May 17, 2016 (Tuesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- War in Iraq (2013–2017)
- 17 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
- At least 69 people are killed and 230 injured in a series of bomb attacks targeting Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, Iraq. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria claims responsibility for some of the attacks. (The New York Times) (Reuters) (Press TV)
- 17 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
Disasters and accidents
- Heavy rainfall leads to threats of flooding in Sri Lanka and southern India. (AccuWeather)
- 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
- A flare up of wildfires around Fort McMurray has caused the evacuation of 8,000 workers. (Reuters/AFP via ABC News Australia)
International relations
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Amid growing concern about North Korea's ballistic missile capability, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. are to hold their first ever joint anti-missile exercise next month, according to South Korea's Ministry of National Defense. The three countries will practice "detecting and tracing a hypothetical North Korean missile," said a ministry official. (CNN)
- Nepal–United Kingdom relations
- British national Martin Travers is detained in Nepal for allegedly taking part in protests against the Nepalese government. (AP via The Telegraph)
Politics and elections
- 2016 United States presidential election
- Voters in the American state of Oregon have their mail-in ballots counted for a Democratic Party and Republican Party primary. Donald Trump is the projected winner on the Republican winner while Bernie Sanders is projected to win the Democratic Party race. (ABC News America) (NBC News) (AP via Chicago Tribune)
- Voters in the American state of Kentucky go to the polls for a Democratic Party primary with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders winning an equal number of delegates and Clinton winning the popular vote narrowly. (AFP via Yahoo! 7) (Courier-Journal) (CNN)
- The U.S. Senate passes a legislation that would allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages from Saudi Arabia despite Saudi threats to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy. (LA Times) (Reuters) (The New York Times)