Snipers kill 4 hostage-takers at Russian prison who claimed allegiance to Islamic State group

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say that national guard snipers have killed four inmates who have staged a revolt in a prison in southern Russia, fatally stabbing four guards and briefly holding others as hostages. The attackers have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group. The Federal Prison Service said that four inmates took eight prison guards and four inmates hostage on Friday. It said they stabbed four of the guards, three of whom died on the spot and the fourth one later died at a hospital. The agency said three other guards remained hospitalized with injuries. Russia’s National Guard said its snipers “neutralized” all four attackers, freeing all the hostages.

27 killed after a bus with Indian pilgrims drives off a Nepal highway and crashes

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Officials say a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims has driven off a highway in Nepal, leaving 27 killed and 16 injured. The bus veered off the highway and rolled toward a fast-flowing river before stopping on the rocky bank. The top part of the bus had been ripped open, and the wreckage sat beside the Marsyangdi river. The Indian embassy in Kathmandu confirmed that there were 43 people on board the bus, all Indian nationals. The injured have been flown to hospitals in the capital Kathmandu for treatment. Bus accidents in Nepal are mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles.

As more floods batter Bangladesh and India, death toll rises to 30

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Floods wreaked more havoc in India’s northeast and neighboring Bangladesh’s eastern region, raising this week’s total death toll to 30, officials and media reports said Friday. Rain stopped in many parts of Bangladesh on Friday and weather officials in Dhaka said the waters had started receding in some areas, but said the flooding would not be over for days. In India’s Tripura state, eight more people died in the last 24 hours said a state disaster management official on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Earlier, 11 people were reported dead. In Bangladesh, seven more people died in the last 24 hours, Dhaka-based Ekhon TV reported Friday.

Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Lava is continuing to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland, the sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The eruption from a new fissure began after 9 p.m. Thursday, and within the hour, a 2.4-mile fissure cut through the Sundhnúkur crater. The eruption has forced road closures, but the lava is not flowing toward the town of Grindavik. It was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years. The few people who had returned were forced out once again Thursday night as winds blew plumes of toxic gas over the town.