Portal:Current events/2019 June 14
June 14, 2019 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
- An unnamed United States official claims that, just prior to the attack on two merchant vessels, an Iranian vessel launched a surface to air missile at a MQ-9 Reaper drone in the vicinity of the attack. An additional MQ-9 Reaper is reported to have been shot down by Houthi rebels several days prior in the Red Sea. (CNN)
- The president of the Japanese shipping company offers a different account of the attack than that provided by the United States. Yutaka Katada says the Filipino crew of the Kokuka Courageous oil tanker said their vessel was apparently first hit by an artillery shell rather than a mine. The United States said the tanker was attacked by limpet mines and released a video it says shows Iranian special forces removing an unexploded mine from the oil tanker's side. (The Washington Post) (BBC News)
- A U.S. official says Iranian Navy gunboats are preventing the damaged Norwegian-owned Front Altair oil tanker from being towed away by two private tugboats in the Gulf of Oman. (Reuters)
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an independent investigation to establish the facts and responsibility for the oil tankers attacks in the Gulf of Oman. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- At least 61 people have been killed and 356,000 evacuated from their homes as heavy rain and floods swept through large parts of southern and central China this week. (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- Iran–Japan relations, Iran–United States relations
- Kyodo News Agency reports that during his visit to mediate between the U.S. and Iran, Japanese PM Shinzō Abe asked Iran to release American prisoners held by Iran, though the response is "unclear" to the press. But Iran says it will not negotiate with the United States, rejecting Abe's bid to broker dialogue between the two countries amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accuses the "B-Team" (Mohammed bin Salman, John Bolton and Benjamin Netanyahu) of sabotaging diplomacy, including Abe's meeting, to hide its "economic terrorism" by accusing Iran of attacking oil tankers. (The Washington Post) (Kyodo News)
- Cyprus—Turkey relations
- European Union Mediterranean state leaders offer full support to fellow EU member Cyprus in its dispute with Turkey over offshore natural gas deposit ownership. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking for the EU, urges Turkey to stop “illegal activities” in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone. (Reuters) (Reuters²)
Law and crime
- Transgender personnel in the United States military
- The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, without ruling on the merits, orders U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman (Seattle) to reconsider her ruling against the ban of most transgender people from the military, stating she did not give the military’s judgment enough deference. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro
- In response to a controversial pension reform proposal and cuts in the education budget, a general strike by over 40 million workers takes place in Brazil. Demonstrations are held in over 80 cities across the country. (France24)