June 21, 2011 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Yemeni uprising: 2,000 Ethiopian migrants are evacuated from the country. (BBC)
- 2011 Syrian uprising: Security forces kill seven people during clashes between opposition and pro-government supporters in three cities. (Al Jazeera)
- 2011 Libyan civil war:
- At least 20 people are killed when a car bomb explodes outside a local governor's house in Al Diwaniyah in Iraq. (Reuters via MSNBC)
Business and economics
- European sovereign debt crisis:
- Greece:
- The Greek parliament holds a vote of confidence in government cuts associated with a new €12 billion loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. (BBC)
- The International Monetary Fund calls on eurozone countries to provide more money for Greece and to stop what the IMF regards as "unproductive" arguments about burning bondholders. (Irish Independent)
- Civilians peacefully protest en masse outside parliament against government cuts in Greece, though riot police armed with tear gas circulate nearby. (Al Jazeera)
- Some of the protesters have been camping for weeks in front of the parliament building in Syntagma Square, asking why they have to pay while politicians are not pursued. (Reuters Africa)
- Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou narrowly survives a confidence vote in parliament, signifying further cuts which are to be voted on June 28. (Al Jazeera)
- Spain:
- The IMF issues an annual report calling on the Spanish government to continue to reduce public spending and increase liberalisation of its jobs market. (BBC)
- Italy:
- Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi easily wins a parliamentary vote on the economy thought to be a test of his coalition's stability. (BBC)
- Greece:
Disasters
- Pilot error is suspected to be the cause of the crash of RusAir Flight 9605 in Petrozavodsk, Russia, which killed 44 people on 20 June.(Al Jazeera)
- Flights in Australia are again disrupted due to volcanic ash from the 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption in Chile. (WA Today)[permanent dead link]
- At least 28 children die mysteriously in the Indian state of Bihar. (BBC) (One India)
- Central United States storms
- More than 270,000 people in the US city of Chicago, Illinois, are left without power due to thunder storms with some reports of funnel clouds. (Chicago Tribune), (NBC Chicago)
- More than 300 flights are cancelled from O'Hare International Airport and passengers are stuck on Chicago passenger trains for three hours. (AP via Houston Chronicle)
- More than 114,000 people in the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, are without power due to storms. (Knox News)
International relations
- A 2014 deadline that would have moved a U.S. airbase opposed by politicians and civilians off Okinawa is cancelled following last year's resignation of Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama over his own inability to remove the base. (BBC)
- Politicians and civilians in Indonesia protest after Saudi Arabia used a sword to behead a maid without telling them they were planning to execute her; Indonesia recalls its ambassador to express its fury and civilians gather outside the Saudi embassy in Jakarta wearing t-shirts with the slogan "corrupt government, workers are beheaded". (BBC) (Jakarta Post)
- At the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon wins a second five-year term by acclamation through applause without a vote after the United Nations Security Council fails to put forward another candidate. (Al Jazeera) (BBC) (news.com.au)
- First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama begins a six-day visit to southern Africa with her daughters; they are granted an audience with Nelson Mandela. (BBC)
Law and crime
- A Chinese court sentences a forklift driver to death for killing a protester in an incident that started unrest in Inner Mongolia. (Straits Times)[permanent dead link]
- A French court upholds a life sentence for Yvan Colonna, a former shepherd and Corsican separatist convicted of fatally shooting police prefect Claude Érignac near a concert hall in Ajaccio in 1998. Colonna has denied killing Érignac. (BBC)
- Former French minister Georges Tron, who resigned last month due to allegations of sexual assault, is arrested by police. (BBC)
- British Prime Minister David Cameron confirms that controversial plans to allow sentence reductions of up to 50% for criminals who plead guilty in England and Wales have been scrapped. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- In a rare House of Commons procedure, British MPs have voted by a majority of 73 to have parts of the controversial Health and Social Care Bill re-examined by the Health Select Committee. (BBC)
Science
- An Emperor Penguin is sighted on a New Zealand beach, the first time this has happened in 44 years. (BBC) (AP via The Guardian)
Sport
- In tennis, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut meet again following last year's record-breaking epic at Wimbledon. (ESPN) (The New York Times) (USA Today)