AFP - At least 20 people including women and children were killed and more than 50 wounded Tuesday in a car bomb attack targeting a police headquarters in Pakistan's northwestern city of Kohat.

AP - An Iraqi soldier opened fire on American troops and killed two on Tuesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. They were the first American servicemen killed since the U.S. declared an official end to combat operations in the country last week.

AP - "Borrow me $5 can?" may not be the most graceful way to ask for a few dollars, but it's music to the ears of many Singaporeans.

Reuters - French trade unions said 2.5 million people took to the streets Tuesday to protest over pension reforms that President Nicolas Sarkozy says he is determined to implement on the way to elections in 2012.

AP - French strikers disrupted trains and planes, hospitals and mail delivery Tuesday amid massive street protests over plans to raise the retirement age. Across the English Channel, London subway workers unhappy with staff cuts walked off the job.

AP - The international crossfire over Iran's stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery intensified Tuesday with a top European Union official calling it "barbaric" and an Iranian spokesman saying it's about punishing a criminal and not a human rights issue.

Reuters - Republicans in the Congress showed little willingness to help President Barack Obama approve $350 billion worth of measures to boost the economy with midterm elections less than two months away.

Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co is suing former Chief Executive Mark Hurd following his hiring by rival technology firm Oracle Corp, court documents showed.

AP - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has asked the U.S. to settle a dispute with Israel over settlement expansion that is threatening to derail Mideast peace talks.

AFP - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard retained power by a tiny, one-seat majority Tuesday after winning the backing of two key independent MPs in the first hung parliament in decades.

AP - A car bomb ripped through a police compound in a northwestern Pakistani city on Tuesday, killing 14 women and children and three officers, the latest in a string of attacks proving that Islamist militants remain a potent force in the country.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday, led by declines in financial shares as reports on the European banking system renewed worries over the sector's health.

AP - European Union nations agreed to create new financial oversight institutions Tuesday, hoping to prevent a repeat of the government debt crisis that nearly left Greece bankrupt and brought the European banking system to its knees.

AFP - Much-vaunted EU plans to tax banks skidded into trouble after moves to clamp down on big-spending governments also hit buffers despite broad agreement on Tuesday to regulate the financial sector.

AFP - The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council have postponed the implementation on Tuesday of a customs union due to disagreement over sharing tariff revenues and problems meeting World Trade Organisation rules, officials said.

Reuters - World stocks edged down from the previous day's one-month high on Tuesday while the euro fell broadly as renewed concerns about Europe's banking sector encouraged investors to pause after a recent rally.