April 1
COVID-19 pandemic:
China reports 130 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, its first reported asymptomatic cases.
Yemen's internationally recognised government releases more than 470 of its prisoners amid concerns of the spread of the virus in Yemen's overcrowded jails. The United Nations Human Rights Council has called for the release of all political prisoners.
April 2 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 1 million worldwide.
April 4 – COVID-19 pandemic: A prison riot occurs in Batman, Turkey following the release of 100,000 inmates.Authorities announce on April 14 that one-third of its prisoners will be freed due to COVID-19. Of these prisoners, at least 45,000 will be freed until the end of May except for those accused of terrorist offenses and of plotting the 2016 coup attempt.
April 5
COVID-19 pandemic:
The first case of COVID-19 in a zoo animal is reported: a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco pardons 5,654 prisoners and orders new measures to protect inmates from COVID-19.
YouTube says it will remove videos promoting a conspiracy theory linking 5G to COVID-19, while "borderline content" will be removed from search results. The decision comes after four more mobile phone masts are set on fire, and broadband engineers have received threats, in several UK cities.
April 6 – The United States designates the Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist organization and imposes sanctions on its leaders; it is the first white supremacist group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.
April 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: Japan declares a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 and finalises a stimulus package worth 108 trillion yen (US$990 billion), equal to 20% of the country's GDP.
April 8
COVID-19 pandemic:
China ends the lockdown in Wuhan, with people allowed to leave the city for the first time in 76 days.
The Saudi-led coalition declares a unilateral ceasefire in its operations against Houthi forces in Yemen in accordance with United Nations-led efforts.
April 10
Kivu Ebola epidemic: The Democratic Republic of the Congo reports the first case of Ebola since February 2020. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018.
The ESA/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth and begins to depart for Venus, where it will make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025.
COVID-19 pandemic:
The death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 100,000 globally, a ten-fold increase from March 20.
EU finance ministers agree on a €540 billion loan package to alleviate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
April 12
COVID-19 pandemic: Pope Francis livestreams the Urbi et Orbi blessing for Easter; it is the second blessing in a month, with the first taking place on March 27 during a special prayer service for the end of the pandemic.
OPEC and allies strike a deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day, the largest such cut agreed upon, starting May 1.
April 14
COVID-19 pandemic
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects the world economy to shrink 3%, the worst contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the U.S. will suspend funding towards the World Health Organization (WHO) pending an investigation of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.
April 15
COVID-19 pandemic:
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 passes 2 million worldwide.
The 2020 Tour de France is delayed until August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 17
The China Securities Regulatory Commission approves a transaction in which Switzerland's Credit Suisse will take a majority interest in a China securities firm, making Credit Suisse the first foreign bank to own a majority of such a company since the easing of foreign ownership rules in 2018.
COVID-19 pandemic:
China revises the COVID-19 death toll in Wuhan upward, adding 1,290 more fatalities to bring the country's reported COVID-19 deaths to 4,632.
Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths.
The U.N. Human Rights Office accuses Myanmar of carrying out daily airstrikes in the Rakhine and Chin states and that at least 32 civilians have been killed since March 23. The separatist Arakan Army unilaterally declared a month-long ceasefire to fight the pandemic, but the military rejected the ceasefire claiming a previous ceasefire had been reneged by the insurgents.
April 18 – 44 suspected Boko Haram members are found dead, apparently due to poisoning, inside a prison in N'Djamena, Chad.
April 19
A killing spree occurs in Portapique, Nova Scotia, leaving 23 people dead, including the perpetrator and a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. It is the deadliest massacre in modern Canadian history.
Vietnam condemns China's prior decision to establish administrative districts in the disputed Paracel and Spratly Islands as a violation of its sovereignty.
COVID-19 pandemic: Unrest breaks out in Paris, Berlin and Vladikavkaz as opposition to COVID-19 lockdowns continue.
April 20
Oil prices reach a record low, with West Texas Intermediate falling into negative values.
The Industrial Bank of Korea agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a 2011 scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Alliance leader Benny Gantz agree on a deal to form a unity government, thus ending more than a year of political deadlock. As part of the deal, Netanyahu will hold onto his position for 18 more months, with Gantz replacing him afterwards.
April 21 – Mozambique police say 52 male villagers were killed by Islamist militants earlier this month in Muidumbe District, Cabo Delgado Province, after they refused to join their ranks.
April 22 – Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps deploys the country's first military satellite, using a new satellite carrier called "Ghased" ("Messenger").
April 23
Syrian Civil War: Two former high-ranking members of the Syrian Army go on trial in Koblenz, Germany, for alleged war crimes committed during the civil war. It is the first time that Syrian military officials are prosecuted for their roles in the conflict.
COVID-19 pandemic: Facebook removes "pseudoscience" and "conspiracy theory" as options for targeted ads as criticism mounts against social media for its role in spreading misinformation about COVID-19.
April 25
Yemeni Civil War: The Southern Transitional Council (STC) announces the establishment of a self-rule administration in southern Yemen and deploys forces in Aden. Governors of multiple southern Yemeni Governorates and Socotra island reject the STC's claim to self-rule and declare their loyalty to President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Months later on July 19, the STC accepts a Saudi-brokered peace deal and abandons its self-rule aspirations.
COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 exceeds 200,000. The UK becomes the fifth country to report 20,000 deaths.
April 26 – King Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors.
April 27
The Pentagon formally releases three videos (previously leaked by Luis Elizondo in 2017) of "unidentified aerial phenomena" encountered by U.S. Navy pilots.
COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases passes 3 million worldwide, while the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. passes 1 million.
April 28
A fast radio burst is detected from the Magnetar SGR 1935+2154, the first ever detected inside the Milky Way, and the first to be linked to a known source.
Colombia formalizes its membership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), becoming the 37th nation of the organization.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemns the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom after its annual report recommends placing India on the "countries of particular concern" blacklist over the Citizenship Amendment Act, the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, and controversial comments made by Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.
April 29 – (52768) 1998 OR2, a near-Earth asteroid that is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) wide, makes a close approach of 0.042 AU (6.3 million km; 16 LD) to Earth. It will not approach closer than this until 2079.
April 30
NASA officially selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics to build its next-generation lunar lander to carry American astronauts to the Moon by 2024.
Bulgaria applies for ERM II (the "waiting room" for the Eurozone), due to join along with Croatia in July 2020.
India
India remained under an extended lockdown throughout the month of April, to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
