Top News Stories –

Russian warplanes ‘aggressively’ pass US missile destroyer –
Two Russian planes flew close to a US guided missile destroyer almost a dozen times, American officials have said. The Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, in international waters in the Baltic Sea, had no visible weaponry and the ship took no action. One official called the events on Monday and Tuesday “one of the most aggressive acts in recent memory”. The commander of the missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, described the flights as a “simulated attack”. The passes were “unsafe, potentially provocative” and “could have caused an accident,” officials said in a release. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

French Horn Rebellion – Foolin’ Around (Official Video) from Ariel Fisher on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Donbass
  • The Ukrainian Army says eight of its soldiers were wounded in fighting against Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country during the previous 24 hours. A military spokesman said there had been 29 shelling incidents around Mariupol. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• Moro Conflict
  • Battle of Tipo-Tipo
    • ISIL claims responsibility for clashes between militants linked to the group and the Philippine Army that claimed 23 lives. (Reuters via Trust)

Business and economics

• Peabody Energy, the largest privately-owned producer of coal in the world headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, files for bankruptcy court protection due to high debts and a drop in world prices. (Reuters)(ABC News Australia)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 15 people are killed and 20 injured following a road accident in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad. (Samaa)
• 2016 Myanmar earthquake
  • A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Myanmar 396 kilometers (246 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (AP via CBS News)
• The government of Malawi declares a state of emergency across the country over worsening food shortages caused by a severe drought that is affecting much of Southern Africa with about 2.8 million Malawians, or 20% of the population, facing food insecurity. (Al Jazeera)
• 2014–16 El Niño event
  • Indian officials report, with 24 deaths today, the heatwave in the eastern state of Odisha has killed 135 people. Temperatures of 105.5 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded yesterday at 19 locations across the state. Meteorologists say the heat, an after-effect of El Niño, has delayed the traditional April rains. (UPI)
• A Britten-Norman Islander light aircraft crashes in the Papua New Guinea town of Kiunga resulting in the deaths of all twelve people on board. (ABC News Australia)

Health

• Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
  • The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the Zika virus causes birth defects like microcephaly. (Fox News)

International relations

• Russia–United States relations, Cold War II
  • Two unarmed Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 jets flew simulated attacks on United States Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official, who described it as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory. A Russian Kamov Ka-27 naval helicopter also made seven passes around the USS Donald Cook, taking pictures of the warship. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Recognition of same-sex unions in China
  • A judge rules against a gay couple in China’s first same-sex marriage case. (AP)
• November 2015 Paris attacks
  • Three people arrested yesterday in connection with last year’s attacks in Paris are released without charge. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News)
• LGBT rights in the United States
  • Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signs an anti-discrimination order protecting the rights of gay and transgender people that rescinds one his immediate predecessor, Bobby Jindal, signed that sought to limit same-sex marriage rights and the ability of transgender people to choose which public restrooms they may use. (Reuters via Huffington Post)

Politics and elections

• South Korean legislative election, 2016
  • Voters in South Korea go to the polls for a legislative election with the ruling Saenuri Party losing seats in a surprise setback. (AP) (Bloomberg)
  • The opposition Minjoo Party of Korea wins the most seats in the Parliament. (BBC)
• Syrian parliamentary election, 2016
  • Voters in mostly government controlled areas of Syria will head to the polls to elect 250 members to the People’s Council of Syria. (RT) (TeleSUR)
• 2015–16 protests in Brazil
  • The Progressive Party announces it is leaving President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition government and that its 47 politicians would support her impeachment. (Al Jazeera)
• Papua conflict
  • Massive demonstrations in support of the Free Papua Movement take place in various cities in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. The demonstrations voice support for the Liberation Movement to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. (Radio New Zealand)
• A number of people were injured in clashes between police and several thousand protestors in Skopje, Macedonia, with demonstrators breaking into President Gjorge Ivanov‘s offices. (RT)

Sport

• The World Anti-Doping Agency advises that WADA-accredited laboratories are currently conducting studies on meldonium excretion rates since existing data is lacking. Meldonium became a banned substance on January 1, 2016. A large number of athletes, including grand-slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova, had taken the medication in the past, and have tested positive this year. The new data will address how long meldonium stays in the body and determine if athletes were provided a reasonable amount of time to adhere to the new restrictions prior to testing. The drug was used by many Soviet-bloc athletes since the 80s. (Reuters) (WADA)
• 2015-16 NBA season
  • In basketball, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors team sets a new NBA record for regular season wins with 73 wins this season. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls previously held the record with 72. (Washington Post)
  • Kobe Bryant plays his last game in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers. He sets a new points record for a final match scoring 60 against the Utah Jazz. (Washington Post)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource