Moon The moon reaches its closest point to the Earth since March 1993, and will appear 30% brighter and 14% larger than at its furthest point.
Peru Peruvian President Alan García swears in Rosario Fernández as Prime Minister, after the sudden resignation of José Antonio Chang.
Iraq war Anti-Iraq War demonstrators are arrested outside the White House in Washington DC including Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
Current Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama's submitted resignation as Head of State of the Central Tibetan Administration is denied by the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile.
Egyptian presidential election in September Egyptian presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei is pelted with rocks, bottles and cans in Cairo.
Thai Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and nine cabinet ministers survive a no-confidence vote brought about by the opposition.
Edinburgh University Edinburgh University students vote in favour of boycotting Israeli goods and services, citing Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
Carlos Pascual Carlos Pascual resigns as United States Ambassador to Mexico due in part to tensions with the President of Mexico Felipe Calderón.
U.S. Coast Guard The U.S. Coast Guard begins investigating a reported oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The problems at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant are upgraded to Level 5 on the International Nuclear Events Scale, the same as the Three Mile Island accident.
Japan Construction of temporary housing begins in the Japanese town of Rikuzentakata severely damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Indonesia 600 people are evacuated in Indonesia from the area near Mount Karangetang as it began erupting.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu office reportedly calls for the United States to thwart Palestinian attempts to create a unity government; however, Hamas opposes Abbas' visit to Gaza claiming he is using the visit as a "ploy," and demands the release of Hamas prisoners held by the Palestinian Authority in West Bank
Police in the Gaza Strip break up a student rally calling for unity between Fatah and Hamas and raid offices of foreign media covering the event.
More than 50 mortar rounds are fired from the Gaza Strip at an area in the Western Negev, Israel, injuring two Israeli civilians in response to Israeli airstrikes earlier in the week, which was itself a response to a previous Palestinian mortar attack from Gaza. Israel counterresponds with artillery and airstrikes killing two Palestinian militants.
Arab Spring Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promises political reform, as security forces prevent protests in the capital Algiers.
Protests continue in Yemen after the shooting of anti-government demonstrators yesterday, and two ruling party members resign.
Syrian security forces fire tear gas at a funeral for two men killed in an earlier protest in the southern city of Daraa.
Côte d'Ivoire Tens of thousands of people from Côte d'Ivoire flee to Liberia due to ongoing violence in the country.
The United States Navy fires Tomahawk cruise missiles at Gaddafi's air defenses as Operation Odyssey Dawn gets underway.
The French Air Force starts flying missions over Libya as top officials from Europe, the United States and the Arab world vow to take action.
The President of the United States Barack Obama warns Muammar Gaddafi of "consequences" if attacks on civilians continue.
The Libyan opposition stronghold of Benghazi is bombed by pro-Gaddafi forces despite the declaration of a no-fly zone by the United Nations.