Portal:Current events/2021 April 8

April 8, 2021 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2021 Myanmar protests
- Armed protesters and troops clash in the town of Taze in the Sagaing Region, leaving at least eleven people dead and around 20 others wounded. (Reuters)
- Burmese actor and prominent junta critic Paing Takhon is detained by the military in North Dagon Township, Yangon. (BBC News)
2021 Beninese presidential election
- Protests against President Patrice Talon's re-election bid in the city of Savè result in the death of one person, as troops attempt to disperse protesters with the use of weapons. Six people are also injured by gunfire. (UrduPoint)
Insurgency in Egypt (2013-present)
- An Egyptian court sentences former acting Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat to life imprisonment for murder and terror offences connected to 2013 clashes in Cairo. (The Times of Israel)
Terrorism in the Netherlands, COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
- A 37-year-old man is arrested for allegedly planning a terrorist bombing against a Covid-19 vaccination site in Den Helder. (NLTimes) (Dutch News)

Arts and culture

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announces the rediscovery of Aten, a 3,000-year-old "lost golden city", near Luxor. Unearthed by a team led by Zahi Hawass, the site is the largest city ever found in Egyptian history. (AFP via MSN)

Disasters and accidents

The Vincentian island of Saint Vincent declares a red alert and orders evacuations after seismologists warn of an imminent eruption of the La Soufrière volcano. (The Guardian)
A Pemex petrochemical manufacturing refinery in Minatitlán, Veracruz, Mexico, suffers a large explosion followed by a fire. No deaths are reported, but seven people, including five firefighters, are injured. (Oil Price)
An explosion at a paint plant in Ohio, United States, kills one person and injures several more. (WSYX)
A bus loses control and runs off the road on the Interoceanic Highway in Puquio, Peru. The resulting crash kills at least nine people and injures another 20. (Xinhua)
French agriculture minister Julien Denormandie announces the declaration of a national "agricultural disaster" in response to unseasonal spring frost. He says economic assistance will be made available to affected farms. (Phys.org)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Madhya Pradesh
      - Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announces a lockdown in all urban areas across the state from 6:00 p.m. on Friday to 6:00 a.m. on Monday amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (Livemint)
    - India reports a record 126,789 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 12,928,574. (The Times of India)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a record 6,854 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 666,132. (The Financial Express)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
    - Iran reports 22,586 cases, a record for the third consecutive day. In the process, the country has surpassed two million cases of COVID-19. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Food and Drug Administration suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine by people under 60 years old following reports of a possible link with cases of blood clots. (ABS-CBN News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Canada
      - Canada receives its first shipment of vaccine doses from the COVAX initiative. (CBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma
      - Oklahoma surpasses 8,000 deaths from COVID-19. (KFOR-TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Nicaragua
    - Nicaragua says that they have slowly started vaccinations for people over 60 using an AstraZeneca vaccine that was made in India. (The Independent)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - Scotland surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Netherlands
    - The Netherlands officially suspends the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine by people under 60 years old due to concerns over reports of severe blood clotting. (NL Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Poland reports a record 954 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which also includes the total number of deaths from Good Friday until Easter Monday, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 56,659. (The First News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record 54,941 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    - Argentina reports 23,683 new cases of COVID-19, a record for the third consecutive day. (TN)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    - Brazil reports a record 4,249 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 345,025. (ANI News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia
  - Tunisia approves the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Al Arabiya)

International relations

Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations, Hong Kong protests
- The United Kingdom's Home Office grants political asylum to Hong Kong opposition activist and protest leader Nathan Law. (Reuters)
War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan–Pakistan relations
- Pakistan's parliamentary delegation cancels a visit to Afghanistan after the Kabul International Airport was closed due to security reasons. (Dunya News)

Law and crime

2021 Rock Hill shooting
- Phillip Adams, a former player with the National Football League, kills five people and injures a sixth person in a mass shooting at a home before committing suicide at his parents' home. (AP)