WORLD AGENDA May 2016

Early May, Brasilia: The Brazilian Senate is expected to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and put her on trial after the lower house voted for her impeachment in April. She is accused of manipulating government
accounts to secure election in 2014

May 26-27, Ise-Shima: Barack Obama may become the first sitting U.S. President to visit Hiroshima when he attends the annual G7 summit, being held in Japan. The city was obliterated by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945

May 9, Manila: The Philippines elects its 16th president with the incumbent, Benigno Aquino III, constitutionally barred from standing. A general election will be held at the same time

May 26, Tokyo: A tiny robot that is also a smartphone, and can recognise your face, read your messages aloud and wake you up, is launched by Sharp. The 20cm-tall RoBoHoN costs $1,800, plus a service fee

May 12, London: David Cameron hosts an international anti-corruption summit after the leaked Panama Papers revealed Britain at the heart of tax avoidance by the
super-rich

May 10, Los Angeles: The copyright of Led Zeppelin’s
song Stairway to Heaven, regarded as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time, is questioned
in court. A jury decides whether the song is too similar to an instrumental by the band Spirit

May 9, Space: People across most of the globe will have the opportunity to witness the transit of the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet in our Solar System, Mercury, across the Sun

May 11-22, France: Woody Allen’s Café Society, starring Kristen Stewart, dubbed by organisers the Queen of Cannes, opens the city’s 69th Film Festival. Stewart will also be vying for the Palme d’Or in director Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper

Source: Kate Edgley

Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images, NASA