Aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami South Korea summons Japan's ambassador over the decision while China's Foreign Ministry condemns the decision. The United States and Taiwan say they trust the Japanese government decision.
Following a cabinet meeting, the Japanese government says it has decided to release 1.25 million tons of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, after concluding there will be no negative impact on human health or the environment.
2021 Peruvian general election Far-left candidate Pedro Castillo is expected to win the first round of the presidential election. His opponent in the runoff election in June is still to be determined, amidst a political and economic crisis.
Austin-East High School Police respond to reports of an armed individual at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and fatally shoot the suspect in a shootout. One of the responding officers is also injured but is recovering in a hospital.
COVID-19 vaccination A gunman on a motorcycle opens fire in front of a COVID-19 vaccination centre at a hospital in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, killing a man and wounding a female security guard before riding away.
Cross-Strait relations Taiwan reports the largest incursion into its air defence identification zone to date by People's Liberation Army Air Force warplanes. Twenty-five aircraft entered its airspace, including nuclear-capable H-6K bombers and anti-submarine aircraft. The Chinese fleet flew in an area close to the disputed Pratas Island, according to Taiwan's Defence Ministry.
War in Donbass Ukraine triggers Article 15 of the Charter on a Special Partnership, initiating an emergency meeting with NATO to discuss the Russian escalation in Donbass and the build-up of Russian forces on its border. The article was last triggered in 2018 during the Kerch Strait incident.
Philippines–United States relations Philippine and U.S. troops resume their annual Balikatan military exercises following last year's cancellation of the event due to the pandemic.
China China reports new cases of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu in wild birds in Liaoning, which is the country's first report of the disease since February 2020.
COVID-19 pandemic Solomon Islands receives 50,000 doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine from China.
The U.S. government terminates a deal with Eli Lilly & Co. for 350,856 remaining doses of the single antibody bamlanivimab that were scheduled to be delivered by the end of March. The deal will instead be focused on a supply of combined antibodies with etesevimab.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that all schools across the province will remain closed after April break and students will be forced to shift into online learning amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 985 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 33,610.
India reports a record for the seventh consecutive day of 168,912 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 13.52 million and surpassing Brazil to become the country with the second highest total of infections.
Hong Kong announces that restaurants will be permitted to remain open until midnight and seat more customers, provided that all staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and all patrons use a government tracking app.
Bangladesh issues new lockdown rules that order the closure of all government, semi-government, autonomous, and private offices for one week beginning April 14, as well as suspension of all public transport. However, the government will allow factories to remain open.
High schools in Greece reopen after five months of closure with precautions, such as wearing masks and COVID-19 testing for all teachers and students twice per week.
Schools, libraries, zoos, and some stores in the Czech Republic reopen after months of closure as the six-month state of emergency expires and restrictions of movement are lifted.
Apple and Google reject an update by the National Health Service to their contact tracing app because it breaches their privacy rules.
Lockdown restrictions are relaxed in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as the number of cases continues to reduce, with non-essential shops, pubs, gyms, restaurants, hairdressers, community centres, libraries, and theme parks permitted to reopen. Domestic holidays are also permitted again in England with members of the same household. A "stay at home" order is ended in Northern Ireland, and secondary school pupils from years 8–11 return to school.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommends that the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people over 60 years old following concerns about rare blood clots.
Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The BBC receives a record 110,994 complaints over their coverage of Prince Philip's death replacing popular TV shows.
War in Donbass Two Ukrainian soldiers are killed in front line clashes with separatist forces in the Donbass, bringing the total number of troops killed in action this year to 29. Both died due to small arms fire.
WrestleMania 37 The first WWE show with fans in attendance since March 2020 takes place in Tampa, Florida, US.
Hideki Matsuyama Hideki Matsuyama wins the 85th edition of the Masters to become first male Japanese major champion.
2021 German federal election Bavarian minister president Markus Söder and leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union Armin Laschet announce their respective candidacies to succeed current Chancellor Angela Merkel after the federal elections take place.
2021 Kyrgyz constitutional referendum Kyrgyz citizens head to the polls on a referendum to reform the Constitution. If approved, it would increase the powers of incumbent populist President Sadyr Zhaparov and allow him to run for a second term. It would also reduce the size of the parliament by 25%.
2021 Ecuadorian general election Centre-right candidate Guillermo Lasso defeats socialist Andrés Arauz in the second round of voting in Ecuador for the presidency.
2021 Beninese presidential election After violent days of protests, Beninese citizens head to the polls to elect their president. Incumbent Patrice Talon is expected to win his second term as most of his rivals are either in prison or in exile.
2021 Chadian presidential election Chadians head to the polls to elect their president. Incumbent Idriss Déby is expected to extend his three-decade mandate.
2021 Peruvian general election Peruvians head to the polls to elect their president after having four presidents in four years.
Catholic Seven Catholic clergy, including two French citizens, are kidnapped in Croix-des-Bouquets, Ouest, Haiti.
Egypt An Egyptian court sentences university student Ahmed Bassam Zaki to an additional eight years in prison for sexually assaulting and blackmailing at least three women between 2016 and 2020. The case led to a public debate about sexual harassment and abuse within the country. Zaki was previously sentenced to three years in prison by a different court in December.
Killing of Daunte Wright A police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, kills a man during an attempted arrest following a traffic stop, leading to rioting and looting in the city and surrounding area.
COVID-19 pandemic An Israeli study finds that the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine may be less effective against the South African variant when compared to other strains of the virus.
Health Minister Olivier Véran confirms that all people aged 55 and over would be eligible for a vaccine starting tomorrow, which is a week earlier than originally scheduled, with AstraZeneca, and a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Cameroon receives 200,000 doses of the Sinovac BBIBP-CorV vaccine from China, which will be used in the first phase of their vaccination campaign.
Thailand reports a record 967 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 32,625.
The Greater Manila Area, the provinces of Abra and Quirino, and the city of Santiago, Isabela, are placed under the looser modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of April.
Pakistan reports 114 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which is the highest number of deaths this year, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 15,443.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare bans the export of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir, and the ingredients used to make it, following an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
India reports 152,879 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, a record for the sixth consecutive day. The country also reports 839 deaths in the past 24 hours, which is the highest daily total since October 18.
Bangladesh reports 78 deaths from COVID-19, a record for the second consecutive day, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,739.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison abandons the country's plan to vaccinate all Australians by the end of the year amidst medical advice that makes the vaccination program uncertain.
Rescue operations Rescue operations commence in Hutubi, Xinjiang, China, after a coal mine floods, trapping workers. Eight miners have been freed, but 21 still remain trapped.
Sohag train collision Egypt's prosecution service declares that nobody was at the controls of one of the trains that collided last month, in an accident that killed 20 people and injured around 200.
Cambodia The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and exiled politician Mu Sochua condemn American-Canadian digital media company "Vice" for publishing an article about an art project aiming to colorize photographs of inmates interred at Khmer Rouge-era prison Tuol Sleng, after social media users noticed that the photos were edited to have the subjects smiling. The article was subsequently deleted.
War in Donbass A Ukrainian soldier is killed and another is seriously wounded by Russian separatist forces artillery fire on the front line in Eastern Ukraine, bringing the total number of troops killed in combat this year to 27.
Nuclear program of Iran Iran reports that a blackout at its underground Natanz nuclear facility is an act of nuclear terrorism and says that they reserve the right to respond, but it does not specify who was responsible or how they would respond. Parts of the electrical grid at Iran's main nuclear facilities at Natanz have been compromised. Intelligence sources claim in Israeli media that the Mossad intelligence agency carried out a cyber attack on the facility.