News Briefs

Haiti reverses nomination of interim prime minister. The majority of Haiti’s transition council who had nominated an interim prime minister earlier this week has walked back the decision, exposing the internal turmoil of the group charged with leading the Caribbean nation out of a prolonged crisis. On May 1, four of the council’s seven voting members issued a statement saying they will go back to an original agreement to choose a prime minister from a pool of applicants, after having tapped former youth and sports minister Fritz Belizaire for the job.

Denmark eases abortion restrictions. Denmark’s government says it is relaxing its restrictions on abortion for the first time in 50 years to make it legal for women to terminate pregnancies up to the 18th week from the previous 12th week. Officials said the law will also be changed to allow girls between 15 and 17 years old to have an abortion without parental consent. Marie Bjerre, the gender equality minister, said Denmark is strengthening women’s rights while they are being rolled back in other parts of the world. The change is expected to enter into force on June 1, 2025.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion in 2022 surfaced different values and cultural norms around the world. It also held implications for how societies think about gender equality and reproductive freedoms.

Hamas still at the table in peace talks. Hamas says it’s sending a delegation to Egypt as soon as possible to continue talks in the latest sign of progress in the fragile cease-fire process. The group’s supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh said May 2 he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and Hamas negotiators would travel to Cairo “to complete the ongoing discussions with the aim of working forward for an agreement.” But chances for the deal are entangled with the question of whether Israel can accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas. 

With Gaza talks being conducted in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, there is a sense of hope in the Middle East for what diplomats are calling a “last best chance” for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement.

Labour Party on the rise in the U.K. Britain’s governing Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in local election results May 3, further cementing expectations that the Labour Party will return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months. Labour won control of councils in England it hasn’t held for decades and was successful in a special by-election for Parliament. The results overall make for grim reading for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. If they are repeated in the general election, it would lead to one of the Conservatives’ biggest-ever defeats.

Turkey and Colombia sever ties with Israel. Turkey has announced that it is suspending all imports and exports to Israel over its ongoing military action in Gaza. A staunch critic of Israel, Ankara said May 2 the measures would remain in place until the Israeli government allows the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Colombia has also become the latest Latin American country to announce it will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its military campaign in Gaza. But the repercussions for the South American nation could be broader than for other countries because of longstanding bilateral agreements over security matters.

Biden calls for order on campuses. At least 200 people were arrested overnight at UCLA, bringing the nationwide total of arrests to more than 2,000 at dozens of college campuses. Demonstrations – and arrests – have occurred in almost every corner of the nation. At Dartmouth College around 90 people were arrested May 1, hours after an encampment had set up. The protests have drawn the most attention in recent days at the University of California, Los Angeles, where on May 2 officers in riot gear surged against a crowd of demonstrators. President Biden is insisting that “order must prevail” on campuses but opposes sending in the National Guard.

Conservatives have urged U.S. college leaders to crack down on antisemitism. Now a bipartisan bill in Congress amplifies that message, but also reveals the complexities of defining what antisemitism is.

Solomon Islands elects China-friendly prime minister. Solomon Islands lawmakers have elected former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as prime minister in a development that suggests the South Pacific island nation will maintain close ties with China. Mr. Manele used his first speech as leader to promise to govern with integrity and to put his nation’s interests first. Mr. Manele also urged against any post-election violence. The withdrawal of pro-Beijing former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare from the contest to make way for Mr. Manele as their party’s candidate indicates the country could follow a similar direction. 

Heavy rains cause road collapse in China. A section of a highway collapsed after heavy rains in a mountainous area in southern China, sending cars tumbling down a slope and leaving at least 48 people dead. China has massively expanded its infrastructure in recent years, adding more than 1 million highway bridges, the world’s largest network of high-speed trains, and scores of new airports. In the rush to build, flaws in design and construction methods have frequently come to light.

Harvey Weinstein will be retried. Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will be retried in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said on May 1, a week after the state’s highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction. Mr. Weinstein appeared in court more than four years after his conviction was hailed as a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics, and other fields of sexual misconduct. Mr. Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison. He remains in custody due to a Los Angeles conviction of another rape.

It took a vigorous movement called #MeToo to counter long-standing sexual misconduct and abuse in American life. While two high-profile convictions have been overturned, experts say progress continues.

Republicans sue Biden over gun rule. More than two dozen Republican state attorneys general sued the Biden administration on May 1 to stop a new rule that would require gun dealers to obtain licenses and conduct background checks when selling firearms at gun shows and online. The lawsuits challenge a rule finalized last month that U.S. Justice Department officials said is aimed at closing the “gun show loophole.” Under the rule, those selling weapons at gun shows, other venues, and over the internet are subject to the same requirements as gun stores to check the backgrounds of potential buyers.

Safety is essential to civilization. A shootout that left four officers dead in North Carolina is a blow to the police community itself, at a time of strain between some officers and politicians over gun laws.

Georgia’s “foreign agents bill” is a threat to EU membership. A senior European Union official warned the Georgian government on May 2 that its proposed legislation on “foreign agents” was unacceptable and would be an obstacle to the country’s hopes of joining the EU if adopted in its current form. The bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked a rolling political crisis in the South Caucasus country. 

Young Georgian demonstrators are hoping to block a Moscow-inspired law on “foreign agents,” which they worry will be used to stifle criticism of the government.

Arizona Senate votes to appeal abortion ban. The Arizona Senate voted on May 1 to repeal the state’s 1864 ban on abortion, which could otherwise have taken effect within weeks. The repeal was passed by the Senate in a 16-14 vote and is expected to be quickly signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, on May 2. Two Republican senators crossed party lines to vote in favor of repealing the ban. The Arizona House last week passed the measure after a handful of Republicans broke party ranks and voted with Democrats to send it to the Senate.

In Arizona and beyond, an abortion uproar has Republicans scrambling.

United Methodist church lifts anti-LGBTQ bans. United Methodist delegates have begun making historic policy changes on sexuality, voting without debate to reverse a series of anti-LGBTQ policies. The delegates voted to delete mandatory penalties for clergy conducting same-sex marriages. They also removed their denomination’s bans on considering LGBTQ candidates for ministry and on funding for gay-friendly ministries. The actions follow a historic schism in what was long the third-largest denomination in the United States. About one-quarter of U.S. congregations left between 2019 and 2023, mostly conservative churches dismayed that the denomination wasn’t enforcing its longstanding LGBTQ bans.

Marijuana poised for lesser classification in U.S. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The White House Office of Management and Budget will review the Justice Department proposal. It would recognize the medical use of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some other drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s signature throws the full weight of the Justice Department behind the move.

Ten years after individual states began legalizing marijuana, signs of a shift in perspective surface.

Federal judges block new Louisiana congressional map. A new Louisiana congressional map giving the state a second majority-Black House district has been rejected by a panel of federal judges. The 2-1 decision on April 30 fuels new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections. Challengers of the new map said it amounted to an unconstitutional gerrymander designed specifically with race in mind. However, another federal court has already ruled that an earlier map with only one mostly Black district likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act. The new ruling likely will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida abortion ban takes effect. Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy has gone into effect, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care. The May 1 ban affects not just women who want to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies. Voters may be able to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution after a separate state Supreme Court ruling allowed a proposed constitutional amendment to be on the November ballot.

Leaving abortion to states increases the stakes for the 2024 election – and roils Republicans over how to respond.

Antony Blinken meets with Israeli leaders in cease-fire push. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders on May 1 in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas to impress on them that “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war. He said that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to achieve a deal. A truce could avert an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering. 

With Gaza talks being conducted in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, there is a sense of hope in the Middle East for what diplomats are calling a “last best chance” for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement.

Hundreds of student protesters arrested in New York. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says about 300 people were arrested in police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and City College on May 1. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring other campuses to act. After scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators lasted several hours at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields slowly separated the groups and quelled the violence.

For protesters, the tactic of occupying buildings at Columbia University and beyond has historical echoes. But it also creates new risks for campuses and for the protesters themselves.