Near-Earth object Near-Earth Asteroid 2011 MD passed within 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) of the Earth's surface at about 13:00 EDT flying over the South Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Antarctica.
Lynn Woolsey Rep Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat, announces her retirement from the United States House of Representatives at the end of the 112th United States Congress.
Texas Lawmakers in the US state of Texas pass a healthcare bill imposing further restrictions on abortion.
Malaysia More than 30 activists are held in detention in Malaysia ahead of a mass rally in Kuala Lumpur asking for an end to fraud. The government declares the rally "illegal".
United Kingdom Up to 750,000 teachers and civil servants in the United Kingdom are set to strike on Thursday after talks aimed at averting the action failed to broker an agreement.
Blackwater Worldwide Justin Cannon, a former Blackwater Worldwide (now called Xe Services LLC) employee, is sentenced to thirty months in jail for involuntary manslaughter of an Afghan civilian in a shooting in 2009.
Illinois Governor A jury convicts former Governor of the US state of Illinois Rod Blagojevich on seventeen charges of corruption.
European Union Police clash with local residents who object to Italian government plans to build a European Union-funded rail link with France near their homes in the Italian Alps. The police intervention follows a peaceful candlelight nighttime prayer vigil featuring thousands of people.
Chinese human rights Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia is released after serving a 3 1-2-year sentence, for "inciting to subvert state power."
Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association "Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association": In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States strikes down a 2005 California law prohibiting minors' access to violent or offensive video games, citing them as protected speech under the First Amendment.
Gaza Flotilla II Israel agrees with Egypt's military council to permit flotilla ships to unload at el-Arish ahead of an overland transfer to Gaza.
Israel denies pressuring Greece to stop the ships participating in the flotilla from departing; Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu's inner cabinet instructs the Israel Defense Forces to stop it.
Pakistan Pakistan expels British military advisers following the United States Navy Seals raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Philip Morris International Philip Morris International, the world's largest tobacco corporation, threatens to sue the Australian government in relation to its introduction of plain, brandless cigarette packing.
Chairman Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the region of Darfur, unexpectedly delays his visit to China without official explanation, after he had already departed for an anti-terrorism conference hosted by Iran.
Officials The United States Government publishes the Trafficking In Persons report, naming those countries that are not meeting minimum standards against human trafficking and slavery, and which may be subject to US sanctions as a result.
Los Alamos National Laboratory The Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S. state of New Mexico is temporarily closed due to a wildfire burning nearby.
Tropical Storm Meari leaves at least nine people dead and three missing as it strikes the west coast of South Korea, with heavy rains and strong winds causing flooding and the suspension of sea traffic around the Korean Peninsula.
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Sarkozy of France plans to invest €1 billion in nuclear power despite the devastation caused by the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.
Nuclear disaster Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) begins the pumping of decontaminated water in an attempt to cool damaged reactors.
Tests conducted last month show radioactive cesium has been found in small quantities in residents in the towns of Iitate and Kawamata, Fukushima, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Premier of the People's Republic of China The Premier of China Wen Jiabao signals that the People's Republic of China will have trouble meeting its inflation target of 4 per cent in 2011.
Greek economic crisis The governor of the central bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, criticizes the government's latest austerity measures, saying it does not emphasize cutting expenditure sufficiently.
The Parliament of Greece begins debate on unpopular austerity measures designed to avert the threat of bankruptcy through a 78-billion-euro rescue package.
University of York The University of York purchases a tonne of material relating to Alan Ayckbourn for £240,000 and plans to make it available to the general public and online.
Sir David Hare Overseas artists are "poorly treated" by the UK's "absurd visa bureaucracy" according to a letter signed by dozens of prominent artists, including David Hare, Tom Stoppard, Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Philip Pullman, Antonia Fraser, Michael Morpurgo and Sarah Waters. The letter suggests Abbas Kiarostami and Grigory Sokolov have already been "dissuaded from future visits".
Iran Iran announces plans to conduct a military exercise and test the Sajjil long-range missile, which is reportedly capable of striking Israel or southeastern Europe.
Pakistani Taliban The Pakistani Taliban said two of the three suicide bombers who killed 10 police officers Saturday in northwestern Pakistan were a married couple; 15 policemen were taken hostage by other miltants before security forces killed six of them.
War in Afghanistan Afghanistan says the Pakistani military is behind recent deadly rocket attacks in Kunar Province that killed at least 20 civilians; Pakistan says it is not responsible.
Seven civilians, including children, are killed by two separate roadside mines in Afghanistan's eastern Ghazni Province; an 8-year-old girl was killed when militants gave her a remote-controlled explosive in a bag and told her to give it to police officers in Oruzgan Province.
Arab Spring The trial of 47 medical personnel, accused of working against the government during large protests in Bahrain earlier this year resumes and is immediately adjourned; human rights groups say Bahrain is targeting medical professionals for treating protesters.
The International Criminal Court at The Hague issues an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and two of his relatives, his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi for alleged "crimes against humanity".
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announces that his government will invite opposition figures to talks to be held in July to set the framework for a national dialogue that he has promised, and that constitutional changes would be on the agenda.
Dozens of dissidents, some of whom were previously imprisoned by the regime, attend a conference in Damascus. It is the first such conference.