Portal:Current events/2019 May 30
May 30, 2019 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- An explosive device is detonated in a commercial center in the Colombian city of Cúcuta, on the border with Venezuela, with at least 12 injured. (La Vanguardia) (El Universal)
Health and environment
- A study, published in the journal Science, finds a genetically enhanced fungus that produces spider toxin can rapidly kill huge numbers of the mosquitoes that spread malaria. Trials held in Burkina Faso showed mosquito populations collapsed by 99% within 45 days. The fungus did not affect other insects, such as bees. (BBC) (Science)
- Measles resurgence in the United States
- Sixty new cases in the past week are reported, bringing this year's total to 971 cases in 26 U.S. states – the highest since 1994. The CDC warns, "If these outbreaks continue through summer and fall, the United States may lose its measles elimination status." (BBC)
International relations
- Mexico–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump announces a 5% import tariff on all products from Mexico, effective June 10 and rising in steps to 25% by October, "until the illegal immigration problem is remedied". (BBC News)
- Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador responds with a letter to the U.S. president stating he wants to avoid a confrontation, saying that ideals such as justice and universal brotherhood are more important than borders. He also ordered his foreign minister to travel to Washington on Friday. (Reuters)
Law and crime
- American songwriter R. Kelly is charged by Chicago prosecutors with 11 counts of sexual assault and abuse. (Entertainment Weekly) (The Guardian)
- Sinking of Hableány
- The captain of the M/V Viking Sigyn that was involved in the deadly sinking of the Hableány is questioned and arrested by the Hungarian police. (BBC)
Politics and elections
- Politics of Papua New Guinea
- James Marape is elected Prime Minister by the National Parliament following the resignation of Peter O'Neill. (ABC)
- Abortion in the United States by state
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signs a heartbeat bill that bans abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The law’s effective date is tied to a similar Mississippi law which has already been temporarily blocked by a federal court. (BBC)
- Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro
- Fifteen days after the first wave of protests, millions of students, schoolteachers and university professors hold demonstrations in over a hundred Brazilian cities against massive cuts in the education budget. Brazilian Education Minister Abraham Weintraub accuses teachers of "coercing" students into participating in the protests. (The Guardian)
- African Continental Free Trade Agreement
- With the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) by Gambia on May 29, 2019, 22 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification to the African Union (AU), meeting the threshold for the agreement to come into effect. The AfCFTA entered into force on May 30, 2019.
Sports
- 2019 NBA Finals
- The Toronto Raptors host the first National Basketball Association (NBA) finals game in their franchise history, against the Golden State Warriors, and the first outside the United States in NBA history at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Raptors won 118–109. (NPR)