Portal:Current events/2017 May 6

May 6, 2017 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Pope Francis criticizes naming the U.S. military's biggest non-nuclear explosive as the Mother of All Bombs, saying that the word "mother" should not be used in reference to a deadly weapon. (Reuters)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- A United States Navy SEAL is killed, becoming the first U.S. service member killed in Somalia since 1993, and three others are injured in a gunfight with al-Shabaab militants, west of Mogadishu. (NBC News)
2017 Venezuelan protests
- A young man is shot dead in Valencia, Carabobo, amid ongoing protests against the government of Nicolás Maduro. Protesters tear down a statue of former President Hugo Chávez in Rosario de Perijá. (The Guardian)
Boko Haram insurgency, Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping
- Nigerian officials report, as a result of negotiations, Boko Haram has released an estimated 82 schoolgirls who were among about 220 kidnapped from a secondary school in Chibok in Borno State in April 2014. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016–17 South Pacific cyclone season
- Severe Tropical Cyclone Donna is upgraded to a Category Four, and continues to damage houses and infrastructure in the north of Vanuatu, particularly in Torba Province. (Radio New Zealand)
As many as 30 people, mostly children, are killed after a school bus plunges off a road into a steep ravine in the Arusha Region of northern Tanzania. (BBC)
At least 36 people are dead after two buses crash on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Nigeria. (Daily Post)

International relations

Pope Francis meets with Swiss President Doris Leuthard. During her discussions with the Pope and with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, the parties expressed a desire to strengthen Church-state collaboration. (Holy See Press Office)

Politics and elections

French presidential election, 2017
- Voting begins in territories and diplomatic missions west of Metropolitan France for the second round of the presidential election between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. (Bloomberg)
- France's electoral commission orders French media not to publish contents of Emmanuel Macron's leaked campaign emails to avoid influencing the presidential election, warning journalists could face criminal charges for publishing the material. (The Independent)
- Socialist Party National Assembly member Corinne Erhel dies after collapsing during a speech at a rally in support of Emmanuel Macron in Plouisy. (Sky News)
- The current French President François Hollande vows to respond to the Macron hack attack. (BBC)
Hamas, which is seeking to reconcile with rival Palestinian organizations, elects former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh its new leader, replacing term-limited Khaled Meshaal. Last week, Hamas dropped its longstanding call for Israel's destruction, and severed ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. (Reuters)

Sports

2017 Kentucky Derby
- Always Dreaming wins the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Looking at Lee finished second and Battle of Midway was third. (Los Angeles Times)
Canelo Álvarez vs. Julio César Chávez Jr.
- In boxing, Canelo Álvarez defeats fellow Mexican Julio César Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring Álvarez as the winner of all 12 rounds. (ESPN)