Portal:Current events/May 2018

• Syrian Civil War
  • Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War
    • ISIL releases an execution video showing a prisoner being killed by explosives in Yarmouk Camp, Damascus. (Metro)
  • At least 23 civilians die in a airstrike near Shadadi, Al-Hasakah Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has stated it is not clear who carried out the attack, listing Iraq and US-led coalition as two possibilities. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency claims the US-led coalition is responsible. (BT) (Middle East Monitor)
• Boko Haram insurgency
  • A suicide bombing kills at least 24 people at a mosque in Mubi, Nigeria. Boko Haram are suspected of being behind the attack. (BBC)
• Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
  • Pro-Hadi forces capture the Al Bareh Triangle and seize Houthi arms. (Gulf News)
  • Several independent MPs urge Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to withdraw troops from Yemen where they are supporting a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels. (AllAfrica)
• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad releases video of Israeli general Yoav Mordechai meeting with United Kingdom ambassador David Quarrey and observing the protests last week. Quarrey's visit came amid concerns of the Israeli Defence Forces using live ammunition and was intended to be kept secret. (The Telegraph)
• Persecution of Muslims in Myanmar
  • Myanmar's military pledges to a U.N. delegation visiting Rakhine State that they will take "harsh" action against perpetrators of sexual violence in the region. The U.N. previously accused Myanmar's military of committing an ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. (Reuters)
• Iraqi police and al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops raid ISIL locations in Hawija, Kirkuk, and seize tunnels and arms caches. (Iraqi News)
• A bomb in Mosul, Iraq, kills and injures seven policemen. (Iraqi News)

• Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations
  • American actress Ashley Judd sues Harvey Weinstein for defamation and sexual harassment, claiming he "torpedoed" her chance to be cast in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Herald Courier)
• Publisher Bloomsbury acquires Middle East and political publishing specialist I.B. Tauris. (The Bookseller)
• The Supreme Court of India orders the government to seek international help after examining photos submitted by environmentalists showing a change in colour of the Taj Mahal. (BBC)

• Economy of the United Kingdom
  • Following the cancellation of the Williams & Glyn bank formation, the Royal Bank of Scotland announces the closure of 162 RBS and subsidiary NatWest branches across the United Kingdom. (BBC)
  • Minimum alcohol pricing comes into effect in Scotland, mandating prices of at least 50p per unit. Scotland becomes the first country to introduce such a scheme. (The Independent)
• United States guitar manufacturer Gibson files for bankruptcy protection. (The Guardian)

• Incidents at Universal parks
  • At Universal Studios Japan, the Flying Dinosaur roller coaster gets stuck 100 feet in the air, stranding about 64 people for nearly 2 hours. (NDTV)
• Edifício Wilton Paes de Almeida, a 26-story tower block in São Paulo, Brazil, is destroyed by a fire and consequent collapse. Neighbouring buildings are also damaged by fire. Authorities warn the casualty toll is "likely to be high". (Metro)
• An avalanche in the Alps kills three skiers and injures two in Valais, Switzerland. (Gulf News)

• Dominican Republic–Taiwan relations, China–Dominican Republic relations
  • The Dominican Republic severs ties with Taiwan and establishes diplomatic relations with China. (CNN)
• Russia–United States relations
  • A Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepts a United States P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, with the US claiming the procedure was unprofessional and the aircraft came within 20 feet of each other. (KFDI)
• Iran–Morocco relations
  • Morocco cuts diplomatic ties with Iran over its support for the Polisario Front, a Western Saharan independence movement. (Al Jazeera)
• The African Land Forces Summit opens in Abuja, Nigeria. Present are military delegations from 30 African nations plus representatives from Europe and the United States. (AllAfrica)
• Poland takes over the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council. (Radio Poland)

• Terrorism in England
  • ISIL suspect Lewis Ludlow makes an initial appearance before Westminster Magistrates' Court accused of plotting a terror attack in London. He denies the offences and the case is transferred to the Old Bailey. (BBC)
• May Day
  • Far-left anarchists clash with riot police in central Paris, France. Several businesses are looted and set on fire, including a McDonald's restaurant and Renault garage. Hundreds are arrested. (Reuters)
• Far-right terrorism in the United Kingdom
  • West Midlands Police arrest five men and a woman suspected of membership of National Action, a neo-Nazi group banned as a terror group. (The Oxford Mail)
• Iran bans the Telegram messenger app, citing national security concerns. (BBC)
• Catherine De Bolle from Belgium becomes the first woman to lead Europol. (Politico)

• Iraqi parliamentary election, 2018
  • Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George W. Bush in 2008, will run for Iraqi parliament. (BuzzFeed News)
• 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals
  • Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler announces that he will resign in one week, after being accused of sexual harassment. (The Times-Picayune)

• Kenyan boxer Brian Agina goes missing as his team prepares to return from the Commonwealth Games in Australia. (AllAfrica)
• Former Green Bay Packers and NC State player Carlos Gray is found dead after being shot at his home. (News Observer)

• Basque conflict
  • Basque separatist group ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), which waged an insurgency against Spain between 1959 and 2011, announces its complete dissolution. (The Guardian)
• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • A fire started by an incendiary device attached to a kite by Palestinian protestors and flown into Israel burns for six hours. It is the largest fire so far after a string of firebombing attacks. (The Times of Israel)
• A random shooting in al-Tarmia District, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq, kills at least eight people and wounds at least fourteen. The gunmen responsible remain at large and unidentified. (Iraqi News)
• The UK Royal Air Force admits killing a civilian with a drone strike in Syria, the first time the force has accepted responsibility for civilian deaths in the country since starting operations there four years ago. (The Guardian)

• Multiannual Financial Framework
  • The European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther Oettinger formally unveils proposed budget rules for the European Union to run from 2021 to 2027. (Politico)
• Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
  • Cambridge Analytica announces that it is closing down as a result of the scandal. (BBC)

• Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
  • Searches led by Ocean Infinity move to a new section of the Indian Ocean after the initial search area was cleared without success. If the missing aircraft, which was carrying over 200 people, is not found by mid-June the search will be called off. (The South China Morning Post)
• A Puerto Rico Air National Guard C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes during a training flight near Savannah, Georgia, United States, killing all five crew members and four passengers. (Reuters) (BBC)
• Firefighters say 44 people are missing after the collapse of the Edifício Wilton Paes de Almeida tower block in São Paulo, Brazil, yesterday. One missing man was within seconds of rescue when the building came down during a fire. (The Japan Times)

• North Korea–United States relations
  • North Korea has released the three remaining American detainees ahead of the upcoming summit meeting with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. The news came after National Security Adviser John R. Bolton stated that they should be released as a way for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity in talks. (Business Insider)

• Special Counsel investigation (2017–present)
  • Robert Mueller suggests that he could order a subpoena in order to get U.S. President Donald Trump to testify to the investigation. (BBC)
• A Texan teenager inspired by ISIL is arrested after threatening a mass shooting at a mall. (Reuters)

• Abortion in the United States
  • Iowa's House of Representatives approves a bill restricting abortions in the state. If approved by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will be banned. (BBC)

• Discoveries of exoplanets
  • Helium has been detected for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet by scientists observing WASP-107b. (News Atlas)
• NASA announces it has completed its first full-power test of the Kilopower nuclear reactor for space. NASA intends to use the technology to power exploration missions to the Moon and Mars. (The Independent)

• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • A Palestinian man was arrested by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) while attempting to damage the security fence around the northern Gaza Strip. He was shot and injured during the arrest, and is now receiving medical treatment at Soroka Medical Center. (The Times of Israel)
  • Palestinian teenager Anas Abu Asr dies of wounds sustained when he was shot during protests near Gaza City last Friday, bringing the death toll to 40. (The Washington Post)
  • The Israeli High Court rules the protests to be a state of war and that human rights are therefore not applicable. (Haaretz)
• Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
  • United Arab Emirates takeover of Socotra
    • The United Arab Emirates deploys troops on the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, taking over key installations such as Socotra Airport from Yemeni soldiers. Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr denounces the Emirati ground incursion and hundreds protest demanding their immediate withdrawal. Local media reports the UAE claims to have "leased" the island. (Al Jazeera)
• Piracy in the 21st century
  • The government of Guyana reports that pirates attacked fishermen off the coast of neighboring Suriname. (BBC)
• Syrian Civil War
  • The United States Department of State freezes funding to the White Helmets humanitarian group, which conducts urban search and rescue in rebel-held areas of Syria. The U.S. provides one-third of the group's total funding. (The Hill)

• Bill Cosby sexual assault cases, Roman Polanski sexual abuse case
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board votes to suspend actor Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski in accordance with the organization's standards of conduct. (BBC)
• Sovereign Military Order of Malta
  • Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto takes oath of office as 80th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, after being elected yesterday. (Order of Malta)

• 2018 Indian dust storms
  • Around 110 people are killed in a dust storm in northwestern India, with Uttar Pradesh being the hardest hit. (CNN)
• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • After over 600 earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.0 at Kīlauea, parts of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park have struck, causing the nearby Puʻu ʻŌʻō, to close due to fears of an eruption. The volcano erupted and evacuations were issued. (Big Island Now) (ABC7)
• A Russian Sukhoi-30SM crashes after leaving an airbase in Khmeimim, Latakia, Syria. Both crew die. (The Guardian)

• 2018 North Korea–United States summit
  • Vice President of the United States Mike Pence postpones his trip to Brazil to focus foreign policy resources on Donald Trump's planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Reuters)
• Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
  • The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Ahmet Uzumcu says that up to 100 grams of liquid nerve agent were used in the chemical attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal – around half a cup of liquid, suggesting it was intended for use as a weapon and was not created for research purposes. (The Guardian)

• Pan Am Flight 103
  • The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission says it will review claims of a possible miscarriage of justice in the conviction of Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi for the Lockerbie bombing, in which over 200 people were murdered. (ABC News)
• Presidency of Donald Trump
  • Donald Trump signs an executive order to give greater freedoms to federally funded faith-based initiatives. (USA Today)
• Presidency of Jimmy Morales
  • Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales appoints María Consuelo Porras as Attorney General and Chief of the Public Ministry to replace Thelma Aldana. (InSight Crime)
• Protestors riot in Lesbos, Greece in demonstrations against a European Union migration policy. Police fire tear gas. (The Guardian)
• Terrorism in Australia
  • Islamic State recruiter Hamdi Alqudsi's wife Moutia Elzahed becomes the first person convicted of an offence for refusing to stand for a judge in court, with a magistrate finding her guilty of nine counts of disrespectful behaviour in court. (News.com.au)
• Eight inmates are acquitted of prison mutiny while one is convicted over a riot at HMP Birmingham in England described by the Prison Officers' Association as the worst violence they had seen for over 25 years. (BBC)

• The fossilized remains of a rhinoceros are found in the Philippines, with cut marks suggesting it was butchered with stone tools. The remains, dated to 709,000 years old by electron spin resonance, suggest a human presence earlier than expected in Southeast Asia. (CNN)
• Twitter urges all of its users to change their passwords after a glitch temporarily caused some passwords to be stored in readable text on its internal computer system. (Reuters)

• Basque conflict
  • In Cambo-les-Bains, France, ETA performs its final act of dissolution in the presence of politicians such as Gerry Adams, Jonathan Powell, Brian Currin and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. (El País)
  • Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reminds a crowd to remember the 853 victims of the conflict and reaffirms that there will be no impunity for the violence perpetrated by ETA during its 60-year history. (El País)

• Nobel Prize in Literature
  • The Nobel Prize in Literature 2018 is postponed to 2019 after Jean-Claude Arnault, husband of the former Swedish Academy member Katarina Frostenson, is accused of sexual assault, resulting in her resignation, and leaving the academy without a quorum. (The Guardian)

• 2018 Hawaii earthquake
  • A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Hawaii, the strongest in over 40 years, amid ongoing seismic and volcanic activity. (LA Times) (First Post)
• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • Hawaiian volcano Kīlauea begins erupting at the Leilani Estates subdivision, spurring a mandatory evacuation order of residents. (County of Hawaii) (HVO)
• A heap of mining waste collapses at a jade mine in Kachin State, Myanmar, causing a landslide that kills at least 17 people. Six people are also left injured and an unknown number of people are missing. (AP) (Channel News Asia)
• Maritime incidents in 2018
  • A Turkish cargo ship collides with Greek warship Armatalos off the coast of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. The Hellenic Navy says the ship then retreated to Turkish waters without responding to radio messages. (The Guardian)

• 2017–18 North Korea crisis
  • North Korea–South Korea relations
    • At 23:30 local time, North Korea changes its time zone to match South Korea (UTC+09:00) – a "first practical" impetus for Korean reunification, says the official North Korean agency KCNA. (BBC)
  • South Korea–United States relations
    • U.S. President Donald Trump announces that he will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on May 22. (Reuters)
• Cold War II
  • The United States Navy re-establishes the United States Second Fleet, which was disbanded in 2011, citing recent heightened tensions between NATO and Russia. (Reuters)

• Animal welfare
  • Fifty juvenile crocodiles are seized at Heathrow Airport, London, after officials discover that they were being kept in inhumane conditions. (BBC)
• Abortion in the United States
  • Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs a bill into law which bans most abortions in the state if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, or roughly after around six weeks into pregnancy. (Reuters)
• Terrorism in Israel
  • An arson attack on a pile of hay bales in the Jordan Valley does hundreds of thousands of Shekels of damage. Local authorities describe the attack as terrorist. (Ynetnews)

• Volcanology
  • A new model suggests that supervolcano eruptions occur more often in regions being pulled by tectonics. (Brinkwire)
• Physical cosmology
  • Using recent data from the Gaia spacecraft, the value of the Hubble constant is determined to be 7001735200000000000♠73.52±1.62, which confirms a disagreement with other methods of measuring the constant with a confidence of 99.993%. (Inquisitr)

• In baseball, the Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols becomes the 32nd Major League Baseball player to reach 3,000 career hits. (Yahoo! Sports)

• An explosion in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, kills six Palestinians. Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces both deny responsibility and blame each other for the blast. (BBC)
• The Israeli Air Force used a "hotline" to issue an urgent warning to Khemeymim Airbase in Syria when a Russian fighter jet strayed close to Israeli airspace near the Golan Heights. Last year a Syrian warplane was shot down in a similar incident. (AMN)

• An earthquake strikes a coal mine near Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland; rescuers have thus far recovered two miners alive and located a third, while four remain unaccounted for. (CBC)
• Two coal mines collapse in Balochistan, Pakistan. A gas explosion triggered one collapse, in Pir Ismail, Marwar, killing sixteen. A second collapse near Quetta kills two more with five miners missing. (The Express Tribune)
• The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States orders Boeing 787 jets using Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to operate within one hour of an airport at all times following safety concerns with the engines worldwide which culminated in Air New Zealand and Air China grounding their fleets last week. (The Telegraph)

• 2017–2018 Russian protests
  • Russian police detain about 1,600 anti-government protesters, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny. (RTÉ)
• Terrorism in England
  • Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman, from London, formally denies an ISIL plot to murder Theresa May. (BBC)
• Egypt's Court of Cassation rejects appeals by 45 people handed long prison terms over a 2013 Port Said riot that killed 42. The riots broke out in response to death sentences handed out over a previous riot in 2012 that killed 72 football fans. (Xinhua)

• Protests against Emmanuel Macron
  • Thousands of people in central Paris demonstrate in an anti-Macron protest against his sweeping reforms. 2,000 security forces are deployed. (ABC)

• Exploration of Mars
  • NASA's InSight Mars lander launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, California. It is the first interplanetary mission launched from the West Coast of the United States. (CBS News)

• 2018 Kentucky Derby
  • Pre-race favorite Justify wins the Kentucky Derby, becoming the first horse since 1882 to win the race while unraced as a two-year-old. The race was run under the wettest conditions in its history; by post time, more than 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) of rain had fallen on race day, breaking a record that had lasted since 1918. (WDRB – weather) (CBS Sports)

• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) open fire on a group of Palestinian men trying to sabotage the Israeli-Gazan border fence, killing three and injuring two others. The IDF also attacks a Hamas outpost near the border, stating that the location was used to launch incendiary kites and other objects in an attempt to burn Israeli fields. (The Jerusalem Post)
  • Hamas releases videos showing dozens of Palestinians successfully breaching the fence and infiltrating Israel. (Israel National News)
• Kashmir insurgency
  • Two days of clashes in Indian-administrated Jammu and Kashmir leaves eight militants and nine civilians dead, while over 100 protesters are injured during anti-India demonstrations. (Benar News)
• Pakistani Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal is shot at following a rally in Narowal, Punjab. A bullet pierces his right shoulder. He is in stable condition now and the gunman has since been arrested, according to Government Officials. (The New York Times) (The Nation)

• War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
  • A mosque being used for voter registration is bombed in Khost, Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people and injuring 33. (ABC News)

• Economy of France
  • French economy minister Bruno Le Maire says Air France may collapse over ongoing strike action and the state will not bail the firm out despite owning 14.3% of parent Air France-KLM. (BBC)

• Flash floods cause transportation issues and damage buildings in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. (BBC)
• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • At Leilani Estates, 26 homes and 4 buildings were destroyed by Kīlauea, forcing 1700 people to leave their homes. (Reuters)

• Malaysian authorities announce sixteen arrests connected to an international human trafficking ring. The arrests follow the seizure of modified tanker ship MV Etra in Malaysian waters on Tuesday with 127 Sri Lankan migrants on board being smuggled to New Zealand and Australia. The arrests include seven people captured aboard a fishing vessel used to transfer migrants onto MV Etra. (The South China Morning Post)

• Lebanese general election, 2018
  • Lebanon holds its first parliamentary election since 2009. (BBC)
• The Electoral Commission of Zambia says it will disqualify anybody who commits violence in the campaign for upcoming by-elections slated for June. (The Lusaka Times)
• In an interview granted to the newspaper El Comercio, the Peruvian president, Martín Vizcarra, ruled out presenting himself for re-election in 2021 or calling early elections. Vizcarra, as vice president, took office late March after former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned due to a corruption scandal and strong pressures of the Congress. (América Televisión)
• Far-right politics in the United Kingdom
  • Thousands of far-right activists attend a protest in London, United Kingdom amid a recent crackdown on far-right activity on social media. Guest speakers included former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, Vice magazine co-founder Gavin McInnes, and UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Gerard Batten. (The Guardian)

• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition destroy the Presidential Palace in Sana'a, Yemen, with at least six killed and 30 injuries reported, coalition officials claim they had targeted high-ranking Houthi officials. (Yahoo! News)
• Hamas has offered Israel a longterm ceasefire including prisoner exchanges, in return for reductions to the Gaza blockade, and infrastructural improvement. (The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

• List of highest-grossing films
  • American superhero film Avengers: Infinity War becomes the fastest film to make US$1 billion worldwide, in just eleven days. (BGR)
• Large sections of the old Tappan Zee Bridge are to be sunk and used as material to build an artificial reef off the coast of Long Island. (MNN)

• Latvian bank ABLV sues the European Central Bank in the Court of Justice of the European Union, saying the ECB triggered ABLV's collapse. The bank failed following allegations by the United States that ABLV was laundering money on behalf of North Korea. (Reuters)
• The United States Department of Defense says it has resumed accepting deliveries of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from manufacturer Lockheed Martin after resolving a dispute over a production error which was leading to corrosion. (Reuters)
• Oliver North is announced to be the next president of the National Rifle Association. (NRA)
• Legal status of cryptocurrency
  • In a landmark bankruptcy case the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal in Moscow rules cryptocurrencies are property and demands access to a party's Bitcoin reserves. (Bitcoinist)

• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • About 35 structures in Leilani Estates are destroyed during the Kīlauea eruption in Hawaii. (KFOR-TV)
• A collision of two trains near Aichach in Germany leaves two people dead and at least 14 injured. (DW)

• United States–Venezuela relations
  • The United States imposes sanctions on three Venezuelans and 20 drug entities for trafficking activity. (Yahoo! News)
  • United States Vice President Mike Pence calls on Venezuela to suspend its presidential election later this month citing corruption concerns. This follows a similar announcement made by the European Union. (Bloomberg)
• Israel–Paraguay relations
  • Paraguay announces that it will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by the end of May. Paraguay is the third country to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem after the United States and Guatemala. (Reuters)

• Terrorism in Egypt
  • Egyptian chief prosecutor Nabil Sadek refers 555 ISIL suspects suspected of 63 terror attacks to a military court, while the Giza Criminal Court in Cairo sentences nine terrorists to life imprisonment and two others to five years imprisonment each. (The Times of Israel)
• Terrorism in Israel
  • The Knesset approves by 55 votes to 14 a bill designed to confiscate payments made by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists in Israel. (Arutz Sheva)
• Murder of Kim Wall
  • Danish inventor Peter Madsen appeals his life sentence for murdering Swedish journalist Kim Wall onboard his homemade submarine. He has not appealed his conviction. (BBC)
• Indiana accused serial killer Shawn Grate is convicted of two murders. He has previously confessed to, but not been charged with, two more murders and entered guilty pleas to crimes including rape. (10tv)
• An Indonesian court rejects a bid by Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir to overturn its ban in the country. The group was outlawed by presidential decree in 2017 on national security grounds. (The Guardian)
• Finland says compensation payouts for wrongful convictions and imprisonments have quadrupled in ten years, with three million euros paid in 2017 versus 720,000 euros in 2007. (YLE)

• Politics of Japan
  • Centrist opposition party Democratic Party merges with centre-right Party of Hope, forming the Democratic Party for the People. Members of both parties that disapproved of the merger choose to either join the Constitutional Democratic Party, become independents or remain in the Party of Hope. (The Asahi Shimbun)
• Fourth inauguration of Vladimir Putin
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin is inaugurated at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow for a fourth term as President of Russia following his victory in March's presidential election. (BBC)
• Lebanese general election, 2018
  • In official results, Hezbollah and allied parties win a slight majority of seats in Parliament. (Reuters)
• 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals, Weinstein effect
  • Attorney General of New York Eric Schneiderman, whose office sued The Weinstein Company for sexual harassment and discrimination, resigns amid allegations of violence towards four women during his tenure as Attorney General. (NBC News)
• Italian President Sergio Mattarella says either fresh elections must be held or a neutral caretaker government installed following the collapse of a third round of talks aiming to form a coalition after March's general election failed to produce a clear winner. (BBC)

• Discoveries of exoplanets
  • Scientists discover that WASP-96b has an atmosphere that is free of clouds. (Phys.org)

• 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
  • The Washington Capitals advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years with a 2–1 win over arch rival Pittsburgh Penguins, winning the series 4–2. (Sporting News)

• Colombian conflict
  • A war crimes tribunal in Colombia begins investigating atrocities during the war which began in the 1960s. (al-Jazeera)
• Bosnian prosecutors appeal the acquittal of Naser Orić, former commander of the Bosnian Army in Srebrenica, who was accused of killing Serb prisoners. (Balkan Insight)
• Yemeni Crisis (2011–present), Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • United Arab Emirates takeover of Socotra
    • Yemeni political parties, including the General People's Congress, Al-Islah and the Southern Movement issue a joint statement calling on the United Arab Emirates to immediately withdraw its troops from Socotra in the Arabian Sea. (Anadolu Agency)

• The heads of Serco and Mitie are expected to appear before the UK's Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee to testify over the collapse of Carillion. (The Telegraph)
• Economy of Argentina
  • President of Argentina Mauricio Macri announces talks with the International Monetary Fund on financial support for the country's economy. The Central Bank of Argentina interest rate is now at 40%, inflation at 25% and the value of the Argentine peso at a record low. (BBC)

• Grenfell Tower fire
  • The Guardian reports that the Grenfell Tower in London, which burned down last year with the loss of 71 lives, received a quote for non-flammable cladding but it was rejected for a more expensive option which exacerbated the fire. (The Guardian)
• USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal collision
  • Junior officer Lt. j.g. Sarah Coppock, who was navigating when USS Fitzgerald when it collided with a civilian ship last year killing seven people, pleads guilty to dereliction of duty and is sentenced to half pay for three months and a punitive letter. (Navy Times)

• List of Ebola outbreaks
  • A new outbreak of the Ebola virus disease kills at least 17 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (The Guardian)

• China–North Korea relations
  • For the second time in two months, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un meets China's paramount leader Xi Jinping, this time in Dalian. (Stuff) (The Wall Street Journal) (The New York Times)
• United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; Iran–United States relations
  • Donald Trump announces that the United States will withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal. (The New York Times)
  • Iran says that it remains committed to the agreement but also that it is ready to step up uranium enrichment if the deal is no longer beneficial. (The Washington Post)

• Terrorism in Greece
  • Greek officials arrest 14 men, all but one of which are Greek nationals, on suspicion of funding terrorism. (Kathimerini)
• High profile Chinese Communist Party member Sun Zhengcai is sentenced to life in prison for taking bribes totaling 170 million yuan. (BBC)
• The Metropolitan Police of London announces a review of 21 rapes and sexual assaults as well as 12 other offences including violence and burglaries over inadequately performed "undeclared casework" by a forensic scientist. (BBC)

• Politics of Armenia
  • 2018 Armenian revolution
    • Armenia's parliament elects protest leader Nikol Pashinyan as the new Prime Minister. (The Huffington Post)
• Brexit
  • Theresa May confirms her trust in Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson after he called her post-Brexit trade policy with the European Union "crazy". (Bloomberg)

• Terrorism in Indonesia
  • Prisoners at a detention centre for terrorists in Jakarta revolt, killing five officers and taking a sixth hostage. Negotiators accept a demand for an audience between the rioters and Aman Abdurrahman, an inmate who is the head of ISIL in the country. (The Wall Street Journal)
• May 2018 Israel–Syria clashes
  • Syrian and Iranian forces fire 20 missiles at the Israel Defense Forces positioned in the disputed territory of the Golan Heights, prompting air raid sirens in northern Israel. The IDF reports the Iron Dome missile defence system has intercepted a number of missiles and reports no injuries. Israeli forces respond with artillery into Syria. (The Times of Israel)
  • Strikes from both Israel and Syria continue repeatedly throughout the night, reportedly on a far larger scale than in previous incidents. (Reuters)
• Syrian Civil War
  • A car bomb and shellfire hit Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria, killing two people and injure 14 others. (The National)
• Eight suicide bombers attack two police stations in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing five people and injuring 16. ISIL claim one attack and the Taliban claim the other. (al-Jazeera)

• Economy of the United States
  • Fox buys seven TV stations from Sinclair Broadcast Group for US$910 million. (Deadline)
  • US retailer Walmart acquires a 77% controlling stake in Flipkart, India's largest online shop, for US$16 billion. (City A.M.)
• Vodafone acquires Liberty Global's European operations, including German cable operator Unitymedia, for €18.4 billion. (Computing.co.uk)
• Chinese retailer Alibaba acquires Pakistani online marketplace Daraz for an estimated US$150–200 million. (The News)

• The Patel Dam fails in Kenya, killing at least 47 and leaving at least 2000 homeless. (Reuters)

• North Korea–United States relations
  • The three remaining American detainees in North Korea fly with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the United States. (The New Zealand Herald)
• Iran–United States relations
  • After the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a group of conservative Iranian lawmakers burned American flags and chanted Death to America. (CNN)

• A Moroccan national is extradited from Bulgaria to Morocco to face trial for terrorism and ISIL membership. (Xinhua)
• Inn Din massacre § Arrest of journalists
  • Myanmar police captain Moe Yan Naing testifies in court for the second time during the trial of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, which has become a landmark case of press freedom in the country. Naing accused his superior, police brigadier general Tin Ko Ko, of orchestrating a plot to entrap the journalists and threatening Naing and his colleagues with arrest if they did not "get Wa Lone". Naing was arrested for violating Myanmar's Police Disciplinary Act and sentenced to a one-year prison term prior to his testimony. (Reuters) (Voice of America)
• Far-right terrorism in the United Kingdom
  • Four neo-Nazis are convicted of attempting to incite racial hatred at Aston University in England by carrying out a sticker recruitment campaign for National Action. A fifth is acquitted and sentencing alongside two other convicts is set for June 1. National Action has since been banned as a terror group. (The Independent)

• 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis
  • The High Court of Australia disqualifies Senator Katy Gallagher because she held dual citizenship with the United Kingdom when elected, not renouncing it in time. Four MPs in similar situations have also resigned, setting up four by-elections. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (ABC)
• Malaysian general election, 2018
  • The opposition Pakatan Harapan has obtained a majority in the Parliament, defeating the incumbent Barisan Nasional government led by Najib Razak. This marks the first ever change of government in Malaysia's 61-year history. (Channel News Asia)

• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • Senior Hamas member Yehiyeh Sinwar suggests that tens of thousands of Palestinian protestors may try to cross the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip. (ABC News)
• An explosion at a khat market in Wanlaweyn, Lower Shabelle, Somalia kills five people and injures ten others. (Africa News)
• International military intervention against ISIL
  • Five senior leaders of ISIL were captured in a joint operation involving US and Iraqi forces. (CBS News)

• 2018 Pacific hurricane season
  • A tropical depression forms in the Pacific ocean. It is not supposed to threaten land, and is also the first storm of the season. (Weather.com)
• The National Transportation Safety Board opens an investigation into an automobile accident in Florida, involving a Tesla Model S where two teenagers died. According to a statement by Tesla, the car's Autopilot feature was not engaged at the time. (Reuters), (ABC News)

• Iran–United States relations, Iran–United Arab Emirates relations
  • In cooperation with United Arab Emirates, the United States Treasury implements new sanctions on six persons and three corporate entities having alleged ties to Iran's Quds Force. (Reuters)
• North Korea–United States relations, 2018 North Korea–United States summit
  • US President Donald Trump announces that his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place on June 12 in Singapore. (BBC)

• Terrorism in England
  • Safaa Boular, a teenager, goes on trial at the Old Bailey accused of two counts of planning terrorism after allegedly planning to attack the British Museum in London after failing to travel to Syria to marry an Islamic extremist fighter. (BBC)
  • UK Prime Minister Theresa May apologises to the family of Abdul Hakim Belhaj, accepting the fact that the UK's actions led to his rendition to Libya where he was tortured. Belhaj was detained in Thailand by US authorities in 2004. His wife accepts the apology and £500,000. (BBC)
• Bangladesh Liberation War
  • A court in Bangladesh sentences Riaz Uddin Fakir to death for war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. (Bangladesh Daily News 24)
• Wu Xiaohui, head of Chinese insurance firm Anbang, is jailed for eighteen years for fraud and corruption. He is further sentenced to have 10.5 billion yuan confiscated. (BBC)
• Peruvian police rescues 96 young women, including two Venezuelan citizens and one teenager, who had been intercepted by human traffickers in a police operation in different nightclubs of the area of La Pampa, Madre de Dios, better known for its mining camps. In total, seven people were arrested. (El Comercio)

• Net neutrality in the United States
  • The Federal Communications Commission sends out a notice which states that the 2015 US Open-Internet Rules will cease on June 11, 2018. (Reuters)
• Malaysian general election, 2018
  • Mahathir Mohamad is sworn in as the 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia after leading the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition to victory in the May 9 general election. Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak pledges to assist with the transition of power. (Malaysiakini)

• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • The Israel Defense Forces again open fire with tear gas and live ammunition on Palestinian protesters, following 6 weeks of protests. One person is killed and 146 others wounded, with some protesters throwing stones and burning tyres. (The Independent)
  • Three Israelis are arrested after filming themselves attempting to fly a kite carrying an incendiary device into the Gaza Strip, in reference to the same tactic used by protestors in Gaza. The kite crashes on Israeli territory where it starts a small fire. (Haaretz)
  • Egypt announces that the Rafah Crossing into Gaza will be opened for four days starting next Saturday. Egypt usually opens the border for humanitarian reasons every two or three months for two or three days at a time. (Wafa.ps)

• The owner of Cheeki Rafiki, a yacht that capsized in the Atlantic in 2014 with the loss of four lives, is given a suspended sentence in England for the accident. He was earlier convicted of operating the vessel unsafely but acquitted of manslaughter. (BBC)
• Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia, erupts. Authorities order evacuations and the closure of Adisucipto Airport in Yogyakarta. (Newshub)
• A fire destroys almost all of the approximately 710 commercial premises of a important market in Lima, Peru. The fire is exacerbated by flammable products stored in many of the stores. One person was injured and also there were allegations of looting. (La República) (Radio Capital)

• James Harrison, an 81-year-old Australian whose blood was used in the development of a treatment for Rh disease that has been cred with saving the lives of over 2 million infants in his country alone, donates blood plasma for the final time, after having regularly donated for over 60 years. (CNN)

• Terrorism in Russia
  • Russian authorities say that they foiled a plot by Siberian terrorists to attack a Victory Day march attended by President Vladimir Putin and visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Twenty suspects are detained. (The Times of Israel)
• Foreign fighters in the Syrian and Iraqi Civil Wars
  • Conservative MP Candice Bergen calls for action on Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi, a man living in Toronto who claimed to have shot a Sunni prisoner in the head for the Islamic State in Syria. (The Star)
• Osmington shooting
  • Three adults and four children are found shot dead at a property in Margaret River, Western Australia. Police suspect murder-suicide. (The Guardian)

• The Supreme Court of the Philippines votes 8–6 to grant the quo warranto petition by the Solicitor General against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, removing her from office for violating requirements on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. (Rappler)
• Polish MPs vote to vote to cut their pay by 20% after opposition lawmakers boycott the vote. (Deutsche Welle)

• 2018 in spaceflight
  • SpaceX launches Bangabandhu-1, Bangladesh's first geostationary communications satellite, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States. (Business Insider)
• Scientists at MetService record a wave measuring 23.8 metres (78 ft) high in the Southern Ocean near Campbell Island, New Zealand, making it the largest wave ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. (BBC) (Fox News)

• Burundian unrest (2015–present)
  • 26 people are killed in Cibitoke Province, Burundi. The country's security minister attributes the attack on civilians in their houses to an unnamed "terrorist group". (AP via The Los Angeles Times)
• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • Israel closes the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza after it is heavily damaged by a Palestinian arson attack, saying that humanitarian cases will still be allowed through while the damage is being repaired. Kerem Shalom is the border crossing where most goods transit into the blockaded territory. (Voice of America)
  • The Israeli Air Force destroys a Hamas tunnel more than a kilometer long that headed from Beit Hanun, Gaza towards Israel. (The Jerusalem Post)
• 2018 Paris knife attack
  • One person is killed and four wounded in a knife attack in Paris, France. The attacker is killed by police. (BBC) (CNN)
• Internal conflict in Myanmar § Shan State
  • 19 people are killed in clashes between the Myanmar Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in Shan State. (Agence France-Presse)

• Eurovision Song Contest 2018
  • Israeli singer Netta Barzilai wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, with her song Toy. This is Israel's first Eurovision win in the 21st century and fourth overall. (The Guardian)

• EgyptAir Flight 804
  • Relatives of the 66 people killed in the crash sue Apple alleging that an overheating iPad caused the disaster. (Patently Apple)

• Japan–North Korea relations
  • After Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe insisted North Korea settle the issue of Japanese citizens adbucted by North Korea, North Korean state media KCNA accuses Japan of disrupting peace efforts before the planned North Korea–U.S. summit. (The Japan Times)
• North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
  • North Korea stated that it would dismantle the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site between May 23–25 ahead of the Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un summit meeting. Furthermore, North Korea invited journalists from the United States, South Korea, China, Russia, and the United Kingdom to cover the process. (USA Today)

• Politics of Malaysia
  • Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is banned from leaving the country due to the ongoing investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. He subsequently resigns as president of UMNO and as head of the BN coalition. (BBC) (Malaysiakini)
  • Former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, jailed during Najib's term, is due to be released next Tuesday after receiving a royal pardon. Anwar is the leader of the Pakatan Harapan coalition that won the May 9 general election. The pardon will enable Anwar to immediately run for public office again. (The Guardian)

• Iraqi parliamentary election, 2018
  • Voters in Iraq go to the polls. One quarter of the 329 seats in the Council of Representatives must go to women. (CNN)
  • A low turnout is reported, but no bombings at polling stations. (AP via The Spokesman Review)
• Politics of Italy
  • A court in Milan lifts the consequences of Silvio Berlusconi's 2013 tax evasion sentence. He is now allowed to participate in elections again. (Corriere della Sera) (La Stampa)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Writer and radical independentist Quim Torra faces his first investiture debate after being nominated yesterday for President of the Generalitat of Catalonia. In his speech, he reaffirms to continue with the republican project, to undertake a constituent process and to be under Carles Puigdemont's directions. (El País) (The Guardian)
  • Quim Torra gets 66 votes, 2 short of the 68 votes needed to be elected by an absolute majority of the 135-seat Parliament of Catalonia. A second round is to be held on Monday, in which he would need a simple majority to be elected. (Reuters)

• Terrorism in Indonesia
  • Surabaya bombings
    • At least 13 people are killed and more than 40 others wounded after a series of suicide bombings at three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia. (CNN) (AP via The London Free Press)

• Economic policy of Donald Trump
  • U.S. President Donald Trump says in a tweet that he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to get the Chinese telecom company ZTE "back into business, fast." ZTE suspended its main operations after the U.S. Department of Commerce banned American companies from selling to the firm for seven years as punishment for ZTE breaking an agreement reached after it was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran. (CNBC)

• Sanctions against North Korea
  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the U.S. would lift sanctions against North Korea if the latter would dismantle its nuclear weapons program. (Reuters)

• Crime in Canada
  • Jaspal Atwal, who was the subject of attention during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to India, is charged after making death threats against a Canadian radio host. (The Globe and Mail)
• A man from Queens is arrested after threatening to kill NBA commissioner Adam Silver. (The New York Post)

• Protests against Emmanuel Macron
  • French transport workers strike, reducing train services on SNCF, due to privatisation efforts. (Le Point)

• 2017–18 Premier League
  • Manchester City set a new record of 100 points in the Premier League following a 1–0 win away to Southampton. (Eurosport)

• Surabaya bombings
  • An Indonesian family believed to be connected to the terrorist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah attacks police headquarters in Surabaya. The attack kills all four perpetrators and injures the perpetrator's daughter, six civilians, and four police officers. (ABC News)

• The Dutch government, following similar moves by the United States and the United Kingdom, announces that it is phasing out the use of antivirus software products from the Russian company Kaspersky Lab "as a precautionary measure". (Nasdaq)

• Natural disasters in India
  • Thunderstorms and lightning strikes kill up to 80 people in five states in India, mainly in Uttar Pradesh. (The Times of India)
• A pilot is injured when a cockpit window breaks and he is partially sucked out of the Airbus A319 operating Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633. The aircraft lands safely at Chengdu. (The Aviation Herald)

• United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel
  • On the 70th anniversary of the formation of Israel, the United States becomes the first country with an embassy in Jerusalem after a dedication ceremony featuring Israeli leaders and White House advisers. (NPR)
  • Tens of thousands of Palestinians protest on the border of Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces reports some in the crowds were planting or hurling explosives, and that many were flying flaming kites into Israel. The Gaza Health Ministry reports at least 58 killed and over 2,400 wounded by Israeli forces using live fire and tear gas. (The New York Times) (The Guardian)
  • Six-time Israeli Premier League champion Beitar Jerusalem F.C. officially renames itself Beitar Trump Jerusalem F.C. for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the embassy. (The Guardian)

• The U.S. Supreme Court, in a case brought by New Jersey challenging the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibited state-sponsored sports betting outside of four grandfathered states, holds that PASPA is unconstitutional, opening the door for all states to authorize sports betting. (CNN)

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • The Catalan parliament elects hard-line separatist Quim Torra to become the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia after obtaining 66 votes in favor, 65 against and four abstentions. (Reuters) (BBC)
• 2018 Philippines Barangay and SK Elections

• 2018 Gaza border protests
  • The Israeli Army reports some 4,000 Palestinians hold violent protests in five locations along the Gaza border, throwing Molotov cocktails at troops and burning tires. The Israeli Army kills two protesters and injures more than 100 others using live fire and tear gas. (The Jerusalem Post)

• Iran–United States relations
  • Sanctions against Iran
    • The United States Treasury Department announces new sanctions on Iran central bank governor Valiollah Seif and assistant director Ali Tarzali for allegedly helping the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force support Hezbollah. (Bloomberg)
    • The United States and six Arab states of the Persian Gulf add more sanctions on Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Naim Qassem. (Arab News)
• Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin opens the auto part of the 19-kilometre (12 mi)-long road-and-rail Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Crimea with Russia. (Reuters)

• Censorship in Germany
  • A Hamburg court upholds a 2017 ban on passages of Jan Böhmermann's poem Schmähkritik. (Reuters)
• Former President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou is sentenced to four months in prison on charges he leaked classified information from a wiretap. (The Los Angeles Times)

• 2018 elections in India, Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, 2018
  • The ruling party of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party, wins plurality in state assembly elections in Karnataka. (Business Standard)
• Politics of Hungary
  • George Soros' Open Society Foundations announces that it is moving its operations in Budapest to Germany. (CNN)

• War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
  • Battle of Farah
    • Taliban forces claim to have taken control of the western city of Farah after two days of fighting. It is the second provincial capital to be temporarily taken over, after a similar assault on Kunduz in 2015. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Economy of the United Kingdom
  • The British government renationalises the Virgin Trains East Coast-operated East Coast Main Line. The Department for Transport will run the rail service until 2020. (Reuters) (BBC)

• Five people are confirmed dead as thunderstorms hit the Northeastern United States. (ABC News)
• The Luxembourg Green Party politician and government secretary Camille Gira dies after he collapsed while delivering a speech to parliament. (Delano)

• 2017–18 North Korea crisis
  • North Korea–South Korea relations
    • North Korea cancels high-level talks with South Korea in protest of United States–South Korea joint military exercises. (Bloomberg)
  • 2018 North Korea–United States summit
    • North Korea warns that it might cancel talks with the United States if the U.S. keeps insisting that North Korea will "unilaterally" abandon its nuclear weapons program, similar to the disarmament of Libya. The White House says it is hopeful the planned summit will still happen. (The Washington Post) (Reuters)

• USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
  • Michigan State University announces that it will settle with sexual assault victims of Larry Nassar for over $500 million. (AP via WKAR)
• Five people are shot dead and another is injured in a shooting at a house in Ponder, Denton County, Texas. The Denton County Sheriff's Office believe the shooter is among the dead. (NBC)
• A mass grave containing the bodies of 12 people is discovered in The Gambia. The victims were allegedly killed in 2005 by paramilitary forces controlled by former president Yahya Jammeh, according to human rights groups. (The Guardian)
• Media of Kenya
  • Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signs a law outlawing cyber-espionage, cyber-bullying, and the "publication of false information." (Reuters)

• Politics of Malaysia
  • Malaysian longtime opposition figure and leader of incumbent government party Pakatan Harapan, Anwar Ibrahim is released from prison after obtaining a full royal pardon from King Muhammad V. Anwar was imprisoned in 2015 during the tenure of Najib Razak for charges widely considered to be politically motivated. (Reuters) (MalaysianDigest)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • A Belgian judge withdraws the European Arrest Warrant against Toni Comín, Lluís Puig and Meritxell Serret amid procedural defects and irregularities. The Supreme Court of Spain criticizes the decision as a "lack of commitment to Spain" from the Belgian justice. (La Vanguardia) (La Vanguardia₂)
• Trump campaign–Russian meetings
  • The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee releases 2,500 pages of documents related to a June 9, 2016 meeting between Donald Trump campaign officials and Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya. (NPR)

• International military intervention against ISIL
  • Denmark announces the partial withdrawal of its special forces from Iraq following the collapse of ISIL in the country. (Channel News Asia)

• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • The summit at Kīlauea erupts and sends a plume of ash and smoke 30,000 feet (9.1 km) into the air. (CNN) (BBC)
• A school bus and a dump truck collide on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive Township, New Jersey, U.S., killing two people and injuring 43. (CNN)

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Quim Torra is sworn in as the 131st President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, 200 days after the cessation of the government of Puigdemont and the direct rule. He does not swear on the Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy, but rather on "the will of the people of Catalonia". (El País)
• Burundian constitutional referendum, 2018
  • Voters in Burundi go to the polls for a referendum to amend the constitution to allow current President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in office until 2034. (The Guardian)
• Poland detains Yekaterina C., a Russian woman who was part of a pro-Russian group that sought to whip up tension between Poland and Ukraine, and expels her. (Kyiv Post)

• Santa Fe High School shooting
  • A school shooting takes place at Santa Fe High School in Texas, United States. Eight students and two teachers are killed and thirteen others are injured. (KTRK-TV), (BBC)
• A gunman opens fire on the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Doral, Florida, before being shot and wounded by police. No other victims were reported. (The Washington Post), (USA Today)
• A shooting takes place outside of a high school graduation at Mt. Zion High School in Jonesboro, Georgia. One person is killed and another wounded. (Los Angeles Times)(FOX2Now)

• Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
  • Cambridge Analytica files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (CNN)

• Cubana de Aviación Flight 972
  • A Boeing 737 crashes shortly after taking off from Havana, Cuba, with 104 passengers and nine crew on board. Only three people are reported to have survived the crash. One survivor later dies from her injuries. (CNN), (BBC)
• Over 30 people are injured, seven seriously, in a bus collision at Lincoln Tunnel between New Jersey and New York, United States. (Business Insider)

• 2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola virus outbreak
  • Two more cases of ebola reported in the city of Mbandaka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 25 people have died this year in the country from the disease, with a wider outbreak feared. (The Guardian)
• Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
  • Sergei Skripal is discharged from hospital after two months. (BBC)

• All 34 Roman Catholic bishops in Chile offer to resign after Pope Francis accused them of destroying evidence of sexual crimes. (Reuters)

• Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
  • The government of Myanmar agrees to repatriate 1,101 Rohingya refugees out of a list of over 8,000 submitted by their Bangladeshi counterparts. There are currently over 700,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. (The Daily Star)

• Russian military intervention in Ukraine
  • Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation says Russian-led militants have mounted 43 attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas in the past 24 hours, using artillery systems and 120mm and 82mm mortars 10 times, with no casualties among the Ukrainian servicemen. According to intelligence data, two militants are killed and three others wounded. (UNIAN)

• Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
  • The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. They are given the titles the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (BBC)

• 2018 China–United States trade dispute
  • The United States and China say through a joint statement that they will not impose new tariffs on each other after reaching an initial agreement on the trade framework. (CNN)

• Human rights in Saudi Arabia
  • Women's rights in Saudi Arabia
    • The state security of Saudi Arabia arrests seven women's rights activists, whom the pro-government media presented as "traitors to the fatherland," for allegedly working with foreign entities. These arrests take place a little more than a month before the driving ban for women is lifted. (The Independent)

• Antireligious campaigns in China, Freedom of religion in China
  • The Islamic Association of China, a government-affiliated and the country's top Islamic regulatory body, announces through a letter on its website that all mosques should raise the national flag; the letter comes in light of the country's newly revised Regulations on Religious Affairs which intensifies punishments for unsanctioned religious activities and increases state supervision of religion. (The Times of India)
• French Polynesian legislative election, 2018
  • Edouard Fritch is re-elected to a second term as President of French Polynesia following the victory by his Tapura Huiraatira party in the general election. Fritch's Tapura Huiraatira won 39 of the 57 seats in the Assembly of French Polynesia. (Radio New Zealand International)
• Iraqi parliamentary election, 2018
  • The electoral commission announces the results of the May 12 elections. Muqtada al-Sadr's list wins most seats, followed by Hadi al-Amiri and Haider al-Abadi's groups. (Reuters)
• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • New President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Quim Torra, forms a new regional government, including the dismissed and imprisoned members Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, and "self-exiled" dismissed members Lluís Puig and Toni Comín. (El Periódico)

• 2018 DFB-Pokal Final
  • Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayern Munich 3–1 at Olympiastadion to win the 75th ion of the DFB-Pokal. (ESPN)
• 2018 FA Cup Final
  • Chelsea beat Manchester United 1–0 at Wembley to win the 137th ion of the FA Cup. (BBC Sport)
• 2018 Preakness Stakes
  • Justify wins the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, in 1:55.93. (ESPN)

• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • Lava continues spewing from fissures on Kilauea, Hawaii, reaching the Pacific Ocean and critically injuring one person. (CNN) (1 News Now)
• Cyclone Sagar
  • Cyclone Sagar makes landfall in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, killing at least 16 people. (The Weather Channel)

• Mayor Yiannis Boutaris of Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, is hospitalized after being assaulted by a group of nationalists at a Greek genocide remembrance event. (BBC)

• 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis
  • Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, with the support of the Workers' Party and Citizens Party, decides to maintain direct rule over Catalonia after the announcement of Quim Torra appointed government. (HuffPost)
  • The Spanish government blocks the appointment of the new councilors. (El País)
• Crisis in Venezuela (2012–present)
  • Venezuelan presidential election, 2018
    • Incumbent President Nicolás Maduro wins the presidential election amidst allegations of massive irregularities by his main rivals. (Reuters)

• 2017–18 NHL season
  • 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
    • The Vegas Golden Knights become the first expansion team to make the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season since 1968, a season in which one of the six teams that entered the league was guaranteed to reach the final. (CBS Sports)

• Economy of Japan
  • Sony agrees to a $2.3 billion deal where they will buy a controlling interest in EMI Music Publishing. The deal will mean that Sony would indirectly own 90% of the music publisher and its two million songs. (BBC)

• Israel–Paraguay relations, Status of Jerusalem
  • Paraguay opens its embassy in Jerusalem, making Paraguay the third country, after the United States and Guatemala, to transfer its diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. (AP via Politico)
• Iran–United States relations
  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the U.S. will impose "the strongest sanctions in history" on Iran if it does not meet various demands, including ending its nuclear program and leaving the Syrian Civil War. (Reuters)
  • Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejects Pompeo's demands, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accuses the U.S. of "repeating past mistakes." (Al Jazeera)
• Syrian Civil War
  • The Syrian government declares Damascus as "completely safe" from militant groups for the first time in seven years as it forces out ISIS from the area. (Haaretz)

• Catholic sexual abuse cases in Australia
  • Philip Wilson, the Catholic archbishop of Adelaide, Australia, is convicted of concealing sexual abuse of children from authorities. (BBC)
• Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis
  • The U.S. Supreme Court votes 5–4 to allow companies to enforce contracts which bar employees from entering class action lawsuits. (The Washington Post via Concord Monitor)

• Syrian Civil War
  • Southern Damascus offensive (April–May 2018)
    • Syrian government forces declare Damascus and its surroundings "completely safe" for the first time since 2011, after taking Yarmouk Camp and Hajar al-Aswad from ISIL. (CBS News)
• Kha Maung Seik massacre
  • Amnesty International releases a report claiming it has evidence that ARSA insurgents massacred nearly 100 Hindus in the village of Kha Maung Seik on August 25, 2017, the same day ARSA attacked security forces in Myanmar's Rakhine State. (BBC News)
• Israel announces it is the first country to use the new F-35 Lightning II fighter jet in combat operations. (BBC News)(Business Insider)

• At least 16 people are killed and 38 wounded in Kandahar, Afghanistan, by the accidental detonation of a container of explosives while security forces were attempting to dispose of it. (Al Jazeera)

• 2018 North Korea–United States summit, North Korea–United States relations
  • U.S. President Donald Trump states there is a "very substantial chance" that the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next month may not occur. (BBC News)
• China–United States relations, Economy of China
  • The Chinese Finance Ministry announces it will cut import duties on passenger vehicles from 25% to 15% starting on July 1, just days after China and the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire in their recent trade hostilities. (CNN)
• Zimbabwe applies to rejoin the Commonwealth of Nations. Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth in 2003 following a disputed election the previous year and subsequent suspension from the organization. According to Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, the application was made on May 15. (Al Jazeera)

• Environmental issues in India
  • Police in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India, kill nine people who protested against Vedanta Resources' copper smelter operation, alleging that it is a major source of pollution and a risk to fisheries. State Minister D. Jayakumar says that it was "unavoidable" that the people were shot. National Congress opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls the killings "state sponsored terrorism". (Reuters) (Indian Express)

• 2018 Indian Premier League
  • Chennai Super Kings defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 2 wickets in Qualifier-1 and progress to the final of the Indian Premier League. (Cricinfo) (Times of India)

• Transport in Iran
  • Iranian truck owners and drivers start striking in seven provinces to protest poor working conditions. (VOA) (The Washington Post)
• Budget of France
  • The European Commission recommends to remove France from the excessive deficit procedure which it entered in 2009. (Deutsche Welle)
• Economy of Turkey
  • The Turkish Central Bank raises its "late liquidity window" rate from 13.5% to 16.5% in a move to counter the slide of the Turkish lira over the last three weeks. Other rates are left unchanged. (Bloomberg)

• Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • A whaleboat accident kills 49 people in Tshuapa province, DR Congo. (Reuters) (BBC)

• The United States issues a health alert in China, following a government employee reporting "abnormal sensations of sound and pressure", one in a range of physical symptoms, from late 2017 through to April 2018. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the State Department is moving medical teams into place in Guangzhou, adding that the incident was "entirely consistent" with reported "sonic attacks" in Cuba in 2016 and 2017. (CNN)

• Iran–European Union relations
  • Iran sets seven conditions to stay in the JCPOA Iran deal after the U.S. withdrew. One of these conditions is that European banks should safeguard trade with Iran. (Al-Arabiya)
• China–United States relations
  • The Pentagon announces that it has "disinvited" China from this year's biennial Rim of the Pacific naval exercise, after China announced in January that it had accepted the United States' invitation. (Politico)

• Corruption in Belgium
  • Belgian prosecutors admit that a 2-year-old child was killed by police during a high-speed chase with a van last week, after initially denying it. (The Guardian)
• Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump
  • U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald rules that public officials on social media should not block other users for differing political views. (Fortune)

Indian investigation agency CBI said it had registered a case on Wednesday against 17 entities pertaining to the SSC examination paper leak. The entities named in the First Information Report (FIR) include seven students, nine officials of Sify Technologies Ltd, as well as the head of the Sify content team, Sant Prasad Gupta.(https://www.livemint.com/Politics/ZcbCRbJaBc1ucyndksQnVK/CBI-files-case-against-17-people-on-SSC-paper-leak.html)

• Politics of Italy
  • Italian President Sergio Mattarella accepts Giuseppe Conte as Prime Minister. Conte is now going to form his government, supported by the Five Star Movement and League. (BBC)

• 2018 NFL season, U.S. national anthem protests (2016–present)
  • The NFL announces a new policy regarding kneeling for the anthem, requiring any players on the sidelines to stand. Thus, players will now be allowed to remain in the locker room while the Star-Spangled Banner is played, fining players who refuse to stand on the sidelines. (The Baltimore Sun)
• 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
  • The Washington Capitals will play the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Finals after a game 7 victory. It is the first Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the Capitals since 1998. (NHL)

• Mississauga restaurant bombing
  • Fifteen people are injured after two suspects detonate an improvised explosive device at a restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The suspects immediately fled the scene. (Reuters), (BBC)

• Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
  • A Dutch official from the international Joint Investigation Team tells reporters the Russian Armed Forces were responsible for the shootdown. The Russian Defence Ministry denies its units were involved. (BBC)
• Monsoon rains kill 12 people in Sri Lanka. (Al Jazeera)

• North Korea–United States relations
  • 2018 North Korea–United States summit
    • North Korea sets off a series of explosions to demolish the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site to build confidence before the scheduled summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. (NBC News)
    • U.S. President Donald Trump cancels the scheduled summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement by North Korea. Trump states that a summit can still happen, but warns that the military is ready if needed. (CNN) (The Washington Examiner)
• Burkina Faso–Taiwan relations
  • Burkina Faso breaks diplomatic relations with Taiwan. (The Washington Post), (Reuters)

• Corruption in Spain
  • Gürtel case
    • The National Audience of Spain issues a ruling in the Gürtel case, ending a 10-year trial that sentences 29 people to prison terms of up to 51 years. (El País) (BBC)
    • The People's Party, the ruling party in the Government, is condemned as participant in a lucrative way directly. (El Mundo) (The Washington Post)
    • The Court does not believe the statements as a witness that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made on 26 July 2017, which could imply the fulfillment of a crime of false testimony. (El País)
  • Around 30 people are arrested in an operation against corruption in the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona. (El Periódico)
  • Eduardo Zaplana, former Minister of Labour and ex-President of the Generalitat Valenciana is sent to prison without bail after being arrested on May 22. (El País)
• A gunman opens fire in a restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. Two people are injured and the gunman is killed at the scene after exchanging fire with an armed bystander. (CNN)

• Human rights in Pakistan
  • The National Assembly of Pakistan votes a constitutional amendment merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This will abolish colonial-era rules and provide the five million people from the tribal areas with equal rights as the other people of Pakistan. The measure is expected to pass the next stages without fuss. (Al Jazeera)
• Presidency of Donald Trump
  • U.S. President Donald Trump posthumously pardons boxer Jack Johnson who was convicted for "taking his white girlfriend across state lines for 'immoral' purposes" in 1912. (CNN)
  • President Trump awards the Medal of Honor to Navy Seal Britt K. Slabinski for his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Aftermath of Venezuelan presidential election, 2018
  • The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, during a ceremony to celebrate his re-election, ordered the military high command that the Armed Forces sign a "loyalty" document, after claims to have frustrated a supposed conspiration that sought to avoid holding the presidential elections of May 20 and blamed the United States and Colombia for being behind it. Maduro also said that the leader of the alleged conspiration "was a fugitive and that he had escaped to Colombia". (El Universal)
  • The Human Rights NGO, Foro Penal, reported the arrest of an aviation major, which is added to the imprisonment on May 22 by order of the military justice of eleven officers of the Armed Forces. Other versions, of press and activists, affirm that there would be at least 15 detentions by this presumed plot. (Canal N)

• 2018 Atlantic hurricane season
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States predicts a near- or above-average hurricane season for 2018. (NOAA)

• Noblesville West Middle School shooting
  • A shooting at the Noblesville West Middle School in Noblesville, Indiana, United States, leaves two people injured. One suspect is in custody. (Business Insider)

• Economy of the European Union
  • EU finance ministers reach an agreement on reforming bank capital rules. (Reuters)
• Economy of Colombia
  • The OECD member countries admit Colombia as its 37th member. (Xinhua)
• Economy of Italy
  • The yield spread between the Italian and German 10-year government bonds rises to over 2% for the first time in a year, due to the political uncertainty. (El País)

• Transport in Uganda
  • 48 people die in an accident involving a tractor, a bus and a truck in Kiryandongo, Western Region. (Africa News)
• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • A magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurs at Kīlauea. (CBS News)

• Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
  • A senior Iranian official asks European powers to come up with a "Plan B" before the end of May, so that Iran may decide 'within weeks' whether to stay in the agreement. (Reuters)
• 2018 North Korea–United States summit
  • U.S. President Donald Trump tweets that "very productive talks" are being held with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on reinstating the June 12 Singapore summit, which he had cancelled Thursday. (BBC)

• General Data Protection Regulation
  • GDPR rules come into effect in the European Union. Several U.S. news sites are subsequently taken offline in the United Kingdom and Europe, including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Lee Enterprises newspapers. (The Independent)
  • Austrian privacy organization NOYB files complaints to regulators in four EU countries alleging that Facebook, Google, Instagram, and WhatsApp are violating the GDPR. (Reuters) (BBC News)
• Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations
  • After surrendering to the NYPD, film producer Harvey Weinstein is formally charged with rape and other sexual abuse offences involving two women. (BBC News)
• Police in India state that mobs have killed three people after social media warned of roaming gangs of child kidnappers. They say that there is no evidence of such gangs. (Tampa Bay Times)
• Bulgarian customs agents seize 191 kilograms (421 lb) of heroin in transit for Belgium and the Netherlands at the border with Turkey. The drugs, with a street value of €6 million, were hidden under tile glue and detected by a sniffer dog. (The Washington Post)

• Politics of Spain, Gürtel case
  • The opposition Socialist Workers' Party presents a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy following the publication of the sentence in the Gürtel corruption scandal, which involved the ruling PP. (El Mundo) (The Guardian)
  • The Citizens party gives an ultimatum to Rajoy to call snap elections or otherwise they'll support the motion of no confidence. (La Vanguardia) (The New York Times)
  • Rajoy reaffirms that he will not resign, nor call elections and that the motion of no confidence is bad for the stability of the country. (El País)
• Barbadian general election, 2018
  • The Barbados Labour Party, entering the election as the opposition party, wins all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. Mia Mottley becomes the first female Prime Minister of Barbados. (Reuters)
• Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Moïse Katumbi and Félix Tshisekedi, two major opposition figures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, issue a joint statement; they discuss choosing a single candidate to run in the presidential election now scheduled for December 23. (Bloomberg)
• Russian presidential election, 2024
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he will respect the Russian constitution and step down when his term expires in 2024. (Reuters)
• Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018
  • Ireland holds a referendum which will decide whether to repeal the constitutional prohibition of abortion. Exit polls suggest the results shall be 68% "yes" and 32% "no". The results will be released at 09:00 UTC tomorrow. (The Irish Times), (BBC News)

• 2018 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Subtropical Storm Alberto becomes the first named storm of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed at the western Caribbean Sea and is expected to move north of the Gulf of Mexico later in the weekend. (The Weather Channel)

• 2018 lower Puna eruption
  • Several more properties are destroyed as Kīlauea continues to erupt. (Newsweek)
• 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Cyclone Mekunu makes landfall near Salalah, Oman, killing at least five people with 30 others reported missing. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), maximum sustained winds of 170–180 kilometres per hour (106–112 mph) have been recorded, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane. The storm is moving north toward Saudi Arabia. (AP via MSN) (IMD)
• 2018 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Florida Governor Rick Scott, and Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant each declare a state of emergency as Subtropical Storm Alberto, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h), approaches the Southeastern United States. The National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will make landfall over the northern Gulf Coast late Monday afternoon or Monday night, with heavy rainfall and tropical storm conditions preceding actual landfall. (USA Today) (National Hurricane Center)

• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the second time in recent months at the peace village on the Northern side to discuss the topic of the June 12 summit in Singapore between the U.S. and North Korea, which was cancelled then left with the possibility of happening the day after. (Channel News Asia) (BBC)
• United States–Venezuela relations
  • Josh Holt, an American held in Venezuela for allegedly stockpiling weapons and attempting to destabilize the government, is released to the United States. (CNN)
• 2017–18 Qatar diplomatic crisis
  • Qatar orders its traders and shops to stop dealing in products imported from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain. (Reuters)

• Reactions to Innocence of Muslims
  • Egypt's top administrative court upholds a 2013 lower court ruling on the short film Innocence of Muslims. The court orders authorities to block YouTube for a month. An official says the movie denigrates Islam's prophet Muhammad. (AFP via Rappler) (Egypt Today)

• Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland
  • Irish citizens vote in a referendum on the proposed Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 to repeal the 1983 Eighth Amendment constitutional ban on abortion by 66.4% to 33.6%. (BBC)

• 2017–18 UEFA Champions League
  • Liverpool F.C. and defending champions Real Madrid C.F. face each other in the final in Kiev, Ukraine. Winning 3–1, Real Madrid are European champions for the 13th time and is the first team since FC Bayern Munich in the 1970s to win three titles in a row. (The Guardian)
• 2018 Hypo-Meeting
  • World and Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam becomes the first female heptathlete ever to jump over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). In this year's heptathlon event at the Götzis, Austria, competition, she clears the bar at 2.01 m, also a season's best in women's high jump overall. (IAAF)

• Politics of Japan
  • Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone celebrates his 100th birthday. (Reuters)
• Politics of the United States
  • Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, aged 93, is hospitalized for observation due to hypotension (low blood pressure) and fatigue at Southern Maine Health Care. (Reuters)

• More than 200 departures are delayed and about 50 arrivals and departures are cancelled after lightning hit the aircraft fuel system at London Stansted Airport. Violent thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain overnight caused flooding and property damage; the UK was struck by lightning more than 60,000 times in 24 hours, according to the Met Office. (Sky News) (Sky News₂)

• Mexican Drug War
  • Mexican authorities arrest Rosalinda Garcia, the wife of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of the country's most wanted drug lords. (New York Post)
• Blockade of the Gaza Strip, Human rights in the State of Palestine
  • Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman says that Israel has started building an "unique obstacle" along the Zikim beach, a three-story-high kind of breakwater designed to cut off the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip from access to Israel by the sea. The "impenetrable" structure made of stone and fence is expected to be completed before the end of this year. (Belga via De Standaard) (AFP via The Daily Star)
  • A member of a Palestinian committee tasked with breaking the siege says a ship will set off on Tuesday, carrying a number of injured Gazans and patients aboard. He does not specify the ship's first planned stop. (MEMO)

• Colombian presidential election, 2018
  • Voters in Colombia go to the polls in the first round of a presidential election. (BBC News)
• Politics of Germany
  • An estimated 20,000 people protest against an Alternative for Germany rally attracting 5,000 demonstrators in Berlin; 2,000 police are deployed. (Al Jazeera)
• Politics of the State of Palestine
  • Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's discharge from the hospital is delayed. (Fox News)
• Politics of Egypt
  • Security sources say that prominent opposition leader Hazem Abdel-Azim has been detained. (Reuters) (Deutsche Welle)
• Politics of Italy
  • Prime Minister designate Giuseppe Conte gives up trying to form a government after President Sergio Mattarella earlier vetoed the nomination of technocrat Paolo Savona as Minister of Finance. (Bloomberg)

• 2018 Indian Premier League
  • Chennai Super Kings defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in the final of the Indian Premier League to win the title for the third time. (Cricinfo)
• 2018 IndyCar Series
  • 2014 IndyCar Series champion Will Power of Australia wins the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. It is Danica Patrick's final race before her retirement. (NBC Sports)

• Foreign relations of Poland
  • Poland's Minister of Defence Mariusz Błaszczak says he recently talked with U.S. officials in Washington D.C. about permanently stationing thousands of U.S. troops in Poland as a deterrent against Russia. (AP via Business Insider)

• Austria's coalition government unveils plans to cut benefit payments for immigrants, including refugees, in a move aimed at deterring new arrivals. (BBC)
• Crime in Canada
  • Former Taliban hostage Joshua Boyle is expected to have a bail hearing for a second straight day. He is expected to face 19 charges for sexual assault and forcible confinement. (Infosurhoy) (Ottawa Matters)

• Politics of the State of Palestine
  • Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas leaves hospital after eight days of treatment for pneumonia. (The Hindu)

• 2018 Liège attack
  • Three people, including two police officers, are killed in Liège, Belgium, and four police officers are injured in a shooting. The gunman took a woman hostage, but was later killed by police. (BBC) (The Guardian)
• Gaza–Israel conflict
  • Palestinian militants in Gaza fire dozens of mortars at Israel in the heaviest such barrage in years. The Israeli Air Force responds with airstrikes on militant positions. (BBC)
• Ukrainian crisis
  • It is reported that Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko is shot dead near his home in Kiev, Ukraine. The day after, the event is revealed by the Ukrainian Security Service to have been staged as part of an operation to catch those who were trying to kill him. (Reuters) (NBC New York)

• U.S. television network ABC cancels its recently revived sitcom Roseanne following a controversial tweet from Roseanne Barr about former U.S. President Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. (BBC) (CNBC)

• 2018 in video gaming
  • The studio behind battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) sues Epic Games for allegedly copying their game with Fortnite Battle Royale. (BBC) (The Verge)

• 2018 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Subtropical Storm Alberto, the first named Atlantic storm of 2018, makes landfall on the west coast of Florida, United States. (CNN)
  • Two WYFF journalists, Mike McCormick and Aaron Smeltzer, are killed after a tree crushes their car as they covered the storm in North Carolina, United States. (BBC)
• At least 50 people are reported to have died amid heavy thunder and lightning storms in northern India. (BBC)

• International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
  • Syria recognizes the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states which in turn prompts Georgia to sever its relations with Syria. (Reuters)
• 2018 China–United States trade dispute
  • The U.S. Government announces a 25% import tariff on US$50 billion of Chinese goods with "industrially significant technology". A full list of affected products will be published on June 15. Investment restrictions and enhanced export controls are to be announced on June 30. (NPR)

• Crime in the United Kingdom
  • It is reported today that right-wing British activist Tommy Robinson was sentenced to 13 months in prison for contempt of court within five hours after being arrested outside Leeds Crown Court on 25 May. A ban on reporting his sentence is lifted today following a legal challenge by journalists. (The Mirror) (The Guardian)
• Censorship of Facebook, Health in Papua New Guinea
  • Papua New Guinea bans Facebook for a month "in order to research the social network’s effects on the population and to crack down on fake accounts." (The Hill)
• Kidnapping of Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman
  • Former Taliban hostage Joshua Boyle, awaiting trial on assault charges, is expected to hear Friday whether he'll be released on bail. (The Star)

• Libyan general election, 2018
  • Four Libyan leaders – Fayez al-Sarraj, Khalifa Haftar, Aguila Saleh and head of the Council of State Khaled al-Mishri – endorse a statement calling to hold "credible, peaceful" elections on 10 December. (The Guardian)
• 2017–18 United States political sexual scandals
  • Governor of Missouri Eric Greitens announces that he is resigning amid sexual misconduct and misuse of a charity donor list allegations against him. Greitens claims that he is the victim of a "political witch hunt". Lt. Governor Mike Parson will assume the governorship once Greitens' resignation takes effect on June 1. (BBC) (St Louis Post-Dispatch)

• Expansion of Major League Soccer
  • FC Cincinnati is announced as the 26th expansion team of Major League Soccer, set to begin play next year. (The Cincinnati Enquirer)

• Ukrainian crisis
  • Arkady Babchenko, who was reportedly assassinated yesterday in Kiev, Ukraine, appears on live television stating that the assassination was staged. (BBC)

• 2018 Brazil truck drivers' strike
  • Oil workers in Brazil start a 72-hour strike, amid the ongoing truck drivers' strike. (Reuters)
• Economy of the United States
  • Amid concerns that the value of the company's stocks would fall after the decision to cease the sales of certain firearms, Dick's Sporting Goods reports a stronger than expected quarter, with shares up 27%. (CNN)

• An avalanche at Babusar Pass kills five members of Tablighi Jamaat religious organization. (Daily Pakistan)

• Japanese whaling, Whaling controversy
  • A consortium led by the Institute of Cetacean Research, which is linked to Japan's Ministry of Fisheries, reports that 333 Antarctic minke whales were killed in last summer's scientific survey. 122 of the whales were pregnant, and 114 immature. (Smithsonian)

• Macedonia naming dispute
  • According to Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, talks with Greece on Macedonia's name are in a final phase. Zaev says that if a compromise name for the country is agreed upon, it will be put to a referendum. (RFE/RL)
• North Korea–United States relations, 2018 North Korea–United States summit
  • Top North Korean official Kim Yong-chol meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York City to discuss the summit set to be held in June. (BBC)

• Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations
  • Harvey Weinstein is indicted for rape charges by a New York City grand jury. (CBS)

• Budget of the European Union
  • The European Commission proposes to double funding for the Erasmus Programme. If adopted, the 2021–2027 budget for the student exchange programme would be €30 billion. (TRT World)
• Net neutrality
  • The Senate of the State of California votes to reinstate internet open-access rules. (The Verge)
• Feminism in the United States
  • The Illinois House of Representatives votes 72–45 to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. (Chicago Tribune)

• 2018 Nicaraguan protests
  • Catholic bishops cancel the planned Episcopal Conference talks with the government after protests against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega turn violent. According to the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, pro-government armed groups killed 11 people. (Reuters)

• Transport in Iran
  • Truck owners' strikes continue for the tenth consecutive day in 177 cities. Fuel shortages and long lines at petrol stations are reported in all major Iranian cities. (Open Democracy)
• Trump tariffs, Protectionism in the United States
  • United States tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union are set to take effect at midnight. (BBC)
  • Mexico retaliates with equivalent levies on pork legs, apples, grapes, cheeses and steel. The Secretariat of Economy says that the measures will be in place until the U.S. eliminates their new tariffs. (Reuters)
  • President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker vows "counterbalancing measures" from the EU soon. The EU is expected to respond with tariffs on a little more than US$3 billion worth of American goods including motorcycles, bourbon, and blue jeans. Juncker also says that the EU will proceed with a case against the US in the World Trade Organization. US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross replies that the EU measures are "unlikely" to have much impact on the US economy. (AP via The News & Observer) (Business Insider) (Reuters)
  • Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland announces dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs of 10% or 25% on a list of goods – steel, aluminum, whiskey, orange juice and other food products – worth $16.6 billion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounces an "affront" to the security partnership between the US and Canada. (CNBC)

• Support for military action against Iran
  • Ex-Israeli spy chief Tamir Pardo reveals that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the Israeli Defence Forces to prepare for military action against Iran in 2011. (ABC News)

• European Convention on Human Rights
  • The European Court of Human Rights rules that the Romanian and Lithuanian governments each knowingly hosted CIA secret prisons around 2005. Both countries also participated in the US extraordinary rendition program: one case by each country is acknowledged. Four years ago, Poland was also condemned for running a CIA secret jail. (Reuters)
• Terrorism in the United Kingdom
  • A British man named Husnain Rashid pleaded guilty after supporting ISIS and admitting that he threatened to attack Prince George at school. (Global News)
• Denmark's parliament votes 75–30 to ban garments that cover the face, which includes Islamic veils such as the niqāb and burqa. Those violating the law risk a fine of 1,000 kroner. Similar bans already exist in Austria, Belgium and France. (The Guardian)

• 2018 vote of no confidence in the government of Mariano Rajoy, Gürtel case
  • The debate on a motion of no confidence against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government takes place at the Congress of Deputies, with a vote scheduled tomorrow. With an expected 180 votes against 176 needed, leader of the Opposition, socialist Pedro Sánchez, could immediately become the next Prime Minister. (The Independent) (Reuters)
• Thirty-first Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
  • Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain signs into law the official merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative province. (RFE/RL)
• A large march, which included students, citizen collectives and political groups of the left, toured the streets of Lima, Peru to demand the closure of the Congress of the Republic, seat of the legislative power, in response to the constant corruption scandals involving congressmen, in addition to excessive economic expenses that, for the demonstrators, makes this power of the State. The protest, initially peaceful, turned violent when the police prevented the demonstrators from approaching precisely the Congress and the presidential palace. (Perú 21) (La República)

• Plutinos
  • Astronomers announce the discovery of 380–680-kilometre (240–420 mi) wide plutino 2017 OF69, the fifth-largest known plutino, and the largest discovered since 90482 Orcus in 2004. (Minor Planet Center)
  • Pluto, the eponymous member of the plutino group, is discovered to have dunes of methane ice. (BBC)
• Paleontologists at the University of Bristol announce, through the Nature journal, the discovery of the world's oldest lizard fossil, estimated to be 240 million years old. The fossil, Megachirella wachtleri, is the most ancient known ancestor of all modern lizards and snakes. (Science Daily) (CBC)