WORLD AGENDA MAY 2014

May 2: Las Vegas: The long-awaited welterweight superfight between undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr, 38, and Filippino world champion Manny Pacquiao, 36, finally enters the ring. The highest grossing fight in boxing history has been five years in the planning.

May 2-3, Bahamas: Usain Bolt will be among 600 athletes competing in the IAAF's World Relay event, a qualifying competition for the 2016 Olympic Games. The holder of six Olympic gold medals, he is the reigning champion in 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay.

May 7, London: Neither prime minister David Cameron's Conservatives, nor Ed Miliband's Labour Party is expected to win a majority in the most unpredictable British election since the 1970s. A coalition with the Scottish National Party or the UK Independence Party is likely. 

May 11, Athens: Greece must repay the International Monetary Fund €1bn by early May or face exiting the euro. The European Commission is demanding a detailed reform package by this date.

May 11, New York: Picasso's Les femmes d'Alger (version "O") is expected to fetch more than $40m, an artwork auction world record, when it is sold at Christie's. The city's marquee sale also sees Van Gogh's L'allée des Alyscamps auctioned by Sotheby's on May 5.

May 13, Washington: U.S. President Barack Obama hosts leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries to discuss the deal reached with Iran on its nuclear programme, and the Gulf nations' military
campaign in Yemen.

May 18, Paris: Ballerina Aurélie Dupont's final Paris Opera performance, of L'Histoire de Manon, is beamed live to 350 cinemas across Europe. The 42-year-old dancer is stepping down after 32 years with the company, 17 as principal. 

May 24, Madrid: Regional and municipal elections take place in Spain, where corruption scandals tainting both the Popular Party and the Socialist Party are fuelling the rise of two new parties – Podemos on the far left and Ciudadanos on the centre-right.

May 24, Seoul: American activist Gloria Steinem and Nobel laureates Mairead Maguire and Leymah Gbowee are among a 30-strong group planning to walk across the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea to call for reunification.

May 29, Zurich: Sepp Blatter, Fifa president since 1998, is expected to be re-elected as head of soccer's world governing body. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, Michael van Praag, head of Dutch football, and Luis Figo, former Portugal international, stand against him.

May 31, Indian Ocean: A 23,000-square mile search of the seabed for the missing jet MH370, which disappeared last March carrying 239 passengers and crew, will be completed. An additional 23,000-mile year long search will be made if the plane is not found. 

May (undated), New York: Postmasters Gallery in Manhattan hopes to exhibit a 4ft, 100lb (1.2m, 45kg)sculpture of former National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. Unnamed artists planted the bust in Brooklyn's Fort Greene park on the night of April 6 but police removed it within hours.

May (undated), Tokyo: Japan's parliament debates a bill easing its pacifist constitution. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants the country's armed forces to be able to aid friendly countries under attack.

Late May (undated), Brussels: European Union commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos is expected to unveil a strategy to tackle the sea migration crisis following the death of more than 1,000 migrants in just two incidents in April. More than 22,000 have died trying to reach Europe since 2000.
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World Agenda iGraphic extras – May 2015

May 1, Los Angeles: Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron is expected to break box office records when it is released worldwide.
 
May 2, Pakistan: The fourth anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden after a 10-year hunt for the al-Qaeda leader.
 
May 7, London: A Passion for Birth, the autobiography of natural birth guru Sheila Kitzinger, is published posthumously. The crusader against the medicalisation of childbirth died on April 11, aged 86.
 
May 13, Cannes: Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard and Woody Allen compete for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
 
Mid May, Washington: Hillary Clinton holds a "kick off" event to launch her campaign for the presidency in 2016.
 
19 May, San Diego: Japan presents new evidence to the International Whaling Committee arguing its whale hunting activities are in the interests of science. The IWC rejected its case in April.
 
May 24, Paris: Spain's Rafael Nadal aims to take his 10th Roland Garros title at the French Open, but Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 and dominant so far in 2015, will do his best to claim the mantle of champion.
 
May 25, Johannesburg: Wage talks in the coal and gold sectors are due to begin after 421 workers at Anglo American's coal mine downed tools in April over recruitment changes and safety.
 
31 May, Rome: Regional elections are held in Italy with former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi free to campaign with Forza Italia after completing his sentence for tax fraud. The 78-year-old is banned from standing for public office.
 
May (undated), Brussels: The European Commission launches an investigation into e-commerce competition after Apple Inc. announced it is moving into music streaming.
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