Key Storylines
- AFRICA: At least one soldier died during an attack by “armed individuals” near Ivory Coast’s border with jihadist-hit Burkina Faso.
- AMERICAS: A driver plowed into a family of five in Canada, killing four of them in the process, in what the police said was a deliberate attack against the family because they were Muslims.
- ASIA: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from ASEAN member-states that Beijing will provide further aid to Southeast Asian countries to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
- EUROPE: A UN war crimes tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic’s appeal against his convictions and life sentence for masterminding genocide and other atrocities.
- MIDDLE EAST: Parliament Speaker Yariv Levin announced Sunday as the date for the swearing-in ceremony of Israel’s new eight-faction coalition government.
- TECH & COMMUNICATIONS: Several websites operated by news outlets including the Financial Times, the New York Times, Bloomberg and The Guardian went down for reasons currently unknown.
Top Story
- Global: FBI-encrypted app tricks global organized crime, hundreds arrested.
- More than 800 suspected criminals were arrested worldwide after they were tricked into utilizing an FBI-controlled messaging app.
- The arrests were the result of a joint operation by the FBI and Australian and European police that the FBI named Operation Trojan Shield.
- As part of the operation, devices with the ANOM app were secretly distributed among criminal networks, allowing police across the world to monitor communications about drug smuggling, money laundering and murder plots.
- Apart from the detention of hundreds of suspected criminals, more than 32 tons of drugs, including cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and methamphetamines were seized across several countries.
- 250 firearms, 55 luxury cars and more than $48 million in cash and cryptocurrencies were also seized by authorities.
- Reporting: BBC, AP, DPA, AFP, WaPo, Reuters
Africa
- Region: Eritrea’s Foreign Minister Osman Saleh blamed US support of the Tigray People’s Liberation Movement over the last 20 years for the current conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, adding that blaming Eritrea for the conflict was unfounded. (AP)
- Burkina Faso: The UN said more than 3,000 people fled their homes in the country’s north following a recent massacre. (AFP)
- Central African Republic: The UN Security Council called upon the country to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers. (AFP)
- Ivory Coast: At least one soldier died during an attack by “armed individuals” near the country’s border with jihadist-hit Burkina Faso. (AFP)
- Libya: There has reportedly been a pipeline leak at the country’s Samah oilfield. (Reuters)
Americas
- Region: US Vice President Kamala Harris said Washington will increase its efforts to investigate corruption and human trafficking in Guatemala and urged undocumented migrants against coming to the United States. (NYT)
- Canada: A driver plowed into a family of five in Ontario, killing four of them in the process, in what the police said was a deliberate attack against the family because they were Muslims. (AP)
- Haiti: A controversial referendum on a new draft constitution was postponed once again, with the election commission citing a surge in COVID-19 cases as the reason for the delay. (Miami Herald)
- Peru: Socialist candidate Pedro Castillo took the lead in the country’s presidential election from conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori as Fujimori alleged “irregularities” and said she would not yet concede the election. (Reuters)
- United States: A jury trial was started in the case of a former University of Tennessee professor accused of hiding his relationship with a Chinese university while receiving research grants from the federal government. (AP)
Asia
- Region: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterparts from ASEAN member-states that Beijing will provide further aid to Southeast Asian countries to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
- Afghanistan: The Taliban captured a district for the third time in as many days. (DPA)
- China: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the city would continue inviting foreign judges to its courts as the city’s legal system was still “hard as a rock”. (Reuters)
- New Zealand: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine next week. (Reuters)
Europe
- Region: The European Union warned the United Kingdom against taking any unilateral actions that override the Northern Ireland Protocol. (AFP)
- Region: A UN war crimes tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic’s appeal against his convictions and life sentence for masterminding genocide and other atrocities. (AP)
- Ukraine: US President Joe Biden invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House and reaffirmed Washington’s support for Kyiv’s territorial integrity. (AFP)
- United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly wants G7 countries to sign onto a climate “Marshall Plan”. (Reuters)
Middle East
- Iraq: A Kurdish peshmerga fighter died in an attack by Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), according to local officials. (AFP)
- Israel: Parliament Speaker Yariv Levin announced Sunday as the date for the swearing-in ceremony of the country’s new eight-faction coalition government. (DPA)
- Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab and discussed Iran, bilateral ties and climate change. (Reuters)
Tech & Communications
- Media: Several websites operated by news outlets including the Financial Times, the New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Guardian went down for reasons currently unknown. (Reuters)
- Cybersecurity: The US Justice Department seized most of the ransom that Colonial Pipeline paid to a Russian hacking group. (NYT)
World
- Cyclones: Nothing to report.
- Hurricanes: Nothing to report.
- Earthquakes: Nothing to report.
- Volcanoes: Nothing to report.
- Global Disease Outbreaks:
- COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease: Global (as of 08JUN21)
- Confirmed cases: 173,668,203
- Deaths: 3,738,175
- 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 08JUN21)
Tomorrow’s Outlook (09JUN21)
- Global: The World Health Organization will release its Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System report.
- Global: Russia’s new Strela amphibious armored vehicle will be presented for the first time at the Shield Africa 2021 expo in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (to 10JUN)
- Global: The CIS Committee of Armed Forces Chief of Staffs will hold a meeting.
- Global: European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans will hold a virtual meeting with New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
- Africa: Senegal President Macky Sall, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will participate in The Africa Roundtable conference.
- Europe: The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine will reportedly meet.
- Europe: EU and British government officials are expected to hold discussions on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
- Europe: Judges in the Netherlands will hold discussions and hear evidence against four suspects in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. (to 10JUN)
- Europe: The environment ministers of EU countries will meet and discuss battery waste and pollution policies.
- Argentina: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit.
- Colombia: An Inter-American Commission on Human Rights delegation will visit the country. (to 10JUN)
- Czech Republic: Belarus’ opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will address the Senate.
- Germany: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit and meet with counterpart Heiko Maas.
- Egypt: The trial of political activists Ramy Shaath and Ziad Eleimy, accused of terrorism, will be held.
- Kuwait: Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will visit.
- Mongolia: Presidential elections will be held.
- Russia: A court will hold a trial on the efforts to label organizations linked to opposition politician Alexei Navalny as “extremist”.
- Sudan: A UN Security Council and International Criminal Court briefing on the country will be held.
- Ukraine: The European Court of Justice will rule on former President Viktor Yanukovych’s appeal against EU sanctions.
- United Kingdom: US President Joe Biden will travel to the country.
- United States: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on US leadership and the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- United States: The CEO of Colonial Pipeline will testify to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the recent ransomware attack.
- United States: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold nominations hearings.
- United States: The House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing on democratic values in the Indo-Pacific region.
- United States: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold a hearing on Nigeria.
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