April 2026
Stranded whale ferried out of German waters
A humpback whale that became stranded in shallow waters on the German coast has been ferried out of German waters, en route to the North Sea.
Reported - 30/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyp559l06no
Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla
Pro-Palestinian activists say 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Crete, resulting 175 people being detained.
Reported - 30/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g4lk9m77vo
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/29/israeli-military-speedboats-block-gaza-bound-aid-ship
US charges Mexican officials with aiding drug cartel
US prosecutors have accused the sitting governor of Mexico's Sinaloa state, Rubén Rocha Moya, of conspiring with cartel drug traffickers, along with a number of other officials.
Reported - 30/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqpzlrd3wwo
Former FBI Director surrenders to authorities
Former FBI Director James Comey surrendered to authorities to face charges alleging that an image he briefly shared on social media posed a threat to the life of US President Donald Trump.
Reported - 29/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70vzj1nrddo
Plane crashes into Australia airport hangar
2 people have died after a small plane crashed into a hangar at Parafield Airport in Adelaide, Australia.
Reported - 29/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9pzlvyvejo
Billionaire offers to save Escobar's hippos
Anant Ambani, the son of an Indian billionaire, has offered to rescue part of a herd of hippos in Colombia that were introduced by drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Reported 28/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7prm4ke8do
Japan Airlines trials humanoid robot workers
Japan Airlines (JAL) will start using humanoid robots in ground handling tasks at Tokyo's Haneda airport from May, in a two-year trial.
Reported - 28/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwp87j1llvo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/28/humanoid-robots-baggage-handlers-japan-airports
Pakistan accused of attacking Afghan university
Pakistani attacks on the Afghaninstan province of Kunar have killed at least 7 people and injured 75, reports the Afghan Taliban government.
Reported - 27/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg0gxrgklro
Sri Lankan monks arrested after being caught with cannabis
22 monks have been arrested at an airport in Sri Lanka after officials discovered 110kg (242lbs) of cannabis concealed in their luggage.
Reported - 27/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4v4nzwj94o
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/28/asia/sri-lanka-arrests-buddhist-monks-cannabis-intl-hnk
Gunfire at White House Correspondent's Dinner
Donald Trump was a "likely" target of last night's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, according to the acting US attorney general.
"Preliminary" findings suggest the suspected gunman, Cole Tomas Allen from California, was targeting members of the Trump administration.
Reported - 26/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1je28p42ret
US agents killed in Mexico
The Mexican government says two US agents, reportedly with the CIA, who died last weekend in a car crash had not been authorised to operate in the country.
Reported - 25/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2491we011o
US to expand execution methods
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed federal prisons to expand the range of methods used for executions to include firing squads, gas asphyxiation and electrocution.
Reported - 24/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg73l2d079ko
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/24/doj-death-penalty-firing-squad-lethal-injection
US justice department drops probe into Fed chairman
The US justice department is dropping its investigation into the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, over alleged building cost overruns.
Reported - 24/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxd1v0028vo
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/24/business/doj-criminal-probe-of-powell
Serbs jailed over deadly terrorist attack
A court in Kosovo has sentenced 2 Kosovo Serbs to life imprisonment and another to a 30-year jail term for taking part in what it described as a "terrorist" attack in September 2023.
Reported - 24/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crr1gwnx4e8o
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu treated for prostate cancer
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reports that he has been successfully treated for prostate cancer.
Reported - 24/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgw72lrvn3o
Louisiana shopping centre shooting
One person has been killed and five others were injured in a shooting at a shopping centre in Louisiana, police have said.
Reported - 23/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1eqxq85x08o
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/shooting-mall-of-louisiana/
Trump administration reclassifies cannabis
The US Department of Justice has officially reclassified cannabis as less dangerous, marking a major shift in the country's drug policy.
Reported - 23/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxd0xxp0jko
US Navy chief leaving post
US Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving the Trump administration "effective immediately", the Pentagon announced.
Reported - 23/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9ml02g5k7o
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/john-phelan-trump-navy-secretary-firing
EU approves loan for Ukraine
Ukraine says it has resumed pumping Russian oil through a pipeline into Hungary and Slovakia after a €90bn (£78bn) EU loan was approved.
Reported - 22/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv8l99r3yyo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/23/eu-approves-ukraine-loan-sanctions-russia
US charges anti-extremism organisation
US officials have announced fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group that it accuses of secretly funding hate groups.
Reported - 22/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyrkd022ejo
India fireworks blast
At least 13 people have been killed in an explosion at a firecracker factory in India's southern state of Kerala, officials say.
Reported - 22/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwydzddp4j9o
Shooting at Mexico's Teotihuacán pyramids
A Canadian woman has been killed and 13 people injured after a man opened fire at a historical site in Mexico, according to Mexican officials. The gunman killed himself after the attack.
Reported - 21/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crm1rg3ydkvo
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/20/americas/mexico-teotihuacan-pyramids-shooting-latam-intl
Mass trial for alleged gang members begins
A mass trial of 486 suspected MS-13 gang members has begun in El Salvador, with the group collectively accused of committing more than 47,000 crimes.
Reported - 21/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20ql985gryo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/22/el-salvador-mass-trial-alleged-members-ms-13-gang
US labour secretary resigns
US Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will leave the Trump administration to take a position in the private sector, the White House said on Monday.
Reported - 20/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gxvdjjl7yo
Blue Origin rocket grounded
Blue Origin's newest rocket has been grounded after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered an investigation into a "mishap" involving the failed launch of a satellite.
Reported - 20/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr9vwz48npo
FBI Director files lawsuit against The Atlantic magazine
FBI Director Kash Patel has filed a $250m (£185m) defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, accusing the magazine of publishing false and damaging claims about his conduct in office.
Reported - 20/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78lggvey55o
https://www.reuters.com/world/fbi-director-kash-patel-sues-atlantic-court-records-show-2026-04-20/
Hostages rescued in DRC
More than 200 civilians held captive in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo by an armed group linked to the Islamic State have been rescued.
Reported - 20/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7144jr68lo
Louisiana mass shooting
A father has killed seven of his children and another child in Shreveport, Louisiana, in a mass shooting that police called a "domestic disturbance".
Reported - 19/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q9v1p2dd2o
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/20/us/shreveport-louisiana-shooting-what-we-know-hnk
Artemis crew home safely
The 4 astronauts who flew in Nasa's Artemis II mission around the Moon have splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after travelling the furthest away from Earth that anyone has ever been.
Reported - 11/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr51z54d5rpo
Irish petrol stations run out of fuel
Hundreds of petrol stations in the Republic of Ireland have run out of fuel as protests over high prices continue for a 5th day.
Reported - 11/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0e7rpjqw5po
https://news.sky.com/story/irish-army-called-in-to-remove-fuel-depot-blockades-13529610
OpenAI boss' home attacked
Police in San Francisco have arrested a man after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Reported - 10/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx91rdxpyeo
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/10/sam-altman-home-molotov-cocktail
Chimpanzees in Uganda are in 'civil war'
The world's largest known group of wild chimpanzees, at Uganda's Kibale National Park, has split and been locked in a "civil war" for the last 8 years, according to researchers.
Reported - 10/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr71lkzv49po
Taiwan opposition leader meets Xi Jinping in Beijing
China's President Xi Jinping received Taiwan's main opposition party Cheng Li-wun. She is the Kuomintang's (KMT) first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.
Reported - 10/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj94y87k2ljo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/10/xi-jinping-cheng-li-wu-china-taiwan-meeting-bejing
Argentina passes bill loosening protection of its glaciers
Argentina's Congress has passed a controversial amendment making it easier to mine in glacier regions, a move protested by environmentalists.
Reported - 09/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y72e6x554o
Pam Bondi will not testify on Epstein files
Pam Bondi will not testify about the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein to a congressional committee next week because she is no longer the US attorney general, the justice department says.
Reported - 08/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy31ln4d1jo
Bill Gates set to testify before US Congress
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is set to testify before the US congress in June about his interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reported - 07/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2vdekdweqo
https://news.sky.com/story/epstein-files-bill-gates-to-testify-before-congress-13529108
JD Vance backs Orbán's re-election
US Vice-President JD Vance has intervened in the Hungarian election to give his endorsement to Viktor Orban, while delivering another attack on the EU.
Reported - 07/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyv16lq2rp1o
Shooting at Israeli consulate in Istanbul
A gunman was killed and two were injured in a shootout near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a "heinous act of terror".
Reported - 07/04/26
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3exp8j7yz4o