Thursday, April 20th, 2023
Amidst fighting, a food shortage is reported in Khartoum. (BBC News)
An American citizen is killed in Khartoum becoming the second confirmed foreign death, hours after evacuation plans were announced by the United States. (CBS News)
The United States sends additional troops and equipment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, as preparation for a possible evacuation effort of American citizens in Sudan. (ABC News)
An Iranian Navy commander claims to state television that the Iranian Navy forced a U.S. submarine to surface as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, and that the submarine violated Iranian territorial waters. The U.S. denies the Iranian claims. (Radiofarda)
Russian authorities reported an explosion in Belgorod near the border with Ukraine, saying the explosion left a huge crater in the city center. (Barron’s via AFP)
Lawyers for former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo file a request for an emergency stay in the United States, as a deadline for his extradition to Peru looms. Toledo denies the charges in Peru, including corruption. (Reuters)
A hybrid solar eclipse occurs across the South Pacific in Australia, East Timor, and Indonesia. (New York Times)
SpaceX launches the first test flight of Starship, the largest and most powerful launch vehicle to ever fly, from Starbase in South Texas. The vehicle successfully launched but lost control and the flight was explosively terminated four minutes after liftoff. (BBC)
Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai Aleksandr Uss resigns after being offered a position in the federal government. Russian President Vladimir Putin invites Deputy Finance Minister Mikhail Kotyukov to take the post of acting governor. (TASS)
BuzzFeed shuts down its news website due to workforce cuts. The company’s stock collapsed by 16% after the announcement. (The Independent)
Wednesday, April 19th, 2023
Germany announces the suspension of its attempt to rescue 150 German citizens from Khartoum. (Reuters)
Thousands of Sudanese civilians cross the closed border with Chad as refugees and are detained, according to Chadian Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim. Brahim also states that the Chad National Army detained and disarmed a contingent of 320 Sudanese troops who crossed the border. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan urge their citizens to seek shelter, hide, or evacuate due to ongoing fighting. (Sky News)
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno says that Japan will send a Self-Defense Forces aircraft to evacuate 60 Japanese nationals from Sudan. (Asahi Shimbun)
Satellite imagery reveals that at least one Egyptian Air Force MiG-29 was destroyed at an airbase in Merowe, with at least two others heavily damaged. (The Drive)
At least 90 people are killed and 322 others are injured in a crowd crush in Sanaa, Yemen during a charity event. (Egypt Independent).
Bulgaria temporarily bans the import of grain from Ukraine, except for those in transit, following similar decisions made by Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. (Reuters)
A heatwave in Asia leads to deaths and school closures in India, and record-breaking temperatures in other countries. Luang Prabang, Laos, recorded a temperature of 42.7 °C (108.9 °F), while Tak, Thailand, recorded a temperature of 44.6 °C (112.3 °F). (The Guardian)
President Rodrigo Chaves orders a series of measures to fight increasing crime in Costa Rica, including the deployment of more police, tougher juvenile laws, extradition of foreign criminals, and restrictions on the sale of ammunition. (Reuters)
Secretary of Institutional Security of Brazil Marco Edson Gonçalves Dias resigns over his presence at the presidential palace during the attack. He is replaced by Ricardo Cappelli. (Reuters)
Germany and Japan announce their evacuation plans have failed in Khartoum as both tried to evacuate at least 210 civilians and citizens from the embattled capital. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom, Germany and Japan urge their citizens to seek shelter, hide or evacuate immediately as fighting rages in Sudan. (Sky News)
Egypt announces one of its planes, an “Egyptian MiG-29“, was destroyed at an air base in Merowe. It also reports that one of them was captured along with two planes nearly destroyed. (The Drive)
The Libyan National Army sends supplies to support the Rapid Support Forces across the country. (Wall Street Journal)
Over 155,000 Canadian federal workers go on strike, in the largest strike of its kind in 30 years, after the Public Service Alliance of Canada failed to reach an agreement with the government over pay raises and remote work. (BBC)
A report by the United Nations Population Fund estimates that India will overtake China as the most populated country in the world by the middle of this year. (NBC News)
Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
A U.S. embassy convoy is attacked in Khartoum, amid U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire. (AP)
Canada closes its embassy in Sudan and advises its citizens against travelling to the country. (Global News)
Netflix ends its DVD rental service after 25 years, citing the reduced demand for physical rentals. (BBC News)
One person is killed and five others are injured by the partial collapse of a parking garage in Manhattan, New York City, United States. Nearby buildings of Pace University are evacuated due to the instability of the garage’s remaining structure. (WCBS-TV)
The Ukrainian government invites Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to visit Ukraine and criticizes Lula for his approach to the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomes Lula’s position on peace efforts. (Reuters)
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador accuses the United States Department of Defense of spying and says that he will classify information from the Mexican Armed Forces. (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the increase in violence in the West Bank, the detainment of Hamas-affiliated Palestinians in Saudi Arabia, and about improving relations between Hamas and Saudi Arabia. This is the first meeting between Hamas and the Saudi royal family since 2015. (Al Jazeera)
The European Parliament votes to grant visa-free travel for Kosovo citizens to any country that is part of the Schengen Area. The policy will be in effect no later than January 2024. (RFE/RL)
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reach a US$787.5 million settlement in the defamation lawsuit, which was initially filed against the network in March 2021 for allegedly spreading false claims about the company regarding the 2020 United States presidential election. (Forbes)
The End Wednesday
India tells its citizens to find shelter or stay indoors immediately. (Devids Course)
Tuesday, April 18th, 2023
A U.S. convoy is deliberately attacked in Khartoum, amid U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire. (Associated Press)
Canada closes its embassy in Sudan fully, advises its citizens to not leave the country for Sudan and puts a Level 4 warning on travel. (Government of Canada)
Former People’s Deputy of Ukraine Oleh Barna is killed in combat. (UNIAN)
Russian president Vladimir Putin makes a rare visit to Russian-occupied Kherson and Luhansk Oblast, meeting military commanders in charge of the invasion. (Reuters)
Two people are killed and dozens are feared missing after a landslide struck the Khyber Pass in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Reuters)
The Ukrainian government invites Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to visit Ukraine and criticizes Lula for his approach to the conflict. The US defends Ukraine’s stance and accused Brazil of “parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda” whereas Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed Lula’s position on peace efforts. (Reuters)
Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza is convicted in a Moscow court on charges of treason and violating Russia’s war censorship laws, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. (AP)
The Evide data breach is made public. Ransomware results in data being stolen from a company in Northern Ireland which provides computer services to charities, including a charity that supports adult survivors of child abuse. (The Journal)
Marathon Monday, April 17th, 2023
Ukraine and Russia conduct a prisoner swap for soldiers who fought in Bakhmut, with 130 Ukrainian soldiers returning and an unknown amount of Russian soldiers returning. (PBS)
Slovakia transfers 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to the Slovak Defence Ministry. (Reuters)
Slovakia bans the import of food from Ukraine, following similar decisions made by Poland and Hungary last week. (The Guardian)
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)
European Union ambassador Aidan O’Hara is assaulted at his home in Khartoum. EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell calls the assault a “gross violation of the Vienna Convention”. (BBC News)
Sudan closes its airspace, cancelling all flights in and out of the country. Kenya likewise suspends all flights to and from Sudan. (Flight Global)
China, Malaysia, and the United States urge their citizens in Sudan to hide, find shelter, or evacuate the country. (CBS News)
De facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declares the Rapid Support Forces to be a rebel group, and orders the group dissolved. (Al Jazeera)
Further sites of illicit soft plastic storage are found in Sydney after the collapse of commercial plastic recycler REDcycle. After taking $20 million from Coles and Woolworths to recycle soft plastics at 2,000 locations, the company instead stored 12,000 tonnes of plastics at more than 44 locations across Australia. (9 News) (The Guardian)
The provincial health ministry of Santa Fe, Argentina, asks the public not to “not underestimate” the current situation of dengue fever after the province surpasses 10,000 cases and reports their third death from the disease amid a national outbreak of the disease. (La Capital)
Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing pardons 3,015 prisoners on the occasion of the Buddhist New Year. (AFP via France 24)
Argentina is confirmed as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup by FIFA, following the suspension of the tournament in Indonesia, which refused to host the Israeli team. (Reuters)
A World Snooker Championship match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry is abandoned, while another match between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi is delayed after Just Stop Oil activists storm the The Crucible in Sheffield. Two people are later arrested by South Yorkshire Police. (BBC Sport)
The End
