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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.

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama staked an ambitious claim to new political turf with the states he chose for his first two stops of the White House general election campaign -- Virginia and North Carolina.

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.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats accused John McCain on Wednesday of being confused and unsympathetic for saying it's "not too important" when U.S. troops leave Iraq, attacking the Republican presidential candidate on an issue he has made key in the November election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top two Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday backed a call by their party's presidential candidate, Barack Obama, for a second economic stimulus package.

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.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Colombia still sees a chance the U.S. Congress will approve a bilateral free trade agreement caught up in an election-year fight between President George W. Bush and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Colombian officials said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top two Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday backed a call by their party's presidential candidate, Barack Obama, for a second economic stimulus package.

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama dismissed criticism of a leader of his vice presidential search team on Tuesday, saying Jim Johnson was unpaid and "these folks aren't even working for me."

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.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bolivia's leftist government asked Washington to disclose whether it granted political asylum to a former defense minister accused of ordering violent crackdowns against protesters five years ago.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Barack Obama's campaign for the U.S. presidency has generated huge interest in Brazil, a country whose African heritage is a key part of its identity but where many blacks still struggle to progress in society.