Portal:Current events/2018 May 31

May 31, 2018 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2018 Nicaraguan protests
- Catholic bishops cancel the planned Episcopal Conference talks with the government after protests against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega turn violent. According to the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, pro-government armed groups killed 11 people. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Transport in Iran
- Truck owners' strikes continue for the tenth consecutive day in 177 cities. Fuel shortages and long lines at petrol stations are reported in all major Iranian cities. (Open Democracy)
Trump tariffs, Protectionism in the United States
- United States tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union are set to take effect at midnight. (BBC)
- Mexico retaliates with equivalent levies on pork legs, apples, grapes, cheeses and steel. The Secretariat of Economy says that the measures will be in place until the U.S. eliminates their new tariffs. (Reuters)
- President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker vows "counterbalancing measures" from the EU soon. The EU is expected to respond with tariffs on a little more than US$3 billion worth of American goods including motorcycles, bourbon, and blue jeans. Juncker also says that the EU will proceed with a case against the US in the World Trade Organization. US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross replies that the EU measures are "unlikely" to have much impact on the US economy. (AP via The News & Observer) (Business Insider) (Reuters)
- Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland announces dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs of 10% or 25% on a list of goods – steel, aluminum, whiskey, orange juice and other food products – worth $16.6 billion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounces an "affront" to the security partnership between the US and Canada. (CNBC)

International relations

Law and crime

European Convention on Human Rights
- The European Court of Human Rights rules that the Romanian and Lithuanian governments each knowingly hosted CIA secret prisons around 2005. Both countries also participated in the US extraordinary rendition program: one case by each country is acknowledged. Four years ago, Poland was also condemned for running a CIA secret jail. (Reuters)
Terrorism in the United Kingdom
- A British man named Husnain Rashid pleaded guilty after supporting ISIS and admitting that he threatened to attack Prince George at school. (Global News)
Denmark's parliament votes 75–30 to ban garments that cover the face, which includes Islamic veils such as the niqāb and burqa. Those violating the law risk a fine of 1,000 kroner. Similar bans already exist in Austria, Belgium and France. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Gürtel case
- The debate on a motion of no confidence against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government takes place at the Congress of Deputies, with a vote scheduled tomorrow. With an expected 180 votes against 176 needed, leader of the Opposition, socialist Pedro Sánchez, could immediately become the next Prime Minister. (The Independent) (Reuters)
Thirty-first Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
- Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain signs into law the official merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative province. (RFE/RL)
A large march, which included students, citizen collectives and political groups of the left, toured the streets of Lima, Peru to demand the closure of the Congress of the Republic, seat of the legislative power, in response to the constant corruption scandals involving congressmen, in addition to excessive economic expenses that, for the demonstrators, makes this power of the State. The protest, initially peaceful, turned violent when the police prevented the demonstrators from approaching precisely the Congress and the presidential palace. (Perú 21) (La República)

Science and technology

Plutinos
- Astronomers announce the discovery of 380–680-kilometre (240–420 mi) wide plutino 2017 OF69, the fifth-largest known plutino, and the largest discovered since 90482 Orcus in 2004. (Minor Planet Center)
- Pluto, the eponymous member of the plutino group, is discovered to have dunes of methane ice. (BBC)
Paleontologists at the University of Bristol announce, through the Nature journal, the discovery of the world's oldest lizard fossil, estimated to be 240 million years old. The fossil, Megachirella wachtleri, is the most ancient known ancestor of all modern lizards and snakes. (Science Daily) (CBC)