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TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese warship is set to arrive in China next week in the first such visit since World War Two, Japan's Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A 600,000-strong South Korean labor group on Tuesday announced a one-day strike next month to protest against the president's economic reform plans, adding pressure on the embattled leader facing calls for his ouster.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan hanged three convicted murderers on Tuesday, including the killer of four young girls, the Justice Ministry said, in a further sign the country is speeding up the pace of executions.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama opens the general election campaign with a narrow lead over Republican John McCain but the two score near even among independent voters, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Promoters of a new Thai energy drink called "Thaksin, Fight" have had to scale back their advertising for fear of inciting violence between supporters and opponents of the ousted prime minister.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest opposition leaders over election campaign violence for which his opponents blame ruling party supporters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean negotiators resumed talks on Monday on a deal to resume U.S. beef exports, which has triggered furor among South Koreans, just hours after officials announced discussions had ended without a resolution.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan before November's election and was encouraged by a recent reduction in violence in Iraq.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A powerful car bomb exploded in a crowded market area of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 51 people and wounding 75, in the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in months.

SANSHUI, China (Reuters) - China's southern industrial hub braced on Tuesday for floods that have already killed 169 across the region, adding to the toll of natural disasters that have pummeled the nation in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.

MALABO (Reuters) - British mercenary Simon Mann, one of the last prominent "dogs of war" in Africa, was to go on trial on Tuesday in Equatorial Guinea accused of leading a failed 2004 coup against the oil-rich African state.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has asked its envoy to Bolivia to return home after violent protests a week ago at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, and warned Bolivia to meet its obligations to protect diplomats, the State Department said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the Congress, who came to power last year on a call to end the combat in Iraq, will soon give President George W. Bush the last war-funding bill of his presidency without any of the conditions they sought for withdrawing U.S. troops, congressional aides said on Monday.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill on Monday that will direct $1 billion of state funds toward biotechnology over 10 years, aiming to fill a federal funding shortfall caused by White House opposition to embryonic stem cell research.

PARIS (Reuters) - France aims to create a smaller, more mobile and better equipped army, able to respond to threats ranging from terrorism to cyber attacks, under plans to be formally presented by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned on Monday that rising U.S. government spending on health care risks triggering runaway budget deficits that could put economic stability in danger.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court might have to free its first suspect because abuses of procedure by prosecutors could make a fair trial impossible, the court said on Monday.

KUWAIT (Reuters) - U.S. ally Kuwait on Monday rejected Washington's accusation that a Kuwaiti charity was funding terrorist activities.

FLINT, Michigan (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he was encouraged by a reduction in violence in Iraq but underlined his support for a pullout of U.S. troops.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean negotiators were set to continue talks on Monday on a deal to resume U.S. beef exports, which has triggered furor among South Koreans, just hours after officials announced the weekend discussions had ended without a resolution.