Historical timeline for May 18

A shooting carried out by two gunmen at the Islamic Center of San Diego results in the deaths of five people, including the perpetrators.

United States presidential election: Joe Biden launches his presidential campaign.

Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 crashes in Santiago de las Vegas after takeoff from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, killing 112 of the 113 people on board.

A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills ten people.

At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.

The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.

The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.

A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.

Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators.

Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland.

In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).

Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.

Rioting spreads to Miami's mostly African-American neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City following the previous day's courthouse protests.

Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.

Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.

Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.

Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker's bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.

During approach to Kharkiv International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 1491 crashes near Ruska Lozova, killing all 112 aboard.

Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.