South Africa’s president visits flood sites with death toll at 78 and expected to climb

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has visited the sites of devastating floods that have left at least 78 people dead in the southeast of the country. Ramaphosa traveled to the Eastern Cape province Friday as search and rescue operations continue and authorities say they expect the death toll to rise. Ramaphosa’s visit comes after a local official said rescue efforts were “paralyzed” in the first few hours of the floods because of a lack of resources. The floods hit in the predawn hours of Tuesday and caught many unaware despite weather warnings issued last week. Ramaphosa defended authorities’ response to the disaster.

Air India black box recovered after crash that killed 241 onboard and several others

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Indian investigators have recovered the digital flight data recorder or the black box of the Air India flight that crashed a day earlier. The crash on Thursday killed 241 people on board and at least five people on the ground. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that the black box recovery Friday marks an important step forward in the investigation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met with the lone surviving passenger of the London-bound Boeing 787 that struck a medical college hostel when it crashed into a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff. DNA testing was being conducted to identify the victims. More bodies are expected to be found in the search at the crash site.

Ukraine repatriates more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement with Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Ukraine has repatriated another 1,200 bodies in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement Friday that “according to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel.” Earlier this week, Russia returned 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and received 27 bodies of its own killed troops. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul that took place on June 2.

American man detained in Greece over suspected double killing of infant and woman

MILAN (AP) — Greek authorities have detained an American man on the island of Skiathos who is suspected of killing an infant whose remains were found over the weekend in a Rome park. He’s also suspected of having a role in the death of the infant’s mother whose body was found nearby. Greek police told The Associated Press that the unidentified American was detained on Friday on a European arrest warrant issued in Italy. He will be formally arrested when the warrant is forwarded. Italian media reports say the bodies of the mother and baby girl were found in Rome’s Villa Pamphili park on Saturday. The victims were also believed to be American.