With the support of all of the political parties in Dublin's parliament (the Dail), a May 22 referendum on same-sex marriage could bring official state recognition for Ireland鈥檚 gay community and their relationships for the first time.
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Britain's May 7 elections revealed the deep divides emerging in British society and offered the promise of a constitutional crisis and social struggles to come. Most commentators had expected the result to be a hung parliament; polls had consistently shown the Conservative (Tory) and Labour parties to be neck and neck. In Scotland, the polls pointed to a wipe-out of the previously dominant Labour Party, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) poised to make sweeping gains on a platform of opposing austerity and Trident nuclear weapons.
The United States was criticised for its human rights standards on May 12 after the country's compliance with international human rights standards were assessed by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR).
The UN criticised the US for police violence, racial discrimination, torture, use of the death penalty, and Guantanamo Bay prison, among other issues.
Chile has been hit by another round of protests by student groups demanding substantial reforms to the country鈥檚 education system.
Two student activists were killed in Chile on May 14 amid nationwide protests. The two students were shot in the city of Valparaiso, near the Plaza Victoria, at the end of a huge rally. Local media said both students were gunned down by a Valparaiso store owner as they attempted to hang a banner over his shop.
A special May Day conference was convened on May 1 and 2 by the five trade unions affiliated to the Right2Water campaign, which is leading the huge struggle against water charges in Ireland.
The conference discussed a set of core principles that will underpin a 鈥淧latform for Renewal鈥, with the aim to unite left and progressive forces before the next general election.
Protest at Kentex factory, Valenzuela City, Metro Manila, May 15. Photo: Partido Lakas ng Masa/Facebook.
Revelations have continued emerging over safety and labour abuses at the Philippines factory where 72 people died in a fire on May 13.
Photo: TeleSUR/Rael Mora.
A three-day general strike against the Tia Maria mining project of transnational Southern Copper Corporation in the southern region of Arequipa in Peru was launched on May 12.
Mexican gov't blocks investigation over missing students
Demonstrators demanding justice in the case of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students. Photo: Clayton Conn/TeleSUR.
The lawyer representing the parents and relatives of 43 missing Ayotzinapa students criticised the Mexican government on May 14 for stopping a meeting between experts from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and army officials.
Demonstrators demanding justice in the case of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students. Photo: Clayton Conn/TeleSUR.
The lawyer representing the parents and relatives of 43 missing Ayotzinapa students criticised the Mexican government on May 14 for stopping a meeting between experts from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and army officials.
It is a point of honour for the Venezuelan government that despite the sharp plunge in oil prices and acute shortages of goods, President Nicolas Maduro has ruled out austerity measures.
In a recent TV interview with former vice president Jose Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan Central Bank president Nelson Merentes explained why, saying: 鈥淒o you remember what happened on February 27, 1989?鈥
鈥淕reece avoided another financial crisis by paying about 鈧500 million in wages to public sector workers, but suffered another downgrade of its credit rating,鈥 The Guardian on May 16.
The payment came with Greece's SYRIZA-led government, that is seeking to break with austerity, locked in difficult talks with its creditors. Greece is seeking to release 鈧7.2 billion in bailout funds to avoid a default and exit from the eurozone.
In the United States Senate, Republicans eventually reached a deal on May 13 with a group of Senate Democrats over a bill that Democrats had unanimously rejected a day earlier, that day. It grants special 鈥渇ast-track鈥 powers to President Barack Obama to negotiate key free trade agreements.
Two months after鈥 鈥19-year-old Black teenager Tony Robinson was fatally shot by Madison police officer Matt Kenny,鈥 鈥琖isconsin prosecutors announced on May鈥 鈥12鈥 鈥瑃hat Kenny would not face criminal charges over the shooting.鈥
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Madison in the immediate aftermath,鈥 on May鈥 鈥14,鈥 鈥瑆ith more protests鈥 鈥琾lanned.
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