May 7, 2012 (Monday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- At least 14 civilians are killed and at least 6 other civilians are wounded by a NATO air strike in Badghis Province. (Al Jazeera)
- The tomb of Muslim saint Sidi Mahmoud Ben Amar, part of the World Heritage Site in Timbuktu, Mali, is attacked and burned by Islamist fighters. (Al Jazeera)
Disasters
- The death toll from flash floods on the Seti River in Nepal reaches 17 with another 47 people missing and presumed dead. (AP via Mercury News)
Law and crime
- South Korea seizes thousands of smuggled capsules from Northeastern People's Republic of China filled with powdered human flesh. (IOL)(Al Jazeera)(The Telegraph)
- Clerics in Malaysia issue a fatwa against Muslims participating in "unproductive demonstrations". (Jakarta Post)
- The CIA announces it had foiled a plot by Fahd al-Quso, a Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaida, to have a suicide bomber, using an improved version of the underwear bomb used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in 2009, to blow up an American-bound airliner; no lives were ever at risk. (MSNBC)
Politics and elections
- Bahamian general election, 2012:
- Voters in The Bahamas go to the polls for a general election. (Bahamas Weekly)
- Former Prime Minister Perry Christie's Progressive Liberal Party wins in a landslide, with Christie expected to become the next Prime Minister on May 8. (Washington Post)
- Outgoing Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, whose Free National Movement party suffered heavy losses, concedes defeat in the election and announces his retirement from politics. (Nassau Guardian)
- USL Leader, Victor Ponta, becomes Prime Minister of Romania. (Yahoo)
- Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces his desire to hold the country's general election on 4 September, more than a year early. (BBC)
- Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a third six-year term as President of Russia. (BBC)
- Voters in Syria go to the polls for parliamentary elections as the death tolls from the uprising continues to increase. (Al-Arabiya)
Science
- Paeleoclimatology research published in Current Biology suggests that the greenhouse gas methane from dinosaur's flatulence may have warmed the Earth. (The Telegraph)(Wall Street Journal)
Sport
- Germany and the Republic of Ireland name their squads for UEFA Euro 2012. (Deutsche Welle) (Irish Examiner)
- Gaël Givet, troubled by a heart problem, suffers a further health scare during the live televised Premier League game between Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic, prompting treatment from physios and paramedics. (Sports)
- Former Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers are relegated to The Championship. (BBC)