June 2010 Current Events: World News

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

U.S. News | Business News | Disasters & Science News

Here are the key events in world news for the month of June 2010.

• Prime Minister of Japan Announces Resignation (June 1): Just nine months into his term as Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama announces his resignation from office. His countrymen reportedly find him an indecisive and ineffective ruler and have been clamoring for him to quit. He will be the fourth prime minister to leave in just four years.
• U.N. Security Council Passes Sanctions Against Iran (June 9): The United Nations Security Council passes another set of sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, in hopes that they can stop Iran's production of nuclear fuel. President Obama strongly supported the sanctions, though only 12 of the 15 members of the council voted in favor of passing it.
• U.S. Finds $1 Trillion in Untapped Mineral Deposits in Afghanistan (June 13): The United States finds more than $1 trillion in mineral resources in the mountains of Afghanistan, far more than expected or previously estimated. The findings, which include previously unknown deposits of iron, copper, gold, and lithium, could drastically improve the country's economy and fundamentally change the outcome of the war there.
• Ethnic Fighting in Kyrgyzstan Reaches Horrific Level (June 17): Street fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks escalated in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, leaving at least 200 people dead. Thousands of people are displaced after Uzbek neighborhoods are torched, and approximately 100,000 people have crossed the border into Uzbekistan, forcing that country's government to close its borders. (June 24): The death toll in the ethnic fighting in Kyrgyzstan rises to 2,000, yet the cause of the original skirmish remains unknown. Many of those who fled the country have begun to return.
• Graeme McDowell Wins Golf's U.S. Open (June 20): In a surprise victory, Graeme McDowell wins golf's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, beating second place Frenchman Gregory Havret by just one stroke. McDowell, from Northern Ireland, is the first European to win the tournament since 1970.