April 17, 2015 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:
- Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad says that the "most dangerous" leaders of ISIS are Scandinavians. (The Local)
- Up to 150,000 civilians flee the Iraqi city of Ramadi which is under siege from Islamic State. (BBC/AFP via ABC News Australia)
- Iraqi officials claim that militia leader Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri has been killed in fighting in Salahuddin province. Al-Douri was the highest ranking member of Saddam Hussein's government not to be captured.(BBC)
- A suicide car bombing outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil in Iraq's Kurdish region kills three and injures 14. ISIS claims responsibility. (Miami Herald) (CBS News) (Reuters)
- Mexican Drug War
- Gunfire and roadblocks are reported in the city of Reynosa on the border with the US after local leader "El Gafe" of the Gulf Cartel is arrested. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
Arts and culture
- Univisión announce that Sábado Gigante, the longest-running television variety series in history, will end after 53 years on September 19, 2015. (THR)
Business and economy
- Mylan, a manufacturer of generic drugs, announced that its board has no interest in much-discussed prospect of purchase by Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the 15 largest pharmaceutical concerns in the world. (Reuters)
International relations
- Satellite images show that the China is rapidly building a runway on the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. (BBC)
Religion
- Francis Eugene Cardinal George, who served as Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago and as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), dies after a multi-year battle with bladder and kidney cancer at age 78. (Chicago Tribune) (Archdiocese of Chicago)
Science
- Bouvier's red colobus, a species of monkey last seen in the 1970s and thought to possibly be extinct, is rediscovered in the Republic of Congo.(Discovery News)
Sports
- In cricket, James Anderson becomes the highest wicket taking bowler for England in test cricket in a drawn test match against the West Indies in Antigua. (The Telegraph)