Portal:Current events/2017 April 27
April 27, 2017 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports a large explosion near Damascus International Airport followed by a fire. The Syrian government says Israel struck the military site with several missiles. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz states that the strike "corresponds completely with Israel's policy". (BBC) (Wires via Sydney Morning Herald)
- The Israeli Air Defense Command shoots down a Syrian Air Force drone using a MIM-104 Patriot missile. (Times of Israel)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Two U.S. service members are killed and a third is injured during a raid against ISIL militants in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province. (ABC News)
Arts and culture
- A congress of female Islamic clerics in Cirebon, Indonesia, issues several fatwas, one of which opposes child marriage. (Channel NewsAsia)
Business and economy
- U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, softening earlier claims that he would terminate the trade bloc. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- A Russian Navy spy ship sinks off the coast of Turkey after colliding with a Togo-flagged freighter. All 78 crew aboard the ship were safely evacuated, according to Turkish officials. (BBC)
International relations
- South Korea–United States relations
- A South Korean adviser says it is "impossible" for South Korea to purchase the THAAD missile complex since control of its operation would remain with the United States. The remarks come after United States president Donald Trump suggested that South Korea pay for the $1 billion system. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- Terrorism in the United Kingdom
- A 27-year-old man carrying several knives in a backpack is arrested at Parliament Square, London, near the site of last month's Westminster attack. (Sky News)
- Kenneth Williams is executed at the Cummins Unit, Arkansas, by injection of midazolam, marking the state's fourth execution within eight days before the drug passes its expiration date. (NBC News)
- The Extraordinary African Chambers tribunal in Dakar, Senegal, upholds its conviction of former Chadian president Hissène Habré for crimes against humanity, but acquits him of rape. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- 2017 storming of Macedonian Parliament
- The Macedonian Parliament is stormed by protesters opposing the election of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as Speaker of the Assembly. (RT)
- The Bundestag approves a ban on burqas being worn by members of the German civil service. (Deutsche Welle)
Sports
- In American football, the Cleveland Browns select Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett first in the 2017 NFL Draft. (ESPN)