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Portal:Current events/2018 April 15

{{Current events|year=2018|month=04|day=15|content=

;Armed conflicts and attacks

  • Poisoning of Yulia and Sergei Skripal
  • UK Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn of Labour asks to see "incontrovertible evidence" before accepting Russia was responsible. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson responds, saying it is "quite extraordinary" to question Russian involvement. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43774132 (BBC News)]
  • Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
  • Afghan and Pakistani forces exchange cross-border fire on the Durand Line, killing two Pakistan Army troops and injuring five others. [https://www.voanews.com/a/violene-at-pakistan-afghan-border/4348823.html (Voice of America)]
  • Sinai insurgency
  • ISIL claims responsibility for an attack on a military base in the Sinai peninsula, Egypt, yesterday that killed eight soldiers and injured fifteen. The Egyptian Military said 14 militants were killed in the attack. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/islamic-state-claims-attack-in-egypts-sinai-that-killed-8/2018/04/15/42989678-40a5-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5be4970f1790 (The Washington Post)]
  • 2018 Gaza border protests
  • Gazans launch a kite carrying a firebomb over the Israeli border near Kibbutz Kissufim, starting a fire in a field. It is the fourth such incident this week. Local authorities alert residents to be vigilant for potential repeat attacks. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/gazans-fly-kite-with-petrol-bomb-into-israel-sets-field-afire/ (The Times of Israel)]
  • Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)
  • A car bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, kills and injures several civilians. The blast follows a bombing at Hor Rajab, Baghdad, earlier in the day that wounded one civilian. [https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/ten-iraqi-people-killed-injured-in-car-bomb-blast-in-kirkuk/ (Iraqi News)]
  • Israel Defense Forces announce the destruction of a Gaza-Israel tunnel thought to belong to Hamas, with Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman claiming it to be the longest tunnel found to date. [http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/military/idf-destroys-longest-terror-tunnel-recorded-to-date-35459 (Jerusalem Online)]
  • Militants disguised as United Nations troops attack two military bases near Timbuktu, Mali, using rockets and two car bombs. At least one soldier at the bases, used by France and the UN, is killed and more than twelve others are wounded. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43772363 (BBC News)]
  • Russia sends landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov, chartered civilian vessel MV Alexander Tkachenko, and transport ship Orsk to Syria laden with military equipment. [http://metro.co.uk/2018/04/16/russia-sends-reinforcement-warships-loaded-tanks-syria-7470337/ (Metro)]

;Arts and culture

;Disasters and accidents

;Health and environment

  • Rose Acre Farms recalls around 207 million eggs from a farm in North Carolina after 22 people fell ill with suspected Salmonella braenderup. It is the largest recall of eggs in the United States since 2010. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-eggs-recall/u-s-recalls-more-than-200-million-eggs-over-salmonella-fears-idUSKBN1HM0NX (Reuters)]
  • Former U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush declines further medical treatment for serious ongoing health issues. [http://kfor.com/2018/04/15/barbara-bush-in-failing-health-wont-seek-further-treatment/ (KFOR-TV)]

;International relations

;Law and crime

  • Israeli authorities release 207 African migrants from Saharonim Prison after a Supreme Court ruling ordering their release amid deportation negotiations. The migrants had refused to leave the country voluntarily. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-frees-207-african-migrants-from-detention-as-deportation-talks-persist/ (The Times of Israel)]
  • An improvised explosive device damages a shopfront in Limassol, Cyprus. [http://cyprus-mail.com/2018/04/15/explosion-damages-limassol-shop-2/ (The Cyprus Mail)]
  • A court in Somaliland jails poet Nacima Qorane for three years for bringing the state into contempt by writing a poem calling for reunification with Somalia. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43775951 (BBC)]
  • Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews riot outside the Israel Defense Forces draft office in Jerusalem after rumours emerge of a female draft dodger being arrested in Har Nof. Police open fire with water cannons and stun grenades. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/4-cops-injured-as-hundreds-of-ultra-orthodox-jews-riot-in-jerusalem/ (The Times of Israel)]
  • Inmates at E Wing of HMYOI Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, riot, injuring four prison officers. A woman claiming to be an inmate's partner says the riot was in response to the inmates being housed en masse in solitary confinement without association with other prisoners for at least a week. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-43775829 (BBC News)]
  • Turkmenistan bans the import of bikinis, shorts, and swimsuits. [https://www.rferl.org/a/too-hot-for-the-beaches-turkmenistan-bans-imports-of-bikinis/29168513.html (RadioFreeEurope / Radio Liberty)]
  • Boston Marathon bombing
  • Boston marks the fifth anniversary of the April 2013 bombing with a private ceremony inside the Boston Public Library. The bells at a local church rang at 2:49 p.m. to mark the exact time the two bombs exploded seconds apart near the marathon's finish line. [https://apnews.com/article/north-america-ap-top-news-marty-walsh-sports-boston-3b6b681b9561423ea356ff2579342ea4 (AP News)]

;Politics and elections

;Science and technology

  • Asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2018
  • An asteroid, 2018 GE3, sized between {{convert|37|and|138|m|ft}} passes {{convert|193,000|km|mi}} from Earth, possibly the largest known asteroid to ever pass that close in observational history. [https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K18/K18G94.html (Minor Planet Center)]
  • Another asteroid, {{mp|2018 GY|3}}, which had passed {{convert|301,000|km|mi}} from Earth on April 10, is identified as the lost asteroid {{mp|2008 GY|21}}, which had passed similarly close to Earth in 2008. [https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K18/K18GC3.html (Minor Planet Center)]
  • Scientists say that they have identified genes that cause deadly heart condition pulmonary arterial hypertension which kills 50% of those affected within five years. [https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43727026 (BBC News)]
  • USS Portland, a new United States naval ship costing $1.6 billion, arrives and docks in Portland, Oregon, ahead of being formally commissioned later this month. [http://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/new-navy-ship-uss-portland-arrives-in-portland/283-537996331 (KGW)]

;Sports

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