May 1 – Europe: EUROPEAN UNION
Four member states of the European Union (EU), Finland, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, agree to open labor markets to workers from eight new members. They join Britain, Ireland, and Sweden, which have already seen economic benefits from new laborers. Other EU countries are wary of an influx of cheap labor. The new member states, eight from Central and Eastern Europe plus Malta and Cyprus, were admitted into the EU in 2004.
May 2 – International Organizations: HEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIES
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank cancel $4.9 billion of Cameroon’s national debt, more than a quarter of its total, as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The decision makes Cameroon the nineteenth country to benefit from the program. The IMF warns that further progress is needed for the country to strengthen its economy, specifically in the areas of government transparency, corruption, and accountability.
May 2 – Africa: CAMEROON
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the African Development Bank cancel $4.9 billion of Cameroon’s national debt, more than a quarter of its total, as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The decision makes Cameroon the nineteenth country to benefit from the program. The IMF warns that further progress is needed for the country to strengthen its economy, specifically in the areas of government transparency, corruption, and accountability.
May 2 – Former Soviet Republics: KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev refuses to accept the resignation of thirteen of his fifteen ministers after a parliamentary resolution criticizing the cabinet. Bakiev, who came to power following a popular uprising in March 2005, faces many challenges, including the growing power of criminal organizations, corruption, and a slow economy.
May 2 – East Asia: JAPAN
The United States and Japan finalize an agreement to restructure the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. The plan includes relocating a U.S. airfield to another part of the island, and transferring 8,000 U.S. Marines to Guam. Residents have long complained about noise, crime, and other costs associated with the U.S. presence. Japan also plans to strengthen its own defense forces. American troops have been stationed in Japan since the end of World War II.
May 4 – South Asia: INDIA/PAKISTAN
India and Pakistan agree to open a trade route through the Line of Control in the contested Kashmir region. The trade link marks some progress in the latest round of peace talks, which have been moving slowly since the 2003 cease-fire between India and Pakistan. The two sides also agreed to open a second bus route, which will run between Poonch in Indian-administered Kashmir and Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
May 5 – Africa: MOROCCO
Morocco appoints fifty women preachers, called Mourchidats, to promote the country’s tolerant version of Islam and to modernize its human rights. The Mourchidats can give basic religious instruction in mosques, but are still banned from leading Friday prayers. Moroccan women have been gaining more influence in the society, taking high positions in the government, judiciary, and social organizations.
May 5 – Latin America: BOLIVIA
Bolivian president Evo Morales issues a decree that places the country’s energy industry under state control. The move upset Brazil and Spain, the two main investors in Bolivian gas reserves. The May Day decree stipulates that private companies will have to sell a controlling stake to the Bolivian government and will have to renegotiate contracts. Morales is fulfilling his election platform in which he promised to secure better benefits for impoverished Bolivians.
May 6 – Latin America: BRAZIL
Brazil opens a centrifuge facility at the Resende nuclear plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where it will enrich uranium as means of generating energy. Brazilian scientists claim that their technology is more advanced than that of the United States and France. Prior to the opening of the facility, Brazil went through negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, to ensure that the uranium would not be transferred for the production of nuclear weapons.
May 8 – East Asia: THAILAND
Thailand’s constitutional court rules that the April elections are invalid due to the fact that opposition groups boycotted the poll and some of the seats in the parliament have not been filled. The court also rules that the country has to hold another election. The crisis began when Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved parliament in February and called for new elections to show that he still had popular support despite mounting protests against his government.
May 8 – Middle East: IRAQ
The parliament in the Kurdish region of Iraq votes for a unified government, after more than a decade of separation. The Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have each ruled half of the Kurdish autonomous region since the mid-1990s. The regional government expects that Kurdish unification will foster stability in other parts of Iraq. It also hopes that a unified region will have a better chance to have the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which is claimed by the Kurds, added to Kurdistan.
May 11 – North America: CANADA
The Canadian government agrees to pay $1.7 billion to compensate former students of indigenous schools for physical and sexual abuses between the 1930s and 1970s. The schools that were run by the government and Catholic, Anglican, and United churches aimed at indoctrinating the children in Christianity and erasing their native cultures. The compensation is meant to help repair relations with the indigenous groups.
May 12 – Africa: UGANDA
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is sworn in for a third term after a successful bid for reelection in February. Although the country’s Supreme Court upheld the results of the election, opposition leader Kizza Besigye maintains that the poll was rigged. There has also been international criticism over the constitutional change that allowed Museveni to run for a third term. Museveni has been Uganda’s leader since 1986, when his National Resistance Army came to power.
May 13 – Former Soviet Republics: UZBEKISTAN
Rallies around the world mark the one-year anniversary of the Uzbek government’s brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in the city of Andijan in 2005 that killed 187 people. Protesters hold rallies in several cities, including New York, Moscow, Brussels, Istanbul, and Kyiv, demanding an independent inquiry into the Andijan massacre.
May 15 – Africa: LIBYA
The United States agrees to renew full diplomatic ties with Libya after removing it from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The move recognizes Libya’s efforts to renounce terrorism and adhere to international norms.
May 15 – North America/Middle East: UNITED STATES/LIBYA
The United States agrees to renew full diplomatic ties with Libya after removing it from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. The move recognizes Libya’s efforts to renounce terrorism and adhere to international norms.
May 16 – Europe: ITALY
Giorgio Napolitano, the eighty-year-old former communist, wins the Italian presidential election with an absolute majority. Italy’s president, who holds few powers, is elected by grand electors, including legislators from both houses of the parliament and representatives of regional governments. Napolitano is supported by incoming Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and is a well-respected member of the Democrats of the Left party.
May 16 – Europe: EUROPEAN UNION
The European Commission recommends that Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union (EU) as scheduled next year as long as they make tangible reforms. Bulgaria must show progress in dealing with corruption and organized crime. Romania must make reforms to guarantee full compatibility with EU programs. The commission also accepts Slovenia, a member state since 2004, into the single-currency euro zone. Slovenia will switch its currency to the euro in January 2007.
May 16 – East Asia: MYANMAR
As many as 15,000 ethnic Karens flee to jungles and to the border with Thailand after Myanmar’s government launches a new military campaign against Karen rebels. Human rights organizations describe the situation as ethnic cleansing by Myanmar’s army, which for years has been accused of executions, rapes, and other abuses. Karen groups have fought for increased autonomy for decades.
May 17 – Africa: ANGOLA
A recent report on the cholera outbreak in Angola says that more than 1,200 people have died and about 35,000 more have fallen ill in the last three months. The outbreak began in February in the slums of the capital city Luanda, where more than half of the cases have appeared. Despite Angola’s strong economic growth of 20 percent, largely due to increased oil revenues, the country’s poor still have limited access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
May 18 – South Asia: NEPAL
The Nepalese Parliament unanimously approves a plan that strips King Gyanendra of much of his powers, including his control of the military and the royal family’s freedom from taxation. Cutting the king’s powers has been a key demand of pro-democracy protestors and Maoist rebels, who want to establish a republic. King Gyanendra seized direct powers in 2005, prompting mass protests.
May 19 – South Asia: AFGHANISTAN
Key Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah is captured in the southern Afghani province of Kandahar. U.S.-led coalition forces have been pursuing Dadullah for more than four years. He is a former member of the Taliban’s ten-member leadership council, and is widely known as one of the most brutal Taliban commanders.
May 22 — Europe: SERBIA-MONTENEGRO
Montenegro votes to become independent from Serbia. As a result, Serbia becomes a successor state, which means that Montenegro will have to apply for membership in the United Nations and other international organizations. Serbia also inherits the region of Kosovo, but loses access to the Adriatic Sea. Montenegro’s prime minister, Milo Djukanovic, hopes that independence will help Montenegro join the European Union. The departure of Montenegro marks the end of former Yugoslavia.
May 24 – Europe: RUSSIA
Four Russian troops have been killed and three more wounded in an attack on a Russian military base near Vedeno in southern Chechnya. Separatist rebels are believed to be responsible for the incident. While some reports claim that the eleven-year conflict in Chechnya has cooled, the region is far from achieving long-term stability.
May 25 – Middle East: KUWAIT
Five women run as candidates in Kuwait’s parliamentary elections after the parliament was dissolved amid a political crisis. This is a step forward for Kuwaiti women’s rights activists and reinforces last year’s parliamentary vote granting women the right to vote and run for office. Until the vote, women had been banned from both since the parliament’s creation in 1962.
May 29 – Latin America: COLOMBIA
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe wins the presidential election, taking 62 percent of the vote. Uribe had changed the constitution, which enabled him to stay in power for a second term. His victory is attributed to his tough policies against drugs and militant groups.
May 30 — Europe: EUROPEAN UNION
The European Court of Justice blocks an EU-U.S. agreement that allows for the transfer of airline passenger information, including names, addresses, and credit card details. The court rules that there is no legal basis for the actions, and that there is not enough reassurance that the data would be protected. The United States claims it needs the data to fight terrorism.
May 30 – International Organizations: UNITED NATIONS
Rebels in the volatile Ituri district in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo capture seven United Nations peacekeepers, all from Nepal, following clashes with the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia. The men were backing an operation by Congolese soldiers to disarm militias in the region when they were taken. The UN has some 17,000 troops in the country in anticipation of the July elections, which will be the first democratic polls since 1960.
May 31 – East Asia/North America: VIETNAM/UNITED NATIONS
Vietnam and the United States sign a trade deal in which Vietnam agrees to reduce tariffs and import restrictions on U.S. products. It also agrees to drop a plan to subsidize its textile industry. The deal, once approved by the U.S. Congress, is the final agreement needed for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). If it is successful in its bid for membership in the WTO, Vietnam will gain equal access to all other members’ markets.
May 31 — Europe: UNITED KINGDOM
U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair admit to errors in Iraq. The two leaders cite the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison and the exclusion of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party members from the new government as examples. Both argue that regardless of the errors, the course of action in Iraq has been necessary, and call for international support for the new Iraqi government. U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq and deposed Hussein’s government in 2003.
May 31 – Latin America: ECUADOR/VENEZUELA
During a visit to Ecuador, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signs a series of energy cooperation agreements, including refining up to 100,000 barrels of Ecuador’s crude oil a day. Although Ecuador is a major oil producer, it has small capacity to refine the resource, and it hopes that Venezuela will help Ecuador build its own refinery.
May 31 – North America/East Asia: UNITED STATES/VIETNAM
Vietnam and the United States sign a trade deal in which Vietnam agrees to reduce tariffs and import restrictions on U.S. products. It also agrees to drop a plan to subsidize its textile industry. The deal, once approved by the U.S. Congress, is the final agreement needed for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). If it is successful in its bid for membership in the WTO, Vietnam will gain equal access to all other members’ markets.
May 31 – International Organizations: WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Vietnam and the United States sign a trade deal in which Vietnam agrees to reduce tariffs and import restrictions on U.S. products. It also agrees to drop a plan to subsidize its textile industry. The deal, once approved by the U.S. Congress, is the final agreement needed for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). If it is successful in its bid for membership in the WTO, Vietnam will gain equal access to all other members’ markets.