Iraq: Iraqi police say at least nine people have been killed and several others wounded in two separate car bomb explosions in Baghdad.
The attacks took place early this (Tuesday) morning near the health ministry in central Baghdad and in an eastern part of the city. Officials say insurgents also fired one mortar shell into the health ministry area.
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Iraq's prime minister (Nouri al-Maliki) to express regret for civilian deaths in a shootout involving U.S. security contractors in Baghdad.
Iraq's Interior Ministry has withdrawn the license of the contractor -- Blackwater USA -- which provides security for many U.S. civilian operations in Iraq.
Pakistan Pol: A Pakistani government lawyer says President Pervez Musharraf will give up his position as army chief if he is re-elected president.
The president's chief lawyer, Sharifuddin Pirzada, said "if elected for a second term as president, General Musharraf will relinquish charge of the office of the chief of army staff soon after election, but before taking oath of office as president."
The statement came during today's (Tuesday's) Supreme Court hearing into challenges against General Musharraf's plan to seek re-election next month.
Opposition groups are disputing the legality of his plan to run for another five-year term as president while he holds the post of army chief.
Monday Pakistan's Election Commission announced a rule change that could help President Musharraf's re-election bid.
The commission said it is amending a key constitutional article that bars public servants from running for elected office unless they have been retired for two years.
Nepal – Maoists: Nepal's Maoists say they have quit the interim coalition government, after other partners failed to meet the former rebels' demand to immediately abolish the monarchy.
A senior Maoist leader (Cabinet minister Dev Gurung) said his group submitted resignations to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today (Tuesday).
There was no immediate comment from the government.
The Maoists are demanding that Nepal be declared a republic before a special assembly is elected in November to decide the fate of the monarchy. They argue that supporters of King Gyanendra are trying to sabotage the election.
The former rebels say they will begin street protests to force the government meet their demand, adding they have no plans to renew their armed revolt.
Burma Protests: Witnesses in Burma say hundreds of Buddhists monks have marched in Rangoon - the latest in a series of demonstrations against the military government.
At least 300 monks chanted Buddhist prayers as they walked through downtown Rangoon today (Tuesday). Witnesses say security forces stopped the monks from entering the famous Shwedagon pagoda, but made no arrests.
More than 100 onlookers watched the procession, raising their hands in a show of support.
They are demanding an apology from the military-run government for soldiers that beat a group of monks during a demonstration two weeks ago in the central town of Pakokku.
Public demonstrations began in Burma in August, when the government doubled the price of fuel. Officials say the price hike was in line with high world oil prices.
East Asia Typhoons: China is evacuating about 200-thousand people from its commercial center, Shanghai, as a powerful typhoon churns toward the mainland.
Meteorologists say Typhoon Wipha likely will make landfall near Shanghai after hitting Taiwan today (Tuesday).
Authorities in northern Taiwan have ordered schools, offices and the stock market closed.
Another storm, Typhoon Nari, hit South Korea Sunday. It killed 14 people and displaced nearly one-thousand others, mostly on the resort island of Jeju and in Jeolla province.
Flooding from that storm knocked out electricity to thousands of homes, destroyed hundreds of houses and businesses, damaged crops and washed out roads.
Forecasters say South Korea could again be pounded by heavy rains as Typhoon Wipha heads back out to sea later this week.
Listen to our World News for details.