June 2014

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
  • A bombing at a football match in the town on Mubi in northeastern Nigeria kills at least 40 people. (AFP via Global Post)
  • Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram gunmen have been released. (CBC)

Business and economics

• Stocks in Egypt fall sharply with the EGX30 losing 4.2% and the EGX100 losing 5% after the government proposed a new 10% capital gains tax. (AP via ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

• A Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashes near Munozero (Мунозеро (деревня) ) in northern Russia's Murmansk Oblast with nineteen people onboard with two confirmed survivors and the fate of the other passengers unclear. (ITAR-TASS)

Law and crime

• A Muslim Frenchman with connections to Syrian jihadists is arrested for murdering four Jewish people in the Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting. (The Times of Israel)
• A teenager is arrested at Heathrow Airport in England in relation to suspected involvement in Syrian-related terrorism. (Daily Express)

Politics and elections

• 2014 Thai coup d'état
  • The Royal Thai Armed Forces deploy against major protests planned for today but a small protest goes ahead outside a shopping mall in central Bangkok. (AP)
• Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India. (Hindustan Times)
• Former Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front guerilla leader Salvador Sánchez Cerén is sworn in as the President of El Salvador. (AP via CTV)

Sports

• In cycling, Colombian rider Nairo Quintana wins the 2014 Giro d'Italia, with compatriot Rigoberto Urán coming second and Italian Fabio Aru coming third. Colombia completed a successful stage with rider Julián Arredondo winning the mountains classification. (Gazetta)
• In cricket, the Kolkata Knight Riders win their second Indian Premier League championship defeating the Kings XI Punjab in the final in Bangalore. (Sky Sports)
• In golf, Hideki Matsuyama wins the 2014 Memorial Tournament. (The Guardian) (CBS Sports)

Armed conflict and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • A large skirmish occurs in eastern Ukraine when pro-Russian separatists launch a massive attack on a border control centre near the city of Luhansk; five militants are killed and another eight are wounded, and seven Ukrainian border guards are wounded in the clash. (BBC)
• Indian police fire water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters, angry over the gang-rape and hanging of two teenage girls in Uttar Pradesh, demonstrating outside the office of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 16 people are killed and 58 injured when a bus carrying Indian pilgrims fell into Madi River in Pyuthan district of Nepal. (IANS via Biharprabha)
• A massive sandstorm and record winds hits Tehran causing power blackouts in the Iranian capital and killing at least four people. (AAP via SBS)

Law and crime

• Four people are arrested in Paris and southern France on suspicion of recruiting militants to fight in Syria. (BBC)
• President Obama is accused of breaking the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 by not notifying the US Congress about the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in the deal to release Bowe Bergdahl. (Daily Mail)

Politics and elections

• Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the State of Palestine, announces a unity cabinet containing members of both Fatah and Hamas. (Reuters via Newsits)
• King Juan Carlos I of Spain announces that he is to abdicate with Felipe, Prince of Asturias, to succeed him. (RTE)
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency issues new regulations aiming to cut carbon emissions in the US power sector by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. (Washington Post, Reuters via Sydney Morning Herald)(US Environmental Protection Agency)

Science and technology

• Apple introduced a new programming language for iOS and OS X development called Swift. (Wired)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine:
  • Heavy fighting between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian militants takes place in and around the rebel-held eastern city of Sloviansk. (BBC)
• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria:
  • Boko Haram militants kill dozens of people in fresh attacks on villages in Borno state. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• India's Rural Development Minister, Gopinath Munde, dies in a road accident while on his way to Delhi Airport. (IANS via Biharprabha)

Health and environment

• Saudi Arabia announces 113 previously unreported cases of MERS, revises the death toll to 282, and fires its minister of health. (Reuters)

International relations

• Amid the crisis in Ukraine, President of the United States Barack Obama announces the European Reassurance Initiative—a $1bn plan to fund the increase of the United States military presence in Europe and step up defense capabilities of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. (BBC) (Euronews)

Law and crime

• London police arrest the leader of Pakistan's MQM party, Altaf Hussain, on suspicion of money-laundering. (BBC)
• Nigerian police in Abuja ban all protests planned in support of the 276 girls kidnapped from northern Nigeria by Boko Haram. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• Syrian presidential election, 2014:
  • Voters in Syria go to the polls for a presidential election with incumbent President Bashar al-Assad all but certain to win amidst an opposition boycott. On Wednesday, the Syrian government claimed that he had won with 88.7% of the vote. (AFP via GlobalPost) (Reuters)
• 2014 Abkhazian political crisis:
  • Former president Aleksandr Ankvab announces his intentions to run in the upcoming elections. (ITAR-TASS)

Sports

• In motorsport, British motor cycle racer Karl Harris dies during the Isle of Man TT. (Ultimate Motor Cycling)
• In cricket, Hashim Amla becomes the first non-white captain of the South African national cricket team. (FT)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine:
  • Separatists capture two Ukrainian Military bases in Luhansk Oblast as fighting continues near the rebel-held town of Sloviansk. (BBC)
• A suicide car bomber detonates his vehicle at the residence of Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi, Libya, killing 4 of his guards and injuring another 3. (Washington Post)
• A suicide bomber detonates his explosives near a military vehicle in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 5 people. (Voice of America)

Arts and culture

• The master stylist John Banville wins this year's Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, announced in Oviedo, Spain. (euronews) (The Irish Times)
• Eimear McBride wins the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction with A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing, beating the American Donna Tartt's 771-page opus The Goldfinch. (The Guardian)

Business and economics

• Japanese life insurance company Dai-ichi Life purchases financial service holding company Protective Life for $5.7 billion. (Bloomberg)
• American multinational private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts purchases American new media company Internet Brands for $1.1 billion. (Los Angeles Times)

Law and crime

• Mexico passes a law that increases the minimal sentence for kidnappers from 20 to 40, and the maximum from 50 to 140. (InSight Crime)
• Authorities in China crack down on dissidents on the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. (Human Rights Watch)
• 35 people, including Giorgio Orsoni, the Mayor of Venice, are arrested in Italy on corruption charges in connection with the MOSE Project. (BBC)
• The Attorney General of Germany, Harald Range, opens an investigation into the alleged NSA surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone. (BBC)
• The International Court of Arbitration in The Hague urges China to respond to Philippines v. China, the case filed by the Philippines regarding the Nine-dotted line. (Voice of America)
• In the city of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, an armed gunman shoots five RCMP officers, killing three. (CBC)

Sports

• In basketball, the attorney for banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling tells ESPN that Sterling will drop his lawsuit against the NBA and will allow the sale of the team to Steve Ballmer to go through. (ESPN)

Armed attacks and conflicts

• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria:
  • Suspected Boko Haram militants launch an attack in a village near the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing approximately 45 people. (BBC)
• An attack on a Yemeni military checkpoint by suspected al-Qaeda militants in Shabwah Governorate, Yemen, leaves 14 people dead. (BBC)

Business and economy

• The European Central Bank cuts the prime interest rate to 0.15% and sets the deposit rate at -0.10% in an attempt to devalue the euro and boost the stagnant Eurozone economy. (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

• A AV-8B Harrier jet crashes in the U.S. city of Imperial, California, resulting in the destruction of three homes. (BBC)

Health and environment

• A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine links MERS to several infected camels. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Tuam mass grave:
  • An Irish archbishop claims the Catholic Church has no records on the burial of 796 children in a disused concrete septic tank at a building it runs in Tuam. (BBC) (CNN) (The Guardian)
• The People's Republic of China claims to have arrested 29 people following recent terrorist attacks in the Xinjiang region. (AP via ABC)
• Pakistani police arrest multiple people involved in the stoning of Farzana Parveen, bringing the total number of people in custody to 12. (CNN)
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police extend a national manhunt for a 24-year-old gunman who killed 3 police officers and wounded 2 others in a shootout in Moncton.(Reuters)
• Four people are shot with one dead and three injured during a shooting on the campus of Seattle Pacific University. (CNN), (Washington Post)
• American hip hop band the Beastie Boys win a $1.7 million copyright violation suit against the makers of Monster Energy drink for unauthorised use of their music in advertising. (AP via The Australian)

Armed conflict and attacks

• War in Afghanistan (2001–present):
  • Abdullah Abdullah of the National Coalition of Afghanistan, a frontrunner in the Afghan presidential election, survives a bombing attempt. (BBC)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine:
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko call for a quick and peaceful end to the violence in eastern Ukraine. (BBC)
• Ashiqullah Mehsud, a senior commander in the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, is shot and killed by unknown assailants, speculated to be from the Mehsud splinter group, in the village of Urmuz in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. (CNN)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • Attacks across Iraq kill 27 people. (AP via Daily Mail)

Arts and culture

• World leaders travel to Normandy in France to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the first day of the Western Allies Invasion of Normandy during World War II. (Washington Post)
• Nun turned singer Cristina Scuccia wins the seventh season of The Voice of Italy. (NY Daily news)

Business and economy

• Vodafone reveals that the governments of six countries have a permanent link to monitor communications throughout Vodafone's networks. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• At least twelve people are killed as storms batter South China. (Xinhua)
• At least 3 dead and 13 injured are reported after an explosion at a coal-fired power station, Kosovo A Power Station, in Obilic, six miles outside Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. (BBC)

Health

• The World Health Organisation estimates that an outbreak of the ebola virus has killed more than 200 people in West Africa. (ABC News Australia)

International relations

• North Korea announces that it arrested an American tourist last month for alleged inappropriate behaviour. (BBC)
• Chinese authorities advise that they will deport Australian artist Guo Jian arrested before the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. (BBC)

Law

• Canadian police arrest Justin Bourque, wanted for the alleged murder of three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and shooting two others in Moncton, New Brunswick. (CNN)
• Japan's parliament moves to ban the possession of child pornography. (CNN)
• Brazilian prosecutors are investigating allegations that organs are being illegally taken from unidentified bodies and sold for medical research. (BBC)

Armed conflict and attacks

• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant gunmen storm the campus of the University of Anbar, killing 3 guards and holding dozens of students hostage before withdrawing. (Sky News) (AP)
  • The dead bodies of 21 policemen who were kidnapped a day before by militants are recovered in Mosul, Iraq. (IANS via Biharprabha)
  • At least 52 people are dead following a series of bombings in Baghdad. (AP via Business Week)
• At least 37 people are killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's South Kivu province. (Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

• Flash flooding in Afghanistan's Baghlan province kills at least 65 people and forces thousands of people to relocate. (BBC)
• Actor/comedian Tracy Morgan is taken to ICU at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital following a six-vehicle chain-reaction crash on the New Jersey Turnpike that killed friend & fellow comedian James McNair. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Ten supporters of former President of Egypt Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement are sentenced to death in absentia for allegedly inciting violence and blocking a road last July. (AP via New Zealand Herald)
• Altaf Hussain, the exiled founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Pakistan, is released in London on money laundering charges. (ABC Australia and AFP)
• Dennis Marx of the sovereign citizen movement opened fire with an assault rifle outside a Georgia courthouse Friday in an attempt to take hostages, wounded a deputy before he was killed in a shootout with officers.(Fox News)

Politics and elections

• Petro Poroshenko is sworn in as the President of Ukraine as the Pro-Russian separatist conflict continues. (NDTV) (BBC)
• Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of the Israeli Labor Party withdraws from the presidential election on 10 June as a result of a graft probe. (AP via Washington Post)
• UK Education Secretary Michael Gove apologises to Prime Minister David Cameron over a row with Home Secretary Theresa May about how to tackle Islamic extremism following recent revelations about a Muslim plot to take over schools in Birmingham. (BBC)

Sports

• Horse racing:
  • Australia wins the Derby Stakes. Trainer Aidan O'Brien becomes the first trainer to win the Derby for three successive years. (BBC)
  • Tonalist, ridden by Joel Rosario, wins the 2014 Belmont Stakes, denying California Chrome the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. (The Wrap)
• In tennis, Maria Sharapova of Russia wins her second title in the French Open women's singles defeating Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. (The Telegraph)
• In hurling, Kilkenny and Offaly meet at Nowlan Park in the opening round of the Leinster Championship, the first time a Championship fixture is broadcast live to a UK-wide audience on Sky Sports. (The Irish Times) (The Banter)
• In rugby union, the South African Springboks beat the World XV by 47-13. (SAPA via News24)
• In soccer, Germany's World Cup hopes suffer a massive blow as their young star midfielder Marco Reus is ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury sustained in their final warm-up game with Armenia the previous night. (The Guardian)

Armed conflict and attacks

• The United Nations and Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo sends troops to South Kivu province after 37 people are killed there. (Wall Street Journal)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • At least 13 people are killed and 60 injured as a result of a double bombing at the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Jalula, Diyala region. (AP via Fox News)
• 2014 Jinnah International Airport attack
  • Gunmen attack Karachi's Jinnah International Airport resulting in at least 13 deaths and leading to all flights to and from the airport being cancelled. (BBC), (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Terrorism in Pakistan
  • 24 people killed when militants attacked a Bus carrying Shia pilgrims from Iran to Quetta in Balochistan province of Pakistan.(IANS via Biharprabha)

Arts and culture

• 68th Tony Awards
  • The 68th Tony Awards are held in Radio City Music Hall in New York City with "All the Way" winning the Tony Award for Best Play. (USA Today)

International relations

• The Government of Bulgaria orders a halt to construction work on the Gazprom-led South Stream pipeline project planned to bypass Ukraine as a transit country into Europe. (Sofia Globe)
• Pope Francis urges President Shimon Peres of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine to work for peace at an historic joint prayer meeting at the Vatican. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home:
  • Dr Diarmuid Martin, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, calls for an independent inquiry into mass graves for women and children warning that more sites are likely to be found in Ireland. (The Telegraph)
• Three people, including two police officers, are shot dead by a couple in a shooting in a pizzeria in the US city of Las Vegas, Nevada. The woman (Amanda Miller) kills her husband (Jerad Miller) and then herself. (Fox News)

Politics and elections

• Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is sworn in as President of Egypt for a four year term. (AP via The Globe and Mail)
• Kosovan parliamentary election, 2014:
  • Voters in Kosovo go to the polls for a parliamentary election. (Bloomberg)

Sports

• In association football, FIFA World Cup sponsor Sony calls for an investigation into claims that Qatar used bribery to help win the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (The Guardian)
• 2014 French Open:
  • In tennis, Peng Shuai of China and Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan win their second Grand Slam title together by defeating Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-1 in the women's doubles final at the French Open. (Fox Sports)
  • Rafael Nadal of Spain wins his ninth title in the French Open after a double fault from Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. He becomes the first man to win nine titles in one Grand Slam championship. (The Telegraph) (SI)
• In motorsport, Daniel Ricciardo wins the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix. (ESPN (UK))

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Jinnah International Airport attack:
  • Karachi's Jinnah International Airport will resume services after yesterday's attack which claimed 21 lives. (Sky News Australia)
  • The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claims responsibility for the attack. (Wall Street Journal)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • A suicide truck bomber detonates his vehicle at the gate of a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan office in Tuz Khormato, Iraq, a second truck bomb detonated as people were gathering around the first one. Over 15 are killed and at least 110 injured. (AP via ABC)
• Syrian civil war:
  • The Syrian government declares a general amnesty for all citizens. (AP via Vancouver Sun)
• Brazilian riot police use tear gas to disperse protesters in São Paulo amid rising tensions between protestors and the government over the cost of the World Cup. (BBC)
• Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan
  • Five NATO International Security Assistance Force troops are killed in fighting. (BBC)

Arts and culture

• Six Cuban National Ballet dancers arrive in the American city of Miami after defecting on tour. (NBC Miami)

Business and economics

• Merck & Co. agrees to buy Idenix Pharmaceuticals for US$3.85 billion. (Market Watch)
• American multinational food corporation Tyson Foods agrees to buy Hillshire Brands for US$7.7 billion. (Bloomberg)

International relations

• Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal envoy warns Finland against joining NATO. (Barents Observet)

Law and crime

• Vietnamese banking tycoon Nguyen Duc Kien is sentenced to 30 years in prison in Vietnam on charges of tax evasion, violating state economic regulations, fraud, and running an illegal business. (Xinhua)
• A Russian court in Moscow sentences five men to prison for the 2006 assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. (New York Times)

Sport

• 2014 FIFA World Cup
  • A construction worker dies building a monorail extension to Congonhas-São Paulo Airport, one of several World Cup projects that have fallen well behind schedule. (Sky News)
• Basketball:
  • In a reversal of recent reports, banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling withdraws his approval for the sale of the team to Steve Ballmer, and will pursue a US$1 billion lawsuit in federal court against the NBA and league commissioner Adam Silver. (ESPN)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Pakistan
  • The Pakistan Air Force conducts bombing raids against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan positions in the Tirah region killing at least 15 militants in response to the Jinnah International Airport attack in Karachi. (BBC)
  • Gunmen attack a training facility near the Jinnah International Airport. (AP)
• Gunmen in Kenya's port city of Mombasa kill Mohamed Idris, chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, who opposed the radical preachings of Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgents. (Yahoo News)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)
  • Militants stage an overnight attack in Mosul, Iraq, taking control of the city while police and military flee. (Washington Post)
• Five American soldiers, an Afghan soldier, and an interpreter in the Zabul province of Afghanistan are killed when a NATO air strike accidentally targeted them. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Violent storms in western Germany with high winds and flooding kill six people. (Daily Mail)
• US Olympic swimming gold medal winner Amy Van Dyken severs her spine in a severe ATV accident. (BBC)

Law and crime

• A student is shot and killed at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, and the shooter is dead. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• Israeli lawmakers choose Reuven Rivlin to be the next President of Israel. (AP via Chronicle)
• United States House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is defeated by newcomer Tea Party-backed candidate David Brat in a Virginia congressional primary election. (Washington Post)

Sports

• It is unclear if floods, which have hit 132 cities, driven nearly 13,000 people from their homes, and killed nine people, have affected Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, the stadium scheduled to host the first of its four 2014 FIFA World Cup games between Spain and Australia this Friday. (RTÉ Sport)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)
  • 2014 Mosul offensive: Insurgents continue their offensive, gaining control of the city of Tikrit, the second provincial capital to fall in as many days. At least 500,000 residents of Mosul flee the fighting and head east into Kurdish-controlled territory, while insurgents storm the Turkish Embassy and take 48 Turks hostage, including the Consul General. (Al Jazeera)
• Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen:
  • The entire country of Yemen remains without electricity for a second day after insurgents sabotaged power lines linking the capital Sana'a and the contested Ma'rib Governorate. (Al Jazeera)
• 2014 Libyan Uprising:
  • Forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar conduct at least three separate airstrikes on Ansar al-Sharia militia bases in Benghazi. (Al Jazeera)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine:
  • Russian media reports that the self proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev is arrested by a militant wing of a rebel group led by former GRU officer Igor Girkin in Slovyansk. (New York Times)

Business and economy

• The European Commission announces that they will begin a formal investigation into Apple, Starbucks and Fiat in relation to tax arrangements with Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Sinking of the MV Sewol:
  • Thousands of South Korean police raid a religious compound in search of Yoo Byung-eun, a fugitive billionaire wanted over the sinking of the Sewol. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Egyptian Revolution of 2011:
  • Activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah and 24 others are sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail in relation to a protest last November. (Ahram)
• The news aggregator app Feedly is struck by massive DDoS attacks, with the perpetrator attempting to extort money from the company to make the cyber-attacks stop. (BBC)
• Spree killer Mattias Flink is released from prison on the 20th Anniversary of his crimes. (Sveriges Radio)

Politics and elections

• Following an unexpected primary loss to Dave Brat, United States House Representative Eric Cantor announces his intent to step down from his office as House Majority Leader. (ABC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)
  • The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss the rapid progress of an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant offensive towards Baghdad. (SBS)
  • Iraqi Kurds take over control of the city of Kirkuk as the army flees. (BBC)
  • The Parliament of Iraq postpones a vote on Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's call for a state of emergency due to a lack of quorum. (BBC)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • At least ten more militants are killed in a suspected United States drone attack in North Waziristan. (NBC News)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov claims that three Russian tanks crossed into eastern Ukraine and were attacked by the Ukrainian Army. (Belfast Telegraph)
• Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces and Shin-Bet deployed large forces through the West Bank in order to find and rescue them. (Jerusalem Post)

Arts and culture

• For his exploration of Colombia's drug trade Juan Gabriel Vásquez wins the prestigious €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award, the first South American to win the prize. (Independent)

Business and economics

• Tesla Motors announces it will allow competitors to use its patents without paying royalties. (CNBC)

Disasters

• At least six people are killed and 29 injured in a methane gas leak at the Bhilai Steel Plant in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India. (NDTV)

Politics and elections

• Ontario general election, 2014: The Liberal Party of Ontario wins a majority government; Kathleen Wynne will remain the Premier of the province. (CBC News)
• Antigua and Barbuda general election, 2014
  • Voters in Antigua and Barbuda went to the polls with the Opposition Antigua Labour Party led by Gaston Browne winning a 15 of 17 seats. (Near Shore America)

Sports

• 2014 FIFA World Cup
  • The opening ceremony for the FIFA World Cup is held, followed by the first game in Group A between Brazil and Croatia in Arena de São Paulo with Brazil winning 3-1. (AP)

Armed conflict and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Arsen Avakov, Ukraine's Minister of the Interior, claims that Ukrainian forces have recaptured the port of Mariupol. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• The city council of Pello, Finland, offers 50 euro to each Finnish speaking taxpayer who changes language to Swedish in order to secure the bilingual Finnish-Swedish regime. (YLE)
• Actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Angelina Jolie, and the late charity campaigner Stephen Sutton are among those honoured in the 2014 Birthday Honours. (BBC)

Business and economics

• Priceline.com agrees to purchase OpenTable for US$2.6 billion. (The New York Times)
• Amaya Gaming Group agrees to purchase PokerStars for US$4.9 billion. (Forbes Magazine)
• General Motors recalls 511,528 Chevrolet Camaros over fears that drivers could bump the key out of the "run" position, turning off the car. (Toronto Star)

Disasters and accidents

• A high speed ferry in Macau hits a breakwater, injuring 58 people. (AP via Fox News)

Law and crime

• Romanian hacker Guccifer is indicted in absentia in a federal court in the U.S. state of Virginia for hacking into the e-mails of American government officials and family members. (The Telegraph)

Politics and elections

• Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea, reshuffles her cabinet by replacing seven members after a fall in public support following the sinking of the MV Sewol in April. (Voice of America)
• Giorgio Orsoni, the mayor of Venice, Italy, resigns over corruption allegations related to the MOSE Project. (Reuters)
• The Thai military junta announces that it is lifting the nation-wide curfew. (AP via ABC)

Sports

• The Los Angeles Kings defeat the New York Rangers in five games to win the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals. (NHL), (CBC)

Armed conflict and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • A Ukraine military Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter is shot down, killing all 49 people on board. (CNN)
• Syrian Civil War
  • A bomb explodes in the town of al-Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province near the Iraqi border killing 8. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• The United Kingdom celebrates the Queen's Official Birthday with the Trooping of the Colour and the Birthday Honours. (The Independent), (Express)

Politics

• Alexander Stubb is elected new leader of the National Coalition Party and thus the new prime minister of Finland, the first Swedish-speaking Finn to hold the post since 1959. (Hufvudstadsbladet)
• Afghan presidential election, 2014
  • Voters in Afghanistan go to the polls for the second round of voting with the Taliban threatening polling booths. Dozens of people are killed across the country. (al-Jazeera), (USA Today)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • The Syrian Military retakes control of Kessab in north-western Syria. (Reuters)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • Airstrikes in the northwestern tribal area bordering Afghanistan kill as many as 100 militants. Canadian Press via (Nanaimo Daily News)
  • Abu Abdur Rehman Almani, the alleged mastermind behind 2014 Jinnah International Airport attack, is killed during air strikes carried out by Pakistan Air Force. (IANS via Biharprabha)
  • Pakistan formally launches military operation against the insurgents in North Waziristan. (Dunya News)
• 7 people are killed in Aden, Yemen, after a gunman opens fire on a minibus. (Voice of America)
• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive:
  • The United States evacuates personnel from its embassy in Baghdad as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant nears the city. (AFP via Google News)
• Islamist militants kill dozens of people in the Kenyan town of Mpeketoni in the Lamu Archipelago in a four hour series of attacks on hotels. (The Telegraph)

Business and economics

• A report by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum finds that total global investments, including gold and stock, by public investors, such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds, now total $29.1 trillion. (Financial Times)
• Medtronic agrees to purchase Covidien for US$42.9 billion. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Voters in Colombia go to the polls for a presidential election, pitting incumbent Juan Manuel Santos against Óscar Iván Zuluaga. Santos is reelected with 51% of the vote. (Voice of America) (Miami Herald)

Sport

• In golf, Martin Kaymer of Germany wins the U.S. Open by eight strokes for his second career major championship. (BBC)
• The 82nd 24 Hours of Le Mans ends with Audi drivers André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer, and Marcel Fässler winning outright in their Audi R18 e-tron quattro. (NBC Sports)

• 2013–14 NBA season
  • San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive:
  • ISIL takes control of the town of Tal Afar, Iraq. (Voice of America)
  • The Pentagon sends the USS Mesa Verde to the Persian Gulf to join a contingency of U.S. Navy ships already stationed there to monitor the northern offensive. (NBC)
• War in North-West Pakistan:
  • The Pakistan Air Force conducts airstrikes against 6 Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan positions in North Waziristan, killing 27 militants. (New York Times)
• Syrian Civil War:
  • A barrel bomb is dropped from a helicopter in Aleppo, Syria, killing at least 25 people. (Reuters)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine:
  • Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko says he will put forward a detailed peace plan that will include a ceasefire in the conflict. (Voice of America)
• Violent riots between Muslims and Buddhists rage in the town of Welipitiya, Sri Lanka, leaving 3 dead, 78 injured, and multiple mosques and shops burned or vandalized. (New York Times)
• The Al-Shabaab militant group launches a second attack near the Kenyan town of Mpeketoni killing another ten people. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• June 16-18 Tornado Outbreak begins. Twin EF4 tornadoes devastate northeast Nebraska. A town particularly hit hard being Pilger, NE where a young girl is killed. At night several other tornadoes touch down and one of them, an EF3, tears through the southwest portions of Madison, Wisconsin. June 16-18 Tornado Outbreak (www.ustornadoes.com)

International relations

• Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom says that Ukraine must pay up front for its gas after the country failed to settle its debt. (BBC)
• Russian lawmakers call for the dismissal of Ukraine's interim foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia, after he joins protesters in the singing of "Putin khuilo!". (Sydney Morning Herald)
• The U.S. Supreme Court finds against the Republic of Argentina on a discovery issue in its litigation against hedge fund NML Capital, and refuses to hear appeals on the substantive issues in the same litigation: a victory for hold-out bond-holders against a defaulting sovereign. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• A warrant is issued for the arrest of Peter O'Neill, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, in relation to a fraud case related to alleged payment of millions of dollars in illegal payments to a law firm. The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea later stays the warrant. (ABC News Australia), (The Australian)
• The People's Republic of China sentences three men to death for a deadly attack at Beijing's Tiananmen Square last October. (Reuters via The Straits Times)
• Israeli police arrest Aziz Duwaik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Hamas member, during a wave of arrests linked to a manhunt for three kidnapped teenagers. (AFP via NineMSN)

Sport

• German ex-Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher is out of an induced coma and has left Grenoble Hospital in France for further rehabilitation. (ABC Australia)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• North Korean propaganda videos show that they have developed a cruise missile similar to the Russian Kh-35 model. (BBC)
• South Thailand insurgency
  • Emergency rule in the southern Thai provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narithiwat is extended for another three months. (Bangkok Post)
• Al-Shabaab militants attack Poromoko village in Kenya, killing 15 people and burning multiple houses down. (Reuters)
• 275 United States Military personnel are deployed to Iraq to provide extra protection for the American embassy in Baghdad. (Sky News)
• Aftermath of the 2012 Benghazi attack
  • United States special operations forces, in coordination with the FBI, captured Ahmed Abu Khattala, one of the suspected leaders of the Benghazi attack, on the weekend of June 14 to June 15, 2014, in a covert mission in Libya. (Washington Post)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • At least 25 militants are killed as the Pakistan Air Force strikes terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan. (IANS via Biharprabha)
• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
  • A suicide bomber detonates a tricycle taxi filled with explosives at an outdoor viewing venue for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Damaturu, Nigeria, resulting in several deaths and 15 people critically injured. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• A tornado hits southern in Ontario, Canada causing extensive damage in the corridor from Angus to Barrie. Météo Média
• Several other intense tornadoes touch down in Montana and northeast Nebraska
• South African wild fires kill seven people, five in Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal and two in the Abaqulusi Local Municipality, as well as destroying thousands of hectares of forest and grazing land. (SABC)

Science

• The President of the United States, Barack Obama, proposes to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, creating the world's largest marine sanctuary in the Central Pacific Ocean. (Washington Post)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • 40 Indians working for a Turkish construction company are abducted by militants in Mosul. (IANS via Biharprabha)
  • Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militants lay siege to Iraq's largest oil refinery, located in Baiji. (AP)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • US drones launch a series of missiles against militants in North Waziristan, resulting in at least four deaths. (The News (Pakistan))
• Syrian Civil War
  • Opposition activists claim that Syrian Army helicopters have bombed a refugee camp near the border with Jordan, killing at least 20 people. (Reuters via Trust)
  • The OPCW releases a preliminary report indicating more chemical weapons have been used since the August 2013 attacks, confirming France's suspicions that the Syrian government has still been using chlorine gas attacks. (KUNA) (Daily Star)

Business and economics

• Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asks parliament to dismiss the country's central bank governor, Stepan Kubiv. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency reports that a boat carrying 97 Indonesians has capsized with 66 missing. (AP via Fox News)
• June 16th- 18th Tornado outbreak continues. Tornadoes rip through parts of the northern plains region again affecting mainly South Dakota. Two towns hard hit are Wessington Springs, SD, by an EF2 tornado, and Alpena, SD, by an EF4 tornado.

Politics and elections

• Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies votes to equalize same-sex marriage and adoption rights from 1 January, 2015. (The Independent)
• The New Flemish Alliance decides to opt for membership in the moderately euroskeptic European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, meaning this group will surpass the liberal ALDE group as the third-largest. (euobserver)

Health

• 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak
  • Seven people are reported to have died from the latest outbreak of Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Former President of Turkey Kenan Evren, 96, is given a life sentence for his role in the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. (Euronews)
• The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, a tribunal of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, rules 2–1 to cancel several trademarks of the NFL's Washington Redskins on the basis that they were "disparaging to Native Americans." The cancellation will be stayed while the team appeals in federal court, a process likely to take years. (ESPN)

Arts and culture

• Prince Felipe, the eldest son of King Juan Carlos I and formerly Prince of Asturias, ascends the Spanish throne as King Felipe VI. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• Romanian President Traian Băsescu denies any implication in his brother's graft case in which he is charged with receiving 250,000 euros in order to facilitate the release of a well-known incarcerated mobster. Hours after the president's press conference, his brother, Mircea, was arrested for 24h.(Reuters)
• The U.S. Supreme Court cuts back sharply on the range of patentable software, in a case involving business methods. (Alice Corp v. CLS Bank)

Politics and elections

• The Ukraine Parliament confirms all government candidates, including that of foreign minister, appointed the previous day by President Petro Poroshenko. (Kyiv Post)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • 12 people including 9 children are killed when a Syrian army helicopter strikes a refugees camp south of Damascus. (Middle East Eye)
• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive:
  • US sends 300 military advisers to Iraq as battle rages in Baiji over the country's biggest oil refinery. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2014 Bulgarian floods:
  • At least 11 people are killed and an unknown number missing after torrential rains cause flash flooding in northeastern Bulgaria. (ABC News) (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2014 Minya court rulings:
  • A court in Egypt confirms the death sentences of over 180 Islamists, including Mohamed Badie, the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. (ABC News)
• Philippine Senator Bong Revilla surrenders to the Sandiganbayan after the court issued a warrant for his arrest in relation to the PDAF scam. (GMANews)

Politics and elections

• Italy's Five Star Movement joins the eurosceptic political group Europe of Freedom and Democracy in the European Parliament, a group otherwise dominated by the United Kingdom Independence Party. (EU Observer)

Sport

• In basketball, David Blatt, who coached Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague title this past season, has reportedly reached a deal to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Blatt is the first Euroleague coach to become an NBA head coach. (ESPN)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captures the towns of al-Qa'im, Anah and Rawa in Western Iraq. (AlJazeera)
• A South Korean soldier fatally shoots five comrades at an outpost in Gangwon Province before fleeing with a weapon. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Belarusian human rights' activist Ales Bialiatski is freed from prison and is received by his wife and supporters in Minsk. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant capture the al-Walid (al-Tanf) border crossing with Syria and the Turaibil (Karameh) border crossing with Jordan. (AlJazeera)
• Syrian civil war
  • A 15-year old Israeli boy is killed and three Israelis wounded when their truck is hit by an unknown weapon in the Golan heights near the Quneitra border crossing; Israeli Defense Forces fire at Syrian government targets in response. (BBC)

Arts and culture

• The Pyu ancient cities are added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, the first such site in Myanmar. (UNESCO)

Business and economy

• The French government votes to allow a US$17 billion deal buyout of much of Alstom's power production business by General Electric to move forward. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Three men who escaped from a jail near Quebec City via helicopter on 7 June are recaptured by the RCMP in Montreal. (CBC)

Sports

• Due to a court order, the first World Cup water break is taken during a match between Portugal and the United States. (USA Today)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in North-West Pakistan:
  • Pakistani forces conduct airstrikes on terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan, killing 25 militants. (Business Standard)
• Arab–Israeli conflict:
  • Israeli Air Force planes carry out a series of air strikes in Syria following an attack on Sunday that caused the death of an Israeli teenager. (AP)
• Syrian Civil War:
  • Syria hands over its remaining 100 tonnes of its declared chemical weapons to the United Nations Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons but the organisation cannot declare that the country no longer has any such weapons. (Reuters)
• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria:
  • An explosion at a public health school in the city of Kano in northern Nigeria kills at least 12 people. (BBC)
• War in Somalia (2009–present):
  • Kenyan Air Force planes attack the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab killing 80 of its fighters according to the African Union force in Somalia. (BBC)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Pro-Russian insurgents agree to a ceasefire proposed by the Government of Ukraine. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)

Arts and culture

• Denmark proper (not counting Greenland) gets its first natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in addition to its three cultural sites, as Stevns Klint and the Danish parts of the Wadden Sea are inscribed on the UNESCO list. (UNESCO)
• A painting in Claude Monet's Water Lilies series is sold at auction in London for £31.7 million or $54 million US, the second highest price for a Monet on record. (AFP via Bangkok Post)

Business and economy

• Oracle Corporation buys MICROS Systems in a $5.3 billion deal. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• The People's Republic of China arrests 300 people in the first month in a crackdown on alleged terrorists. (AFP via iAfrica)
• An Egyptian court sentences three al-Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, to seven years in jail. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is elected to a second term with over 80% of the vote. Reuters
• The sole representative of the leading Irish opposition party Fianna Fail in the European Parliament leaves the liberal ALDE group and joins the moderately Eurosceptic ECR group without his party's consent. (EU Observer), (RTE)

Disasters

A Eurofighter Typhoon and a Learjet collide in mid-air over Olsberg, Germany. The Learjet crashes, killing both crew. The Eurofighter Typhoon lands safely. (Aviation Safety Network)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin formally asks Russia's upper house of parliament to revoke the right that it earlier granted for Russian forces to intervene militarily in Ukraine in defense of Russian-speakers there. (Reuters)
  • Nine Ukrainian servicemen are killed when an Ukrainian Ground Forces Mil Mi-8 is downed by separatist forces near Slavyansk, one day after a temporary ceasefire was declared. (Sky News Australia)
• A car bombing occurs in a Shiite suburb of Lebanon's capital Beirut killing the bomber and injuring five other people. (AFP via Global Post), (New York Times)
• At least five people have been killed in an attack on the Kenyan coast. (BBC)
• An Afghan man who saved the life of a Navy SEAL requests asylum in the United States after the Taliban has declared they will try to kill him. (Vocativ.com)
• At least 1 killed and 2 injured as unidentified gunmen open fire on a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft at Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, Pakistan. (IANS via Biharprabha)

Arts and culture

• The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, agrees to spend 2.2 billion Euros to convert Barcelona's La Monumental bullring into a 40,000-capacity mosque, the biggest in Europe. (RT)
• American stage and screen actor Eli Wallach dies in New York City, aged 98. (New York Times)
• Lyrics of "Like a Rolling Stone" handwritten by Bob Dylan sell at auction for a record US$2 million. (BBC)

Business and economy

• Strikes by French air traffic controllers lead to the cancellation of dozens of flights in Europe. (ITV)

Disasters

• Nine commercial fisherman are killed and three others are missing after two fishing trawlers collide near Pisco in central Peru. (AP)

Law and crime

• The South Korean trial of the captain and 14 crew members in relation to the Sinking of the MV Sewol begins. (BBC)
• Tijuana Cartel leader Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano is arrested by the Mexican Army in Tijuana, Baja California. (KPBS)
• R v Brooks, Coulson and six others
  • Former News International tabloid editor Andy Coulson is found guilty in relation to conspiracy to hack mobile phones. Rebekah Brooks, Charlie Brooks, Clive Goodman, Ian Edmondson, Stuart Kuttner, Cheryl Carter and Mark Hanna are acquitted. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

• Moon Chang-keuk (문창극 ) withdraws his name from nomination to be the next Prime Minister of South Korea due to his alleged historic pro-Japanese views. (Yonhap)
• A new coalition government takes office in Finland, the first led by a Swedish-speaking Finn since 1959. (YLE) (Finland Times)

Sport

• In ice hockey, Sidney Crosby, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, wins both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for most valuable player as voted by the media and National Hockey League Players' Association, respectively. (NHL)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • The Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki calls for national unity as a Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant reaches Yathrib 87 kilometres (54 miles) north of Baghdad. (Washington Post)
• Islamist unrest in Egypt (2013–present):
  • Homemade bombs explode in four metro stations and a court house in Greater Cairo, injuring eight people. (Reuters)

• Nigerian police say that 21 people have been killed in an explosion at a crowded Banex Plaza shopping center in Abuja's Wuse 2 district. (Voice of America)

Business and economy

• South African platinum miners return to work after a five month strike ends. (Reuters)

Disasters

• 4 killed in a train accident in Bihar, India. (The Times of India)

International relations

• The People's Republic of China sends its first minister-level official to Taiwan to build ties with the self-governing island amid trade suspicions. (AP via Wichita Eagle) (BBC News)
• The United States has added several LeT-affiliated organizations including Jama'at-ud-Dawa to its list of foreign terror organisations.(IANS via Biharprabha)
• Algeria–Egypt relations:
  • Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi makes his first official visit abroad to Algeria where security was top of the agenda. (Voice of America)
  • Algeria agreed to ship five cargoes of liquefied natural gas to Egypt before the end of the year. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Both houses of the Romanian parliament widely adopt a joint statement urging Romania's president Traian Băsescu to resign, following corruption scandals involving his arrested brother's graft case and one of his sons-in-law's implication in a criminal investigation. (Europeonline-magazine)

Sport

• 2014 FIFA World Cup
  • Luis Suárez of Uruguay is charged with biting Giorgio Chiellini of Italy in yesterday's Group D match. (ABC News Australia)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • The Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki confirms that the Syrian Air Force bombed Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant positions in Iraq earlier in the week. (BBC)
  • Insurgents capture the town of Mansouriyat al-Jabal, containing four natural gas fields, which is about 110km northeast of Baghdad. (Reuters)
  • Iraqi forces launch an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit with at least one helicopter crashing. (Reuters via The Nation)

Law and crime

• Authorities in China's Xinjiang region sentence 9 people for up to 14 years for terrorism offences. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Jung Hong-won will stay on as the Prime Minister of South Korea despite resigning after the sinking of the MV Sewol as two nominations as replacements have fallen through. (AFP via The Australian)
• Germany starts easing immigration restrictions on Ukrainian Jews as a result of the crisis in Ukraine.(ABC News)

Sport

• 2014 FIFA World Cup
  • Uruguay's star striker Luis Suárez is expelled from the tournament, banned for nine international matches and suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Giorgio Chiellini of Italy in Tuesday's Group D match. The verdict, the most severe against any player in FIFA World Cup history, means Suárez will be unable to play or train for his club Liverpool until 27 October. (Press Association) (BBC Sport)
• 2014 NBA draft
  • In North American basketball, the National Basketball Association holds its annual draft in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Canadian Andrew Wiggins as the first pick. (TIME)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New York, currently home to the recently captured Ahmed Abu Khattala, goes dark under the order of the brevity code "River City". (Washington Post)
• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • American human rights group Human Rights Watch claims that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant executed at least 160 captives earlier this month in Tikrit. (AP via Fox News)

Arts and culture

• Prince Carl Philip, third-in-line to the Swedish throne, announces that he and former men's magazine model Sofia Hellqvist will marry in the summer of 2015. (The Local)

Disasters

• At least fourteen people are killed when a Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline explodes in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India. (BBC)

International relations

• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Pro-Russian separatists agree to release four of eight Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observers held hostage since April. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
• Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement:
  • The European Union signs pacts with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in a move strongly opposed by Russia. (BBC)
• Amidst staunch opposition from UK Prime Minister David Cameron's ministry, the European Council nominates Jean-Claude Juncker, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, to be President of the European Commission. (The Telegraph)
• A Mexican military chopper flies into the United States and mistakenly shoots at border guards as part of a drug interdiction operation. Mexican authorities apologize for the incident. (RT)

Science and technology

• Scientists identify a new species of elephant shrew, named Macroscelides micus. (LA Times)

Armed conflict and attacks

• War in North-West Pakistan
  • At least 19 militants have been killed in a Pakistan Army offensive in North Waziristan. (CNN)
• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • The Iraqi Army expels militants from the centre of the city of Tikrit amongst heavy fighting. (New York Times)
  • Islamist rebels including members of the Al-Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front challenge Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's control of the town of Albu Kamal on the Syrian border on Saturday. (Reuters)
• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
  • A blast in a brothel in the northeastern city of Bauchi kills at least 11 people and injures 28. (Reuters via Daily Times)
• Islamist unrest in Egypt (2013–present)
  • A homemade bomb placed in a government construction site in 6th of October City exploded, killing a girl and wounding her mother. (The Times of Israel)
  • Sinai insurgency: Egyptian special forces tracked down and arrested a terrorist cell consisting of 15 militants who belong to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (Jerusalem Post)

Arts and culture

• The Bosnian city of Sarajevo commemorates the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria that led to World War I. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 5 people have been killed in an explosion at the world's largest ship breaking yard at Alang in Indian state of Gujarat.(IANS via Biharprabha)
• A dilapidated building collapses in the Indian capital New Delhi with eleven people killed and one injured. (AP via CTV)
• A building under construction in the Indian city of Chennai collapses, with at least one death and dozens trapped. (AP via WOKO TV)

International relations

• 2014 Wang-Zhang Meeting:
  • China's top cross-strait negotiator for Taiwan, on a landmark visit, cancels three public appearances at the last minute after protests against his bridge-building trip turned violent; protesters earlier splashed white paint and threw ghost money at the negotiator's motorcade while shouting slogans such as "Taiwan, China, one country on each side". (Wall Street Journal)

Law and crime

• Libyan Islamist militia leader Ahmed Abu Khattala pleads not guilty in a Washington D.C. court to one charge of conspiracy in relation to the 2012 Benghazi attack in which four Americans were killed. (Washington Post)
• Two British thirteen-year-olds are arrested for desecrating graves in a Jewish cemetery in Manchester, England, causing over £100,000 in damage. Nazi slogans and swastikas were drawn on some gravestones, and about forty were toppled over. (Jerusalem Post)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
  • Islamist extremists torch four churches near the town of Chibok and fire on worshippers killing at least 30. (Associated Press vis CTV), (Bloomberg via Business Week)
• 2014 Northern Iraq offensive
  • The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is renamed The Islamic State, with a caliphate being proclaimed and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being named caliph. (The Independent)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • Pro-Russian separatists release another group of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors seized on May 29. (Reuters via Huriyet)

Disasters

• Floods in Paraguay force the evacuation of 200,000 people. (BBC)

International relations

• Hong Kong customs authorities deny entry and deport a Taiwanese rights activist intending to support the Occupy Central campaign, which has gathered almost 800,000 votes in an unofficial poll on electoral reform. (AFP via Yahoo) (Focus Taiwan)

Law and crime

• A shooting at Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. injures 9 people. (CNN)
• A shooting and stabbing kills one person and wounds 5 others at a BET party held in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)

Politics and elections

• Turkish president Abdullah Gül states that he will not run for a second term in the upcoming presidential elections in August, paving the way for prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to run as AKP's candidate instead. (Hürriyet)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamist unrest in Egypt (2013–present)
  • A police officer was killed and several others wounded in a small explosion near the presidential palace in Cairo. A second officer was killed while defusing another bomb at the same site. (Reuters) (The Voice of Russia)
• South Thailand insurgency
  • A group of gunmen open fire at a mosque in the Panare district in Pattani province in Thailand, resulting in at least one death. (AP via Myrtle Beach Online)
• 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
  • A cameraman from Russia's Channel One dies after being shot in Donetsk. (RT)
• Gaza–Israel conflict
  • At least 11 rockets are fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip causing light damage to a house. (Jerusalem Post)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • The Pakistan Army begins a ground offensive against militants in the town of Miramshah in North Waziristan. (AP via Time)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • The bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, including one with dual American citizenship, are found partially buried near Hebron on the West Bank. Shin Bet determined they were murdered shortly after being kidnapped, and is searching for two Hamas kidnappers and accomplices.(ABC News America) (Jpost)
• Mexican Drug War
  • Mexican Army soldiers kill 22 criminals in a shootout at a warehouse in the town of Tlatlaya in central Mexico. (AP)

Disasters and accidents:

• Two intense derechos move across the Upper Midwest from June 30th-July 1st producing many relatively weak tornadoes. Major flooding also occurred in Iowa due to this system.

Arts and culture

• Yosemite National Park commemorates the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln signing into law the Yosemite Grant Act, establishing Yosemite as a federally-protected area. (KGO)

Law and crime

• The People's Republic of China jails 113 people in Xinjiang autonomous region for terrorism and other offences. (AP)
• North Korea says it will put on trial two American tourists, Jeffrey Fowle and Michael Miller, for crimes against the state. (Reuters)
• Phillipines Senator Jinggoy Estrada is arrested for alleged corruption. (AP via BND)
• Australian entertainer Rolf Harris is convicted in London, England, of 12 counts of indecent assault against young girls between 1968 and 1986. The 84 year old is to be sentenced on Friday 4 July. (ABC News Australia)