The world in brief

Russia diesel leak threatens Arctic

MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin of Russia has declared a state of emergency in a region in northern Siberia after a huge oil spill turned a river crimson and threatened to inflict significant damage on the Arctic environment.

More than 20,000 tons of diesel leaked into the Ambarnaya River near the city of Norilsk last Friday after a fuel tank collapsed at a power plant. Norilsk Nickel, which owns the plant, said thawing permafrost had caused one of the tank's pillars to collapse. The oil leaked more than 7 miles from the site.

The accident is one of the biggest oil spills in modern Russian history, Aleksei Knizhnikov of the environmentalist group WWF Russia said. Greenpeace Russia compared the discharge to the Exxon Valdez tanker spill in Alaska in 1989.

The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal inquiry and detained the plant's manager, Vyacheslav Starostin.

Putin said he had been angered that he had learned of the spill only Sunday, and, after declaring the state of emergency Wednesday, denounced company officials in a videoconference that was broadcast live.

"Why did government agencies only find out about this two days after the fact?" Putin said. "Are we going to learn about emergency situations from social media?"

ISIS claims attack on Kabul mosque

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for a bomb attack in a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul that killed two people, including the prayer leader, and wounded eight.

In a statement on an Islamic State-affiliated website, the group said Tuesday's attack in Kabul targeted a prayer leader who was described as "an apostate and evil propagating loyalty to the apostate Afghan government."

Prayer leader Ayaz Niazi was buried Thursday at the same mosque where the attack took place after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and several other officials paid tribute.

Islamic State attacks have increased, particularly in Kabul, targeting Afghan media, civilians and minority Shiites.

On Sunday the group claimed responsibility for a roadside bombing against a bus belonging to a local TV station in Kabul. Two employees were killed and four others wounded.

Storm hits Mexico on a path to U.S.

MEXICO CITY -- Tropical Storm Cristobal crept along just inland over Mexico's Gulf Coast state of Campeche on Thursday, threatening to cause flooding the next few days before a predicted turn north toward the U.S.

The storm's sustained winds weakened to 40 mph after it moved inland Wednesday near the oil town of Ciudad del Carmen. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was expected to weaken into a tropical depression Thursday, but then begin strengthening once it moved back over the Gulf of Mexico today.

Cristobal was forecast to be out in the central Gulf on Saturday and could be nearing the U.S. Gulf Coast by Sunday, the hurricane center said. It added that current conditions "will not be very conducive" for further strengthening as the storm moves away from Mexico.

The Mexican army evacuated 138 people in Campeche after floodwaters threatened homes, and police in Campeche reported water washing across highways.

Early Thursday, the storm was moving southeast at 2 mph about 70 miles southeast of Ciudad del Carmen.

National civil defense coordinator David Leon said Thursday that officials had helped evacuate some residents in nine municipalities in the southeast.

Leon, who was appearing with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Palenque, Chiapas, said the only reported death was someone killed by a falling tree in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

Russia dismisses hacking allegation

MOSCOW -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected Germany's allegations over Russian intelligence involvement in a cyberattack against the German parliament.

The ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the claim concerning a 2015 hacking attack on the German parliament was "absurd" and "unfounded."

Last week, the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to say it would be pursuing EU sanctions against Russian citizen Dmitriy Badin, allegedly an officer with Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. Badin was already being sought by U.S. authorities and is believed to be part of the hacker group known as APT28, or Fancy Bear.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said this month there was "hard evidence" that correspondence from her parliamentary office was among the documents targeted in the attack.

Speaking at a briefing, Zakharova dismissed the German allegations and emphasized that they were based on information from the United States.

Zakharova challenged Berlin to provide proof of Russian involvement, saying Moscow stands ready for a detailed discussion of the subject and will see the failure to show documentary evidence as a proof that the accusations were unfounded.

A Section on 06/05/2020

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