A 7.2 magnitude aftershock rattled central Chile minutes before billionaire Sebastian Pinera took over as president on March 11.

Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera is due to be sworn in as president of the country, which was recently devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by March 11, Iraqi and UN officials said on March 10, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on March 10 that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.

Israel approved on Tuesday the building of 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, as US Vice President Joe Biden met top Israeli officials to boost renewed peace efforts.

China joined India on Tuesday to give qualified approval to the Copenhagen climate accord calling for voluntary limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Indonesian security forces say they have killed three suspected militants in two raids near the capital Jakarta, which were said to be associated with an ongoing operation against militants in Aceh province that has brought a number of arrests.

The Thai government has announced that it will invoke the Internal Security Act from March 11-23 in Bangkok and seven surrounding provinces, putting the military in charge, with powers to impose curfews, restrict numbers at gatherings and man check points if necessary.

Vice-President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet Israeli leaders on March 9, a day after arriving in the Middle East as part of a new initiative to revive the peace process.

The Iraqi prime minister's coalition and its main secular rival both claimed to be ahead in the vote count on March 8, a day after historic parliamentary elections that the top US commander said would let all but 50,000 American troops come home by the end of summer.