May 16, 2011 (Monday)
Armed conflict and attacks
- Gunmen fire on a Saudi Arabian consulate car in Karachi, Pakistan, killing the driver. (AP via MSNBC), (Pakistan Express-Tribune)
- The Israeli Navy fires warning shots at a Malaysian ship travelling to the Gaza Strip, forcing it to return to Egypt. (AFP via Google)
- A Syrian activist claims that a mass grave has been found in the town of Deraa, the town at the centre of the 2011 Syrian uprising. (Al_Arabiya)
- NATO forces find a small boat loaded with explosives outside the Libyan port of Misrata, with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi believed to be responsible. (Reuters)
- Four members of the United States Army are killed by a bomb in southern Afghanistan. (AP via NPR), (AP via Anchorage Daily News)
- Irish republican dissidents have issued a bomb threat for London, the first coded warning outside Northern Ireland in 10 years, officials have said. (BBC)
Arts and culture
- The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican tells Roman Catholics to cooperate with police in investigating alleged cases of sexual abuse by clergy. (AP)
- The Fox TV network cancels America's Most Wanted after 23 years on the air and 1151 fugitives caught. (Fox40)[permanent dead link]
Business and economy
- The Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, closes down after 59 years of operation. (Yahoo)
- European Union finance ministers approve a 78 billion euro bailout package for Portugal (Bloomberg)
- The International Monetary Fund approves another US$2 billion loan to Ireland. (Reuters)
- Nasdaq OMX Group and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) withdraw their hostile bid for NYSE Euronext, apparently leaving a clear path for NYSE's friendly merger with Deutsche Boerse AG. (Reuters)
Disasters
- 2011 Mississippi River floods
- It is reported that the Waterford Nuclear Generating Station in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, USA, was restarted three days ago after a refueling shutdown on April 5, as the floodwaters are diverted to the Atchafalaya River. (Bloomberg), (MSNBC)
- The United States Coast Guard closes 15 miles of the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi. (Reuters)
- French investigators report that flight recorders recovered from the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 nearly two years after the crash are still readable. (AP)
- At least one person is killed and at least six injured following a building collapse in the US town of Morrilton, Arkansas. (Fox 16)
- A wildfire destroys one third of the Canadian town of Slave Lake, Alberta. (News 1130)
Law and crime
- The High Court of Kuala Lumpur rules that Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim has a case to answer on sodomy charges. (Malaysiakini), (BBC)
- International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn is ordered to be held without bail on sexual assault charges in New York City. (BBC), (Bloomberg)
- American mafia boss Vincent Basciano is convicted of murder in New York. (New York Daily News)
- Suzanne Mubarak, the former First Lady of Egypt, offers to hand over $3 million to prosecutors, claiming that this is all she has. (Al Arabiya)
Politics
- Ahmed Haroun, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, is re-elected governor of the state of South Kordofan in Sudan. (Al Jazeera)
- Rahm Emanuel is sworn in as the Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. (Chicago Tribune)
- Businessman Donald Trump announces he will not seek the Republican nomination for the 2012 United States presidential election. (Politico)
- Queen Silvia of Sweden orders an investigation into her father Walther Sommerlath's alleged ties with the German Nazi Party. (The Telegraph)
Science
- NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour successfully launches from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. state of Florida on its final mission. (Space.com), (AP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution)[permanent dead link]