NEWS OF THE DAY

From Around the World

1 Refugee crisis: A group of European Union countries has agreed to take in at least 1,600 migrant children in Greece traveling without their parents, with the first unaccompanied minors likely to find homes in Luxembourg as soon as this week, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said. There are currently over 42,000 migrants living in overcrowded camps in the Greek islands, including about 5,500 unaccompanied minors. According to the police agency Europol around 10% of them are younger than 14. Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal have offered to take them in, and Johansson said that at least two other countries expressed an interest in getting involved during a meeting Friday of EU interior ministers. Greece requested help to care for lone child migrants last September.

2 France election: The new virus has shuttered schools, banished cheek-kissing and upended daily life across France, but President Emmanuel Macron won’t let it disrupt democracy. French voters will go forward Sunday in the first round of elections to choose their mayors and tens of thousands of local officials. Voting stations are under orders to require a one-meter gap between people in lines, and to provide soap and disinfectant wipes for voting machines. Authorities also advised voters to bring their own pen to sign the voting register.

3 Deadly storms: The death toll from thunderstorms and flooding across Egypt has risen to 21, authorities said. Since the rains hit late Wednesday and early Thursday, social media has been inundated with images and video showing flooded roads and villages as well as water-filled apartments in some of Cairo’s richest neighborhoods. To minimize the impact, the government closed schools and suspended work after forecasters warned of heavy rains and flooding across much of the country through Saturday. The floods forced the country’s railway authorities to suspend train service nationwide. Power outages were also reported in several areas of the country, including parts of Cairo.

4 Russia politics: President Vladimir Putin signed a law on constitutional changes Saturday that could keep him in power for another 16 years, a step that must still be approved in a nationwide vote. Under current law, Putin would not be able to run for president again in 2024 because of term limits, but the new measure would reset his term count, allowing him to run for two more six-year terms. He has been in power since 2000. Other constitutional changes strengthen the presidency and emphasize the priority of Russian law over international norms — a provision reflecting the Kremlin’s irritation with the European Court of Human Rights and other international bodies that have often issued verdicts against Russia. The changes also outlaw same-sex marriage and state “a belief in God” as one of Russia’s traditional values.

5 Guyana vote: The election commission in oil-rich Guyana has declared that the governing coalition won the country’s disputed vote, despite international concerns about the credibility of the process. The commission said it will move this weekend to verify vote totals in the March 2 general election as international observer groups said the tallying was flawed and not transparent. Barring any successful court challenges, the governing coalition led by retired army Gen. David Granger, 74, would begin a second five-year term in office. Coalition officials said they plan to swear in Granger on Monday. The main opposition People’s Progressive Party, led by former housing minister Irfaan Ali, has complained about their inability to verify numbers provided by election officials.