An unnamed U.S. official says that Israel has informed the United States that its forces struck the vessel at about 7:30 a.m. local time in retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels. (The New York Times)
Disasters and accidents
A Norwegianrescue coordination centre says the crew of MV Eemslift Hendrika was evacuated by helicopter overnight, with some having jumped 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)
Toronto will close schools for in-person learning from tomorrow until April 18 and shift students into remote learning due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (CP24)
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)
Indonesia reports its first case of a more transmissible new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 nicknamed "Eek", which contains the E484K mutation that can reduce vaccine protection. (Reuters)
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)
The government approves a plan to reopen selected stores and lower grades at elementary schools, as well as lifting the 9:00 p.m. curfew and limits of movement between districts beginning April 12. (U.S. News and World Report)
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)
Argentina reports a record 20,870 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide cumulative total to 2.4 million cases. (Olé)
Brazil reports a record 4,195 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 336,947. It was the first time that the country surpassed the mark of 4,000 deaths in a single day. (The Rio Times)
Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr 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)
North Korea announces that the country has withdrawn from participating in the Summer Olympics in Japan, citing COVID-19 concerns. (The New York Times)