Portal:Current events/2018 May 24

May 24, 2018 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mississauga restaurant bombing
- Fifteen people are injured after two suspects detonate an improvised explosive device at a restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The suspects immediately fled the scene. (Reuters), (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
- A Dutch official from the international Joint Investigation Team tells reporters the Russian Armed Forces were responsible for the shootdown. The Russian Defence Ministry denies its units were involved. (BBC)
Monsoon rains kill 12 people in Sri Lanka. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- 2018 North Korea–United States summit
  - North Korea sets off a series of explosions to demolish the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site to build confidence before the scheduled summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. (NBC News)
  - U.S. President Donald Trump cancels the scheduled summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement by North Korea. Trump states that a summit can still happen, but warns that the military is ready if needed. (CNN) (The Washington Examiner)
Burkina Faso–Taiwan relations
- Burkina Faso breaks diplomatic relations with Taiwan. (The Washington Post), (Reuters)

Law and crime

Corruption in Spain
- Gürtel case
  - The National Audience of Spain issues a ruling in the Gürtel case, ending a 10-year trial that sentences 29 people to prison terms of up to 51 years. (El País) (BBC)
  - The People's Party, the ruling party in the Government, is condemned as participant in a lucrative way directly. (El Mundo) (The Washington Post)
  - The Court does not believe the statements as a witness that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made on 26 July 2017, which could imply the fulfillment of a crime of false testimony. (El País)
- Around 30 people are arrested in an operation against corruption in the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona. (El Periódico)
- Eduardo Zaplana, former Minister of Labour and ex-President of the Generalitat Valenciana is sent to prison without bail after being arrested on May 22. (El País)
A gunman opens fire in a restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. Two people are injured and the gunman is killed at the scene after exchanging fire with an armed bystander. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Human rights in Pakistan
- The National Assembly of Pakistan votes a constitutional amendment merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This will abolish colonial-era rules and provide the five million people from the tribal areas with equal rights as the other people of Pakistan. The measure is expected to pass the next stages without fuss. (Al Jazeera)
Presidency of Donald Trump
- U.S. President Donald Trump posthumously pardons boxer Jack Johnson who was convicted for "taking his white girlfriend across state lines for 'immoral' purposes" in 1912. (CNN)
- President Trump awards the Medal of Honor to Navy Seal Britt K. Slabinski for his actions during the Battle of Takur Ghar. (Tampa Bay Times)
Aftermath of Venezuelan presidential election, 2018
- The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, during a ceremony to celebrate his re-election, ordered the military high command that the Armed Forces sign a "loyalty" document, after claims to have frustrated a supposed conspiration that sought to avoid holding the presidential elections of May 20 and blamed the United States and Colombia for being behind it. Maduro also said that the leader of the alleged conspiration "was a fugitive and that he had escaped to Colombia". (El Universal)
- The Human Rights NGO, Foro Penal, reported the arrest of an aviation major, which is added to the imprisonment on May 22 by order of the military justice of eleven officers of the Armed Forces. Other versions, of press and activists, affirm that there would be at least 15 detentions by this presumed plot. (Canal N)

Science and technology

2018 Atlantic hurricane season
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States predicts a near- or above-average hurricane season for 2018. (NOAA)