Bomb attack kills Afghan governor

Kabul, Afghanistan

Officials say a bomb attack has killed an Afghan governor outside his home.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary says a bomb today killed Abdullah Wardak, the governor of Logar province, and one of his bodyguards.

Wardak, a former Cabinet member, was in charge of a province right next to Kabul. Afghanistan has 34 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor.

Militants frequently target government leaders in their campaign of violence against the Afghan government.

Calais, France

Channel tunnel reopens after fire

Freight trains began rolling late Friday through the landmark undersea tunnel that revolutionized travel between France and England, after firefighters extinguished an intense blaze that shut down service for more than a day.

Sleek high-speed Eurostar passenger trains that also use the tunnel will resume a reduced service this morning, said France's rail operator.

Firefighters worked toward each other from separate ends in France and Britain to combat the blaze, which broke out Thursday afternoon aboard one of the trains that whiz back and forth through the 30-mile tunnel that opened to passengers in 1994.

The blaze, with temperatures of up to 1,832 degrees, was declared extinguished around midday Friday.

La Paz, Bolivia

Morales declares state of siege

Bolivian President Evo Morales decreed a state of siege and sent troops Friday to an eastern province where at least eight people were killed in street battles between pro- and anti-government activists.

The move came hours after Morales and opposition governors from four eastern provinces that are in open revolt against him agreed to talks on ending the crisis.

Government opponents are demanding Morales cancel a Dec. 7 nationwide vote on a new constitution that would help him centralize power.

Seoul, South Korea

Leader reportedly lucid, can converse

Officials believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has recovered enough from a stroke to brush his own teeth but that sporadic spasms forced him to skip his country's 60th anniversary celebrations, reports said Friday.

Kim, 66, is lucid and has no trouble speaking, according to a Chinese official who met in recent weeks with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported.

Also

Charges dismissed: A South African judge dismissed corruption charges against ruling-party leader Jacob Zuma on Friday, likely clearing the path for the former freedom fighter to become the nation's president next year.

Soup smell: Campbell Soup Asia has recalled 330,000 cans of soup in Hong Kong and Macau after fielding complaints that some cans emitted an "objectionable smell," the company said Friday.

American charged in Bahrain: An American teacher has been charged in Bahrain with insulting the Prophet Muhammad for displaying pictures of him to university students, a spokesman said Friday.

Seattle Times news services