May 2 — North America/South Asia: UNITED STATES/AFGHANISTAN
The United States President Barack Obama arrives in Afghanistan on a visit to sign an agreement on the U.S.-Afghan relations. The document includes plans for U.S. training of the Afghan forces and Afghan commitment to transparency and accountability. President Obama says that the U.S. will not withdraw its troops before the deadline of 2014 as it is important to finish the mission in Afghanistan. Currently the U.S. has 88,000 troops in this South Asian country, with about 23,000 expected to come home by the end of summer.
May 6 — Europe: GREECE
Greece’s parliamentary election results in power struggle between pro- and anti-austerity measures. Two-thirds of the Greek electorate voted for parties opposed to international bailouts from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, renewing fears that Greece might default on its debt and be forced out of the eurozone. Antonis Samaras, the leader of the conservative New Democracy Party, which gained the most votes, says he is unable to form a coalition government. President Papoulias calls new elections for June. The uncertainty of the country’s future in the eurozone has led many Greeks to withdraw their money, over $1 billion, from Greek banks.
May 6 — Africa: MALI
Islamist rebels destroy a shrine to a local Muslim saint in Mali’s historic town of Timbuktu, saying it offended true Islamic beliefs. The city is in the northern part of the country controlled by rebels. The United Nations says Timbuktu, a UN heritage town, is endangered. (May 27): Mali’s secular Tuareg rebels who seized northern part of the country after the coup and Islamic fighters of Ansar Dine agree to merge and turn this part of Mali into an Islamic state. Hundreds of thousands of people flee the territory. (May 21): The country’s interim president, Dioncounda Traore, is severely beaten by supporters of the coup.
May 7 — Europe: FRANCE
Socialist Francois Hollande defeats center-right President Nicolas Sarkozy in France’s presidential election. The angered electorate votes unpopular Sarkozy out of office over his tough austerity measure policies triggered by the eurozone crisis. Hollande has promised to refocus the policies from austerity to growth by raising taxes on the rich and corporations, raising a minimum wage, hiring more teachers, and lowering the retirement age for some. He also wants to withdraw the French troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, a year earlier than previously scheduled.
May 10 — Africa: ALGERIA
Algerians vote in more free and transparent parliamentary elections organized by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as a result of last year’s Arab Spring demands. Dozens of political parties, including 23 newly formed ones, contest an increased number of parliamentary seats. As a result of the elections, the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) wins the majority of seats with the National Democratic Rally (RND) coming in second. An Islamic alliance forming the Islamist Green Algeria Alliance comes in third, but alleges fraud. About 500 international election monitors are allowed to observe the elections.
May 10 — International Organizations/South Asia: ICRC/PAKISTAN
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspends its humanitarian work in Pakistan’s three out of four provinces due to increased violence and attacks on humanitarian aid workers. Since 2009, 19 aid activists have been murdered in Pakistan and 20 have been kidnapped for ransom.
May 10 — Middle East: SYRIA
Two synchronized bombings in the Syrian capital of Damascus kill at least 55 people and injure a score of others. This one of the most destructive attacks is organized by an Islamic group called al-Nusra Front, whose tactics resemble those of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The explosions take place near a military intelligence building, and as the militants claim, is revenge for the government attacks on civilians. Violence in Syria continues despite a ceasefire monitored by the UN observers.
May 13 — Latin America: MEXICO
Violence between drug cartels in Mexico continues as the police find 49 mutilated bodies by a roadside in Monterrey in the north of the country. The massacre is blamed on fighting for drug smuggling routes. It is estimated that since 2006, about 50,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence.
May 15 — Latin America/North America: COLOMBIA/UNITED STATES
The free-trade agreement between the United States and Colombia comes into effect five years after it was signed. The deal will allow a flow of variety of goods between the two countries without import tariffs and is expected to boost investment. Colombia has been one of the U.S.’s staunchest allies in the region.
May 16 — Africa: SOUTH SUDAN
A report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that in the last few months a number of South Sudanese at risk of food shortages has increased to about 4.7 million. The main reasons for the increase are continued clashes between south and north and the shutdown of oil production in the south, which has had a devastating impact on South Sudan’s economy. Although 75 percent of oil is on the territory of South Sudan, the pipelines run through northern Sudan. The two countries cannot come to an agreement on sharing the oil wealth.
May 16 — Latin America: BRAZIL
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff establishes a truth commission, which will investigate human rights abuses during the military rule from 1945 to 1985. Rousseff, a victim of persecutions herself, says the commission will bring a sense of closure and reconciliation with the country’s past. However, because of the amnesty law passed in 1979, neither military officers nor the left-wing guerrillas can be prosecuted. The ruling of the commission will be symbolic.
May 19 — East Asia/North America: CHINA/UNITED STATES
Blind Chinese civil rights activist Chen Guangcheng and his family arrive in the United States to start their new lives. After escaping from house arrest and hiding in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for a couple of days, Chen caused a brief diplomatic row between China and the United States. The self-taught lawyer, Chen worked on human rights issues in rural China, speaking especially against the one-child policy and forced abortions. In the U.S., he has been offered a special fellowship to study law at New York University.
May 20 — Europe: SERBIA
Serbian nationalist leader Tomislav Nikolic defeats liberal incumbent President Boris Tadic in the country’s presidential election. Nikolic, who comes from old political structures serving under former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, promises to continue Serbia’s course toward the EU membership. His Progressive Party also wins the most seats in parliamentary elections, although the coalition of Democrats and Socialist still holds the majority. Serbia has been struggling with a poor economy, a 24 percent unemployment rate, and corruption.
May 21 — Europe: RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin appoints former President Dmitry Miedvedev as prime minister, and forms his new government consisting mostly of his old allies and loyalists.
May 23 — Africa: EGYPT
Egyptians are going to the polls to choose a president in the country’s first free elections in its history. The frontrunners include Ahmed Shafiq, a former commander of the air force; Amr Moussa, former foreign minister and head of the Arab League; Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood; and Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an independent Islamist candidate. (May 28): As none of the candidates wins an outright majority, the two frontrunners, Mohammed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq, will contest a presidential run-off in June. (May 31): Egypt ends the state of emergency that had been in place continuously since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. The state of emergency allowed President Hosni Mubarak’s regime to arrest and detain opponents without proper trials.
May 27 — Former Soviet Union: GEORGIA
Tens of thousands of protesters join an anti-government and anti-President Saakashvili rally in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. The gathering is organized by Bidzina Ivanishvili, billionaire businessman turned opposition leader, and his supporters ahead of parliamentary elections due to take place in October.
May 28 — East Asia/South Asia: MYANMAR/INDIA
For the first time since 1987, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pays a two-day official visit in Myanmar to strengthen the ties between the two countries. Both sides sign 12 agreements, including those on investment, trade, bank cooperation, development around the common border area, airline services, and cultural exchanges. Prime Minister Singh also meets with Myanmar’s President Thein Sein as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. India is interested in gaining access to Myanmar’s gas fields and counterbalancing China’s influence in the region.
May 28 — South Asia: NEPAL
Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai calls for new elections in November after three political parties leave the government due to an inability to reach a consensus on a new constitution. Nepal has been struggling with a constitutional deadlock for over four years. The main sticking point is whether the federal lines should be established along ethnic lines. The critics of such a solution say this would cause instability and lead to the country’s disintegration.
May 30 — International Organizations/Africa: SCSL/LIBERIA
The United Nations-backed war crimes Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague (SCSL) sentences former Liberian President Charles Taylor to 50 years in prison for actively aiding the rebels in Sierra Leone during the country’s civil war lasting from 1991 to 2002. In exchange for diamonds, Taylor provided the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) with weapons as well as logistical support.