Portal:Current events/2015 May 27

Current events of May 27, 2015 (2015-05-27) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
  • Islamic State militants have carried out multiple suicide bombings targeting the Iraqi Army in Anbar Province killing at least 17 people. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 12 people, associated with the Kangleyuan Rest Home in the Chinese city of Pingdingshan in Henan province which was destroyed by fire with the loss of 38 lives, are detained for questioning. (AP)
• A sixth person is found to have died in this week's floods in Harris County, Texas, which contains the city of Houston. (Houston Chronicle)
• 2015 Indian heat wave
  • The death toll in the two worst affected states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana passes 800. (Times of India)

International relations

• Representatives from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet in Seoul on how to respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons program. (AP)
• Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair resigns as the peace envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. (ABC News)

Law and crime

• FIFA corruption scandal
  • Six FIFA officials are detained in Switzerland for extradition to the United States in relation to allegations of corruption between the 1990s and now. Those arrested include Jeffrey Webb, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo and Jose Maria Marin. (AP), (BBC), (Washington Post)
  • Swiss federal prosecutors open criminal procedures in relation to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. (AP)
  • FIFA suspends eleven people from involvement in football over the scandal. (AP)
• The Legislature of the US state of Nebraska votes to outlaw the death penalty, overriding a veto by Governor Pete Ricketts. (Lincoln Journal Star)
• The parliament of Greenland unanimously votes to legalize same-sex marriage by 1 October, 2015. (The Local)

Politics

• The newly-elected British House of Commons commences its session with the State Opening of Parliament ceremony in which the Queen's Speech is delivered. (BBC)
• The Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt calls an election for June 18. (Reuters via Straits Times)
• Rick Santorum announces he will be seeking the nomination of the Republican Party in the United States presidential election, 2016. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

• Elon Musk's SpaceX wins U.S. Air Force approval to launch military satellites. (AFP via News24)

Sport

• 2014–15 UEFA Europa League
  • In association football, Sevilla FC of Spain becomes the first club to win the UEFA Europa League four times defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk of Ukraine 3-2 with Colombian striker Carlos Bacca scoring twice in the final. (CNN)
  • Matheus Leite Nascimento collapses on the field of play during the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final in Warsaw. (SM)
• 2015 NBA Finals
  • In basketball, the Golden State Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets 104-90 to win the Western Conference 4-1 and go to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975. (Bleacher Report)