1st » The London Agreement (2000) called London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, enters into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention.
2nd » Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
2nd » Chaitén (volcano) named Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
10th » An Enhanced Fujita Scale named EF4 tornado strikes the Oklahoma–Kansas state line, killing 21 people and injuring over 100.
12th » An 2008 Wenchuan earthquake or earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
12th » U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the Postville Raid e.g largest-ever raid of a workplace in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 Immigration to the United States named immigrants for identity theft and document fraud.
13th » The Jaipur bombings in Rajasthan, India results in dozens of deaths.
22nd » The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an Enhanced Fujita scale EF4 and an Enhanced Fujita scale EF5 tornado, between May 22 and May 31, 2008. The tornadoes strike 19 U.S. state states and one Canadian province.
23rd » The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca, Singapore called Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year Pedra Branca dispute named territorial dispute between the two countries.
26th » 2008 South China floods or Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
28th » The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
29th » A 2008 Iceland earthquake known as strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss (town) called Selfoss, injuring 30 people.
Famous Deaths for May 2008
1st » Anthony Mamo, Maltese politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
1st » Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American madam (b. 1956)
1st » Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
2nd » Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
2nd » Izold Pustõlnik, Estonian astronomer (b. 1938)
3rd » Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Spanish politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1926)
4th » Kishan Maharaj, Indian tabla player (b. 1923)