WORLD NEWS BRIEFS

INDIA / Cops: U.S. teen killed mom

A teenage American has been arrested on suspicion of killing his mother in a tourist resort in western India, police said Monday. The woman, identified as Cindy Iannarelli, of Cecil, Pa., was found with her throat slit at the resort in Osian in Rajasthan state last Thursday. Police superintendent Girdhari Lal Sharma said Joncarlo Patton, 16, was questioned and later arrested Saturday. A judge ordered he be sent to a juvenile detention facility pending investigation. Under Indian law, he would face charges when an investigation is complete, unless American officials seek his return.

SUDAN / Lightning kills 7 at school

Sudan's state news agency says lightning has struck a religious school in the country's western Darfur region, killing seven children. The report quoted a local official as saying the children, ages 10 to 13, were attending a Quranic school in the remote village of Sarguilla. It was not clear if the lightning directly struck the children or if it set off a fire. The official, Mastour Ahmed Abdul-Magid, says nine others were hurt Monday in the crowded school.

CHINA / 36 killed in new floods

A Chinese news agency says 36 people have died and 23 others are missing in the latest flooding from heavy rains in Gansu province. The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that the deaths came after fresh flooding in Longnan city near Zhouqu. Meanwhile, the death toll from a massive explosion Monday at a fireworks factory in Yichun in northeast China rose Tuesday to at least 19 workers, with five still missing.

MEXICO / Gay adoptions upheld

Mexico's Supreme Court voted Monday to uphold a Mexico City law allowing adoptions by same-sex couples. The justices voted 9-2 against challenges presented by federal prosecutors who had argued the law fails to protect adoptive children against possible ill effects or discrimination, or to guarantee their right to a traditional family.