Portal:Current events/2021 April 6

April 6, 2021 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reconnaissance vessel Saviz is struck with several limpet mines off the coast of Eritrea in the Red Sea. A Pentagon spokesperson denies any U.S. involvement in the attack on the Iranian ship. (Al Jazeera) (Al Arabiya)

Disasters and accidents

The Norwegian Rescue Coordination Centre says the crew of MV Eemslift Hendrika was evacuated by helicopter overnight, some after jumping into the North Sea, after the vessel began listing heavily. The ship, which specialises in transporting luxury yachts, has lost power, may sink, and is drifting towards the Norwegian coast. (The Independent)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
      - Toronto will closes schools for in-person learning from tomorrow until April 18 and shifts the students into remote learning because a rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (CP24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      - U.S. President Joe Biden announces to move the deadline for all states to make all adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine to April 19, instead of the original May 1. (CNN)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
      - Colorado confirms their first case of the Lineage P.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in two Boulder County residents. (The Denver Post)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts
      - Governor Charlie Baker receives his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Trinidad and Tobago
    - Prime Minister Keith Rowley tests positive for COVID-19. (Trinidad Express)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Delhi
      - The Delhi government imposes a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. IST until April 30 amid the rising number of the COVID-19 cases in the union territory. (The Economic Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
    - Bangladesh reports a record 7,213 new confirmed cases and 66 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 651,652 and the nationwide death toll to 9,384. (Business Standard)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports the first case of a more transmissible new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 nicknamed as "Eek", which contains the E484K mutation that can reduce the vaccine protection. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
    - Mongolia reports a record 831 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11,651. (AKIPress)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippines reports a record 382 new deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 13,817. (ABS-CBN News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - The government approves a plan to reopen selected stores and lower grades elementary schools, as well as lifting the 9:00 p.m. curfew and limits of movement between districts beginning from April 12. (U.S. News and World Report)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record 49,584 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3.5 million. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
    - Ukraine signs a deal with Pfizer to supply 10 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. (UNIAN)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - Argentina reports the highest infection toll since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, reporting a total of 20,870 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative tally to 2.4 million cases. (Olé)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - The New Zealand government announces it will allow quarantine-free travel from Australia starting on 19 April, reestablishing two-way quarantine-free travel between the nations. (BBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
  - South Africa signs a deal with Pfizer to supply 20 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. The first batch expected to arrive in late April. (Independent Online)

International relations

Ukraine–NATO relations, War in Donbass
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls on NATO to hasten the country's accession to the military alliance in response to a growing build-up of Russian troops and military hardware on its borders, and to help bring an end to the ongoing conflict in the Donbas with pro-Russian separatists. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

LGBT rights in the United States
- Arkansas is the first U.S. state to ban transitional care for transgender minors. (The Independent)

Politics and elections

Politics of Vietnam
- The National Assembly elects Võ Thị Ánh Xuân as the country's 15th Vice President, with 93.1% of the vote. She is the 6th consecutive woman to hold the post. (VnExpress)
2021 Dutch general election
- Minister of State Herman Tjeenk Willink of the Labour Party is appointed as informateur for the next cabinet formation. (DutchNews.nl)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, 2020 Summer Olympics
- North Korea announces the country has withdrawn from participating in the Summer Olympics in Japan citing COVID-19 concerns. (The New York Times)