News in brief
By The Associated Press
King Charles III will resume public duties next week
LONDON | Buckingham Palace says King Charles III will resume his public duties next week following treatment for cancer. Friday’s announcement comes almost three months after Charles took a break from public appearances to focus on his treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.
The palace says Charles will make a public visit to a cancer treatment center on Tuesday, the first of several appearances he will make in coming weeks.
One of his first major engagements will be hosting a state visit by the emperor and empress of Japan, who will visit the U.K. in June.
The palace didn’t provide an update on the king’s health or his treatment.
Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes
WASHINGTON | President Joe Biden’s administration is again delaying a sweeping plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Anti-smoking advocates are upset about the delay, but the decision could avoid angering Black voters ahead of November elections.
Biden’s top health official said Friday the administration would take more time to consider feedback on the ban, including from civil rights leaders.
The announcement is another setback for the health officials at the Food and Drug Administration. They drafted the ban and predicted it would prevent hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths. But White House officials have delayed finalizing the ban several times.
Passage of harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law in Iraq draws diplomatic backlash
BAGHDAD | Human rights groups and diplomat have criticized a law that was quietly passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people.
Although homosexuality is taboo in the largely conservative Iraqi society and political leaders have periodically launched anti-LGBTQ campaigns, Iraq did not previously have a law that explicitly criminalized it.
The law passed Saturday with little notice as an amendment to the country’s existing anti-prostitution law, imposes a sentence of 10 to 15 years for same-sex relations and a prison term of one to three years for people who undergo or perform gender-transition surgeries and for “intentional practice of effeminacy.”
—From AP reports
