Parts of the Patriot Act expire at 12:01 a.m. due to Congressional failure to reform the USA Freedom Act, temporarily making new surveillance of telephone records by the NSA illegal. (New York Times)
Former German chancellor, "architect of German reunification" and one of the authors of the European single currency Helmut Kohl is reported to be in a "critical condition" after surgery at a Heidelberg hospital. (Guardian)
The official death toll from the Indian heat wave rises to 2,330 with meteorologists warning that relief from the monsoon season could still be days away. (CNN)
Rescue efforts continue for people on board the ship that sank on the Yangtze River in China's Hubei province with over 450 people on board. So far, fewer than 12 have been rescued and five bodies recovered. (New York Times), (CNN)
Dias Kadyrbayev, a college friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is sentenced to six years for obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges after Kadyrbayev removed incriminating evidence from Tsarnaev's college dorm room. (CBS Local)
Sepp Blatter announces that he will resign as President of FIFA as a result of the corruption scandals with an emergency congress to be called as soon as possible. (BBC)(RTÉ News)
The Grozny Chechnya office of the Committee Against Torture NGO is attacked by masked men who came out of a crowd of protesters. They broke down the door and trashed the office. National Leader Ramzan Kadyrov speculated the attack could have been carried out by relatives of Dzhambulat Dadayev upset that the NGO which investigates torture did not lead protests of the shooting of Dadayev by law enforcement officers from another region. Moscow Times
Pro-Russian separatists launch an offensive to take Marinka, Ukraine, 5 kilometers from the separatist capital of Donetsk. At least 19 people have died in fighting. Ukrainian sources claimed at least 10 tanks took part in the battle. (AFP via Yahoo! News), (New York Times)
The search continues for survivors of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing which sank on China's Yangtze River with 450 passengers on board. So far, 18 people have been confirmed dead with 14 people rescued. (CCTV via Twitter)
Several rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel and exploded near the cities of Ashdod, Netivot and Ashkelon causing no casualties. The IDF retaliated with airstrikes against empty Hamas training camps in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
Naxalite Insurgents kill at least 20 Indian Army soldiers and injure 12 in an attack on a convoy in the state of Manipur. (BBC)
Officials of the ruling Syriza party in Greece say that they cannot accept a last-minute deal proposed by the country's creditors: default deadline looms. (AP)
Surgeons, led by Dr. Jesse Selber, working with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in a 15-hour, 12-doctor operation, perform the world's first partial-skull and scalp transplant, at Houston Methodist Hospital, on 55-year-old Jim Boysten, a software developer from Austin, Texas suffering from a large head wound from cancer treatment; immediately afterward, he was finally able to receive a new kidney and pancreas, which replaced the previous transplants that were failing. (MSN)
The death toll from the sinking of the ship on the Yangtze River rises to 82 with officials giving up hope of finding more survivors. Only 15 out of over 450 people on the boat were rescued. (Sky News Australia)
For the second time this week, a rocket fired from Gaza lands in Israel. There were no immediate reports of injuries, or claims of responsibility. (Times of Israel)
The death toll from the sinking of the Chinese cruise ship is now over 400 as the search area for bodies extends 1,000 km down the Yangtze River. (The Guardian)
Voters in Turkey go to the polls for a general election with the ruling AKP seeking enough votes to enable them to change the constitution. However, early projections show that they will lose their majority in the new parliament. (BBC), (New York Times)
The Singaporean government declares June 8 be a national remembrance day with the Singaporean flag being flown at half-mast and a minute of silence being observed at the beginning of all 2015 SEA Games venues. This is as a mark of respect for the eight people who were killed in the earthquake, which consists of six Primary 6 students, one teacher and their adventure guide. (Straits Times)(Today)
HSBC announces plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the United Kingdom, one-sixth of its U.K. workforce, via "natural attrition" as it restructures its banking business. A total of 25,000 jobs could be axed globally. (BBC)
Two Brazilians reach historic milestones in the team's 2–0 win over South Korea in Montreal. Marta sets a new record with her 15th goal in Women's World Cup play, and the 37-year-old Formiga becomes the oldest player to score in a Women's World Cup. (ESPN)
The death toll from the MERS outbreak in South Korea rises to nine, with 13 new cases reported. More than 2,200 schools have closed or cancelled classes as a result of the outbreak. (Reuters)
Pope Francis approves the outline of a new system giving power to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to judge bishops "with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the abuse of minors." (National Catholic Reporter)
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, shoots dead at least 20 Druze villagers in Idlib in what is being described as a "massacre". (The Telegraph)
Residents of northeast Nigeria claim that Boko Haram has killed at least 43 people and burnt down three villages in recent attacks. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip towards the Ashkelon region fell short and did not land in Israel with Palestinian sources indicating it may have hit a house. There were no immediate reports of injuries, or claims of responsibility. Journalists speculate that ISIL-affiliated groups are responsible. (Times of Israel)
Arts and culture
Spain gives the late writer Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, a formal burial at a Madrid convent nearly 400 years after his death in 1616. (AP)
Federal Interior Ministry of Pakistan has sealed the offices of the NGO Save the Children in Pakistan and issued order for its foreign staff to leave the country within 15 days on account of the NGO’s anti-Pakistan activities. (Express Tribune).
Authorities from the Marshal's Service, the FBI, Customs, state and local police, and the Forest Police searching for 6 days in northeastern New York (about 25 miles south of the Canadian border, near Lake Champlain and Vermont, in the Adirondack Forest area, in Dannemora, New York and Plattsburgh, New York) for two high-risk murderers who staged an elaborate escape from the high-security Clinton Correctional Facility- the first there- the night of Friday, June 5, 2015 (it was discovered the next morning), using bloodhounds, find a scent and leftover evidence that could be from the two, Richard Matt and David Sweat. (CNN)
The Israel Defense Forces Advocate General has announced criminal investigations into three more incidents from Operation Protective Edge. Of the 190 incidents reported to the IDF, investigations have been completed on 105, with seven leading to criminal investigations. (YNet)
Scheduled talks of 14th June, 2015 between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the exiled government which are brokered by the UN have been postponed with a new schedule set for Monday 15 June, 2015. (The Daily Star (Lebanon) via Reuters
A man opens fire at policemen outside the police headquarters in the Texan city of Dallas, while a bag containing a pipe bomb is also found. He was later shot dead by police snipers following a car chase and standoff. (AP), (CNN)
Flooding in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, destroys animal enclosures at a zoo resulting in the release of potentially dangerous animals and the death of three zookeepers and six other people. (AP), (USA Today), (Reuters, DPA via WA Today)
The High Court in Pretoria grants an interim order preventing al-Bashir from leaving South Africa, and postpones the application for his arrest to the next day to allow the government more time to prepare. (News24)(News24)
At least 23 people are killed and more than 100 injured in suicide attacks on police headquarters and training centers by suspected Boko Haram members in N'Djamena, Chad. (New York Times)
The Vatican announces that the first hearing in the trial of Józef Wesołowski, a former papal ambassador to the Dominican Republic and a Polish former prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, is scheduled for July 11. (ABC News), (NPR)
Rupert Murdoch confirms stepping down as the CEO of 21st Century Fox to be succeeded by his son James on July 1, 2015. Rupert will continue as its executive chairman with his eldest son, Lachlan, as a future executive co-chairman. (USA Today)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues a mandate that all artificial trans fatty acids (trans fats) must be eliminated within three years (2018) from all foods grown, imported to, or sold within the United States. It is the strictest and most final type of ruling, even more so than a black-box warning or a warning to list ingredients, that can be given from the federal agency, which has ultimate jurisdiction over the safety of all food and drug products, public or private, in the United States. The substances occur in processed meats and other foods, and have been repeatedly implicated in atherosclerotic coronary heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. (MSN), (Washington Post),(CNN Money), (FDA's statement)
The American NBC network announces that Lester Holt will continue as the host of the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams returning in an undisclosed role. (The Wrap)
In the United States, the California Labor Commission ruled that a San Francisco Uber driver is a company employee, not a contractor. Uber appealed this ruling, that would increase the company's costs and liabilities, to the state's court system. A hearing for a class certification of a similar lawsuit against Uber is scheduled for August 2015. (NPR), (Time Magazine)(U.S. News & World Report)
Suspected shooter Dylann Roof is arrested at a traffic stop. Roof is suspected of killing nine people including a South Carolinian state senator. He was charged with multiple drug possession in April and reportedly (by CNN) legally bought the gun at a store after passing a background check despite his criminal record. (ABC News)(ITV News)
At the Vatican, Pope Francis's officials in the Roman Curia formally release the text of his most recent encyclical, Laudato si'. The text, which had been quite anticipated by many sides on the climate change debate and been criticized by some for his involvement in the politicized and charged issue, had been previously leaked. (Reuters), via MSN, (CNN), (Vatican)
Muslims begin fasting at the start of the lunar calendar month of Ramadan, 2015.
The European Central Bank increased the cap on cash available to Greek banks through emergency liquidity assistance, as those banks continue to experience steady withdrawals. Greek citizens have withdrawn over 3 billion Euros in the last month. (Reuters)
Hawaii becomes the first U.S. state to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21, effective January 1, 2016, and will also outlaw sales, purchases, or uses of electronic cigarettes for those under 21. (Reuters)
Dozens of ISIL militants are killed following a militia attack on the eastern city of Derna. ISIL has had a significant presence in Derna since the end of 2014. (Yahoo)
A Palestinian teenager is in police custody after he stabbed a policeman who was administrating Jerusalem's Damascus Gate border in the neck, critically injuring the policeman. The policeman then shot and injured the teenager and collapsed. (YNet)
Politics
Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras makes a new offer for reforms which could signal a late deal in the country's debt talks. (ITV News)
At least 20 people are killed after a female suicide bomber attacks a fish market in Nigeria's north-eastern city of Maiduguri. The militant Islamist group Boko Haram is suspected to be behind the attack. (BBC)
The number of deaths from MERS in South Korea rises to 27 with three new cases reported. The government is taking unprecedented precautions in terms of public sanitation and quarantine.(Yonhap)
Walmart, the largest store in the United States, announces that it will withdraw all merchandise featuring the Confederate flag from sale at its stores and online. (CNN)
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the military base Brigade 93 and enter the town of Ayn Issa, the first defense line of ISIL north of its de facto capital al-Raqqah.
ISIL claims it has started the destruction of the ancient complex of Palmyra. (euronews)
The deputy speaker of the Greek parliament, Alexis Mitropoulos, warns that the body may reject concessions the government had made to the country's creditors. (Reuters)
Tsarnev is sent to the US Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, where 61 other inmates are awaiting their lethal injections. (NBC News)
China's customs officers seize more than 100,000 t (98,000 long tons; 110,000 short tons) of meat, many of which expired, some more than 40 years ago. (China Daily)(NPR)
Two hotels in Sousse, Tunisia came under attack from an unknown number of gunmen; at least 37 people have been killed and 36 injured. (Sky News), (BBC), (USA Today)
Islamic State kills 146 civilians in Kobanî, the second largest massacre since the start of conflict when the extremist group executed 700 members of the al-Sheitaat tribe in eastern Syria. (IBT), (VOA NEWS)
A midair explosion from flammable powder at a recreational water park in Taiwan injures at least 510 people with about 183 in serious condition in intensive care. (CNN)
A sandstorm and a magnitude-5.2 earthquake centered in Sinai peninsula hit Egypt. There are no reports of deaths or injuries. (AP via MSN)
Tunisia deploys an additional 1000 police in resorts and beaches following the attack on tourists on Friday. (AP)
With the number of British dead expected to exceed 30, the U.K. warns its citizens about traveling to certain parts of Tunisia, including the south and near the Libyan border. (AP), (BBC)
In Istanbul, Turkish police forces interrupt the LGBT pride parade, which was refused this year due to the holy month Ramadan, by firing water cannons and rubber pellets. (Reuters UK)
The BBC reports that the European Central Bank will cap lending to Greece's struggling banks, causing the run on the nation's banks to become even worse. Next week a referendum will be held about leaving the Euro currency. (BBC), (BBC), (Irish Times)
Lars Løkke Rasmussen forms Denmark's first single-party government in 33 years, and Rasmussen himself becomes the first prime minister in 33 years to serve in two non-consecutive terms; Kristian Jensen becomes the sixth foreign minister since 2010. (The Local)(Copenhagen Post)
The Turkish military is reportedly preparing for an imminent invasion of northern Syria following a National Security Council meeting. The aim is to establish a buffer zone for refugees and drive back Islamic State militants. The Kurdish militia group YPG have said they will oppose any Turkish intervention in Syria. Turkey has for decades fought against Kurdish separatist movements such as the PKK(Telegraph)
Four Israelis were shot and injured in a drive-by shooting attack near Shilo, as a manhunt begins for the suspects. (YNet)
A Palestinian woman was arrested after stabbing and seriously wounding a female IDF soldier at a checkpoint near Bethlehem. (Haaretz)
Five Chadian security officials and six militants have been killed during an explosion in a raid in the capital N'Djamena. (BBC)
According to witnesses who fled fighting in Nangarhar province, fighters loyal to Islamic State seize substantial territory in Afghanistan for the first time, wresting areas in the east from rival Taliban insurgents in a new threat to stability, scorching opium poppy fields that help to fund the Taliban's campaign to overthrow the Afghan government. (Newsweek)
The Israeli Navy intercepts and takes control of the lone ship still involved in Freedom Flotilla III and pilots it to Ashdod. The other three ships involved had already turned back after being intercepted. Israel offered all ships to unload their humanitarian aid cargo in Israeli ports and transport it into Gaza for free but the ships refused. (Israel National News)(Times Of Israel)
NBC drops support of 2016 United States Presidential candidate Donald Trump after Trump gives a campaign speech which includes remarks considered by some to be racist.(The Washington Post)
Science and technology
A robot kills a man, who was a contractor, at a Volkswagen production plant in Baunatal, Germany. Spokesman Heiko Hillwig said the 22-year-old victim was part of a team that was setting up the robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate. The death was preliminarily attributed to human error, rather than any issue with the robot itself; prosecutors are contemplating whether to charge anybody. (MSN)
