Portal:Current events/2018 April 20
April 20, 2018 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- ISIL agrees to hand over control of Yarmouk Camp in southern Damascus to the Syrian Army in return for safe passage to ISIL-held territory in the Syrian Desert, bringing the predominantly Palestinian refugee district under government control for the first time since 2012. (The Washington Post)
- International military intervention against ISIL
- Iraq conducts a series of air strikes against an ISIL target in Syria. (Yahoo! News)
- 2018 Gaza border protests
- Palestinians riot along the Israel-Gaza border fence, burning tyres and flying flaming kites across the border to set Israeli fields ablaze; Israel Defence Forces soldiers respond with tear gas and live fire, killing four Palestinians, including a 15-year-old, according to the Hamas run-health ministry. (Haaretz) (The Times of Israel)
- One petrol bomb-carrying kite is flown over the border adorned with a Swastika. (The Times of Israel)
- First Liberian Civil War
- Liberian warlord Mohammed "Jungle Jabbah" Jabbateh is sentenced to 30 years in prison in the United States for immigration offences. Jabbateh lied to authorities about his role in the Liberian Civil War. (BBC)
- Russian frigate Yaroslav Mudry passes through the English Channel, and is shadowed by Royal Navy coastal defence ship HMS St Albans. (The New York Post)
Arts and culture
- 2018 Gaza border protests
- Actress Natalie Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, pulls out of the upcoming Genesis Prize (worth 1 million USD) ceremony in Israel over "recent events in Israel". The Genesis Prize Foundation says it is worried the event will become politicised. (CBS News)
- Expo 2020
- Tajikistan announces that it will participate in the Expo 2020 in Dubai. (Trend)
Business and economy
- Economy of the United States
- Wells Fargo bank is fined US$1 billion by the United States government for mishandling of mortgages and automobile loans. Wells Fargo is also ordered to reimburse customers who were overcharged. (CNN)
- All Bon-Ton department stores are expected to close by August. At the time of announcement, the company operated 256 stores under its own name and the Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates. (Pymnts.com) (CNN)
- Swedish musician Avicii dies in Oman at the age of 28. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- Around 40 people are injured after two passenger trains collide in Salzburg, Austria. (Reuters)
- Around 10,000 people are evacuated from central Berlin, Germany, while bomb disposal experts defuse a 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) World War II–era British bomb at a construction site. (BBC)
- Mount Iō in northern Japan erupts for the first time in 250 years, together with nearby Mount Kirishima (USA Today)(Click Lancashire)
- Southwest Airlines Flight 1380
- The United States Federal Aviation Administration issues an emergency Airworthiness Directive for CFM56-7B jet engines. The EAD expands on previous orders requiring ultrasonic testing to search for metal fatigue in fan blades. It mandates testing on engines that have reached 30,000+ flights