May 1, 2008 (2008-05-01 ) (Thursday)
May 2, 2008 (2008-05-02 ) (Friday)
Conservative Party candidate
Boris Johnson is elected as the
Mayor of London replacing
Ken Livingstone , capping huge gains by the Conservatives in
local elections , which gave them a net gain of 256 council seats and a net gain of 12 city councils.
(BBC News)
The
Olympic flame is back on Chinese soil as the
Olympics torch relay continues in
Hong Kong ,
Special Administrative Region of the
People's Republic of China .
(BBC News)
May 1-2, 2008 tornado outbreak :
Tornadoes affecting the south-central
United States kill at least seven in
Arkansas .
(KAIT8)
Over 10,000 people gather in
Seoul ,
South Korea , to protest against the importation of U.S. beef, which is alleged to have a danger of
mad cow disease .
(YouTube Video)
Zimbabwean presidential election, 2008
The
foreign ministers of the
United Kingdom ,
United States ,
Germany ,
France ,
Russia and
China agree to make a new offer to
Iran over its
nuclear program .
(AFP via Google News)
A plane crash kills more than a dozen in
Southern Sudan , including defense minister
Dominic Dim Deng .
(AFP via Google News)
United States non-farm
payrolls fall by 20,000 jobs with the
unemployment rate falling to 5 per cent.
(The Guardian )
A
$ 38 million
compensation deal is completed for victims of the
I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse.
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Teams in both
Russia and the
United States identify the remains of
Tsarevich Alexei of Russia and his sister
Grand Duchess Maria after the discovery of their bone shards on August 23, 2007.
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
2007 royal blackmail plot : Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan are jailed for five years each for attempting to extort money from an unidentified royal ("Witness A"). They demanded £50,000 from Witness A in exchange for audio tapes alleging
gay sex .
(BBC News)
May 3, 2008 (2008-05-03 ) (Saturday)
May 4, 2008 (2008-05-04 ) (Sunday)
May 5, 2008 (2008-05-05 ) (Monday)
May 6, 2008 (2008-05-06 ) (Tuesday)
May 7, 2008 (2008-05-07 ) (Wednesday)
May 8, 2008 (2008-05-08 ) (Thursday)
May 9, 2008 (2008-05-09 ) (Friday)
May 10, 2008 (2008-05-10 ) (Saturday)
May 11, 2008 (2008-05-11 ) (Sunday)
May 12, 2008 (2008-05-12 ) (Monday)
May 13, 2008 (2008-05-13 ) (Tuesday)
May 14, 2008 (2008-05-14 ) (Wednesday)
May 15, 2008 (2008-05-15 ) (Thursday)
May 16, 2008 (2008-05-16 ) (Friday)
10 people were shot at a branch of the
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) in
Cabuyao ,
Laguna ,
Philippines , with 9 dead and 1 in critical condition in what could be one of the bloodiest bank robberies in the nation's history.
USA Today.com - 9 killed during Philippine bank robbery
Leonel Fernández is re-elected as the
President of the Dominican Republic in the
2008 presidential election .
(AP via International Herald Tribune)
A
pipeline explosion near
Lagos ,
Nigeria , kills up to 100 people.
(Times Online)
A strong
aftershock to the
2008 Sichuan earthquake knocks out roads and communications to some of the worst affected areas disrupting rescue efforts.
(AP via Forbes)
Former
United States
Olympic
sprinter
Tim Montgomery is sentenced to 46 months imprisonment for his involvement in a
check fraud and
money laundering scheme.
(Reuters)
The
United States reaches a deal with
North Korea to resume
food aid with 500,000
tonnes of food to be sent to North Korea during the next year.
(AFP via Google News)
The
State Peace and Development Council in
Burma doubles the death toll from
Cyclone Nargis to 78,000 with 55,917 people missing and 19,359 people injured.
(The New York Times )
The
Court of Arbitration for Sport overturns the
IAAF 's decision to ban
South African
double-amputee runner
Oscar Pistorius from its competitions, thus clearing the way for him to attempt to become the first leg amputee to participate in the
Olympic Games .
(BBC News)
A suicide bomber kills at least nine people, including 7 police, and wounds 90 in
Sri Lanka 's capital
Colombo .
(BBC News)
The
President of the United States
George W. Bush arrives in
Saudi Arabia to discuss rising fuel prices with
King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia .
Saudi Arabia later announces plans to raise its output by 300,000 barrels a day.
(AP via Google News)
(Bloomberg)
The
runoff election for the
2008 presidential election between the
President of Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe and
Morgan Tsvangirai of the
Movement for Democratic Change is set for
June 27 .
(BBC News)
(AP via Yahoo! News)
Al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin laden leaves an audio message on the
Internet vowing to continue the fight against
Israel .
(RTÉ)
May 17, 2008 (2008-05-17 ) (Saturday)
May 18, 2008 (2008-05-18 ) (Sunday)
May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19 ) (Monday)
May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20 ) (Tuesday)
May 21, 2008 (2008-05-21 ) (Wednesday)
May 22, 2008 (2008-05-22 ) (Thursday)
May 23, 2008 (2008-05-23 ) (Friday)
Twelve
South American nations agree to form the
Union of South American Nations uniting two
customs unions in
Mercosur and the
Andean Community .
(Euronews)
At least 17 civilians including a child are killed in a
claymore mine explosion in
Kilinochchi , North of
Sri Lanka .
(Daily Mirror )
The
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Ban Ki-moon states that
Myanmar 's
State Peace and Development Council has decided to grant access to areas worst hit by
Cyclone Nargis to international aid workers regardless of nationality.
(Bloomberg)
Around 20,000 passengers are affected by unofficial
industrial action by
Iarnród Éireann ,
Ireland 's national rail operator.
(RTÉ)
Hu Jintao , the
President of China , and the
President of Russia
Dmitry Medvedev condemn the
United States '
National missile defense system.
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
The
International Court of Justice awards sovereignty of
Pedra Branca to
Singapore , ending a 28-year dispute over the islet between Singapore and
Malaysia . Malaysia was awarded sovereignty of an outcropping of Pedra Branca,
Middle Rocks , while the sovereignty of
South Ledge was left to be determined by the maritime boundary between the two nations, which is also a contentious point.
(Channel NewsAsia)
Seven
Moroccan tourists are killed in a bus crash in central
France , near the city of
Blois .
(RTÉ)
An independent investigation into $8.2 billion in
United States Department of Defense spending in
Iraq , as well as aid to
Egypt and
Kuwait since 2001 finds that 95% of payments to contractors failed to meet requirements for documentation to determine what was paid for.
(The New York Times )
2006 Lathen maglev train accident :
Germany fines two test track managers over the 23 deaths and 11 injuries. A third defendant remains to be tried due to
suicide fears.
(Bloomberg)
(Wikinews)
A coroner suggests the entire fleet of British
Royal Air Force
Hawker Siddeley Nimrod aircraft should be grounded on safety concerns.
(BBC News)
May 24, 2008 (2008-05-24 ) (Saturday)
Dima Bilan of
Russia wins the
Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "
Believe " with 272 points.
(AP via The International Herald Tribune )
Tornadoes of 2008 : Two people from
Colorado die in a
tornado south of
Pratt, Kansas as more than a dozen tornadoes hit
Kansas .
(AP via Forbes)
Three people are killed and another three injured in a helicopter crash on
Santa Catalina Island, California near
Two Harbors, California .
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
Munster win the
Heineken European Rugby Cup against
Toulouse , 16 to 13.
(RTÉ)
Colombia :
In continuing battles against anti-foreigner violence in
South Africa , police shoot and kill one man in
Johannesburg . The Red Cross warns it is struggling to help the thousands of displaced people.
(AFP via Google News)
(AFP via Google News)
Flooding in
Chile kills at least five people, displaces at least 15,000 people and closes the
Pan American Highway south of
Santiago .
(BBC News)
Cyclone Nargis : The authorities in
Myanmar allow foreign help into the country following initial resistance.
(Reuters)
Wen Jiabao , the
Premier of China , estimates that the eventual death toll from the
2008 Sichuan earthquake could rise as high as "80,000 or more".
(CBC)
Prince Joachim of Denmark marries French
Marie Cavallier . Prince Joachim was previously married to Hong Kong-born
Alexandra Manley .
(The Danish Monarchy)
May 25, 2008 (2008-05-25 ) (Sunday)
May 26, 2008 (2008-05-26 ) (Monday)
May 27, 2008 (2008-05-27 ) (Tuesday)
May 28, 2008 (2008-05-28 ) (Wednesday)
Engineers announce that the
Leaning Tower of
Pisa has been stabilized for the first time, and will remain stable for 200 more years.
(BBC News)
Australian paleontologists discover
Materpiscis , a 380-million-year-old
placoderm fish which is the earliest known animal to
bear live young .
(BBC News) ,
(ABC News Australia)
The
Governor of New York
David Paterson directs
New York state agencies to recognise
gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions such as
Canada ,
California and
Massachusetts .
(The New York Times )
In
Dublin , over 100 countries, not including the
United States ,
Russia , or
China , agree to the
Convention on Cluster Munitions banning
cluster bombs .
(RTÉ)
(AFP via Yahoo! News)
Ehud Barak , the
Defense Minister of Israel and Leader of the
Labor Party , calls for the resignation of the
Prime Minister of Israel
Ehud Olmert to step aside to face
corruption allegations.
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
The
Majlis of Iran elects
Ali Larijani as its new
Speaker .
(AFP via Google News)
Nepal
May 29, 2008 (2008-05-29 ) (Thursday)
2008 Sichuan earthquake :
China begins inspecting the ruins of thousands of schools that collapsed in the
Sichuan earthquake , searching for clues about why they crumbled.
(VOA)
Tornadoes of 2008 : The
Governor of Nebraska
Dave Heineman declares a
state of emergency in relation to
tornadoes in the towns of
Kearney, Nebraska , and
Aurora, Nebraska .
(NTV)
In a 6–5 ruling, the
Brazilian
Supreme Federal Court upholds a 2005 law permitting
embryonic stem cell research in the country.
(NBC) [
permanent dead link ]
(Folha de S. Paulo )
The
National Indian Foundation publishes
photographs of a tribe of
uncontacted peoples in a remote area of
Amazonia .
(CNN)
A helicopter crashes into a building in
Panama City , killing the
Director-general of the
Carabiniers of Chile and several civilians.
(AP via MSNBC)
Tropical Storm Alma, the first
tropical storm of the
2008 Pacific hurricane season , makes landfall in
Nicaragua near the city of
León bringing heavy rains and strong winds.
(Bloomberg)
A
strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the
Richter scale strikes
Iceland near the town of
Selfoss .
(CNN)
The
World Bank announces a
US$ 1.2 billion package to fight the
global food crisis including $200 million in
grants for those most at risk in
Third World countries.
(AFP via Google News)
Track and field coach
Trevor Graham is convicted of lying to investigators of links to a
steroids dealer in the
Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative investigation.
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
The
United States Department of Commerce revises its estimate of
economic growth in the
United States to 0.9% for the first
quarter of 2008.
(AFP via Google News)
At least 20 people are killed and 42 injured after two
suicide bombings in northern
Iraq .
(AFP via Google News)
A bomb at
Edwin Andrews Air Base in
Zamboanga City in the southern
Philippines kills two people and injures another 17.
(BBC News)
Hu Jintao , the
President of the People's Republic of China calls for resumption of official
talks between
mainland China and
Taiwan in a meeting with
Wu Po-hsiung , the Chairman of Taiwan's ruling party the
Kuomintang .
(CNN)
Twenty-six people are dead and fifty-one missing as a result of
snowstorms in eastern
Mongolia .
(UB Post )
Luxembourg ratifies the
Treaty of Lisbon becoming the fifteenth country to do so.
Iraq delivers a report on security, reconstruction, and economic progress at the
U.N. conference on Iraq in
Stockholm . Iraq seeks
debt forgiveness and foreign investment to aid with
reconstruction .
(Mawtani)
(VOA)
Torrential rain causes
flash flooding across half of
Somerset ,
United Kingdom .
(BBC News)
May 30, 2008 (2008-05-30 ) (Friday)
In the
United States , Sameer Mishra wins the
81st Scripps National Spelling Bee , the winning word was "
guerdon ", a noun meaning a reward.
(USA Today)
A gunman shoots dead a
magistrate and a
Perry County, Kentucky , employee before killing himself in a convenience store near
Hazard, Kentucky ,
United States .
(AP via Yahoo! News)
Agathon Rwasa returns to Burundi from exile in Tanzania after an agreement between his
Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People and the government.
(BBC News)
A crane collapses in the
Upper East Side of
New York City resulting in the death of at least two people
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ] , while another crane collapses in
Shanghai 's
Pudong district, killing three.
(Xinhua)
Former
Croatian Army general
Mirko Norac is sentenced by a
Croatian court to seven years in prison for his role in the 1993
Operation Medak Pocket ;
Rahim Ademi is acquitted.
(BBC News)
Grupo TACA
Flight 390 , an
Airbus A320 flying from
San Salvador ,
El Salvador , crashes in
Tegucigalpa ,
Honduras , after failing to land due to a wet runway. 18 casualties are reported, including the chairman of the
Central American Bank for Economic Integration who suffered a heart attack after the crash.
(CNN)
(Noticias24)
The
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reaches agreement with some of the families of the
YFZ Ranch to start returning the children on Monday.
(Canadian Press via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
Cyclone Nargis
Fishermen in
Spain ,
Portugal and
Italy strike to protest against high
fuel prices ; Spain's economy minister says his government cannot cut fuel taxes, but is looking into ways to help fishermen.
(VOA)
Sadr supporters protest against a planned
U.S. –
Iraq security agreement to replace the current United Nations mandate for U.S. troops in Iraq, which expires at end of 2008.
(VOA)
Zimbabwe 's
Morgan Tsvangirai claims ruling party status as the leader of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change , delivers a "state of the nation" address to elected lawmakers from his party, and promises a "new era of opportunity" for Zimbabwe.
(VOA)
Silverjet , an all-
business class airline , suspends all flights after entering administration due to rising fuel costs.
(BBC News)
May 31, 2008 (2008-05-31 ) (Saturday)
Usain Bolt of
Jamaica sets a new world record for the
100 metres in
track and field in the
Reebok Grand Prix at
Icahn Stadium in
New York City at 9.72 seconds.
(AP)
(PA via Sporting Life)
In
rugby union , the
Crusaders defeat the
New South Wales Waratahs in the
2008 Super 14 Final .
(New Zealand Herald )
China :
STS-124 is launched with a crew of seven and the main module of the Japanese laboratory
Kibō .
(AP via CNN) [
permanent dead link ]
2008 Atlantic hurricane season : The first storm of the season,
Tropical Storm Arthur , forms one day before the official season begins. It is located about 45 mi (75 km) NNW of
Belize City . It has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (55 km/h), and with higher gusts.
(NHC)
At least five people are killed and 13 are missing after a
landslide crushes homes in a poor area of the city of
Medellín in
Colombia .
(AFP via Google News)
United States Democratic Party 's Rules and Bylaws Committee meets to decide on the
Florida and
Michigan democratic
primaries held in violation of scheduling rules. The Committee decides that both states delegate counts would be halved.
(VOA)
(BBC News)
(The Guardian )
French foreign minister
Bernard Kouchner makes surprise visit to
Iraq , to meet with Iraq's vice president, Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
(VOA)
New fighting between the
Sri Lanka Army and the
Tamil Tigers occurs in northern
Sri Lanka with 26 rebels dead and 4 soldiers.
(AP via Forbes)
Robert Gates , the
United States Secretary of Defense , states that
Myanmar 's refusal of international aid for victims of
Cyclone Nargis has cost "thousands of lives".
(AP via Google News) [
permanent dead link ]
(VOA)
Suicide bombers in eastern
Afghanistan target a military
convoy . NATO's
International Security Assistance force says the attack took place in
Jalalabad , capital of
Nangarhar province .
(VOA)
Thai riot police assemble in
Bangkok to disperse a rally led by the
People's Alliance for Democracy against the government of the
Prime Minister of Thailand
Samak Sundaravej .
(AP via Forbes)
The government of
Guinea starts paying junior officers of the
Military of Guinea back pay in an attempt to end a five day mutiny.
(Reuters via News Limited)
World Health Organization calls for complete
ban on tobacco advertising ; the organization says recent studies prove the more young people are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to start
smoking . The call comes as part of the WHO's annual
World No Tobacco Day .
(VOA)
Holidays and observances
1 :
Holocaust Remembrance Day (
Israel )
1 :
May Day (
Europe )
1 :
Ascension Day (
Norway )
1 :
Labour Day in the following countries:
Brazil ,
Chile ,
China ,
Guyana ,
India ,
Norway ,
Pakistan ,
Philippines ,
Singapore
2 :
Dos de Mayo (
Spain )
3 :
Constitution Day (
Poland
5 :
Liberation Day (
Ethiopia ,
Netherlands ,
Denmark )
5 :
Children's Day (
Japan ,
South Korea )
5 :
Coronation Day (
Thailand )
5 :
Cinco de Mayo (
Mexico )
5 :
Indian Arrival Day
Guyana
6 :
St George's Day (
Bulgaria )
7 :
Memorial Day (
Israel )
8 :
Israel Independence Day (
Israel )
8 :
Victory in Europe Day
8 :
Parents' Day -
South Korea
8 :
Parent's Day –
South Korea and
Albania
9 :
Europe Day (
European Union )
10 :
Mother's Day –
Mexico
10 :
Mother's Day –
South America ,
El Salvador ,
Guatemala ,
Oman , and
Pakistan
11 :
Mother's Day (2nd Sunday) –
Anguilla ,
Aruba ,
Australia ,
Austria ,
Bahamas ,
Barbados ,
Bangladesh ,
Belgium ,
Belize ,
Bermuda ,
Bonaire ,
Brazil ,
Brunei ,
Canada ,
Chile ,
Colombia ,
Cuba ,
Croatia ,
Curaçao ,
Czech Republic ,
Denmark ,
Ecuador ,
Estonia ,
Finland ,
Germany ,
Greece ,
Grenada ,
Honduras ,
Hong Kong ,
Iceland ,
India ,
Italy ,
Jamaica ,
Japan ,
Latvia ,
Malta ,
Malaysia ,
The Netherlands ,
New Zealand ,
Peru ,
Philippines ,
Puerto Rico ,
Singapore ,
Slovakia ,
South Africa ,
Suriname ,
Switzerland ,
Taiwan ,
Trinidad and Tobago ,
Turkey ,
United States ,
Uruguay ,
Venezuela ,
Zimbabwe
12 :
Whit Monday (
France ,
Germany ,
Austria ,
Switzerland ,
Luxembourg ,
Greece ,
Hungary ,
Belgium ,
The Netherlands ,
Norway )
16 :
Jerusalem Day (
Israel )
17 :
Constitution Day (
Norway )
18 :
Flag Day (
Haiti )
19 :
Victoria Day (
Canada )
22 :
Corpus Christi
23 :
Lag Ba'omer (
Judaism )
24 :
Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (
Bulgaria ,
Republic of Macedonia )
24 :
Bermuda Day (
Bermuda )
25 :
African Liberation Day
25 :
Independence Day (
Jordan )
25 :
Mother's Day (last Sunday) –
France (switches to first Sunday of June if coincides with
Pentecost ),
Dominican Republic ,
Haiti ,
Sweden , and
Morocco
26 :
Spring Bank Holiday (
United Kingdom )
26 :
Memorial Day (
United States )
26 :
National Sorry Day (
Australia )
26 :
Independence Day (
Guyana )
26 :
Mother's Day
Poland
27 :
Mother's Day
Bolivia
27 :
Children's Day (
Nigeria )
28 :
Republic Day (
Armenia ,
Azerbaijan )
29 :
Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day (
Fiji )
29 : Ascension of
Bahá'u'lláh (
Baháʼí Faith )
29 :
Democracy Day (
Nigeria )
30 :
Indian Arrival Day (
Trinidad and Tobago )
31 :
World No Tobacco Day
June
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