Haiti swore in an internationally backed transitional government on Thursday, in a secret ceremony amid the threat of violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The announcement came as the former prime minister, Ariel Henry, released a statement saying he was resigning after being unable to return to the country because gangs had taken control of the capital city. Michel Patrick Boisvert, the interim prime minister, said the island nation was at a 'crossroads' and was facing a 'multidimensional political crisis' New Haiti government sworn in during secret ceremony Top UN expert warns of det ..read more

‘Transitional council’ takes oath of office after prime minister formally resigns as gang violence continues to rock capital Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally resigned and a new provisional government has been sworn in during a secret ceremony at the presidential palace, nearly two months after a criminal insurrection plunged the capital into chaos. The nine-person “transitional council” was officially established on Thursday during an event at the national palace in Port-au-Prince. As its members took their oaths, Henry, who is in the US having been locked out of Haiti by the ..read more

Government U-turn as PM Mia Mottley acknowledges anger from reparations movement over plan to buy Barbados land from Dorset MP Richard Drax The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has halted plans for a multi-million-pound payout to the British Conservative MP Richard Drax for the purchase of 53 acres of the Drax Hall plantation, which he owns. As revealed in the Observer last Sunday, the payout plan had angered those involved in the Caribbean reparations movement, who said Drax, the MP for South Dorset, should hand over all or part of the 617-acre plantation to the people of Barbados ..read more

Petition filed on behalf of woman known as as Fausia, who underwent a forced pregnancy after being raped Honduras is being taken to a global human rights body for the first time over its total abortion ban, which campaigners say violates women’s fundamental rights and the country’s international commitments. The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Honduras-based Centro de Derechos de la Mujer (Center for Women’s Rights, CDM) filed a petition with the UN human rights committee this month on behalf of a woman known as Fausia, who underwent a forced pregnancy after being raped and denied an ab ..read more

Researchers in Canada studying interventions to stem decline of mountain caribou have found wolf culls most effective Canada’s imperilled mountain caribou are staging an unlikely comeback, reversing years of decline that pushed populations to the brink. But researchers warn that any sustained recovery comes with a catch: in order to save these ungulates, thousands of wolves will need to be killed in the coming years, highlighting the unenviable task wildlife managers have attempting to manage complex ecosystems. For decades, mountain caribou – an ecotype of woodland caribou that once ranged fr ..read more

As diplomats search for a way to curb the world’s growing problem of plastic, bottles, buoys, nets and packaging are piling up on what should be one of the most pristine environments As our small fishing boat slows to a halt in a shallow bay south-east of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, in the Galápagos Islands, a green turtle surfaces next to us, followed by a second, then a third a few metres away. A spotted eagle ray glides underneath the vessel. The skipper, Don Nelson, steps on to the black volcanic reef, slippery with algae. We follow, past exposed mangrove roots and up on to higher ground. Pe ..read more

Celebrity fashion designer, who recruited couriers to transport bags from her native Colombia to US on commercial flights, receives 18-month sentence A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the Sex and the City TV series has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia. Nancy Gonzalez was arrested in 2022 in Cali, Colombia, and later extradited to the US for running a sprawling multiyear conspiracy that involved recruiting co ..read more

Historic hearing will receive submissions from people whose human rights have been affected by climate change Julian Medina comes from a long line of fishers in the north of Colombia’s Gulf of Morrosquillo who use small-scale and often traditional methods to catch species such as mackerel, tuna and cojinúa. Medina went into business as a young man but was drawn back to his roots, and ended up leading a fishing organisation. For years he has campaigned against the encroachment of fossil fuel companies, pollution and overfishing, which are destroying the gulf’s delicate ecosystem and people’s li ..read more

Though touted as a model of environmental preservation, the country has recently signalled a shift from phasing out fossil fuels to boosting the economy. Can Franz Tattenbach keep Cost Rica’s ecological legacy intact? “This country is what the world would like to be but is not,” says Franz Tattenbach, Costa Rica’s minister of environment and energy. The 69-year-old economist is keenly aware of his role as guardian of the country’s reputation for forward-looking biodiversity initiatives and forest restoration. Since the 1970s, successive governments have sought to do justice to its wildlife, en ..read more

Anticyclonic conditions have allowed temperatures to reach 35-45C across much of the country Mexico has been undergoing its first heatwave of the season. The heatwave started on Sunday 14 April, when Mexico City saw a new date record with a high of 32.9C, surpassing the previous record of 32C from 1998. Anticyclonic conditions over the region have been responsible for this heatwave by inhibiting cloud formation, allowing temperatures to rise significantly. These conditions persisted through much of last week, allowing temperatures to reach 35-45C across much of the country ..read more