Portal:Current events/2019 April 3

April 3, 2019 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Second Libyan Civil War, 2019 Western Libya Offensive
- The Libyan National Army (LNA) launches a surprise offensive in western Libya, moving units towards the Government of National Accord-held capital Tripoli, with reports of clashes in the city of Gharyan. The LNA say their operation, ordered by General Khalifa Haftar, is aimed at "cleansing the western zone from terrorist groups". (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Mueller special counsel investigation, Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary approves a subpoena to obtain, in its full and unredacted form, the final report written as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's recently concluded investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. (New York Post)

Politics and elections

2019 Ukrainian presidential election
- Volodymyr Zelensky wins the first round of Ukraine's presidential election with 30 percent of the vote, with President Petro Poroshenko coming in second with 15 percent of the vote. Since no candidate reached the required number of votes to achieve the office of the presidency, a runoff election between the two candidates will be held on April 21. Voter turnout was 63 percent. (Ukrinform) (The Jerusalem Post)
In an effort led by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Republicans vote 51-48 to approve new Senate rules to limit the in-session debate time for most of President Donald Trump's appointed political nominees to two hours instead of the previously required 30 hours. Senate Republicans invoke the so-called "nuclear option" to approve the new rules, a procedure that allows the Senate to amend rules with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to do so. (Axios)
The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means formally requests six years of President Donald Trump's personal and business tax returns from the Internal Revenue Service. (ABC News)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The U.S. House of Representatives approves a resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen. (Politico)
Brexit negotiations
- An indicative vote on holding more indicative votes for Brexit possibilities in the House of Commons achieves a vote of 310 Aye and 310 No, becoming the first British parliamentary vote to result in a draw in the 21st century; Speaker John Bercow breaks the tie by voting No. (BBC News)