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Belarus Forces Airliner to Land and Arrests Opponent, Sparking U.S. and European Outrage Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday and then detained an opposition-minded journalist who was on board, drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States. In what was described by some EU leaders as a hijacking, the passenger plane flying from Athens to Lithuania was suddenly diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, escorted there by a Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet. On its landing, authorities took journalist Roman Protasevich into custody. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-forces-vilnius-bound-ryanair-plane-land-detain-blogger-2021-05-23/

Israel, Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire to End Bloody 11-Day War Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire Thursday, halting a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, brought life in much of Israel to a standstill and left more than 200 people dead. https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-middle-east-israel-palestinian-conflict-caac81bc36fe9be67ac2f7c27000c74b

‘Shocking and Horrifying’: Israel Destroys AP Office in Gaza An Israeli airstrike on Saturday destroyed a high-rise building that housed The Associated Press office in the Gaza Strip, despite repeated urgent calls from the news agency to the military to halt the impending attack. AP called the strike “shocking and horrifying.” https://apnews.com/article/media-israel-middle-east-business-israel-palestinian-conflict-fe452147166f55ba5a9d32e6ba8b53d7

China’s Mars Rover Mission Lands on the Red Plane The United States now has company on Mars. A Chinese spacecraft descended through the thin Martian atmosphere and landed safely on a large plain on Saturday morning, state media reported, accomplishing a feat that only two other nations have before. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/science/china-mars-rover-landing.html

‘Great Day for America’: Vaccinated Can Largely Ditch Masks In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people on Thursday, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. “Today is a great day for America,” President Joe Biden said during a Rose Garden address heralding the new guidance, an event where he and his staff went without masks. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-masks-cdc-guidelines-9d10c8b5f80a4ac720fa1df2a4fb93e5

Israel, Hamas Trade Deadly Fire as Confrontation Escalates A confrontation between Israel and Hamas sparked by weeks of tensions in contested Jerusalem escalated Tuesday as Israel unleashed new airstrikes on Gaza while militants barraged Israel with hundreds of rockets. The exchange killed a number of militants and civilians in Gaza and at least three people in Israel. https://apnews.com/article/world-news-hamas-middle-east-israel-ad7d5a99e382dcdd3e5df45f33be1b43

Mexico City Metro Overpass Collapses Onto Road; 13 Dead An overpass in Mexico City's metro collapsed Monday night, sending a train plunging downward, trapping cars under rubble and killing at least 13 people, authorities said. https://apnews.com/article/mexico-city-mexico-faee07a9250174f58365db6c915476d7

Stampede at Israel Religious Celebration Kills at Least 44 A stampede early Friday at a mountainside religious celebration in Israel that drew tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews left at least 44 people dead and scores more injured. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/world/middleeast/israel-mount-meron-stampede.html

India Posts Daily Rise of Over 300,000 COVID-19 Cases, Record Death Toll India on Thursday reported more than 300,000 coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, the highest daily global total, while COVID-19-related deaths also jumped by a record. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/india-posts-daily-rise-over-300000-covid-19-cases-record-death-toll-2021-04-22/

Minneapolis Police Officer Charged with Murder in George Floyd Case The white Minneapolis policeman who pinned an unarmed black man with a knee to the throat before the man died was arrested and charged with murder, a prosecutor said on Friday, after three…

President of Chad Is Killed as Soldiers Clash With Rebels President Idriss Déby of Chad died of wounds sustained in clashes between insurgents and government soldiers, the country’s armed forces said on Tuesday, one day after he had claimed victory in his re-election campaign. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/world/africa/president-chad-killed.html

NASA’s Mars Helicopter Completes First Flight on Another Planet A small robotic helicopter named Ingenuity made space exploration history on Monday when it lifted off the surface of Mars and hovered. It was the first machine from Earth ever to fly like an airplane or a helicopter on another world. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/science/nasa-mars-helicopter.html