Portal:Current events/2019 April 21
< Portal:Current events
April 21, 2019 (Sunday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
- A series of explosions at churches and hotels in four cities in Sri Lanka, including the nation's commercial capital and largest city Colombo, kills at least 359 people and wounds around 500 others. ISIL has since claimed responsibility for the attacks. (BBC News)
- The Sri Lankan government temporarily blocks access to all social media platforms to stop the spread of "false media reports" about the attacks. (The Washington Post)
- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stated that several United States citizens were killed in the attacks and Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry officials have stated that at least five of the victims were of British nationality. (CNN)
- Pope Francis speaks words of solidarity to the Christian community of Sri Lanka, lamenting that the attacks have wrought grief and sorrow. (Vatican News)
- Four attackers are killed in a failed attack on a police station in Zulfi, Saudi Arabia. The attackers had machine guns, bombs, and petrol bombs. (Al Jazeera)
- Suspected jihadist militants attack a Malian military base in the town of Guiré, Koulikoro Region, killing ten soldiers. (Deutsche Welle)
Disasters and accidents
- 28 people are killed and two others are missing after a landslide in the municipality of Rosas, in southwestern Colombia. (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- 2019 Ukrainian presidential election
- According to exit polls, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky wins Ukraine's presidential run-off election over incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with more than 70 percent of the votes. Poroshenko concedes defeat. (Reuters) (BBC News) (CBC)
- 2019 North Macedonian presidential election
- Macedonians go to the polls to elect the next President of North Macedonia in an election dominated by divisions over the Prespa agreement, which resolved the naming dispute between North Macedonia and Greece. (Reuters)