Portal:Current events/2018 April 6
April 6, 2018 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2018 Gaza border protests
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warns Israel to use "extreme caution" as further protests are held at the Gazan border. Israeli Defence Forces open fire again, killing at least seven Palestinians. (The Guardian)
- Protestors begin burning tyres at the border. (The Guardian)
- Moro conflict
- Acting on a tipoff about a planned attack, authorities in Shariff Aguak detain two suspected would-be bombers and disable an improvised explosive device. (Philstar Global)
- Terrorism in the Netherlands
- The Dutch Court of Appeal increases the sentence of a man who twice attempted to travel to Syria from 31 months partially suspended to 40 months. The man was previously convicted of preparing terrorist crimes and trying to participate in a terrorist organisation. (Dutch News)
- Terrorism in the United Kingdom
- Police announce they will expand Project Servator to cover London. Project Servator involves the deployment of hundreds of armed counterterror officers in a bid to rapidly swarm potential terrorists. (Sky News)
Arts and cultures
- Weinstein effect
- Three members of the Swedish Academy leave their seats after failing to oust another member whose husband is accused of sexual misconduct including raping young female writers. (Expressen)
Business and economy
- Economy of the United Kingdom
- A report reveals that 2017 saw over ten thousand new businesses in the technology sector throughout the United Kingdom, with all areas seeing growth over 2016. Scotland saw a 77% increase with 440 new firms. (The Scotsman)
- Trump tariffs
- U.S. stocks drop by about 2 percent in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff statement yesterday concerning Chinese imports. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- Humboldt Broncos bus crash
- A transport and a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collide north of Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, en route to a play-off game against the Nipawin Hawks, killing 15 people. (CTV News) (CBC) (BBC)
- A bus crashes near Genting Highlands in Bentong, Pahang, Malaysia, hitting a car and a barrier. Twenty-three people are injured, including sixteen Chinese tourists. (Channel NewsAsia)
- A helicopter crash in Istanbul kills five and injures seven. (T.A.A.S.)
Health and environment
- Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, invites bids for oil and gas exploration at Northeast Newfoundland Slope, a protected marine area that was closed to fishing in December. (CBC)
International relations
- Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
- The United States imposes sanctions on twelve Russian owned companies, a Russian arms exporter, and a bank. The U.S. cites multiple reasons, including Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and military engagements in Ukraine, Crimea, and Syria, among others. (ABC News)
- Australia says it will prevent the departure of a ship due to carry 65,000 sheep to the Middle East next week unless the operators can reassure the government of the animals' welfare. The government launched an investigation yesterday after a video depicting conditions on the ship emerged. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Impeachment of Park Geun-hye
- Former President of South Korea Park Geun-hye is sentenced to 24 years in prison and an ￦18 billion fine for bribery, coercion, and abuse of power, among other charges. (The New York Times)
- Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
- Salisbury District Hospital says poisoned spy Sergei Skripal is no longer critically ill, responding well to treatment, and "improving rapidly". His daughter was previously revealed to have regained consciousness. (BBC)
- Viktoria Skripal, a cousin of Yulia, states the poisoned pair suffered food poisoning rather than an attack with a nerve agent. Hours later she is denied a visa to visit her relatives in hospital. (Sky)
- Killings by law enforcement officers in the United States in April 2018
- Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act
- Several U.S. federal authorities led by the FBI seize the personal ad website Backpage in an effort to stop alleged human trafficking, including that of minors. Its co-founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin were also charged with 93 counts of human trafficking. (Reuters) (Arizona Central)
- Sexual offences in the United Kingdom
- Glasgow Sheriff Court sentences HMP Barlinnie prison officer Brian Johnstone to three years imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting two inmates in the showers and their cells between 2013 and 2016. (BBC)
- ValuJet Flight 592
- Terrorism in the United Kingdom
- A Central Criminal Court judge sentences Dutch-Somali terror convict Aweys Shikhey to eight years with an extended licence of four years. Shikhey received international attention for fantasy chats with a Kenyan online about murdering David Cameron, Queen Elizabeth II, Jews, and football fans. (The Times of Israel) (NLTimes.nl)
- 2018 in UFC
- Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor appears in court and is released on bail after being charged with assault and criminal mischief. (BBC)
- Human rights in North Korea
- The International Criminal Court rejects a petition to investigate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for war crimes. The petition by Japanese families of alleged victims was turned down because the alleged wrongdoing predates Japan's 2007 joining of the ICC. (NHK)
Politics and elections
- 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
- Carles Puigdemont is released on bail, following the German judge's decision that he cannot be extradited for rebellion. However, proceedings for misuse of public funds are being considered against Puigdemont. (The Guardian)
- Puigdemont calls for the opening of dialogue with Spain. (BBC)
- 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals
- U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold announces his resignation from Congress. (NPR)
Science and technology
- Facebook and Cambridge Analytica data breach
- Facebook states that people running popular pages will now have to verify their identity as part of its continued efforts to stem fake news and propaganda. (BBC)
- Facebook suspends AggregateIQ, a Canadian data firm, over concerns about possible data misuse. AggregateIQ was used by the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. (BBC)
- SpaceShipTwo
- Virgin Galactic successfully tests VSS Unity, the first test since an October 2014 crash destroyed a previous version, VSS Enterprise. (Euronews)