June 4 — Middle East: SYRIA
After testing samples from several locations in Syria, France determines that Syria’s government has used sarin, a chemical nerve agent, against its own people. The United States and the United Kingdom have also acknowledged that there is evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons is banned by most countries. The results have been reported to the United Nations.
June 5 — Europe: LATVIA
Latvia is set to adopt the euro currency, becoming the 18th member of the Eurozone as of July 1. During the financial crisis in 2008, Latvia had to borrow $7.5 billion and implement tough austerity measures. However, by now it cleared its debt and met all criteria for joining the single currency zone, which include low inflation, low public debt, and low long-term interest rates.
June 8 — Africa: LIBYA
Several hundreds of Libyans gather in the city of Benghazi to protest outside the militia headquarters demanding it disband. The Libya Shield Brigade was part of the resistance to the Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, but since his demise in 2011, it has refused to lay down its weapons. (June 25): Libya’s interim parliament, the General National Congress, elects an independent member of parliament Nouri Abusahmen as its president. Abusahmen is an ethnic Berber, which is significant as the ethnic Berbers suffered discrimination under the Gaddafi’s rule. He is the first Berber to hold such high office.
June 15 — Middle East: IRAN
Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric backed by reformists, wins Iran’s presidential elections. During the election campaign, Rouhani pledged to work with the Western countries to help ease sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.
June 16 — Middle East/Europe: TURKEY
Mass anti-government protests erupt in dozens of cities across Turkey after the violent police response to a small protest over government plans to close Gezi Park and build a mosque in its place. The protesters call for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s resignation who, they claim, has become authoritarian and a threat to Turkey’s secular political tradition by pushing an Islamist agenda.
June 18 — Africa: MALI
Mali’s government and Tuareg nationalist rebels sign a peace agreement that introduces a ceasefire and returns the northern town of Kidal into the hands of the government. It also paves the way for a presidential election scheduled for July 2013. The rebels, who fought for independence from Mali also say they will accept autonomy. The United Nations is planning on deploying 12,600 peacekeepers into the region.
June 18 — East Asia: CHINA
China is launching its first carbon trading scheme aimed at reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by about 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. Emissions trading, known also as cap and trade, is a market-based approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. The project starts in Shenzhen and is expected to expand into six other places, including Beijing.
June 25 — Middle East: QATAR
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani abdicates in favor of his son Sheikh Tamim bin-Hamad al-Thani in a peaceful handover of power. The son is expected to continue his father’s policies of political and economic liberalization. The Al Thani family has ruled Qatar for the last 150 years.
June 25 — North America: UNITED STATES
The United States Supreme Court strikes down Section 4 of the Voting Act of 1965, ruling that its preclearance formula is unconstitutional. The Court argues that the formula needed at the time the Act was enacted is no longer necessary and the Congress needs to pass a new formula. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting discrimination by imposing any voting qualifications. Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring literacy tests for registering to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African Americans from voting. Critics of the voting law argue that the times have changed and the Southern states should not be punished for the past. Supporters of the provision, however, say that recent efforts to change elections laws in some parts of the U.S., such as voter identification requirement, show that the Voting Act is still needed.
June 26 — North America: UNITED STATES
The American state of Texas executes the 500th prisoner since 1982, when the capital punishment in Texas was reinstated. The polls have shown that the majority of people in Texas support the death penalty despite the growing disapproval of it across the world.