Portal:Current events/2014 May 25

May 25, 2014 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen:
- The Yemeni Military kills 5 al-Qaeda militants and arrests 4 in a raid north of Sana'a. (Reuters via Voice of America)
Syrian Civil War:
- Three bombs detonate in Homs, Syria, killing nine people and injuring another 20. (Xinhua via Global Post)
Three Spanish airmen are injured in a grenade attack in Djibouti. (AP via Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy flooding in Guangdong, China, leaves 15 people dead and 5 more missing. (PTI via Times of India)

International relations

Pope Francis invites the President of Israel Shimon Peres and the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas to pray with him at the Vatican for peace and the invitations are accepted. (AP via Washington Post)

Law and crime

Lebanese security forces arrest Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammad. (Reuters via Voice of America)

Politics and elections

Colombian presidential election, 2014:
- Voters in Colombia go to the polls for the first round in the presidential election. Opposition candidate Óscar Iván Zuluaga wins a plurality of votes and will face the incumbent Juan Manuel Santos in the second round. (Reuters)
Ukrainian presidential election, 2014:
- Voters in Ukraine go to the polls for the first round of voting in the presidential election amidst ongoing violence in the east of the country with exit polls indicating that businessman Petro Poroshenko is headed for victory. (Sydney Morning Herald) (Washington Post)
2014 European Parliament election:
- Voters in 21 member states of the European Union go to the polls on the final day of voting. Far right, hard left and Eurosceptic parties have performed strongly aided by a weak turnout. (BBC News) (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Belgian federal election, 2014 and Belgian regional elections, 2014:
- Voters go to the polls to elect the members of the federal and regional parliaments, simultaneously with the European election. The country faces protracted negotiations on forming a federal government as Flemish nationalist N-VA wins in Flanders while the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Di Rupo remains the largest in Wallonia.(The Conversation) (AP via the Republic)
Lithuanian presidential election, 2014:
- Voters in Lithuania go to the polls with incumbent Dalia Grybauskaitė winning re-election in the second round. (AP via Washington Post)
Greek local elections, 2014
- Greece votes in European and second-round local elections (Euronews)

Sports

In motorsport:
- Jimmie Johnson wins the 2014 Coca-Cola 600, ending the longest winless stretch to begin a NASCAR Sprint Cup season he has ever had, while Kurt Busch's attempt to be the second driver ever to complete both the 600 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same day is ended by an engine failure. (ESPN)
- Ryan Hunter-Reay wins the 2014 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first American to win the race since 2006. (Fox News)
In football:
- Japan wins the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup defeating Australia 1-0 in the final. (ABC News Australia)
- Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy breaks the career goal scoring record in US Major League Soccer. (USA Today)
In ice hockey, Russia defeats Finland 5-2 in the final of the 2014 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. (ESPN)