Headlines: 1-9 June 2024
UN organizations' news
Sunday, 9 June 2024
Sudan may become 'world's largest humanitarian crisis', WFP's McCain warns — CNBC — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
— "We cannot get food in — we can barely get food in — we certainly aren't getting it in at scale, and you see the results of what can happen if people aren't fed."
Israel's centrist minister Benny Gantz quits Netanyahu government over lack of post-war Gaza plan: departure will not pose an immediate threat to the government while leaving Netanyahu reliant on hardliners — Reuters ● — 9 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 201 media reports (LINK)
A Gaza journalist who wrote for Al Jazeera was holding three hostages in his home with his family before he was killed by Israeli commandos during a rescue operation on 8 June, according to the Israeli military — nypost — 9 June 2024 (LINK) — Israel extends Al Jazeera ban by 45 days, cites security threatground.news: 33 media reports (LINK)
13 Harvard graduating students denied their degrees over Palestine protest: the decision by Harvard to delay degrees for 13 students for one year has caused outrage at the university and a mass walkout from its graduation ceremony. — aljazeera — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
'Ukrainian warplane fires weapon at target inside Russia for first time' — Sky News — 9 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 15 media reports (LINK)
Macron gambles on snap election after crushing loss to French far right in EU vote — CNN — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
Suspected Islamists in eastern Congo kill more than 80 in a week — Reuters ● — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
Sudan's al-Fashir main hospital shut after RSF attack, MSF aid group says — Reuters ● — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
New Zealand's government plans to reverse a five-year-old ban on new oil and gas exploration — Reuters ● — 9 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 21 media reports (LINK)
India's Modi sworn in as prime minister for historic third term: Modi becomes second leader in Indian history to win three consecutive terms, but opposition leaders snub ceremony — The Guardian UK ● — 9 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 80 media reports (LINK)
— Modi had to rely on coalition partners, notably smaller regional parties, to give the BJP enough seats to claim a parliamentary majority and form the government. It is the first time that Modi, who is used to leading from the front, has been forced to govern in a power-sharing arrangement, with coalition partners taking several cabinet and ministerial posts. Analysts believe the BJP's new dependence on secular coalition parties could present a challenge for Modi and may curtail some of the more authoritarian and dictatorial tendencies of his government in the past, in particular his pursuit of Hindu-first policies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that the KP.3 variant is now the dominant variant making up 25% of COVID cases — usatoday — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
Universal basic income can double global GDP while combatting climate change — thebrighterside.news — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
Reclaiming Democracy With Bitcoin at the Oslo Freedom Forum — forbes — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
— Hadiya Masieh, founder of The Groundswell Project, uses bitcoin to combat extremism and foster community cohesion. Farida Nabourema, co-founder of the Africa Bitcoin Conference, spoke of Africa's rapid bitcoin adoption. She educates on bitcoin's potential for financial independence and resistance against oppression.
— Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer at HRF, spoke of bitcoin's role. He discussed how bitcoin enables activists to bypass financial censorship and transfer funds securely. Faisal Al Mutar, founder of Ideas Beyond Borders, discussed bitcoin's role in promoting education and independent thought in the Middle East. His organization, which uses bitcoin to support educational initiatives.
Researchers crack the genetic code of Restless Leg Syndrome — thebrighterside.news — 9 June 2024 (LINK)
Saturday, 8 June 2024
UN places Israel "on a list of shame" of countries that harm children in conflict zones — AP — 8 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 62 media reports (LINK)
Israel says 4 hostages, including 25-year-old Noa Argamani (whose motorbike abduction went viral), rescued in Gaza operation — ground.news: 11 media reports — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
Yemen's Houthis detain 11 UN employees in unclear circumstances — AFP — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
Boeing Starliner crew aboard ISS after challenging docking — Reuters — 8 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 154 media reports (LINK)
World Oceans Day: Coral reef bleaching across at least 53 countries has been confirmed from February 2023 to now — africanews.com with AP — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
Scientists identify unique threat faced by one of world's healthiest coral reefs, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico: 'It can be almost disorienting because there's so much coral' — see_link — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
— Marine scientists are fighting an unlikely foe in the Caribbean: invasive coral species that threaten native corals. The good news is that one industrial designer has developed a device that can help eliminate the invasive corals more effectively than manual extraction. So far, the reef has avoided any catastrophic oil spills, but that doesn't mean the industry hasn't left a mark.
Why is the crypto market down today? The positive U.S. job reports crash Bitcoin — coinpedia.org — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
AI chatbots intentionally spreading election-related disinformation, study by Democracy Reporting International (DRI) finds — euronews — 8 June 2024 (LINK)
— From May 22-24, researchers asked the chatbots five questions in 10 EU languages, including how a user would register to vote if they live abroad, what to do to send a vote by mail and when the results of the European Parliament elections will be out. "When you ask [AI chatbots] something for which they didn't have a lot of material and for which you don't find a lot of information for on the Internet, they just invent something." Researchers found over one in three of their answers to be partially or completely incorrect. In contrast to Google and Microsoft bos, ChatGPT4 models rarely refused to answer questions, leading to higher rates of incorrect or partially correct answers than their chatbot competitors.
Friday, 7 June 2024
Israeli air strikes in central Gaza killed at least 18 people, including children, a day after 33 were killed at UNRWA-run school, according to HAMAS: Israeli military stated that Hamas militants were operating from the school. — AP — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 23 media reports (LINK)
US resumes maritime aid deliveries to Gaza after pier repair with nearly 500 metric tons — CNN — 8 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: media reports (LINK)
Sudan could soon have 10 million internally displaced people, UN agency says — Reuters ● — 7 June 2024 (LINK)
UNOCHA: May saw a significant monthly increase in Ukraine's civilian casualties with 31 per cent more killed than in April marking the highest number of civilian casualties in nearly a year. — press.un.org — 7 June 2024 (LINK)
Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen attacked in central Copenhagen — AP — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 301 media reports (LINK)
Boeing Starliner crew aboard ISS after challenging docking — Reuters — 8 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 154 media reports (LINK)
Former astronaut William Anders, who took iconic Earthrise photo, has died in Washington plane crash alone in aircraft at 90 — ground.news: 146 media reports — 7 June 2024 (LINK)
Scientists preparing bird flu vaccines for humans in case of pandemic — sciencealert.com — 7 June 2024 (LINK)
Black D-Day combat medic's long-denied medal laid on Omaha Beach where he bled, saved lives — AP — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 12 media reports (LINK)
For first time in history, more aquatic animals were farmed than fished in 2022, FAO report finds — AP — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 30 media reports (LINK)
Xylitol, common sweetener found in sweets, gum and toothpaste, linked to heart attack and stroke by causing blood to clot — thesun.co.uk — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 19 media reports (LINK)
Thursday, 6 June 2024
Israel says jets strike school containing Hamas compound, Gaza media says 33 killed — ground.news: 265 media reports — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
"Small group of country reps" storm out and others "joined them in solidarity" when Israel government representative and employer begin their speeches at International Labour Conference In Geneva — AA — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
— The incidents occurred during a special sitting on the situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories, where many countries voiced solidarity with Palestinian workers amid the ongoing war.
European Central Bank cuts interest rates for the first time since 2019 — CNBC — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
"We now have five million people in Haiti that are acutely food insecure, of which 1.6 million are classified as facing emergency food insecurity conditions," said WFP Country Director Jean-Martin Bauer — news.un.org — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Sudanese RSF paramilitaries clash with the army on 5 June, leaving at least 100 people dead. U.N. warns of mass displacement and starvation — ground.news: 31 media reports — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
In Kyiv, UNECE Executive Secretary reaffirms support for reconstruction of Ukraine — UNECE — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Vietnam tycoon sentenced to death could face new charges, state media says: Truong My Lan accused of illegally transferring $4.5bn in latest development in country’s biggest-ever fraud case — Al Jazeera — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Judge dismisses attempted murder and other charges in state case against Paul Pelosi's attacker following the defense's argument of double jeopardy — thecooldown.com — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
AI opens up new world of school bullying for which neither schools nor the law are fully prepared: deepfake sexual images of students, with sham voice recordings and videos — thehill — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Artificial intelligence innovation revolutionizes diagnosis and treatment of dementia: algorithm can automatically map and monitor the clumped proteins responsible for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders, a task that was previously impossible — sciencealert.com — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Researchers in Switzerland found a way to reinvent chocolate and make it healthier: without all the refined sugar that you'd normally find in the recipe — bgr.com — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Swiss Sustainable Investment Market Study 2024 — SSF — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
5 takeaways from Fauci's heated House hearing — thehill — 6 June 2024 (LINK)
Wednesday, 5 June 2024
WHO confirms first death, in Mexico, from bird flu strain not seen before in humans: distinct from the H5N1 outbreak in US dairy cattle — ground.news main source: AP, 107 media reports — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
UN secretary-general calls for 'windfall' tax on profits of fossil fuel companies: WMO predicts an 80% chance that average global temperatures will surpass the 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) target set in the landmark Paris climate accord of 2015 by 2028 — AP — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Israel reportedly used fake social media accounts to garner support from U.S. lawmakers on Gaza war — ground.news main source: NYTimes, 21 media reports — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Boeing Starliner launches for the first time carrying NASA astronauts to the ISS — ground.news: 38 media reports — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
The Taliban publicly flogs 63 people including women accused of crimes. The UN condemns it — ground.news main source: AP, 16 media reports — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
12 cities at risk of running out of water — businessinsider — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Amanda Knox's slander conviction upheld in case related to Meredith Kercher's murder: she has served 4 years in prison: lawyers have 120 days to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court — CNN — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
India shows how AI is changing elections around the world — NBC — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Little-known brain protein may be key to treating Alzheimer's and ageing — psypost.org — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Scientists raise concerns as world's most powerful water current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, accelerates — and consequences could be disastrous — thecooldown.com — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Major genetic cause of inflammatory bowel disease found: Existing drugs could potentially treat it — ground.news: 14 media reports — 5 June 2024 (LINK)
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
Biden announces measures to bar migrants from asylum at the Mexican border — ground.news: 192 media reports — 4 June 2024 (LINK)
Migrants who arrive at the border but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the United States, within a matter of days or even hours.
UN humanitarians report aid breakthrough for Haiti: aid has been possible to reach "the most difficult neighbourhoods" of the Haitian capital. — CMC — 4 June 2024 (LINK)
The WFP also said that "vital" medical supplies had landed in Port-au-Prince airport on 30 May, the first UN humanitarian cargo flight to land in the capital since violence linked to the country's political and economic crisis erupted in March 2024.
Slovenia becomes latest European country to recognise Palestinian state after parliamentary vote — ground.news: 118 media reports — 4 June 2024 (LINK)
Scientists find that a tiny proportion of people spread almost all the fake news, and they turn out to be exactly who you’d expect: "They are literally sitting at their computer pressing retweet" — futurism.com — 4 June 2024 (LINK)
ChatGPT is down again, and it's not a good look ahead of iOS 18 AI integration — bgr — 4 June 2024 (LINK)
Monday, 3 June 2024
More than half of Gaza structures destroyed or damaged: UN. Currently, no hospitals in Gaza are operating at full capacity — truthout.org — 3 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 13 media reports (LINK)
— Israel's attacks have also targeted educational centers, destroying all 12 of Gaza's colleges and universities. In total, Israel has severely damaged or destroyed 80 percent of schools in Gaza, conducting 212 "direct hits" on at least 53 of them, according to the U.N.
Israel confirms deaths of 4 more hostages, including 3 older men who appeared in video — ground.news: 151 media reports — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Heat kills more than 50 people in India in three days: Nearly 25,000 cases of suspected heatstroke and 56 deaths were reported in India from March to May, with May being particularly severe — ground.news: 23 media reports — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Switzerland's upper house rejects 5 bln Swiss franc ($5.58bn) aid plan for Ukraine on the grounds that the plan breached borrowing restrictions in the neutral country — Reuters ● — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
— The plan's defeat had been widely anticipated in recent weeks, with legislators from the right particularly opposed to it.
How the UN got away with wildly inflating the casualty numbers in Gaza — and the media bought it — newsweek — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Pakistan's Imran Khan is acquitted of leaking state secrets but remains in prison on other charges — ground.news: 49 media reports — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
NYPost: The key moments when Dr. Anthony Fauci contradicted himself during heated COVID hearing — nypost.com — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
South Korea plans to nullify peace deal to punish North Korea over trash-carrying balloon launches — ground.news main source: AP, 112 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Toyota Motor Corp halted production of Corolla Fielder, Corolla Axio, and Yaris Cross in Japan due to faulty tests, affecting current and discontinued models: apologizes for cheating on vehicle testing — ground.news: 44 media reports — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
— The company said the wrongdoing does not affect the safety of the vehicles already on roads, which include the Corolla subcompact and Lexus luxury vehicles. The wide-ranging fraudulent testing at Japan's top automaker involved the use of inadequate or outdated data in collision tests, and incorrect testing of airbag inflation and rear-seat damage in crashes. Engine power tests were also found to have been falsified.
China’s spacecraft carrying rocks from the far side of the moon leaves the lunar surface — ground.news: 78 media reports — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Ocean is warming at an 'unprecedented rate', warns UNESCO's IOC — lemonde — 3 June 2024 (LINK)
Sunday, 2 June 2024
Claudia Sheinbaum elected first woman president of Mexico — thehill.com — 2 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 393 media reports (LINK)
Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts again, spewing thick, gray ash high into the air — ground.news: 24 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
Israeli airstrikes near city of Aleppo kill several people, Syrian state media say — ground.news: 53 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts again, spewing thick, gray ash high into the air — ground.news: 24 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
OPEC+ extends global oil production cuts into 2025 — Barrons — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
Rescue worker dies, several thousand evacuated in southern Germany floods — Reuters — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
The 42-year-old man who died was in a rescue boat carrying four firefighters that capsized late on 1 June. His body was recovered early on 2 June.
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who fled Russia a decade ago for fear of persecution, may face a criminal case in Moscow for violating the Kremlin's "foreign agent" law, TASS news agency reported on Sunday. — Reuters ● — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
China lands on 'dark side' of moon — UPI — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
— Chinese space scientists landed the Chang'e 6 craft in a crater known as the Apollo Basin. "The choice was made for the Apollo Basin's potential value of scientific exploration, as well as the conditions of the landing area, including communication and telemetry conditions and the flatness of the terrain," said Huang Hao, a space expert from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
— Chang'e 6 will now begin a three-day exploration of the lunar surface, gathering material as part of a mission that the CNSA said would include "many engineering innovations, high risks and great difficulty." Most prominently, the Chang'e 6 will seek to extract some of the oldest known rocks to exist on the lunar south pole.
Rupert Murdoch marries for fifth time at 93 — ground.news: 24 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 2 June 2024 (LINK)
Saturday, 1 June 2024
Biden presents new Israel 3-phase ceasefire plan, calls on Hamas to accept: Hamas said it 'considers [it] positively' But Netanyahu insisted the army would continue fighting until it had 'eliminated' Hamas's capacity to rule Gaza and pose a military threat — france24 — 1 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 380 media reports (LINK)
— At least 36,284 Palestinians have been killed and 82,057 wounded in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.
Israeli troops are in central Rafah, IDF confirms. IDF statement confirms presence of Hamas rocket launchers, terror tunnels, and weapons in central Rafah, as reported by CNN. Israeli military in central Rafah despite global concerns, dismantles Hamas weapons storage facility, as per IDF statement. Troops in central Rafah found Hamas weaponry, corroborating eyewitness reports of tanks in the area earlier this week. — AP — 1 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 118 media reports (LINK)
— Up to around 300,000 people are believed to remain in the Rafah area, with an unknown number still in the city itself. Most have flocked to rural areas on the Mediterranean coastline west of the city
Supermodels Bella, Gigi Hadid donate $1 million for Palestinians amid war — ground.news: 26 media reports, with Ground News Article Assistance — 1 June 2024 (LINK)
Yemen's Houthis sentence 44 to death, including businessman working with aid groups, for 'collaborating' with Saudi-led coalition — ground.news main source: AP, 19 media reports — 1 June 2024 (LINK)
El Salvador's Bukele starts second term, promises "medicine" to cure the economy — straitstimes.com — 1 June 2024 (LINK)
— The 42-year-old former nightclub manager was reelected in a landslide victory with more than 80% of the vote in February, following a court decision that paved the way for his re-election even though the country's constitution prohibits it. ground.news: 6 media reports (LINK)
