Portal:Current events/2016 May 31

Current events of May 31, 2016 (2016-05-31) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War
  • At least 23 people are killed in overnight air strikes in Idlib, Syria. (CNN) (BBC)
• War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
  • Suspect Taliban militants kill nine and kidnap 170 in an attack on three passenger buses in Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Reuters) (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 17 army personnel are killed in a fire in an ammunitions depot in the Indian town of Pulgaon, Maharashtra. (The New York Times) (NDTV) (AFP via ABC News Australia)

International relations

• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
  • North Korea attempts again to launch a BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking South Korea or Japan but is unsuccessful. (The Guardian)
• A recent Global Slavery Index report estimates the number of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, in debt bondage, or forced labour to be 45.8 million. India is reported to have the highest number at an estimated 18.4 million slaves, and North Korea the highest ratio, 4.4 percent of its population. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

• Iranian legislative election, 2016
  • Ali Larijani was reelected as chairman of the Iranian Parliament for a one year term while Masoud Pezeshkian and Ali Motahari were elected as deputy chairpersons. All three elected members were supported by List of Hope in the recent election. (Yahoo! news) (Xinhau net) (The New York Times)

Sports

• It is announced that Julien's Auctions will sell 1,500 lots of the possessions of association football icon Pelé, including his medals, trophies, jerseys and diplomatic gifts. (BBC)