Leading members of the U.S. Senate are saying they expect Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice to gain easy confirmation.
U.S. military officials in Iraq say fighting in the northern city of Mosul has calmed after an intense operation Tuesday to regain police stations and government buildings taken by insurgents last week.
Ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific economies will begin meetings later today (Wednesday) in Santiego, Chile, ahead of a summit of leaders from the region later this week.
Thailand's respected Queen Sirikit has made a public appeal for all Thais to work together to end the violence in the country's Muslim-majority south.
Two more senior executives from Vietnam's state-run aviation fuel importer have been arrested in a corruption scandal.
Listen to our World News for details of those stories and other interesting news.