April 4, 2019 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Second Libyan Civil War, 2019 Western Libya Offensive
- Libyan National Army forces continue to advance on the Libyan capital Tripoli, capturing the city of Gharyan, with only light resistance reported. General Khalifa Haftar has ordered the LNA to seize control of Tripoli, prompting the Tripoli-based Presidential Council to declare a general mobilization. (The Guardian) (Middle East Monitor)
Arts and culture
- Belarusian authorities begin demolishing crosses with bulldozers at the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic-era mass grave site Kurapaty on the outskirts of Minsk, where at least 30,000 people were executed by the NKVD's secret police in the 1930s and 1940s. The bulldozing is widely condemned in Belarus. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Boeing 737 MAX groundings, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302
- The Ethiopian government releases a preliminary report on the investigation into the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. (CNN)
- A rapidly spreading wildfire in Gangwon Province, South Korea, kills two people, injures 11 others, and forces the evacuation of thousands of civilians. (The Washington Post)
Law and crime
- Aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, Internet censorship in Australia
- The Australian Parliament passes a law which makes it illegal for Internet platforms and service providers to host videos of "abhorrent violent conduct" without "expeditiously" removing them. (The Guardian)
- Cannabis in Guam
- Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signs a bill into law, legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. (The Hill)
Politics and elections
- George Vella is sworn in as the new President of Malta succeeding Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. (The Times of Malta)