The
Ethiopian Army crosses the border into
South Sudan with the latter's approval in search of more than 100 children who were kidnapped and spirited across the border in a surprise attack by unknown assailants that also killed 208 people a few days ago.
(Al Jazeera)
Bongbong Marcos admits that his family is blocking forfeiture of 200
masterpiecepaintings sought by the government saying that the works were not subject of a court order case. The artworks, accumulated during the administration of his father, Philippine dictator
Ferdinand Marcos are believed to be part of the family's alleged ill-gotten wealth.
(ABS-CBN News)
The Bunyadi, a
Londonpop-up restaurant where
diners will be encouraged to eat in the
nude, has a
reservation waiting list of more than 13,000 people for its June opening. The restaurant will operate for three months.
(UPI)
The
Vatican suspends
PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit of its finances over questions whether proper procedures were followed when the December 2015 contract, reportedly worth $3 million, was enacted. Analysts say this move exposes the rift between the church’s old guard and supporters of financial reform, and raises questions about the
Catholic Church’s commitment to cleaning up its finances.
(Reuters)(The Guardian)(BBC)
Disasters and accidents
More than 100 are feared dead in an early summer
heatwave in
India which has forced the closure of schools.
(Reuters)
At least 24 people are killed, 136 others injured, and eight workers still missing from yesterday's blast at the major Clorados 3 petrochemical plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo. Nineteen people remain hospitalized, with 13 in serious condition. The plant is run by
Mexichem under agreement with Petroleos Mexicanos (
Pemex), the national petrochemical company, in
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz,
Mexico, on the country's southern
Gulf of Mexico coast. Pemex had an earlier fire at the same facility in February 2016 that killed one worker; also that month, an offshore Pemex Gulf platform fire killed two and injured eight.
(Reuters)(AP)
At least two people are killed after an oceanfront stretch of an elevated
bike lane in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, collapses when it was hit by a strong wave. Two other people were rescued alive, while another may be missing. The bike lane was among the projects built in preparation for the
2016 Summer Olympics. No Olympic event will be held on the path.
(AP)(AP² via CBS News)(Hindustan Times)
Presidential candidate
Rodrigo Duterte said that
Australia and the
United States should go ahead and cut their ties with the Philippines if he was elected president, following critical comments of their ambassadors on his
rape remarks.
(Rappler)
Staffan de Mistura,
U.N. envoy to
Syria, says there has been "real but modest" progress in the country's
humanitarian situation, despite the shaken
ceasefire. Aid convoys have reached 560,000 people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas; six areas still remain off limits. Yesterday, the
Syrian Arab Red Crescent medically evacuated 515 people from four communities—
Zabadani,
Madaya, Kfarya, and
Foua—besieged by government and rebel groups.
(AP)
The government of
El Salvador unveils and deploys a new heavily armed special forces unit to fight criminal gangs in rural areas of the country. Officials say it will target gang leaders who left the cities because of a government crackdown.
(BBC)
Six high ranking
Pakistan Army officers, including a lieutenant-general and major-general, are sacked by
Chief of Army StaffRaheel Sharif amid corruption allegations within the army. Sharif said corruption had to be uprooted to fight
terrorism.
(BBC)
Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko signs legislation banning all
Russian films made after January 1, 2014. The legislation also bans movies produced by Russia after 1991 if they "glorify the work of government bodies" of Russia, citing such movies to be a threat to national security.
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the
sun, takes off from
Kalaeloa, Hawaii, USA, on the ninth leg of its around-the-world journey. This portion of the trip will cover 2,542
nautical miles and, in about three days, is scheduled to touch down in
Mountain View, California. The journey originated in
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, on March 9, 2015, and, after another 8,130 nmi, will complete the circle when it lands in Abu Dhabi.
(AP)