June 20, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict: The Committee on the Rights of the Child accuses Israeli soldiers of torturing Palestinian children and using them as human shields. (Reuters)
Business and economics
- Instagram announces that users will be able to upload videos to the service. (ABC News)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 record their worst day of 2013, with the Dow Jones dropping 353 points (2.3 percent) and S&P 500 dropping 2.5 percent. (CNNMoney)
Disasters and accidents
- Pudukkottai - Aranthangi, Tamilnadu, India - 8 school children and the driver die in a bus accident.
- Riga Castle fire: A major fire breaks out at the Riga Castle, the Latvian presidential palace. (BBC)
- 2013 Atlantic hurricane season: Tropical Storm Barry is due to make landfall in the Mexican state of Veracruz bringing heavy rain and the risk of flooding. (AccuWeather)
- 2013 North India floods: Bad weather hampers rescue efforts in Uttarakhand state where nearly 150 people have died. (BBC News)
- 2013 Alberta floods: Extensive flooding begins throughout southern Alberta, Canada, leading to the evacuation of more than 100,000 people, notably in the City of Calgary and Town of High River. It would become the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.
- 2013 Southeast Asian haze: Haze from Indonesian forest fires in Sumatra increase air pollution in Singapore and Malaysia to hazardous levels. (AP)
- Two people have died in an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada. (CBC)
- New Zealand's South Island is lashed by wild weather. Dunedin and Christchurch have roads cut off and flights cancelled as conditions worsen. Heavy snow and flooding is reported in parts of Canterbury, Otago and Southland. (Stuff NZ)
Law and crime
- Argentinian football star Lionel Messi and his father are summoned to appear before a Spanish court on tax charges in September. (News Limited)
Sport
- In basketball, the Miami Heat defeat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals 4–3, successfully defending their title from last season. Season MVP LeBron James is named Finals MVP for the second straight year. (AP via ESPN)
- Alexander Georgiev wins the 2013 Draughts World Championship.
- In football, Abby Wambach of the USA breaks the international record for career goals by scoring four goals against South Korea in a friendly match played in Harrison, New Jersey. Wambach's career total stands at 160, passing the 158 of fellow American Mia Hamm. (AP via Yahoo News Canada)