DAMASCUS, July 8 -- Two bombs exploded on Tuesday near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron spent the night, wounding 18 people and overshadowing the first visit to Syria by a European Union head of state since Bashar al-Assad was toppled. Macron, whose motorcade left the hotel shortly before the blasts, pressed ahead with his visit, meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace. His office said he had not heard the blasts. The attack underlined lingering security challenges facing Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander who has built close ties with Western states as he has sought to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of civil war. P12...