In brief: Guatemala lowers quake death toll

GUATEMALA CITY – Authorities in Guatemala have lowered the death toll from last week’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake to 42 from 52, after some people who had been reported dead were found alive.

The head of the Central American country’s disaster agency says some people in outlying regions were believed to have died Wednesday in their collapsed homes, but they were later found alive elsewhere.

David de Leon said the government’s final estimate on the quake’s impact indicates that 10,330 homes were damaged. Of those, 2,769 will have to be totally or partially demolished.

The earthquake was Guatemala’s strongest in 36 years and left thousands of people without homes, electricity or water.

U.S. re-elected to U.N. rights council

UNITED NATIONS – The United States was re-elected Monday to another three-year term on the U.N. Human Rights Council in the only contested election for the organization’s top human rights body.

The U.S. was competing with four countries for three open seats belonging to the Western Group on the council. Germany and Ireland were also elected by the 193-member General Assembly. Greece and Sweden lost out.