Portal:Current events/2012 May 19

• A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing 9 people. (Al Jazeera)
• A bomb, made of three gas cylinders, explodes in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing a 16-year-old female student. (BBC) (La Repubblica)
• A suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in the eastern Afghan province of Khost kills 10 people, including a number of police officers. (BBC)
• Sri Lanka marks the third anniversary of the end of its 26-year civil war with a large military parade in Colombo. (BBC)

• Ethologist, evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins announces his support for British education secretary Michael Gove's plan to send free King James Bibles to every state school. (The Guardian)

• At least 20 people are killed in an explosion in a road tunnel being constructed in central China. (BBC)
• At least two people are killed and 17 others are injured when a rally car plows through a crowd of spectators in the Var region of southern France. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

• Three protesters are arrested in a police raid ahead of this weekend's 60-nation NATO summit in the U.S. city of Chicago. (Al Jazeera)
• Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and his wife and children arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, after boarding a flight from Beijing. (CNN)

• Retired American psychiatrist Robert Spitzer apologises for his "fatally flawed" study, published in 2001, which falsely lent credence to the myth that gay people could be "cured". (The Guardian)

• Association football:
  • The final of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League occurs in Munich, with Chelsea defeating Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot out after extra time, winning the competition for the first time in the club's history. (The Guardian) (BBC) (Al Jazeera) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  • Hearts win the Scottish cup Final against city rivals Hibernian F.C. 5-1. The match was dubbed The Greatest Game in History between the two sides.
  • West Ham return to the Premier League by defeating Blackpool in the 2012 Football League Championship play-off Final. (BBC)
• Leinster defeat Ulster in the 2012 Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham, their third Heineken Cup win in four seasons. (RTÉ) (Setanta Sports)
• In horse racing, I'll Have Another wins the 2012 Preakness Stakes giving him the chance to become the first horse to win the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing since Affirmed in 1978. (AP via Yahoo Sports)