BEIJING (AFP) - China on Thursday warned against politicising the trial of four Rio Tinto employees, including an Australian, in a case that has badly strained relations between the two countries.

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) - Military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday released a US rights activist who was jailed for three years in February for fraud and forgery, an official told AFP.

TOKYO (AFP) - France will not open an embassy in North Korea, but it may open an office to support non-governmental groups, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday.

MOSCOW (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday arrived in Russia for crucial talks on disarmament and a meeting of the international quartet on the Middle East, an AFP correspondent reported.

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea has executed Pak Nam-Ki, a top financial official blamed for a bungled currency revaluation that triggered chaos in the communist state, South Korean news reports said Thursday.