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April 21, 2021 (Wednesday)
4 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Rebels of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) threaten to press on and reach Chad's capital N'Djamena following the killing of President Idriss DĂ©by. In the capital, many civilians choose to stay home as fears grow. FACT rebels reject the military junta led by DĂ©by's son, Mahamat DĂ©by Itno, and opposition politicians also call for a civilian transition.
A car bomb is detonated in a hotel parking lot in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, killing four people and injuring eleven others.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports clashes from yesterday evening until this morning, resulting in the deaths of an Asayish commander and five NDF militiamen in the city of Qamishli, al-Hasakah. Fighting has ceased while Russian mediation is ongoing.
Israeli Air Force warplanes launch airstrikes against Syria after a S-200 missile landed 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in Southern Israel. The IDF says the missile was launched from southern Syria. Residents in both central Israel and the West Bank report loud explosions.
Disasters and accidents
The Indonesian government reports the disappearance of the submarine KRI Nanggala during a torpedo live fire exercise, requesting search and rescue assistance from Singapore and Australia.
Health and environment
Papua New Guinea surpasses 10,000 cases of COVID-19.
Osaka Prefecture reports a record 1,242 new cases in the past 24 hours.
Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra state government announces new restrictions across the state beginning tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. until May 1 at 7:00 a.m. IST.
The Government of Laos announces a 14-day lockdown in the capital Vientiane following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during the Lao New Year.
Turkey reports a record 362 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 36,975.
The French government announces that the country will lift its domestic travel restrictions and ease a nationwide curfew in May amidst an expectation that the number of COVID-19 cases will be reduced. The government also announces that they will impose a 10-day quarantine on all travelers from India in order to prevent the spread of the Lineage B.1.617 variant.
International relations
U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie D. Fisher visits Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the eve of a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that the Biden administration is working with Congress to provide $300 million in aid to Afghanistan in 2021 amid fears of a collapse of the Afghan government following the withdrawal of US troops in September.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invites his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to a face-to-face meeting on the front line in the war-torn Donbas to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Czech foreign minister Jakub Kulhánek issues Russia with an ultimatum to return all of the Czech diplomats it had expelled from the Czech embassy in Moscow, following a series of reciprocal moves between the two countries since April 17 to expel each other's diplomats after the Czechs discovered Russian intelligence involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition warehouses explosions. Kulhánek threatens to expel more diplomats from the Russian embassy in Prague if the ultimatum is not met.
Law and crime
The Sri Lankan government expels an Antigua-registered cargo ship docked at the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port after authorities discovered undeclared uranium hexafluoride bound for China. The government pledges to take legal action against the ship's owner.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that the Department of Justice will investigate whether the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in a "pattern or practice of unconstitutional, unlawful policing".
The Bundestag votes 342–250 to approve the proposed Infection Protection Act that will give Angela Merkel's government to impose uniform restrictions in areas where infection rate is very high. 152 people are arrested in demonstrations against the controversial law.
A nine-month-old girl is murdered by her father at the Whispering Wall in South Australia. The perpetrator, already known by police for incidents involving domestic violence, commits suicide at the scene.
Sports
Following the withdrawal of most of its founding member clubs, The Super League announces that it is suspending the project, three days after it was officially announced.
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