May 2, 2018 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Basque conflict
- Basque separatist group ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), which waged an insurgency against Spain between 1959 and 2011, announces its complete dissolution. (The Guardian)
- 2018 Gaza border protests
- A fire started by an incendiary device attached to a kite by Palestinian protestors and flown into Israel burns for six hours. It is the largest fire so far after a string of firebombing attacks. (The Times of Israel)
- A random shooting in al-Tarmia District, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq, kills at least eight people and wounds at least fourteen. The gunmen responsible remain at large and unidentified. (Iraqi News)
- The UK Royal Air Force admits killing a civilian with a drone strike in Syria, the first time the force has accepted responsibility for civilian deaths in the country since starting operations there four years ago. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- Multiannual Financial Framework
- The European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther Oettinger formally unveils proposed budget rules for the European Union to run from 2021 to 2027. (Politico)
- Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
- Cambridge Analytica announces that it is closing down as a result of the scandal. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Searches led by Ocean Infinity move to a new section of the Indian Ocean after the initial search area was cleared without success. If the missing aircraft, which was carrying over 200 people, is not found by mid-June the search will be called off. (The South China Morning Post)
- A Puerto Rico Air National Guard C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes during a training flight near Savannah, Georgia, United States, killing all five crew members and four passengers. (Reuters) (BBC)
- Firefighters say 44 people are missing after the collapse of the Edifício Wilton Paes de Almeida tower block in São Paulo, Brazil, yesterday. One missing man was within seconds of rescue when the building came down during a fire. (The Japan Times)
International relations
- North Korea–United States relations
- North Korea has released the three remaining American detainees ahead of the upcoming summit meeting with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. The news came after National Security Adviser John R. Bolton stated that they should be released as a way for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity in talks. (Business Insider)
Law and crime
- Mueller special counsel investigation
- Robert Mueller suggests that he could order a subpoena in order to get U.S. President Donald Trump to testify to the investigation. (BBC)
- A Texan teenager inspired by ISIL is arrested after threatening a mass shooting at a mall. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Abortion in the United States
- Iowa's House of Representatives approves a bill restricting abortions in the state. If approved by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will be banned. (BBC)
Science and technology
- Discoveries of exoplanets
- Helium has been detected for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet by scientists observing WASP-107b. (News Atlas)
- NASA announces it has completed its first full-power test of the Kilopower nuclear reactor for space. NASA intends to use the technology to power exploration missions to the Moon and Mars. (The Independent)