World News at a Glance

Landslide Vote by Irish to End Ban on Abortion

Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church. The surprising landslide, reflected in the results announced Saturday, cemented the nation’s liberal shift at a time when right-wing populism is on the rise in Europe and the Trump administration is imposing curbs on abortion rights in the United States. The “yes” camp took more than 66 percent of the vote, according to the official tally, and turnout was about 64 percent.

Leaders of Two Koreas Discuss Salvaging Summit

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, told his South Korean counterpart Saturday that he has a “fixed will” to meet President Donald Trump to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the North’s state news media reported Sunday. Kim met unexpectedly with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea on Saturday to discuss salvaging a canceled summit between Kim and Trump. "The two heads of state had a frank exchange of views on the implementation of the April 27 summit agreement and for the successful holding of the North Korea-United States summit,” said Yoon Young-chan, Moon’s spokesman.

U.S. Citizen Held in Venezuela Released, Trump Announces

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that an American who had been imprisoned in Venezuela for two years without a trial was on his way home to the United States and was to be reunited with his family at the White House Saturday. Trump made the announcement about Joshua Holt, the Utah man who has been in a Caracas jail since 2016, on Twitter, calling him a “hostage.” Holt, 26, had traveled to Venezuela in 2016 to marry a woman he met on the internet. But he was arrested shortly after and accused by the government in Venezuela of stockpiling weapons.

After Snubbing Taiwan, Burkina Faso Establishes Diplomatic Ties With China

Burkina Faso and China formally established diplomatic ties Saturday, days after the West African nation broke off relations with Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing has been trying to isolate on the global stage. Burkina Faso’s decision was the latest blow to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory. The island is left with 18 diplomatic allies — many of them poor nations in Central America and the Pacific. It was the second ally to break with Taiwan in less than a month, as China’s economic clout and geopolitical influence have made it difficult for countries to maintain alliances.

Woman Fatally Shot by Border Patrol Agent Came to U.S. Seeking Work, Family Says

The aunt of the woman shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent last week after crossing the border illegally near Laredo, Texas, has a message for the United States: “Don’t treat us like animals." The aunt, Dominga Vicente, spoke at a news conference Friday, the same day the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala identified her niece, Claudia Patricia Gómez González, 19, of San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala, as the victim of the shooting. Vicente said her niece had left Guatemala “out of necessity” to try to earn money in the United States.

New Doubts Arise Over 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature

First, the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in literature, was rocked by a sexual abuse and harassment scandal. This month, faced with accusations of financial wrongdoing and hints of a cover-up, the academy announced that it would postpone awarding the literature prize. Now, Lars Heikensten, director of the Nobel Foundation, said in a radio interview Saturday that there might not be a Nobel Prize in literature awarded in 2019, either. Heikensten said the prize “will be awarded when the Swedish Academy has won back the public’s trust — and that means there is no deadline for 2019.”