World

Lebanon's Hezbollah most senior commander killed in Syria

BEIRUT — The top military commander of Lebanon's Hezbollah was killed in an explosion near the Syrian capital of Damascus, the Shiite guerrilla group said Friday, the highest-level casualty yet in its intervention in the raging civil war next door.

The death of Mustafa Badreddine strikes a heavy blow to the militant group and underscores how its deployment in Syria backing President Bashar Assad has widened its circle of enemies beyond traditional foe Israel to include Sunni extremists and conservative Gulf monarchies.

IS bombings highlight Iraqi capital's vulnerability

BAGHDAD — A wave of Islamic State bombings in Baghdad has killed nearly 100 people in two days, exposing lingering gaps in the capital's defenses, which are manned by an array of security agencies and militias that don't always cooperate.

The attacks also point to the resilience of the extremist group, which has increasingly resorted to bombings in civilian areas far from the front-lines as it has lost territory to Iraqi forces backed by U.S.-led airstrikes.

Bombings kill 93 in Iraqi capital's bloodiest day this year

BAGHDAD — In the deadliest violence in Baghdad this year, three car bombs claimed by the Islamic State group killed 93 people across the Iraqi capital Wednesday, demonstrating the extremists' ability to mount significant attacks despite major battlefield losses.

The separate bombings, which also wounded 165 people, came at a time of turmoil and deadlock in Iraq's government and parliament. The Interior Ministry blamed the attacks on "political bickering" that is increasingly threatening the security of the civilian population.

Cannes, on high alert, tries to balance security, festivity

CANNES, France — Coming six months after the Paris attacks in November, the 69th Cannes Film Festival has elevated security measures, swarming the French Riviera resort town with an increased police presence. But particular care has been made, festival organizers say, to preserving the spirit of the annual cinema celebration.

Eager to heal old wounds, Obama to visit Hiroshima

WASHINGTON — Eager to heal old wounds and galvanize new generations, President Barack Obama this month will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, where seven decades ago the U.S. dropped the devastating atomic bomb that ushered in the nuclear age.

Mixture of loss, hope for Canadian town hit by wildfire

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — Charred bicycles lean on a fence in front of incinerated townhomes. Just across the street, a school and playground are untouched.

Across this Canadian oil sand town, the contrast is repeated: neighborhoods that burned to their foundations, while other neighborhoods, strip malls, car dealerships, schools and hospitals are still standing.

In Mexico missing students case, suspects allege torture

MEXICO CITY — Within weeks of the September 2014 disappearance of 43 college students, Mexican authorities had rounded up scores of suspects and announced they had solved the case.

At a hastily called news conference, prosecutors showed video of drug gang members confessing to taking the students from police, then slaughtering them and incinerating the bodies at a junkyard and dumping the evidence in a river.

Canadian officials hope to put "death grip" on fire

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — Officials said Sunday they had reached a turning point in fighting an enormous wildfire, hoping to get a "death grip'" on the blaze that ravaged parts of Canada's oil sands town of Fort McMurray amid cooler temperatures and light rain. Meanwhile, a massive evacuation of residents displaced by the blaze came to an end.

Chad Morrison of Alberta Wildfire told a news conference he's "very happy" and called it great firefighting weather.

Mexico judge says 'El Chapo' extradition may proceed

MEXICO CITY — A federal judge has ruled that the extradition of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to the U.S. can move ahead, Mexico's Judicial Council said Monday, but the Foreign Relations Department must still approve it and the defense can appeal.

The council, which oversees Mexico's federal judges and tribunals, said the judge, who was not identified, had agreed that the legal requirements laid out in the extradition treaty between the two countries had been met.

US says nationwide Syria truce to replace piecemeal approach

PARIS — The United States tried Monday to move past localized, short-term cease-fires in Syria by announcing that an enduring, nationwide truce would be restored. Yet that new approach was immediately called into doubt as Syria's military extended only a local cease-fire, in the hard-hit area of Aleppo, by 48 hours.