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Topics in the news

Coronavirus pandemic

Southeastern US severe weather

At least thirty people are killed in a tornado outbreak (satellite image shown) in the Southeastern United States.
The High Court of Australia quashes the conviction of Cardinal George Pell for child sex abuse and orders his acquittal.
Cyclone Harold impacts the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga, killing at least thirty people.

April 16, 2020 (Thursday)

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Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases passes two million worldwide. The United States, the global epicenter of the virus, now accounts for more than 30% of cases worldwide. (Foreign Policy)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Africa
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Eswatini
    - Eswatini reports the country's first death from COVID-19, as total cases rise to 17. (National Post)

Law and crime

2020 coronavirus pandemic in India
- Tablighi Jamaat leader Muhammad Saad Kandhlawi is charged with manslaughter after a gathering the organization held in Delhi on March 3 was linked to 1,023 coronavirus cases across 17 Indian states. Police say he ignored two notices to end the religious event at a mosque in Delhi. (BBC)
Saudi Arabia executes a 33-year-old Yemeni man convicted for an attack on a Spanish dance troupe last year, which resulted in two dancers injured. The attack was claimed by the affiliate of al-Qaeda in the region. (Al Jazeera)

April 15, 2020 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Mali War, 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Mali
- Spain evacuates its troops from Mali, serving as part of the European Union's EUTM Mali training mission, after several soldiers became infected with COVID-19. (The Olive Press)
According to the United States Navy, a Russian SU-35 fighter jet intercepts a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft, flying over the Mediterranean Sea. (Business Insider)

Disasters and accidents

Fourteen people are injured in a multi-car pileup involving up to 60 vehicles during today's early morning rush hour during unseasonable wintry weather on Chicago's Kennedy Expressway. None of the injuries is considered life-threatening. At least 32 others were treated at the scene. (NBC News) (Accuweather)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States
  - The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States rises by 2,371 in a single day to 30,800, the highest number of COVID-19 linked deaths reported in any country in a single day, as total cases rise to 635,000. (Reuters)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in France
  - France reports 1,438 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the country's death toll to 17,167 with 133,470 total cases. The latest figures include deaths from COVID-19 in care homes over the three-day Easter weekend. (Reuters)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic on naval ships
    - The French Ministry of Armed Forces reports 668 sailors, more than a third of the crew of its flagship aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, have tested positive for COVID-19. (France 24)

International relations

U.S. officials say China may have conducted low-yield nuclear weapon tests in its Lop Nur test site in violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. (Reuters)
According to United States Space Command, Russia conducts a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test. (CNBC) (Air Force Magazine)

Politics and elections

2020 South Korean legislative election
- Elections for the 21st National Assembly of South Korea are held amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (BBC News)
- Turnout is at 66.2 percent, the highest in a legislative election since 1992. (United Press International)
- The ruling Democratic Party and its affiliate Together Citizens' Party are projected to win 180 seats, a record high for any political parties in South Korean history. (Yonhap News Agency)
- The leader of the main opposition United Future Party, Hwang Kyo-ahn resigns from his post after his party's defeat. (The Korea Times)
- Thae Yong-ho becomes the first ever North Korean defector to be elected to a constituency seat, representing Seoul's Gangnam District in the National Assembly. (The Korea Times)

Sports

The 2020 Tour de France has been delayed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNN)

April 14, 2020 (Tuesday)

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Business and economy

The U.S. Department of Justice returns US$300 million recovered from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal to Malaysia. The repatriation was due for February, but was delayed due to technical issues and Malaysia's ongoing political crisis. (Reuters)
Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on tourism
- Airbnb secures a US$1 billion loan to stay afloat as the pandemic causes worldwide demand for its services to drop. This follows a separate bond deal, also worth US$1 billion, it negotiated last week for similar reasons. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires
- Officials of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine announce the successful extinguishment of all open fires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. (Deutsche Welle)
- The ghost city of Pripyat was left unscathed by the fire while several abandoned villages burnt to the ground. (Forbes}

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Asia
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in India, 2020 coronavirus lockdown in India
    - Prime Minister Narendra Modi extends India's nationwide lockdown until May 3. (Al Jazeera)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippine Department of Health initiates a nationwide "mass" testing program, but prioritizes the critically ill and vulnerable. (Arab News)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in North America
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States
    - The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States rises by 2,228 in a single day, the highest number of COVID-19 linked deaths reported in any country in a single day, as total cases rise to over 600,000. (Reuters)

International relations

U.S. President Donald Trump announces the United States is suspending funding of the World Health Organization (WHO) pending an investigation. (CNN)
China–Kazakhstan relations
- The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons the Chinese ambassador after an article claiming that Kazakhs are "eager to return to China" and "do not have too many complaints" about China's historical invasions of Kazakhstan is published on the private Chinese website Sohu. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2020 coronavirus pandemic in Asia
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Turkey
  - Turkey will free one-third of its prisoners to curb the spread of COVID-19. At least 45,000 prisoners will be freed until the end of May, with the exception of those accused of terrorist offenses, as well as journalists and politicians accused of plotting the 2016 coup attempt. (Al Jazeera)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Jordan, Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on religion
  - Jordan bans public worship at mosques during Ramadan, and will not allow evening prayers, as a precaution to fight the virus. (Reuters)
A 30-year-old man is arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after he allegedly threatened to kill his father and his ex-girlfriends, as well as blow up the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. Explosive devices are discovered in his Upper West Side apartment. (The New York Post) (Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

China appoints Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps general secretary Sun Jinlong as the new Communist Party Secretary of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. (Reuters)
Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
- Former U.S. President Barack Obama officially endorses his former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee in the Democratic Party primaries. (The New York Times)
2020 Kiribati parliamentary election
- Citizens of Kiribati cast their votes in the first round of the country's latest parliamentary election. (Radio New Zealand)

April 13, 2020 (Monday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Second Libyan Civil War
- GNA forces recapture the city of Sabratha, and the nearby town of Sorman in the Zawiya District, while seizing armored vehicles and weapons belonging to the Libyan National Army. (Anadolu Agency)
- The Libyan National Army confirms one of its Mi-35 helicopters has been shot down near Misrata, killing three crew members onboard. (Al Masdar News)

Business and economy

Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- The Walt Disney Company reports it is entering a US$5 billion unsecured credit agreement, possibly to make up for shortfalls in its theme park division. Citibank, N.A. is the main broker of the deal. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Easter tornado outbreak
- The tornado outbreak continues from Easter Sunday across the Southeastern United States. Thirty people are confirmed dead. (USA Today)
Fiji declares a 30-day state of natural disaster in areas affected by Cyclone Harold. (RNZ)
2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires
- Wildfires in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine, reach the abandoned city of Pripyat, 2 km (1.2 mi) away from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 4,342 new confirmed cases and 717 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the UK's death toll to 11,329 and 88,621 total cases. (Reuters)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Guam
    - 2020 coronavirus pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
      - The United States Navy confirms the first death of a sailor serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Over 500 sailors on the ship have tested positive for the virus. (BBC)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Wyoming
    - Wyoming's Governor Mark Gordon reports the state's first death from COVID-19 in Johnson County, meaning all 50 U.S. states have now recorded a fatality from the virus. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
- Less than a week after dropping out of the race, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders officially endorses former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive nominee in the general election. (The New York Times)
Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign
- U.S. President Donald Trump's re-election campaign files a defamation lawsuit against Wisconsin TV station WJFW-TV for airing an advertisement by Priorities USA Action which criticizes Trump's response to COVID-19. (International Business Times)

April 12, 2020 (Sunday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan; Afghan peace process
- A Taliban spokesman announces the release of 20 government prisoners in response to the latter's release of 300 Taliban prisoners since Wednesday. (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War
- Yemeni troops recapture a strategic military base on the island of Socotra from the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). STC forces, which seized control of the base on February 18, fled before the operation began. (Middle East Monitor)
Kashmir conflict
- An exchange of artillery fire between India and Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC), kills three civilians, including a child, in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, according to Kashmir Police Chief K. Vijay Kumar. Pakistan Army general Babar Iftikhar says two Pakistani civilians are injured. (U.S. News)

Business and economy

2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war
- OPEC and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2020 Easter tornado outbreak
- A tornado outbreak occurs in the Southeastern United States. Mississippi declares a tornado emergency. (Weather)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Asia
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippines reports 220 new confirmed cases and 50 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the country's death toll to 297 with 4,648 total cases. (Reuters)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Israel
    - Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron dies from COVID-19 at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. (U.S. News)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in North America
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Saba
    - The first confirmed case of COVID-19 is reported on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba. (Mas Noticia)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Italy
    - The death toll from coronavirus in Italy has reached 19,889 people. Italy has the second highest number of deaths in the world, after the United States. (Corriere della Sera)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - Prime Minister Boris Johnson is released from hospital after days in intensive care. (Orlando Sentinel)
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 737 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the UK's death toll to 10,612. The UK becomes the fourth country in Europe, after Italy, Spain and France, to surpass 10,000 deaths from COVID-19. (The Independent)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Africa
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Somalia
    - Justice Minister of Hirshabelle State, Khalif Mumin Tohow, becomes the second person to die from COVID-19 in Somalia. The state minister recently travelled back from the United Kingdom. (Middle East Monitor)

Law and crime

Former Bangladesh Army officer Abdul Majed is executed for his involvement in the 1975 assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's first president. (BBC)

April 11, 2020 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Second Libyan Civil War
- The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya condemns the cut-off of water supply to the capital Tripoli, after an armed group seized a Great Man-Made River control station. The armed group is reportedly using the water cut-off, affecting two million people, to secure the release of detained family members. (Al Jazeera)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Chad reportedly ends its military participation with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) countering Boko Haram, saying Chadian ground forces will no longer operate outside its borders. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Paul McCartney's handwritten copy of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" is sold in a virtual auction for US$910,000, almost six times its estimated value. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

Anak Krakatoa, part of the Krakatoa complex in Indonesia's Sunda Strait, erupts. (Channel 9)
2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires
- A village near the mostly abandoned town of Poliske is evacuated, as forest fires continue to spread inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine. (Euronews)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in South America
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Brazil
    - Brazil becomes the first country in the Southern Hemisphere to surpass 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, as the death toll rises to 1,068 and 19,789 total cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. (BBC)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 917 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the UK's death toll to 9,875. Victims in the latest figures were aged between 11 and 102, while 33 people had no known underlying health conditions. (Sky News)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in North America
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States
    - With 20,071 deaths, the United States's death toll from COVID-19 passes that of Italy and becomes the country with the highest number of known COVID-19 deaths in the world. (CNBC)

International relations

Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- Sudan's Health Minister Akram Ali Altom says that his country urgently needs US$120 million to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While the country has registered relatively few cases and two deaths, Altom says that if it spreads, the country is not prepared to face it. (Reuters)

April 10, 2020 (Friday)

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Business and economy

Socio-economic impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic; 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe
- EU finance ministers agree on a €540 billion loan package to alleviate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. (The New York Times)

Health and environment

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic
- The first United Nations Security Council meeting on the pandemic is held in a closed video-conference session. (AIR)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Asia
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Yemen
    - Yemen reports its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a patient in the Hadhramaut Governorate. (Gulf News)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Iran
    - Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education reports 1,972 new confirmed cases and 122 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the country's death toll to 4,232 and 68,192 total cases, while 3,969 people remain in critical condition with the virus. (Reuters)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Germany
    - The Robert Koch Institute reports 5,323 new confirmed cases and 266 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing Germany's death toll to 2,373 with 113,525 total cases. (Reuters)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 980 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the UK's death toll to 8,958. (The Guardian)
    - NHS England announces two more temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients in Washington, and Exeter. (NHS England)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Belgium
    - Belgium reports 1,684 new confirmed cases and 494 more deaths from COVID-19, its highest daily death toll to date, bringing the country's death toll to 3,019 and 26,667 total cases. (Anadolu Agency)
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
    - The Republic of Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar extends stay-at-home coronavirus restrictions until May 5. (Reuters)
- 2020 coronavirus pandemic in North America
  - 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States
    - Johns Hopkins University records 2,108 more deaths from COVID-19 in the United States, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the U.S. death toll to 18,693 and 500,399 confirmed cases. The U.S. becomes the first country to report over 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in a single day. (BBC)
  - Impact of the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic on education
    - Students of Outside Creek Elementary School in California attend classes despite Governor Gavin Newsom's order to close all schools in the state. (Boston)
Kivu Ebola epidemic
- In a major setback for efforts to declare the end of the outbreak on Sunday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018. (Reuters)

Law and crime

A prison riot breaks out at a high-security prison in Angarsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, allegedly in response to an officer beating an inmate. Large sections of the prison are set on fire, and causalities are reported. (BBC)

Politics and elections

2020 Kiribati parliamentary election
- Kiribati postpones its parliamentary elections for a week. (RNZ)

Science and technology

The European Space Agency/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth, and is now on course for Venus, where it will make several gravity assist manoeuvres before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025. (BBC)

More April 2020 events...

Time: 21:50 UTC|Day: 16 April