Portal:Current events/2018 April 8
April 8, 2018 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- 2018 Douma chemical attack
- The death toll from yesterday's suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, rises to at least 70, according to the White Helmets group. The Syrian government and Russia deny the allegations of a chemical attack. (BBC)
- U.S. President Donald Trump warns Russia and Iran for backing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and calls him "Animal Assad". (Sky News)
- Eight missiles are launched at the Syrian T4 air base in Homs Governorate, reportedly by Israeli F-15s. Syria claimed that five of the missiles are intercepted by the Syrian Air Defense Force. Reports stated that 14 soldiers were killed in the strike, including 4 Iranian Revolution Guards. (BBC) (Reuters) (Times of Israel)
- 2018 Douma chemical attack
- 2018 Gaza border protests
- Israeli Defence Forces fire shells at Palestinians on foot near the border fence, saying the men had crossed the fence before reentering the Gaza Strip near Gaza City. (Haaretz)
- Gazan hospitals declare a state of emergency owing to the thousands injured. (Al Jazeera)
- The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, says conduct by both Israel and Hamas may amount to war crimes and warns anybody violating international law may face prosecution. (The Times of Israel)
- Israeli Defence Forces deny reports three Palestinians fired upon in Gaza yesterday by an Israeli tank had opened fire on Israeli soldiers and hardware, but says they planted two bombs made from plastic drinks bottles and containing an explosive liquid near the border fence. The suspects were not injured. (The Times of Israel)
- Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman asks Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to probe NGO B’Tselem for "incitement to disobedience" for asking Israeli troops at the border to refuse orders. B’Tselem accuses Liberman in response of "a deep contempt for basic moral principles" and reiterates its call for IDF personnel to refuse to carry out "manifestly illegal orders". (The Times of Israel)
- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says the PA will take no further responsibility for the Gaza Strip unless Hamas hands over full control. (The Times of Israel)
- Gazan journalists hold a protest against the shooting death of Yasser Murtaja at the border, which they face with their mouths taped shut. (The Jerusalem Post)
- Sinai insurgency
- The Egyptian Army kills four suspected terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula. (Xinhua)
- Terrorism in Germany
- German authorities arrest six men aged 18 to 21 suspected of planning a terror attack on today's Berlin Half Marathon. (The Telegraph)
- Terrorism in the United Kingdom
- Police release two men detained for terrorism in Dewsbury, saying they are confident no terrorism offences can be charged. (ITV)
- A report commissioned by the UK states terrorists and extremists are increasingly turning to Bitcoin, the dark net, and encrypted communications apps in a bid to evade detection. (The Guardian)
- Police release on bail a suspected terrorist arrested yesterday at Gatwick Airport after he arrived on a flight from Morocco. (BBC)
- Terrorism in Israel
- A Palestinian man launches a stabbing attack in the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim and is shot by a civilian. The attacker is hospitalised, as are three Israelis who suffered shock. (Israel National News)
- Authorities charge Ahmed Kunba with several attacks including a drive-by shooting in the West Bank settlement of Havat Gilad that killed one, shooting at a bus, and trying to infiltrate the West Bank settlement of Dotan. (The Times of Israel)
- Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)
- Iraqi security forces kill six suspected terrorists and seize guns and explosives in an operation targeting Islamic State in Anbar. (Iraqi News)
- A suicide bomber injures six Iraqi soldiers near Ramadi, Anbar. The soldiers were combing a building hit by a separate bombing yesterday that killed five and injured seven including a politician. (Iraqi News)
- Iraqi authorities say an unexplained explosion in Mutaibija, on the border of Diyala and Salahuddin, killed an alleged senior member of the Islamic State. (Iraqi News)
Disasters and accidents
- A bus collides with a train near Armyansk, Crimea, killing five people and injuring four others. (Xinhua)
- 2018 Paris–Roubaix
- Belgian Vérandas Willems–Crelan cyclist Michael Goolaerts crashes during the race in France and subsequently dies in hospital. (BBC)
- 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix
- Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Räikkönen hits a mechanic during a pit stop. The mechanic receives multiple leg fractures. (ESPN)
- The UK Airprox Board reveals a Red Arrows jet came within 100ft of collision with a civilian plane last year. (Lincolnshire Live)
International relations
- Sino-Indian border dispute
- The Indian Army rejects Chinese categorisations of its patrols in Asaphila near the disputed Arunachal Pradesh border as "transgressions", and accuses China of damaging Indian roadlaying equipment. (The India Express)
- Russia-United Kingdom relations
- Russia accuses the United Kingdom of withholding information on the investigation into the murder of Russian exile Nikolay Glushkov, which is being probed by counterterrorism officers. Glushkov had political asylum and was wanted in Russia for embezzlement from Aeroflot. (The Independent)
Law and crime
- 2018 Münster attack
- German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer rejects claims that yesterday's car attack was an act of either Islamic or far-right terrorism, saying the attacker was not politically motivated. (The Journal)
- Operation Car Wash
- Former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva surrenders to police following a two-day stand-off at a steelworkers' union building in São Bernardo do Campo. (BBC)
- Animal welfare and rights in Australia
- A ship due to carry 65,000 sheep to the Middle East fails an Australian Maritime Safety Authority inspection after docking in Fremantle, Western Australia and is denied permits for the voyage. The government is investigating newly emerged footage of conditions on the ship, where thousands of sheep died during a similar voyage last year. (ABC)
Politics and elections
- Hungarian parliamentary election, 2018
- Voters in Hungary go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the Fidesz Party led by Viktor Orbán achieving a super-majority for the third election in a row. (AFP via Focus News), (Washington Post)
- Presidency of Donald Trump
- White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces the departure of National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton. (CNN)
Sport
- In golf, American Patrick Reed wins the 2018 Masters Tournament held in Augusta, Georgia. (SBNation)