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April 15, 2021 (Thursday)
3.3 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Security forces arrest 25-year-old Wai Moe Naing, one of the most prominent leaders of the anti-coup protests, near Monywa. Separately, soldiers open fire on protesters in Mandalay to disperse a group of medical workers, killing one person and injuring several others.
Israeli Air Force jets and helicopters strike Hamas-linked targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for earlier rocket fire targeting southern Israel. The IDF says that an armaments production facility and a tunnel used to smuggle weapons were hit.
Disasters and accidents
Divers arrive at the scene of lift boat MV Seacor Power, which capsized and partially sank off the coast of the state of Louisiana in the United States. Rescuers suspect crew members may be trapped. Since the accident, six crew members have been rescued, one has died, and twelve remain missing.
Health and environment
The Philippines surpasses 900,000 total cases of COVID-19.
India reports a record 200,739 new cases and 1,038 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to over 14 million and confirmed deaths to 173,123. India is also the second country to surpass 14 million cases, after the United States.
Bangladesh surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 1,543 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 37,453.
France surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Manitoba reports its first case of the Lineage P.1 variant originally detected in Brazil in a person from the Interlake-Eastern region.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen receives her first dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces a weekend curfew in the national capital territory of Delhi from 10:00 p.m. on Saturday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday due to a substantial increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Ubach tests positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak in the Ministry's headquarters.
Argentina's president Alberto Fernández announces that his government is closing schools and imposing a curfew in Buenos Aires amidst a spike of the COVID-19 cases.
International relations
Ukraine protests an alleged announcement by Russia that, beginning next week, it would be closing the Kerch Strait to foreign warships and state ships until October.
The United States imposes retaliatory measures against Russia in response to the 2020 United States federal government data breach, its interference in the 2020 United States elections, and the occupation of and human rights abuses in Crimea. The U.S. bans trade in bonds newly issued by Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund, and Ministry of Finance, formally names the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as responsible for the data breach, blacklists 32 Russian entities and individuals, and expels ten Russian diplomats. Russia denies these allegations. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons the U.S. ambassador to inform him that "a series of retaliatory measures will follow soon". A spokesperson for the ministry also says that a potential summit between both countries' leaders may not take place.
Law and crime
The French National Assembly approves a controversial global security law proposal that extends police powers and makes it a crime to help identify on-duty police officers "with the obvious intent of harming". Amnesty International denounces the law's "generalized surveillance practices" and "vague provisions".
The Chicago Police Department publicly releases bodycam footage of the shooting of 13-year-old Mexican American boy Adam Toledo. The footage appears to show an unarmed Toledo with both his arms raised in the air before being fatally shot in the chest by an officer. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says "Simply put, we failed Adam" and calls for calm amidst fears of unrest.
Several protests take place around the city after the video is released, including one that briefly shut down northbound Michigan Avenue and another at Union Park.
Residents of Essouassi, Mahdia Governorate, Tunisia, torch the local police station, and a police vehicle, after two young men are killed in a traffic accident with a police vehicle. Personnel evacuate the facility, and no one is hurt.
The French National Assembly votes unanimously to amend an existing age of consent law in order to officially recognize sex with children under the age of 15 as rape and making it punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Previously, the law allowed an adult to claim the consent of a child in court. The bill also classifies incestuous sex with a minor under the age of 18 as rape.
Eight people are killed and seven others injured in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Police say the gunman took his own life afterwards.
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