April 1 — South Asia: NEPAL
Nepal’s former Maoist rebels join an interim government under a peace deal that ends a decade of civil war. The Maoists join the government as the Communist Party of Nepal and will be in charge of five of the country’s twenty-one ministries, including the departments of information and local development.
April 2 — East Asia/North America: SOUTH KOREA/UNITED STATES
South Korea and the United States agree on a free-trade deal after ten months of talks. The two governments say that removing tariffs and other trade barriers will boost commerce between the two countries by 20 percent. The deal sparks opposition on both sides. The trade agreement, which is the largest for the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1992 and the largest ever for South Korea, requires legislative approval in both countries.
April 2 — North America: UNITED STATES
The U.S. Supreme Court decides that it will not rule on the constitutionality of an anti-terror law passed by Congress in 2006. The provision in question, upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington, prevents the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay from challenging their detentions in U.S. civil courts. The law allows keeping the 385 camp prisoners indefinitely as “enemy combatants.” The United States plans to prosecute about 80 prisoners in special military tribunals.
April 3 — Former Soviet Republics/Europe: UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolves parliament and calls for a new election after talks with parliamentary leaders fail to resolve a long-running power struggle with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yushchenko accuses the pro-Russian prime minister of illegally luring lawmakers into his coalition in order to gain the parliamentary majority necessary to overturn presidential vetoes and make changes to the country’s constitution.
April 4 — International Organizations/North America: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL/UNITED STATES
Amnesty International issues a report that criticizes harsh and inhumane conditions of detainees at the United States detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The report says that many of the 385 detainees have been held there for at least five years, most in solitary confinement, and are unable to challenge their detention. Amnesty International calls for the United States to either send the prisoners to trial or release them.
April 4 — Middle East/Europe: IRAN/UNITED KINGDOM
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad frees fifteen Royal Navy sailors as a “gift” to the United Kingdom, ending a two-week standoff between the two countries. He also awards medals to the commanders who captured the crew. Iranian warships seized the British navy personnel in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians insist that the British patrol boat entered Iranian waters, but the UK says the group was within Iraqi boundaries
April 4 — International Organizations/Africa: WORLD BANK/BURUNDI/KENYA/MADAGASCAR
The World Bank grants Burundi, Kenya, and Madagascar $164.5 million to deliver cost-effective high-speed Internet networks aimed at improving the countries’ communication and business competitiveness. Eastern and much of southern Africa are the only regions in the world that are not connected to the global broadband infrastructure but rely on costly satellite services.
April 9 — International Organizations/Former Soviet Republics: WORLD BANK/KAZAKHSTAN
The World Bank grants Kazakhstan $126 million to build a second dam on the Aral Sea in an effort to reverse the disappearance of what was once the fourth largest inland body of water. The sea began to shrink after the Soviet Union diverted two rivers feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton fields in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
April 12— Europe: BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s government revokes the citizenship of 367 former Islamic fighters who came to Bosnia during the 1990s war to fight on the Bosnian-Muslim side. After the war, many of the fighters remained in the country as naturalized citizens. The government looked into the legality of the citizenship awards as part of the country’s campaign to fight terrorism.
April 12 —Middle East: IRAQ
A suicide bombing at the Iraqi Parliament in Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone kills one Iraqi legislator and injures at least twenty people. This is the first explosion inside the Iraqi Parliament, one of the countries most rigorously guarded buildings. The bombing calls into question the effectiveness of the parliament’s security checks.
April 15 — Europe: RUSSIA
Hundreds of opposition protesters hold a rally at the main square in St. Petersburg, accusing President Vladimir Putin of stifling democracy. After clashing with the police, several protesters are beaten and many arrested, including former world chess champion Gary Kasparov, who leads the opposition movement The Other Russia. A day earlier, a similar protest in Moscow ended in clashes with the police and arrests of the opposition participants.
April 16 — Latin America: ECUADOR
Ecuadorian voters support President Rafael Correa’s proposal to form a people’s assembly that would bypass congress and rewrite the constitution. Correa says that a new constitution will reform the country’s political system. His critics, however, accuse him of authoritarianism and an attempt to consolidate power in his own hands.
April 18 — Middle East: IRAQ
Bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, kill more than 170 people in the worst day of violence since a U.S.-led security operation began in the capital in February. Intensified insurgent attacks are raising concerns about the Iraqi government’s ability to take full control of security in the country at the end of the year.
April 23— Africa: NIGERIA
Nigeria declares Umaru Yar’Adua of the ruling People’s Democratic Party the winner in the country’s presidential elections. However, local and foreign observers allege widespread vote rigging. At least 200 people are reported to have been killed during election violence.
April 23— Europe/Middle East: EUROPEAN UNION/IRAN
The European Union ministers agree to expand UN sanctions imposed on Iran after it refused to stop uranium enrichment. The sanctions include a total arms embargo and an expanded list of people who are banned from traveling to the member-countries of the European Union.
April 27— International Organizations/Africa: UNITED NATIONS/LIBERIA
The UN Security Council lifts a 2001 ban on the export of diamonds from Liberia on condition that Liberia will have to certify that its diamonds do not come from conflict zones. The UN decision rewards Liberia’s efforts to stabilize the country and control the illegal diamond trade after its civil war. Liberia’s president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has argued that her country needs the profits from diamonds to rebuild its economy.
April 27— Europe/Former Soviet Republics: ESTONIA/RUSSIA
Estonia removes a contentious memorial in its capital, Tallinn, dedicated to the Soviet Army during World War II. The removal, which Russia condemns, sparks protests in Tallinn by about a thousand mostly ethnic Russians. For Estonians, the monument is a reminder of many years of Soviet occupation.