World in brief

At least 20 dead in gas tanker explosion

A natural gas tanker truck lost control, hit a center divider and exploded on a highway lined by homes in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec early Tuesday, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly three dozen, authorities said. Officials did not rule out the possibility the death toll could rise as emergency workers continued sifting through the charred remains of vehicles and homes built near the highway on the northern edge of the metropolis. A huge piece of the truck’s gas tank was blown 50 yards by the blast, landing atop the wall of a house and cars parked outside.

PAKISTAN

Politician injures skull; bombings kill 18

One of Pakistan’s most prominent politicians, former cricket star Imran Khan, fell at a political rally Tuesday, leaving him with two hairline skull fractures and knocking him off the campaign trail ahead of Saturday’s general election. Khan was treated at the hospital he himself built in honor of his late mother in the eastern city of Lahore. Also Tuesday, three bombings in northwest Pakistan targeting individuals involved in the election killed 18 people, police said, pushing the death toll from attacks on candidates and party workers to more than 100 since the beginning of April.

NIGERIA

Authorities: 42 dead in extremist attacks

Coordinated attacks by Islamic extremists armed with heavy machine guns killed at least 42 people in northeast Nigeria, authorities said Tuesday, the latest in a string of increasingly bloody attacks threatening peace in Africa’s most populous nation. The attack struck multiple locations in the hard-hit town of Bama in Nigeria’s Borno state, where shootings and bombings have continued since an insurgency began there in 2010. Fighters raided a federal prison during their assault as well, freeing 105 inmates in another mass prison break to hit the country, officials said.

PHILIPPINES

Volcano spews rocks, killing five climbers

One of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes rumbled to life Tuesday and spewed room-sized rocks toward nearly 30 surprised climbers, killing five and injuring others that had to be fetched with rescue helicopters and rope. The climbers and their Filipino guides had spent the night camping in two groups before setting out at daybreak for the crater of Mayon volcano when the sudden explosion of rocks, ash and plumes of smokes jolted the picturesque mountain, guide Kenneth Jesalva said. He said rocks “as big as a living room” came raining down, killing and injuring members of his group, some of whom were in critical condition.

EGYPT

Nine new ministers appointed in reshuffle

Nine new Egyptian ministers joined President Mohammed Morsi’s Cabinet on Tuesday, including three members of his Muslim Brotherhood, in a reshuffle that officials said was aimed at addressing the country’s financial woes and securing a much-needed international loan. Morsi supporters claim he wants to reach out to other political blocs, yet the Cabinet reshuffle is unlikely to ease Egypt’s political polarization. The opposition complained that they were not consulted on the appointments and said they would only further the “Brotherhood-ization” of Morsi’s government.

KENYA

Scientist: Cassava disease spread alarming

Scientists say a disease destroying entire crops of cassava has spread out of East Africa into the heart of the continent, is attacking plants as far south as Angola and now threatens to move west into Nigeria, the world’s biggest producer of the potato-like root that helps feed 500 million Africans. “The extremely devastating results are already dramatic today but could be catastrophic tomorrow” if nothing is done to halt the cassava brown streak disease, said scientist Claude Fauquet, co-founder of the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century in Kenya. Africa, with a burgeoning population and debilitating food shortages, is losing 50 million tons a year of cassava to the disease, he said.