Top News Stories –

Sesame Street sends cease and desist letter to STD awareness group after it suggests Bert and Ernie have HIV –
Sesame Street sent a cease and desist letter to a company that used its characters Bert and Ernie in their campaign ad that promoted at-home HIV and STD testing. Lately, a company which has created a ‘simple, cutting-edge, and affordable STD testing’ method, posted a photo of the two characters to their Facebook page.’Help us take STD Testing out of the Stone Age,’ the company, wrote on Facebook, in a post accompanied by a picture Bert and Ernie, according to the New York Post.Elizabeth W Fishman, Vice President of Strategic Communications for the show, told the The Post that the Mately ad is an ‘unauthorized, unlicensed use of our characters’. Fishman added that Mately will be contacted and sent ‘a cease and desist letter instructing them to take this down’. Bert and Ernie are shown in the Facebook post looking at a set of papers. ‘See Ernie, you’ve got nothing to worry about, everything is positive!’ the caption reads. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

GoPro Awards: On a Rocket Launch to Space

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • A rocket attack hits a hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo, killing three civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack was part of a bigger shelling that killed 19 more people. (Al Jazeera)
• Iraqi Civil War, American-led intervention in Iraq
  • According to the United States Department of Defense, ISIL fighters killed a Navy SEAL near Erbil. The sailor was assisting Kurdish Peshmerga forces in repelling an attack on the area. The SEAL was later identified as Arizona native Charles Keating IV, the son of Charles Keating III, and the grandson of the convicted noted late financier Charles Keating Jr., who was embroiled in the 1980s savings and loan scandal. (The Guardian)

Arts and culture

• The Rhode Island Marine Architecture Project claims to have found the wreckage of HMS Endeavour used by Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook on his voyage to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti between 1768 and 1771. The ship was scuttled in 1778 in Newport Harbor ahead of the Battle of Rhode Island in the American War of Independence. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
• Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova is announced as the winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2016 for “her outstanding contribution to press freedom in difficult circumstances.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

• Philippine presidential election, 2016
  • The Philippine financial market continues to suffer amid speculation that Rodrigo Duterte may win the upcoming election. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

• May 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
  • A mandatory evacuation order for more than 29,000 people remains in place for the Canadian town of Fort McMurray, Alberta, which is threatened by an out of control wildfire. (The Globe and Mail)
  • By 7 pm local time, the entire town of population 80,000 is placed under a mandatory evacuation. The neighbourhood of Beacon Hill, home to about 2,200 people, is 80% destroyed by fire. (Weather Underground)
• An airplane crashes on Long Island, New York, killing three people onboard. (The New York Times)

Law and crime

• The sect Iglesia ni Cristo is suing supporters of Rodrigo Duterte for spreading a fake endorsement by the denomination. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Russia–Spain relations
  • A Spanish judge issues an arrest warrant for various individuals with links to organized crime from Russia. The list also includes former and current officials of the Russian government with close links toRussian President Vladimir Putin. Prominent officials include former Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and former Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov. The charges range from money laundering toassassination. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• Papua conflict
  • According to reports, the Indonesian police arrest close to 1,700 people in Papua and West Papua who were involved in attempted protests yesterday. (Radio New Zealand)
• Bento Rodrigues dam disaster
  • The Government of Brazil sues iron miner Samarco and parent companies Vale and BHP Billiton for 155 billion Brazilian reals ($43.5 billion US) for the collapse of a tailings dam that resulted in 19 deaths and caused major pollution to the Doce River. (The Guardian)
• El Salvador arrests former congressman Raúl Mijango for allegedly attempting to smuggle banned items into prison and allegedly associating with gang members. (Reuters via Trust)

Politics and elections

• European migrant crisis
  • The government of Hungary announces it will hold a referendum regarding future European Union quotas for resettling refugees. The vote is expected to be held either in September or October of this year where a turnout of over 50 percent will render it to be valid. (Al Jazeera)
• Papua conflict
  • A meeting is held in London on the issue of West Papuan independence. Independence leader Benny Wenda joined various humanitarians, parliamentarians and lawyers in urging the United Nations to secure a vote on the future status of the region, which is occupied by Indonesia. (The Guardian)
• United States presidential election, 2016, United States presidential election in Indiana, 2016
  • Voters in the U.S. state of Indiana head to the polls to vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. (NPR)
  • Donald Trump wins the Indiana Republican Primary. (New York Post) (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
  • Ted Cruz announces that he is withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination, leaving Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee. (CNN)
  • Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Indiana Democratic primary. (NBC News)

Sport

• 2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Paralympics
  • Cho Yang-ho resigns as President of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games due to growing financial problems with the Hanjin Group he is chairman of.(AP)
• Association football
  • The Football Federation of Kosovo becomes the 55th member of UEFA following a secret ballot at the 40th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Budapest.(AP via The Republic)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource