Top News Stories –

Depp’s wife Amber Heard avoids Australia dog-smuggling conviction –
Actress Amber Heard has avoided a conviction for illegally taking her dogs into Australia. Ms Heard, married to actor Johnny Depp, had pleaded guilty in court to making a false statement on her immigration card about the couple’s Yorkshire terriers. But the Queensland judge gave her a one-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded. If she breaks the bond she must pay A$1,000 ($770; £540). The authorities also released an unusual video apology from the couple. In the video, which was shown in court and made public by the Department of Agriculture, the couple expressed remorse and advised travellers to respect Australian quarantine laws. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Amber Heard

Three-day working week ‘optimal for over-40s’ –
Workers aged over 40 perform at their best if they work three days a week, according to economic researchers. Their research analysed the work habits and brain test results of about 3,000 men and 3,500 women aged over 40 in Australia. Their calculations suggest a part-time job keeps the brain stimulated, while avoiding exhaustion and stress. The researchers said this needed to be taken into consideration as many countries raise their retirement age. [BBC]

YouTube live-streams in virtual reality and adds 3D sound –
YouTube is introducing live-streamed 360-degree videos on its service. The Google-owned platform said select concerts from California’s Coachella festival would be the first to use the virtual reality facility. In addition, it announced videos on its service could now be enhanced with “spatial audio”, which simulates the effect of sounds coming from different directions and distances. One expert said the innovation could greatly enhance VR experiences. The announcements were timed to coincide with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas, where several new virtual reality products are being launched. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: Australian biosecurity

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • Syrian rebels launch new offensives against government forces in the country’s Latakia Governorate and Hama Governorate. Several rebel groups earlier announced they were launching a new battle against government forces in response to claimed violations of the cease-fire agreement, further putting a strain on the Syrian peace process. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
  • Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit the Turkish town of Kilis killing four people, most of them children. (BBC)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
  • 2016 Jerusalem bombing
    • A bomb explosion in Jerusalem set two buses on fire and injured 21 people with ball bearing and nails. Israeli police say they believe the incident was a suicide bombing but no group has claimed responsibility. (Euronews) (Ynetnews)
• Ethnic violence in South Sudan, Sudanese nomadic conflicts
  • According to the government of Ethiopia, the death toll from a raid carried out by attackers from South Sudan has risen to 208 from a figure of 140 a day earlier, with 108 children being kidnapped in the process. Ethiopian forces killed 60 of the attackers and says it would cross the border into South Sudan to pursue the assailants if necessary. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Pulitzer Prizes
  • The Associated Press wins the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for documenting the use of slave labor in Southeast Asia to supply seafood to American tables. (AP)
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Hamilton based on the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. (Buzzfeed)

Business and economics

• The meeting in Doha, Qatar, of the world’s top oil producers, from both OPEC and non-OPEC countries, fails to agree on an output freeze. Oil analysts say the failure was due to Iran’s non-participation, andSaudi Arabia linking its cooperation to Iran’s inclusion. Oil prices drop in early Asian trading and on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (AFP via Bangkok Post) (CNBC) (Oilprice.com)
• A member of the board of the Bundesbank in Germany says that the European Central Bank ought to crack down on the political practice, in EU’s member state, by which banks that are no longer viable are nonetheless kept in business, as so-called Zombie banks. (Reuters)
• Cuba-United States relations
  • Carnival Cruise Lines says it will postpone its first cruise in 50 years from the United States to Havana, if Cuba does not waive its rule and allow Cuban-Americans passengers. Current Cuban law does not allow those born on the island to return by sea. (UPI) (AP via CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

• 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes
  • The Japanese Red Cross says that 250,000 people have been asked to leave their homes due to further tremors. (BBC)
• 2016 Ecuador earthquake
  • Aid starts to flow in after an earthquake kills over 270 people in Ecuador. (AP via Fox News), (BBC)
• European migrant crisis
  • More than 400 migrants, mostly from Somalia, drown in the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Egypt to Italy. (The Telegraph)
• Violent storms cause floods across Uruguay with seven people killed and more than 2,000 left homeless. Four of those were killed by a tornado that struck Dolores. Four million people in the Chilean capital ofSantiago were left without tap water as heavy rains triggered landslides. This led to the fouling of the city’s water supply. (Al Jazeera)
• 2016 Houston floods
  • Heavy rain of more than 1 foot (0.30 m) causes major flooding in Houston, Texas, affecting 1,000 homes, causing five deaths and causing power outages for over 100,000 residents. (CNN), (USA Today), (Time)
  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott declares nine counties in the southeastern part of the state disaster areas. (UPI)

International relations

• Australia–Philippines relations, Philippine presidential election, 2016
  • Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely criticizes Philippine presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte regarding his remarks about the rape of an Australian citizen. (Rappler), (The New York Times)
• Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
  • During a visit to Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces that the United States will be sending more troops to the country to help in the fight against ISIL. The U.S. also plans to giveKurdish Peshmerga forces, which are fighting ISIL on the ground, more than $400m (£280m; €350m) in assistance. (BBC)

Law and crime

• War in Donbass, Russia–Ukraine relations
  • A Ukrainian court sentences two Russian nationals to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Moscow contends that the two Russians were no longer employed by the state when they were captured. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Politics and elections

• Philippine general election, 2016
  • Bongbong Marcos, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and top vice presidential candidate, defends Duterte’s remarks about rape. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Italian oil drilling referendum, 2016
  • The referendum fails to exceed the 50% turnout level necessary to make the results binding; turnout was recorded at 31.2%. (Reuters)
• Next Australian federal election
  • Australia looks likely to hold a double dissolution election on July 2 after the Senate rejects legislation to bring back the Australian Building and Construction Commission for a second time. (ABC News Australia)
• 2016 Macedonian protests
  • Protests against President Gjorge Ivanov continue in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, after his decision to pardon politicians involved in a scandal. (The Seattle Times)

Sports

• More than 30,000 runners participate in the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. Two Ethiopian runners win. Adriana Haslett and Patrick Downes, survivors of the 2013 bombing who each lost a leg in the blast, were in the field.(The Boston Globe) (NPR)

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