Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two American journalists arrested by North Korean border guards on March 17 after straying into North Korean territory from China, arrived by private jet at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport early on August 5, accompanied by former President Bill Clinton.

At least two Iranian state-run TV stations — Press TV and al Alam — reported on August 1 that the nation's border police on the previous day arrested three American hikers who apparently inadvertently strayed across the poorly marked border separating Iran from Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

Voice of America (VOA) News reported on July 29 that Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) — a member of the strategic assessment team working with General Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. military commander in Afghanistan — has advised that the U.S. government and its allies need to be more realistic about what is needed to win the Afghan war, and that may include more troops.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery on July 27 to honor those killed in the unrest that followed the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Voice of America (VOA) News reported on July 29 that Defense Secretary Robert Gates — speaking after a two-day visit to Iraq — has said there is a chance the United States may speed up the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the embattled Middle Eastern nation.

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell wrapped up three days of talks in the Middle East on July 28, telling reporters that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made "good progress" in their talks on advancing Middle East peace efforts.

A poll carried out by ComRes for the British tabloid newspaper The Independent on July 28 has found that 58 percent of Britons say the war in Afghanistan is "unwinnable," with only 31 percent believing that victory can be achieved. Fifty-two percent of those polled answered that all British forces should be withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, while 43 percent want them to remain.

On the morning of July 27, President Barack Obama addressed the opening session of the first U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner chaired the dialogue with the Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

While in Thailand to attend the 16th regional forum of the Association of Southeast Nations, or ASEAN, to be held at the nation's resort island of Phuket on July 23, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated earlier calls to enforce the latest UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday for a forum of the Association of Southeast Nations, or ASEAN, which begins today on the resort island of Phuket.