Portal:Current events/2011 June 13

June 13, 2011 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2011 Jordanian protests: The motorcade of King Abdullah II of Jordan is attacked by bottles and stones thrown by protesters in Tafilah. (BBC) (The Guardian)
2011 Bahraini uprising: Bahrain's rulers commence the trials of 48 medical professionals, including some of the country's top surgeons, a move seen as the hounding of those who treated injured protesters during the popular uprising which was crushed by the military intervention of Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)
Tunisian revolution: It is announced that the trial of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ousted from power during the popular revolution, is to begin on 20 June. (BBC)
2011 Syrian uprising:
- The Syrian regime claims to have retaken Jisr al-Shughour, while residents who fled speak of fighting, divisions and defections among government troops as police and workers arm themselves to defend the town against the army. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
- Russia and China boycott a meeting of the United Nations Security Council where a resolution condemning the Syrian government is being debated. (AFP via Google News)
Egyptian officials report the arrest of the 27-year-old Israeli-American Ilan Grapel on suspicion of espionage for Israel. Israeli officials have rejected the Egyptian accusations.(BBC)
2011 Spanish protests: The Anonymous group is reported to have successfully knocked the website of the Spanish national police force offline. (BBC) (The Guardian)
2011 Zengcheng riot: Police in Xintang Town, Zengcheng, Guangzhou area, Guangdong, fire tear gas and use armoured vehicles on workers, including Sichuan migrant workers protesting what they consider the abuse of a pregnant Sichuanese colleague by security guards, after protesters flipped over and burned police vehicles. (BBC) (The Associated Press) (China Daily) (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune)
2011 Libyan civil war: The German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, speaking in Benghazi, announces that his government officially recognises the country's rebels as "the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people". (BBC) (Deutsche Welle)
2011 Yemeni protests: The opposition and Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi meet for talks to end the crisis. (CNN)
North and South Sudan agree to demilitarise the disputed Abyei region. (AP via Google News)

Disasters

Eruption of the Nabro Volcano:
- The long-dormant Nabro Volcano erupts in Eritrea. (Reuters) (IOL)
- United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flees the volcano, cutting short her visit to the region. (BBC)
Tens of thousands of people in Christchurch, New Zealand, are left without power as the city is hit by powerful aftershocks of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. (ABC Online)
The US National Weather Service issues a flash flood warning after the Missouri River breaches a levee near Hamburg, Iowa. (AP via The Republic)
Flights in the Southern hemisphere from Australia to Argentina are disrupted by the Puyehue volcanic eruption. (Bloomberg via Business Week)
An earthquake of between 6.2 and 6.9 occurs near Indonesia, southeast of Tahuna island and six miles (10 kilometers) beneath the sea.(Time Magazine)

International relations

Vietnam holds a live fire drill in the South China Sea amid a dispute with China. (Jakarta Post)
The South African Development Community urges opposing parties in Zimbabwe to settle differences to enable elections to be held. (Reuters)
The South African Development Community calls on Madagascar to allow political exiles, including former President Marc Ravalomanana to return to end the political deadlock. (Reuters) (AllAfrica.com)
The American destroyer USS McCampbell is reported to have asked to board a North Korean cargo vessel south of Shanghai; the vessel's crew refused and later returned home after what The New York Times described as "several days of pressure" from the U.S. warship. (BBC)
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking alongside Silvio Berlusconi in Italy where he is rallying opposition to the possible recognition of a Palestinian state, expresses a wish for improved relations with Turkey after last year's killing of Turks by Israeli commandos during the Gaza flotilla raid in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. (The Hindu)
Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon tells public radio that he wants re-elected Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to block what Ayalon considers a "provocative flotilla" of activists bound for Gaza "entering dangerous zones". (Al Arabiya)

Politics and elections

Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati announces his new cabinet. (Al Jazeera)
Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is defeated in several referendums. He admits "we must probably say goodbye to... nuclear power" after his attempts to have people boycott a referendum on the issue prove unsuccessful. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Rep Michele Bachmann announces mid-debate that she will seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (Roll Call)
A report by an independent panel of experts has recommended the British government rethink its controversial plans for reform of the National Health Service in England. (BBC)

Sport

The Boston Bruins defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 to force the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals into a seventh game. (AP via Boston Herald)