2013 CURRENT AFFAIRS-JUNE

• The US government comes under heavy criticism at home and abroad when news of its secret PRISM surveillance program to monitor emails and other person information is leaked. 
• Nawaz Sharif is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan and calls for an end to U.S. drone attacks. 
• The Taliban opens an office in Doha, Qatar, and its representatives hold a press conference with an international media contingent. The U.S. says it will begin long-delayed peace talks with the group. Afghanistan was expected to do the same, but instead says it will not engage in any dialogue with the Taliban, saying such discussions lent the militants credibility. 
• A newly discovered fossil species, Archicebus achilles, is described as the oldest known primate. 
• A human rights team working for the United Nations reports that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe that government forces in Syria have used chemical weapons. French foreign minister Laurent Fabius reports that sarin, a nerve gas, has been used on multiple occasions. (June 5): Syrian rebels pull out of the town of Al-Qusayr, a former strategic stronghold for them. The Syrian Army regains control of the town. Iran's government, in an official statement, congratulates the Syrian army for recapturing Al-Qusayr. 
• Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal Win French Open 2013 (June 8): Serena Williams beats last year's champion, Maria Sharapova, 6-4, 6-4, to win her second French Open women's championship. It is exactly eleven years to the day that Serena beat her older sister Venus to win her first French Open in 2002. (June 9): Rafael Nadal beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, to take the men's crown for a record eighth time. The men's championship is interrupted by two anti-gay marriage protesters. One of them runs on the court with a flare. The incident is reminiscent of the 1993 on court stabbing of Monica Seles in Germany. 
• NASA launches the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, a space probe to observe the Sun, from the US state of California. 
• Hassan Rowhani, a moderate cleric and Iran's former negotiator on nuclear issues, wins June 2013's presidential election, taking just under 51% of the vote. Reformists throw their support behind Rowhani after their preferred candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, drops out of the race. Thousands of Iranians take to the streets to celebrate Rowhani's victory. While he has the backing of reformists, Rowhani has long been a member of the country's conservative establishment, having served in parliament for more than 20 years and playing a strategic role in the execution of the Iran-Iraq war. He has campaigned on a promise to reach out to the west and improve relations with the United States. After his victory is announced, Rowhani promises to "follow the path of moderation and justice, not extremism." 
• Taiwan reports the first human case of the H6N1 virus. 
• Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard resigns after being ousted as Labor Party leader in a party vote. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd replaces her as party leader and, the following day, replaces her as prime minister. It is a dramatic turn of events and ironic because it was Gillard who replaced Rudd as Labor Party leader in 2010. During a news conference after her resignation, Gillard says, "I am pleased that in this environment, which wasn't easy, I have prevailed to ensure that this country is made stronger, and smarter, and fairer for the future." Gillard also says that it was a privilege to serve as Australia's first female prime minister. 
• On the first anniversary of President Mohammed Morsi's inauguration, as many as one million people take to the streets in planned demonstrations throughout Egypt and call for the president to step down. Protesters range from the poor to anti-Islamists to the wealthy and middle class. Their complaints against Morsi include the dismal state of the economy, Morsi's installation of members of the Muslim Brotherhood into many positions of power, as well as his failure to stem the sectarian divide between Sunnis, Shiites, and Christians, among other issues. 
• The 39th G8 summit held in Northern Ireland with the Syrian civil war high on the agenda. The G8 summit ends with the nations agreeing to a "7-point plan" for peace in Syria.