Portal:Current events/2011 June 20

June 20, 2011 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Arab Spring:
- Tunisian revolution: Ousted former President of Tunisia Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife are sentenced to 35 years in prison for misappropriating public funds, with the trial held in absentia. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
- 2011 Egyptian revolution: Ousted former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, says his lawyer, though the head of his medical team says this is not true. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- 2011 Yemeni uprising: The regime says it has made progress in its fight against rebels holding the city of Zinjibar. (Reuters via The Irish Times)
- 2011 Libyan civil war: Libyan officials say NATO airstrikes on Tripoli kill 15 civilians, including children; this is the second claimed collateral damage incident in two days, with NATO blaming a "weapons failure" for the first attack. (BBC)
- 2011 Syrian uprising:
  - President of Syria Bashar al-Assad is due to make a speech about "current circumstances" in Syria. (Los Angeles Times)
  - Bashar al-Assad's speech fails to please the people as nationwide protests against his regime continue. (Al Jazeera) (Al Jazeera)
2011 Spanish protests: The "indignados" launch protest marches intended to culminate in a major rally in Madrid on 24 July. (RTÉ)
Sudan and South Sudan sign a pact to demilitarise the disputed Abyei region and to permit the presence of Ethiopian peacekeeping forces. (Al Jazeera)
Two suspected militants are killed in Khar Dand in Pakistan as a result of a drone attack. (AP via WVEC)
Masked men in camouflage gear attack homes in the mainly nationalist Short Strand area of East Belfast, with pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails being thrown. (BBC)
General Walter L. Sharp, the Commander of United States Forces Korea, warns that North Korea is likely to launch more attacks but states that US and South Korean forces are prepared. (AFP via Inquirer)

Arts and culture

Nepal experiences its first lesbian wedding ceremony as a lawyer and a college professor tie the knot. (BBC)
The Anglican Church in the United Kingdom considers guidelines allowing openly homosexual clergy to become bishops. (AFP via Google News)
London Assembly Member Jenny Jones urges Westminster Council to consider a blue plaque for veteran peace campaigner Brian Haw following his recent death at the age of 62. (BBC)
American Jackass star Ryan Dunn dies in a high-speed accident on U.S. Route 322 in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania. (NBC Philadelphia)

Business and economy

European sovereign debt crisis:
- Eurozone finance ministers agree to seek a voluntary rollover of Greek debt by private bondholders in order to meet a substantial part of Greek funding needs. (Reuters)
- Eurozone finance ministers postpone a final decision on Greece's $17 billion emergency loans extension until Greece introduces further cuts. (Al Jazeera)
- British Labour MP and former foreign secretary Jack Straw says the eurozone "will collapse" and that the euro will succumb to a "slow death". (BBC)
Afghan finance minister Omar Zakhilwal is reported to be "running out of patience" with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the IMF's rejection of a plan to deal with Kabul Bank. Zakhilwal is also reported to have said that further talks with the IMF would be "a waste of time". (BBC)
Financial group and banking firm PNC Financial Services is to acquire RBC Bank from the Royal Bank of Canada for US$3.45 billion. (Forbes)

Disasters

Residents of Greer, a small town in the U.S. state of Arizona, are allowed to return home after the Wallow Fire is slowly brought under control. (ABC Arizona)
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin warns that Australian travellers face more disruption from ash from the 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption in Chile. (WA Today)
The Korea Meteorological Administration issues a heat wave warning for inland South Korean cities including Seoul, Suwon and Chuncheon. (Yonhap)
A RusAir Tupolev Tu-134 passenger jet crashes near Petrozavodsk Airport in Russia's Karelia region with 45 people dead. (ITAR-TASS) (AP)
Hurricane Beatriz becomes the second hurricane of the 2011 Pacific hurricane season. (National Hurricane Centre)

International relations

U.S. magazine Foreign Policy releases its index of "failed states", with the editor labeling Somalia as an "unequivocably failed state". (Al Jazeera)
President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev practically rules out supporting a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning a crackdown by the Government of Syria on protestors. (Reuters)
France prepares to attempt to extradite Manuel Noriega back to Panama. (BBC) (Reuters via The Irish Times)
Taoiseach Enda Kenny arrives in London for a six-monthly meeting of the British–Irish Council, including talks with Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister of Britain, and Alex Salmond, the recently victorious Scottish first minister. (The Irish Times)

Law and crime

The United States Supreme Court overturned 8-0 a U.S. appeals court ruling against five big power utility companies, brought by U.S. states, New York City, and Land trusts, attempting to force cuts in United States greenhouse gas emissions regarding global warming. The decision gives deference to reasonable interpretations of the United States Clean Air Act by the Environmental Protection Agency. (Scientific American) (CBS News) (USA Today) (Reuters) (MLive.com) (PBS NewsHour)
People are hospitalised after sectarian clashes in East Belfast in Northern Ireland. (UTV)
New Zealand businessman Allan Hubbard is to face fraud charges in relation to the collapse of his company Aorangi Securities Limited. (New Zealand Herald)

Science

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers votes to allow the creation of new website domain suffixes by private companies. (AFP via The Sydney Morning Herald) (Al Jazeera)

Sport

Jack Warner resigns his post as vice-president of FIFA, the world governing body of association football, amid corruption allegations. (BBC Sport)

Transportation

Damai LRT station opened along the East Loop of the Punggol LRT line and was the last station along the Punggol LRT line East Loop to be opened.
Woodleigh MRT station opened along the North East MRT line, having been unopened since the opening of the line eight years earlier on 20 June 2003.