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Topics in the news

SpaceX launches (pictured) a Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.
A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana'a, Yemen.
Tomislav Nikolić is elected President of Serbia.
Danilo Medina is elected President of the Dominican Republic.
British singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, dies at the age of 62.
In ice hockey, the IIHF World Championship concludes with Russia defeating Slovakia in the final.
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 in connection with the Lockerbie bombing, dies in Libya.

Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

May 25, 2012 (Friday)

International relations

The President of France, François Hollande, makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan to visit French troops. (AFP via France 24)

Politics and elections

Police blockade the Parliament of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby the day after the government led by Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill levy sedition charges against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea, Sir Salamo Injia. (AP via Washington Post)

May 25, 2012 Wikinews articles

May 24, 2012 (Thursday)

Armed conflict and attacks

A United States drone attack kills ten people in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Elton John checks into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, due to a respiratory infection, according to the singer's publicist. (CNN)

Business and economy

Revised figures indicate the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of 2012, more than initially thought. (BBC)

Disasters

The United States National Hurricane Center advises that Hurricane Bud has formed off the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico and has reached category two strength. (AP via Washington Post), (AFP via Google News)

Law and crime

London's Metropolitan Police is to send a team of detectives to Libya to continue the investigation into the 1984 murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher. (BBC)
News Corporation lobbyist Fred Michel tells the Leveson Inquiry there was nothing inappropriate in his relationship with Adam Smith, a special adviser to UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt. Smith later tells the hearing Hunt sent a memorandum to Prime Minister David Cameron in which he said he was in favour of News Corp's bid to take control of BSkyB before he was given a key role in the process. (BBC)
Four Russian citizens are arrested and accused of espionage in Diyala, Iraq. They are allegedly beaten while in Iraqi custody. (AFP)

Politics and elections

Voters in Egypt go to the polls for a second day to vote in a presidential election. (BBC)

Sport

football goal-line technology will be tested at Wembley Stadium when England play Belgium in a friendly on 2 June. (BBC Sport)

May 24, 2012 Wikinews articles

May 23, 2012 (Wednesday)

Armed conflict and attacks

A drone attack conducted by the United States kills five people in a tribal area in North Waziristan, Pakistan. (Xinhua)
The Iranian Navy assists an American cargo ship that was attacked by pirates off United Arab Emirates. (SFGate)

Arts and culture

Georgia-native Phillip Phillips is crowned the eleventh American Idol. Runner-up Jessica Sanchez is the first contestant of Asian ancestry to advance in the finals. (TopNews)

Business and economy

The price of Crude oil falls to a 7-month low due to high supply and constructive talks regarding Iran's nuclear program. (CNN)
Hewlett-Packard plans to cut 27,000 jobs, or 8% of their workforce. (CNN)

Law and crime

Shakeel Afridi, a Pakistani physician who helped the CIA to track down Osama bin Laden by collecting DNA samples from residents of bin Laden's compound, is sentenced to 33 years imprisonment for treason. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Voters in Egypt go to the polls for a presidential election, 15 months after former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a revolution. (BBC)

May 23, 2012 Wikinews articles

May 22, 2012 (Tuesday)

Business and economy

Yahoo! sells its Alibaba Group stake for US$7.1 billion. (Reuters)
The Securities Division of the government of Massachusetts subpoenas financial services firm Morgan Stanley (MS), in connection with an MS analyst's talks with institutional investors prior to the Facebook initial public offering. (Reuters)

Disasters

At least 14 people die and 30 are injured after the Hampi Express collides with a goods train in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. (IBN Live) (AAP via News Limited)

Law and crime

A military court in Lebanon releases anti-Syrian government activist Shadi al-Moulawi after his arrest sparked violent clashes that killed eight people. (Al Jazeera)
The trial begins in Mauritius of two hotel workers accused of murdering Irish woman Michaela McAreavey while she honeymooned on the island in 2011. (RTÉ)

Politics and elections

The Burmese government appeals for "understanding" after rare protests in Mandalay and Yangon over power shortages. (BBC) (VOA)
Voters in the US states of Arkansas and Kentucky go to the polls, with Mitt Romney winning the Republican primaries, and President Barack Obama winning but performing relatively poorly against token opposition in the Democratic primaries. (ABC News)
British naval officer Commander Sarah West is appointed commander of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland, becoming the first female officer to take command of a major British warship. (The Scotsman)

Science

After months of delays, American company SpaceX successfully launches its unmanned Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, beginning a test mission to the International Space Station (ISS). (BBC)

May 22, 2012 Wikinews articles

British musician Robin Gibb dies at age 62

May 21, 2012 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

A suicide bomber attacks soldiers rehearsing for the annual Unity Day parade in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, killing at least 120 people and injuring more than 350 others. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility. (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (Trust) (Yemen Post)
FARC rebels kill 12 Colombian soldiers and wound four more in an ambush near the Colombian border with Venezuela. (AFP via Google) (AP)
Two people are killed in ongoing clashes in the Lebanese capital Beirut between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (Ya Libnan)

Business and economy

Australian airline Qantas announces cuts to 500 maintenance jobs. (News Limited)

Disasters

At least 13 people – most of them students – are killed and 22 others are injured after a bus plunges 80 metres (260 ft) off a cliff in Albania. (BBC)
Four climbers from Canada, China, Germany and South Korea die whilst returning from the summit of Mount Everest; a Nepalese guide is missing. (The Himalayan Times)

International relations

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano begins talks in Tehran aimed at convincing the Iranian government to co-operate with the agency. (Al Jazeera)
US President Barack Obama speaks at a NATO summit concerning the future of war-ravaged Afghanistan. (BBC)
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the case concerning the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, is buried in a private ceremony in a western suburb of Tripoli, having died of cancer aged 60. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Gay rights groups express concern as Dharun Ravi, the U.S. student who filmed on secret webcam the sexual activities of his gay room-mate Tyler Clementi, who later jumped to his death from a bridge when the film was exposed, is sentenced to 30 days in prison by a New Jersey judge. Ravi avoids the maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Sri Lanka's former army chief Sarath Fonseka is freed from prison with a pardon from President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Times of India)
The criminal trial of Rajat Gupta on charges of insider trading begins in a federal courtroom in New York. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The Acting President of Mali, Dioncounda Traoré, is taken to hospital after an angry encounter with demonstrators who object to a deal for the 70-year-old to remain in office for a year. (BBC)
Greek leftist politician Alexis Tsipras, head of the Coalition of the Radical Left, begins a tour of European capitals. (Reuters)

Science

A rare annular solar eclipse occurs, visible from East Asia, the North Pacific, and the Western United States. (AAP via SBS News) (Al Jazeera) (BBC)

May 21, 2012 Wikinews articles

May 20, 2012 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian uprising: A roadside bomb explodes near a United Nations convoy in the Syrian capital of Damascus, in the district of Douma. (BBC)
Bahraini uprising: Jailed Bahrain Centre for Human Rights head Nabeel Rajab is granted $800 bail with a travel ban for a charge of "insulting an official authority", though according to his lawyer he is still locked up on a second charge. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb dies at the age of 62. (BBC)

Disasters

At least 6 people are killed and dozens injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells his cabinet that hundreds of thousands of iIllegal mmigrants from Africa would threaten Israel's identity. (The Guardian) (The Jerusalem Post)
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, dies at his home in the Libyan capital of Tripoli at the age of 60. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano heads for Tehran to convince the Iranian government to co-operate with the agency. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)(BBC)

Law and crime

Staines becomes Staines-upon-Thames. (BBC)
Two women in Jieyang, Guangdong, PRC, are executed for counterfeiting nearly 300 million yuan RMB. (NetEase) (Inside China)

Politics and elections

Pan-Green protesters pelt eggs at a poster of Ma Ying-jeou as Ma is sworn in for a second term as the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan), after winning the presidential election in January. (Al Jazeera)
Voters in the Dominican Republic go to the polls for a presidential election with early results showing Danilo Medina as the winner. (AP via ABC America) (Reuters via Yahoo News)
Tomislav Nikolić is elected President of Serbia with 49.4% of the vote. (Deutsche Welle)

Sport

Thousands of people gather in London for an open-top bus parade to celebrate Chelsea's UEFA Champions League victory over Munich in last night's final. (BBC)
A homegrown Montpellier overcome big-spending rivals Paris Saint-Germain to shock fans worldwide by winning their first Ligue 1 title and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. (Al Jazeera)

May 20, 2012 Wikinews articles

May 19, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing 9 people. (Al Jazeera)
A bomb, made of three gas cylinders, explodes in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing a 16-year-old female student. (BBC) (La Repubblica)
A suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in the eastern Afghan province of Khost kills 10 people, including a number of police officers. (BBC)
Sri Lanka marks the third anniversary of the end of its 26-year civil war with a large military parade in Colombo. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Ethologist, evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins announces his support for British education secretary Michael Gove's plan to send free King James Bibles to every state school. (The Guardian)

Disasters

At least 20 people are killed in an explosion in a road tunnel being constructed in central China. (BBC)
At least two people are killed and 17 others are injured when a rally car plows through a crowd of spectators in the Var region of southern France. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Three protesters are arrested in a police raid ahead of this weekend's 60-nation NATO summit in the U.S. city of Chicago. (Al Jazeera)
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife and children arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, after boarding a flight from Beijing. (CNN)

Science

Retired American psychiatrist Robert Spitzer apologises for his "fatally flawed" study, published in 2001, which falsely lent credence to the myth that gay people could be "cured". (The Guardian)

Sport

Association football:
- The final of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League occurs in Munich, with Chelsea defeating Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot out after extra time, winning the competition for the first time in the club's history. (The Guardian) (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- West Ham return to the Premier League by defeating Blackpool in the 2012 Football League Championship play-off Final. (BBC)
Leinster defeat Ulster in the 2012 Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham, their third Heineken Cup win in four seasons. (RTÉ) (Setanta Sports)
In horse racing, I'll Have Another wins the 2012 Preakness Stakes giving him the chance to become the first horse to win the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing since Affirmed in 1978. (AP via Yahoo Sports)

May 19, 2012 Wikinews articles

More May 2012 events...

Time: 06:15 UTC \| Day: 25 May \| Purge

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Ongoing events
Political Arab Spring Post-Tunisian revolution Libyan factional fighting Egyptian revolution Bahraini uprising Syrian uprising Yemeni revolution Economic Global financial crisis European sovereign-debt crisis Greek economic crisis Irish financial crisis Scientific Expedition 31 Medical AIDS pandemic HIV/AIDS in Africa edit sidebar

Recent deaths
May 23: Paul Fussell 20: Robin Gibb 20: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi 20: Eugene Polley 19: Bob Boozer 18: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau 17: Herbert Breslin 17: Warda Al-Jazairia 17: Donna Summer 16: Chuck Brown 15: Carlos Fuentes 13: Donald "Duck" Dunn 13: Arsalan Rahmani 12: Harold Arthur Poling 12: Ken Selby 11: Tony DeZuniga 10: Horst Faas 10: Joyce Redman 10: Carroll Shelby 9: Geoffrey Henry 9: Vidal Sassoon 8: Roman Totenberg 8: Maurice Sendak 7: Ferenc Bartha 6: Iraj Ghaderi 6: George Lindsey 6: Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso 4: Adam Yauch 3: Lloyd Brevett 3: Digby Wolfe 2: Junior Seau 1: Charles Pitts edit sidebar

Ongoing conflicts
Global War on Terror Terrorist incidents Operation Active Endeavour Operation Enduring Freedom War on Drugs Africa Maghreb insurgency OEF - Trans Sahara Casamance conflict Niger Delta conflict Nigerian Sharia conflict Sudan internal conflict South Sudan internal conflict South Sudan–Sudan border conflict 2012 East DR Congo conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Somalia: Civil war War 2009- Piracy OEF - Horn of Africa Tuareg rebellion Europe North Caucasus insurgency Ingushetia civil war Dissident Irish Republican campaign Middle East Iraqi insurgency Arab–Israeli conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Palestinian political violence and rocket attacks Yemen: Terrorism al-Qaeda crackdown South Yemen insurgency Shia insurgency Kurdistan: Turkey–PKK conflict Asia Afghanistan War Military operations Taliban insurgency Pakistan: Terrorism North-West War Balochistan conflict Drone attacks Sectarian violence India: Terrorism Jammu and Kashmir insurgency Naxalite-Maoist insurgency Northeast India insurgency Nagaland ethnic conflict Kashmir conflict Siachen conflict Korean maritime border incidents Southeast Asia: Laos insurgency South Thailand insurgency Cambodian–Thai border dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Islamic insurgency in the Philippines Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines Papua conflict Americas Colombian armed conflict (1964–present) edit sidebar

Elections
Recent: April 22: France, President (1st round) Recent: May 2: Hungary, President (indirect) 3: United Kingdom, Mayor of London 3: United Kingdom, Local Elections 3: United Kingdom, London Assembly 4: Iran, Parliament (2nd round) 6: Armenia, Parliament 6: France, President (2nd round) 6: Serbia, President (1st round) and Parliament 6: Greece, Parliament 7: Bahamas, General 7: Syria, Parliament 10: Algeria, Parliament 20: Dominican Republic, President 20: Serbia, President (2nd round) Upcoming: May 23–24: Egypt, President (1st round) 26: Lesotho, General 31: Ireland, Constitutional referendum edit sidebar

Trials
Recently concluded Cambodia: Kang Kek Iew Canada: Michael Rafferty France: Jacques Chirac, John Galliano Germany: John Demjanjuk, Heinrich Boere Iceland: Geir Haarde Indonesia: Abu Bakar Bashir Italy: Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito Netherlands: Geert Wilders, Charles Taylor Peru: Joran van der Sloot Russia: Bhagavad Gita South Africa: Chris Mahlangu Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko United Kingdom: Levi Bellfield, Robert Black, Vincent Tabak, Ali Dizaei, Antoni Imiela, Brian Regan, Donna Air, Ched Evans, Clayton McDonald United States: Faisal Shahzad, Noshir Gowadia, Buju Banton, Barry Bonds, Raj Rajaratnam, Rod Blagojevich, Casey Anthony, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Conrad Murray, George Huguely, Allen Stanford, William Balfour Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal China: Organized crime in Chongqing Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak, Gamal Mubarak France: Church of Scientology, Carlos the Jackal Iraq: Supreme Criminal Tribunal Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim Netherlands: Thomas Lubanga (ICC), Radovan Karadžić (ICTY), Ratko Mladic (ICTY) Norway: Anders Behring Breivik Palau: Tommy Remengesau Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr. Russia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor (SCFSL) Singapore: Tak Boleh Tahan Sudan: Lubna al-Hussein Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra Tunisia: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Turkey: Ergenekon network, Kenan Evren United Kingdom: Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed United States: Roger Clemens, Ahmed Ghailani, David Headley, Jared Lee Loughner, Charles P. White, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Viktor Bout, John Edwards Upcoming Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo United Kingdom: Justin Lee Collins United States: Nidal Malik Hasan, Javaris Crittenton, Bradley Manning, Jerry Sandusky, Robert Bales, George Zimmerman, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed edit sidebar

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