of the country to vaccinate the rest of the population. The vaccines were provided as a donation by the United States. (RNZ)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
    • South Africa voluntary suspends the rollout of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended temporarily pausing its use because of rare cases of blood clots. (Business Tech)
  • COVID-19 vaccine, Variants of SARS-CoV-2
    • Moderna says that their vaccine is effective against the 501.V2 variant from South Africa. (The Times)

Law and crime

• Terrorism in Germany
  • 2020 Dresden knife attack
    • An alleged ISIL recruiter goes on trial for stabbing two gay men in Dresden, killing one of them, because they were holding hands. The suspect, identified only as Syrian refugee Abdullah AHH, has admitted the attack and is charged with murder and attempted murder. (Pink News)
  • Eleven alleged members of Gruppe S, an alleged far-right terror cell plotting anti-immigration attacks, go on trial in Stuttgart. A policeman accused of assisting the group goes on trial alongside them. (BBC)
• Terrorism in England
  • A court sentences terror convict Sahayb Abu, 27, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of nineteen years for plotting a gun and knife attack in Dagenham. (BBC)
• St Paul's Cathedral bomb plot, terrorism in Norway
  • Authorities in Norway charge a local man, 24, with involvement in the plot as well as plotting a further attack in Norway. (BBC)