The day

Sunday 18 May 2025

27 stories, biggest first.

1. 1

   Politics2025 Polish presidential election

   Incumbent mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski leads the first round of the Polish presidential elections with 31.4% of the vote, followed by Karol Nawrocki with 29.5%. As no candidates received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the two is scheduled for June 1.

2. 2

   News2025 Mogadishu military base bombing

   At least 21 people are killed, including the perpetrator, and 15 others are injured in a suicide bombing at the entrance of a military base in Mogadishu, Somalia.

3. 3

   NewsSyrian civil war

   Three police personnel are killed and two others are injured in a car bombing targeting a police station in Mayadin, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria.

4. 4

   NewsIsraeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

   At least 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza in the last day.

5. 5

   CulturePapal inauguration of Pope Leo XIV

   The papal inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV is held at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.

6. 6

   NewsRussian invasion of Ukraine

   Russia launches 273 drones at Ukraine, the largest such attack since the beginning of the war. The attack comes a day after a round of direct peace talks between the two countries, and a day before Donald Trump's scheduled call with Vladimir Putin.

7. 7

   Crime2025 Bielefeld stabbing attack

   Six people are injured, including the perpetrator and one critically, in a mass stabbing attack when a Syrian national stabs a group of football fans with a swordstick and knives outside of a bar in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

8. 8

   Politics2025 Romanian presidential election

   Nicușor Dan is elected President of Romania after winning 53.6% of the vote.

9. 9

   NewsInsurgency in Balochistan

   Four people are killed and twenty others are injured in a bombing near a market in Killa Abdullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Several shops collapsed, fires were started and buildings were damaged.

10. 10

    Politics2025 Romanian presidential election

    Romanians vote in the second round to choose their president between far-right George Simion and independent-declared centrist and incumbent Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan.

11. 11

    Politics2025 South Korean presidential election

    Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-wook joins the Democratic Party of Korea, three days after he declared support for Lee Jae-myung as the party's presidential candidate and ten days after leaving the conservative party.

12. 12

    News

    Six people are killed and eleven others are injured in a mining accident at a gold mine in Mwakitolyo Village, Shinyanga Urban District, Tanzania.

13. 13

    News

    Three people are killed, including a 5-year-old, and two others are injured, including an infant, when a train strikes five civilians near a bridge in Fremont, Ohio, United States.

14. 14

    News2025 Gulzar Houz fire

    Seventeen people are killed and several others are injured in a building fire in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

15. 15

    Sport2024–25 CEV Champions League

    In men's volleyball, Umbria Volley Perugia beats Warta Zawiercie 3–2 to win the CEV Champions League.

16. 16

    CrimeCapital punishment in Iran

    A court in Shiraz, Iran, sentences three people to death over two attacks on a Shiite shrine in 2022 and 2023 in Shiraz and several to others to different prison terms.

17. 17

    Politics

    The party of Argentina's president, Javier Milei, La Libertad Avanza, wins the Buenos Aires legislative election, with presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni securing the victory.

18. 18

    Politics2025 Portuguese legislative election

    Citizens in Portugal vote to elect 230 seats of the Assembly of the Republic.

19. 19

    Politics2025 South Korean presidential election

    Liberal Unification Party presidential candidate Koo Joo-wa resigns from his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election on June 3.

20. 20

    Crime

    Kenyan politician Martha Karua, who legally represents incarcerated Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, is arrested at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and set for deportation.

21. 21

    Crime

    Three people are injured, including an 11-year-old, in a mass stabbing attack outside of a house after an altercation in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

22. 22

    Sport2024–25 Eredivisie

    In association football, PSV Eindhoven wins their 26th total and second consecutive Eredivisie title in the last round after defeating Sparta Rotterdam 3–1.

23. 23

    Sport2024–25 Premier League

    Everton F.C. play their final game at Goodison Park in Walton, Liverpool, England, the club's home ground for the last 133 years. They will transition to Everton Stadium in Vauxhall starting the 2025–26 season.

24. 24

    Sport2024–25 Ligue 1 Mauritania

    In association football, FC Nouadhibou win a record 13th Super D1 title.

25. 25

    Sport2024–25 Süper Lig

    In association football, Galatasaray win a record 25th Süper Lig title after defeating Kayserispor 3–0.

26. 26

    Sport2024–25 Women's FA Cup

    In women's association football, Chelsea complete a domestic treble after beating Man United 3–0 in the Women's FA Cup final.

27. 27

    Sport2025 Indianapolis 500

    In motorsports, Robert Shwartzman of Prema Racing wins pole position for the Indianapolis 500, the first rookie to do so since 1983.

Stories adapted from Wikipedia’s Current events portal for 18 May 2025, by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.