WORLD BRIEFS

ISRAEL/Airstrike kills militant chief

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Friday killed the commander of the militant group behind the abduction of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who was held captive for more than five years and freed in a prisoner swap for more than 1,000 Palestinians. The midday attack marked the highest profile Israeli strike against the coastal strip in several months and immediately sparked retaliatory rocket attacks toward Israel -- raising the specter of a violent escalation after a period of relative calm.

GREECE/Biggest debt deal in history

Greece's private creditors agreed Friday to take cents on the euro in the biggest debt writedown in history, paving the way for an enormous second bailout for the country to keep Europe's economy from being dragged further into chaos. Greece would have risked defaulting on its debts in two weeks without the agreement, sparking turmoil in the financial markets and sending shock waves through the other 16 countries that use the euro.

MEXICO/Youths killed in horrific crime

The slayings of four youths whose bodies were cut to pieces and left in plastic bags has horrified the central Mexico city of Cuernavaca, calling up memories of a similar crime a year ago that spurred the creation of a national crime victims' movement. Prosecutors in Morelos state said the victims, ranging in age from 14 to 21, were found Thursday in plastic bags on a Cuernavaca street along with a threatening note from a drug gang. The youths had apparently been strangled or asphyxiated before being dismembered, according to the prosecutors' statement. Prosecutors said the four were students at local schools, though the mother of the youngest victim, a 14-year-old, said the boy had left home 1 1/2 weeks before "and had been hanging out with others, driving around on minibikes" in one of the city's rougher neighborhoods.