(Deccan Herald) (Reuters) (BBC)
- Point guard Steve Nash of the NBA's Phoenix Suns makes history by becoming the first Canadian to win the NBA's MVP award. Nash edges out Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat by seven votes to win the award. (CBC)
- Worldwide celebrations commemorate the 60th anniversary of V-E Day, the official end of World War II in Europe with the capitulation of Germany under Karl Dönitz. In several German cities, Germans also mourn today the millions of people massacred under the National Socialist (Nazi) regime in the 1930s and 1940s. (Wikinews)
- Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the al-Qaeda suspect captured in Pakistan on May 2 and thought to be third-in-command in al-Qaeda, turns out to be a mid-level member in the organization. Officials describe the mistake as a case of "mistaken identity". (TimesOnline)
- Exiled Christian army general Michel Aoun returns to Lebanon from France. His supporters in the Free Patriotic Movement call for his election as a new president. (Al-Jazeerah) (BBC) (Daily Star) (Reuters AlertNet)
- In Belgium, two Rwandan men, Etienne Nzabonimana and Samuel Ndashyikirwa, are put into trial accused of involvement with the Rwandan genocide. (IOL) (Reuters AlertNet)
- People in the Central African Republic vote in the second round of presidential election. Incumbent president François Bozizé, who took over in a coup in 2003, is in favorable position. (Reuters AlertNet)
- Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika demands that France admits its part in Sétif massacre, the killing of 45,000 Algerians who demonstrated for independence on May 8, 1945 when Europe celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany. (ABC) (Reuters AlertNet)
- 6000 anti-Nazi demonstrators force cancellation of a National Democratic Party march in Berlin, Germany. (Deutsche Welle) (Reuters)
- The Spanish Royal Palace announces that princess Letizia is three months pregnant. (Reuters) (BBC)
- Seven Nepalese opposition parties join forces against King Gyanendra. (BBC)
- Iran admits to having converted thirty-seven tons of raw uranium into a gas, a key step in uranium enrichment. (The Guardian)
- 88 members of U.S. Congress led by John Conyers write an open letter to the White House asking for answers concerning the new documents leaked which apparently reveal the secret U.S/U.K. agreement to attack Iraq in 2002. (The Times) (The Raw Story) (Scoop) (uruknet)
- The Sellafield nuclear plant's Thorp reprocessing facility in Cumbria, England, is closed down due to a 20 tonne leak through a fractured pipe of water contaminated with radioactive uranium and plutonium. (The Guardian)
- More than 50 heads of state, including Vladimir Putin, George W. Bush and German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, are among the guests attending the official celebrations commemorating the end of World War II in Moscow, Russia. It is the first time a German chancellor has attended a world-wide commemoration for the victims of the Third Reich. (Wikinews) (The Hindu) (CNN) (Scotsman)
- Re-examination of old images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor several years ago may have led to the identification of the crash site of the Mars Polar Lander, which failed in December 1999. Using insights and techniques developed for analyzing images of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Malin Space Science Systems may have spotted the rocket blast zone, Mars Polar Lander and the parachute. (Spaceflight Now) (Space.com)
- Peter Friederich, former Swiss ambassador to Luxembourg, goes on trial for money laundering. (Swissinfo)
- Former Indonesian president Suharto is hospitalized; there are conflicting reports about his condition. (Jakarta Post) (Laksamana) (BBC) (Forbes)
- The death toll continues to rise due to flooding in Somalia and the Somalia Region of Ethiopia. In April 2005, heavy rains generated widespread flooding and caused the Shebelle River to burst its banks. As of May 5, the flooding in Somali Region alone has caused over 100 confirmed deaths and widespread property damage affecting over 100,000 persons. The floods have also destroyed shelters housing 25,000 Somali refugees in Kenya. (UN IRIN) (UN News)
- Twelve South American and 22 Arab countries begin a summit in Brazil. (Agencia Estado Brazil) (Arabic News) (Bloomberg) (Reuters)
- In Ecuador, former president Gustavo Noboa is placed under house arrest. (CBS) (BBC)
- In Italy, two Vatican Radio officials, Cardinal Roberto Tucci and Father Pasquale Borgome, have been convicted of polluting the atmosphere with unnecessarily powerful electromagnetic waves that might have causes increased risk of cancer. They receive 10-day suspended sentences. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
- Hans Blix, former United Nations chief arms inspector, suggests that Iran and Israel could support a ban of uranium enrichment in the Middle East. (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters AlertNet)
- The Nigerian government charges 80 Biafran separatists with treason. (AllAfricA) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
- Italian police in Rome reopen the investigation into the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini. (BBC)
- Andrés Manuel López Obrador, mayor of Mexico City, announces that he will quit his post on July 31 to concentrate on his campaign to be president of Mexico. (El Universal) (Reuters)
- In the Democratic Republic of Congo, president Joseph Kabila visits Lumumbashi in Katanga province. At least 30 people have been arrested for an attempted separatist coup in the province. (AllAfrica) (ReliefWeb) (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC)
- President George W. Bush signs the Real ID Act into effect
- Guantánamo Bay Qur'an desecration allegations: Riots over a Newsweek story (later retracted) lead to dozens of injuries and at least three deaths in Jalalabad, Eastern Afghanistan. Afghan police use live ammunition to stop the Anti-American rioting organized in protest of the alleged desecration of a copy of the Qur'an. (BBC), (Reuters)
- A Katyusha rocket hits the northern Israeli town of Shlomi, damaging a bakery but no injuries. The rocket appears to have been launched from within Lebanon while Israel celebrated its 57th Independence Day. (Haaretz)
- Justice officials in Kuwait, with assistance from United Nations war crimes expert Sharif Basyouni, complete an indictment against Saddam Hussein and several former Iraqi officials for crimes against humanity during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. (Yahoo!)
- The Irish government gives the go-ahead for the building of the controversial M3 motorway through the archaeologically sensitive Tara-Skyrne Valley, amid an international outcry by academics and environmentalists. (RTÉ)
- The White House and United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. are evacuated, amid reports of an incoming aircraft. The US Secret Service subsequently issues an all-clear. (BBC)
- Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has set May 19 for a vote in the House of Commons on the federal budget. He said if his government loses the vote of confidence, he will seek the dissolution of Parliament. This means an election could come as early as June 27. (CBC)
- The Austrian parliament ratifies the European Union constitution with only one dissenting vote. (ORF)
- Conflict in Iraq: At least 60 people die following a series of bombings throughout Iraq. (BBC)
- The Bulgarian parliament ratifies the EU membership treaty. (Bulgarian News Network) (Sofia News Agency) (BBC) (CNN)
- Authorities in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh investigate the attack of social worker Shakuntala Verma after she had investigated claims of illegal child marriages. One of her hands was severed and the other was badly wounded. (Newindpress) (Telegraph) (Times of India)
- In Yemen, the number of cases in a polio outbreak rises to 63. (BBC) (ABC) (Reuters AlertNet)
- Javier Zanetti, captain of the Inter Milan football club, says the team could accept the invitation to a game to play against Mexico's Zapatistarebels. (BBC)
- The presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon have not made progress in talks on the disputed Bakassi peninsula. They agree to negotiate a new date for the pullout of Nigerian troops. (Cameroon-Info) (BBC) (Reuters AlertNet)
- Medical researchers and health organizations condemn AIDS dissident Matthias Rath who had placed full-page ads in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune with a slogan "Stop AIDS Genocide by drug cartel". Rath claims that antiretroviral drugs are poisonous and his vitamin supplements can cure the disease. Researchers of Harvard University state that Rath misrepresents their findings. South Africa's Medicine Control Council announces investigation of the Rath Foundation. (Reuters AlertNet) (BBC) (Pretoria News) (Business Day) (News24)
- Heavy exchanges of fire in the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah fired at least 9 mortar shells or Katyusha rockets on outposts in the disputed Shebaa Farms. The IDF retaliated by artillery fire and IAF aircraft bombed 3 Hezbollah positions. Israel maintains that Lebanon bears full responsibility for the border attacks, committed by Hezbollah and local Palestinian groups, while Hezbollah maintain that they are acting in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory including a hit on civilian houses in the village of Kfar Shouba. (Haaretz), (BBC)
- Guantánamo Bay Qur'an desecration allegations: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promises "prompt action" if investigations prove that the Quran was desecrated by U.S. soldiers in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The Saudi Arabian government voices its "deep indignation" and has demanded a quick investigation and punishment for the perpetrators if found to be true. Seven people have died in Afghanistan following Anti-American protests in the wake of the allegations. There have also been protests in Pakistan and Indonesia. (BBC) (BBC) (The Jakarta Post)
- Star Trek Enterprise airs its last episode, These are the Voyages..., after a run of 98 episodes. Enterprise was canceled by UPN on February 8th due to lack of ratings, marking the first Star Trek series to be canceled since the original series in 1969
- The Vatican announced that the late Pope, John Paul II, is to be beatified. This is the first step to becoming a saint. (BBC)
- Unrest In Uzbekistan:
- Thousands of Uzbeks take over a high security jail in Andijan, freeing thousands of prisoners in protest against the jail sentence of 23 businessmen who were accused of being Islamic extremists. (CBC)
- Violence breaks out in Andijan and in the capital Tashkent. There are reports of firefights in the streets and snipers firing into the crowd. A political rally in Andijan demands the resignation of the government, which claims that the situation is under control. (BBC) (Interfax) (CNN)
- At least twenty protesters – some reports say as many as 500 – are shot dead in Uzbekistan. Thirty soldiers have been taken hostage as a result. (Yahoo!) (BBC) (The Guardian)
- A man is fatally shot outside Israel's embassy in Tashkent. The man, who has a history of mental illness, was carrying wooden objects, and guards suspected him of being a suicide bomber. He walked through to the building, despite warning
