Papua New Guinea leader takes offense after Biden implies his uncle was eaten by cannibals

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. Biden spoke at a Pennsylvania war memorial last week about his Army Air Corps aviator uncle Ambrose Finnegan, who was shot down over Papua New Guinea, which was a theater of heavy fighting. Biden said: “They never found the body because there used to be — there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea.” Marape said in a statement on Sunday that Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue but that his country “does not deserve to be labeled as such.”

Flooding wreaks havoc across East Africa

BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — Deadly floods are wreaking havoc in many parts of East Africa that face torrential rainfall. Burundi’s government is calling for international help to deal with the aftermath. Climate experts say flooding in Burundi and elsewhere in the region is part of extreme conditions linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon. Rising levels of Lake Tanganyika have invaded the port of Bujumbura, Burundi’s economic capital, disrupting business. The country relies heavily on donor support to run government programs. Meanwhile, in Kenya 35 people have died since mid-March in flooding events that have affected more than 100,000 people.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, report says

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Two top climate monitoring organizations are reporting that Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average. The U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s climate agency are also warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity. They say the continent has the opportunity to develop targeted strategies to speed up the transition to renewable resources like wind, solar and hydroelectric power in response to the effects of climate change. The continent generated 43% of its electricity from renewable resources last year, up from 36% the year before, the agencies say in their European State of the Climate report for last year.

Heavy rainstorms kill 4 people in southern China

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rainstorms that swept across southern China over the weekend have killed at least four people in riverside cities. A search continues for 10 others missing. The official Xinhua news agency says the deaths occurred in Zhaoqing city and Shaoguan city in Guangdong province. Footage on state broadcaster CCTV showed rescuers in rubber boats evacuating residents from inundated shopping streets and residential areas. By Monday, about 110,000 people had been evacuated across Guangdong and 25,800 people were in emergency shelters. More rain is on the way.