Portal:Current events/May 2009

See also: May 2009 in sports

2009

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May 2009 was the fifth month of that common year. The month, which began on a Friday, ended on a Sunday after 31 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from May 2009.

May 1, 2009 (2009-05-01) (Friday) Police and protesters battle during May Day demonstrations in Germany, Greece, and Turkey. (BBC) (The Straits Times) The Pakistani Army kills approximately 60 Taliban militants during Operation Black Thunder. (France24) The man who attacked the Netherlands' Royal Family on Queen's Day dies. (RTÉ) Carol Ann Duffy becomes the United Kingdom's first female Poet Laureate. (New York Times) (AP) Three executives of Allied Irish Banks resign. (Irish Independent) Associate Justice David Souter announces he will retire from the United States Supreme Court in June. (AP) The Portuguese frigate Corte-Real confiscates explosives from Somali pirates during an attempted hijacking. (AP) May 2, 2009 (2009-05-02) (Saturday) The racehorse Mine That Bird wins the 135th Kentucky Derby. (New York Times) The Sri Lankan Army kills 91 people and injures 87 others at a hospital inside a civilian safe zone. (BBC) The United Nations orders Israel to stop evicting Palestinians from East Jerusalem. (Al Jazeera) Israel aids the Palestinian National Authority, Egypt, and Jordan in combatting swine influenza. (Jerusalem Post) Australia will spend US$70 billion through 2029 to improve its Defence Force. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald) The Pacific Islands Forum indefinitely suspends Fiji's membership. (Xinhua) The Indonesian Pilots Federation threatens to strike unless Marwoto Komar's conviction is overturned. (Bali News) Two Army soldiers and 13 Taliban militants are killed during a raid in Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. (BBC) The Republic of China allows financial investment from mainland China for the first time since 1949. (The Times) The bulk carrier MV Ariana is hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. (Bloomberg) (BBC) The first reported case of infection with H1N1 in South Korea. [1] May 3, 2009 (2009-05-03) (Sunday) Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda resigns. (BBC) Ricardo Martinelli of Democratic Change is elected as President of Panama. (Reuters via The New York Times) An avalanche kills at least six people in the Central Eastern Alps in Austria. (Sky News) The French Navy frigate Nivôse captures 11 Somali pirates. (CNN) An Army helicopter crashes in Táchira, Venezuela, killing at least 18 people. (BBC) Iraq will not extend the deadline for the United States Armed Forces to withdraw from the Iraq War. (Reuters) May 4, 2009 (2009-05-04) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks A South Korean Navy destroyer rescues a North Korean cargo ship from Somali pirates. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents A bus collides with a building in Īlām Province, Iran, killing 28 people and injuring nine others. (RTÉ) (BBC) Law and crime At least eight gunmen kill 44 people at a wedding in Mardin Province, Turkey. (Sky News) May 5, 2009 (2009-05-05) (Tuesday) The confirmed worldwide number of cases of swine influenza reaches 1,490. (CNN) Her Majesty's Government reveals the names of 16 of the 22 people banned from entering the United Kingdom. (The Times) At least 500 soldiers mutiny after Georgia's government discovers a plot to assassinate President Mikheil Saakashvili. (BBC) Floods and mudslides in Brazil kill 19 people and render 186,000 others homeless. (MSNBC) The Braidwood Inquiry begins to investigate the safety of Tasers and the death of Robert Dziekański. (CBC) The National Hockey League's Phoenix Coyotes announces that they have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Business Wire) May 6, 2009 (2009-05-06) (Wednesday) The European Parliament delays its planned reform of the European Union's telecommunications policy. (Wall Street Journal) The United States Supervisory Capital Assessment Program finds that financial services companies JPMorgan Chase, and American Express do not need more capital from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. (MarketWatch) (WSJ) (MarketWatch) A car bomb kills at least ten people and injures 30 others in Dora, Baghdad, Iraq. (Sky News) The Taliban captures Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. (The Times) Czech President Václav Klaus postpones his signing of the Senate-approved Treaty of Lisbon. (Aktuálně.cz) (RTÉ) Guinea withdraws ambassadors from 30 countries worldwide. (Seattle Times) Somali pirates hijack Germany's MV Victoria and release the United Arab Emirates' MV Al Meezan. (Bloomberg) (Reuters via Washington Post) The U.S. state of Maine legalizes same-sex marriage. (AP) May 7, 2009 (2009-05-07) (Thursday) The private military company Xe (formerly Blackwater Worldwide) ends its operations in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP via Google News) The Eastern Partnership conducts its inaugural meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. General Motors reports a US$6 billion loss for the first fiscal quarter of 2009. (AP via the Wall Street Journal) One police officer is killed and two more are injured in Napier, New Zealand. (TVNZ.co.nz) Canada experiences its first swine influenza-related death. (CP24 via Canadian Press) Wildfires near Santa Barbara, California, United States, burn 3,000 acres (12 km2) of land and force 15,000 people to evacuate. (BBC) The Armed Forces and the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development battle near Goz Beïda, Ouaddaï Region, Chad. (BBC) China announces that 5,335 schoolchildren died during an earthquake in Sichuan on May 12, 2008. (The Guardian) An American man is arrested in Burma for trespassing on National League for Democracy General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi's property. (BBC) The Central Bank reduces the Eurozone's interest rate to 1% and implements €60 billion of quantitative easing. (BBC) A fire at a casino kills ten people and injures ten others in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. (BBC) The fourth phase of India's general election concludes. (Hindustan Times) The Bank of England freezes interest rates at 0.5% and will implement £50 billion of quantitative easing. (BBC) Ten Army soldiers are killed and 22 others injured during combat with the Taliban in Swat, Pakistan. (BBC) Somali pirates hijack the Netherlands' MV Marathon and attack the U.S. Navy cargo ship Lewis and Clark. (Reuters) May 8, 2009 (2009-05-08) (Friday) Thunderstorms throughout the Midwestern United States kill five people. (New York Times) Afghan President Hamid Karzai demands that the United States halt airstrikes in the war against the Taliban. (Reuters) Louis Caldera resigns as Director of the White House Military Office. (New York Times) Wildfires cause at least 30,000 people to evacuate Santa Barbara, California, United States. (Reuters via ABC News Australia) Islamic terrorist and Singaporean fugitive Mas Selamat bin Kastari is arrested in Malaysia. (AP via Google News) At least 45,000 people evacuate as war between the government and the Taliban continues in Swat, Pakistan. (Sky News) A cave-in at a gold mine in Siguiri, Guinea, kills 20 people, injures five more, and renders ten others missing. (BBC) Pope Benedict XVI begins his tour of Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. (BBC) May 9, 2009 (2009-05-09) (Saturday) Nine chemical substances are added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants' banned list. (Reuters) The Democratic Party wins a plurality of seats in Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly. (BBC) Jacob Zuma is inaugurated as President of South Africa. (BBC) (Reuters) The United Nations Security Council condemns the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development's ongoing incursions from Sudan into Chad. (France24) (UN News) The Pakistani Army kills 55 Taliban militants in Swat, Pakistan. (Reuters) May 10, 2009 (2009-05-10) (Sunday) Health H1N1 influenza kills a third United States citizen and spreads to Australia and Japan. (Reuters) May 11, 2009 (2009-05-11) (Monday) Six people are injured as an elevator collapses inside Tower Bridge in London, England. (The Times) The People's Republic of China confirms its first case of (A)H1N1 influenza. (Xinhua) An Iranian appellate court releases imprisoned American journalist Roxana Saberi. (BBC) A United States Army soldier kills five comrades at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq. (Sky News) A gunman kills two people and commits suicide near Oslo, Norway. (BBC) Tata Motors intends to raise £1 billion to sustain Jaguar Land Rover. (Times of India) Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom is accused of ordering the assassination of lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg. (Times Online) May 12, 2009 (2009-05-12) (Tuesday) The Liberal Party wins a majority of seats in British Columbia's general election. (Bloomberg) The Army raids a Taliban military base in Swat, Pakistan. (BBC) Suspected Nazi death-camp officer John Demjanjuk arrives in Munich, Germany, to begin his trial. (New York Times) Combat between the government and the Islamic Courts Union kills at least 123 people in Mogadishu, Somalia. (BBC) The United States obtains its first seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. (BBC) The Space Shuttle Atlantis begins the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. May 13, 2009 (2009-05-13) (Wednesday) United States President Barack Obama proclaims May 2009 as Jewish American Heritage Month. (White House) Pope Benedict XVI advocates the creation of a Palestinian state. (BBC) The European Commission fines Intel Corporation €1.06 billion for anti-competitive practices. (BBC) The United Nations reports that Somalia is experiencing its worst drought since the 1990s. (BBC) Artillery shelling kills 50 people and injures 40 more at a hospital in Sri Lanka's war zone. (Sky News) A suicide attack at FOB Salerno kills seven civilians and injures 21 more in Khost, Afghanistan. (MSNBC) The Emancipation Movement and the Army battle in Nigeria's Niger Delta. (CNN) Pixar's Up becomes the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival. (BBC) May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14) (Thursday) Chrysler terminates 789 dealerships throughout the United States. (Detroit Free Press) Burma charges National League for Democracy General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi for violating her house arrest. (Sky News) North Korea announces that arrested American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling will be tried on June 4. (Reuters) The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda kill at least 90 people in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (BBC) Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang's secret memoirs about the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square are published. (BBC) The South Korean Navy destroyer Mummu the Great and the U.S. Navy cruiser Gettysburg capture 17 suspected Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. (CNN) May 15, 2009 (2009-05-15) (Friday) General Motors will terminate 1,100 dealerships in the United States by October 2010. (CBS) The United States releases Lakhdar Boumediene from Guantánamo Bay Naval Base's detention center. (BBC) Sixty-five indigenous peoples declare an insurgency against Peru's government. (AFP via Google News) Shahid Malik resigns as the United Kingdom's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice. (BBC) The Eurozone's 16 national economies contract by 2.5% throughout the first fiscal quarter of 2009. (BBC) U.S. President Barack Obama will resume military tribunals for detainees at Guantánamo Bay. (BBC) A suicide attack kills three people in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. (BBC) Demonstrators demand the resignation of Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom. (Sky News) Sudan accuses Chad of launching two air raids on its territory. (Reuters) The Central Bank of Nicaragua introduces new 10 and 20 Córdoba banknotes. (TIME) May 16, 2009 (2009-05-16) (Saturday) Alexander Rybak of Norway wins the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. (Reuters) Ruth Padel becomes the University of Oxford's first female Professor of Poetry. (The Irish Times) Manchester United Football Club win the 2008-09 season of the Premier League. (AFP via The Australian) The Gulf drug cartel liberates 59 inmates from a prison in Zacatecas, Mexico. (Reuters via Yahoo! Xtra) Representative Yukio Hatoyama becomes the President of Japan's Democratic Party. (BBC) The People's Party concedes to the United Progressive Alliance in India's general election. (AFP/BBC via ABC Australia) The Niger Delta Emancipation Movement claims that Nigeria's military killed one of its hostages during an operation. (BBC) A car bomb kills at least 11 people and injures 25 others in Peshawar, Pakistan. (BBC) President Mahinda Rajapaksa says that Sri Lanka has "militarily defeated the Tamil Tigers". (MSNBC) The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force ends its involvement in Iraq. (BBC) An acid attack injures 30 people in Hong Kong, People's Republic of China. (BBC) Thousands of demonstrators protest unemployment in Berlin, Germany. (The Irish Times) India and Turkey confirm their first cases of (A)H1N1 influenza. (BBC) May 17, 2009 (2009-05-17) (Sunday) Al-Shabaab captures Jowhar, Somalia, from the Transitional Federal Government. (BBC) Four oil companies announce a plan to supply Europe with natural gas from Kurdistan, Iraq, via the Nabucco pipeline. (BBC) Peru's Armed Forces are authorized to aid the National Police for 30 days in a dispute with indigenous peoples. (BBC) The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam agree to a ceasefire in Sri Lanka's civil war. (CNN) A 4.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Inglewood and Lennox, California, United States. (Sky News) Demonstrators demand that Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom resign for allegedly killing Rodrigo Rosenberg. (BBC) May 18, 2009 (2009-05-18) (Monday) Dalia Grybauskaitė is elected as the first female President of Lithuania. (BBC) National League for Democracy General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi's trial for violating house arrest begins in Burma. (BBC) Sri Lanka's government declares an end to its civil war with the Tamil Tigers. (AFP) Chad admits that its military has performed three incursions into Sudan. (BBC) Somalia requests international assistance to establish an anti-piracy coast guard. (BBC) Twenty members of the United Kingdom's Parliament demand House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin's resignation, amid at the 2009 expenses scandal. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) The European Commission's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, is evacuated because of a fire. (RTÉ) Former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is accused of quoting the Bible while briefing then-President George W. Bush. (BBC) U.S. President Barack Obama urges Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a Palestinian state. (BBC) (Reuters) Italian Camorra leader Raffaele Amato is arrested in Marbella, Spain. (BBC) May 19, 2009 (2009-05-19) (Tuesday) The United States Government Accountability Office warns that the Global Positioning System could fail by 2010. (Guardian) President Mahmoud Abbas inaugurates the Palestinian National Authority's new government. (BBC) United Kingdom House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin announces that he will resign on June 21. (BBC) President Mahinda Rajapaksa declares Sri Lanka "liberated" from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. (BBC) (Reuters) Uzbekistan's government leases Navoiy Airport to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (IWPR) Pro-Tamil Tigers protesters and the Metropolitan Police Service battle, injuring 16 people, in London, England. (Sky News) The U.S. and Russia begin negotiations to replace the expiring Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. (BBC) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations expresses "grave concern" about National League for Democracy General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi's trial. (Reuters) Ethiopia's National Defense Force reenters Somalia. (BBC) Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney testifies about his relationship with arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber. (CBC) Manmohan Singh of the National Congress is reelected as Prime Minister of India. (AFP) Brazilian oil company Petrobras and the People's Republic of China finalize a US$10-billion agreement. (WSJ) The European Parliament requests that Spain reform its planning laws. (BBC) A 47-million-year-old skeleton of a lemur species is discovered in Germany. (Sky News) Somali pirates release the German cargo ship MV Patriot. (AP) Bahrain recognizes Kosovo. (BNA) Boston Latin School and two other local schools in Massachusetts are closed for at least seven days due to the swine flu. (Boston) May 20, 2009 (2009-05-20) (Wednesday) The United Kingdom's House of Lords suspends Thomas Taylor and Peter Truscott until November for misconduct. (BBC) South East Queensland, Australia, is declared a natural disaster zone, following flooding. (ABC News Australia) Iran launches a Sajjil-2 medium-range surface-to-surface missile. (BBC) An Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft crashes in Java, Indonesia, killing at least 98 people. (Reuters) The Globe and Mail refutes portions of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's testimony about his relationship with German arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber. (Globe and Mail) The International Security Assistance Force reports that the Taliban are using white phosphorus in the Afghanistan War. (CNN) Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond activates Whitelee Wind Farm, Europe's largest onshore wind farm. (BBC) (NCE) Three civilians die during combat between Islamist insurgents and the African Union Mission in Mogadishu, Somalia. (BBC) Japan's economy contracted by 4% during the first fiscal quarter of 2009. (BBC) Ireland's Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse concludes that the Roman Catholic Church and the Department of Education knew sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys’ institutions. (RTÉ) A car bomb kills at least 34 people and injures 72 others in Baghdad, Iraq. (BBC) The Provincial Police of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, charge two people with abducting and murdering Victoria Stafford. (CTV) FC Shakhtar Donetsk defeat SV Werder Bremen to win the final UEFA Cup. (BBC) (UEFA) Kris Allen is crowned the new American Idol. May 21, 2009 (2009-05-21) (Thursday) Four men are arrested for planning to bomb two synagogues and destroy military aircraft in New York, United States. (Sky News) Egyptian businessman Hisham Talaat Moustafa is convicted of murdering Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim. (CNN) A man who entered the President's official residence in Belgrade, Serbia, with at least one hand grenade surrenders. (CNN) Her Majesty's Government will allow retired Gurkhas who served in the Armed Forces to settle in the United Kingdom. (CNN) Apa Sherpa summits Mount Everest for the 19th time. (Salt Lake Tribune) Israel evicts Jewish settlers from a hilltop in the West Bank. (Reuters) The U.S. develops a framework to provide the United Arab Emirates with nuclear energy. (White House) The Communist Party kills 16 police officers near Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. (BBC) May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22) (Friday) Manmohan Singh is inaugurated for his second term as Prime Minister of India. (Reuters) Floods kill at least 11 people in Haiti. (Press Association via Google News) Former Special Air Service officer John Wick is revealed as the whistleblower behind the United Kingdom Parliament's expenses controversy. (BBC) (Telegraph) A 5.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Chiautla de Tapia, Puebla, Mexico. (USGS) At least 36 people are killed as the Transitional Federal Government and Islamist militants battle in Mogadishu, Somalia. (BBC) Bingu wa Mutharika is reelected as President of Malawi. (AP via Google News) The Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States. (NASA) The United Nations requests aid for 1,500,000 people who have been displaced by war in northwest Pakistan. (Sky News) Spain's National Police Corps arrests 23 people for trafficking Nigerian prostitutes through voodoo. (BBC) Northern Ireland's first sextuplets are born in Belfast. (BBC) (RTÉ) The Credit CARD Act of 2009 was signed into U.S. law by the President, Barack Obama. (NBC) May 23, 2009 (2009-05-23) (Saturday) Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist) is elected as Prime Minister of Nepal. (CNN) Fourteen people are killed as a King Air 350 crashes near philippines, Bahia, Brazil. (AFP via ABC News) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demands better humanitarian aid for 250,000 war refugees in Sri Lanka. (CNN) The Army and the Taliban battle in Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera) Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun commits suicide. (AP via USA Today) Floods force the evacuations of Kempsey and Grafton, New South Wales, Australia. (ABC News) Madagascar's political parties agree to establish a provisional government and a truth/reconciliation commission. (BBC) A car bomb kills at least six people and injures 70 others in Peshawar, Pakistan. (BBC) Germany's Federal Assembly re-elects Horst Köhler as President. (Deutsche Welle) United States President Barack Obama nominates former astronaut Charles F. Bolden, Jr. as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Los Angeles Times) A bomb kills two people and injures 12 others in Kathmandu, Nepal. (CNN) May 24, 2009 (2009-05-24) (Sunday) Brazilian driver Hélio Castroneves wins automobile racing's 93rd Indianapolis 500. (ESPN) The Deccan Chargers defeat the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win the Indian Premier League. (The Hindu) The Austrian film The White Ribbon wins the Golden Palm at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. (The Guardian) The Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California, United States, after completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA) Eleven people are killed during a stampede at the Mawazine world music festival in Rabat, Morocco. (BBC) (France 24) One person is killed and 15 others are injured during a clash in a Sikh temple in Vienna, Austria. (BBC) British driver Jenson Button wins the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix. (Telegraph) May 25, 2009 (2009-05-25) (Monday) Nine United Kingdom Cabinet ministers have been implicated in Parliament's expenses scandal. (RTÉ) Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj of the Democratic Party is elected as President of Mongolia. (BBC) North Korea conducts its second nuclear test. (ABC News Australia) Singapore's consumer price index decreased by 1.5% in April, its largest recorded decline. (Reuters) Somali President Sharif Ahmed requests international aid in combating Islamic militants. (CNN) The Space Shuttle Atlantis completes the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. May 26, 2009 (2009-05-26) (Tuesday) General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Communist Party in the People's Republic of China and Nationalist Party Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung in Taiwan meet in Beijing to discuss cross-Strait relations. (Xinhua) The Supreme Court of California upholds Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriage. (AP via Yahoo) President Barack Obama nominates Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the United States Supreme Court. (AP via Yahoo) President Isaias Afewerki says Eritrea will not release imprisoned journalist Dawit Isaak. (DPA via EarthTimes) Pakistan's Supreme Court will allow former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to stand for election. (BBC) North Korea tests two more missiles. (BBC) Trial of Aung San Suu Kyi: The National League for Democracy's General Secretary testifies in Burma. (Reuters) U.S. President Obama calls for her immediate and unconditional release from incarceration. (BBC) (RTÉ) South Africa's economy contracted by 6.4% during the first fiscal quarter of 2009 and thus enters recession. (BBC) An air raid on a people-smuggling convoy in Sudan in January killed 119 people. (BBC) French President Nicolas Sarkozy will open a military base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Press Trust of India) A suicide attack kills six people in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan. (BBC) The Swedish Navy arrests seven Somali pirates during the attempted hijacking of a Greek ship. (Radio Netherlands) Nigerien President Tandja Mamadou dissolves the National Assembly. (Reuters) May 27, 2009 (2009-05-27) (Wednesday) United States President Barack Obama nominates Hispanic Roman Catholic theologian Miguel H. Díaz as Ambassador to the Holy See. (AP via Google News) FC Barcelona defeats Manchester United F.C. to win the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Final. (CNN) North Korea launches its fifth missile since testing a nuclear weapon on May 25. (Sky News) Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies purchases 1.96% of the social network service Facebook. (New York Times) A suicide attack kills at least 35 people and injures 250 more in Lahore, Pakistan. (CNN) (BBC) Soyuz TMA-15 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Reuters) A rare white tiger is euthanized after killing a zookeeper at the Zion Wildlife Gardens in Whangarei, New Zealand. (BBC) (RTÉ) Russia will supply US$1 billion of uranium to civilian nuclear reactors in the United States. (CNN) An anti-piracy warship destroys a Yemeni fishing vessel in the Red Sea, killing at least two people. The planets Jupiter and Neptune experience a triple conjunction as seen from Earth.(BBC) May 28, 2009 (2009-05-28) (Thursday) General Motors asks Germany to indebt its subsidiary automakers Opel and Vauxhall Motors. (Times Online) Sixteen people are killed and more than 20 injured when a bus crashes near Yambol, Bulgaria. (BBC) Raymond Hewlett, a person of interest in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, gives the West Yorkshire Police a DNA sample for testing. (Sky News) Former Chilean Army conscript José Adolfo Paredes Márquez is charged with murdering activist/singer Víctor Jara during General Augusto Pinochet's coup d'état in 1973. (Guardian) United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirms President Barack Obama's demand that Israel halt settlement in the West Bank. (BBC) A 7.1-magnitude earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Honduras. (BBC) Two bombs kill eight people and injure 74 others in Peshawar, Pakistan. (CNN) The United States and South Korea increase their alert states after North Korea renounces the armistice that halted the Korean War in 1953. (BBC) Scientists claim the long-tailed dinosaur had the capacity to hold its cranium at a height in a giraffe-like manner. (New Zealand Harold) The Circle MRT line began operations, with all 5 stations along the Stage 3 of the MRT line from Bartley to Marymount being opened at the same time operated by SMRT Trains Ltd using Alstom Metropolis C830s. May 29, 2009 (2009-05-29) (Friday) Member of Parliament for Scunthorpe Elliot Morley will resign at the United Kingdom's 2010 General Election. (BBC) American record producer Phil Spector is jailed for 19 years for murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. (BBC) American media companies Time Warner and AOL terminate their merger. (Washington Times) Irish brewery Beamish and Crawford closes after 217 years in business. (Irish Examiner) (Belfast Telegraph) Irish broadcaster Pat Kenny hosts his final episode of The Late Late Show. (BBC) (RTÉ) Kavya Shivashankar of Kansas wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. (ABC) Former President Roh Moo-hyun's state funeral is held in Seoul, South Korea. (Korean Daily News) The United States Department of Defense will create a computer-security military command. (New York Times) Four people are killed when a dam bursts in Piauí, Brazil. (BBC) The lethal Lujo virus is identified in Africa. (AP) North Korea launches a short-range ballistic missile. (RTÉ) Soyuz TMA-15 docks with the International Space Station. (BBC) Ireland's government intends to further recapitalize Anglo Irish Bank by €4 billion. (Irish Times) (RTÉ) At least 20,000 civilians were reportedly killed during the final five months of Sri Lanka's civil war. (The Times) May 30, 2009 (2009-05-30) (Saturday) The South Africa Bulls defeat the New Zealand Chiefs to win rugby union's 2009 Super 14. (BBC) A bomb is discovered and defused aboard a Kish Air flight between Ahvaz and Tehran, Iran. (CNN) Three Jundallah members who bombed a mosque in Zahedan, Iran, on May 28 are hanged. (Reuters) Chelsea F.C. defeat Everton F.C. to win the 2009 FA Cup Final. (BBC) Former Iraqi Trade Minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani is arrested at Baghdad International Airport for corruption. (BBC) Pakistan's military captures Mingora, Swat, from the Taliban. (AP via Google News) Germany allows Canadian company Magna International to take over automaker Opel. (BBC) North Korea launches its sixth ballistic missile despite the United Nations Security Council's possible international sanctions. (AFP via News Limited) Sale, Victoria, Australia hosts triple J's One Night Stand May 31, 2009 (2009-05-31) (Sunday) The People's Justice Party wins the by-election in Penanti, Penang, Malaysia. (Bernama) Russian cyclist Denis Menchov wins the 2009 Giro d'Italia in Rome, Italy. (New York Times) Late-term abortion provider George Tiller is shot and killed in Wichita, Kansas, United States. (The Wichita Eagle) South Ossetia holds its parliamentary election. (Al Jazeera) Six people are killed during battle between Hamas militants and the Palestinian National Authority's Preventive Security Service in the West Bank. (BBC) Two men are charged with plotting to assassinate former Hong Kong Democratic Party Chairman Martin Lee. (AFP via News Limited) At least 44 inmates escape from a prison in Bagua Grande, Peru. (BBC) A man steals €6 million in jewellery from Chopard in Paris, France. (BBC) Thousands of demonstrators gather in Hong Kong to commemorate the upcoming anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989. (Straits Times) (BBC) At least 72 protesters are arrested after battling with the National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea. (The Korea Times) Robin Söderling of Sweden defeats world-number-one, four-time French Open and defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain in tennis's 2009 French Open. (Sky News) On the same day, women's defending champion Ana Ivanovic also bows out, losing to Victoria Azarenka. (The Telegraph)

May 2009 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31  Ongoing events Economic Worldwide recession Financial crisis Global Iceland Ireland (banking / financial) Russia Automotive industry crisis Sun Microsystems acquisition Political / Military Malagasy political crisis Piracy in Somalia Treaty of Lisbon ratification North Korean nuclear program Fijian constitutional crisis Thai political crisis Imprisonment of Roxana Saberi International recognition of Kosovo Humanitarian Zimbabwean cholera outbreak Swine influenza outbreak  Recent deaths April 26: Feroz Khan 25: Beatrice Arthur 22: Ken Annakin 22: Jack Cardiff 21: Jack Jones 19: J. G. Ballard 19: Doc Blanchard 18: Edward George 18: Bill Orton 16: Viktor Paskov 15: Clement Freud 14: Peter Rogers 13: Mark Fidrych 13: Jack D. Hunter 13: Harry Kalas  Ongoing conflicts Worldwide War on terror Africa / Middle East Chadian Civil War War in Darfur Iraq War Arab–Israeli conflict Maghreb insurgency Conflict in the Niger Delta Somali Civil War Second Tuareg Rebellion Second Ugandan Civil War Asia War in Afghanistan Balochistan conflict Internal conflict in Burma Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir Laotian Secret War Ethnic conflict in Nagaland Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in the Philippines South Thailand insurgency Sri Lankan Civil War Turkey–PKK conflict Americas Colombian conflict Mexican drug war Internal conflict in Peru  Elections Recent April 4: Slovakia, President (second round) 5: Republic of Macedonia, President (second round) 5: Moldova, Parliament 9: Indonesia, Parliament 9: Algeria, President 16: India, Parliament (first round) 19: Haiti, Senate 19: Northern Cyprus, Parliament 22: South Africa, National Assembly 23: India, Parliament (second round) 25: Iceland, Parliament Ongoing 26: Ecuador, President and Parliament 26: Andorra, Parliament 26: Ecuador, President and Parliament Upcoming April 30: India, Parliament (third round)  Trials  Recently concluded Peru: Alberto Fujimori Sweden: The Pirate Bay United States: James Charles Kopp, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Phil Spector  Ongoing Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Tribunal Canada: Larry O'Brien Iraq: Supreme Criminal Tribunal Italy: Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox Netherlands: Thomas Lubanga (ICC), Radovan Karadžić (ICTY) New Zealand: David Bain (retrial) Republic of China]]: Chen Shui-bian Sierra Leone: Charles Taylor (SCFSL) Singapore: Tak Boleh Tahan Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra United States: Jena Six  Upcoming United States: Viktor Bout, Noshir Gowadia, William J. Jefferson, Bernard Madoff, Ehren Watada, Sheila Dixon, Joseph Bruno  Holidays  and observances April Ongoing 9 – May 28: Omer (Judaism) 20 – May 2: Riḍván (Baháʼí Faith) Current 27: World Graphic Design Day 27: Parashurama Jayanti (Hinduism) 27: Confederate Memorial Day (Alabama, Mississippi) 27: National Veterans' Day (Finland) 27: Basava Jayanti (Karnataka) 27: Abolition Day (Mayotte) 27: Parents' Day (Moldova) 27: Independence Day (Sierra Leone) 27: Resistance Day (Slovenia) 27: Freedom Day, UnFreedom Day (South Africa) 27: Independence Day (Togo) Upcoming 28: Workers' Memorial Day 28: Feast of Jamál (Baháʼí Faith) 28: Radonitsa (Eastern Orthodox Church) 28: Yom Hazikaron (Judaism, Israel) 28: Mujahideen Victory Day (Afghanistan) 28: National Heroes' Day (Barbados) 28: National Day of Mourning (Canada) 28: Admission Day (Maryland) 28: Saint Peter Chanel Day (Wallis and Futuna) 29: International Dance Day 29: Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel, Judaism) 29: Shōwa Day (Japan) 30: Queen's Birthday (Kingdom of the Netherlands) 30: Admission Day (Louisiana) 30: Children's Day (Mexico) 30: King's Birthday (Sweden) 30: Honesty Day (United States) 30: Reunification Day (Vietnam) 30 – May 1: Walpurgis Night (Europe, Neopaganism, Satanism)