Portal:Current events/May 2023

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • Russia launches cruise missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. Among the targets hit is an industrial zone in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where a large explosion damaged or destroyed 19 apartment buildings and 25 homes, with 34 people reportedly injured. Ukrainian forces say that they shot down 15 of 18 missiles launched by Russia. (The Guardian)
  • Battle of Bakhmut
    • Ukrainian colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi says that Ukrainian troops have recaptured parts of central Bakhmut, but that the situation on the ground "remains difficult". (Reuters)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb
  • Fifteen people are killed after unidentified gunmen open fire at a farm in Kérou, Benin. (Associated Press)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A 17-year-old Palestinian boy is killed during an Israeli raid near Jericho in the West Bank. (Associated Press)
• A bomb is detonated on the road between Sofia and Samokov, Bulgaria. The target is believed to be the Chief Public Prosecutor of Bulgaria Ivan Geshev, whose motorcade was travelling on the road at the time. No injuries are reported. The explosion has been designated as a terrorist incident by officials. (Politico Europe)

Business and economy

• 2023 global banking crisis
  • The FDIC seizes control of First Republic Bank, while JPMorgan Chase agrees to buy "a substantial majority of assets" and to assume the "deposits and certain other liabilities" of the bank, in the second-largest bank failure in US history. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

• Five people are killed, one person is injured, and another person is reported missing in an explosion at a chemical plant in Liaocheng, Shandong, China. (Reuters)
• At least six people are killed and 30 others are injured in Illinois, United States, after a dust storm causes a crash involving 70 to 90 vehicles on Interstate 55. (CNN)
• The oil tanker MT Pablo catches fire off the coast of Malaysia with three of five crew members missing afterward. The tanker was reportedly carrying sanctioned oil and had changed flags only six days earlier. Oil washes up on the shores of Indonesia later. (CNN) (Lloyd's List) (Quantum Commodity Intelligence)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Paraguayan general election
  • Santiago Peña is declared the winner of the Paraguayan presidential election. (BBC News)
• 2024 Salvadoran general election, Salvadoran gang crackdown (2022–present)
  • Various Salvadoran trade unions, syndicates, and political parties held a protest march demanding an increase in wages and against presidential re-election and the ongoing gang crackdown. (MSN) (North American Congress on Latin America)

Sports

• 2023 World Snooker Championship
  • Luca Brecel wins his first World Snooker Championship title, defeating Mark Selby by a score of 18–15 in the final at The Crucible in Sheffield, England. Brecel becomes the first player from continental Europe to win the tournament. (BBC Sport)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Sudan conflict
  • Darfur campaign
    • Battle of Geneina
      • Rapid Support Forces re-capture Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, after a week of fighting with more than 200 people killed. (Middle East Eye) (Dabanga Sudan)
  • 2023 Sudanese refugee crisis
    • The number of Sudanese refugees due to the ongoing civil conflict surpasses 100,000 after only a few days. (Reuters)
• Somali Civil War
  • Somali forces kill 67 al-Shabaab militants and seize many weapons in a continuation of offensives against the group in the Mudug region. (VOA)
• A Uganda People's Defence Force soldier assassinates retired colonel and cabinet member Charles Engola at his home in Kampala, while acting as his bodyguard. The soldier later commits suicide. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• 2023 Writers Guild of America strike
  • The Writers Guild of America goes on strike for the first time since 2007–08. (Los Angeles Times)
• Indian airline Go First files for bankruptcy with the National Company Law Tribunal, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines for the grounding of about half of its fleet, costing the airline 108 billion rupees ($1.32 billion) in lost revenues. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• List of earthquakes in 2023
  • Ten people are injured and more than 2,805 buildings are damaged after a magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes Baoshan, Yunnan, China. (ChinaDaily)
• Five people are missing in Darchula District, Nepal, after being struck by an avalanche. (Xinhua)

Law and crime

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Former Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Khader Adnan dies in an Israeli prison after a three-month hunger strike. (Al Jazeera)
• Indonesian Ulema Council shooting
  • A man armed with an airgun opens fire at the Indonesian Ulema Council headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta, Java, injuring two employees. The attacker later dies at a local health center. (Detik)
• LGBT rights in Uganda, Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023
  • The parliament of Uganda passes new anti-LGBTQ+ laws after president Yoweri Museveni requested reforms. The bill maintains the death penalty as a punishment for "aggravated homosexuality". (Reuters)
• The United States Department of Defense announces that it will deploy 1,500 troops along the Mexican border to provide non-law enforcement related administrative assistance to the United States Border Patrol. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Greek legislative election
  • The Greek Supreme Civil and Criminal Court bans the far-right National Party, led by Ilias Kasidiaris, from participating in the upcoming general election, after the court accused the party of being a "continuation of the Golden Dawn". (France 24)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022–2023 Western Russia attacks
    • 2023 Kremlin drone attack
      • Russia accuses Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin after two drones were shot down near the Kremlin. A spokesman claimed that Putin was not inside the Kremlin at the time of the attack. A video shows at least one drone hitting the compound. Ukraine denies any involvement in the attack. (BBC News)
  • 2022–2023 Crimea attacks
    • Russia's Federal Security Service says that it has arrested seven Ukrainian agents who were allegedly planning a "series of high-profile sabotage and terrorist acts" in Crimea, including an attack on the Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov. (Reuters)
  • Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Russian forces shell Kherson Oblast, killing 16 civilians and injuring 22 others. (Reuters)
• 2023 Sudan conflict
  • Evacuation of foreign nationals during the 2023 Sudan conflict
    • Australia's Royal Australian Air Force evacuates 36 Australians from Sudan, reportedly overnight. (Sydney Morning Herald) (ABC News Australia)
  • The South Sudanese foreign ministry announces that a seven-day ceasefire has been agreed to in Sudan, lasting from May 4 to 11. (Firstpost) (Reuters)
• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seize the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi in the Strait of Hormuz. (Tasnim News Agency)

Business and economy

• The World Bank's board of governors elects American business executive Ajay Banga as the next President of the World Bank Group. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Africa floods
  • Floods have killed 109 people in Rwanda and six people in Uganda. (Reuters)
• 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods
  • Two people are killed, one is missing and several are displaced during heavy floods in the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. (AP)
• Seventeen people are killed and 29 others are injured after a public bus and a truck collide with each other on a highway in New Valley Governorate, Egypt. (Reuters)
• Eight people are killed after a fire breaks out in a construction container in Brno, Czech Republic. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School shooting
  • A boy kills nine people in a mass shooting at an elementary school in Belgrade, Serbia. (Reuters)
• 2023 Atlanta shooting
  • One person is killed and four others are injured in a mass shooting at a medical facility in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The suspected shooter is later arrested following an 8-hour manhunt. (AP)
• Myanmar's State Administration Council pardons 2,153 political prisoners to mark Vesak Day. (ABC News) (Xinhua)
• Belarusian activist and blogger Roman Protasevich is sentenced to eight years in prison. (AFP via Barron's)

Science and technology

• Researchers announce the successful extraction of ancient DNA from a 20,000 year old elk-tooth pendant found in Denisova Cave. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • 2023 Parachinar school shooting
    • Seven teachers are killed in a mass shooting at a high school in Parachinar, Kurram District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Another teacher from the same school was killed on the road in a separate attack earlier in the day. (Xinhua)
  • Six soldiers and three Pakistani Taliban members are killed during a gunfight in Dir Duni, North Waziristan District. (Dawn)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Murders of Lucy, Maia and Rina Dee
    • Israeli security units kill three wanted Palestinian men in Nablus, West Bank, murderers of a mother and her two daughters in April in Efrat. (AP)

Business and economy

• 2021–2023 inflation surge
  • The European Central Bank raises interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, the smallest increase since it began hiking rates in July. (Barron's)

Law and crime

• January 6 United States Capitol attack
  • Criminal proceedings in the January 6 United States Capitol attack
    • Four members of the Proud Boys are found guilty of seditious conspiracy by a jury in Washington, D.C., for their role in forcibly preventing the peaceful transfer of power from then-U.S. President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election. (CNN)
• 4 May 2023 Serbia shootings
  • Eight people are killed and 14 others are injured in a mass shooting in and around Mladenovac, Belgrade, Serbia, after an argument broke out in a school backyard. This is the second multiple killing in the city in 48 hours, occurring the day after the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School shooting. (BBC News)
• Following a multi-state manhunt in the United States, Corey Harrison, the last of four men who escaped from a Mississippi jail last month, is taken into custody, according to authorities. Previously, two escapees were found dead in Carthage, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana, respectively, while another was captured in Texas. (CNN)
• A jury finds that Ed Sheeran's Grammy-winning song "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe on the copyright of Marvin Gaye's song "Let's Get It On". (CNN)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Donbas
    • Battle of Bakhmut
      • Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announces that, due to a lack of ammunition, his fighters will leave Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, on May 10 and hand over their positions to units of the Russian Defense Ministry. (CBC News)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Five Indian soldiers are killed by People's Anti-Fascist Front militants during an encounter in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir. (The Economic Times)

Business and economy

• The Senate of Bolivia approves legislation aimed at monetizing gold reserves for international trade amid concerns of a shortage of dollars. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Ishikawa earthquake
  • A magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, killing one person and injuring 22 others. (AP)
• 2023 Africa floods
  • At least 176 people are killed by floods in the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • The World Health Organization announces that it no longer considers COVID-19 to be a global health emergency, instead classifying it as global health threat. (ABC News)

International relations

• Azerbaijan–Iran relations
  • The Iranian government expels four Azerbaijani diplomats in response to recent expulsions of Iranian diplomats by the Azerbaijani government. (Tasnim)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Myanmar
  • Myanmar's military junta commutes 38 death sentences to life imprisonment as part of a wider amnesty. (Al Jazeera)
• Belgian authorities arrest an Iraqi al-Qaeda member and charge him with murder, terrorism, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, for his role in the killings of at least 376 people and the injuring of over 2,300 others more than a decade ago in Iraq. (AP)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022–2023 Western Russia attacks
    • Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin is injured and his driver is killed when their vehicle is hit by a car bomb in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. (BBC News)
• 2023 Manipur violence
  • At least 30 people are killed in ethnic clashes in Manipur, India, after a rally by indigenous communities against moves to grant tribal status to the main ethnic group in the state. (BBC News)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Two Palestinian men, members of the Tul Karm Battalion, are killed during a raid by the Israeli Defense Forces in Tulkarm in the West Bank. (Haaretz)
• Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
  • Two People's Anti-Fascist Front militants are killed and another is injured during two raids by Indian soldiers in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, after five soldiers were killed yesterday. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Yanaquihua gold mine fire
  • At least 27 people are killed after a fire breaks out in a gold mine in Yanaquihua District, Condesuyos Province, Peru. (Reuters)
• 2023 Alberta wildfires
  • Over 25,000 residents in Alberta, Canada, are ordered to evacuate because of wildfires. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Arab separatism in Khuzestan
  • Farajollah Chaab, a leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, is executed by hanging in Iran after being convicted of masterminding a 2018 mass shooting on a military parade in Ahvaz that killed 25 people. (AP)
• 2023 Allen, Texas outlet mall shooting
  • Eight people are killed and seven injured during a mass shooting at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, United States. The perpetrator is killed by police. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• Coronation of Charles III and Camilla
  • King Charles III and Queen Camilla are crowned in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. (The Guardian)

Science and technology

• 2023 Asia heat wave
  • Vietnam records its highest ever temperature of 44.2 °C (111.56 °F) in the Tương Dương district, Nghệ An province, while Laos records its highest ever temperature of 43.5 °C (110.3 °F) in Luang Prabang amid a heat wave. (The Guardian)

Sports

• 2023 Kentucky Derby
  • Mage wins the Kentucky Derby. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Sudan conflict
  • Eritrea–Sudan relations
    • Deportation of Eritreans from Sudan during the 2023 Sudan conflict
      • Eritrea is accused of the forced deportation and repatriation of 3,500 Eritreans from Sudan to Teseney and other towns near the Sudanese–Eritrean border. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Africa floods
  • The death toll from the 6 May floods in the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, increases to 401 people. (Al Jazeera)
• 2023 Tanur boat disaster
  • At least 22 people are killed when a boat carrying tourists capsizes in Tanur, Malappuram, Kerala, India. (BBC News)
• At least 12 people are killed and 31 others are injured in a multi-automobile crash in Hatay Province, Turkey. (AP)

International relations

• Chile–Venezuela relations, Venezuelan migrant crisis, Chile–Peru relations
  • Chile announces that 115 Venezuelan migrants were repatriated to Venezuela on a humanitarian flight, after being stranded at the border with Peru, raising tensions between Peru and Chile. (Reuters)
• The Arab League re-admits Syria as a member, after being suspended 12 years ago due to the Syrian civil war. (Al Arabiya)

Law and crime

• 2023 Brownsville crash
  • Eight people are killed and nine others are injured when a driver crashes into a group of pedestrians in Brownsville, Texas, United States. (KVEO-TV)
• Capital punishment in Iraq
  • A court in Baghdad, Iraq, sentences a former police officer to death for the murder of prominent academic Hisham al-Hashimi in July 2020, although the sentence can be appealed. (AFP via France 24)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Chilean Constitutional Council election
  • Chileans head to the polls to elect the 50 members of the Constitutional Council. (Morning Express)
• 2023 Turkish presidential election
  • Ekrem İmamoğlu is attacked during a rally in Erzurum, with the rally being interrupted due to stones thrown from the crowd. (Gazete DuvaR)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2023 Manipur violence
  • The death toll from the ethnic clashes in Manipur, India, between Metei Hindus and Kuki Christians, increases to 60. At least 230 others are injured. (Times Now)
• Sudanese nomadic conflicts
  • Twenty-five people are killed during clashes between the Hausa and Nuba tribes in Kosti, Sudan. (AP)
• Ethiopian civil conflict
  • The head of the Prosperity Party in Haruka Woreda, in Ethiopia's Afar Region, is shot and killed alongside his brother by unknown gunmen while returning from the city of Adama, Oromia. It is the third assassination targeting the party's members in the past month. (Addis Standard)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Rajasthan MiG-21 crash
  • Three women are killed and three others are injured when a MiG-21 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashes into a house in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. The pilot safely ejects from the aircraft. (The Times of India)

Law and crime

• Blasphemy law in Iran, Capital punishment in Iran
  • Iran executes two men for blasphemy. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Gaza–Israel conflict
    • 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes
      • The Israeli Air Force begins "Operation Shield and Arrow", launching multiple airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and killing three senior Islamic Jihad Movement leaders and at least ten civilians, including four children. (The Jerusalem Post) (Reuters)
    • Two Palestinians are killed in an Israeli air attack on a car in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Donbas
    • French journalist Arman Soldin is killed by a Russian rocket strike in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, while working for Agence France-Presse. (Le Monde)
• 2023 Djerba shooting
  • Five people are killed and nine more injured during a mass shooting at the El Ghriba Synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. The perpetrator is shot dead. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• Canada–China relations
  • The Government of Canada expels Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei following allegations that Zhao targeted Canadian politician Michael Chong. China has denied the allegations and stated that the action would undermine bilateral relations. (CNN)
  • China expels Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde in a tit-for-tat decision following the expulsion of Zhao Wei. (ABC News)
• France–Russia relations
  • France's National Assembly votes unanimously to designate Russian paramilitary group PMC Wagner as a terrorist organization. (Politico)

Law and crime

• Arrest of Imran Khan, 2023 Imran Khan arrest protests
  • Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is arrested on alleged corruption charges during a court appearance in Islamabad. (Al Jazeera)
  • Nationwide protests occur in Pakistan following Imran Khan's arrest, with eight people being killed. (BBC News)
• E. Jean Carroll vs. Donald J. Trump
  • A nine-member jury in Manhattan federal court finds former U.S. President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s, and also finds him liable for defaming her. Trump is ordered to pay Carroll $5 million. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Gaza–Israel conflict
    • 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes
      • Israel launches an airstrike in the Gaza Strip, killing seven people, including four members of the Marxist–Leninist PFLP. In another raid, two Islamic Jihad Movement militants are killed by Israeli security forces in Qabatiya, in the West Bank. (Al Jazeera)
      • Palestinian militants fire more than 260 rockets into Israel from Gaza in response to yesterday's airstrikes. Most of the rockets are intercepted by the Iron Dome. (BBC News)
• Syrian civil war
  • 2023 Barzeh car bombing
    • One person is killed and four others are injured when a car bomb explodes outside a police station in Barzeh, Damascus, Syria. (AP)
• One person is killed and 30 others injured during protests against repression across Senegal. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• Four people are injured after a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck near Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. (Kyodo News)
• 2023 Taichung crane collapse
  • One passenger is killed and ten others are injured when a metro train collides with a fallen tower crane in Taichung, Taiwan. (Taiwan News)
• 2023 Africa floods
  • Ten people are killed in Lubero and six more are killed at the Rubaya mines, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo during two landslides. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

• Poland–Russia relations
  • The Polish Committee for Standardization adopts a resolution suggesting that all government documents relating to the Russian semi-exclave Kaliningrad Oblast use the Polish name Królewiec Oblast. The name is taken from the place's Polish name from the fourteenth century. Russia objects to the change, characterizing the move as a "hostile act". (Polish Press Agency) (The Times)

Law and crime

• Censorship in Russia
  • A court in Tver Oblast, Russia, sentences a poet to four years in prison for reciting poetry critical of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (RFE/RL)
• One person is killed and nine others are injured in a mass stabbing in Tomisławice, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland. (AP)
• Mexican drug war
  • Four people are killed during clashes at the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge, on the Mexico–United States border, between police and suspected cartel members. (Mirror)
• U.S. Representative George Santos is charged with 13 counts of fraud and other financial crimes and is taken into custody. (The Washington Post)
• Hong Kong's Legislative Council passes a law requiring foreign lawyers working on national security cases to obtain prior approval from the Chief Executive. (Reuters)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Gaza–Israel conflict
    • 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes
      • An Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip kills two commanders of Islamic Jihad. Additionally, the total death toll from the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza over the past two days increases to 26. A rocket is also launched from Gaza to Rehovot, killing one person and injuring five others. (Al Jazeera)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Bakhmut
    • Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin confirms that Ukrainian troops have recaptured parts of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast from his forces. (Reuters)
  • Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
    • The United Kingdom's Defence Ministry confirms that it has supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. (BBC News)
• Jihadist insurgency in Burkina Faso
  • Thirty-three people are killed and three more injured after gunmen open fire against vegetable farmers in Boucle du Mouhoun Region. (VOA)

Business and economy

• 2021–2023 inflation surge
  • The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee raises interest rates to 4.5%, the highest level in the UK since the 2008 financial crisis. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• Twenty-four people are injured when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapses in Espoo, Finland. (AP) (Yle)

Health and environment

• 2022–2023 mpox outbreak
  • The World Health Organization says that mpox no longer constitutes a global health emergency, but that it continues to remain a threat in Africa. (France 24)

Law and crime

• 2023 Mercedes-Benz factory shooting
  • Two people are killed in a shooting at a Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The perpetrator is arrested. (AP)
• 2023 Ratingen explosion
  • Twelve people are injured in an explosion at an apartment complex in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A 57-year-old man is arrested. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Turkish presidential election
  • Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem İnce withdraws three days before the election. (BBC News)

Science and technology

• Nuclear power in Canada
  • The world's first micro-modular reactor is announced to be built at Chalk River Laboratories in Canada by Global First Power. (CTV News Ottawa)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Gaza–Israel conflict
    • 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes
      • Israel launches an airstrike against a multi-story building in Gaza City, killing two people, including a commander of Islamic Jihad. Rockets are also fired by Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip, striking the West Bank near Jerusalem for the first time. The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza increases to 31 as Egypt mediates for a ceasefire between the two sides. (BBC News)
• Mali War
  • Moura massacre
    • A report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights concludes that the Malian Armed Forces and foreign fighters massacred at least 500 people in the town of Moura, Mopti Region, in March 2022. At least 58 women and girls were also raped by the military during the operation against jihadist groups. (France 24)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • 2023 Muslim Bagh attack
    • Six soldiers and a civilian are killed, and six others are wounded, when gunmen storm a security facility in Muslim Bagh, Balochistan, Pakistan. All six attackers are killed. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Twitter under Elon Musk
  • Elon Musk announces that he has selected NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO for X Corp., the owner of Twitter. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• A Russian Air Force helicopter crashes in Crimea, killing both pilots. (Al Arabiya)

International relations

• France–Iran relations
  • Iran frees two French citizens on humanitarian grounds. (Tasnim)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the Vladislav Ribnikar Elementary School shooting and 4 May 2023 Serbia shootings
  • 2023 Serbian protests
    • Tens of thousands of demonstrators peacefully march in Belgrade, Serbia, protesting against President Aleksandar Vučić and blaming him for indirectly causing the two recent mass shootings in Serbia by "creating an atmosphere of hopelessness and division". (The Guardian)
• An inmate died in late April and another at the beginning of May in the prison of Augusta, Sicily, Italy, after both started a hunger strike. (Open)
• A court in the Philippines dismisses the second of three drug charges against former senator Leila de Lima in connection with accusations that de Lima benefited financially from the alleged illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison. (GMA News Online) (Al Jazeera)

Sports

• 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
  • A suspension imposed in November 2022 by the International Paralympic Committee on athletes from Belarus and Russia is overturned. However, athletes will continue to be banned from world championship events. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Gaza–Israel conflict
    • 2023 Gaza–Israel clashes
      • Airstrikes on the Gaza Strip destroy two neighborhoods. Meanwhile, a Palestinian worker is killed and another is injured by rocket shrapnel in the Negev. (Al Jazeera)
      • Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Dawoud Shehab announces that the group accepted a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt, while the IDF says they will tentatively support it. (Al Jazeera)
    • Israeli soldiers storm a refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank, killing two people and injuring three others. (Al Jazeera)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • Russia launches cruise missiles at the city of Ternopil in Western Ukraine, injuring two civilians. (BBC News)
  • Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters and two fighter jets, an Su-34 and an Su-35, are reportedly shot down in Bryansk Oblast. (Reuters via MSN)
• 2023 Sudan conflict
  • 2023 Sudanese refugee crisis
    • Ethiopia reports large numbers of Sudanese refugees entering its territory, mainly in the city of Metemma, where nearly 20,000 Sudanese are reported to have entered in a single day. (Addis Standard)

Arts and culture

• Eurovision Song Contest 2023
  • Loreen, representing Sweden, wins the Grand Final in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Tattoo". It is Sweden's 7th win, and Loreen's 2nd, making her the first woman to win the contest more than once. (The Guardian)

International relations

• Russia–South Africa relations, South Africa–United States relations
  • South Africa says that it maintains a neutral and non-aligned stance in regards to the Russo-Ukrainian War after U.S. ambassador Reuben Brigety accused South Africa of loading a sanctioned Russian ship with weapons in December 2022, causing a diplomatic crisis between the United States and South Africa. (Reuters)
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with Pope Francis during a private audience in the Vatican. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2023 French Polynesian legislative election
  • Moetai Brotherson of the pro-independence Tāvini Huiraʻatira party is elected President of French Polynesia by the Assembly. (RNZ)
• 2023 Mauritanian parliamentary election
  • Mauritanians head to the polls to elect the 176 members of the National Assembly. (Newscentral Africa)
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is reportedly hospitalised at the Presidential Clinic in Drazdy, amidst non-attendance at public appearances and apparent ill health during the 2023 Moscow Victory Day Parade. (Ukrainska Pravda)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Battle of Donbas
    • The Russian Ministry of Defence announces the deaths of two of their commanders in Bakhmut and the village of Sontsivka west of Donetsk. (Novaya Gazeta Europe)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Bangladesh and Myanmar order massive evacuations as Cyclone Mocha makes landfall in both countries' coastal areas. Six people are killed in Myanmar, with about 90% of the city of Sittwe being destroyed. (BBC News)
• At least 26 people are killed when a van crashes into a truck in Tamaulipas, Mexico. (AP)

International relations

• 2023 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Europe
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Germany. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Turkish presidential election, 2023 Turkish parliamentary election
  • Turks head to the polls to elect a president for a term of five years as well as the members of the Grand National Assembly. (Al Jazeera)
• 2023 Thai general election
  • Thais head to the polls to elect the members of the House of Representatives. (Los Angeles Times)
• Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko addresses the nation on the anniversary of the 1995 Belarusian referendum, one day after it was reported that President Alexander Lukashenko had been hospitalised. (BBC News)

Business and economy

• American-Canadian mass media company Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Reuters) (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• One person is killed and 59 others are injured when a bus and a truck collide on the D2 motorway in Slovakia. (AP)
• One person is killed and two others are injured after a fire breaks out in a refinery in Texas City, Texas, United States. (Reuters)

International relations

• 2023 visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Europe
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Chequers. (BBC News)
• Moldova announces that it will initiate a procedure to withdraw from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. (Anadolu Agency)

Law and crime

• China–United States relations
  • China convicts and sentences American citizen John Shing-Wan Leung to life in prison for espionage. (AP)
• Capital punishment in Malaysia
  • The government of Malaysia announces that it will introduce a bill to decriminalize the possession and use of small quantities of illicit drugs after ending the mandatory imposition of a death sentence for drug trafficking earlier this year. (Reuters)
• 2023 Farmington, New Mexico shooting
  • Three civilians are killed and two police officers are injured in a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico, United States. The shooter is killed by police. (CNN)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • More than a dozen explosions are reported in Kyiv as Russia launches a missile barrage at the capital and other Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian forces say that they have shot down six Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. (Financial Times) (Reuters)
    • The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it destroyed a Patriot air defense system in Kyiv. However a United States official says that the system was likely damaged but not destroyed. (CNN)
• Herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria
  • Twenty people are killed by armed attackers in a village in Plateau State, Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Nine people are arrested after an alleged Iranian-backed coup d'état plot is uncovered in Azerbaijan. (Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • The death toll from Cyclone Mocha's landfall in Myanmar, increases to 81 people. The majority of casualties and damage occurred in the Rakhine State. (CNA)
• Wellington hostel fire
  • Six people are killed and eleven others are reported missing in a fire at a hostel in Wellington, New Zealand. (NZ Herald)

International relations

• Ukraine–NATO relations
  • Ukraine officially joins NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. (Ukrainska Pravda)

Law and crime

• LGBT rights in Namibia
  • The Supreme Court of Namibia recognises foreign same-sex marriages between citizens. However, homosexual acts remain illegal in Namibia under a rarely enforced colonial-era law from 1927. (AFP via Macau Business)
• Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa signs a law legalizing euthanasia. (AFP via The Straits Times) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Politics and elections

• The impeachment trial against Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso begins, with Lasso attending in person for his defense. (AP)

Science and technology

• Meta Platforms begins introducing paid verification on Facebook and Instagram for users in the United Kingdom. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods
  • Eight people are killed in Forlì–Cesena, Bologna, and Ravenna, and 20,000 are evacuated during heavy floods in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Twenty-three rivers have overflowed their banks across the region. (AP)
  • The 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was scheduled to be held at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola from May 19–21, is cancelled because of the floods. (BBC News)
• Lu Peng Yuan Yu sinking
  • The Chinese government reports that the fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 capsized in the central Indian Ocean on Tuesday. China and other countries are conducting search operations for 39 sailors, including Chinese, Indonesian, and Filipino nationals. (AP via NBC News) (DW)

Health and environment

• According to the World Meteorological Organization, the global temperature will temporarily pass the threshold of 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels, with a likelihood of 66%, by the year 2027, due to a combination of climate change and El Niño. (BBC News)

International relations

• Iran–Russia relations
  • Russian president Vladimir Putin signs an investment program deal that will make an investment of 1.6 billion euros in Iranian railroad projects, which are expected to begin operation within 48 months. (Tasnim)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Thailand
  • A court in Thailand sentences the former mayor of Wang Wiset district to death for the murder of an activist in May 2021. The hitman received a sentence of life imprisonment. (The Thaiger)
• Censorship of TikTok, Restrictions on TikTok in the United States
  • Montana Assembly Bill 419
    • Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signs a bill banning TikTok, making Montana the first U.S. state to ban the Chinese-owned social media app. (Reuters)
• Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele deploys 5,000 soldiers and 500 police officers to the northwestern town of Nueva Concepción in order to arrest suspects in connection with the killing of a policeman on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Ecuadorian general election
  • Amid ongoing impeachment proceedings, Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso uses the muerte cruzada provision of the Constitution to dissolve the National Assembly. New presidential and legislative elections will be held within six months, during which time Lasso will be able to rule by decree. (BBC News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Three people are killed and three others are injured after an armed ambush on a convoy near the Kivandya village, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. One person is also reported missing. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods
  • The death toll from the floods in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, increases to thirteen, as five more people are killed in Ravenna. (Il Fatto Quotidiano)