Non-governmental organization President of Russia Vladimir Putin signs the bill branding non-governmental organizations, which receive funding from abroad, as "foreign agents" into law, criticized by opponents as part of a campaign to suppress dissent.
Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI's butler, Paolo Gabriele, is placed under house arrest while awaiting trial for allegedly leaking confidential papers revealing fraud and disputes within the Vatican.
Chilean Sixty-one schools in Chile's capital Santiago are to be investigated for possible child sex abuse.
Tanzania ferry disaster One hundred and forty six people are presumed dead in the Tanzania ferry disaster.
Rupert Murdoch Rupert Murdoch resigns from a number of directorships, including that of News International.
Russian President Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a federal law "On ratification of the Protocol on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization on April 15, 1994" that authorizes Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) after almost 18 years of negotiations.
Contemporary Chinese Dictionary Rights campaigners criticise the authoritative "Contemporary Chinese Dictionary" for excluding the definition of colloquial Chinese characters for "gay."
Russia Two Russian soldiers and several militants are killed in clashes in Ingushetia in the North Caucasus; several militants are also killed in Dagestan.
Pakistan A suicide bomb attack kills at least nine people at the entrance to an anti-Taliban commander's compound in Kurram in northwestern Pakistan.