Portal:Current events/2014 April 7

• 2014 pro-Russian protests in Ukraine:
  • Pro-Russian activists occupying a government building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have proclaimed the creation of a sovereign Donetsk People's Republic independent of the capital Kyiv. (The Guardian) (The Irish Times)
  • The acting President of Ukraine, Olexander Turchynov, calls an emergency cabinet meeting to respond to protests in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv. (BBC News)
  • Ukrainian special forces clear armed protesters from the security service headquarters in Donetsk. (CNN)

• The Finance Minister of France, Michel Sapin, says that his country is committed to both budget cuts and growth, and willing to make "tough brave" decisions. (Reuters)

• The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, arrives in the United Kingdom for a state visit, the first to the UK by an Irish Head of State. (RTÉ) (BBC News)

• Indian general election, 2014:
  • Voters in India start going to the polls in a six-week General Election which will end on May 12. (AFP via Dawn)

• Quebec general election, 2014:
  • Voters in Quebec go to the polls to elect members of the National Assembly of Quebec. (CBC)

• Ukrainian presidential election, 2014:
  • The political council of Ukraine's Party of Regions expels presidential hopefuls Serhiy Tihipko, Yuriy Boyko and Oleg Tsarov, leaving Mykhailo Dobkin as the only candidate representing the party. (Interfax Ukraine)

• In an address to the Washington-based Brookings Institution, George Robertson, a former Secretary General of NATO, says that Scottish independence would be "cataclysmic in geo-political terms". (BBC News)

• Lawyer Cù Huy Hà Vũ, one of Vietnam’s most famous dissidents, is released early from prison. Afterwards, he travels to the United States. (VOA)

• A critical vulnerability referred to as the Heartbleed bug is discovered in certain versions of the popular OpenSSL software which allows attackers to steal information from internet servers which would otherwise be protected. (BBC News)

• In basketball, Connecticut defeats Kentucky 60–54 in the NCAA Men's Division I Tournament final. It is the fourth national title for the Huskies. (AP via ESPN)