Portal:Current events/2012 April 20

April 20, 2012 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Arab Spring:
- Bahraini uprising:
  - Security is increased at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Bahrain amid continuing demonstrations against the regime. (BBC)
  - Police fire sound bombs and tear gas at demonstrators and wound dozens of people with buckshot as reporting restrictions are imposed by the Bahrainese regime. (Al Jazeera)
- Syrian uprising:
  - Syrian authorities agree to allow United Nations observers freedom of movement to monitor compliance with a ceasefire. (Al Arabiya)
  - The Syrian army kills over 50 civilians nationwide, primarily in the besieged city of Idlib. (Al Arabiya)
- Egyptian revolution:
  - Tens of thousands of people demonstrate in Tahrir Square against continuing military rule in Egypt. (BBC)
- Yemeni revolution:
  - At least 18 deaths are reported by Yemen's defence ministry as a result of an army offensive intent on recapturing the capital of Abyan Governorate. (BBC)
South Sudan–Sudan border conflict: South Sudan announces the withdrawal of troops from Heglig. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

To mark Pope Benedict XVI’s 85th birthday, a concert is held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. The managing director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig states that playing for the Pope is the pinnacle of the orchestra’s history. (Catholic News Agency)

Business and economy

Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross resigns, less than three years after taking the position. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Disasters

127 people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan. (NDTV) (AFP via The Nation) (BBC)
More than 40 people are killed and 27 injured when a tractor trailer collides with a bus near Álamo, Veracruz, Mexico. (CNN)

Law and crime

Marcus Robinson, due to have been executed in 2007, is ordered off death row after North Carolina Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks rules his trial was tainted by racial bias, grounds for cancellation of a death sentence under the state's Racial Justice Act. The judge used controversial statistical evidence of bias to grant the change of sentence. (BBC)

Politics