Kazakhstan Around 1,000 people stage a rare public protest in the Kazakh city of Atyrau, rallying against the government's decision to sell land in auctions amid a heavy police presence, though they did not forcibly disperse the rally.
2015–16 protests in Moldova Protests continue in Moldova as thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrate in the capital Chișinău despite concessions given to the protesters last month by the government.
Serbian parliamentary election, 2016 Serbians elect a new parliament under the backdrop of its accession to the European Union. Preliminary results indicate the incumbent, pro-EU populists sweeping the election.
Equatorial Guinean presidential election, 2016 Equatorial Guinean voters go to the polls with incumbent Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo expected to win as the opposition boycotts the election.
Austrian presidential election, 2016 Austrians vote in the first round of electing the next president. Preliminary estimates indicate FPÖ's Norbert Hofer won the first round with 36 percent of the vote. Greens' Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Green Party, garnered 20%, and another independent, Irmgard Griss, took 18.5 percent. President Heinz Fischer was not eligible to be re-elected. Candidates representing the two leading parties, that have ruled for the past 70 years, were eliminated. Hofer and Van der Bellen will compete in the runoff election on May 22, 2016.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict Following an appeal, 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi is freed from an Israeli prison. She is believed to be the youngest female Palestinian ever imprisoned. Israeli civil law, which does not allow anyone under 14 to go to jail, did not affect her imprisonment. Palestinian residents in the occupied territories are subject to military law that can sentence suspects as young as 12 to prison.
Ebru Umar Ebru Umar, a Dutch journalist of Turkish descent, is arrested in Kuşadası, Turkey, for tweets deemed critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This comes as a political storm erupted this week over reports that the Turkish consulate asked Turkish organizations in the Netherlands to forward emails and social media posts which insult Erdoğan or Turkey.
North Korea–United States relations President Barack Obama says the United States isn't taking North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong's proposal to halt nuclear activity seriously. Pyongyang would "have to do better than that," he added.
Syrian civil war U.S. officials report President Obama will announce plans to send as many as 250 more U.S. troops to Syria to help fight ISIL militants. The troops are likely to include special operations forces and medical or intelligence support personnel, an official added. The decision is scheduled to be announced around noon tomorrow in Hanover, Germany, during the President's farewell tour of Europe.
U.S. President Barack Obama rules out deploying U.S. ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country's problems. He also said he did not think that ISIL would be defeated in his last nine months of office.
North Korea–South Korea relations North Korea reportedly deploys 300 new multiple launch rocket systems along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Syrian civil war Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit a poor neighborhood and a mosque in the Turkish city of Kilis, killing one person and injuring 26 others. Turkish security forces responded by returning fire into Syria.
Yemeni civil war Yemeni and United Arab Emirates troops capture the seaport of Mukalla from al Qaeda. The Saudi Arabia led coalition claims to have killed more than 800 militants.
Saudi-led air strikes kill at least ten al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in southern Yemen.