International Events in May 2001
May 1:
The U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, says the ABM Treaty is a relic of the Cold War but insists on building space weapons, in a landmark speech at the National Defence University in Washington.
May 3:
The United States loses its seat at the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
May 5:
The Zambian President, Mr. Frederic Chiluba dissolves his Cabinet.
May 6:
The Soyuz capsule carrying the world's first paying space tourist, Mr. Dennis Tito, successfully lands in the Kazak steppe, after undocking from the International Space Station.
Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the Omayyad mosque in Damascus, built on the site of a church in 705 A.D., which contains the tomb of Saint John the Baptist.
May 9:
About 130 people die in a stampede at a football stadium in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
May 11:
Miss Puerto Rico, Denise Quinones August, wins this year's Miss Universe crown.
May 13:
The Italian media tycoon, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi storms backs to power.
May 15:
Euro-MPs approve draconian anti-smoking laws.
May 17:
A plane carrying Iran's Transport Minister, Mr. Rahman Dadman, a Deputy Minister, and six MPs, crashes in Northern Iran killing all aboard.
May 20:
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan orders Hindus to wear yellow cloth to identify themselves and follow the Shariat or face prosecution.
Mr. Natsagiin Bagabandi, is reelected Mongolian President.
May 21:
The U.S. Government names Mr. William Burns as its special envoy to West Asia.
May 22:
The French National Assembly grants limited autonomy to the troubled island of Corsica racked by 25 years of nationalist violence.
May 23:
Eighty seven countries sign the Pact on Organic Pollutants (POPs), a global treaty banning 12 highly toxic chemicals, widely known as ``the dirty dozen'', in Stockholm.
May 25:
Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan approve the creation of a 1,700 strong joint rapid reaction force to fight Islamic militant groups in Central Asia.
May 29:
A U.S. court convicts four aides of Osama bin Laden of a plot to kill Americans around the world, including the bombing of two embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 which left 224 people dead and thousands injured.
May 31:
The Commonwealth of Independent States members, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan form Eurasian Economic Community, tipped to eventually supersede the CIS.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission probing grievances from the apartheid era, winds up after five years.