Friday, May 21

*) Israel-Palestinian ceasefire comes into force A ceasefire has been brokered between Israel and Hamas. The truce came into force early on Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the besieged Palestinian enclave. Celebrations were heard on Gaza's streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air. The ceasefire appeared to be holding on Friday morning. *) Biden signs bill to counter spike in anti-Asian hate crimes US President Joe Biden has signed the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act to curtail a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 94-1 in April and the House of Representatives by 364-62 earlier this month. Reports of violence against Asian Americans spiked since the start of the pandemic last year, a rise that activists and police say was fed by comments from former president Donald Trump. *) Argentina returns to strict Covid-19 lockdown Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez announced a strict countrywide lockdown for the first time this year. The announcement came after more than 35,000 coronavirus infections were reported in Argentina for the third consecutive day and the death toll skyrocketed. The measures will last from Saturday until May 31 but workers of essential activities will be exempted. *) CNN: Trump Justice Department seized reporter phone records The Justice Department under the Trump administration secretly obtained the 2017 phone records of a CNN correspondent, the network has said. The revelation comes two weeks after The Washington Post disclosed that the Justice Department seized phone records of three of its journalists who covered the Russia investigation. CNN said Justice informed Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr in a May 13 letter that it had obtained phone and email records. And finally ... *) Microsoft announces retirement of Internet Explorer Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer, the browser it created more t