In a report released, the United Nations estimates a record 68.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution, notably in places like Myanmar and Syria. The estimate as of end 2017, is a surge of nearly three million as compared to the previous year. Around 70 per cent of this estimate comprises people from just 10 countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron publicly reprimanded a teenager after the boy addressed him informally as ’Manu’. The President was attending a ceremony in northern France to commemorate General Charles De Gaulle’s call for popular resistance during World War II. Macron was seen telling the teen, ’No, no, you are here at an official ceremony. You can’t just behave like that.’

Indonesian rescue workers braved heavy rains and rough seas in search for survivors after a ferry with at least 80 passengers on board sank in Lake Toba, North Sumatra. An estimated 18 people had been rescued and one passenger was confirmed dead. This incident comes in the wake of a similar tragedy last week where a longboat carrying around 43 people sank off Makassar on Sulawesi island.

A strong earthquake, with a recorded magnitude of 6.1, struck the city of Osaka in western Japan on Monday morning. It is reported to have killed at least three people and injured more than 210. The earthquake struck shortly after 8 a.m. north of Osaka, as per the Japan Meteorological Agency.

20-year-old U.S. rapper XXXTentacion has died in a shooting incident in Miami. He was reportedly shot at by two hooded assailants after leaving a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach. His death comes just months after his released from house arrest in relation to a charge of domestic violence against his pregnant girlfriend. XXXTentacion, released his debut album in August 2017.

Former CIA engineer, Joshua Schulte, charged with possession of child pornography earlier has also been charged with leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. As per the indictment, Schulte altered a computer system operated by the US Intelligence Agency to grant himself access to the system, deleting records of his activities and denying others access to the system.

Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, defended her department’s policies stating ’if you cross the border illegally, we will prosecute you’. In a speech to the National Sheriffs’ Association in New Orleans, Nielsen spoke in response to the increasing outrage over separating children from adults, saying the children are provided food, medical attention and anything else they might need.

Hillary Clinton became the latest living former first lady to slam the Trump administration around the border policy on immigration. Speaking at the awards luncheon for the Women’s Forum of New York, Clinton, the 4th first lady in 24 hours to criticize the White House administration around the issue said, ’Every human being with a sense of compassion and decency should be outraged’.

The Senate passed a legislation to reinstate a ban on sales of U.S. components to Chinese tech firm, ZTE Corp. The ban was put in place after ZTE reportedly violated a 2017 deal in which the company admitted to evading sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Earlier an intervention from President Trump had seen a deal on lifting the ban in exchange for a fine of more than $1 billion.

Following months of speculation, Microsoft has announced the launch of new, customizable Xbox Avatars. Xbox Insiders can get a taste of the Avatar Editor app starting June 19. Microsoft’s new avatars will reflect new categories and come with custom color combinations.

IBM pitted a computer against two human debaters in a first public demonstration. The company unveiled its Project Debater in San Francisco on Monday, asking it to make a case for government-subsidized space research. Addressing the topic it hadn’t studied in advance, the machine fiercely debated with just a few gaps in reasoning. The debate was adjudged a draw.

President Trump announced that he is directing the Pentagon to create a new ’Space Force’ aimed at ensuring American dominance in space. Trump claimed that the program will ensure that the US, which plans a return to the moon and a mission to Mars, stays ahead of China and Russia in any new space race.

As outrage grows over the White House immigration policy, Congressional Republican hardliners softened their stance, joining Democrats to demand finding ways to keep families together while trying to stop a new surge of illegal immigration. High-profile Republicans including Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said he will no longer allow his National Guard troops to assist with border security.

President Trump directed the U.S. Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports on Monday. This follows the two nations imposing tariffs worth $50 billion on each others imports. A statement released by the White House shared, ’these tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs’.

Apple announced a new life-saving feature in iOS 12, not publicly disclosed earlier. The new iOS 12 to be released aims to have first responders able to access location data ’securely and automatically’ when iPhone customers call 911. The move is intended to dramatically improve emergency service response time.

Chief executive of Volkswagen’s Audi division, Rupert Stadler, has been arrested as part of a probe into manipulation of emissions controls. The move follows last weeks search of Stadler’s private residence on suspicion of fraud and indirect improprieties with documents. VW admitted in September 2015 to using illegal software to cheat US emissions tests on diesel engines.

Japan’s SBI Virtual Currencies has added support for two major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). SBI Virtual Currencies, a subsidiary of Japan’s largest financial services groups, is one of the 16 government-approved crypto exchanges in Japan. The company launched the Vctrade crypto exchange service on June 4 with just the XRP/JPY trading pair.

South Korea’s central bank announced it does not plan to launch its own digital currency over fears it could destabilize the economy. In a released report, a researcher within the bank was quoted saying, ’digital currencies have been exposed to various categories of risk associated with credit, liquidity and legal management’. The bank further stated, ’digital currencies do not perform as money’.

Non-profit organization Freedom of the Press Foundation announced it now accepts cryptocurrency donations. Donations can be made with Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Zcash. It also shared that blockchain company, Mainframe, building a network for censorship resistant communication, has made a donation of 1,000 ETH to the foundation.

Sergio Ermotti, CEO of Swiss financial services giant UBS Group AG, endorsed blockchain technology suggesting it is ’almost a must’ for businesses. Ermotti believes that the technology can help companies become more efficient, thereby reducing costs for operations. He expects blockchain to be as crucial, disruptive and changing as regulation was in the last 10 years.