Top News Stories –

Naked sleepwalker helped back to Manchester hotel –
A man was helped back to his hotel after sleepwalking into the street in Manchester city centre without any clothes on, police have said. The naked man was spotted outside his hotel on Chorlton Street, at about 04:30 BST. Greater Manchester Police said it was a “genuine case of sleepwalking”. GMP tweeted: “We checked with officers; was proper somnambulism, not a dare. Person grateful for our help + saw the funny side themselves.” The man’s identity has not been revealed by police. [BBC]

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Everything is a Remix: The Force Awakens from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that over 60,000 people have died in Syrian government jails during the five year civil war. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Northeast India
  • Insurgency in Manipur
    • Rebels ambush and kill six Indian paramilitary soldiers in the state of Manipur, near the northeastern border with Myanmar. (The New York Times) (Hindustan Times)
• Iraqi civil war (2014–present)
  • Siege of Fallujah (2016)
    • Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of a military operation to recapture Falluja from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (CBS News) (BBC)

Arts and culture

• 2016 Cannes Film Festival
  • British film I, Daniel Blake, directed by Ken Loach, wins the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. (The Guardian)
• The 12th Festival of Pacific Arts opens at Paseo Stadium in Guam. (Guam Daily Post)(Pacific Daily News)

Disasters and accidents

• Indonesia‘s Mount Sinabung erupts, killing at least six people in Sumatra. (AFP via ABC News Australia)

International relations

• China-Taiwan Relations
  • China threatens to cut off regular communication with Taiwan unless it acknowledges the “One China principle“. (CNBC) (Business Insider)

Law and crime

• 2016 Nenzing shooting
  • A man kills two and wounds 11 in an attack on a concert in the Austrian town of Nenzing. (AP via 9News)
• At least six people are killed in shootings at two nightclubs in the Mexican state of Veracruz. (FOX News)

Politics and elections

• Austrian presidential election, 2016
  • The second round of voting takes place to elect either Norbert Hofer or Alexander Van der Bellen as President of Austria. (USA Today), (BBC)
• Vietnamese legislative election, 2016
  • Voters in Vietnam go to the polls to choose legislators for its Parliament. The only legal party in the country is the Communist Party, which has already chosen its members. (AP)
• Tajikistani constitutional referendum, 2016
  • Voters in Tajikistan go to the polls for a referendum to make various amendments to the constitution which include, among other things, the elimination of term limits to allow President Emomali Rahmonand only him to run again for office and lowering the presidential age limit from 35 to 30, which observers believe will position Rahmon’s son Rustam Emomali for future succession. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Science

• NASA projects that 2016 will have the warmest global temperature average on record, breaking the previous record high set in 2015. This year would be the third record-breaking year in a row. Per NOAAannals, April marked the 12th record warmest month in a row. (Scientific American)

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