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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

KIEV (Reuters) - NATO's secretary general, visiting Ukraine to bolster thin public support for joining the Alliance, said on Monday that membership would in no way oblige the country to host foreign bases or send soldiers off to war.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party submitted on Monday its defense in court against charges it is seeking to turn the predominantly Muslim but secular country into an Islamic state.

CAIRO (Reuters) - A boat carrying 150 African migrants en route to Europe sank off the Libyan coast and the Libyan authorities have recovered one survivor and 21 bodies, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said on Monday.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's security forces tightened their grip on the southern city of Amara on Monday and appealed to Shi'ite militias to hand over heavy weapons before a government deadline for launching a crackdown.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel sought on Monday to lower U.S. expectations for any deal with the Palestinians this year, brushing aside pressure over settlements and calling for decisions on Jerusalem's future to be deferred.

LONDON (Reuters) - Protests against surging fuel prices which have triggered fears of political instability and a global economic downturn expanded in Europe and Asia on Monday, and Colombian truckers said they would join the wave of strikes.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's threat of a cross-border pursuit of militants is more of a tactic to build pressure on Pakistan than a signal of real intent, analysts said on Monday.

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

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police have launched a more extensive crackdown on "social corruption" such as women flouting Islamic dress codes, the Farhang-e Ashti newspaper reported on Monday.

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers closed ranks on Monday to insist the EU reform treaty was still alive despite Ireland's "No" vote, but conceded they had no quick solutions to rescue it.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian taxi driver convicted of terrorism charges in 2006 but later set free after an appeal was ordered on Monday to face a fresh terrorism trial.