Five international stories of the week

Honduras migrant Olvin Suazo, center, accompanied by others hitch a ride in San Luis Peten, Guatemala, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Early Saturday, hundreds of migrants who had entered Guatemala this week without registering were being bused back to their country's border by authorities after running into a large roadblock. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Honduras migrant Olvin Suazo, center, accompanied by others hitch a ride in San Luis Peten, Guatemala, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Early Saturday, hundreds of migrants who had entered Guatemala this week without registering were being bused back to their country's border by authorities after running into a large roadblock. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Editor’s Note: This listicle is part of a weekly series by The Ball State Daily News summarizing five stories from around the world. All summaries are based on stories published by The Associated Press.

Mali releases jihadists from prison, France and Italy search for victims trapped in a devastating flood, U.S.-bound Honduran migrants are bused back to their country's border, India tops 100,000 COVID-19 fatalities and the U.K. prime minister defends his handling of the coronavirus pandemic make up this week's five international stories.

FILE - This Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018 file photo released by the Union for the Republic and Democracy party shows Soumaila Cisse, opposition presidential candidate, casting his ballot during the presidential second round election in Niafunke, Mali. The leader of Mali's political opposition and members of his campaign team have been taken hostage by unidentified gunmen in the north, the spokesman for his political party said Thursday, March 26, 2020. (Boubacar Sada Sissoko/Union for the Republic and Democracy via AP, File)

Mali releases 180 jihadists in likely prisoner exchange

Malian authorities have released 180 Islamic extremists from a prison in the capital and flown them to the country’s north, an official confirmed late Sunday, fueling speculation that a prominent opposition politician held by jihadists could soon be freed after more than six months in captivity. The militants who abducted Soumaila Cisse back in late March were believed to be seeking a prisoner exchange with the Malian government. Some 70 men were released on Saturday and another 110 on Sunday, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

In this image made available Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020, firefighters evacuate people from a house amid flooding in the town of Ornavasso, in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. (Firefighter Vigili del Fuoco via AP)

France, Italy search for missing victims after deadly floods

French authorities deployed about 1,000 firefighters, four military helicopters and troops to search for at least eight people who were missing after devastating floods hit a mountainous border region with Italy, where at least four people were killed. Emergency workers in Italy recovered two corpses Sunday in northern Liguria that they feared may have been washed away as a result of the storms that killed two other people on Saturday. Floods washed away houses and destroyed roads and bridges surrounding the city of Nice on the French Riviera after almost a year’s average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours.

Honduras migrant Marcos Pineda, his wife Keysi Giron and their children Genesis and Ezequiel walk through San Luis Peten, Guatemala, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. Early Saturday, hundreds of migrants who had entered Guatemala this week without registering were being bused back to their country's border by authorities after running into a large roadblock. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Many in migrant caravan bused back to Honduran border

Hundreds of U.S.-bound Honduran migrants who had entered Guatemala this week without registering were being bused back to their country’s border Saturday by authorities who met them with a large roadblock. By 5 a.m. Saturday, none of 1,000 or so migrants who had been stalled by police and soldiers remained along a stretch of rural highway remained. Police said that hours earlier, migrants had boarded buses and army trucks to be taken back to the border. Small groups of fewer than 10 migrants each could still be found walking along the highway before the roadblock Saturday morning.

A health worker takes a nasal swab sample at a COVID-19 testing center in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. India has crossed 100,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, putting the country's toll at nearly 10% of the global fatalities and behind only the United States and Brazil. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's COVID-19 fatalities top 100,000, behind US, Brazil

India passed a grim milestone in its fight against the coronavirus on Saturday, with health authorities saying the country has recorded more than 100,000 virus-related deaths since the pandemic began. The announcement from the Health Ministry means that nearly 10% of the more than 1 million people to die globally in the pandemic have done so in India, behind only the United States and Brazil. India has seen more than 6.4 million total confirmed infections, recording more than 79,000 new cases in the past 24 hours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are facing criticism for failing to stop the march of the virus, which in September hit India harder than any other nation in the world. 

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at BBC Broadcasting House to appear on the Andrew Marr show, in London, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Johnson has defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, but warned that the country faces a “bumpy” winter ahead. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP)

UK's Johnson defends virus strategy as infections soar

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday despite weeks of rising infections, but warned that the country faced a “bumpy” winter ahead. Britain has Europe’s highest coronavirus death toll, at more than 42,400, and Johnson’s Conservative government is facing criticism from all sides. Opponents say tougher social restrictions are needed to suppress a second wave of COVID-19 that is already sweeping the country. But many in Johnson’s right-of-center party argue that restrictions must be eased to save the battered economy.

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