Nation and world briefs

SOMALIA

Militants storm U.N. compound; 20 killed

Seven al-Qaida-linked militants on a suicide mission attacked the Mogadishu U.N. compound Wednesday with a truck bomb and then poured inside, killing at least 13 people before dying in the assault. At least three foreigners were slain during the raid in the Somali capital, where the United Nations expanded its presence this year, about 18 months after Islamic insurgents were pushed from the city. The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the U.N. “a merchant of death.” Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., condemned the “brazen assault on civilians working for peace.”

WASHINGTON

Traffic returns to bridge that collapsed

Cars and trucks are rolling again across the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge, restoring the traffic flow on the main route between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. A temporary span opened Wednesday morning, replacing a section of the bridge that collapsed May 23 when it was struck by a truck with an oversize load. The state and contractors rushed work on the temporary span to relieve drivers who lined up to detour through Mount Vernon and Burlington. The bridge carries 71,000 vehicles a day. Speed on the 160-foot temporary section is reduced to 40 mph because of narrow lanes.

MARYLAND

Navy football players charged with sexual assault

The U.S. Naval Academy on Wednesday charged three Navy football players with sexually assaulting a female midshipman at an off-campus house more than a year ago. The academy said in a news release that the male midshipmen are being charged with rape, sexual assault or other sexual misconduct, and making a false official statement. The three students were not identified in the academy’s statement. Two of the students were football players this past season, but they are not on the team anymore. Another is still on the team, but he has been suspended pending the outcome of the case.

BRAZIL

Officials reverse subway, bus fare hike

Leaders in Brazil’s two biggest cities said Wednesday that they have reversed an increase in bus and subway fares that ignited protests across the nation. However, many doubted the move would help abate the demonstrations that have moved well beyond the outrage over the fare hikes into communal cries against poor public services in Latin America’s biggest nation. “This will represent a big sacrifice and we will have to reduce investments in other areas,” Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad said. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes also confirmed that the fare increase would be rescinded in that city.

SAUDI ARABIA

New MERS virus spreads easily

A mysterious new respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East spreads easily between people and appears more deadly than SARS, doctors reported Wednesday. More than 60 cases of what is now called MERS, including 38 deaths, have been recorded by the World Health Organization in the past year, mostly in Saudi Arabia. In a worrying finding, the team said Middle East respiratory syndrome spreads easily not only between people but also within hospitals. Doctors said they couldn’t nail down how it was spread in every case; some of the hospital patients weren’t close to the infected person but somehow picked up the virus.

MEXICO

Tropical Storm Barry forms in Gulf

Tropical Storm Barry formed off Mexico’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, prompting Mexican authorities to ready hundreds of shelters. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the Atlantic hurricane season’s second tropical storm was drenching areas in its path with up to 10 inches of rain in some places, raising the threat of flash floods. Veracruz state Civil Protection Secretary Noemi Guzman said 2,000 shelters had been readied in the state with mattresses, blankets, water and canned food. She said the shelters at schools and recreation centers could house up to 306,000 people.

INDIA

Monsoon floods kill 102, strand pilgrims

India’s prime minister said Wednesday that the death toll from flooding this week in the northern state of Uttrakhand had surpassed 100 and could rise substantially. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke on his return from an aerial survey of the area, pegging the death toll at 102. A joint army and air force operation evacuated nearly 12,000 Hindu pilgrims stranded in a mountainous area by torrential monsoon rains and landslides, but nearly 63,000 people remained cut off, a senior official said Wednesday.

CALIFORNIA