June 2012 Current Events: World News
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Here are the key events in world news for the month of June 2012.
Mubarak Sentenced to Life in Prison (June 2): Former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is sentenced to life in prison for being an accomplice in the killing of unarmed protestors during the January 2011 demonstrations. The Judge dismisses corruption charges against Mubarak because the statute of limitations has run out. Lower level officials are acquitted. Angry over the verdict, thousands of demonstrators hit the streets in Cairo and other cities. Egypt's military-led government announces it will appeal the verdict.
United Nations Declares Civil War in Syria (June 8): United Nation monitors find evidence of mass atrocity in the small village of Qubeir. The monitors post footage online, providing the first visual evidence from a neutral source of the crimes occurring in Syria. (June 9): Troops clash with rebel fighters in Dara'a. At least 17 people are killed, including women and children. (June 10): At least 38 people are killed in Homs as government forces attempt to regain control of rebel-held areas. (June 12): After being attacked and fired on by a mob, the United Nation monitors leave their fact-finding mission in Syria. A United Nations official declares that Syria is in a state of civil war. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accuses Russia of giving the Syrian government attack helicopters to use against the rebels. (June 23): Syria confirms that its military forces shot down a Turkish military jet the day before. President Abdullah Gul of Turkey responds by saying that his country will do "whatever is necessary" in retaliation. The incident increases tension between the two countries. Turkey already supports the Syrian rebels' attempt to overthrow the government.
Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal Win French Open (June 11): Maria Sharapova, the 25-year-old tennis superstar, wins her first French Open women's championship. She beat first time finalist, Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-2. With the win, Sharapova achieves a career Grand Slam, winning all four majors in her still young career. She becomes only the tenth woman to complete the career grand slam, joining such elite company as Steffi Graf, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Serena Williams. By reaching the final, Sharapova also recaptures the number one world ranking. The win and return to the number one ranking are seen as an improbable, but gutsy comeback after Sharapova suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury in 2007. Rafael Nadal, of Spain, beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to take the men's crown for a record seventh time. In doing so, Nadal breaks the record held by Bjorn Borg for most French Open men's singles championships.
A New Government Forms in Greece (June 17): The Center-right New Democracy party prevails in Greece's parliamentary elections, winning 29.7 percent of the vote. The far-left Syriza party, which strongly opposed the terms of the EU bailout, takes 26.9 percent, and Pasok, the Greek Socialist party, places well behind with 12.3 percent. (June 20): New Democracy quickly forms a coalition with Pasok and the Democratic Left, and Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, is sworn in as prime minister. Samaras, who has been cool to the austerity measures and has advocated a course of growth rather than cuts, says he plans to renegotiate some of the terms of the country's bail-out packages.
Morsi Declared President of Egypt (June 24): Election regulators declare the Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Mohamed Morsi the winner of Egypt's first competitive presidential election. Morsi becomes the country's fifth president and first from outside the military. Morsi, who won with 51.7 percent of the vote, is also the first Islamist elected leader of an Arab state.
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