Armed conflicts and attacks

The UNRWA suspends food distribution in Rafah due to insecurity and a lack of supplies. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unrwa-says-food-distribution-rafah-suspended-due-insecurity-2024-05-21/

Armed conflicts and attacks

Gunmen kill 40 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria's Plateau State. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/gunmen-kill-40-north-central-nigeria-attack-2024-05-21/

Business and economy

Pixar Animation Studios lays off 14% of its workforce, approximately 175 people. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/pixar-animation-lay-off-about-14-workforce-2024-05-21/

Disasters and accidents

A Singapore Airlines flight from London, England, to Singapore makes an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after experiencing severe air turbulence over the Bay of Bengal, resulting in one death and at least 30 injuries. (BBC News)

• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8889d7x8j4o

Disasters and accidents

Eleven workers drown after a microbus falls off a ferry into the Nile River in Giza, Egypt. (Al-Ahram)

• https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/1235/523963/Egypt/Urban--Transport/-women-drown-as-microbus-falls-off-Nile-ferry-in-G.aspx

International relations

Spain permanently recalls its ambassador from Argentina amid a diplomatic crisis over President of Argentina Javier Milei's comments about Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez. (CNN)

• https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2024/05/21/espana-retira-embajadora-buenos-aires-argentina-orix/

International relations

Moldova becomes the first non-European Union (EU) signatory country to sign a security and defense pact with the EU to receive assistance in strengthening and managing its borders, facilitating cooperation in cybersecurity, and combating disinformation. (Politico)

• https://www.politico.eu/article/moldova-security-defense-pact-eu-security-cooperation-josep-borrell-border-management-cybersecurity-disinformation/

Law and crime

The Israeli Ministry of Communications seizes broadcasting equipment from the Associated Press and suspends their live feed of Gaza, accusing them of breaking the new media law by supplying images to Al Jazeera. (AP)

• https://apnews.com/article/live-transmission-israel-associated-press-57e8f662907334ba3599156276381190

Law and crime

Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)

• https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/bc-serial-killer-robert-pickton-savagely-attacked-in-prison

Law and crime

The European Union passes the Artificial Intelligence Act, to be applied in 2026. The act imposes strict transparency obligations on AI systems, restricts governments from using real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces, and bans social scoring, predictive policing, and untargeted scraping of facial images. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-back-landmark-artificial-intelligence-rules-2024-05-21/

Law and crime

A court in Saint Petersburg, Russia, sentences Anatoly Maslov, a 77-year-old hypersonic missiles expert, to 14 years in prison for state treason. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-hypersonics-expert-jailed-14-years-treason-2024-05-21/

Law and crime

The Netherlands moves to ban international adoptions. (Reuters)

• https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/netherlands-will-no-longer-allow-international-adoptions-2024-05-21/