Hard Numbers: Malaysia ups palm oil exports, al-Shabab strikes in Somalia, split verdict on marital rape in India, journalist killed in West Bank
162: Indian women’s rights groups are reeling after a New Delhi court failed to deliver a verdict in a case that could have overturned a 162-year-old law permitting marital rape. The Indian Penal Code says sex "by a man with his own wife" does not constitute rape. The case will likely be appealed before the Supreme Court.
40: After Indonesia recently banned palm oil exports amid surging global commodity prices, Malaysia has stepped up its deliveries to try to fill the void. It ramped up deliveries by 40% in the first 10 days of May compared with the same period in April. Still, it won't be able to meet the demand left by Indonesia, which accounts for 60% of global palm oil exports.
4: At least four people were killed in a terror attack near the airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab, a militant group that has wreaked havoc across the Horn of Africa in recent years, claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred as candidates were heading to the airport just days before the country’s presidential election.
25: Shireen Abu Akleh, a prominent Palestinian-American journalist who has worked for Al Jazeera for 25 years, was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. The network has blamed Israeli troops, but Israel’s PM Naftali Bennett said she was likely killed by Palestinian gunmen. Israel says it will investigate and hand over its findings to the Qatari government, which owns Al Jazeera.