Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- Friedrich Merz (pictured) is elected Chancellor of Germany and sworn in alongside his coalition government.
- India conducts missile strikes on Pakistani targets, and Pakistan retaliates.
- Zhao Xintong defeats Mark Williams to win the World Snooker Championship.
- In the Singaporean general election, the People's Action Party retains a supermajority of seats.
Disasters and accidents
- Five tourists and a pilot are killed and one other is injured when a Bell 407 flying from Harsil to Gangotri crashes into a wooded area and falls into a deep gorge near Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand, India. (The Hindu) (NDTV)
Politics and elections
- 2025 papal conclave
- The second and third ballots of the papal conclave fail to elect a new pope. (CNN)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2025 India–Pakistan standoff
- 2025 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
- 2025 India–Pakistan strikes
- Indian airstrikes impact multiple locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, killing at least 8 people. (Reuters) (India Today)
- Pakistan launches retaliatory strikes into India and Indian-administered Kashmir, and claims to have destroyed five Indian fighter jets. Three civilians are killed. (The Express Tribune) (Al Jazeera)
- Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif declares the Indian attacks to be an act of war and vows further retaliation. (ABC News)
- A state of emergency is declared in Pakistan's Punjab province following the airstrikes, with all schools in the region being closed. Hospitals and emergency services are placed on high alert. (The Express Tribune)
- 2025 India–Pakistan strikes
- 2025 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Gaza war
- Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
- According to Hamas officials, Israeli airstrikes kill at least 92 Palestinians, including women, children, and two journalists, and wound at least 86 others. (AP)
- U.S. President Donald Trump states that there will be news regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages "probably in the next 24 hours". (Reuters)
- Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip
- Palestinian political violence
- Four people are injured, at least two seriously, in a drive-by shooting at a car at the Reihan crossing in the West Bank. (YNet) (Times of Israel) (Arutz Sheva)
- One person is injured in an attempted car ramming and stabbing in Mount Hebron in the West Bank. (YNet)
- Gaza war
Business and economy
- The Walt Disney Company announces plans to open its seventh theme park in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, their first in the Middle East. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Eleven kindergarten teachers are killed in a collision between a minibus and dump truck in Purworejo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. (AP)
Law and crime
- A woman is decapitated and a security guard is critically injured in a axe mass stabbing attack by a 22-year-old Polish citizen on the campus of University of Warsaw at an auditorium in Warsaw, Poland. A day of mourning is declared. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- One student is killed and two others are injured in a mass stabbing attack outside the entrance of Santa Ana High School in Orange County, California, United States. (KTLA)
- The Real ID requirement takes effect at U.S. airports. (The Guardian)
Politics and elections
- 2025 papal conclave
- A total of 133 cardinal electors begin the process of electing a new pope following the death of Pope Francis. (The Guardian)
- The conclave's first ballot fails to elect a new pope. (The Washington Post)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Red Sea crisis
- May 2025 Israeli attacks on Yemen
- Israeli airstrikes hit Sanaa International Airport in Sanaa, Yemen, and destroy three of Yemenia's seven planes. (The Times of Israel)
- United States attacks in Yemen
- U.S. president Donald Trump announces that the United States has reached a ceasefire with the Houthis, with Oman as mediator, and will stop its airstrikes, after they agreed to stop disrupting international shipping. (Reuters) (NBC News)
- A second U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jet is lost in the Red Sea, due to an equipment failure during its attempted landing on USS Harry Truman. Both of its crew members ejected and were recovered. (CNN)
- May 2025 Israeli attacks on Yemen
- Insurgency in Balochistan
- Seven Pakistan Army soldiers are killed and five others are injured when their vehicle in a convoy heading to a security operation is exploded by a Balochistan Liberation Army improvised explosive device in Balochistan, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera English)
Disasters and accidents
- Twelve people are killed and 23 others are injured after a bus overturns in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. (VOI.ID)
- Four people are killed and over 40 others are injured when a passenger bus rolls down into a gorge in Poonch District, Jammu and Kashmir, India. (The Times of India)
International relations
- India–United Kingdom relations
- British prime minister Keir Starmer and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announce they have signed a bilateral free trade agreement to significantly lower tariffs on 99% of Indian exports into the UK, including textiles, and halve tariffs of British exports into India, including aerospace manufacturing, whiskey, and lamb meat. (DW)
Law and crime
- The government of Peru imposes a curfew and temporarily suspends gold mining in Pataz Province for 30 days after the bodies of thirteen miners who were kidnapped and killed were discovered on Sunday. (DW)
Politics and elections
- 2025 German federal election
- The Bundestag elects Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union, as the 10th Chancellor of Germany in the second round of voting, with 325 votes out of the 316 votes necessary. (BBC News) (Tagesschau)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Red Sea crisis
- May 2025 Israeli attacks on Yemen
- The Israeli military carry out six airstrikes on Hudaydah Port in Hodeidah, Houthi-controlled Yemen, in response to yesterday's attack on Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Al Jazeera English)
- May 2025 Israeli attacks on Yemen
- Gaza war
- The Israel Security Cabinet confirms they plan to control more than 70% of the Gaza Strip indefinitely, alongside moving its civilians southwards. (The Guardian)
- Syrian civil war
- A woman is killed and others are wounded after unidentified armed men open fire with automatic weapons inside a nightclub in Damascus, Syria. (CTV News)
Disasters and accidents
- Three people are killed, four others are injured, and nine are missing after a panga boat capsizes near a beach at the Del Mar Fairgrounds near San Diego, California, United States. (ABC News)
International relations
- Holy See–Palestine relations, Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war
- The Vatican announces that it will convert and donate a Popemobile into a mobile health clinic for wounded children in Gaza, Palestine, in accordance with one of Pope Francis' final wishes. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Law and crime
- Sudanese civil war, Sudan–United Arab Emirates relations
- Darfur campaign
- The International Court of Justice dismisses Sudan's case against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alleging that the UAE violated the Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to the Rapid Support Forces and other paramilitary groups in the Darfur region. (DW) (PBS)
- Darfur campaign
- Gaza war protests
- Five pro-Palestinian protesters are arrested by police during a World War II anniversary event in Wageningen, Netherlands, after throwing a smoke bomb onto the stage during a speech by Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof while Polish prime minister Donald Tusk was visiting, and holding up banners and flags. (Reuters)
- Mass shootings in the United States
- Three people are killed and five are injured in a mass shooting in Glendale, Arizona, United States. (ABC News)
- Three traffic police officers and two gunmen are killed and at least four others, including a police officer and two other shooters, are injured in a mass shooting and shootout by gunmen in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia. One of the attackers fled in a police car. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- 2025 Australian federal election
- 2025 Australian Senate election
- The incumbent Australian Labor Party overtakes the Liberal–National Coalition as the largest plurality in the Senate, meaning support will be required only from the Coalition or the Australian Greens to pass legislation. (The Guardian Australia)
- 2025 Australian Senate election
Sports
- 2025 World Snooker Championship
- In snooker, Zhao Xintong of China defeats three-time champion Mark Williams of Wales 18–12 at the World Snooker Championship to win his first championship, becoming the first amateur player and the first player from China to do so. (Reuters)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Red Sea crisis
- 2025 Houthi attack on Tel Aviv airport
- A ballistic missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen hits near Ben Gurion International Airport in Central District, Israel, injuring eight people. (Reuters) (The Telegraph)
- 2025 Houthi attack on Tel Aviv airport
- Sudanese Civil War
- The Rapid Support Forces launch drone attacks on Port Sudan's international civilian and military airport. Drones also hit an ammunition depot at Osman Digna Air Base, causing damage but no casualties. (Al Jazeera)
Business and economy
- Tariffs in the second Trump administration
- U.S. president Donald Trump announces he will introduce 100% tariffs on foreign films brought into the United States. (The Guardian)
Disasters and accidents
- Port of Shahid Rajaee explosion
- The casualty figure from the explosion at the Port of Shahid Rajaee in Hormozgan province, Iran, is revised by the judiciary of Iran to 57 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries. Two people, including a government official, are arrested in connection with the explosion. (Arab News)
- Sinking of the Bayesian
- Marine salvage experts begin operations to recover the superyacht Bayesian which sank in August 2024 and killed seven people, including British billionaire tech magnate Mike Lynch and members of his family. (CTV News)
- Ten people are killed and 70 others are rescued and hospitalized after two passenger boats carrying 84 people capsize on the Wu River near Qianxi, Guizhou, China. (Barron's) (CTV News) (SCMP)
- At least three people are killed, fifteen others are injured, including children, and several apartments are destroyed in a gas explosion at an apartment block in Moscow, Russia. (UNN) (News.AZ)
- Two people are killed and four others are injured after a car crashes into an entrance of Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila, Philippines. The driver of the car is in police custody. (AP) (Reuters) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Law and crime
- Two people are arrested after planning to carry out attacks with improvised explosive devices at Lady Gaga's concert with more than two million attendees on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to gain notoriety on social media. The suspects spread hate speech, mainly against children, adolescents and the LGBTQIA+ community. (BBC News)
- Five people, including four Iranian citizens, are arrested for planning to carry out a terrorist attack at a single location in London, United Kingdom. Separately, three other Iranian men are arrested in London on suspicion of a national security offense as part of an unrelated investigation. (CTV News)
- Thirteen gold mine security guards that were abducted in an ambush last month in Pataz province, Peru, are found dead. (CTV News)
Politics and elections
- 2025 Romanian presidential election
- The first round of the Romanian presidential election is held with eleven candidates on the ballot. George Simion leads the first round with 40% of the vote. As no candidate has won over 50% of the vote, a run-off between the first two candidates will be held on May 18. (BBC News)
- 2025 Lebanese municipal elections
- First round of voting in the Lebanese municipal elections begin in the Mount Lebanon Governorate and Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. (NBC News)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Four people are injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike that struck an apartment building on Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The mayor of Novorossiysk declares a state of emergency following the strikes. (Ukrainska Pravda) (Al Arabiya)
- The Ukrainian intelligence directorate claims it has shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet using a MAGURA naval drone over the Black Sea. (The Kyiv Independent)
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Gaza war
- Gaza war hostage crisis
- Hamas releases a video allegedly showing Israeli hostage Maxim Hirkin, who was abducted during the Nova music festival massacre in 2023, alive. (Reuters) (Haaretz)
- Gaza war hostage crisis
- South Sudanese Civil War
- At least seven people are killed and 25 others are injured in an airstrike on a hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Old Fangak, Fangak County, South Sudan. (Al Jazeera English) (CTV News) (BBC News)
Business and economy
- Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett announces that he will step down as CEO by the end of the year at the company's annual shareholder meeting. Greg Abel will take over as CEO, pending board approval. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- Six people are killed and about 80 others are injured, including five critically, in a crowd crush during a Hindu temple festival in North Goa district, Goa, India. (Al Jazeera English)
Law and crime
- Corruption in Brazil
- Brazilian social security minister Carlos Lupi resigns after police announce a corruption scandal which alleges he defrauded pensioners of $1.1 billion. Federal police say that the National Social Security Institute made unauthorised deductions from payments made to millions of pensioners over the past decade. (BBC)
- A woman is killed in Thessaloniki, Greece, after a bomb she was carrying explodes in her hands, also damaging several nearby storefronts and vehicles. The bomb was possibly intended to be placed outside a nearby bank. (AP News)
- Mexican drug war
- Jalisco extermination camp
- José Murguía Santiago, the mayor of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, is arrested on charges of organized crime and forced disappearance. (France 24)
- Jalisco extermination camp
Politics and elections
- 2025 Australian federal election
- The Australian Labor Party under current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese increases its majority in the House of Representatives, winning a second term. (ABC News Australia).
- Liberal Leader Peter Dutton loses his seat of Dickson, becoming the first Leader of the Opposition to lose their seat in Australian electoral history. (ABC News Australia)
- 2025 South Korean presidential election
- Former Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo wins the presidential nomination of South Korea's main conservative party, People Power. (AP News)
- 2025 Singaporean general election
- Singaporeans vote to elect 92 out of 97 members of the Parliament of Singapore across 32 of the 33 constituencies in the general election. (CNA) (The Straits Times)
- The People’s Action Party wins the election, receiving 65.57% of the vote. (CNN)
- Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé is sworn-in as President of the Council of Ministers of Togo. Following constitutional reform that introduced a parliamentary system, this new post becomes the highest office in the government's executive branch. (BBC)
- Over 20,000 Hefazat-e-Islam protesters rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to denounce proposed legislation that would provide equal rights for Muslim women such as inheritance law, a ban on polygamy, and recognition of sex workers as laborers, which they allege oppose Sharia law. (AP) (DW)
Sports
- 2025 Kentucky Derby
- In thoroughbred racing, Sovereignty ridden by Junior Alvarado wins the 151st Kentucky Derby in a upset over Journalism ridden by Umberto Rispoli. (Courier Journal)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Gaza war
- Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war
- Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident
- A Gaza-bound activist humanitarian aid ship, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, catches fire and issues an SOS after what its organizers alleged was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta in international waters. (CNN)
- Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident
- Humanitarian aid during the Gaza war
Arts and culture
- Rust is released theatrically in the United States, three and a half years after a fatal on-set shooting accident occurred involving members of the cast and crew, including cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, director Joel Souza, and lead actor Alec Baldwin. (The New York Times)
Business and economy
- Tariffs in the second Trump administration
- China–United States trade war
- The Trump administration terminates the de minimis tariff exemption for some imports shipped directly to consumers. Online shops such as Shein and Temu adjust prices, while Temu also announces a shipping pause to the United States. (The New York Times) (BBC)
- China–United States trade war
Disasters and accidents
- Seven people, including six Italian and Chinese nationals, are killed and at least sixteen others are injured, some severely, when a truck and a van collide and catch fire on U.S. Route 20 near Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, United States. (NBC News) (CBS News)
Health and environment
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 216 children have died this flu season in the United States, making it the deadliest since the 2009 swine flu pandemic. (CNN)
Law and crime
- Immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration
- The United States Department of Defense designates a second area on the Mexico–United States border, attached to the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, as a military zone to enforce immigration laws. (AP News)
- Gang war in Haiti, Haiti–United States relations
- The United States Department of State designates the Viv Ansanm coalition and the Gran Grif gang as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. (NBC News)
Politics and elections
- Freedom of the press in the United States
- US President Donald Trump signs an executive order calling for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop directly funding NPR and PBS, and for government agencies to stop indirectly funding these public broadcasters. (CNN)
- The German Constitution protection office designates the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a right-wing extremist organization. The AfD came second in the 2025 German federal election after winning 20.8% of the vote for a record 152 seats in the Bundestag. (BBC News)