April 24, 2014 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine:
- The Ukrainian government says it's regained control of the city hall in the eastern port of Mariupol from pro-Russian separatists. Administrative buildings have been taken over in at least a dozen towns in Eastern Ukraine. (BBC News)
- Washington accuses Moscow of fomenting unrest in the east, with Obama threatening the possibility of applying additional sanctions on Russia. (Reuters)
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accuses the United States of being behind the political upheaval in Ukraine, and said Russia would respond if its interests came under attack. (Reuters)
- A battle between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops in Sloviansk, Ukraine, leaves 5 pro-Russian militants dead. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
- A policeman shoots dead three American medical staff in the Afghan capital of Kabul. The policeman is reported to have shot himself after the attack. (BBC News)
- In India, six police and election officials have been killed as violence hits restive Maoist region and Kashmir. (Reuters)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict:
- Israel suspends peace talks with the Palestinian Authority following an announcement of a unity agreement between the ruling Palestinian faction Fatah and the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza. (The Guardian) (The Times of Israel)
- In Nevada the Bundy standoff continues; politicians who had voiced support for Bundy began to distance themselves after the rancher controversially suggested that African Americans might be better off picking cotton as slaves than "under government subsidy". (Fox News)
Politics and elections
- Indian general election:
- There is high turnout in 6th phase of elections for 16th Lok Sabha, in 11 states, for 117 seats and 180 million voters. (Times of India)
- The UK government announces that Cornish people will be granted minority status under Council of Europe rules for the protection of national minorities. (BBC News)