- May 5
- Death of Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, age 58 after a long battle with kidney and heart ailments. [35] [615]
- May 6
- Goodluck Jonathan is sworn in as Nigeria's new president. [35]
- For the first time since 1974, a parliamentary election in the United Kingdom produces no outright winner. The Conservatives win the most seats (306) in the 650-seat House of Commons, ahead of the ruling Labour Party (258) and Liberal Democrats (57). [57]
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffers its biggest ever intraday point drop: 998.5 points. During the market's fall some shares briefly fell to nearly zero. By the end of the trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 347.80 points, or 3.20 percent, to 10,520.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 3.24 percent, to 1,128.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3.44 percent, to 2,319.64. [35] [444.44]
- May 7
- Scientists conducting the Neanderthal genome project announce that they have sequenced enough of the Neanderthal genome to suggest that Neanderthals and humans may have interbred. [615]
- May 8
- Eurozone leaders approve a $100 billion loan package for Greece. [105]
- May 9
- The International Monetary Fund approves a nearly $40 billion three-year loan to Greece. [105]
- An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 strikes offshore near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, near Aceh province. [57]
- May 10
- European leaders approve a US$1 trillion emergency rescue package for European economies. American stock market indexes rose about 4 percent for the day. [35]
- More than 100 people are killed and 350 wounded in a series of shootings and suicide bombings in Iraq. [57]
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
- May 11
- Queen Elizabeth II asks Britain's Conservative leader David Cameron to form a new government and he accepts. Cameron will form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. The party's leader, Nick Clegg, will become deputy prime minister. [105]
- May 12
- A group of U.S. astronomers announces the discovery of the farthest cluster of galaxies ever found, called CLG J02182-05102, 15 billion light years away from Earth. The cluster contains about 60 galaxies and several of the large galaxies hold 10 times as many stars as the Milky Way. [105]
- A Libyan Airbus A330-200 jet crashes as it tries to land at Tripoli International Airport, killing 103 people on board and leaving a young Dutch boy the sole survivor. [35] [615]
- Gold trades briefly at US$1245.40, setting a new record high. [428.46]
- May 14
- Rare Coin Wholesalers of California sells a USA 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar coin graded SP-66 PCGS, possibly the first coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint, to Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation of California for US$7.85 million. The price is a new world record for a single US coin. [434.4] [548.79] [665.38] [1088.18] [1480.37] (May 13 [439.46])
- The NASA space shuttle Atlantis and six astronauts blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to deliver a Russian module and spare parts to the International Space Station. [35]
- May 19
- Protests in Bangkok, Thailand end with a bloody military crackdown, killing 91 and leaving more than 2,100 injured. [615]
- May 20
- Scientists announce that they have created a functional synthetic genome. [615]
- Five paintings worth 100 million euros are stolen from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. [615]
- May 21
- Salva Kiir is sworn in as the first elected president of the semi-autonomous southern region of Sudan. [57]
- An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 airliner crashes and bursts into flames outside the Mangalore airport in Karnataka state in southern India, killing 158 people. Eight people survive. [35] (May 22 [615])
- Eyjafjallajokull volcano on Iceland ceases eruptions, having started March 20. [838.14]
- Japan launches the Akatsuki orbiter probe on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima spaceport to Venus to study its atmosphere in detail. [57]
- May 26
- Market capitalization of Apple (US$222 billion) passes Microsoft (US$219 billion) for the first time since December 19,1989. Apple stock is worth more than 10 times what they were 10 years ago, whereas Microsoft stock is down 20 percent over the same time period. [35]
- May 27
- Pacaya volcano in Guatemala begins erupting lava, rocks and debris, forcing over 1600 to flee, and closing the country's main airport. [57]
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is sworn into office, despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur. [57]
- May 28
- Gunmen launch raids on two mosques of the Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, Pakistan, killing 93 people, with three attackers blowing themselves up with suicide vests. [57]
- Two trains collide in West Bengal, India, killing at least 100, injuring 145. The Calcutta-Mumbai passenger train derailed, throwing five of its carriages into the path of an oncoming goods train. [57]
- The Tungurahua "Throat of Fire" volcano 130 kilometres southeast of Ecuador's capital, Quito comes to life, spewing lava, rocks and debris. [105]
- May 29
- Germany's Lena wins the Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Satellite". [57]
- May 31
- A lost 3300-year-old Egyptian tomb believed to belong to a mayor of the ancient capital of Memphis, is rediscovered by archaeologists in the desert sands south of Cairo. [57]
- Israeli marines stop six ships, 700 people, and 10,000 tonnes of supplies reaching the Gaza Strip, storming one Turkish aid ship and killing at least nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists, claiming defence from attack by clubs, knives, and gunfire. [35] [615]
- German President Horst Koehler resigns effective immediately, following criticism of remarks he made about German military deployments abroad, saying it was sometimes necessary to deploy troops "to protect our interests... for example free trade routes". [57]
- June 2
- Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigns after just eight months in office. [35]
- June 3
- A fire caused by the explosion of an electrical transformer in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka kills more than 116 people, as flames quickly spread to at least six apartment buildings and about 15 stores. [57]
- Six astronauts are sealed in a container in Moscow, Russia, to begin a 520-day simulated round-trip to Mars and back, in an experiment to test how isolation affects people. [35]
- June 4
- California firm SpaceX launches the Falcon 9 rocket on its maiden test flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket successfully achieves Earth orbit. [57]
- Japanese lawmakers elect finance minister Naoto Kan as the country's new prime minister. [57]
- June 6
- The MTV Movie Awards ceremony is held in California. Some awards:
- Best Movie: The Twilight Saga: New Moon;
- Best Female Performance: Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga: New Moon);
- Best Male Performance: Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga: New Moon);
- Best Breakout Star: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air);
- Best Comedic Performance: Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover);
- Best Villain: Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).
[35]
- June 9
- The United Nations Security Council approves 12 votes to 2 a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to curtail its nuclear program. The sanctions ban Iran from buying several categories of heavy weapons, and also target financial institutions and individuals with suspected ties to the nuclear program. [105]
- National elections in Netherlands: centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) 31, centre-left Labour Patry 30, anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) 24, Christian Democrat party 21. [57]
- Ethnic riots in Kyrgyzstan between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks results in the deaths of hundreds. [615]
- June 10
- The South Korean Naro-1 space rocket carrying a scientific satellite explodes 137 seconds into its flight, likely during the first-stage ignition. [35]
- Christie's auctioneers in England sell a 1983 painting by Indian artist Syed Haider Raza for US$3.5 million, a record for a modern Indian work. [57]
- The Burmese government denies recent reports that it is developing a nuclear weapons programme. [57]
- June 12
- A 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes in the Indian Ocean near the Nicobar Islands. [105]
- June 15
- Prime Minister David Cameron appologizes for the Bloody Sunday killings of 13 at a civil rights demonstration in Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972, by British paratroopers. [57]
- June 16
- At least 19 people are killed by flash floods of up to 40cm of rain in south-eastern France in the Cote D'Azur region, the worst since 1827. [57]
- An explosion at the San Fernando coalmine in Amaga, Colombia kills 16 miners and traps about 70 underground. [57]
- Three large earthquakes hit Indonesia: 6.4 off the island of Yapenm in Papua, the 10 minutes later 7.1 off the northern coast of Papua province, then 5.3 in West Sulawesi province. Three deaths are caused by collapsed houses. [57]
- June 18
- John Lennon's January 17, 1967 handwritten lyrics to the song "A Day in the Life" (The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band") sells at Sotheby's auction in New York for US$1.2 million. [105]
- The Swedish parliament narrowly approves (174 to 172) the replacement of old nuclear reactors with new ones, reversing the 1980 decision to phase out nuclear reactors by 2010. [57]
- Buena Vista releases the film Toy Story 3 to theaters. (Total world gross ticket sales: $1.1 billion (1st for 2010).) [925]
- Convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner (age 49) is executed by firing squad in Draper (Salt Lake City), Utah, USA. Gardner spent 25 years in prison on death row for the murder of a lawyer during an attempt to escape a court hearing. This is the first execution by firing squad in the USA in 14 years. [57]
- June 19
- Swedish Crown Princess Victoria (age 32) marries her former fitness trainer, 36-year-old commoner Daniel Westling in Stockholm Cathedral. As Crown Princess Victoria's husband, gym owner Westling assumes the title of Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland. [57]
- June 20
- Rain and landslides in southern China kill 132 people, with 86 others missing. An estimated 68,000 houses are damaged and 800,000 residents are evacuated. [57]
- Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of Sunni militant group Jundullah, is executed by hanging in Tehran, Iran for his involvement in bombings and raids in Sistan-Baluchistan province. [57]
- Juan Manuel Santos of the Social National Unity Party wins the final round of Colombia's presidential elections, with about 69 percent of ballots. [57]
- June 21
- Price of an ounce of gold hits record high of US$1265. [474.34]
- At least 76 people are killed in a train derailment in the south of Congo-Brazzaville, about 60km from the city of Pointe-Noire. [57]
- June 22
- A self portrait by French painter Edouard Manet, Manet A La Palette, sells at Sotheby's auction in London for £22,441,250 (US$33 million), a record price for a Manet painting. [57]
- June 23
- Following a week of rain, Alagoas and Pernambuco states in north-east Brazil see flooding that destroys entire villages, and forces over 100,000 from their homes. 1000 are missing, with at least 42 known dead. [57]
- A 5.0-magnitude earthquake hits Gracefield, Quebec, Canada, damaging several buildings, including the church and town hall. The quake is felt across southern and eastern Ontario and western Quebec, as well as in some U.S. states, including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Jersey and New York. [105]
- June 24
- Julia Gillard is sworn in as Australia's first female prime minister after a leadership vote in the Labor Party ousts Kevin Rudd. Gillard was deputy prime minister to Rudd. [57]
- June 25
- A Canadian $1 million 100-kg (3215 ounces) gold Maple Leaf coin, the world's largest gold coin, sells at auction in Austria for 3.27 million euros (US$4.03 million). [449] [458.52]
- At the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, G8 leaders pledge to spend $5 billion over the next five years on maternal and child health programs in developing countries, with Canada promising $1.1 billion for the global initiative. [105]
- June 26
- Leaders of the eight industrialized nations strongly admonish North Korea and Iran for their nuclear activities in a unanimous statement at the end of the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. The leaders also say they deplore North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship in March as a "challenge to peace and security in the region and beyond." [105]
- June 28
- India and Canada sign a nuclear agreement to promote and develop co-operation in civilian nuclear energy, opening up the Indian market to Canadian nuclear exports. [57]
- Gold hits a new high of US$1262 per ounce. [459.42]
- June 29
- The S&P 500 stock market index drops to its lowest level in eight months, 1050.47. The Dow Jones industrial average loses 268.22 points, or 2.65 percent, to 9,870.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index drops 85.47 points, or 3.85 percent, to 2,135.18. [35]
- China and Taiwan sign the Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement, removing tariffs on hundreds of products. [57]
- June 30
- Christian Wulff is elected president of Germany, on the third round of voting. [57]
- Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, the son of an assassinated opposition leader and a former president is sworn in as the 15th president of the Philippines. [57]
- Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal announces his resignation. [57]
- July 1
- Belgium takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Spain. [615]
- Two suicide bombers carry out an attack on the Data Darbar Sufi Muslim shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least 42 people, injuring at least 175 others. [57]
- China's state news agency Xinhua launches the CNC World 24-hour global news television channel in English. [57]
- July 2
- An oil fuel truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of Congo kills at least 230 people; many were trapped in buildings that caught fire from the explosion. [57]
- Twenty thousand people march through Israel calling for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit, being held by Hamas for four years. [57]
- July 3
- Rosa Otunbayeva, former foreign minister, is sworn in as interim president of the republic of Kyrgyzstan. [57]
- July 4
- A two-day counter-narcotics operation concludes in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of 63 drug smugglers and militants and destruction of 14.5 tonnes of drugs and drug-making chemicals. [105]
- Bronislaw Komorowski is elected President of Poland, with 53 percent of the vote. [57]
- July 8
- The first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered plane is completed by the Solar Impulse. [615]
- July 9
- Russia and the US stage an exchange of spies in Vienna, Austria; the US transfers ten spies, and Russia releases four spies, the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. [57]
- A pair of suicide bombers explode outside a government office in northeast Pakistan, killing at least 102, injuring 168. 70-80 shops are damaged or destroyed. [105]
- July 11
- At the Potocari Memorial Centre in the suburbs of Srebrenica, Bosnia, 775 mainly Muslim Srebrenica massacre victims are buried on the 15th anniversary of the worst crime of genocide in Europe since World War II; about 60,000 attend the memorial, including Serbian president Boris Tadic. [105]
- Two bombs explode in Ugandan capital of Kampala, killing 74 people and injuring 70 in a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant; the bombings targeted football fans watching the World Cup final. [57]
- July 12
- The Church of England's General Synod ruling body decides that women bishops should be allowed. [57]
- Italian military police general Giampaolo Ganzer is jailed for 14 years for drug smuggling and organising fake anti-drug operations between 1991 and 1997. 13 other people are also convicted in the case. [57]
- July 14
- Heavy rain across southern and central China triggers landslides killing at least 37, with another 40 people missing. [57]
- (to July 15) In Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, a 1925 $500 Dominion of Canada note, one of eight known, graded AU-50 by PMG, sells at auction for $205,000. [624.1]
- July 15
- British Petroleum completes installation of a new containment cap on its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, stopping the flow from the broken wellhead for the first time since April 20. An estimated 689 million litres of oil have escaped into the Gulf. [105]
- Two suicide bombers kill at least 28 people at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in southeast Iran. [35]
- The British Columbia Lottery Corporation opens online gambling website PlayNow.com, the first government-sanctioned online casino in North America. Within a few hours, the site is shut down due to failed security in accounts. [105] [475.A10]
- July 18
- In Iraq, two suicide bombers target the government-backed Sons of Iraq militia, killing at least 48 people and wounding 46 at a military checkpoint. [105]
- July 21
- The United States announces new sanctions against North Korea aimed to prevent North Korea selling arms and from procuring luxury goods, as well as to put out of business North Korean entities operating illicitly overseas. [35]
- The number of people using the Facebook website worldwide hits 500 million. [475.B7]
- July 24
- A stampede at the Love Parade techno music festival kills 19 people in Duisburg, Germany, with a further 342 injured. [105]
- July 25
- Wikileaks, an online publisher of anonymous, covert, and classified material, leaks to the public over 90,000 internal reports about the United States-led involvement in the War in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. [615]
- July 26
- A joint United Nations - Cambodian tribunal sentences Khmer Rouge commander Kaing Guek Eav to 35 years in prison for overseeing 14,000 deaths in the 1970s. Eav was found guilty of murder, torture, rape, crimes against humanity and other charges as chief of Tuol Sleng prison. [35]
- July 28
- An Airblue Airbus 321 passenger jet encounters heavy monsoon rains and thick fog and crashes into the hills near Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people on board. [105]
- July 29
- Heavy monsoon rains begin to cause widespread flooding in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Over 1,600 are killed, and more than one million are displaced by the floods. [615]
|