LOS ANGELES, Nov 20 (AFP) - Fittingly for a director who has scored cinematic hits in Hong Kong and Hollywood, John Woo says his next film will depict Chinese and Americans working side-by-side successfully.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced a thorough investigation into the Fort Hood shootings to examine if warning signs were missed and to ensure such a rampage never happens again.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (AFP) - A UN commission issued a resolution Thursday expressing "grave concern" over widespread rights abuses in Myanmar and detention of political prisoners including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Thursday named two ambassadors to Southeast Asia, tapping a close political ally as envoy to Singapore and nominating a career diplomat to the Philippines.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 20 (AFP) - A UN General Assembly committee Thursday slammed North Korea human rights record as a cause for "serious concern" and cited the Stalinist nation's "inhuman" abuses.

MIAMI, Nov 19 (AFP) - A US judge on Thursday handed down prison terms of eight and nine years to two more men accused of swearing allegiance to Al-Qaeda and plotting to blow up the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States.

BRUSSELS, Nov 19 (AFP) - European leaders chose Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the European Union's first president on Thursday, the EU presidency announced, after Britain dropped its backing for Tony Blair.

PHNOM PENH, Nov 19 (AFP) - Hundreds of ethnic Cham Muslims were made homeless Thursday by a fire that gutted a crowded neighbourhood in Cambodia's capital, police said.

SAINT PETERSBURG, Nov 19 (AFP) - The Russian Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered that the death penalty cannot be applied in Russia even after January 1 when a moratorium expires.

TOKYO, Nov 19 (AFP) - Police in Japan said Thursday they had arrested five people on suspicion of brokering jobs without license for Chinese workers, as reports said the five were behind the illegal employment of 200 Chinese.