MEXICO CITY (Xinhua) -– The United States must do its part in the fight against drug trafficking, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday, following recent revelations of corruption at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “We insist that they have a very important part to play over there and they shouldn’t just keep pointing the finger at Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference at the National Palace. She said Mexico has succeeded in slashing the flow of fentanyl into the United States by more than 70 percent, a figure acknowledged by U.S. authorities, while methamphetamine continues to be produced in the United States, to the point of having inspired a television series.

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SEOUL (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin used messages marking North Korea’s 78th founding anniversary to reaffirm close strategic ties with Pyongyang, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. KCNA said Xi told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he was willing to “continue strengthening strategic guidance” of China-North Korea relations and work with Kim to advance the two countries’ development. Xi also said strengthening and developing bilateral ties remained the Chinese ruling party and government’s “consistent and unwavering policy.” In a separate message, Putin said he would continue the “closest joint work” with Kim to further strengthen the countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Catastrophic winds and torrential rains from Hurricane Lowell have pelted Hawaii’s western island of Kauai, knocking out power to at least 30,000 residents and ripping up tracts of beachside roads. Vicious winds knocked down trees and left nearly 92 percent of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) residents without power by early Tuesday as the storm moved north into the open sea. While the now-weakened Category 1 hurricane did not make landfall on Kauai, it blew down trees, power poles and lines, causing massive destruction from about 128 kilometers (80 miles) west of the island, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

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NEW YORK (Anadolu) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all countries to stand, work and find solutions together as the UN General Assembly closed its 80th session amid mounting global crises. “Eighty-one years after the founding of this organization, our founding principles are needed more than ever,” he said. “In these tumultuous times, all countries need to stand together, work together, and find solutions together.” Guterres said the session unfolded against a backdrop of “profound challenge for humanity,” citing destruction, death and displacement caused by conflicts, growing inequalities and injustices, hunger and poverty, record-breaking heat and the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.

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GENEVA (AFP) - Two people were killed Wednesday in an explosion at a power plant in southern Switzerland, police said, describing the incident as a “serious workplace accident”. The incident occurred at the Ritom hydroelectric power plant in the small village of Piotta shortly after 9:30 am (0730 GMT), police in the Italian-speaking Ticino region said in a statement, adding that emergency services had been alerted to “a fire breaking out inside the building”.