World News

LONDON - Counterterrorism police on Saturday questioned a friend of Michael Adebolajo, one of two suspects in the killing of an unarmed British soldier, a savage attack that has horrified Britain.

MAKHACHKALA, Russia - A female suicide bomber identified as a widow of two killed Islamists blew herself up in the southern Russian region of Dagestan on Saturday injuring at least 12, including two children and five police officers, police said.

KABUL - Artists and activists handed out 10,000 bright pink balloons to residents in Afghanistan's war-weary capital on Saturday, bringing smiles to surprised Kabul residents a day after a major Taliban siege on an international compound in the city.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The African Union on Saturday marked 50 years since the founding of a continentwide organization that helped liberate Africa from colonial masters and which now is trying to stay relevant on a continent regularly troubled by conflict.

KABUL - A would-be suicide bomber died when his explosives-rigged vest went off prematurely in Afghanistan's capital on Saturday morning, police said. The apparent failed attack came a day after a major Taliban assault on an international compound in Kabul left 10 people dead including the six attackers.

CANNES, France - For 66 years, the Cannes Film Festival's highest prize, the Palme d'Or, has been one of the most prestigious in movies. Winners have ranged from classic American films (Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation") to European classics (Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita").

CANNES, France - "Manuscripts Don't Burn" tells the story of an Iranian author secretly writing his memoirs and authorities' attempts to destroy the manuscript - a topic the director, Mohammad Rasoulof, knows quite a bit about.

MANILA, Philippines - At least seven Filipino marines and five militants were killed in a clash Saturday as the military launched an offensive against al-Qaida-linked gunmen who have been blamed for recent kidnappings and of trying to sabotage a road project in the southern Philippines.

CANNES, France - Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.