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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he looked with "measured optimism" at relations with the United States despite differences over European security.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Families and friends mourned the seven people killed in a stabbing attack on a busy Tokyo shopping street as Japan's cabinet ministers discussed tightening knife regulations on Wednesday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Western pressure has failed to stop Iran's nuclear program from advancing, its president said on Wednesday, a day after the United States and the European Union warned of more sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Heavy rain hit south and east China on Wednesday, threatening reservoirs a day after a dangerous "quake lake" drained to safety in the southwest, state media said.

HANOI (Reuters) - Former Vietnam Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, a major force behind economic reforms started in the late 1980s, died on Wednesday, his family and the government said. He was 85.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Democratic Party and smaller allies submitted a non-binding censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in parliament's upper house on Wednesday in an effort to pressure the unpopular leader to call a snap election, a parliamentary official said.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's unpopular president has approached his main rival in his ruling conservative party to be prime minister to stem anger over policies that have triggered mass street protests.

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta said on Wednesday that detained opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi deserved to be beaten like an errant child for threatening national security.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will pledge about $10 billion in aid for Afghanistan at a donors' conference this week, a U.S. official said on Tuesday -- less than the White House had wanted from Congress.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of truckers went on a half-day strike in Thailand on Wednesday demanding government help against rising fuel prices, the latest in a series of protests that have swept across Asia and Europe.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - A senior Syrian official said on Tuesday no direct negotiations will be held with Israel until it recognizes what Damascus regards as requirements for a deal.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's unpopular prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, suffered an unprecedented censure in parliament's upper house on Wednesday, but the embarrassing opposition move was not expected to force him to resign or call a snap poll soon.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese airliner coming from Amman and Damascus burst into flames after landing in Khartoum on Tuesday night, killing at least 30 of the 214 people on board, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.

PANJI POYON, Tajikistan (Reuters) - Tajik soldiers squint through the sun and dust at the slowly approaching silhouette of an Afghan truck rumbling across a river bridge.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian drugs trial lasting more than three months and costing taxpayers over A$1 million ($947,000) has been aborted after a number of jurors were found to have spent up to half the time playing Sudoku puzzles.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is expected to pledge about $10 billion in aid for Afghanistan at a donors conference this week, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, less than what the White House had wanted from Congress.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican police botched the murder investigation of a journalist working near the U.S. border in 2004 by torturing suspects and mishandling evidence, the country's human's rights commission said.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudan Airways plane burst into flames after landing at Khartoum airport on Tuesday and 120 of the 217 passengers died, the head of the airport's medical services said.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations rejected on Tuesday as "absurd" and "offensive" allegations that it was being secretive in selecting a successor to its outspoken human rights chief, Louise Arbour.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday promised the military sufficient funds to maintain battle readiness with its conventional weapons purchases.