Beijing  - Troops walked Tuesday to towns and villages near the epicentre of a devastating earthquake t

Seoul - South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak will visit China later this month for talks on North Korea's nuclear programme and ways to strengthen ties between Seoul and Beijing, Lee's office said Tuesday.

Lee is scheduled to visit Beijing and the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao on May 27-30. He plans to hold summit talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on May 27.

"Through his first visit to China, Lee would help enhance the partnership between the two countries and pave the way for further development of bilateral ties," a spokesman for Lee's office said.

The visit would also provide the government with an opportunity to strengthen cooperation for the settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue.

New Delhi  - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on Tuesday mourned the deaths of thousands of people killed in an earthquake in south-western China.

Bangkok  - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has cancelled a planned trip to Beijing this week i

Paris - French Pre

Manila - The Philippines will dispatch a medical team to China to help victims of the powerful earthquake that killed more than 9,000 people, a government spokesman said Tuesday.