Portal:Current events/2020 April 15
April 15, 2020 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Mali War, COVID-19 pandemic in Mali
- Spain evacuates its troops from Mali after several soldiers become infected with COVID-19. The troops were part of the European Union's EUTM Mali training mission. (The Olive Press)
- Terrorism in the United States
- A 36-year-old man is arrested for attempting to firebomb a Jewish assisted living facility in Longmeadow, Massachusetts on April 3. His arrest is part of a larger investigation into a white supremacist group suspected of plotting mass killings online. He is charged with two counts of attempted arson, but is released the next day. (HuffPost) (WWLP)
- According to the United States Navy, a Russian SU-35 fighter jet intercepts a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare aircraft, flying over the Mediterranean Sea. (Business Insider)
Disasters and accidents
- 2020 Easter tornado outbreak
- The death toll in a tornado outbreak that devastated the Southeastern United States on April 12–13 rises to 35. (WHSV-TV)
- Fourteen people are injured in a chain-reaction accident involving up to 60 vehicles, during the morning rush hour on Chicago's Kennedy Expressway, as unseasonable, wintry weather strikes the city. None of the injuries is considered life-threatening. At least 32 others are treated at the scene. (NBC News) (Accuweather)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States rises by 2,371 in a single day to 30,800, the highest number of COVID-19 linked deaths reported in any country in a single day, as total cases rise to 635,000. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in France
- France reports 1,438 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the country's death toll to 17,167 with 133,470 total cases. The latest figures include deaths from COVID-19 in care homes over the three-day Easter weekend. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic on naval ships
- The French Ministry of Armed Forces reports 668 sailors, more than a third of the crew of its flagship aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, have tested positive for COVID-19. (France 24)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
International relations
- U.S. officials say China may have conducted low-yield nuclear weapon tests in its Lop Nur test site in violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. (Reuters)
- According to United States Space Command, Russia conducts a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test. (CNBC) (Air Force Magazine)
Politics and elections
- 2020 South Korean legislative election
- Elections for the 21st National Assembly of South Korea are held amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (BBC News)
- Turnout is at 66.2 percent, the highest in a legislative election since 1992. (United Press International)
- The ruling Democratic Party and its affiliate Together Citizens' Party are projected to win 180 seats, a record high for any political parties in South Korean history. (Yonhap News Agency)
- The leader of the main opposition United Future Party, Hwang Kyo-ahn resigns from his post after his party's defeat. (The Korea Times)
- Thae Yong-ho becomes the first ever North Korean defector to be elected to a constituency seat, representing Seoul's Gangnam District in the National Assembly. (The Korea Times)
Sports
- The 2020 Tour de France is delayed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNN)