Portal:Current events/2025 April 15

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2025 Sumy airstrike
    • Ukrainian military leader Volodymyr Artyukh is fired from his position as Sumy Oblast Governor following condemnation for organizing a military ceremony in the densely populated Sumy city center, which was later targeted by a Russian airstrike. (The Kyiv Independent)
• Sudanese civil war, Foreign aid to Sudan
  • Humanitarian impact of the Sudanese civil war
    • The European Union and its member states pledge €522 million (US$590 million) and the United Kingdom pledges £120 million (US$141 million) in humanitarian aid to Sudan to deliver food and supplies to over 650,000 internally displaced Sudanese people affected by the fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The two groups also call for an immediate ceasefire to end the war. (DW) (AP)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • At least three Balochistan Police officers are killed and 16 others are injured when a roadside bomb hits a bus carrying police personnel in Mastung District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (DW)

Business and economy

• Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • China–United States trade war
    • China orders its airlines to stop taking deliveries of jets from American aviation company Boeing and to suspend purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies. (NDTV)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 3,747 people are hospitalized with breathing difficulties and airports are closed after a dust storm in Iraq. (France 24)
• A Chinese crew member is killed when Chinese sand barge vessel M/V Hong Hai 16 capsizes off Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, Philippines. A search and rescue operation is launched by the Philippine Coast Guard for missing crew members, which includes seven Filipinos and three Chinese. (The Philippine Star)

Health and environment

• The European Commission approves the use of Lecanemab, a monoclonal antibody medication that targets amyloid beta peptides, to treat the early stages of Alzheimer's disease via intravenous therapy. This is the first drug to be approved to treat the disease in Europe, and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States in 2023. (DW)

International relations

• Algeria–France relations
  • France expels twelve Algerian diplomatic officials from the country after Algeria expelled twelve French officials yesterday over the arrest of an Algerian consular official in a kidnapping case. France also recalls its ambassador from Algiers. (AP) (Bloomberg)
• Israel–Maldives relations, Visa policy of the Maldives
  • The Parliament of the Maldives votes in favor of an amendment to the Immigration Act, banning entry into the Maldives for those traveling on Israeli passports. (The Edition)

Law and crime

• Media freedom in Russia
  • Four Russian journalists linked to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are convicted of extremism and sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment in a penal colony. (CNN) (AP)
• Piracy in the 21st century
  • According to a report by the International Maritime Bureau, piracy has risen by almost 35% in 2025 with 45 cases in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2024, particularly in the Singapore Strait between Singapore and Indonesia. (DW) (Seatrade Maritime News)
• Aftermath of the Operation Car Wash
  • A court in Lima, Peru, sentences former president Ollanta Humala and his wife Nadine Heredia to 15 years in prison for laundering funds from Brazilian company Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 presidential campaigns. (AP) (BBC News)
• At least four students are injured in a school mass shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas, Texas, United States. (BNO News)
• Four people are injured in a vehicle-ramming attack after a person drives a sedan onto a pedestrian walkway on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus near Yonge Street and Gerrard Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)

Science and technology

• 4chan is hacked and goes offline, with the website's source code and the usernames, IP addresses, and email addresses of its staff leaked by imageboard Soyjak.party. (Dailydot) (Cybernews) (MSN)

Arts and Culture

• Events and ceremonies are held around the world marking the 113th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.