June 2 — East Asia: JAPAN
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigns after only eight months in office over a broken election promise. He failed to move an unpopular U.S. military base from the southern island of Okinawa, which hosts almost 25,000 U.S. troops. Hatoyama was the country’s fourth prime minister in just four years.
June 7 — Africa: SUDAN
According to the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), about 600 people died in violence in Sudan’s region of Darfur in May, a record number in just one month. Most of the victims died in fighting between the government forces and rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur in 2003, about 300,000 people have been killed and 2.6 million displaced.
June 8 — International Organizations/South Asia: NATO/PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN
Islamic militants from the Pakistani group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack a NATO convoy six miles from Islamabad, killing seven people and destroying 20 trucks with supplies and equipment headed to troops in Afghanistan. The majority of supplies supporting the international troops in Afghanistan are transported by land through Pakistan. These NATO convoys have been regularly attacked since 2008.
June 9 — International Organizations/Middle East/United States: UNITED NATIONS/IRAN/UNITED STATES
The United Nations Security Council approves new sanctions on Iran in response to its continued nuclear program. This is the fourth set of sanctions, which expands the arms embargo and tightens financial restrictions on Iran’s institutions and individuals. (June 24): The United States Congress approves new additional restrictions on foreign companies that trade with Iran meant to put more pressure on Iran to end its nuclear enrichment program.
June 10 — Former Soviet Republics: KYRGYZSTAN
About 2,000 people are killed and hundreds of thousands displaced as a result of ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in Kyrgyzstan’s southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad. The Kyrgyz population of the area has been supportive of the ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, while a sizeable minority Uzbek community has supported the new interim government. The provisional government of Roza Otunbayeva declares state of emergency in the south and asks Russia to help bring order. Russia and the United Nations send humanitarian aid to help about a million people affected by the violence.
June 14 — Europe: BELGIUM
In a surprising turnaround, Belgium’s marginal parties, the separatist New Flemish Alliance (NVA) followed by the French Socialist Party from the French-speaking region of Wallonia gain the most votes in the federal parliamentary elections, beating the governing coalition of Christian Democrats, Liberals, and Socialists. The NVA’s ultimate mission is to gain independence for Flanders, Belgium’s northern region.
June 15 — Europe: UNITED KINGDOM
On behalf of the British government, UK Prime Minister David Cameron apologizes for the shooting of 26 unarmed protesters in 1972 in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland known as the Bloody Sunday, calling it “unjustified and unjustifiable.” The apology comes after the publication of the Saville report that took 12 years to complete, which concluded that all victims were killed without justification. The report also says that the events of the Bloody Sunday strengthened the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and exacerbated the conflict in Northern Ireland.
June 20 — Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Under intense international pressure, Israel eases its blockade of the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, allowing supplies of food, building material, and other humanitarian aid. It states, however, that it will maintain its naval blockade and its troops will continue searching for smuggled weapons.
June 20 — Latin America: COLOMBIA
Colombia’s governing party candidate, Juan Manuel Santos, wins a decisive victory in the country’s presidential election. He vows to continue his predecessor’s policies, including the fight against drug trafficking and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, and maintaining close relations with the United States.
June 21 — Europe: POLAND
Poland’s acting president, Bronislaw Komorowski from the center-right Civic Platform, wins the most votes in the presidential election, but falls short of obtaining a majority, forcing a run-off scheduled for July 4. His main rival, the late president’s Lech Kaczynski’s twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a conservative and divisive former prime minister and leader of a the Law and Justice Party, campaigned on a platform of compromise.
June 28 — Former Soviet Republics: KYRGYZSTAN
Ninety percent of voters in Kyrgyzstan approve a new constitution in a referendum, which limits the president’s powers and turns the country into a parliamentary republic. Interim President Roza Otunbayeva says she will step down at the end of 2011 and announces parliamentary elections to be held in October this year. Commenting on the referendum, Russia says that the parliamentary system in Kyrgyzstan could help fuel extremism.
June 29 — East Asia: CHINA/TAIWAN
China and Taiwan sign a free trade agreement seen as the most significant agreement between the two entities since the split 60 years ago. The deal removes and reduces tariffs on hundreds of products, boosting bilateral trade that so far has amounted to $110 billion a year. Some Taiwanese critics say the agreement will make Taiwan too economically dependent on China.
June 30 — North America/South Asia: AFGHANISTAN/UNITED STATES
The United States Congress cuts $4 billion in aid to Afghanistan after the Wall Street Journal’s report of billions of U.S. aid funds being siphoned from Afghanistan to foreign bank accounts of Afghan officials. The move is intended to send a message to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to do more to tackle corruption.