Portal:Current events/2025 April 2

April 2, 2025 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russo-Ukrainian War
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
  - Kharkiv strikes
    - Russian forces target Kharkiv with at least 13 Geran-2 drones, causing fires in industrial and residential areas and injuring eight people, including a child. (Ukrainska Pravda)
  - Kryvyi Rih strikes
    - A Russian missile strike on an industrial park in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, kills at least four people and injures 14 others. (Reuters)
Sudanese civil war
- Siege of El Fasher
  - At least two civilians are killed in the artillery shelling of a displacement camp in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, by the Rapid Support Forces. (AP)
Middle Eastern crisis
- Israeli invasion of Syria
  - The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes in Syria targeting the remaining "military infrastructure", destroying much of Hama Air Base and Tiyas Air Base, including all remaining hangars and radars. The Barzah scientific research centre is also reportedly bombed. (The Times of Israel)
- Gaza war
  - Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    - Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces the country's military will seize large areas of land in the Gaza Strip and establish a new occupation zone called the Morag Corridor, potentially stretching from Rafah to Khan Younis. (AP)
- Iran–United States relations
  - The United States Air Force deploys 6 nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, amid rising tensions with Iran over their nuclear program. (AP)
Myanmar civil war
- The Myanmar government declares a temporary ceasefire with the National Unity Government-in-exile and its various allied ethnic armed organizations to facilitate relief efforts following the M_W 7.7 earthquake in the country several days ago. The ceasefire is expected to last until April 22. (DW)
M23 campaign (2022–present)
- 2025 Walikale offensive
  - Wazalendo militias break through March 23 Movement (M23) positions in Kampala, DRC, and launch an attack on the M23 rebels in Walikale. (Critical Threats)
Mexican drug war
- An elder peasant is killed after the blasts of a landmine when was riding his motorcycle in a rural road in the community of Puerta de Alambre, Apatzingán municipality, Michoacán. (Proceso)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists with the Vienna Museum announce the discovery of a mass grave in Simmering district in Vienna, Austria, of around 150 Ancient Roman soldiers from the 1st century who likely died in a battle. (DW) (Caledonian Record)

Business and economy

Tariffs in the second Trump administration
- China–United States trade war, 2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico
  - Donald Trump's Liberation Day speech
    - U.S. president Donald Trump announces a universal 10% tariff on most imports into the United States, a 20% tariff on goods from the European Union, and a 34% tariff on all imports from China. The tariffs will take effect from April 5.
    - Exceptions include Canada, Cuba, Mexico, North Korea, and Russia. Canada and Mexico had tariffs placed on them in February, while Cuba, North Korea, and Russia are under U.S. sanctions. (BBC News) (France 24) (India Today)
    - In the 10% tariff, the U.S. lists the Australian territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands near Antarctica, despite the fact that it has no human inhabitants, imports or exports. In response to finding these islands in the list, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese commented that "Nowhere on earth is safe" for the tariff. (The Guardian)
  - The United States Senate votes 51–48 on a non-binding resolution to rebuke and reverse tariffs on Canada, with Republicans Rand Paul, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell voting for the resolution. (NPR)

Disasters and accidents

Tornado outbreak of April 1–3, 2025
- The Storm Prediction Center in the United States issues a high risk convective outlook over parts of the Mississippi River valley, ahead of an expected tornado outbreak. (Storm Prediction Center) (Nine News)
Tropical cyclone naming
- The World Meteorological Organization retires Beryl, Helene, Milton, and John from their rotating list of names for hurricanes for the North Atlantic and East Pacific basins. (WMO)
Five people are killed and at least one other is critically injured when a private Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus collides head-on with two vehicles on the Khamgaon-Shegaon highway in Buldhana, Maharashtra, India. (News18 India)
A Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bomber crashes due to a technical malfunction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, killing one crew member and injuring three others. (Reuters)

Health and environment

The Slovak government approves a plan to cull 350 brown bears after a man was found mauled by a bear on March 30. The government had previously culled 144 bears in 2024. (AP)
The Polish government increases border controls with Slovakia in response to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among Slovakia's and Hungary's livestock. (TVN24)

Law and crime

War on drugs in Ecuador
- A court in New York City indicts José Adolfo Macías Villamar, the leader of the organized crime syndicate Los Choneros, on seven counts of drug trafficking, conspiracy, arms trafficking, and illegal drug distribution in the United States. Villamar is not currently in U.S. custody. (AP)

Sports

2025 CFL season
- TSN president Stewart Johnston is announced as the 15th commissioner of the Canadian Football League, replacing Randy Ambrosie who had served in the role since 2017. (CBC)