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US basketball star Kobe Bryant shines in final game –
One of basketball’s biggest stars, Kobe Bryant, has retired from the sport after a career spanning two decades with a stunning final performance. He scored 60 points to help the LA Lakers make a dramatic comeback against the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles. Bryant, 37, spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning five NBA titles and recording the third highest total number of points in the sport. Tickets for his final match changed hands for up to $27,500 (£19,315). Bryant scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to help his team overcome a 15-point deficit to win the game. [BBC]
Kobe Bryant

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French Horn Rebellion – Foolin’ Around (Official Video) from Ariel Fisher on Vimeo.

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
  • Taliban militants kill eight people, including a police commander, in an ambush in northern Afghanistan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A Palestinian wielding an ax attacks an Israeli soldier near Hebron and is shot dead while two 12-year-old Palestinians in Jerusalem are arrested by Israeli Police with three knives concealed in their coats on suspicion of planning to carry out a stabbing attack. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

• Authorities in Ukraine recover four Dutch Golden Age paintings stolen from a museum in the Netherlands a decade ago. (AP via Seattle Times)

Disasters and accidents

• 2016 Kumamoto earthquake
  • A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes near Kumamoto, Japan, collapsing several buildings killing at least four people and injuring 400. However, no tsunami warning was issued and local nuclear power plants reported no problems. (Reuters), (CNN), (Japan Today)
• At least 18 people are killed after a 80-tonne crane collapses on a temporary structure during a thunderstorm in the city of Dongguan, China. (The Times of India)

International relations

• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
  • North Korea deploys one or two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on its east coast, possibly preparing for launch on or around Friday, the anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. (Euronews via Reuters)

Law and crime

• The People’s Republic of China announces that it will prosecute 357 people for the illegal sale of vaccines. (BBC)
• The U.S. company Microsoft has sued the United States, alleging that it has been prevented from disclosing warrants to the company’s customers in violation of the company’s constitutional rights. (NYT)

Politics and elections

• The Verkhovna Rada appoints Volodmyr Groysman as the Prime Minister of Ukraine, replacing Arseny Yatseniuk. (Reuters)
• Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir impose a curfew around the capital of Srinagar, Handwara, and neighbouring villages as protests turn violent. People began to protest last Tuesday when allegations were circulated by residents in Handwara that an Indian Army soldier tried to sexually assault a teenage schoolgirl. (Al Jazeera)
• Hong Kong’s June 4th Museum, the first museum dedicated to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, is to close down. Organizers say they believe they are being targeted for political reasons. It comes at a time when concerns are growing in Hong Kong that Beijing is tightening its grip on the city. (The Guardian)
• Thousands of opposition supporters rally in Harare, Zimbabwe, against President Robert Mugabe and the deteriorating economy. The rally was banned by the police, however, it went ahead after a ruling by the High Court sanctioned the protest. (BBC)

Sports

• In basketball, the WNBA draft is held in Uncasville, Connecticut. The top pick is Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart, followed by her college teammates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. This marks the first time in any major North American sports draft that a single school produced the top three selections. (ESPN)

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