Portal:Current events/2026 April 3

April 3, 2026 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Iranian strikes on Arab countries
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates
      - The United Arab Emirates intercepts 18 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles, and 47 drones from Iran. Falling debris from the interception kills one person and injures others at the Habshan oil facility in the Abu Dhabi emirate. (Al Jazeera) (AFP via Vanguard)
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - Maltese-flagged CMA CGM Kribi, a container ship registered by French shipping company CMA CGM crosses the Strait of Hormuz after departing Dubai, making it the first ship from Western Europe to cross the strait since the war started. (AFP via France 24) (Euronews)
    - Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines says that a liquefied natural gas oil tanker registered in Japan crosses the Strait of Hormuz for the first since the beginning of the Iran war. A third ship also crosses the strait. (Kyodo News) (The Guardian)
  - Aviation shootdowns and accidents during the 2026 Iran war
    - Iranian forces shoot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet in Iranian airspace. U.S. officials say a search is underway for the two crew members, one of whom, the pilot, is rescued. Iran's state media says a reward will be given to any citizen who helps capture an American pilot. (CNN) (Reuters) (The Guardian
    - Two U.S. military helicopters are hit with small arms fire while conducting a search and rescue operation for the downed F-15E pilots. (Al Jazeera) (BBC News) (New York Post)
    - A U.S. A-10 Warthog crashes near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by Iranian anti-aircraft fire. The pilot ejects and is rescued. (The Guardian) (AA)
  - At least three people are killed in a strike on a residential area in Tehran, Iran. (Al Jazeera)
  - The Kyrgyz emergency ministry says that Kyrgyzstan has dispatched over 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Iran. The shipment is ordered by Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov. (Xinhuanet)
- 2026 Lebanon war
  - The U.S. embassy in Beirut warns Americans to leave Lebanon due to the situation in the country. (BBC News)
2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
- Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says that peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing in an effort to end the war. (AP)
Russo-Ukrainian war
- Six people are killed and five others, including a child, are injured in Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine. (DW)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
- 2026 Iran war fuel crisis
  - Pakistan introduces free public transport in Islamabad and Punjab for one month and provides targeted subsidies in other regions to offset the impact of recent fuel price increases. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Disasters and accidents

2026 Jorm earthquake
- A M_w5.8 earthquake hits parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing 12 people and injuring six others in Kabul and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Xinhua) (Express News)
Four people are killed when a small plane crashes into a restaurant in Capão da Canoa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. (Nasha Niva)
One person is killed and at least 47 others are injured when a wall collapses at the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium in Lima, Peru. (The Times of India)
At least 35 people are injured after a passenger train derails in Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. (The Moscow Times)

International relations

Italy–Saudi Arabia relations, 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
- Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni visits Saudi Arabia to discuss mitigating the impact of the Strait of Hormuz crisis with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Meloni becomes the first leader from a European Union, G20, and NATO member state to visit the Middle East since the start of the Iran war. (Euronews)
Russia–Sweden relations
- The Swedish Coast Guard boards and seizes an EU-sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Baltic Sea after the vessel caused a 12-kilometer (8-mile) oil spill off the coast of Gotland. (AP)

Law and crime

Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
- The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of China announces that former Party Secretary of Xinjiang Ma Xingrui is under investigation over suspected "serious violation of law and discipline", becoming the third member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party to be investigated by the commission. (Reuters)
2026 Cuban crisis
- Cuba begins releasing political prisoners after announcing it will pardon 2,010 inmates amid U.S. pressure on the Cuban government. (Taipei Times)

Politics and elections

2026 Myanmar presidential election
- Myanmar's military ruler, General Min Aung Hlaing, is elected president by the Electoral College. Min secures 429 votes, against 126 for Nyo Saw and 29 for Nan Ni Ni Aye, who become first and second vice presidents, respectively. (AP) (Xinhua)
Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid scandal
- Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffles his cabinet after several officials were implicated in a European Public Prosecutor's Office investigation into alleged irregularities in the allocation of European Union farm subsidies. (Xinhua)