Portal:Current events/2021 April 9

April 9, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War, War in Donbass, Russia–NATO relations
- Russia deploys more troops to the Russia–Ukraine border as tensions escalate between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. (The New York Times)
Insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria
- Eleven Nigerian Army troops, including an officer, are killed in an ambush while on patrol in Benue State. It is unclear who carried out the attack. (MSN)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Police and military officials in India claim the eradication of Islamist separatist terror group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind following two military operations today that killed seven people. (Wionews)
2021 Myanmar protests
- Troops shoot and kill at least 83 people in Bago, Myanmar, as junta spokesman General Zaw Min Tun says that the country is "returning to normal" as protests are "dwindling," and that government ministries and banks would resume full operations soon. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies at home in Windsor Castle aged 99. He was the longest-serving Royal Consort of the United Kingdom. (The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

Forty people are killed during a road accident involving a bus in Kiwawa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thirty-one others are injured and hospitalized. (Reuters)
The La Soufrière volcano on Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines erupts, prompting the evacuation of 16,000 people. (AP)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia
    - Cambodia reports a record 576 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,604. (The Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India reports a record 131,968 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 13 million. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - The government designates Tokyo, Kyoto, and nine other cities in Okinawa for stricter measures, which include closing businesses at 8:00 p.m., in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. These measures will be in effect from April 15 until May 5 for Kyoto and Okinawa and until May 11 for Tokyo. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
    - The Drug Regulatory Authority grants Emergency Use Authorization for Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine. (Geo News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announces the closure of nightclubs, bars, and other nightly entertainment facilities in the Seoul Capital Area and Busan beginning April 15, along with the extension of social distancing measures for three weeks due to concerns about a fourth wave of the pandemic. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
    - Greece restricts the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 30 years old following reports of a possible link with rare blood clotting cases. (Ekathimerini)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
    - Hungary surpasses 700,000 cases of COVID-19. (Daily News Hungary)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the United States has vaccinated 20% of their population. (U.S. News & World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
    - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urges the state to halt in-person classes, indoor dining, and youth sports for two weeks due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Detroit Free Press)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada, Lineage P.1
    - Nevada reports its first three cases of the Lineage P.1 variant, which originated from Brazil. (Las Vegas Review Journal)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey
    - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy receive their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Murphy also signs legislation providing $35 million in federal aid to restaurants, bars, and other businesses. (AP)
  - The U.S. surpasses 31 million cases of COVID-19. (MarketWatch)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - Argentina reports 24,130 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the fourth consecutive day, thereby bringing the total cases to nearly 2.5 million. (Página 12)

Law and crime

Far-right terrorism in the United Kingdom
- A 17-year-old boy appears in court to deny neo-Nazi terror offences. Prosecutors allege that he was planning an attack using 3D printed firearms. (The Independent)
2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
- Former member of the Catalan parliament's bureau Joan Josep Nuet is condemned to eight months of disqualification for committing a crime of serious disobedience to the Spanish Constitutional Court for voting in favor of the processing of the unconstitutional Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia. (El Mundo)
2021 Northern Ireland riots
- Rioters again clash with police using petrol bombs, stones, and fireworks as missiles. Nineteen officers are injured and in Belfast the force uses water cannons for the first time in six years to repel attackers. (BBC News)
Giorgos Karaivaz, a notable Greek journalist, is shot dead by two gunmen near his home in Athens. The murder appears to be connected to Karaivaz's investigations. (Al Jazeera)
Indonesia increases security measures nationwide in response to recent terror attacks and announces plans to reopen Bali, Banten, and Bintan to foreign tourists as part of their plan to recover tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic. (TTG Asia)
A Turkish court in İzmir sentences Gülen movement member Yusuf Bekmezci to 17 years and four months in prison after finding him guilty of managing an armed terrorist organisation. (Anadolu Agency)
Rai News, Domani, and The Guardian jointly allege Italian prosecutors wiretapped thousands of confidential conversations between human rights lawyers and clients. The claims relate to prosecutions against charity officials for running migrant rescue boats. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2021 Djiboutian presidential election
- Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is re-elected as the President of Djibouti for a fifth term, receiving more than 98 percent of the vote. (Al Arabiya)