World

MEXICO CITY — The billions of dollars in U.S. remittances that Donald Trump is threatening to block to force Mexico to pay for a border wall are a financial lifeline for the Latin American country's economy and millions of individuals who are supported by relatives up north.

For families across Mexico, the transfers help put food on the table and clothe children. They can make it possible to start a small business, put an addition on a cinderblock home or buy a secondhand truck to use on a farm.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Global military spending rose in 2015 to nearly $1.7 trillion, the first increase in several years, driven by conflicts including the battle against the Islamic State group, the Saudi-led war in Yemen and fears about Iran, a report released Tuesday shows.

The study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute also noted that the Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Russia's annexation of Crimea and support of Ukrainian separatists also accounted for nudging spending up 1 percent in real terms, compared to 2014.

QARYATAIN, Syria — Syrian troops fired their guns in celebration amid smoldering buildings inside the town of Qaryatain on Monday, hours after recapturing it from retreating Islamic State militants who had abducted and terrorized dozens of its Christian residents.

An Associated Press crew was among the first journalists to enter the town and witnessed the destruction wrought on the once-thriving Christian community and its fifth-century monastery, which was bulldozed by the extremist group last summer.

WASHINGTON — World leaders declared progress Friday in securing nuclear materials worldwide but warned of a persistent and harrowing threat: terrorists getting their hands on a nuclear bomb. "It would change our world," President Barack Obama said.