June 13, 2011 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Jordanian protests: The motorcade of King Abdullah II of Jordan is attacked by bottles and stones thrown by protesters in Tafilah. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- 2011 Bahraini uprising: Bahrain's rulers commence the trials of 48 medical professionals, including some of the country's top surgeons, a move seen as the hounding of those who treated injured protesters during the popular uprising which was crushed by the military intervention of Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)
- Tunisian revolution: It is announced that the trial of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ousted from power during the popular revolution, is to begin on 20 June. (BBC)
- 2011 Syrian uprising:
- The Syrian regime claims to have retaken Jisr al-Shughour, while residents who fled speak of fighting, divisions and defections among government troops as police and workers arm themselves to defend the town against the army. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
- Russia and China boycott a meeting of the United Nations Security Council where a resolution condemning the Syrian government is being debated. (AFP via Google News)
- Egyptian officials report the arrest of the 27-year-old Israeli-American Ilan Grapel on suspicion of espionage for Israel. Israeli officials have rejected the Egyptian accusations.(BBC)
- 2011 Spanish protests: The Anonymous group is reported to have successfully knocked the website of the Spanish national police force offline. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- 2011 Zengcheng riot: Police in Xintang Town, Zengcheng, Guangzhou area, Guangdong, fire tear gas and use armoured vehicles on workers, including Sichuan migrant workers protesting what they consider the abuse of a pregnant Sichuanese colleague by security guards, after protesters flipped over and burned police vehicles. (BBC) (The Associated Press) (China Daily) (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune)
- 2011 Libyan civil war: The German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, speaking in Benghazi, announces that his government officially recognises the country's rebels as "the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people". (BBC) (Deutsche Welle)
- 2011 Yemeni protests: The opposition and Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi meet for talks to end the crisis. (CNN)
- North and South Sudan agree to demilitarise the disputed Abyei region. (AP via Google News)
Disasters
- Eruption of the Nabro Volcano:
- The long-dormant Nabro Volcano erupts in Eritrea. (Reuters) (IOL)
- United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flees the volcano, cutting short her visit to the region. (BBC)
- Tens of thousands of people in Christchurch, New Zealand, are left without power as the city is hit by powerful aftershocks of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. (ABC Online)
- The US National Weather Service issues a flash flood warning after the Missouri River breaches a levee near Hamburg, Iowa. (AP via The Republic)
- Flights in the Southern hemisphere from Australia to Argentina are disrupted by the Puyehue volcanic eruption. (Bloomberg via Business Week)
- An earthquake of between 6.2 and 6.9 occurs near Indonesia, southeast of Tahuna island and six miles (10 kilometers) beneath the sea.(Time Magazine)
International relations
- Vietnam holds a live fire drill in the South China Sea amid a dispute with China. (Jakarta Post)
- The South African Development Community urges opposing parties in Zimbabwe to settle differences to enable elections to be held. (Reuters)
- The South African Development Community calls on Madagascar to allow political exiles, including former President Marc Ravalomanana to return to end the political deadlock. (Reuters) (AllAfrica.com)
- The American destroyer USS McCampbell is reported to have asked to board a North Korean cargo vessel south of Shanghai; the vessel's crew refused and later returned home after what The New York Times described as "several days of pressure" from the U.S. warship. (BBC)
- Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking alongside Silvio Berlusconi in Italy where he is rallying opposition to the possible recognition of a Palestinian state, expresses a wish for improved relations with Turkey after last year's killing of Turks by Israeli commandos during the Gaza flotilla raid in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. (The Hindu)
- Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon tells public radio that he wants re-elected Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to block what Ayalon considers a "provocative flotilla" of activists bound for Gaza "entering dangerous zones". (Al Arabiya)
Politics and elections
- Prime Minister of Lebanon Najib Mikati announces his new cabinet. (Al Jazeera)
- Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi is defeated in several referendums. He admits "we must probably say goodbye to... nuclear power" after his attempts to have people boycott a referendum on the issue prove unsuccessful. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- Rep Michele Bachmann announces mid-debate that she will seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (Roll Call)
- A report by an independent panel of experts has recommended the British government rethink its controversial plans for reform of the National Health Service in England. (BBC)
Sport
- The Boston Bruins defeat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 to force the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals into a seventh game. (AP via Boston Herald)