Top News Stories –

Mum in Chewbacca mask shatters Facebook Live record –
A braying Chewbacca mask found “on clearance” has shot a Texas mother to internet stardom. Candace Payne was not expecting to purchase the mask when she went to her local Kohls department store, just outside of Dallas, Texas. She doesn’t even consider herself a huge Star Wars fan. On Thursday, the 37-year-old mother of two was returning some items and was going to spend her birthday money on some exercise clothes or something “for the kids”. The Facebook Live video she broadcast from the store’s car park – immediately after purchasing the Chewbacca mask – has broken the record as the most-watched Facebook Live video – ever. “That’s just crazy,” Mrs Payne told the BBC. “I’m just laughing – in all honesty, that is ridiculous. I’ve looked at the number of views and it just seems like someone is just playing with a calculator.” It’s a big number: So far, more than 48 million people have watched Payne laugh hysterically as she shows Facebook her new purchase. [BBC] See Video of the Day [Also see 24 May – Video of the Day]
Candace Payne – Chewbacca

India records its hottest day ever –
A city in India’s Rajasthan state has broken the country’s temperature records after registering 51C, the highest since records began, the weather office says. The new record in Phalodi in the desert state comes amid a heatwave across India. The previous record for the hottest temperature stood at 50.6C in 1956. The heatwave has hit much of northern India, where temperatures have exceeded 40C for weeks. The run-up to the Indian monsoon season is always characterised by weeks of strong sunshine and increasing heat but life-threatening temperature levels topping 50C are unusual. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Candace Payne Chewbacca video

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Iraqi civil war (2014–present)
  • Ar-Rutbah offensive (2016)
    • Iraqi Army forces helped by U.S. airstrikes recapture the southwestern city of Ar-Rutbah from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group. The victory will allow for the re-opening of the Baghdad–Amman highway. (Al Jazeera)
• Abkhaz–Georgian conflict
  • Georgia‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses “shock and deep concern” after a Georgian citizen, 31-year-old Giga Otkhozoria, was shot dead by Russian Armed Forces troops patrolling areas near the administrative boundary with Abkhazia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

• Shortages in Venezuela
  • Coca-Cola FEMSA suspends all production in Venezuela due to a sugar shortage. (Fortune) (Sputnik)

Disasters and accidents

• 2016 Sri Lankan floods
  • Two hundred thousand people flee the Sri Lankan capital Colombo as floods caused by several days of heavy rain worsen. (AFP via Yahoo)
• EgyptAir Flight 804
  • Egyptian Armed Forces claim that passenger luggage and part of the aircraft have been found in the Mediterranean Sea 290 kilometers north of Alexandria. (CNN)
• Temperatures soar to a record 51 °C (124 °F) in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The heatwave has claimed 300 lives since April 2016. (BBC)
• At least four National Gendarmerie officers are killed in a helicopter crash in Hautes-Pyrénées, in southwestern France. (THE LOCAL)
• List of earthquakes in Australia
  • The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia. It is the strongest earthquake in the Northern Territory region since the Tennant Creek earthquakes on 22 January 1988. No damage or injuries are reported. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (RT)

Health

• Zika virus outbreak (2015 – present)
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports at that least 270 pregnant women in the United States are infected with the Zika virus. (NBC News) (NPR)

International relations

• Accession of Montenegro to NATO
  • The Kremlin condemns NATO’s membership invitation to Montenegro, warning the step risks fueling geopolitical tensions in Europe. (Reuters)
• War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
  • NATO foreign ministers, meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, agree to extend the alliance’s Resolute Support Mission, that trains, advises and assists Afghanistan‘s military beyond 2016.(AP via Daily Mail) (NATO)

Law and crime

• Efforts to impeach Barack Obama
  • The Oklahoma Legislature files a measure asking for Congress to impeach Barack Obama over his decision to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity.(KOCO)
• The Mexican government approves the extradition of drug boss Joaquín Guzmán to the United States following assurances that he will not face the death penalty. (Reuters)
• A United States Secret Service officer shoots an armed man on a street near the White House after the man allegedly approached the officer and refused to drop his weapon. The White House is locked down.(AP via Yahoo! News) (CNN)

Politics and elections

• Tsai Ing-wen is sworn in as the first female President of Taiwan. (BBC)
• Israeli Defense minister Moshe Ya’alon announces his resignation. (NY Times) (BBC) (FOX News)
• The Oklahoma legislature passes a bill that would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions and revokes the medical license of assisting physicians. The governor then vetoes the bill. (NY Times)(Washington Post)(CNN)
• 2015–16 Iraqi protests
  • Iraqi security forces fire tear gas and water cannon on protesters attempting to storm the Green Zone in Baghdad, injuring at least 33. (Bloomberg) (WSJ)
  • The Iraqi government imposes a curfew in Baghdad. (Reuters)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource