World datelines

Pakistan: Bombing

PESHAWAR — A powerful bomb targeted the offices of Pakistan's main spy agency in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday, tearing down much of the building and causing several casualties, witnesses said.

The blast struck at the heart of the agency overseeing much of the anti-terror campaign in the border regions with Afghanistan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding out.

Nepal: Protest

KATMANDU — Tens of thousands of communist demonstrators blocked the streets leading to the government headquarters in Nepal's capital and scuffled with police Thursday in one of the biggest protests against the president and administration in months.

Demonstrators prevented officials from entering the area, shutting down many government functions. Hundreds of riot police armed with batons and tear gas guarded the complex.

Irrigation Minister Bal Krishna Khad said only four Cabinet ministers managed to reach their offices before the protest began. Most government employees were unable to get to work.

Brazil: Deforestation

BRASILIA — Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon dropped nearly 46 percent from August 2008 to July 2009 — the biggest annual decline in two decades, the government said Thursday.

Analysis of satellite imagery by the National Institute for Space Research shows an estimated 2,705 square miles of forest were cleared during the 12-month period, the lowest rate since the government started monitoring deforestation in 1988.

Sudan: New famine

The deputy head of the U.N. children's agency said Thursday that a famine is looming in southern Sudan because of scarce rainfall and inadequate foreign funds for the region.

Emergency malnutrition levels in children have nearly doubled in at least two out of the 10 southern states, said Hilda Johnson of UNICEF.

South Sudan lies in a drought-prone belt of Africa but the situation there has been exacerbated by rising intertribal violence that has claimed 2,000 lives since the start of 2009. A budget crunch on the government of southern Sudan because of the financial crisis has also put strains on the available resources.

Norway: Released

OSLO — A Norwegian freelance journalist kidnapped a week ago in eastern Afghanistan has been released along with his Afghan interpreter, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Journalist Paal Refsdal and an unnamed interpreter were freed Wednesday night after being abducted Nov. 5 near the border with Pakistan, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

It is still unclear who abducted Refsdal and demanded $500,000 for his release, Stoere told journalists Thursday evening, adding that to his knowledge the demand was never met.

Australia: Dog found