Portal:Current events/2021 April 30

April 30, 2021 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- 2021 Afghanistan attacks
  - 2021 Puli Alam bombing
    - A suicide car bombing kills 30 people and wounds 91 others in Puli Alam, Logar. (BBC)
Kivu conflict
- Ituri conflict
  - Democratic Republic of the Congo President Félix Tshisekedi declares a "state of siege" in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu due to a spate of violence from armed groups in those areas. (News24)
2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan conflict
- Thirty-one people are killed and 154 others are wounded in Kyrgyzstan, while 10 people are killed and 90 others are wounded in Tajikistan, as the fighting between the two Central Asian countries enters its second day. (Al Jazeera English)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on The Walt Disney Company
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in California
      - Disneyland, the second most visited amusement park in the world, reopens with a limited capacity and guidelines for social distancing face masks in effect after more than one year of closure due to the pandemic. (The Japan Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, COVID-19 recession
  - Sri Lanka's GDP contracts 3.6% in 2020, its worst economic performance since gaining independence in 1948. (RTL)
The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, Arouca 516, is completed in North Region, Portugal, with local residents being the first people allowed to cross it. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Meron stampede
- At least 45 people are killed and at least 150 others are injured in a crowd crush during a Lag BaOmer celebration in Meron, Israel. It is the deadliest peacetime disaster in the country's history. (The Times of Israel)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia
      - The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority grants an emergency use authorization for the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine, where the vaccine will be used as part of a mutual vaccination scheme. (CNA)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - India reports a new global record of 386,486 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 18.76 million. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Japan receives its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (The Japan Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - President Moon Jae-in receives his second dose of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Albania
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Albania
      - Albania approves the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
    - Germany administers a record 1.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the last 24 hours. (Bloomberg)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record 394 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 40,131. (The Washington Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, Lineage B.1.617
    - Michigan reports its first case of the Lineage B.1.617 variant first discovered in India in a person from Clinton County. (WDIV-TV)
  - Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lineage B.1.617
    - The White House announces that the United States will begin restricting travel from India beginning on May 4 due to an increase in the number of cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant of COVID-19, which originated in India. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships
  - Japanese authorities announce that they are disembarking passengers and crew from the MS Asuka II cruise ship after one passenger tested positive for COVID-19. The passenger is in isolation in a cabin and is in stable condition. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 vaccine
  - The World Health Organization grants an emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Colombian peace process
- The leaders of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia acknowledge their responsibility for tens of thousands of kidnappings during the Colombian conflict. (Reuters)
2020–2021 Thai protests
- Pro-democracy protest leader Parit Chiwarak is hospitalized over concerns for his health due to his continued hunger strike since March 15. The corrections department states that he was transferred to a hospital over concerns about his condition worsening to the point where he required specialized care. (Reuters)
COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
- Family and friends of Brazilian Workers' Party activist Rodrigo Pilha, who has been imprisoned for over a month after displaying a banner calling President Jair Bolsonaro "genocidal" over poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic, say that he was beaten and tortured in prison by wardens. (Forum)
A United States Federal court upholds a New Jersey Catholic school’s right to fire a teacher under the Ministerial Exception doctrine. The teacher was terminated from Saint Dominic Academy the day after she returned from a leave due to a motor vehicle accident. (Religion Cause) (Catholic World News)

Politics and elections

2021 Palestinian legislative election, Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- President Mahmoud Abbas postpones the election scheduled for May 22 until further notice, after the government of Israel allegedly rejected the holding of the election in East Jerusalem. Abbas says that the election cannot be held without the participation of the disputed area. (Xinhuanet)
Impeachment of Wilson Witzel
- In Brazil, Governor of Rio de Janeiro Wilson Witzel is impeached and replaced by Vice Governor Cláudio Castro. (Reuters)

Sports

2021 NFL Draft, 2021 Green Bay Packers season
- Amidst ongoing tensions surrounding the future of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the team trades up to select Clemson wide receiver Amari Rodgers with the 85th pick. (ABC News) (Packers.com)
Numerous British sports teams, athletes, sports governing bodies, and companies participate in a social media boycott from 3:00 p.m. BST to 11:59 p.m. on May 3 to demand action from social media companies against online abuse. (CNBC)