Portal:Current events/2023 April 17

April 17, 2023 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2023 Sudan clashes
- Battle of Khartoum
  - Sudan cancels all flights in and out of the country for all of its citizens, also closing the country's airspace. (Flight Global)
  - Kenya suspends all flights in and out of Sudan due to fears of an escalation. (Kenyans Co-Ke)
  - China tells its citizens in Sudan to immediately hide or find shelter and puts it under "high alert". (SCMP)
  - Malaysia tells its citizens in Sudan to stay indoors and in hiding or to possibly evacuate. (FMT)
  - The United States tells its citizens to seek shelter urgently, stating "We advise for all American citizens, don't go on the streets", mainly in Khartoum. (CBS News)
  - The European Union's ambassador Aidan O'Hara is assaulted at his home in Khartoum. EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell calls it a "gross violation of the Vienna Convention". (BBC News)
  - Qatar officially cancels all flights to Sudan, hours after the owner of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker said Qatari planes could still enter Sudanese airspace. (The Peninsular Qatar)
  - De facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declares the Rapid Support Forces to be a rebel group, and orders it dissolved. (Al Jazeera)
  - Sudanese hospitals report a staggering rise in injuries, with estimates by them reported over 1,000 civilian and troops from both armies in the hospitals in just a couple of hours, especially in the evening, a large decrease in doctors is also reported. (Fox News)
  - A Japanese citizen becomes the second foreign death of the 2023 Sudan clashes reported in Khartoum during the Battle of Khartoum. (BBC News)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
  - Slovakia transfers all 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to the Slovak Defence Ministry. (Reuters)

Health and environment

Recycling in Australia
- 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 least 44 locations all over Australia, with more still being found. (9 News)(The Guardian)
The provincial health ministry of Santa Fe, Argentina, asks to "not underestimate" the current situation of dengue fever after surpassing 10,000 cases and reporting the third death from the disease amid a national outbreak. (La Capital) (Infobae)

International relations

Slovakia–Ukraine relations
- Slovakia bans the import of food from Ukraine, following a similar decision by Poland and Hungary on 15 April. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing pardons 3,015 prisoners on the occasion of the Buddhist New Year. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
- 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)
2023 World Snooker Championship
- 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. Two people are arrested by South Yorkshire Police. (BBC Sport)