KABUL, Afghanistan A suicide car bomb exploded on a crowded street near the Indian Embassy in central Kabul during Monday morning rush hour, killing seven people and wounding 51, officials said.

BEIJING Only the Olympics could bump Mao Zedong, the founding leader of communist China, off a Chinese banknote.

BANGKOK, Thailand Thousands of protesters gathered in front of Thailand's national police headquarters Monday to demand action on long-pending legal cases against toppled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

SEOUL, South Korea South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said he is willing to meet North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il any time if it will help end the North's nuclear programs, news reports said Monday.

QUITO, Ecuador Hundreds of jailed convicts are celebrating Ecuador's decision to pardon low-level drug couriers known as "mules."

NEW YORK The image of Ted Koppel interviewing world leaders is so ingrained that it feels odd to see him wearing a hardhat for a nervous trip into a Chinese coal mine, or sitting in a Chongqing karaoke bar where teenage girls are hired to "entertain" male customers.

BOGOTA, Colombia Freed after years as rebel-held hostages, French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and four Colombian police officers sent messages of hope in a radio broadcast Sunday to captives still detained in remote jungle camps.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates canceled billions of dollars of Iraqi debt Sunday and moved to restore a full diplomatic mission in Baghdad, evidence of Iraq's improved security and growing acceptance of its Shiite-led government.

MEXICO CITY Mexico's Agriculture Department is denying reports that the United States will close its borders to some Mexican produce.

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico A plane carrying a load of auto parts crashed Sunday as it was trying to land in northern Mexico, killing the pilot and severely injuring the co-pilot.

JERUSALEM Israel TV on Sunday showed tractors working at a cemetery where Lebanese and Palestinian fighters are buried, part of a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah.

BAGHDAD Iraqi police and medical officials say a bomb has killed the head of a U.S.-allied Sunni group south of Baghdad.

MOGADISHU, Somalia Gunmen opened fire on people leaving a mosque in Somalia's capital on Sunday night, killing one of the country's senior U.N. officials and wounding his son and another man, a witness and a family member said.

BOGOTA, Colombia Freed after years as rebel-held hostages, French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and four Colombian police officers sent radio messages of hope on Sunday to captives still detained in remote jungle camps.

WREXHAM, Wales During a bustling lunch hour in this Welsh commuter town, 25-year-old Richard Williams is one of the few who pause to look at properties for sale in a real-estate agent's window - and he isn't buying.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan A suicide bomber targeted police officers in Pakistan's capital Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens while thousands of Islamists marked the one-year anniversary of a deadly military crackdown on a mosque nearby.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa Britain called Sunday for tough action as well as talk in the face of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's defiance and signs of disunity among his opposition.

KABUL, Afghanistan Afghan officials said fighter aircraft battling militants accidentally killed up to 27 Afghans walking to a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday, the second military attack in three days with reports of civilian deaths.

SHANGHAI, China For a vivid insight into the clash of old and new in China, follow the bicycle.