MEXICO CITY (AP) - Nicaragua's Sandinista-controlled National Assembly approved criminal code changes Tuesday that allow the government to try opponents in absentia and seize the assets of the condemned. It’s a practice that’s already carried out but will now have legal foundation.

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) - This time, it really is au revoir. A summer sporting bonanza which started under pouring rain on July 26 with a remarkable opening ceremony on the Seine River was ending Sunday with the Paralympics closing at a rain-soaked Stade de France.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - Nearly 2½ years into a state of emergency that has suspended key civil liberties in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele says the security advances achieved are sustainable without what was supposed to be a temporary measure.