The U-S military in Iraq says at leat seven U-S military personnel have been killed in fighting over the past two days. A military statement says four American Marines were killed late Monday while "conducting security and stabilization operations" in western Anbar province, where the flashpoint town of Fallujah is located.
Malaysia has asked Thai officials to stop accusing Kuala Lumpur of harboring those responsible for violence committed in Thailand's Muslim-dominated south.
China's parliament rules that Beijing has authority over political reform in Hong Kong. Advocates of greater democracy in Hong Kong fear that the interpretation will be used to oppose growing calls for the direct election of territorial leaders by 2007.