April 21, 2012 (Saturday)
Conflicts
- Arab Spring:
- Bahraini uprising:
- Demonstrators against the regime flood a main highway in a march stretching for miles as Bahrain's rulers struggle to contain opposition anger ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. (The Daily Telegraph)
- Police fire tear gas at demonstrators outside the capital Manama ahead of the Grand Prix. (RTE)
- Salah Abbas Habib is beaten to death by police supporting the Bahraini regime. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- The regime stifles coverage of demonstrations against its rule by denying entry to journalists from news organisations including Sky, which holds the UK TV rights to air the controversial Formula 1 Grand Prix, as well as CNN, Reuters and the Financial Times. (The Guardian)
- The Bahraini regime presses ahead with its plans to use the Formula 1 Grand Prix as a symbol of national unity. (The Irish Times)
- FIA president Jean Todt dismisses concerns about the reputation of Formula 1 following week-long damaging headlines and calls for a boycott over its support of the regime. (Daily Mail)
- Syrian uprising: The United Nations Security Council votes to send 300 more observers to Syria. (The Guardian)
- Three people are killed during a flare of fresh fighting in the Libyan desert town of Kufra overnight. (France 24)
- Bahraini uprising:
Disasters
- Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, west of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, injuring at least 117, with 56 serious injuries. (BBC) (Channel Asia News)
International relations
- Japan agrees to write off more than US$3.7 billion of debt owed by Burma and to resume development aid. (BBC)
- The U.S. Secret Service dismisses three more employees over the prostitution scandal involving U.S. agents at last weekend's 6th Summit of the Americas in Colombia. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Rangers in Kenya shoot dead five poachers in a clash in the Great Rift Valley. (IOL)
Politics
- The Rutte cabinet, the minority cabinet of the Netherlands, collapses after partner Party for Freedom suspends its support. (NOS)
Science
- Four new species of freshwater crab –bright purple in colour– are found in the Philippines. (Bangkok Post)[permanent dead link]
Sport
- In Major League Baseball, Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox pitches a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners. It is the 21st perfect game in MLB history and the third in team history. (MLB.com)