Portal:Current events/2011 July 3

• Dozens of people are arrested and tear gas is used during Independence Day celebrations in Belarus after a "clapping" protest. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
• Police and protesters clash in Bangladesh over a gas exploration deal with ConocoPhilips; 150 people are detained. (BBC) (Bangladesh News)
• Arab Spring:
  • 2011 Syrian uprising: The Syrian army encircles the city of Hama after one of the largest protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. (CBC)
  • 2011 Bahraini uprising: Violent clashes erupt in a Shia village during a "national dialogue" in Bahrain. (The Financial Times)
  • 2011 Moroccan protests: The February 20 Movement rejects last Friday's constitutional referendum as nationwide demonstrations against the regime continue. (Al Jazeera)
  • 2011 Libyan civil war: Turkey recognizes the National Transitional Council of the anti-Gaddafi forces, with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu meeting with rebel leaders in Benghazi and offering at least $200 million in aid. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
• Freedom Flotilla II:
  • Members of the Dutch-Italian vessel issue an open letter to the Greek prime minister Georgios Papandreou following the alleged sabotage of two ships and the prevention of the rest from setting sail for Gaza. (Al Jazeera) (Malaysia Star) (ABC News)
  • Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, speaking on radio, welcomes a diplomatic victory after its attempts to stop the flotilla from setting sail to Gaza are assisted by the Greek ban on the ships from leaving port. (The Daily Telegraph)
  • According to reports in the Toronto Star, the flotilla is to make an attempt to set sail on Monday. (Toronto Star)
• At least 5 people are killed and at least 10 others are wounded in a bomb attack on a bar in Maiduguri, Nigeria. It follows a bomb that killed 25 people this day last week. (BBC) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

• A. E. Hotchner, a friend and collaborator of the Nobel Prize-winning writer Ernest Hemingway, writing in The New York Times on the 50th anniversary of Hemingway's death, expresses his belief that the J. Edgar Hoover-led Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance "substantially contributed to his anguish and his suicide", with Hotchner saying he "regretfully misjudged" Hemingway's fear of the FBI. (The Observer)
• American televangelist Robert H. Schuller is ousted from the board of the Crystal Cathedral. (Orange County Register)

• Mount Soputan, a volcano in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, erupts. (AFP via France 24)
• At least 10 people have been killed in a series of bombings and shootings in northeastern Nigeria. (Voice of America)
• Storms in the region of Washington, D.C. in the US kill one person in Montgomery County and cuts power to 40,000 homes. (Washington Post)
• A tourist boat sinks in the Sea of Cortez off the coast of Baja California in Mexico with 23 people missing. (Reuters) (CNN)

• South Korea announces plans to submit a claim to the United Nations to a larger portion of the East China Sea in a move which is likely to be disputed by the People's Republic of China and Japan. (Yonhap)
• The Swiss Government blocks 27 million Swiss francs worth of assets linked to senior Syrian officials. (AP via Metro News)

• Voters in Mexico go to the polls for local elections in the states of Mexico, Coahuila, Nayarit, Puebla and Hidalgo. (Reuters)
  • Opposition PRI sweeps the three gubernatorial elections in the State of Mexico, Coahuila and Nayarit. (Americas Quarterly)
    • Eruviel Ávila Villegas of the PRI is elected Governor of the State of Mexico, defeating Alejandro Encinas of the PRD by 40 points. (Americas Quarterly)
    • Rubén Moreira Valdez of the PRI is elected Governor of Coahuila.
    • Roberto Sandoval Castañeda of the PRI is elected Governor of Nayarit.
• Thailand votes in its 26th general election with results showing the Pheu Thai Party loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra winning a majority. Yingluck Shinawatra, the opposition party leader, is expected to be the first female Prime Minister of Thailand. (Thai News Agency) (BBC) (Bangkok Post) (Bloomberg) (ABC News Australia) (Al Jazeera)
• In Lebanon, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah rejects the indictment and arrest warrants served by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon three days earlier against the party's four senior members. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Daily Star)
• British Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has warned Downing Street that plans to cap Housing Benefit could result in 20,000 people in the UK being made homeless. (BBC)

• An executive and her director boyfriend working with the Olympic Park Legacy Company are reportedly suspended following claims that they were paid by West Ham United F.C. to secure the use of the 2012 Summer Olympics stadium after the games. (Sky News)
• In tennis, Novak Djokovic of Serbia wins the Men's singles at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, and becoming number 1 on the ATP World Tour. (Today Online) (BBC Sport) (Al Jazeera)