BBC Monitoring News Diary for Monday 6 June 2005.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Asia-Pacific

THAILAND: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived last night from Singapore for talks with Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra and security officials; North Korea likely to be high on agenda; goes on to Norway tomorrow (Regional sources)

CHINA: King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium continue visit; they are accompanied by Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht (-11) (Chinese New China News Agency)

CHINA: Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo ends visit to China in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province (Chinese news agency Xinhua)

JAPAN: Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan continues visit (-9); attends Expo 2005 in Aichi; Armenia National Day is on 7th; also, holds talks with counterpart Junichiro Koizumi and other senior officials (Armenian TV)

TAIWAN: Political parties and representative groups at the National Assembly present their views on proposed constitutional reforms (6); assembly begins voting (7) (Taiwanese Central News Agency CNA web site)

South Asia

PAKISTAN: Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar continues visit (-6) for talks with counterpart Amanullah Khan Jadoon on proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan; pipeline would tap Iran's South Pars field; US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned New Delhi that the gas pipeline could trigger sanctions under its Iran-Libya Sanctions Act which prohibits countries from major investment in Iran …