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Worldwide current events
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Topics in the news

Mette Frederiksen

In the Danish general election, centre-left parties led by Mette Frederiksen (pictured) win a majority.
In association football, the UEFA Champions League concludes with Liverpool defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
Brigitte Bierlein is named interim chancellor of Austria, after a parliamentary motion of no confidence dismisses the government of Sebastian Kurz.
James Marape is elected Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, following the resignation of Peter O'Neill.

June 8, 2019 (Saturday)

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June 7, 2019 (Friday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Over 120 militants die in Syria's Hama after attempted attacks.(Almasdarenews)
Terrorism in the United States
- Authorities arrested Ashiqul Alam who planned to attack Times Square with grenades, guns and suicide vest. (NY Times) (CNN)
Terrorism in Pakistan
- A roadside bomb kills four Pakistani troops and injures four. (VOA)
- Two separate bomb blasts in the country's southwest region killed five people belonging to the minority Shi'ite Muslim community. (VOA)

Business and economy

Boeing 737 MAX groundings
- U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen of the House Transportation committee report Boeing discovered the 737 Max AOA Disagree alert problem in 2017 but decided to defer fixing it until 2020, and sped up the process only after the Lion Air Flight 610 crash. (Reuters) (The Seattle Times)
Concerns over Chinese involvement in 5G wireless networks, Brazil-China relations
- Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão says the government will not exclude Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies Co. from operating a fifth-generation (5G) mobile telecom network. (Reuters)
Hydraulic fracturing
- Colombia’s top administrative court begins hearings on proposals to drill for oil using the technique known as fracking. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An Oman-registered bus carrying 31 passengers crashes into an overhead traffic sign in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, killing at least 17 people. (BBC)
2018–19 European windstorm season
- Three people on a rescue mission are killed when Storm Miguel, with max winds of 129 km/h (80 mph), overturned their National Society of Sea Rescue boat off the west coast of France in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm, unusual at the start of the summer tourist season, hit Spain, the Netherlands and southern England and Wales yesterday and is heading north toward England, Wales and Scotland. (BBC) (AccuWeather)

International relations

The U.S. cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov almost collide in the western Pacific Ocean. Each side blames the other for the incident and each differs how they report the location of this near-collision: Russia reports the incident happened in the East China Sea while the U.S. says it was in the nearby Philippine Sea. (BBC)
2019 Gulf of Oman incident
- The United Arab Emirates tells the UN Security Council that a "state actor" was most likely behind the May 12 attacks on four tankers off its coast, including ones from Saudi Arabia and Norway. UAE did not say who it suspected; the United States blamed Iran which denied the accusation. (BBC)
Turkey–United States relations
- The United States notifies Turkey that it will cancel Turkey's purchase of F-35 fighter jets if the government goes ahead with purchasing Russia's S-400 missile defense system. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

2019 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election
- UK Prime Minister Theresa May resigns as Leader of the Conservative Party, paving the way for a new Prime Minister to be elected. (BBC)
Crisis in Venezuela, International sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis
- The United Nations reports more than four million Venezuelans have fled their country during the economic and humanitarian crisis. (BBC)

Science and technology

NASA announces that the International Space Station will be opened for commercial business for $58 million. (Los Angeles Times) (Space.com)

Sports

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup starts with the hosts France defeating South Korea 4–0. (Reuters)

June 6, 2019 (Thursday)

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Business and economy

Reuters, citing "a source familiar with the matter", said that the hedge fund firm Elliott Management is in talks to acquire the storied bookseller Barnes & Noble for roughly $476 million. (Reuters)

International relations

French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States President Donald Trump mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in France, paying tribute to Allied World War II veterans. (CBS News) (Reuters) (BBC) (CBC)
2018–19 Sudanese protests
- The African Union suspends Sudan's membership "with immediate effect", after dozens of protesters were killed by pro-government forces in the capital Khartoum. (BBC)

Law and crime

Niels Högel, post-war Germany's serial killer with the highest known kill count, is sentenced to life imprisonment for 85 murders. (DW)
American singer R. Kelly pleads not guilty to 11 additional sex-related felonies during a court hearing in Chicago. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

2019 Peterborough by-election
- The Labour Party holds the Peterborough seat in the by-election, defying predictions that they would lose the seat to the Brexit Party. The seat was vacated after a successful recall petition against its previous MP Fiona Onasanya. (The Guardian)
2019 Danish general election
- After the defeating of his party in the general election, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen resigns, but will remain as acting in the office until his succession. (CBC)

June 5, 2019 (Wednesday)

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Armed attacks and conflicts

Khartoum massacre
- The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors say the number of people killed this week in Sudan is at least 100, and that 40 bodies were pulled from the River Nile at Khartoum on Tuesday. Members of the Rapid Support Forces have reportedly been roaming the streets attacking civilians as it pushes deeper into Khartoum. (BBC)
- A Sudanese official denies that 100 people were killed by a paramilitary unit during protests, saying that the number was at most 46. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government and Russian warplanes conduct airstrikes that target Syria's northwest, killing five civilians in the town of Kansafra and three villages in Idlib, including two children. (Al Jazeera)
- Government forces shell the northern Hama countryside, killing one civilian. (Al Jazeera)
- Government air attacks hit a motorcycle in the Idlib town of Maaret al-Numan, killing a woman and her two children. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Fiat Chrysler withdraws its merger proposal for French carmaker Renault after Renault board members were unable to reach a decision on the offer. (BBC)
YouTube announces a new policy regarding hate speech and harassment on the video sharing platform, saying it will specifically ban videos that include neo-nazi and supremacist content, subsequently suspending several popular right-wing channels, and demonetizing Steven Crowder's. (CNET)

International relations

Taiwan–United States relations, China-United States relations, Cross-Strait relations
- The Trump administration informs Congress of a potential $2 billion arms deal with Taiwan that includes the M1A2, the U.S.'s latest main battle tank, and a resupply of anti-air and anti-armor weapons. China's foreign ministry says it is "severely concerned with" and "firmly against" the plan. (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

Australian federal police raid the headquarters of the country's public broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, regarding the alleged publication of classified material in a 2017 report on allegations that Australian Special forces engaged in unlawful killings and gross misconduct in Afghanistan. The day before, police raided Herald Sun journalist Annika Smethurst's home regarding an alleged leak of national security information. (BBC) (Business Insider)
Detroit Police Chief James Craig announces the department is looking for a possible serial killer in three unsolved murders of sex workers in the city dating back to March. (Time)

Politics and elections

2019 Danish general election
- The center-left Social Democrats win 48 of the 179 seats in the Folketing (parliament). Current Liberal Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen concedes defeat, paving the way for Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen, who at 41 is set to be the country's youngest prime minister. (The Local) (EUobserver)
President of Peru Martín Vizcarra wins a motion of confidence in the Congress of the Republic. (Reuters)

June 4, 2019 (Tuesday)

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Business and economics

British-American cruise operator Carnival Corporation & PLC is fined $20 million for environmental violations. (NPR)

International relations

Cuba–United States relations
- The United States announces new restrictions on American travel to Cuba. Effective Wednesday, travel via cruise ships or other conveyances, including private yachts or airplanes, is prohibited. Group travel under the previous "people-to-people educational" provision is also not allowed. (BBC) (AP via WKYT-TV)
China–United States relations, China–United States trade war
- China expands its warnings about travel to the U.S. issued for students and academics yesterday, to now cover tourists and businesses because, "in recent days, there have been incidents of gun violence, robberies and thefts in the United States". (BBC) (Reuters)
- The United States rejects separate requests from General Motors and Chinese-owned Volvo Cars for an exemption to the new 25 percent tariffs on their Chinese-made sport utility vehicle models. (Reuters)
Foreign relations of Brazil
- Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the closure of five of its embassies, the ones in Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica. Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had opened more than 65 embassies in countries throughout the Global South in a bid to enhance political and economic ties with Brazil. (teleSUR)

Law and crime

2019 Darwin shooting
- A mass shooting in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory, leaves four people dead and another injured at five different locations. The 45-year-old suspect, who had been on parole since January, is arrested. Authorities say the shooting was not terrorism-related. (ABC News) (BBC)
Criminal charges brought in the Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019)
- Paul Manafort, former chief of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, is set to be sent from federal prison to the New York City jail on Rikers Island. (CNBC)
Aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
- Former Broward Sheriff Office deputy Scot Peterson is arrested for failing to act during the incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (The Hill)
Jersey authorities seize over $267 million (£210m) from a Doraville Properties Corporation bank account of former Nigerian president and army chief of staff dictator Sani Abacha (d. 1998) after courts ruled billions of dollars were stolen and laundered through the United States into the Channel Islands. (BBC) (Metro)

Politics and elections

Gun laws in Virginia
- Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is expected to call a special session on gun control following the deadly shooting Friday afternoon in Virginia Beach that killed 12 people plus the shooter. (NBC News)
30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests
- Tens of thousands of people gather in Hong Kong to mark the 30th anniversary of the crackdown on protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong is one of the two places in China where people can openly commemorate the event, the other being Macau, to a lesser extent; elsewhere in China, the authorities have banned and blocked any reference to the crackdown. (BBC)
Six Change UK MPs quit the party, with several said to be defecting to the Liberal Democrats, including its interim leader Heidi Allen and spokesperson Chuka Umunna after the party failed to win a single seat in the 2019 European Parliament election. Anna Soubry, one of its remaining four MPs, becomes the party's new leader. (The Guardian)
Immigration to the United States
- The United States House of Representatives passes the American Dream and Promise Act (HR 6), which offers a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. (Newsweek)

June 3, 2019 (Monday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Five people are killed and over 10 injured in an IED bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Dailytrust)
2018–19 Sudanese protests
- Over 13 people have been killed when Sudanese forces use live ammunition to break up a protester camp in Khartoum. (Al Jazeera)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Boko Haram storms multiple military bases in the Nigerian state of Borno. Casualties are unknown. (The Guardian Nigeria)
2019 Tripoli shooting
- A gunman kills four security officers and injures two before blowing himself up in Tripoli, Lebanon (BBC)

Arts and culture

James Holzhauer is defeated on the American quiz show Jeopardy!, concluding a victory streak of 32 games with an earnings total of $2,464,216, but falls short of the winnings record set by Ken Jennings in 2004. (Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

2019 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance
- An Indian Air Force Antonov An-32 goes missing shortly after takeoff from an airbase in Assam. All 13 people aboard are presumed dead as search operations continue. (India Today)

Health and environment

Authorities say that a patient has died amid an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in a recently opened hospital in Grove City, Ohio. (ABC News)

Law and crime

Insider trading. The US Supreme Court refused to take an appeal from a 2d Circuit decision. The 'denial of cert' leaves standing the conviction of Mathew Martomo on charges of insider trading. on information leaked to him from representatives of two major pharmaceutical companies. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Donald Trump on social media
- U.S. President Donald Trump tweets a call to boycott AT&T in order to bring "big changes" at CNN. AT&T has not given an official comment or statement back regarding the tweet. (CNBC via MSN)

Sport

2019 AFL season
- In Australian rules football, Brendon Bolton is sacked as the head coach of the Carlton Football Club, following a prolonged period of poor on-field performances. (The Age (Australia))

June 2, 2019 (Sunday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A suicide car bomber kills five soldiers of the Syrian Democratic Forces and five civilians at a checkpoint in central Raqqa, Syria. This and a nearby roadside bomb wound 20 people. (DW)
- Israel kills ten people in airstrikes conducted against Syrian military targets in the Golan Heights in response to two rockets fired at Mount Hermon late Saturday. (The Guardian)
- A car bomb in Azaz kills at least 21 people and leaves many wounded. (DW)
Two car bombs targeting a unit of the Libyan National Army injure 18 people in the city center of Derna, Libya. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An EF1 tornado strikes the Orleans residential community of Ottawa, Canada, creating a track of damage but without serious injuries. (Ottawa Citizen)

International relations

Canada–Venezuela relations
- Canada temporarily closes its embassy in Venezuela after Canadian diplomats were no longer able to get diplomatic accreditation under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government according to a statement released by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland. (Global Affairs Canada) (CBC News)

Politics and elections

Andrea Nahles announces her resignation as leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party, effective at the beginning of next week. (BBC)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett from the interim government. (AP via Fox News)
King Juan Carlos I of Spain retires from public life five years after his abdication. (People)
During his visit to Romania, Pope Francis apologizes to the Roma people on behalf of the Catholic Church and asks forgiveness for "all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you." He also beatifies seven Eastern Catholic church bishops who were jailed for treason and tortured under Communist rule. All died in confinement and were buried in secret. (Reuters) (BBC)
U.S. President Donald Trump announces the resignation of Kevin Hassett as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. (The Washington Post)
2019 Sammarinese referendum
- Sanmmarinese voters vote to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and initiate a popular legislative initiative for the reform of the electoral system. (Euronews)