Green Zone, vehicle bombings kill 18

Baghdad

Green Zone, vehicle bombings kill 18

Iraqi officials say two attacks killed 18 people and wounded 18 others in Baghdad's morning rush hour today.

Security officials said a female suicide bomber blew herself up near the Green Zone, killing five people and wounding 11 others. The Green Zone is home to the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices.

Meanwhile, police said 13 people were killed and seven wounded in a bombing on a Trade Ministry minibus in Baghdad.

Lima, Peru

APEC promises decisive action

President Bush and other world leaders vowed Sunday to act "quickly and decisively" to battle the global economic crisis, as a 21-nation summit predicted worldwide recovery in 18 months.

But the final declaration from the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum was short on specifics, beyond a vow by participating nations to avoid pressures to implement "protectionist" measures, such as import restrictions.

The summit — Bush's final scheduled foreign trip as U.S. leader — may have been more symbol than substance, analysts agreed. But the forum gave the White House the added support it had sought for its broad guidelines to avert a worsening global economic crisis.

The APEC group strongly backed the so-called "Washington Declaration," a blueprint for economic stimulus and improved regulation hammered out by 20 participating nations earlier this month in the U.S. capital.

Baghdad

Rifles, poison meat used to kill dogs

Baghdad authorities killed more than 200 stray dogs on Sunday, the opening day of a campaign to cull dog packs roaming the capital that was prompted by a spate of fatal attacks on residents.

Three teams of veterinarians and police officers used poisoned meat and rifles to kill the animals, said Dr. Hassan Chaloub, an official at the veterinary hospital supervising the effort. He said the capital has no dog shelters.

Thirteen people died in August alone in the capital after being attacked by dogs, according to Baghdad's provincial council, which is overseeing the campaign.

Srinagar, India

Voter turnout high despite threat

Turnout was high for a second round of voting in Indian Kashmir on Sunday despite boycott calls by Muslim separatists and clashes in some towns between angry protesters and security forces, officials said.

As in the first round, enthusiastic voters waited in long lines to cast their ballots in many areas.

Turnout was about 65 percent of eligible voters in the six districts where balloting took place, government official Masood Samoon said.

Separatists say the elections will only entrench New Delhi's hold on the restive region. More than 30 leaders who called for an election boycott have been detained in recent days under a law that allows police to hold people for up to two years without trial.

Seoul, South Korea

Demilitarized-zone travel to be banned

State-run North Korean media say its military has informed the South it will follow through with a plan to ban all overland passage through the demilitarized zone starting Dec. 1.

Monday's report says the border shutdown will mean a total suspension of tourism to the North Korean city of Kaesong.

The Korean Central News Agency says the North Korean army will also "selectively expel" South Korean business managers now running factories in Kaesong and at the Diamond Mountain resort.

Times news services