World News from the BBC.

South Korea has

called off

its rescue operation from more than 40 crew members missing from a warship that sank in mysterious circumstances last week near the disputed maritime border with North Korea. A navy spokesman has been quoted by the Yonhap News Agency as saying the operation will focus on

salvaging

the wreckage from Sunday.

Thousands of anti-government protesters in Thailand are spending the night in the commercial heart at the capital Bangkok to press their demands for early elections. Earlier, they have locked roads and forced shopping centers to close.

It's the third week running that the red-shirts as the demonstrators are called have held mass rallies in Bangkok.

They're mainly supporters of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was

oust

ed by the military in 2006.

The United States' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he is delaying publication over a report which analysts have predicted could

officially

state that China

manipulate

s its currency.

The delaying publication means it will not come out until after a visit to Washington by the Chinese president. From there, Medline Morris reports.

It's no secret the United States believes China keeps its currency yuan

artificially

low and that hurts the US economy. But saying that in an official report is a different matter. Branding China a currency manipulator at this stage would cause headaches for the US administration. But the US government is under pressure from its lawmakers to take a tougher line on China's currency. A number of American members of Congress believe the low yuan is directly affecting their local economies.