By Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Rick Noack

KABUL/ISLAMABAD, July 22 (Reuters) - Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an investigation into Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul four months ago, labeling them a "possible war crime."

The strikes killed at least 269 civilians and injured 122 more on March 16, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said previously. UNAMA and the Taliban-run government accused Pakistan of having struck a drug rehabilitation center. Pakistan claimed its strikes that night had targeted "military and terrorist infrastructure."

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday will attend a ceremony for four U.S. service members killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East, who will return to American soil in flag-draped caskets.

The ceremony, known as a "dignified transfer" of the bodies, comes amid growing frustration with Trump's war against Iran.

The war has cost U.S. taxpayers at least $37.5 billion so far, has led to the deaths of 18 U.S. service members and injured more than 450 troops. It has killed thousands of Iranians.

MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) - Canada is calling for a de-escalation and a permanent ceasefire in the Middle East, with the situation "quite grave", its foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting.

She also reaffirmed Canada's support for international law in addressing tensions in the South China Sea during meetings with Southeast Asian counterparts in Manila.

By Michael Martina and Nestor Corrales

MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for talks on Wednesday during a regional gathering led by the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, where top diplomats voiced concern about renewed Middle East hostilities and tension in the South China Sea.

The two are expected to discuss a possible U.S. summit between their leaders flagged for the end of September by President Donald Trump, with Rubio saying on Sunday it was still anticipated.

By Doina Chiacu

July 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested when he visits the U.S., after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was still considering the move.

"Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America," Trump wrote in a social media post that did not refer to the mayor's comments.

MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Asian countries face a choice in how they respond to instances of aggressive conduct in the South China Sea that were of concern to Canberra.

A recent encounterin the South China Sea between China and the Philippines was a real concern, in addition to being destabilising and risky, Penny Wong said on the sidelines of a meeting led by the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN.

DUBAI, July 22 (Reuters) - Two French diplomats at the centre of a dispute between France and Iran were not ill-treated by Iranian security personnel, according to an Iranian foreign ministry official quoted by state media on Wednesday.

France has said that the diplomats in Tehran had their phones taken, were forbidden to contact the embassy and verbally intimidated, breaking international diplomatic conventions. One of the officials, the cultural attache, was hit.

The French foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to protest the incident.

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Civil society groups have called on Malaysian billionaire tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary to revoke the appointment of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem as executive chairman of logistics giant MMC Port Holdings due to his alleged ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

Reuters reported exclusively last week that Emirati Bin Sulayem was set to take control of Malaysia's largest port operator, five months after his resignation from Dubai's DP World amid scrutiny over his email exchanges with financier Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in 2019.

DUBAI/MANILA, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the United States is still willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis but Tehran is not serious about talks, as the widening conflict disrupted two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.

Rubio made his comments in a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers a day after three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea, apparently in response to threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - A Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea could significantly widen the Iran war and strain a U.S. military already focused on stopping Tehran's attacks across the region, current and former U.S. officials said.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they ​would not allow ships to load or unload at Saudi ports, potentially blocking Saudi oil exports and choking off an additional 7% of global oil supply.