Portal:Current events/2026 April 4

April 4, 2026 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Iranian strikes on Arab countries
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Jordan
      - The Jordanian military says that 261 missiles and drones from Iran aimed at Jordan have been intercepted over the past five weeks. (Jordan News)
    - 2026 Iranian strikes on Kuwait
      - Kuwait intercepts eight missiles and 19 drones. (Al Jazeera)
  - Evacuations during the 2026 Iran war
    - Russia in the 2026 Iran war
      - Russia evacuates 198 more staff from Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant as an airstrike kills an Iranian security guard at the plant. (Reuters)
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - Iraq in the 2026 Iran war, Iran–Iraq relations
      - Military command spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari says that Iran will allow vessels and ships from Iraq to use the Strait of Hormuz. (AFP via The Manila Times)
    - Iran's military command rejects an ultimatum from U.S. president Donald Trump to re-open the Strait of Hormuz in 48 hours or face more attacks on its critical infrastructure. (Al Jazeera)
  - 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
    - Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi rejects reports that Iran has declined to meet American officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, amidst stalled ceasefire efforts. He also reaffirms that Iran remains open for peace talks to end the war. (Arab News Pakistan) (CNN-News18)
  - Five people are killed and 170 others are injured in an Israeli missile strike on a petrochemical complex in Bandar-e Mahshahr, Khuzestan province, Iran. (BBC News)
- Hezbollah–Israel conflict
  - 2026 Lebanon war
    - The Israeli military says on Telegram that it has started striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut after destroying a bridge in eastern Lebanon to prevent them from crossing. (AFP via The Times of Israel)
    - Israeli airstrikes in Habboûch and al-Hawsh, southern Lebanon, kill at least two girls and injure 40 people, while an Israeli soldier is also killed in action. (AFP via Vanguard)
    - Eleven people are injured in an airstrike carried out by Israel in Tyre, southern Lebanon. (AA)
- Gaza war
  - Blockade of the Gaza Strip
    - Around 20 boats from Marseille, Provence, France, set sail with international flotilla in an effort to break the current blockade on the Gaza Strip. (Palestine Chronicle)
Russo-Ukrainian war
- Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war
  - Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine is willing to hold the next round of peace talks with Russia and the United States. (RBC-Ukraine)
- Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
  - Five people are killed and 19 others are injured in a Russian drone strike on a market in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Somali Civil War
- The Somali intelligence and security agency says that security forces have killed nine al-Shabaab militants in Lower Shabelle, Somalia. (Garowe Online)

Disasters and accidents

Five people are killed in a fire at a gas lighter factory in Keraniganj Upazila, Dhaka District, Bangladesh. (TRT World)
At least four people are killed and 18 others are injured, including two children, when a passenger vehicle plunges off a road near Sojha in Himachal Pradesh, India. (Reuters)
Three people are killed and at least 10 others are reportedly trapped after a four-story hotel collapses in Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh, India. (India Today) (Hindustan Times)
The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority reports 77 deaths and 137 injuries in flooding, landslides and lightning caused by severe weather in the country over the past 10 days. (AP)

Law and crime

Protests against the 2026 Iran war
- Protests against the 2026 Iran war in Israel
  - The Israeli High Court of Justice orders police to allow anti-war protests in Israel. (The Times of Israel)
  - Police clash with anti-war protesters at the Habima Square in Tel Aviv, defying the recent high court order. This comes after protesters defy a previous order by the Israeli military to limit gatherings to 150 people. (Haaretz) (The Times of Israel)
- Two demonstrators are arrested outside the RAF Lakenheath station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. The protest comes after media reports that a U.S. F-15E fighter jet that was shot down took off from the base. (Irish News)
- Protests break out across provinces in Iraq to demand an end to the aggression and end to the war following calls for protests by Shiite National Movement leader Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr. (SABA)
Terrorism in India
- A joint operation between the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police units arrests ISIS recruiter Rizwan in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. (The Times of India)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces that the State Department has revoked the green cards of the niece and grandniece of deceased IRGC Quds Force general Qasem Soleimani following their arrest by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (AFP via Dawn) (NBC News)
A vehicle crashes into a Lao New Year parade in New Iberia, Louisiana, United States, injuring at least 15 people. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

2026 Maldivian constitutional referendum, 2026 Maldivian local elections
- Maldivians vote to elect members of local councils and decide on a constitutional referendum that proposes holding presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently on the same day in 2028. (Raajje TV)
- Early provisional results indicate that voters rejected the proposed constitutional amendment, while also allowing the Maldivian Democratic Party to retain five mayoral seats. (Raajje TV) (The Times of Maldives)
Cameroon's parliament approves a constitutional amendment reinstating the position of vice president, who will assume the presidency if the office becomes vacant and will be appointed by the president for the remainder of the term. (Reuters)
The term of Vjosa Osmani as President of Kosovo ends and is succeeded by the speaker of the Assembly, Albulena Haxhiu, who becomes acting president until a new president is elected. (Telegrafi)

Science and technology

Cyberwarfare during the 2026 Iran war
- Planet Labs suspends public release of satellite imagery of Iran and surrounding conflict areas at the request of the U.S. government, shifting to restricted, case-by-case distribution for selected uses. The policy applies retroactively to images from March 9 and follows earlier delays imposed to limit potential military use of commercial imagery. (Reuters)

Sports

2025–26 NHL season
- In ice hockey, the NHL's Buffalo Sabres clinch the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2010–11 season, ending their 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought. (The Athletic via The New York Times)