Zeta becomes a hurricane as it nears Yucatan, heading for U.S.

CANCUN, Mexico — Zeta strengthened to a hurricane Monday afternoon as it continued on a track for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula resorts and then likely move on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek.

Zeta — the earliest ever 27th named storm of the Atlantic season — was centered about 90 miles southeast of Cozumel island Monday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane was moving northwest at around 10 mph after being nearly stationar y over the weekend. Forecasters said Zeta was expected to move over the Yucatan Peninsula late Monday before heading into the Gulf of Mexico and then approach the U.S. Gulf Coast by Wednesday, though it could weaken by then.

Airstrike kills dozens of Turkish-backed Syrian fighters

BEIRUT — An airstrike on a rebel training camp in northwestern Syria on Monday killed more than 50 Turkish-backed fighters and wounded nearly as many, a spokesman and a war monitor said.

The opposition blamed Russia for the daytime strike and vowed to retaliate for the attack on Faylaq al-sham.

Russia and Turkey, although they support opposite sides in Syria’s conflict, have worked together to maintain a cease-fire in the last enclave of Syria’s rebels, centered on the province of Idlib. But the attack comes as relations between the two countries have shown signs of strain over Turkey’s increased militar y involvement in a region stretching from Syria to the Caucasus and the Mediterranean.

Armenia, Azerbaijan truce totters amid violation claims

YEREVAN, Armenia — Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday accused each other of violating a new ceasefire announced the day before in a bid to halt the fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-karabakh that has killed hundreds, possibly thousands, in just four weeks.

The truce that took effect Monday morning was agreed upon on Sunday after talks facilitated by the United States. It was a third attempt to establish a lasting cease-fire in the flare-up of a decades-old conflict and, just like the previous two, it was immediately challenged by claims of violation from both sides.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministr y alleged that Armenian forces fired at Azerbaijani settlements and the positions of the Azerbaijani army “along the entire front, as well as on the Armenia-azerbaijan state border.”

Armenian military officials in turn accused Azerbaijani forces of shelling the northeastern area of Nagorno-karabakh and other areas. By Monday afternoon, “heavy battles” were taking place in the southeast of the region, Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian said.