Dozens of shops in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua have been looted as protests and disturbances sparked by government social security reforms continued Sunday, and human rights groups said at least 26 people have been killed in the clashes.

Images broadcast by local news media showed looted shops in the sprawling Oriental Market district.

Police apparently did not intervene, in contrast to what had been a heavy-handed response to the demonstrations, in which dozens have been injured or arrested.

State-controlled media blamed protesters for the looting, while critics speculated that it was being allowed in order to pressure the business sector, which has set conditions for talks with the government including an end to the harsh crackdown.

The disturbances broke out Wednesday after President Daniel Ortega’s effort to shore up the troubled social security system with a combination of reduced benefits and increased taxes. They protests appear to have expanded to include broader anti-government grievances.

Ortega said Saturday that he would agree to negotiate on the social security reforms, but he said the talks would be only with business leaders.

He also seemed to try to justify the tough response by the government and allied groups, accusing demonstrators of being manipulated by unspecified “minority” political interests and of being infiltrated by gangsters.

Those remarks appeared to fan the flames, as soon afterward thousands of people spilled back into the streets in seven cities.

Kuwait accuses two Filipinos of encouraging maids to run away

KUWAIT CITY — Kuwaiti police arrested two Filipinos for allegedly convincing housemaids to run away from their employers’ homes as the Philippines’ ambassador faced questions for comments about his embassy’s work in aiding abused workers, authorities said Sunday.

The arrests, reported by the state-run KUNA news agency, come as relations are tense between Kuwait and the Philippines, which sends many domestic laborers to the Gulf Arab emirate.

KUNA said Sunday that the two Filipinos acknowledged convincing the maids to leave.

It wasn’t clear what law the two men were accused of breaking, though KUNA said the two “confessed to the crime in addition to other similar offenses that had been committed in various regions of the country.”

More than 260,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait.

Japanese woman, world’s oldest person, dies at the age of 117

TOKYO — The world’s oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, has died.

Nabi Tajima died in a hospital Saturday evening in the town of Kikai in southern Japan, officials said. She had been hospitalized since January.

Tajima, born Aug. 4, 1900, was the last known person born in the 19th century. She raised seven sons and two daughters and reportedly had more than 160 descendants, including great-great-great grandchildren.

She became the world’s oldest person after the death in September of Violet Brown of Jamaica, also at the age of 117.

The U.S.-based Gerontology Research Group says another Japanese woman, Chiyo Miyako, is now the world’s oldest person. Miyako lives in Kanagawa prefecture and turns 117 on May 2.

Turkish lawmakers switch parties in challenge to Erdogan

ISTANBUL — More than a dozen Turkish opposition lawmakers switched parties Sunday in a show of solidarity as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rivals scramble to challenge him in a surprise snap election that could solidify his rule.

Officials from the pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said 15 of its lawmakers would join the center-right Iyi Party. The CHP, which is the main opposition party, said the decision was borne out of “democratic disposition.”

The snap presidential and parliamentary elections called for June 24 last week caught Turkey off guard.

The opposition is in disarray as it struggles to put forward candidates and campaign plans. The elections were initially supposed to take place in November 2019.

Prominent French decry ‘new anti-Semitism’

PARIS — Actor Gerard Depardieu, singer Charles Aznavour and former President Nicolas Sarkozy are among some 300 well-known French people urging national action to counter a “new anti-Semitism” that they blame on rising Islamic radicalism.

They signed a manifesto published Sunday in Le Parisien newspaper, joining politicians from the right and left, as well as Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders.

The statement urges prominent Muslims to denounce anti-Jewish and anti-Christian references in the Quran as outdated so “no believer can refer to a holy text to commit a crime.” It also calls for combating anti-Semitism “before it’s too late.”

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said on France-Inter radio that the government must be vigilant against anti-Semitism and called for social unity.

Mitt Romney faces GOP primary in Senate race

Mitt Romney will head to a primary in the race for a U.S. Senate seat from Utah after falling short of the threshold needed to win the nomination at the state Republican convention this weekend.

Romney had hoped to win 60 percent of the delegate votes to win the nomination, but 51 percent backed state Rep. Mike Kennedy instead, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Romney won 49 percent of the vote.

The 2012 GOP presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor is seeking to succeed retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.

The Tribune reported that Romney blamed the results on discontent with his decision to also gather signatures to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Conservatives have opposed the signature process, saying it diminishes the convention’s influence. The primary is June 26.

Syracuse University expelled the Theta Tau fraternity over a video deemed offensive that members say was intended as satire. More video simulating a sexual assault of a disabled person has also emerged. The clip appears to be of the same event as the video of racist remarks that prompted the expulsion.

GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee is sticking by his decision not to campaign against the Democrat seeking to fill his seat. Corker says he considers the Democrat, former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a “friend.” Corker backs Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn but says he won’t oppose Bredesen.