Global Briefs: India’s ruling Hindu party expands power

India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party has gained control of West Bengal state, previously an opposition stronghold, according to election results announced on May 4. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 207 of the 294 assembly seats in the eastern state of more than 100 million people, defeating Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress party that has ruled West Bengal since 2011. Banerjee refused to resign from her position as governor, accusing the BJP of “forcefully capturing” the election. The BJP, which also retained power in northeastern Assam state’s recent election, now controls 21 out of 28 states. Human rights groups raised concerns that India’s religious minorities will likely face increasing persecution under the BJP’s expanding rule. —Joyce Wu

Uganda

Despite 11th-hour revisions, Uganda’s parliament approved a controversial Protection of Sovereignty law May 5 that opponents fear the government will weaponize to suppress political dissent. The law’s proponents argue it exempts medical, academic, and faith-based organizations from its restrictions on foreign funding, but experts have denounced the new regulations, warning they replicate “foreign agent” laws used in Russia to suppress dissent. President Yoweri Museveni, 81, who has ruled Uganda for four decades, defended the bill. “Independence means the right to make our own mistakes if necessary and learn from them,” he said. The bill awaits presidential assent to become law, under which a conviction could land offenders in prison for up to 20 years. —Olalekan Raji

Ecuador

President Daniel Noboa announced a 25% reduction in tariffs against Colombian goods on May 4, down from a peak of 100% on May 1. The reduction marks the latest move in an ongoing trade war between the two countries. Ecuador first imposed a “security tax” of 30% on Jan. 21, citing Colombia’s “lack of reciprocity” in combating drug trafficking along the border. Colombian President Gustavo Petro also raised tariffs and accused Ecuador of bombing rural sectors of his country during counter-narcotic operations. Colombian exports to Ecuador have fallen by at least 60% as of May 5, eliminating more than 5,000 cross-border jobs over the past four months. In a May 8 ruling requested by both nations, the Andean Community trade bloc ordered both countries to lift all trade restrictions against one another. —Carlos Páez

Algeria

The family of French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes, 37, announced May 5 that he’s withdrawn his appeal to the country’s highest court, a move that aims for a potential pardon from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Gleizes is currently serving a seven-year sentence in Algeria. He was arrested in 2024 and convicted of violating Algeria’s anti-terrorism laws while reporting on the JS Kabylie football team at the height of diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria over the disputed Western Sahara region. Rights groups and the French media have widely criticized the conviction. His mother, Sylvie Godard, said, “He is placing his complete trust in President Tebboune’s clemency.” —Olalekan Raji

Poland

Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced May 6 plans to manufacture tanks domestically. Poland will also buy 116 tanks from South Korea. The Polish-built tanks would be completed in 2028. Kosiniak-Kamysz also plans to increase the army to 500,000 members by 2030. “Poland will have the strongest and largest army in Europe,” he declared. The Polish government has heavily invested in militarization since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk has expressed interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. Poland has the highest relative defense expenditure in NATO, with 4.7% of GDP in 2026. —Evangeline Schmitt

Australia

Four Australian women and nine children who traveled to Syria and Iraq in 2014 to support ISIS arrived back in Australia May 7 after a decade-long detention at Syria’s Al Roj camp. One woman said she looked forward to having coffee in downtown Melbourne, but upon landing, police immediately took them into custody. From 2012 to 2019, about 200 Australian men, women, and children joined the Sunni extremist terror group trying to establish a caliphate. It lost the last of its territory in 2019. In 2022, Australia repatriated four ISIS-related women and their 13 children. Two of the recently returned women have been charged with multiple crimes against humanity and slave trading. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years. —Amy Lewis