Portal:Current events/2020 April 7

April 7, 2020 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan; Afghan peace process
- A Taliban spokesman says that the group has recalled its negotiators with the government in response to the latter's refusal to release Taliban prisoners. The Taliban also announces it could increase violence against government forces. In response, the government asks the Taliban not to "sabotage the process". (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A major blackout is reported in western and southern Libya, according to the General Electricity Company of Libya, which says its control teams are trying to figure out the reason behind the power outage. (Libya Observer)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares a state of emergency to combat COVID-19. (Associated Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - 2020 Luzon enhanced community quarantine
      - President Rodrigo Duterte extends the lockdown and home quarantine measures on Luzon until April 30. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prisons
    - A riot breaks out at Qubbah prison in Tripoli, Lebanon, with reports of a "number of injuries". In a separate incident, Lebanese security forces thwart a mass escape attempt at a prison in Beqaa Governorate, which relatives of inmates say is linked to fears of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - The Department of Health and Social Care reports 854 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, bringing the UK's death toll to 6,159 and 55,242 confirmed cases. (The Guardian)
  - Officials in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh report its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a patient who had recently returned from Armenia. (National Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France reports 1,417 more deaths from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the country to date, raising the country's death toll to 10,238. (Sky News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York
      - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reports 731 more deaths in the state from COVID-19, the highest daily death toll in the state to date, bringing the state's death toll to 5,489 and 138,836 infections. (BBC News)

Law and crime

Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Australia
- George Pell wins his appeal in the High Court of Australia against child sexual abuse convictions. (CNN)
Corruption in Ecuador
- Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa is found guilty on corruption charges and sentenced to eight years in prison. Correa is also banned from participating in politics until 2045. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries
- 2020 Wisconsin Democratic primary, 2020 Wisconsin Republican primary
  - Voters in Wisconsin go to the polls in their primary elections. (CNN)
COVID-19 pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt
- Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigns amid controversy surrounding his comments regarding Captain Brett Crozier, former commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. Modly had referred to Crozier, whom he relieved of command on 3 April, as "too naïve or too stupid" to be in command following the leak of a letter the captain had sent pleading for help with the COVID-19 outbreak on his ship. (CNN)
Former CNN contributor and press secretary for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign Kayleigh McEnany is appointed as the new White House Press Secretary. (New York Times)

Science and technology

Astronomers report, via The Astronomer's Telegram, that comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) appears to have disintegrated. (The Independent)
Donald Trump signs an executive order encouraging Americans to resist international restrictions on mining celestial objects, should the situation arise. (The Guardian)