3 migrants die in truck accident in Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Three migrants died in a highway accident in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, authorities say.
At least two of the dead — a man and a woman — are from the African nation of Cameroon, and the identity of the third is being checked.
Five more migrants were
injured and are being treated at local hospitals.
The country’s National Immigration Institute did not immediately identify the cause of the crash Thursday, or provide information on the condition of those injured.
Oaxaca is a key route for migrants seeking to cross Mexico to reach the U.S. border, and accidents involving migrants there are common.
China responds to US, allies naval exercises
BEIJING — China’s military says it has conducted air and sea patrols and that all activities that “disrupt the South China Sea” are under control.
The brief announcement on Sunday is an apparent response to joint U.S. naval exercises with its allies.
The United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines announced Saturday that they would hold exercises in the sea to safeguard the rule of law and uphold freedom of navigation and overflight.
China has long-simmering territorial disputes with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea. It says the U.S. is inflaming tensions by meddling in the disputes.
Ally of PM to become Slovakia’s president
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has defeated a pro-Western career diplomat to become Slovakia’s new president, and succeed Zuzana Čaputová, the country’s first female head of state.
Parliamentary speaker Peter Pellegrini received 53.26 percent of the vote with the ballots from almost all polling stations counted by the Statistics Office in Saturday’s runoff election, topping former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok who had 46.73 percent.
Pellegrini becomes Slovakia’s sixth president since the country gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
Čaputová, a staunch backer of neighboring Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, didn’t seek a second term.
Pellegrini’s victory cemented Fico’s grip on power.
Russia declares flood-hit region federal emergency
MOSCOW — State media say Russia’s government has declared the situation in flood-hit areas in the Orenburg region a federal emergency.
Preparations for possible flooding are also underway in three other regions. The floods, caused by rising water levels in the Ural River, forced over 4,000 people, including 885 children, to evacuate, the Orenburg regional government said.
State news agency Tass said that a further 2,000 homes were flooded, bringing the total to nearly 6,300.
Russia’s emergency situations minister arrived in Orsk — one of the most hard-hit cities — on Sunday to supervise rescue operations.
Orsk suffered the brunt of the floods that caused a dam to break on Friday.