World News at a Glance

Bahrain Activist Gets 5-Year Sentence for ‘Insulting’ Tweets

A court in Bahrain sentenced a prominent democracy advocate Wednesday to five years in prison for tweets about abuses in prisons and the Saudi-led war in Yemen, continuing the crackdown that crushed the Arab Spring uprising there seven years ago. The sentencing of the advocate, Nabeel Rajab, is the latest step in a long crackdown on dissent in Bahrain, a tiny island kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The repression has presented Washington with one of the most awkward conflicts between its professions of support for human rights and its military commitments in the Persian Gulf.

Venezuela Opposition Will Boycott Election, and Maduro Tightens His Hold

Venezuela’s alliance of opposition parties declared on Wednesday that it would boycott the coming presidential election, saying the electoral system was rigged in favor of President Nicolás Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela. The decision effectively cleared a path for Maduro’s re-election to another six-year term and threw the future of the nation’s political opposition further into doubt. The coalition’s announcement emerged from weeks of debate following the decision in January by the Constituent Assembly to put the election on an accelerated timeline. The date was cemented this month by the country’s electoral commission.

Top Aide to Netanyahu Turns State Witness as Graft Cases Multiply

One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest and longest-serving aides appeared ready to incriminate him Wednesday after agreeing overnight to become a government witness, the latest twist in a spiraling graft scandal that seemed to dim Netanyahu’s legal and political chances of survival. The fast-moving police inquiry into whether Netanyahu, already battling separate bribery allegations, had provided official favors to Israel’s largest telecommunications company, Bezeq, in exchange for fawning coverage on the company’s online news site prompted one member of the prime minister’s party to ask him to step aside and opposition politicians to call for early elections.

Spanish Artwork Denounced Political ‘Persecution.’ It Was Removed.

Whether by law or intimidation, Spain has become a country where the risks of free expression have quietly mounted in recent years. On Wednesday, the chill entered the realm of contemporary art, when Madrid’s main exhibition center ordered that a work labeling Catalonia’s separatist leaders as political prisoners be removed from an international arts fair. The center is controlled by the regional and local governments, though it remains unclear who decided to order the removal of the work. Other artists have landed in legal trouble for works seen as insulting Spain’s political and royal establishment, or deemed to glorify violence.

Outrage as 2nd Bus Plunges Off Cliff in Peru, Killing Dozens

At least 44 people died and 20 others were injured in southern Peru on Wednesday when a passenger bus fell off a cliff on the nation’s most important highway — the second such bus accident this year on the notoriously dangerous road. The two accidents prompted outrage that the authorities are not doing enough to prevent such episodes. In January, 51 people died when a bus plunged off a cliff along a foggy stretch of road so infamous it is known as the “devil’s curve.” Despite its importance, most of the Pan-American Highway is narrow.

Ireland Tells State-Run Schools: Stop Steering Pupils to Religion Class

Ireland’s state-run secondary schools can no longer assume that their students will receive religious instruction, the government has said, directing the schools to offer alternative classes — a striking move in a country where education has long been dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. Irish law already states that government-run schools cannot require students to take religion classes. But that law has had limited effect, as schools have routinely enrolled all students in the courses unless their parents opted out. This week, the Department of Education directed state-run secondary schools to end the opt-out requirement.

A Reset, of Sorts, for the United States and Australia

President Donald Trump’s infamous first phone call with Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was classic Trump: demanding, transactional and eager to reject established agreements. But when the two leaders meet in Washington on Friday, that call will be treated as dead and gone. Officials and experts argue that Trump and Turnbull have become closer over the past year — especially as the United States seeks to play a larger role in the region. "Strategically, we’re very aligned,” said Amy Searight, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.