WORLD briefs

Miami.Hurricane Carlos is heading west over the open waters of the Pacific Ocean and has weakened slightly. The Category 1 hurricane has maximum sustained winds near 80 mph, down from around 85 mph earlier Sunday. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say Carlos is expected to strengthen somewhat during the next 48 hours.

Lima, Peru. An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 has struck southern Peru. There are no immediate reports of damage or injury. Peru's Geophysics Institute says the quake struck at 1:12 a.m. Sunday in Cuzco province, 44 kilometers southeast of Yauri. The US Geological Survey recorded the initial magnitude as 6.0. Carlos is moving west near 13 mph on a path taking it farther out to sea.

OSLO. Norwegian police say a large amount of oil has leaked from a cruise ship in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Geiranger fjord. Police spokesman Magne Toennoey says authorities have managed to contain the oil in one spot to prevent it from spreading and will try to pump it out of the water. He couldn't say exactly how much oil was in the water but said it was "a large amount clearly visible from land."

BAGHDAD. A car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers left Sunday Mass, killing at least four civilians and injuring 18 in one of several attacks on Iraq's beleaguered Christian minority.

MORELIA, Mexico. Gunmen boldly attacked federal forces across the western state of Michoacan on Saturday, killing five federal agents and two soldiers after the capture of a suspected drug cartel operative. Ten other federal agents were wounded in the ambushes. Convoys of heavily armed gunmen tossed grenades and opened fire on police stations in the state capital of Morelia and in five other cities between on Saturday.

BERN, Switzerland. A Swiss tourist taken hostage in North Africa in January has been released to authorities in Mali, officials said Sunday. The health of the Swiss citizen, who had been held in Mali after his capture with three other European tourists, appears to be good, a Foreign Ministry official said. Two of the other hostages were released in April, and the third was killed in May. The four European tourists — were kidnapped near the Mali and Niger borders.