Portal:Current events/April 2023

Business and economy

• In India, a new income tax law comes into effect. It is a significant change on the old 1961 statute, and contains a controversial "angel tax" provision seeking to capture some of the income entering the country from foreign investors funding India's start-ups. (Bloomberg Tax)

Disasters and accidents

• Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023
  • The toll from yesterday's tornado outbreak rises to 32 people dead and at least 90 injuries, especially in the states of Arkansas and Illinois. (CNN)
• Two people are killed and another is injured after a hot air balloon catches fire near Teotihuacan, State of Mexico, Mexico. (AP)

International relations

• Russia assumes the Presidency of the United Nations Security Council as part of the standard monthly rotation among the council's 15 members. (BBC News)

Science and technology

• Professor Alan Jamieson of the University of Western Australia's Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre announces that his team has captured footage of a snailfish species, Pseudoliparis belyaevi, swimming at 8,336 metres (27,349 ft) in the Izu–Ogasawara Trench off Japan's southern coast. This is the lowest depth recorded for any fish, and closest to the estimated maximum depth possible for fish to survive. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Russian forces shell Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, killing six civilians and injuring eight others, according to the Ukrainian government. (Reuters)
  • 2022–2023 Western Russia attacks
    • 2023 Saint Petersburg bombing
      • Russian pro-government war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky is killed by a bombing at a café in Saint Petersburg owned by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. Sixteen others are injured. (TASS)
• Kivu conflict
  • South Sudanese troops arrive in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, becoming the fourth country to join a coalition of peacekeeping missions to fight insurgencies. (Xinhua)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 21 people are dead and others are missing after a landslide in Bolowa, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Al Jazeera)
• Fifteen people are killed after two pits are flooded in Cibitoke, Burundi. (Associated Press)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Andorran parliamentary election
  • Andorrans head to the polls to elect the 28 members of the parliament. (elPeriódico)
• 2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election
  • Bulgarians head to the polls to elect the 240 members of the parliament. Exit polls show former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's party GERB narrowly defeating former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's party We Continue the Change by 0.2%. (DW)
• 2023 Finnish parliamentary election
  • Finns head to the polls to elect the 200 members of the parliament. Centre-right National Coalition Party wins the most votes at 20.7%, while the ruling Social Democratic Party places third with 19.9%. (Euronews 1) (Euronews 2)
• 2023 Montenegrin presidential election
  • Former economic minister Jakov Milatović defeats incumbent Milo Đukanović to become the new President of Montenegro, with 60.1% of the vote. (Reuters)
• 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries
  • Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announces his campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election during an interview with ABC News. (ABC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Bakhmut
    • Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, claims "legal control" of Bakhmut, although Ukraine denies this, stating that its troops continue to remain in the city's western districts. (CNBC)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A Lions' Den militant and a Fatah member are killed during a raid by Israeli soldiers in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. Two other Palestinians are arrested and dozens more are hospitalized due to tear gas. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• 2021–2023 inflation surge
  • Brent crude oil prices increase by $4.30 to $84.19 per barrel after OPEC announces an unexpected reduction in the output of oil exports by about 1.16 million barrels per day. U.S. crude oil prices increase by $4.17 to $79.84 per barrel in response to the announcement. (Al Jazeera)
• Acquisition of WWE by Endeavor
  • Endeavor Group Holdings, owners of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), announce that they will acquire World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in a deal estimated to be worth US$9.3 billion. The two entities will be merged and spun off, with Endeavor controlling 51% of the combined company, and WWE shareholders controlling the remaining 49%. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Papua New Guinea earthquake
  • A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, killing seven people, injuring several others, and causing damage. (Deccan Herald)
• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes Kamchatka Krai, Russia, with damage reported in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The Mutnovskaya Power Station is also temporarily shut down. (KAM24)
• Four people are injured in a fire at a hospital in Berlin, Germany. One person has been arrested on suspicion of arson. (AP)
• Six people are killed and 64 others are missing after a boat capsizes in the Lake Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)

International relations

• Armenia-Russia relations
  • Russia announces a ban on Armenian dairy imports amid a continued worsening of relations between the two countries. (Eurasianet)

Science and technology

• Artemis 2
  • NASA announces the four members of Artemis 2, the first crewed mission of the Artemis program which will send astronauts to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17: Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, and Victor J. Glover. (The New York Times)

Sports

• 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
  • In basketball, the UConn Huskies rout the San Diego State Aztecs 76–59 to win the championship, making it the fifth national championship for the Huskies. (ESPN)
• 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
  • Peru is removed as a host for the FIFA U-17 World Cup after failing to meet the requirements for staging the tournament. (AP)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Israel's role in the Syrian civil war
    • The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes near Damascus, killing two civilians, according to Syrian state media. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that an "unknown number" of Iran-backed militants were also killed in the strikes, which targeted a counter-battery radar in As-Suwayda Governorate, and a glass factory in al-Kiswah, Rif Dimashq Governorate. (France 24)
• War against the Islamic State
  • United States Central Command says that U.S. forces killed senior Islamic State leader Khalid 'Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, who was allegedly planning attacks in Europe during Easter, in an overnight raid in rebel-held northwest Syria. The U.S. also says that there were no civilian casualties in the raid. (Reuters)
• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
  • Six Islamic State members are killed during a raid by the Taliban in Balkh Province, Afghanistan. (Al Arabiya)

Business and economy

• Satellite launch service provider Virgin Orbit files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to secure long-term funding. The California-based company announces that it will layoff 85% of its workforce. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Voorschoten train crash
  • One person is killed and 50 others are injured, nineteen of them hospitalized, when a train derails in Voorschoten, South Holland, Netherlands. (BBC News)
• Seven people are killed and eleven others are injured in an avalanche in Nathu La, Sikkim, India. (AP)

International relations

• Enlargement of NATO
  • Finland–NATO relations
    • Finland officially joins NATO, becoming the 31st member of the military alliance and expanding NATO's border with Russia by 1,300 kilometres (810 mi). (Time) (BBC News)
• China–India relations
  • Sino-Indian border dispute
    • The Ministry of Civil Affairs of China standardizes the names of 11 places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in a renewed attempt to assert Chinese territorial claim over the state. (Times of India)

Law and crime

• Legal affairs of Donald Trump
  • Indictment of Donald Trump
    • Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to falsifying business records and to making a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels at a Manhattan court. (CBS News) (The Independent)
    • Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg formally announces the indictment of Trump. (Bronx Daily)
• A court in the United Kingdom rules that the High Court of Justice has no jurisdiction over a lawsuit presented by a creditor against Cuba and Cuba's Central Bank over unpaid loans from the 1980s. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Peruvian political crisis
  • Peruvian protests
    • The Congress of Peru votes against the petition of impeachment of President Dina Boluarte over the alleged killings of protesters during the ongoing protests, amid a worsening volatility in the country's politics. (Reuters)
• 2023 Chicago mayoral election
  • Brandon Johnson wins a runoff election for mayor of Chicago. (Politico)

Science and technology

• The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fines TikTok £12.7m for "failing to protect the privacy of children" on the online video platform. It is one of the largest fines ever issued by the ICO. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • 2023 Al-Aqsa clashes
    • Israeli police storm Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in response to rioting, injuring seven Palestinians and resulting in clashes in the West Bank and in Gaza, where nine rockets were launched. (Arab News)

Disasters and accidents

• Tornadoes of 2023
  • At least five people are killed and many others are injured when a tornado strikes Glen Allen and Marble Hill, Missouri, United States. (ABC News) (The New York Times)
• Two people are killed when a helicopter carrying five people crashes near Hạ Long Bay, Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. (Reuters)
• An international human development agency says that 13 Jiye/Jie people have died from conditions related to famine in Kapoeta, South Sudan, while hundreds of others are on the verge of starvation. (AP)

International relations

• Foreign visits by Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes an official visit to Poland. During his meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Zelenskyy receives the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest order. (Reuters) (European Pravda)
• Taiwan–United States relations
  • President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen meets with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, despite Chinese diplomatic pressure in response to the meeting. (AP)

Law and crime

• Blumenau school attack
  • Four children are killed and four others are injured in a hatchet attack at a kindergarten in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. (BBC News)

Science and technology

• Discoveries of exoplanets
  • Scientists discover bursts of radiation in radio wavelengths on the exoplanet YZ Ceti b, which is part of the YZ Ceti system. The studies are published in the Nature Astronomy journal. (The Jerusalem Post)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022 Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations
    • Deputy Head Andrii Sybiha says that Ukraine is willing to hold talks on the future of Crimea if a Ukrainian counter-offensive reaches the Crimean administrative border. (The Guardian)
• 2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings
  • At least 30 rockets are fired from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, injuring three people. Israel later fires artillery toward two Lebanese villages. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• The Japanese Coast Guard reports that a Black Hawk military helicopter carrying ten crew members crashed near Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• The International Court of Justice rules that the case of territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over Guayana Esequiba can proceed. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali welcomes the decision and commits Guyana to solve the dispute peacefully. Venezuela had earlier rejected the ruling, alleging that the case cannot be heard without the involvement of the United Kingdom, Guyana's former colonial power. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions
  • Two Democratic lawmakers are expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives for participating in pro gun control protests following the Covenant School shooting. (The Washington Post)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Pakistan announces the arrest of the founder of the umbrella group Baloch Nationalist Army in the country's southwest. (AP via The Washington Post)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Two 20-year old Israeli sisters and their 48-year old mother are killed in attack by a Palestinian gunman. (AP)