From Washington, this is VOA news. Hello, I'm Steve Miller.

Puerto Rican officials rushed to evacuate tens of thousands of people downstream from a failing dam. But as Mary Motta explains that wasn't the only problem facing the U.S. territory.

Government spokesman Carlos Bermudez said that officials had no communication with 40 of the 78 municipalities on the island.

Officials also said 1,360 of the island's 1,600 cell-phone towers had been downed, and 85 percent of above-ground and underground phone and Internet cables were knocked out.

With roads blocked and phones dead, officials said the situation may be worse than they know.



Mexico's Navy says 115 people have been rescued alive from collapsed buildings in Mexico City following the week's deadly 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

The official death is 293 but that count is expected to rise as rescuers continue to look for people trapped. At least 148 deaths were in the capital.

Brett McGurk, a special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL, said about six million people who used to be living under ISIS are no longer living under the Islamic group.

"About 80,000 square kilometers used to be controlled by ISIS are no longer controlled by ISIS."

He also said that a controversial referendum on Kurdish independence planned for Monday carries an awful lot of risk.

The United Nations has called for a structured dialogue and compromise supported by the international community between the Kurdish region and Iraq.

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Turkey's National Security Council met on Friday and confirmed the country's position to Monday's independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds. Dorian Jones reports.

Turkey's government will never accept a separate Kurdish state in neighboring Iraq and won't refrain from taking steps to prevent it, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday.

Yildirim said this referendum is an issue of Turkey's national security.

He said Turkey is determined to use its natural rights originating from international and bilateral conventions and will not hesitate on this.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired the council meeting and branded the planned referendum as "illegal and unacceptable." He said Turkey reserved its rights under international and bilateral agreements to act against it.

Ankara fears such a referendum could fuel secessionist demands within its own large restive Kurdish minority.

Dorian Jones, of VOA news, Istanbul.

The United Nations estimates some 429,000 Rohingya refugees have fled violence in Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25. As the number edges toward half-a-million, U.N. agencies are increasing life-saving assistance to desperate people living in squalid settlements. Lisa Schlein has the story from Geneva.

The number of daily arrivals has fallen to about 1,000 from a high of 20,000 a day. Nevertheless, that steep decline in refugee numbers has done little to ease overcrowding in the makeshift Rohingya sites.

Authorities have allocated an 800-hectare area to new arrivals. The U.N. refugee agency says it is speeding up the distribution of plastic sheeting so as many people as possible can have some protection from monsoon rain and wind.

UNHCR spokesman Andre Mahecic says health is a major concern given the inclement weather, overpopulated camps and lack of essential relief.

A team of epidemiologists is being deployed to assess the health risks.

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.

Canada has imposed sanctions against key figures in the regime of Venezuelan President Nicholás Maduro.

The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals may have in Canada and bans Canadians from engaging them in business dealings.

U.S. Senator John McCain has announced he cannot "in good conscience" vote for the Republican health care overhaul, meaning the GOP is unlikely to be able to repeal and replace Obamacare by September 30.

McCain joins two other Republicans who have pledged to vote "no" - Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

From the Washington news center, I'm Steve Miller.

That's the latest world news from VOA.