New York  - The United States and Britain on Thursday called for more pressure on Myanmar to end its defiance of demands for democratic progress and the release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the United Nations Security Council should review UN mediation, which is being led by special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, and pressure the military government to yield results.

Washington  - The Bolivian government committed a "grave error" by expelling the US ambassador to the country, a move that has "seriously damaged" relations with the United States, the State Department said Thursday.

Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered Ambassador Philip Goldberg out of his country on Wednesday, alleging the American was supporting opposition groups in five provinces seeking autonomy from La Paz.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the charges were "baseless" and that the expulsion was "unwarranted."

Stockholm  - Swedish public broadcaster SVT screened footage Thursday of US Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain leaving North Vietnam after his release from a prisoner-of-war camp.

Swedish writer Erik Eriksson, who covered the Vietnam War as a freelance and for SVT, made the discovery when researching a book on his wartime experience and compiling a 30-minute DVD that would be sold with the book.

Washington  - The United States accused Russia Wednesday of violating its ceasefire agreement by failing to withdrawal thousands of troops from Georgia soil.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin are using "excuses" to justify the presence of thousands of Russian soldiers in Georgia.

"These guys are trying to - at every turn - trying to wiggle out of a commitment they made and that their president put his name to," McCormack said.

Hamburg  - A Chinese vice-premier, Zhang Dejiang, was visiting Germany Wednesday, the first high-level visit since China's controversial crackdown in Tibet this year.

Zhang had talks in the port city of Hamburg with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Both also toured the Airbus factory in the city where giant airliners are wired up and painted and attended the start of a two- day business meeting dubbed the Hamburg Summit which is held every two years.

Washington  - The Bush administration is getting closer to submitting the nuclear cooperation deal with India for congressional approval, the US State Department said Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a series of meetings with House and Senate lawmakers to brief on the details of the agreement. Getting the deal through Congress is a top priority for the White House before President Bush leaves office January.