Portal:Current events/2008 May 21

May 21, 2008 (Wednesday)

SN 2008D is the first supernova to be observed while it is exploding. (NASA)
Manchester United F.C. wins the UEFA Champions League 2007-08 defeating Chelsea F.C. in the final after a penalty shootout. (Press Association via Google News)^{[permanent dead link]}
The President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki calls in the South African National Defense Force to end the 2008 South Africa riots. (AFP)^{[permanent dead link]}
The North West Frontier Province of Pakistan signs a peace deal with Taliban militants where troops are withdrawn from the Swat valley and Sharia law introduced in exchange for a halt to suicide bombings and an attack on government buildings. (The Guardian)
Crude oil prices rise above $130 a barrel for the first time.
Middle East
- Israel and Syria reveal indirect peace negotiations in Turkey in hopes of direct talks leading to a border agreement. (Reuters via The Washington Post)
- The anti-Syrian government and the pro-Syrian opposition in Lebanon agree on a deal which includes the election of Michel Suleiman as President of Lebanon, outlawing the use of weapons in intra-Lebanese disputes, the formation of a unity government in which the opposition will gain more than a third of ministers (giving it a veto) and a new electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary elections. (BBC News) (Bloomberg)
Georgian voters go to the polls for the Georgian legislative election, 2008. (Reuters via The International Herald Tribune)