Portal:Current events/2022 April 15

April 15, 2022 (2022-04-15) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russo-Ukrainian War
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Russia launches major missile strikes on Kyiv, saying that the strikes are in retaliation for the April 2022 Belgorod and Bryansk attacks. (Reuters)
    • In an address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns of a possibility that Russia could use nuclear or chemical weapons and calls on Ukrainians to begin stockpiling potassium iodide pills, saying Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons to "bring a catastrophic end" to the war. CIA Director William Burns says that there is no evidence that a nuclear attack is imminent but also says that the CIA won’t ignore the threat. (Axios) (The Independent)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • 2022 Al-Aqsa Mosque storming
    • More than 150 Palestinians and three Israeli police officers are injured after Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Hundreds of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip protest the storming. (BBC News) (Al Jazeera)
  • A man is injured during a stabbing attack in Haifa, Israel. Police say that the stabbing was likely motivated by political reasons. (Times of Israel)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan
    • At least 39 people are killed in several Pakistani airstrikes in border areas of Afghanistan's Khost and Kunar provinces, allegedly targeting TTP members. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• Internal conflict in Myanmar
  • Karen conflict
    • An attempt by the Burmese army to take control of Lay Kay Kaw, a Karen National Union-controlled town, fails. (Radio Free Asia).
• South Thailand insurgency
  • Two bombings in Thailand by the Ethnic Malay Patani United Liberation Organisation kill one civilian and injure three police officers. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Moody's announces that it will declare Russia in default on May 4, at the end of the grace period, if Russia services the foreign dollar-denominated bonds that it paid on April 4 in rubles rather than in US dollars, as mandated by the terms of the obligations. (Reuters)
• The South Korean government approves a plan to join the CPTPP. (The Korea Times)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 35 people are killed and 71 others are injured when a bus carrying churchgoers to an Easter gathering crashes in Chipinge, Zimbabwe. (Al Jazeera)
• A migrant vessel crashes off the coast of Sabratha, Libya, killing at least 6 people and leaving 29 others presumed dead. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    • South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announces that South Korea will lift their COVID-19 social distancing requirements beginning on April 18. The mask mandate, however, will remain in place. (Korea Herald)

Science and technology

• Censorship in Russia
  • Russia blocks Radio France Internationale and the Russian edition of The Moscow Times. (Reuters)
• Gasteranthus extinctus, an orange wild flower that is a member of the Gesneriaceae family, is rediscovered in Ecuador after being considered extinct for 36 years. The study of the flower's rediscovery is published by the journal PhytoKeys and the Field Museum in Chicago. (CNET)

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