Portal:Current events/2016 April 26
April 26, 2016 (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
- 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)