Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- In NCAA Division I basketball, the South Carolina Gamecocks win the women's championship (Most Outstanding Player Aliyah Boston pictured) and the Kansas Jayhawks win the men's championship.
- Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians are found dead after Russian forces withdraw from Bucha.
- In the Serbian general election, Aleksandar Vučić is re-elected as President of Serbia and his Serbian Progressive Party wins the most seats.
- Fidesz, led by Viktor Orbán, wins a fourth consecutive term in the Hungarian parliamentary election.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Bucha
- U.S. President Joe Biden calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin to face trials for war crimes after more images emerge of the Bucha massacre. (CNN)
- 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that peace talks will continue despite the Bucha massacre. (BBC News)
- Battle of Bucha
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kashmir conflict
- An Indian Central Reserve Police Force officer is killed by militants in the Maisuma neighbourhood of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. (Times of India)
Business and economy
- International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Lithuania bans Russian IT companies from relocating to Lithuania. (LRT)
- Germany assumes control of Gazprom Germania, Gazprom's German subsidiary, after the German economy ministry declines to approve the subsidiary's acquisition by two entities with unclear beneficiaries. (Financial Times)
- Lebanese liquidity crisis
- Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon Saadeh Al Shami says that Lebanon and its central bank are bankrupt. (Anadolu Agency)
Disasters and accidents
- A train derails in Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing seven people and injuring 14 others. (The Punch)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania
- COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, COVID-19 vaccination in Sweden
- The Public Health Agency of Sweden recommends a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose for people over age of 65 years, as well as other adults aged 18-64 with weak immune response. (The Local Sweden)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
- China reports 13,146 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total of new cases since the height of the pandemic in Wuhan in February 2020. (France 24)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
International relations
- Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Lithuania–Russia relations
- France–Russia relations, Germany–Russia relations, Latvia–Russia relations
- France, Germany and Latvia expel Russian diplomats in response to war crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, specifically the Bucha massacre. (Radio Free Europe) (Axios)
- Russia–European Union relations, Denmark–Russia relations, Iceland–Russia relations, Norway–Russia relations, Russia–Switzerland relations
- Russia restricts diplomats, journalists and politicians from the European Union, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein from obtaining a visa by a simplified procedure. (Kommersant) (Reuters)
Science and technology
- Discoveries of exoplanets
- Astronomers announce the discovery of K2-2016-BLG-0005Lb, an exoplanet that is said to resemble Jupiter. The discovery was made using the now-retired Kepler space telescope. (ScienceAlert)
Sports
- 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
- In basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks rally from a 15-point deficit to defeat the 8th-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels, 72-69, in the National Championship Game. This is the 4th championship for the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team, and their first since 2008. (The New York Times)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine offensive
- Battle of Odessa
- Large explosions are reported in the port city of Odessa as residents are urged to seek shelter. Ukrainian officials say that the Russian Air Force has fired missiles at the city, and that some missiles have been intercepted. (BBC News) (NDTV)
- Battle of Odessa
- Bucha massacre, War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights group, says that it has documented allegations of war crimes perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine against civilians, including rape, summary execution, and looting of civilian properties. (CNN)
- The United States, the European Union, and NATO leaders react to emerging reports of the massacre in Bucha, accusing the Russian Armed Forces of war crimes and calling for more sanctions against Russia. (BBC News)
- Southern Ukraine offensive
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Arts and culture
- 64th Annual Grammy Awards
- During the ceremony, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes a video appearance and delivers a pre-taped speech urging viewers to support his country during the invasion in "any way" they can. (The Hollywood Reporter) (The Washington Post)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in China
- COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai
- Around 25 million residents in Shanghai are ordered to undergo COVID-19 testing in an effort to contain the current COVID-19 outbreak. (South China Morning Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai
- COVID-19 pandemic in China
Law and crime
- 2022 Sacramento shooting
- Six people are killed and 12 others are injured during a mass shooting at a popular nightlife area in Sacramento, California, United States. (ABC News)
- 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
- Around ten people are injured in downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after a series of riots broke out following UNC's victory against Duke in the Final Four. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election
- Voters in Hungary head to the polls to elect a new National Assembly. (The Guardian)
- Fidesz, the party of current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, wins most of the seats and retains its parliamentary supermajority, while opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay loses his home district of Hódmezővásárhely. (CNN)
- 2022 Serbian general election
- Voters in Serbia head to the polls to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections. (DW)
- President Aleksandar Vučić is re-elected with 60.0% of the vote, and his party Serbian Progressive Party wins the most votes in the National Assembly at 42.9% though fail to win an overall majority of seats. (Reuters)
- 2022 Costa Rican general election
- Voters in Costa Rica head to the polls to vote in the second round of the presidential election. (TSE)
- Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected President of Costa Rica. (Reuters)
- 2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis
- Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolves the National Assembly after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri refused to hold a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was widely expected to lose the motion. Khan previously accused the United States of conspiring with the opposition to remove him due to his opposition towards US foreign policy, which the US denies. (BBC News)
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- The entire cabinet of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns following days of economic protests in Sri Lanka. (BBC News)
- Former Crown Prince of Jordan Hamzah bin Hussein announces on Twitter that he is renouncing his "Prince" title, saying that his "personal convictions" are not in line with the "modern methods of our institutions". Hamzah has been under house arrest since last March after he accused Jordanian leaders of corruption and incompetence. (BBC News)
Sports
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kyiv offensive
- Battle of Bucha
- Bucha massacre, War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Hundreds of civilians are found dead on the streets in Bucha after the city is recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Journalists and Ukrainian forces say that they have uncovered evidence of war crimes by the Russian military. (Times of Israel) (The Guardian) (The Kyiv Independent)
- Bucha massacre, War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Chernobyl
- The Ukrainian flag is raised over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant following its recapture from Russian forces. A ceremony is held to honour the staff at the former plant who continued to work under Russian occupation. (CNN)
- Ukraine retakes full control of the Kyiv Oblast as the last Russian troops return to Belarus. (Reuters)
- Battle of Bucha
- Southern Ukraine offensive
- Aftermath of the Siege of Enerhodar
- Residents say that Russian occupiers have violently dispersed a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Enerhodar. Several protesters are arrested. Russian troops are also alleged to have used explosions in order to disperse the crowd. (Reuters)
- Aftermath of the Siege of Enerhodar
- Eastern Ukraine offensive
- Siege of Mariupol
- Lithuanian documentary filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius is killed in Mariupol. (Reuters)
- Siege of Mariupol
- Kyiv offensive
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Three Palestinian Islamic Jihad members are killed and four Israeli soldiers are injured during a gunfight near Jenin in the West Bank. (BBC News)
- Fighting erupts near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, leading to four Palestinians being arrested by Israel Police for rioting. (Times of Israel)
- Yemeni Civil War
- Ceasefire talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabian forces begin in Yemen in an effort to end fighting. (France 24)
Business and economy
- Australia and India sign a A$12.6 billion trade deal aimed at strengthening India's manufacturing sector by allowing access to more raw materials, and to also reduce Australia's dependence on China after China placed sanctions on some Australian goods following several political disputes. (South China Morning Post)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Nauru
- President Lionel Aingimea announces Nauru's first positive cases of COVID-19 in two asymptomatic people who travelled from Brisbane on March 31. (RNZ)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Nauru
International relations
- Enlargement of NATO
- Prime Minister Sanna Marin says that a decision on Finland joining the NATO military alliance must be made before this summer, stating that "Russia is not the neighbour we thought it was". (Yle)
Law and crime
- Protests against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 anti-war protests in Russia
- More than 170 people are detained in anti-war protests across Russia. (The Moscow Times)
- Ukrainian Americans protest an appearance by Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Awaken Church in San Marcos, California. (KFMB-TV)
- 2022 anti-war protests in Russia
- Sri Lankan economic crisis
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- The Sri Lankan government imposes a state of emergency after the Mirihana Presidential Residence is targeted by local civilian protesters. (BBC News)
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kyiv offensive
- Battle of Bucha
- Ukrainian forces recapture Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, from Russian troops. (Ukrinform)
- Battle of Irpin
- Ukrainian forces recapture the city of Irpin after driving out the last Russian troops. Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn confirms that the city has been fully liberated. (BBC News)
- The body of Reuters journalist Maks Levin is found in the town of Huta Mezhyhirska, near Kyiv. Levin had already disappeared several days before and is the sixth journalist to be killed in the country since Russia invaded. (The Guardian)
- Battle of Bucha
- Attack on Belgorod
- Russia claims that the Ukrainian Air Force conducted an airstrike on Belgorod, hitting several fuel facilities. Videos on social media show low-flying attack helicopters firing rockets at a fuel depot in the city. (AP)
- 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
- Ceasefire talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations resume via video link. (Times of Israel)
- Kyiv offensive
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Mali War
- Mali says that it has killed 203 insurgents in a major nine-day military operation from 23 March to April 1. (The Guardian)
- Mali War
- Afghanistan conflict
- Two bombs explode at a playing field in Herat, Afghanistan, killing five people and wounding 25 more. (ABC News)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian man is shot dead by Israeli security forces in Hebron. (Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera)
- Yemeni Civil War
- The Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis agree to a UN-brokered nationwide truce, the first in years, for two months to mark the start of Ramadan. As part of the deal, fuel shipments will be allowed to enter the Houthi-controlled port of Al Hudaydah and commercial flights will resume in the capital of Sanaa. (Reuters)
Arts and culture
- Aftermath of the 94th Academy Awards
- Actor Will Smith resigns from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences following the incident in which he slapped Chris Rock during Sunday's Academy Awards. (Variety)
Business and economy
- Amazon worker organization
- 55% of workers at a Staten Island warehouse in New York City vote to join the Amazon Labor Union, marking the first time Amazon's American employees unionise in a company known for viewing the trade unions unfavourably. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- Eight people are killed and 20 more are injured during a coal mine collapse in Aleksinac, Serbia. (Al Jazeera)
- A massive fire breaks out at the main marketplace in Hargeisa, Somaliland, injuring at least 28 people and completely destroying the market. (The Guardian)
- Four pilots are killed after two South Korean Air Force KAI KT-1 Woongbis crash into each other over a mountain northeast of Sacheon, South Korea. (Deutsche Welle)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- COVID-19 vaccination in Russia
- The Russian Health Ministry announces that Russia has registered the nasal spray form of the Sputnik V vaccine, making Russia the first country to register a nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine. (TASS)
- COVID-19 vaccination in Russia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
- Italy ends its two-year state of emergency and begins to gradually lift attendance limits for outdoor and indoor sports venues, along with a requirement that anyone over the age of 50 should be vaccinated to enter their place of work. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
- Malaysia begins its transition from pandemic to endemic phase that shift the management of the pandemic from reliance on government-imposed standard operating procedures and existing laws to individual responsibility, and community solidarity. (The Star)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The U.S. CDC announces that the Biden administration will end the usage of Title 42, a series of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Trump administration in order to prevent migrants from entering the United States. The measure will take effect on May 23. (CNBC)
International relations
- Canada–Holy See relations
- Canadian Indian residential school system
- Following a meeting with indigenous delegates from Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the "deplorable conduct" by members of the Catholic Church for actions in the church-run residential school system. (CBC News)
- Canadian Indian residential school system
- Ukraine–European Union relations
- President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola travels to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and subsequently addresses the Verkhovna Rada. Metsola becomes the first EU official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. (Times of Malta)
Law and crime
- Sri Lankan economic crisis
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
- President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declares a state of emergency as civil unrest spreads across the country. Dozens of Sri Lanka Police officers have been injured in clashes with protesters and 52 people have been arrested. (Reuters)
- 2022 Sri Lankan protests
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Chernobyl
- Energoatom confirms that the Russian forces who occupied the former nuclear power plant in Chernobyl have left the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. (Ukrinform)
- The International Atomic Energy Agency confirms that Russian forces have handed over control of the former nuclear power plant back to Ukraine. Russian troops also withdraw from the city of Slavutych, returning to Belarus. (CNBC)
- Siege of Mariupol
- Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says that Ukraine has sent buses to Mariupol in an effort to evacuate citizens from the city. (BBC News)
- Battle of Chernobyl
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two people are killed and 14 more injured as the Israeli Defense Forces raid the city of Jenin in the West Bank in order to capture a suspect linked to Tuesday's shooting in Bnei Brak. (Times of Israel) (Haaretz)
- A Palestinian militant uses a screwdriver to stab and seriously injure an Israeli civilian on a bus in Neve Daniel, before being shot dead by another passenger. (Haaretz)
- Rock throwing causes a bus to crash into a car in Halhul, West Bank, injuring two people. (Times of Israel)
Arts and culture
- Expo 2020
- The world expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was delayed to October 1, 2021, closes after six months. (AP)
Business and economy
- Economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
- Australia revokes the most favoured nation status for Russia and Belarus, and will impose 35% tariffs on produce coming from these countries beginning on April 25. (The Guardian)
- 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
- 2021–2022 global energy crisis
- U.S. President Joe Biden orders the release of up to one million barrels of crude oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months in an attempt to contain inflation. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- Wildfires in 2022
- Evacuations and school closures are issued in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States, after a wildfire, known as the Hatcher Mountain Road/Indigo Lane Fire, breaks out near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and grows to 1,000 acres. (CNN)
- Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters announces that two firefighters are injured, and that five fire trucks were damaged by the wildfire that broke out near the Wears Valley community. (WATE-TV)
- A chartered helicopter travelling to Ulupna Island, Victoria, Australia, crashes into Mount Disappointment, killing all five people onboard. (ABC News Australia)
Health and environment
International relations
- Georgia–Russia relations
- Georgia says plans by the breakaway state of South Ossetia, which is internationally recognized as occupied Georgian territory, to hold a referendum on becoming a part of Russia are "unacceptable". (Reuters)
- Micronesian president David Panuelo urges Solomon Islands to not sign a security pact with China, citing "grave security concerns" and arguing that the Pacific islands would be "the epicenter of major confrontation" between major powers. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Russia investigation origins counter-narrative
- The U.S. Federal Election Commission fines the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for violating rules by funding the Steele dossier, a dossier which made accusations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Both the DNC and Clinton's campaign have agreed not to contest the fines and to pay civil penalties of US$105,000 and US$8,000 respectively. (The Washington Post) (Business Insider)
- Sri Lankan economic crisis
- Sri Lanka Police impose an indefinite curfew in the city of Colombo after protesters attempted to storm president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence amid anger over worsening economic conditions and power outages in the country. (Al Jazeera)
Politics and elections
- The acting Australian Information Commissioner orders the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to comply with a request by The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, which the PMO had previously rejected, and search the mobile phone of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for correspondence with Morrison's friend and QAnon conspiracy theorist Tim Stewart. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has alleged that Stewart influenced Morrison's use of the term "ritual abuse" in a speech to survivors of child sexual abuse in 2019. (The Guardian)
Science and technology
- Censorship of Wikipedia, Media freedom in Russia
- Russian media censorship agency Roskomnadzor threatens to fine Wikipedia up to 4 million rubles (about US$49,000) if it does not delete information that contradicts the Kremlin's official narrative on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Forbes)
- Scientists sequence the complete human genome for the first time, more than three decades after the Human Genome Project was first commenced. (CNN)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine offensive
- Battle of Chernobyl
- Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk calls for Russia to withdraw from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone area and for Russian troops occupying the former nuclear plant to pull out. (Reuters)
- A U.S. official says that Russian forces have begun withdrawing from the Chernobyl area and have moved into Belarus. (France 24)
- 2022 Ukrainian refugee crisis
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says more than four million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion began on February 24. (France 24)
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attack a military base in Tank, Pakistan, killing six soldiers. (Arab News)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- U.S. President Joe Biden receives his second booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. (CBS News)
- COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
- The U.S. CDC removes their travel warnings for cruise ships, which were imposed during the beginning of the pandemic. However, passengers will still be required to be vaccinated and to test negative for COVID-19. (The Washington Post)
- Treatment and management of COVID-19
- According to a new study, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin does not prevent hospitalizations from COVID-19. (New England Journal of Medicine)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
International relations
- Reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
- Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia says that the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will resume their peace talks online on April 1 after the latest round of negotiations in Turkey has ended. (Reuters)
- 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
- 2021–2022 North Korean missile tests
- North Korea–South Korea relations
- The South Korean military says that last week, North Korea tested Hwasong-15 from November 2017, instead of a Hwasong-17. This comes a day after the defense ministry and lawmakers also confirmed this. (DW) (CBS News)
- North Korea–South Korea relations
- Iran–United States relations
- Iranian missile tests
- The United States sanctions the Iranian ballistic missile program. (CNN)
- Iranian missile tests
- Russia–South Ossetia relations
- The President of South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, declares that the partially recognised state will undertake "legal steps" in the near future for accession to become part of Russia. (Meduza)
Politics and elections
- 2021–2022 Tunisian political crisis
- Tunisian President Kais Saied orders the Assembly of the Representatives of the People to be dissolved, after 116 of the 124 MPs who convened online voted earlier in the day to strip Saied of the "exceptional measures" he had taken on since last July. (Reuters)
Science and technology
- Cyberwarfare by Russia
- Russia announces that it will ban all usage of software from other countries in government agencies beginning in 2025. Additionally, beginning on March 31, all foreign software purchases for government agencies must be pre-approved by the government. (Reuters) (TASS)
- It is reported that Russian government hackers have attacked and compromised the servers of Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs since late 2021. (Direkt36)
- South Korea launches a solid-fuel indigenous space rocket at the Agency for Defense Development site in Taean County, South Chungcheong Province. (Korea Herald)
- The Hubble Space Telescope observes the most distant single star ever. The star, named Earendel by astronomers, is 28 billion light-years away. It is the farthest detection of a star, dating back 900 million years after the Big Bang. This discovery surpasses Hubble's record from 2018, when it discovered a star that existed when the universe was roughly four billion years old. (CNN)
Sports
- 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League knockout phase
- A crowd of 91,553 attends the second leg of the quarterfinal between archrivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou in Barcelona. This surpasses the 90,185 at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final and is reportedly the largest attendance for a women's football match since Mexico–Denmark (110,000) in 1971. Barça won 5–2 on the day and 8–3 on aggregate. (ESPN)