The commander of the rebel forces in Libya, Abdel Fattah Younes, is assassinated in mysterious circumstances while in rebel hands

President Obama announces a last-minute deal with congressional leaders on the debt limit, temporarily calming the fears of the financial markets

In response to the continuing uprising the Syrian government launches an attack with tanks against several of the country's cities, in particular Hama

The funding crisis in the Eurozone extends to fears of potential government default in the large economies of Spain and Italy

With no sign of a deal between Obama and Republicans on raising the debt limit, fears grow that the USA might default on its debts on August 2

Hosni Mubarak appears in court on a hospital bed on the first day of his trial on the capital charge of premeditated killing of peaceful protesters

NASA announces that it has photographic evidence from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of possible liquid water on the planet in warm seasons

Standard & Poor's downgrades the USA's credit rating from AAA to AA+, further increasing the sense of gloom in stock exchanges

Juno, a solar-powered spacecraft, is launched from Cape Carnaveral on a mission to Jupiter

An Al-Qaeda suicide bomb attack, on worshippers leaving the Saints' Church in Alexandria, kills 21 Coptic Christians and injures 97 others

A second consecutive rainy season fails to materialize, causing severe drought in Ethiopia and elsewhere in east Africa

Surrealist artist Jim Nutt, a founder member of Hairy Who (or the Chicago Imagists), has a large retrospective in Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art

In a relaxation of military rule in Burma Thein Sein is sworn in as the first civilian president

The theatre in Florence's great new cultural centre, the Parco della Cascine, is inaugurated is celebration of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy

The Scottish National Party wins an outright majority of seats in Holyrood enabling the First Minister, Alex Salmond, to declare that during his term there will be a referendum on Scottish independence

In response to Portugal's increasing financial crisis the European Union grants the country an emergency loan or bailout of 78 billion euros

After a civil war in Libya lasting five months Tripoli falls finally to the rebel forces, much aided by Nato air strikes throughout the campaign

Unusually heavy monsoon rains cause massive flooding in Pakistan, with some 5 million people forced to leave their homes

India and Pakistan agree to resolve their various border disputes and to set about finding the most appropriate compromise in each case

The Occupy Wall Street protest begins and its PR success prompts the Occupy movement around the world

Hamas releases the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners held in Israel

The Libyan leader Muammad Gaddafi is captured and killed in Sirte

UNESCO admits Palestine as a member after a vote with a large majority in favour

At some time during this period the world's population is estimated to have reached seven billion

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam is captured when attempting to flee to Niger and is held for trial