Portal:Current events/2023 April 15

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2019–2026 Sudanese transition to democracy
  • War in Sudan (2023)
    • Battle of Khartoum
      • RSF occupation of the Khartoum International Airport
        • Fighting occurs across Sudan three days after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) mobilized. The RSF claims to have captured Khartoum International Airport and the presidential palace in Khartoum. At least 56 civilians are killed and 595 others are injured, with several military personnel and rebel forces also being killed. Several Egyptian troops are also taken prisoner by the RSF. (BBC News) (Al Jazeera) (Al Jazeera 2)
        • Chad closes its border with Sudan as heavy fighting continues between the Sudanese military and rebel forces. (Anadolu Agency)
        • Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Qatar suspend all planes from inside and outside of Sudan due to the ongoing conflicts and closure of several airports; airlines also fear attacks on their planes mainly in Khartoum. (Menafn) (Al Arabiya) (Libya Observer)
• Papua conflict
  • Rebels of the West Papua National Liberation Army kill nine Indonesian military personnel as the group accuses Jakarta of refusing to hold negotiations. (Reuters)
• Saikazaki bombing
  • Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida is evacuated during a speech in Saikazaki, Wakayama, Kansai, Japan, after an "explosion-like sound" is heard. A suspect, believed to have thrown a smoke bomb, is arrested. (CNN)
• Mexican drug war
  • At least seven people are killed and another is injured during a mass shooting in La Palma resort in Cortazar, Guanajuato, Mexico. (Xinhua)
• Encounter killing
  • Former Indian Parliament member Atiq Ahmed, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, are assassinated on live television while giving an interview to reporters in Allahabad, while in the custody of police, Uttar Pradesh, India. In response to the murders, the Uttar Pradesh government bars gatherings of more than four people across the entire state. His son had already been killed in an encounter a month earlier. The government shuts down the Internet access in the Allahabad district. (CNN) (Reuters) (BBC News) (Al Jazeera) (Hindustan Times) (The Indian Express) (The Economic Times)

Business and economy

• 2023 Rutgers University strike
  • The strike ends as an agreement is reached between faculty and the administration, returning 9,000 staff to work. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Dubai apartment fire
  • Sixteen people are killed and nine others are injured by a fire in a residential building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Al Jazeera)
• Twelve people are killed and 28 others are injured when a bus falls into a gorge in Raigad, Maharashtra, India. (Daily Excelsior)

Health and environment

• Germany shuts down its last three nuclear plants, after the deadline to phase out nuclear energy was delayed by three months due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (DW)
• Equatorial Guinea confirms six more cases of Marburg virus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to fifteen. (Reuters)

International relations

• Hungary–Ukraine relations, Poland–Ukraine relations
  • Poland and Hungary ban imports of grain and other food from Ukraine "to protect the local agricultural sector", due to Ukrainian supplies lowering the price of food. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2023 French pension reform unrest
  • President Emmanuel Macron signs the pension reform bill into law as protests intensify in the country. (The Guardian)
• LGBT rights in the Cook Islands
  • The Parliament of the Cook Islands decriminalizes gay sexual practices between men. (RNZ)
• 2023 Dadeville shooting
  • Four people are killed and 28 others are injured by a mass shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, United States. (AL.com)

Science and technology

• SpaceX launches Earth observation satellite TAIFA-1, Kenya's first operational satellite, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. The satellite will collect environmental data, including data on floods, droughts and wildfires. (Reuters)
• Twitter begins limiting the number of automated messages being able to be sent by the National Weather Service, including emergency alerts, before walking back the changes. (CNN)

Sports

• 2023 Grand National
  • Corach Rambler, ridden by Irish jockey Derek Fox, wins the 175th Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse. The start of the race was delayed due to animal rights activists storming the track, with at least 118 people being arrested. (BBC Sport) (ITV News)