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Mexico City — A mass shooting in a mountain township beset by crime just south of Mexico City resulted in several deaths, authorities said Sunday. Local and state officials did not give a specific death toll, saying only that there were some deaths. But Mexican news media, including the national newspapers Reforma, Milenio and El Universal, reported that eight people were slain. The government of the state of Morelos, which borders Mexico City, said the attack occurred late Saturday in Huitzilac. The forested mountain township has been plagued by illegal loggers, kidnappers and drug gangs, in part because it provides the closest rural hideout near Mexico's capital. The town's mayor, Rafael Vargas, called the attack "a terrible violent act" and said that "several people" were killed. "Right in the center of town, several people were attacked and killed," Vargas said. Apparently aware of the town's rough reputation, he added: "The violence should stop. We will denounce all types of slander that seek to damage our people."

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria's fashion and traditional dances were at full display on Sunday as Prince Harry and Meghan arrived in its largest city, Lagos, as part of their three-day visit to the country to promote mental health for soldiers and empower young people. The couple, invited to the West African nation by its military, were treated to different bouts of dancing, starting from the Lagos airport where a troupe's acrobatic moves left both applauding and grinning. One of the dancers, who looked younger than 5 years old, exchanged salutes with Harry from high up in the air, standing on firm shoulders. Going with Meghan's white top was the traditional Nigerian aso oke, a patterned handwoven fabric wrapped around the waist and often reserved for special occasions. It was a gift from a group of women a day earlier. The couple visited a local charity – Giants of Africa — which uses basketball to empower young people. There, they were treated to another round of dancing before unveiling a partnership between the organization and their Archewell Foundation. "What you guys are doing here at Giants of Africa is truly amazing," Harry said of the group. "The power of sport can change lives. It brings people together and creates community and there are no barriers, which is the most important thing." Masai Ujiri, the charity's president and an ex-NBA star, wished Meghan a happy Mother's Day and acknowledged how hard it can be "for us to be away from our kids and family to make things like this happen." "To do so shows dedication (and) we truly appreciate it," he told the couple. Meghan and Harry later attended a fundraiser for Nigeria's soldiers wounded in the country's fight against Islamic extremists and other armed groups in the country's conflict-battered north. The event was related to Harry's Invictus Games, which Nigeria is seeking to host in the future. The couple were also hosted at the Lagos State Government House, where Meghan received another handwoven Nigerian fabric. "We've extended an additional invitation to them that they can always come back when they want to," Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu told reporters.

As generative AI technologies like ChatGPT rapidly gain popularity, they are beginning to change the future of the job market. Some fear mass unemployment, but others see a bright future for human-AI cooperation. Maxim Adams has the story.

LOS ANGELES — "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed surge to an uncertain season in theaters. The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built on the rebooted "Apes" trilogy of the 2010s had the third highest opening of the year, after the $81.5 million debut of "Dune: Part Two" in early March and the $58.3 million domestic opening of "Kung Fu Panda 4" a week later. The strong performance for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" — it played even better internationally with a global total of $129 million — comes a week after a tepid start for Ryan Gosling's "The Fall Guy" signaled that the summer of 2024 is likely to see a major drop-off after the "Barbenheimer" magic of 2023. "Planet of the Apes" easily made more than the rest of the top 10 combined. "The Fall Guy" fell to No. 2 with a $13.7 million weekend and a two-week total of $49.7 million for Universal Pictures. Zendaya's "Challengers" was third with $4.7 million and has earned $38 million in three weeks for Amazon MGM studios. The opening for "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," helmed by "Maze Runner" director Wes Ball, was the second best in the series, after the $72 million opening weekend of 2014's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." It's the 10th movie in the "Planet of the Apes" franchise that began in 1968 with the Charlton Heston original with a twist ending. "This franchise has never been allowed to lose its momentum," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "There are very few franchises that have this kind of longevity." And it really is the property itself. The new film shares no central actors or characters with its predecessors. "There's just this love for the way it melds sci-fi with social commentary and straight-up popcorn entertainment," Dergarabedian said. "Kingdom" came with strong reviews and positive buzz (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a "B" CinemaScore). It was especially praised for its visual effects and the way its CGI has caught up with its primates-on-horseback aesthetic even since the last film, 2017's "War for the Planet of the Apes." Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press called it "thrilling" and "visually stunning." The shot in the arm is welcome for the movie business, but there is little certainty in the forthcoming summer. The year so far, lacking an early Marvel movie like 2023's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," is running 21% last year's mid-May total. While there are potential blockbusters that feel like safe bets including "Despicable Me 4" and "Deadpool & Wolverine" in July, others like "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" later this month and "Twisters" later in the summer feel like they could break either way. Pixar once brought almost guaranteed hits, but June's "Inside Out 2" may not thrive like the 2015 original. "There used to be sure bets we cannot necessarily bank on anymore," Dergarabedian said. "It is going to be a bit of a hit-or-miss slate." Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," $56.5 million. 2. "The Fall Guy," $13.7 million. 3. "Challengers," $4.7 million. 4. "Tarot," $3.45 million. 5. "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," $2.5 million. 6. "Unsung Hero," $ 2.25 million. 7. "Kung Fu Panda 4," $2 million. 8. "Civil War," $1.8 million. 9. "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace," $1.5 million. 10. "Abigail," $1.1 million.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

TORONTO — The season's first major wildfires have spread to roughly 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) across Western Canada on Sunday as authorities issued an evacuation order for a community in British Columbia and warned of poor air quality across provinces. In British Columbia, thousands of residents in Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nations were evacuated as the nearby blaze nearly doubled to 4,136 hectares. Fort Nelson First Nation, 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) from the town, also issued an evacuation order for Fontas, an Indigenous community. Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser in a TV interview said most of the 3,500 residents in and around Fort Nelson had been evacuated. Across the border in Alberta, residents of Fort McMurray, an oil hub, faced extensive damage from wildfires in 2016, were asked to prepare to leave. Alberta said two wildfires were extreme and out of control and recorded 43 active fires, including one located 16 kilometers southwest of Fort McMurray. It grew significantly over the weekend to 5,500 hectares, much larger than what was reported on Friday. On Sunday, authorities said the fire had subdued but was expected to increase as the temperatures soar. Winds from the southeast are expected to push the wildfire away from a major highway and toward the Athabasca River. Fraser said the fire was started by a tree blown down by strong winds falling onto a power line. Six crews of wildland firefighters, 13 helicopters and air tankers were taming the fire on Sunday, said Alberta authorities. Evacuation alerts were in place for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates and expanded to Gregoire Lake Estates and Rickards Landing Industrial Park. Although there is no immediate risk to these communities, the alert ensures residents are prepared to evacuate if conditions change. Smoke in Fort McMurray on Saturday was coming from fires in northern British Columbia, Alberta said. Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement that extends from British Columbia to Ontario on Sunday. Last year, a veil of smoke blanketed the U.S. East Coast, tinging the skies a fluorescent orange as smoke reached parts of Europe as hundreds of forest fires burnt millions of acres of land and forced about 120,000 people to leave their homes. The federal government has warned Canada faces another "catastrophic" wildfire season as it forecast higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country, boosted by El Nino weather conditions. Canada experienced one of its warmest winters with low to non-existent snow in many areas, raising fears ahead of a hot summer triggering blazes in forests and wildlands amid an ongoing drought.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Barcelona, Spain — Commuter rail service for Barcelona and northeastern Spain has suffered major disruption because of the theft of copper cables from a train installation, Spanish rail authorities said Sunday. Thousands of commuters were stranded at train stations in and around Barcelona after trains couldn't run on several commuter lines. The disruption to local transport came while more than 5.7 million voters were eligible to participate in a regional election in Catalonia. Spain’s state-owned railway authority ADIF said that the theft of electrical cabling from a station just north of Barcelona in the town of Montcada caused “several fires in the cables of the signaling system.” It said that the incident around 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) caused a “serious” impact to the local train service and affected all the rail lines. Catalonia’s commuter rail service suffers regular delays, some because of similar acts of theft.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Moscow — Russia's President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defense minister as he begins his fifth term in office. In line with Russian law, the entire Russian Cabinet resigned on Tuesday following Putin's glittering inauguration in the Kremlin, and most members have been widely expected to keep their jobs, while Shoigu's fate appeared uncertain. Putin signed a decree on Sunday appointing Shoigu as secretary of Russia's national security council, the Kremlin said. The appointment was announced shortly after Putin proposed First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov to become the country's defense minister in place of Shoigu. Belousov's candidacy will need to be approved by Russia's upper house in parliament, the Federation Council. It reported Sunday that Putin introduced proposals for other Cabinet positions as well, but Shoigu is the only minister on that list who is being replaced. Several other new candidates for federal ministers were proposed Saturday by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, reappointed by Putin on Friday. Shoigu's deputy, Timur Ivanov, was arrested last month on bribery charges and was ordered to remain in custody pending an official investigation. The arrest of Ivanov was widely interpreted as an attack on Shoigu and a possible precursor of his dismissal, despite his close personal ties with Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that Putin had decided to give the defense minister role to a civilian because the ministry should be "open to innovation and cutting-edge ideas" and Belousov, who until recently served as the first deputy prime minister, is the right fit for the job. Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said in an online commentary that Shoigu's new appointment to Russia's Security Council showed that the Russian leader viewed the institution as a political holding space. Figures such as former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have also been appointed to the security council: Medvedev has served as the body's deputy chairman since 2020. "The Security Council is becoming a reservoir for Putin's "former" key figures — people who he can't let go, but doesn't have a place for," Stanovaya wrote on social media. The announcement of Shoigu's new role came as 12 people were reported dead and 20 more wounded in Russia's border city of Belgorod, where a section of a residential building collapsed after what Russian officials said was Ukrainian shelling. In Ukraine, thousands more civilians have fled Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast that has targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar shelling, officials said Sunday. The intense battles have forced at least one Ukrainian unit to withdraw in the Kharkiv region, capitulating more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested gray zone along the Russian border. By Sunday afternoon, the town of Vovchansk, among the largest in the northeast with a prewar population of 17,000, emerged as a focal point in the battle. Volodymyr Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said that Russian forces were on the outskirts of the town and approaching from three directions. "Infantry fighting is already taking place," he said. A Russian tank was spotted along a major road leading to the town, Tymoshko said, illustrating Moscow's confidence to deploy heavy weaponry. An Associated Press team, positioned in a nearby village, saw plumes of smoke rising from the town as Russian forces hurled shells. Evacuation teams worked nonstop throughout the day to take residents, most of whom were older, out of harm's way. At least 4,000 civilians have fled the Kharkiv region since Friday, when Moscow's forces launched the operation, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in a social media statement. Heavy fighting raged Sunday along the northeast front line, where Russian forces attacked 27 settlements in the past 24 hours, he said. Analysts say the Russian push is designed to exploit ammunition shortages before promised Western supplies can reach the front line. Ukrainian soldiers said that the Kremlin is using the usual Russian tactic of launching a disproportionate amount of fire and infantry assaults to exhaust their troops and firepower. By intensifying battles in what was previously a static patch of the front line, Russian forces threaten to pin down Ukrainian forces in the northeast, while carrying out intense battles farther south where Moscow is also gaining ground. It comes after Russia stepped up attacks in March targeting energy infrastructure and settlements, which analysts predicted were a concerted effort to shape conditions for an offensive. Meanwhile, a 10-story apartment building partially collapsed in Belgorod near the border, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 others. Russian authorities said the building collapsed following Ukrainian shelling. Ukraine hasn't commented on the incident. The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had captured four villages on the border along Ukraine's Kharkiv region, in addition to five villages reported to have been seized on Saturday. These areas were likely poorly fortified because of the dynamic fighting and constant heavy shelling, easing a Russian advance. Ukraine's leadership hasn't confirmed Moscow's gains. But Tymoshko, the head of the Kharkiv regional police, said that Strilecha, Pylna and Borsivika were under Russian occupation, and it was from their direction they were bringing in infantry to stage attacks in other embattled villages of Hlyboke and Lukiantsi.

Cairo — Chinese companies won four bids to explore Iraqi oil and gas fields, Iraq's oil minister said Sunday as the Middle Eastern country's hydrocarbon exploration licensing round continued into its second day. The oil and gas licenses for 29 projects are mainly aimed at ramping up output for domestic use, with more than 20 companies pre-qualifying, including European, Chinese, Arab and Iraqi groups. Chinese companies have been the only foreign players to win bids, taking nine oil and gas fields since Saturday, while Iraqi Kurdish company KAR Group took two. There were notably no U.S. oil majors involved, even after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia met representatives of U.S. companies on an official visit to the United States last month. China’s National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) -Iraq won a bid to develop Iraq's Block 7 for oil exploration that extends across the country's central and southern provinces of Diwaniya, Babil, Najaf, Wasit and Muthanna, said oil minister Hayan Abdul Ghani. ZhenHua, Anton Oilfield Services and Sinopec won bids to develop the Abu Khaymah oilfield in Muthanna, the Dhufriya field in Wasit and the Summer field in Muthanna respectively, the minister said. Iraq's main goal with its sixth licensing round was to increase gas output that it wants to use to fire power plants that rely heavily on gas imported from Iran. However, no bids were made on at least two fields with large gas potential, potentially undermining those efforts. Iraq, OPEC's second-largest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia, has been hampered in its oil sector development by contract terms viewed as unfavorable by many major oil companies as well as recurring military conflict and growing investor focus on environmental, social and governance criteria.

Baltimore, Maryland — After weeks of preparation, crews are scheduled to conduct a controlled demolition Sunday evening to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, which came crashing down under the impact of a massive container ship on March 26. The steel span — which is an estimated 152 meters long and weighs up to 544 metric tons — landed on the ship's bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge's support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck among the wreckage and Baltimore's busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic. Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the collapse. The last of their bodies was recovered from the underwater wreckage earlier this week. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. for job opportunities. They were filling potholes on an overnight shift when the bridge was destroyed. The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and guided back into the Port of Baltimore. Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure. The Dali's 21-member crew will shelter in place aboard the ship while the explosives are detonated. William Marks, a spokesperson for the crew, said they would shelter "in a designated safe place" during the demolition. "All precautions are being taken to ensure everyone's safety," he said in an email. Officials said the demolition is the safest and most efficient way to remove steel under a high level of pressure and tension. "It's unsafe for the workers to be on or in the immediate vicinity of the bridge truss for those final cuts," officials said in a news release Sunday. In a videographic released this week, authorities said engineers are using precision cuts to control how the trusses break down. They said the method allows for "surgical precision" and the steel structure will be "thrust away from the Dali" when the explosives send it tumbling into the water. Once it's demolished, hydraulic grabbers will lift the resulting sections of steel onto barges. "It's important to note that this controlled demolition is not like what you would see in a movie," the video says, noting that from a distance it will sound like fireworks or loud thunder and give off puffs of smoke. So far, about 5,443 metric tons of steel and concrete have been removed from the collapse site. Officials estimate the total amount of wreckage at 45,359 metric tons, about the equivalent of 3,800 loaded dump trucks. Officials previously said they hoped to remove the Dali by May 10 and reopen the port's 15.2-meter main channel by the end of May. The Dali is currently scheduled to be refloated during high tide on Tuesday, officials said Sunday. They said three or four tugboats will be used to guide the ship to a nearby terminal in the Port of Baltimore. It will likely remain there for a few weeks and undergo temporary repairs before being moved to a shipyard for more substantial repairs. The Dali crew members haven't been allowed to leave the grounded vessel since the disaster. Officials said they have been busy maintaining the ship and assisting investigators. Of the crew members, 20 are from India and one is Sri Lankan. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting investigations into the bridge collapse. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn't get far. Its crew sent a mayday call saying they had lost power and had no control of the steering system. Minutes later, the ship rammed into the bridge. Officials have said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship's electrical system.

Russia blames fragments of a falling Ukrainian missile for a deadly strike on an apartment building in Belgorod. Ukraine so far has offered no comment. This, as Russian forces continue the capture of territory in Ukraine’s northeast. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.