Two Ukrainian soldiers are killed in front line clashes with separatist forces in the Donbass, thereby bringing the total number of troops killed in action this year to 29. Both died due to small arms fire.
S&P 500
+0.13%
$6,728
BTC
+1.37%
$103,456
OIL (WTI)
+0.69%
$59
April 12, 2021 (Monday)
3.6 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Arts and culture
The BBC receives a record 110,994 complaints over their coverage of Prince Philip's death, mostly due to the extent of the coverage.
Disasters and accidents
At least 20 people died in a bus crash in the Ancash Region in Peru.
Health and environment
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Apple and Google reject an update by the National Health Service to their contact tracing app because it breaches their privacy rules.
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.
The Ghana Health Service says that over 700,000 people in the country has received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
French lawmakers vote to ban airlines from offering domestic flights if the same journey could be made by train in less than two and a half hours.
International relations
Philippine and U.S. troops resume their annual Balikatan military exercises following last year's cancellation of the event due to the pandemic.
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.
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.
Law and crime
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.
Tensions between protesters and police intensified for the second night after the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old man who was shot by police at a traffic stop. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz imposes a curfew, and police begin firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades. Some protesters, wearing gas masks, pick up smoke canisters and throw them back at police. About 40 arrests are made, ranging from curfew violation to rioting.
A serving officer with London's Metropolitan Police is sentenced to over two years in prison for an unprovoked attack on a black member of the public that left his victim with a broken leg, in what the judge described as "a clear case of racial profiling."
Politics and elections
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.
Get the app
