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LastWeek.news

April 16-22, 2023

SpaceX Starship, the most powerful rocket to date, is launched from Texas and destroyed almost four minutes into the flight.

On April 20, 2023, SpaceX conducted the first combined launch of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy first stage booster, called the Starship Flight Test by the company. The uncrewed flight ended in destruction of the rocket. The flight made Starship the tallest and the most powerful rocket ever flown, with twice the thrust of the Saturn V. The spacecraft was planned to fly nearly one orbit around the Earth before reentering the atmosphere and splashing down near Hawaii, while the booster was to perform a controlled water landing on the Gulf of Mexico.

Dominion Voting Systems agrees to a $787 million settlement in their lawsuit against Fox News over defamation claims from the 2020 United States presidential election.

Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network (colloquially Dominion v. Fox) was a defamation lawsuit filed in March 2021 by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News Channel and its corporate parent Fox Corporation. Dominion's complaint sought $1.6 billion in damages, alleging several Fox program hosts and guests made false claims that Dominion's voting machines had been rigged to steal the 2020 United States presidential election from then-president Donald Trump. Fox News argued that it was reporting "pure opinion" regarding what others were saying which, if true, would be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964).

In Finland, Unit 3 of the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear reactor, begins regular operation after eighteen years of delayed construction.

The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (Finnish: Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos, Swedish: Olkiluoto kärnkraftverk) is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by Teollisuuden Voima, and is located on Olkiluoto Island, on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, in the municipality of Eurajoki in western Finland, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the town of Rauma and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the city of Pori.

Ghana becomes the first country to approve malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M, the first to meet the WHO goal of at least 75% efficacy.

The first approved vaccine for malaria is RTS,S, known by the brand name Mosquirix. As of April 2022, the vaccine has been given to 1 million children living in areas with moderate-to-high malaria transmission. It requires at least three doses in infants by age 2, and a fourth dose extends the protection for another 1–2 years. The vaccine reduces hospital admissions from severe malaria by around 30%.

In Sudan, at least 185 people die in clashes between rival factions of the military government.

The 2023 Sudan conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan. It began on 15 April 2023, when clashes broke out across the country, mainly in the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 21 April, at least 413 people have been killed and more than 3,500 injured.

At least 90 people are killed and 322 others are injured in a crowd crush in Sanaa, Yemen.

On 19 April 2023, a crowd crush occurred in the Old City of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, after people gathered in front of a school to receive the traditional alms of Zakat al-Fitr before the end of Ramadan. Shots fired by the Houthi militia, ostensibly for crowd control, caused an accidental explosion and panic. At least 90 people were killed and 322 people injured in the ensuing crush.

Israeli judicial reform protests (ongoing)

A series of street protests, strikes and hunger strikes began in Israel in early 2023 in response to the ruling government's push for a broad judicial reform. The protests have been taking place in cities across the country every Saturday since 7 January, as well as on selected weekdays.

Russian invasion of Ukraine (ongoing)

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. About 8 million Ukrainians were displaced within their country by June, and more than 8.1 million had fled the country by March 2023.