The UAE's withdrawal from OPEC won't necessarily have any immediate effects in markets. That's because world oil supplies are sharply constrained by the war in Iran, which has closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil supplies - including much of the UAE's - is transported. On Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, traded above $111 a barrel, or more than 50% above its prewar price.

OPEC accounts for roughly 40% of the world's oil output, but its market power had been waning in recent years as the United States ramped up production. While Saudi Arabia had been producing more than 10 million barrels of oil a day before the war, the US pumps more than 13 million barrels a day. The UAE, which joined OPEC through its emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1967, had been producing around 3.4 million barrels of crude a day just before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28.

Myanmar's military-backed government shortened the prison sentence of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday (Apr. 30), a move that came as part of a prisoner pardon tied to a Buddhist religious holiday, according to legal officials and reports in state media. The amnesty is the second in two weeks, following an earlier one on April 17 when more than 4,500 prisoners were granted amnesty. It was not immediately clear how many people imprisoned for opposing military rule in Myanmar were included in Thursday's amnesty.

Two legal officials, who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities, said Thursday's measure would further reduce Suu Kyi's sentence by one-sixth, but did not specify the exact remaining term. Based on previous reductions, the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is expected to have more than 13 years left to serve. State media said amnesty was granted to 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners.

A South Korean appeals court sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for resisting arrest and bypassing a legitimate Cabinet meeting before his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The conviction for obstruction of justice and other charges comes on top of a life sentence he has already received on rebellion charges stemming from his baffling authoritarian push, which triggered the most serious crisis for the country's democracy in decades.

Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said the conservative former president sidestepped a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal the lapse, and deployed security officials "like a private army" to resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him in the weeks following his impeachment. Former President Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was delivered and made no comment. One of Yoon's lawyers called the verdict "very disappointing" and said the legal team would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Brazil's Senate dealt a political blow to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by rejecting his nomination to the Supreme Court, the first in more than 130 years and a sign that the veteran leader is not popular among many important lawmakers as he seeks reelection. Only 34 senators voted in favor of Jorge Messias, who has been Brazil's solicitor-general since 2023 and a close legal adviser to Lula, while another 42 rejected his appointment. Many of the latter, including presidential hopeful Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, celebrated in the chambers after the result.

Messias, who also worked for former president and Lula ally Dilma Rousseff, needed 41 votes to be approved. "I am thankful to each vote I received. I think each of us fulfills a purpose and I fulfilled mine," Messias told journalists in capital Brasilia after being rejected by the Senate. "That's life. There's days of victory, days of defeat. We have to accept it."