The world at a glance . . . International

Pyongyang, North Korea

Kim reaches out: North Korea has offered to restart joint economic projects with South Korea that have been suspended for a year. The two governments previously worked together on a lucrative tourism project, which allowed South Koreans to visit a renowned mountain resort in the North. But the project was suspended last year after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers. In a meeting this week with the head of the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai, which operates a factory in the North, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il promised that such an incident “will never happen again.” The South Korean government said Hyundai was not an official negotiator and that any future projects would require an agreement between the governments.

Taipei, Taiwan

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Typhoon rescue delays: Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou faces calls for his resignation in the aftermath of last week’s devastating typhoon. The worst storm in half a century dumped a record 9½ feet of rain on the island, causing mudslides that killed hundreds and stranded thousands. Dozens of villages are still cut off from food and water supplies, and the recovery of bodies has been slow. Ma did not call a state of emergency or mobilize a swift military response to the typhoon. In addition, his government declined all foreign aid except cash. That policy, which was leaked to the press, prompted public outrage. In response, Ma this week reversed course and accepted some U.S. supplies.

Allahabad, India

Obama burned in effigy: A crowd protesting the detention in the U.S. of a Bollywood superstar burned President Obama in effigy this week. Shahrukh Khan, known as “the Brad Pitt of India,” was questioned by Transportation Security Administration officials for two hours at Newark Liberty International Airport before he was allowed to fly to Chicago. TSA agents may not have realized that Khan was a movie star. Angry fans, supported by Indian politicians, demonstrated across India to protest what they called a case of racial profiling. Khan was in the U.S. to promote a new film, My Name Is Khan, about the profiling of Muslims in the U.S. after 9/11.

Kabul, Afghanistan

Violence precedes election: Rocket attacks and car bombings across Kabul killed at least 20 people ahead of this week’s presidential election. One rocket hit the presidential palace, home of President Hamid Karzai, who is running for re-election to a second five-year term. In another attack, a suicide bomber struck the headquarters of NATO forces, killing seven and wounding scores. The violence underscored the perils of holding a vote in a country still in the grip of insurgency. Some towns are so completely controlled by the Taliban that the electoral commission did not even try to set up polling booths.

Kuwait City

Wedding horror: The ex-wife of a bridegroom set fire to a bridal tent at his wedding, killing at least 45 people, including the bride’s sister and mother. The ex-wife, 23, admitted guilt for the worst arson in Kuwaiti history after her maids said they had seen her pour kerosene around the tent and set it ablaze. More than 100 women and children were inside. The arsonist said she was avenging her former husband’s “bad treatment” of her. “It was a horrific scene with bodies and many shoes stuck to the ground at the only exit,” fire chief Gen. Jassem Mansouri told the Kuwait Times. “They must have trampled over one another.”

Asmara, Eritrea

Payment for war damage: Eritrea and Ethiopia must pay each other millions of dollars in compensation for damages arising from their 1989–2000 border war. An international tribunal in The Hague calculated the total property damage and ruled this week that Ethiopia owes $164 million while Eritrea owes $174 million. Consequently, Eritrea must cut a check to Ethiopia for the difference—$10 million. The decision is the final step in an international deal, sponsored by then–President Bill Clinton, to end their war. Eritrea has agreed to pay the debt. However, sticking points remain: The deal gave the town of Badme, where the war originated over a sovereignty dispute, to Eritrea. But Ethiopia still stations troops there.

Off Cape Verde

Mystery ship located: The Arctic Sea, a Russian cargo ship that mysteriously went missing in the English Channel three weeks ago, has been found off the west coast of Africa, its 15 crew members safe. The Russian navy said the ship, carrying timber from Finland bound for Algeria, had been hijacked by a group of Europeans: four Estonians, two Latvians, and two Russians. The ship’s disappearance from radar and satellite tracking had prompted speculation that its cargo might be weapons, drugs, or even nuclear material. Russian diplomat Dmitri Rogozin denied those rumors; it remains unclear how the ship vanished.