1. No. 2 al-Qaida leader killed

    A top al-Qaida leader and longtime Osama bin Laden confidant*, Abu Yahya al-Libi, was killed in a U.S. drone* strike on June 4 in Pakistan, according to several U.S. officials.

    Hours after the strike Pakistani officials said that al-Libi, second-in-command to current al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was among the 15 people killed when a U.S. drone fired four missiles into a suspected militant hideout* in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan, at 5:30 a.m. local time.   

    2. Solar plane makes historic flight

    A solar plane made history on June 5 by landing in the Moroccan capital after flying across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain on the world’s first intercontinental flight in a plane powered by the sun.

    Bertrand Piccard, a 54-year-old Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist*, landed Solar Impulse at 11:30 p.m. under a full moon at Rabat Sale airport where he was welcomed by officials of the Moroccan Solar Energy Agency (MASEN).     

    3. Call for ban on huge cruise liner

    A visit by the biggest cruise liner to ever enter the Italian lagoon city of Venice sparked anger among campaigners who claimed the ship blocked views and polluted the air.

    The 140,000-ton MSC Divinia swept past St. Mark’s Square on June 9 while protesters on the shoreline waved banners which read “No Big Ships.” The liner which can carry more than 4,500 people is named in honor of screen legend Sophia Loren and was christened* by the Italian star last month in Marseille.     

    4. More civilians killed in Syria

    The Syrian opposition’s new leader said on June 10 that President Bashar Assad’s regime was on its “last legs,” even as Russia warned it would block any move at the United Nations to use force against its ally.

    Western governments launched a push for tough new sanctions against Damascus amid an outcry over a series of massacres blamed by U.N. observers on pro-regime forces as troops killed at least 83 civilians on June 9, a human rights watchdog said.     

    5. Woman’s obesity blamed for

    cremation fire

    Austrian crematorium* officials have blamed a deceased woman’s obesity for causing a blaze which had to be tackled by firefighters.

    Firemen in the southern city of Graz were covered in thick sticky soot* as they tried to prevent the blaze from taking hold of the building. An expert report on the Austrian fire has revealed that the woman being cremated weighed more than 200 kg and her size had caused the oven to overheat.    

    6. Ex-Indian Army officer kills family, self

    A former Indian Army officer wanted for the 1996 killing of a human rights lawyer shot and killed his wife and two of their children in their California home on June 9 before apparently committing suicide, authorities said.

    The ex-officer, Maj. Avtar Singh, had been arrested last year after his wife said he choked her, and the Indian Government sought his extradition days after that in the 1996 death of Jalil Andrabi.    

    7. German official chided for flying carpet

    Germany’s overseas aid minister has received a stiff customs bill and a reprimand* for getting the country’s top spy to fly home a rug from Afghanistan for him without declaring it, officials said on June 8.

    Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Dirk Niebel bought the carpet for personal use on a trip to Kabul in May but could not take it on board his scheduled flight home and left it at the German Embassy, his spokesman said. (SD-Agencies)