International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

President Obama has been briefed about the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon and his administration is in contact with state and local authorities, a White House official said Monday.

D.C. police said they had heightened security in the wake of a pair of blasts near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon. "We have heightened security but we don't have anything further," MPD spokeswoman Saray Leon said.

VUKOVAR, Croatia (AP) , Edin Kapidzic fought in Croatia's brutal war for independence and came out alive. Carrying on in peace turned out to be harder. Years after returning from the front lines, the former soldier from eastern Croatia hanged himself in a park in the hometown he defended during the 1991-95 conflict, part of the wider disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.

Global stock markets plunged on Monday after China reported that its economy grew more slowly in the first quarter , setting off a drop of more than 250 points in the Dow Jones index for the worst trading day of the year.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) , The war against armed Islamic extremists in Mali will lose some 2,000 Chadian soldiers, the president of Chad said, leaving Malian cities more vulnerable to a resurgence of jihadist attacks.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is canceling the creation of a heroism medal for drone pilots and cyber warriors, prompted by uproar over its precedence over the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals. Mr.

LONDON (AP) , One of Britain's leading academic institutions, the London School of Economics, is accusing the BBC of putting students at risk by using them as cover for a covert reporting trip to North Korea.

TOKYO (AP) , The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea's latest offer of dialogue as a "crafty trick."

BALI, Indonesia (AP) , Indonesian investigators on Sunday began working to determine what caused a new Lion Air passenger jet to miss a runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 on board.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) , Voters who kept Hugo Chavez in office for 14 years were deciding Sunday whether to elect the devoted lieutenant he chose to carry on the revolution that endeared him to the poor but that many Venezuelans believe is ruining the nation.

BEIJING (AP) , Embedded within Chinese leaders' convoluted, yet vague statements to Washington about North Korea is a simple message: Talk with Pyongyang. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's...

BERLIN (AP) , The leader of a new anti-euro party called Sunday for Germany to leave the common currency, telling an inaugural convention that the euro forces German taxpayers to rescue bankrupt southern European countries whose people denounce them as Nazis for their efforts.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) , Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has indicated support of allowing women there to drive. He says that would help the kingdom's campaign to cut down on the number of foreign workers. Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and bans women from driving.

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, co-sponsor of an amendment that would expand gun-purchase background checks to sales online and at gun shows, says that passage of the measure in the Senate is still very much up in the air.

RAMALLAH, West Bank , Palestinian officials say Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad has resigned. Fayyad offered his resignation on Thursday, and was waiting for President Mahmoud Abbas' reply. Officials said Fayyad submitted his resignation to Abbas in person on Saturday, and Abbas accepted it.