World Briefs

CHINA A nationalist newspaper says American politicians are resorting to petty actions following a unanimous bill approval by the Senate to rename the plaza in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington after an imprisoned Chinese political dissident. More on p11

BRAZIL The Zika outbreak and its suspected link to microcephaly set off calls for Brazil to loosen its near-ban on abortion, and that has brought a backlash, particularly among families with disabled children, who are taking to social media to say all babies have a right to be born.
Haitian lawmakers yesterday chose the country’s Senate chief to lead a caretaker government that will fill the void left by last week’s departure of former President Michel Martelly and perhaps ease lingering tensions that recently pushed the deeply polarized nation into political crisis.

SWEDEN Five British men, reportedly including members of British indie band Viola Beach, were killed when their car drove through a barrier and plunged into a canal near Stockholm. The accident on Saturday afternoon occurred when the men’s hire car crashed through a barrier that was closed to stop vehicles as a drawbridge was opening up ahead. The victims were British and aged between 20 and 35, he said.

US  Antonin Scalia, the influential conservative and most provocative member of the U.S. Supreme Court, has died, leaving the high court without its conservative majority and setting up an ideological confrontation over his successor.

PORTUGAL It’s been quite the wild ride for investors in Portuguese government bonds in 2016 and, with history seeming to repeat itself, there’s no end in sight. Portugal’s 10-year bond yields moved in a range of 143 basis points last week amid concern that lawmakers’ plans to speed up the reversal of state salary cuts and increase indirect taxes will hit its reform program.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC went ahead with a presidential runoff vote yesterday that many hope will solidify a tentative peace after more than two years of sectarian fighting left untold thousands dead and forced nearly half a million people to flee to neighboring countries.