Politics and elections

• The DPJ-led ruling coalition loses its majority in the upper house of the Diet of Japan. (BBC News) (Ahasi)
• Libyan ship, Amalthea, carrying activists and 2,000 tonnes of food and medicine to Gaza, is met with a cold response by Israel which launches intense efforts to prevent it reaching its destination. (The Guardian)

Armed conflicts and incidents

• Ten Colombian soldiers are killed after entering a minefield while pursuing FARC rebels trying to blow up electrical towers. (The Jerusalem Post)
• Two bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital Kampala kill at least 64 people; the Somali militant group Al-Shabab, which has pledged loyalty to al-qaida, is suspected of being behind the attack. (BBC News) (The Monitor) (AP) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• Liberian deputy parliamentary speaker Togba Mulbah is released after briefly being held under house arrest in Monrovia for allegedly ordering the beating unconscious of a policeman. (BBC)
• Police in northern Eleuthera, The Bahamas, capture Colton Harris-Moore, a 19-year-old fugitive known in the United States as the "Barefoot Bandit". (AP via The Washington Post)

Arts

• Spanish film-maker Augusti Vila wins the main prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic for his film The Mosquito Net. (BBC) (CBC News) (People's Daily) (The Independent)

Science

• A total solar eclipse occurs in the south Pacific Ocean with thousands viewing the event on Easter Island. (BBC News)

Sport

• Spain defeats the Netherlands by a score of one goal to nil in extra time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with Andrés Iniesta scoring the winning goal. (ABC Online) (FIFA)
• Nelson Mandela attends the closing ceremony after "extreme pressure" from FIFA. (BBC News) (Mail & Guardian) (Calcutta Telegraph) (Aljazeera)
• FIFA President Sepp Blatter rejects criticism of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (BBC)
• World women's 800 metres champion Caster Semenya is left out of South Africa's team for the upcoming African Championships. (BBC Sport) (France24) (The Star)