World briefs

CHINA A fire in a carrot-packaging plant has killed 18 people in eastern China, police said yesterday. An additional 13 people were injured in the fire Sunday night at the Longyuan Food Co. facility in the Shandong province city of Shouguang, the city’s police department said on its official microblog. Two of the injured were in serious condition, the police said.

AUSTRALIA China and Australia sign a preliminary free-trade deal that would give Australia’s service industry unsurpassed access to the Chinese market and Australian agriculture advantages over competitors from the United States, Canada and the European Union. Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing by Australian and Chinese officials of a declaration of intent which officially concluded negotiations that began in 2005. More on p11

N KOREA A special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leaves for Russia to discuss ways to improve trade and political ties. Choe Ryong Hae, a senior official in the ruling Workers’ Party and one of Kim’s close associates, is scheduled to stay in Russia until Nov. 24.

THAILAND An elephant tramples its handler to death and runs off with two Russian tourists — a mother and her 9-year-old daughter — on its back in southern Thailand, police say. Rescue teams tracked down the elephant about 3 kilometers away and tranquilized it to rescue the tourists.

JAPAN’s economy unexpectedly slips back into recession as housing and business investment drops following a sales tax hike, hobbling its ability to help drive the global recovery. The world’s third-largest economy contracted at a 1.6 percent annual pace in the July-September quarter, the government said, confounding expectations that it would rebound after a big drop the quarter before. More on p12

BURKINA FASO’s former ambassador to the United Nations is slated to be in charge of a civilian transitional government after the military briefly seized control of the country last month. Michel Kafando, 72 , was named early Monday as transitional president to lead Burkina Faso until elections a year from now.

ROMANIA An ethnic German mayor who defeated the prime minister in a runoff to become president of Romania said yesterday his victory signals stronger relations with the West and greater stability for Eastern Europe. Thousands of Romanians celebrated the surprise victory of Klaus Iohannis over Victor Ponta, which the mayor of Sibiu said would lead to “deep change” in Romania.

USA A surgeon who contracted Ebola while working in his native Sierra Leone died yesterday while being treated in a biocontainment unit at a Nebraska hospital, the facility said. Nebraska Medical Center said in a news release that Dr. Martin Salia died as a result of the disease. Hospital spokesman Taylor Wilson said Salia died shortly after 4 a.m. yesterday.

USA The number of children experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has surged to an all-time high of nearly 2.5 million — one of every 30 children — according to a comprehensive state-by-state report that blames high poverty rates, the lack of affordable housing and the impact of pervasive domestic violence. The problem is notably severe in California, which has one-eighth of the U.S. population but accounts for more than one-fifth of the homeless children.

UK Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has offered a bleak assessment of global economic prospects, comparing potential troubles to red warning lights on a car’s dashboard. Writing in an op-ed piece in the Guardian newspaper after returning from the G-20 summit in Australia, Cameron said yesterday that a lack of growth in Europe and conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine add to the backdrop of instability.