Key Storylines
- AFRICA: Former Ugandan army commander and current Transport Minister General Katumba Wamala was the target of an assassination attempt.
- AMERICAS: Peru’s COVID-19 death toll more than doubled following a review of the data, making it the country with the world’s highest death rate per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- ASIA: China’s National Health Commission confirmed the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu in the country’s Jiangsu province but added that the risk of the H10N3 strain spreading on a large scale was very low.
- EUROPE: Russian authorities raided the homes of several opposition activists in a crackdown on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections.
- MIDDLE EAST: The International Atomic Energy Agency reportedly hasn’t been able to access data on the country’s nuclear program since late February, when Tehran started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: New Zealand became the eleventh country to sign on to NASA’s Artemis Accords on space exploration and cooperation.
Top Story
- Canada: Indigenous groups call for more action after mass grave discovery.
- Indigenous groups in Canada called for a countrywide search for mass graves after the discovery of the remains of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to help in the search for mass graves but did not make any specific commitments.
- The discovery of the remains at the residential school set up to assimilate indigenous people was first announced last week by the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation.
- Canada’s residential school system forcibly separated indigenous children from their families and subjected them to abuse, malnutrition and rape between 1831 and 1996, in what a government Truth and Reconciliation Commission tasked with investigating the system called “cultural genocide” in 2015.
- The discovery of the remains caused outrage in Canada, prompting flags to be flown at half-staff and people to lay out tiny shoes at makeshift memorials.
- Reporting: BBC, Reuters, AFP, DPA
Africa
- DR Congo: The Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militant group was blamed for two overnight attacks that led to the deaths of at least 55 people in the country’s east. (Reuters)
- Ethiopia: The UN appealed for $203 million to help its aid efforts in the Tigray region, where it said more than 90% of people need emergency food aid. (AFP)
- Morocco: The country and Spain traded new accusations against each other, as the diplomatic row between Rabat and Madrid over the Western Sahara and a migration crisis in a Spanish enclave in the country’s north continued. (Reuters)
- South Africa: The unemployment rate in the country reached a record high of 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021. (Reuters)
- Uganda: Former army commander and current Transport Minister General Katumba Wamala was the target of an assassination attempt. (Reuters)
Americas
- Region: Venezuela’s armed forces said eight of its soldiers “were rescued” from their kidnapping by armed groups operating on the Colombia-Venezuela border. (AFP)
- Guatemala: Lawmakers approved judge Nester Vasquez, who is linked to a judicial corruption investigation, as one of the country’s Constitutional Court justices. (Reuters)
- Peru: The country’s COVID-19 death toll more than doubled following a review of the data making it the country with the world’s highest death rate per capita, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. (BBC)
- United States: President Joe Biden honored America’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day and lauded the sacrifices of the fallen for the pursuit of democracy and “the soul of America”. (AP)
Asia
- Region: Senior ASEAN officials reportedly plan to visit Myanmar this week. (Reuters)
- Cambodia: US Secretary of State Wendy Sherman arrived in the country as part of a regional tour amid a government crackdown on opposition figures and rights activists. (Reuters)
- China: Beijing’s National Health Commission confirmed the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu in the country’s Jiangsu province but added that the risk of the H10N3 strain spreading on a large scale was very low. (Reuters)
- North Korea: The country’s ruling Workers Party reportedly created a de facto second-in-command post under leader Kim Jong-Un. (Reuters)
- Vietnam: The Health Ministry announced Hanoi’s intention to acquire COVID-19 vaccine production technology and plans to supply the WHO’s COVAX vaccine facility. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: The foreign and defense ministers of NATO countries will meet today to lay the groundwork for the military alliance’s first summit with US President Joe Biden. (AP)
- Region: Italy and Romania are the first EU countries to open up COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescents following the European Commission’s greenlight for the use of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 and older. (RFE-RL)
- The Holy See: Pope Francis amended church law to explicitly criminalize the sexual abuse of adults by priests as well as by the laity. (AP)
- Poland: A Warsaw court began the trial of Weijing Wang, a former Huawei executive, and Piotr Durbajlo, a cybersecurity expert from the country, who are accused of spying for China. (AP)
- Russia: Authorities raided the homes of several opposition activists in a crackdown on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections. (AP)
Middle East
- Iran: The International Atomic Energy Agency reportedly hasn’t been able to access data on the country’s nuclear program since late February, when Tehran started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities. (AP)
- Israel: The government lifted almost all of its coronavirus restrictions amid a sharp decline in new coronavirus infections and severe illnesses. (DPA)
- Saudi Arabia: Authorities defended their decision to impose volume restrictions on loudspeakers at mosques. (BBC)
- Syria: The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the country’s decade-long civil conflict had left nearly half a million people dead, according to its revised death toll of the conflict. (AFP)
- Yemen: Human Rights Watch said the country’s Houthi rebels were blocking international efforts to supply coronavirus vaccines to the country. (AFP)
Tech & Communications
- Space: New Zealand became the eleventh country to sign on to NASA’s Artemis Accords on space exploration and cooperation. (AP)
World
- Cyclones:
- Tropical Storm Choi-Wan
- Location: 394 nautical miles E-SE of Manila, Philippines
- Wind: 40 mph
- Movement: N-NW at 12 mph
- Map
- Tropical Storm Choi-Wan
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 01JUN21)
- Confirmed cases: 170,748,714
- Deaths: 3,550,963
- Countries with confirmed cases: 192
- Sourcing: John Hopkins University
- Ebola Virus Disease: Guinea (as of 30MAY21)
- Confirmed cases: 16
- Deaths: 12
- Sourcing: WHO
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 01JUN21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (02JUN21)
- Global: The UN General Assembly will hold a special session focused on tackling corruption.
- Global: The British government will host a Global Vaccine Confidence Summit.
- Americas: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will conclude his visit to Costa Rica.
- Israel: The deadline for the centrist party Yesh Atid to form the country’s next government.
- Israel: Presidential elections will be held.
- Italy: Republic Day – 1946
- Pakistan: Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon will visit and meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan. (to 03JUN)
- Russia: The upper house of Parliament will reportedly discuss a bill denouncing the Open Skies Treaty.
- Russia: The Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum with Russian President Vladimir Putin expected to address the event this week. (to 05JUN)
- Russia: Regular flights between the country and the United Kingdom are scheduled to resume.
- United States: President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks on the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s vaccination campaign.
- United States: Fox News will start airing on-demand reruns of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham’s shows on its Fox Nation streaming service.
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