French unions have launched a 24-hour strike to protest a government plan to reform the pension system, including a proposal to raise the minimum retirement age.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Labor Party will form a minority government to rule Australia for a second three-year term, after two independent lawmakers joined her coalition Tuesday in the interest of stable government.

Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French trade unions mounted a show of strength on Tuesday with strikes and big street marches over unpopular pension reforms that President Nicolas Sarkozy says he is determined to implement.

Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Hermine headed into south Texas on Tuesday after dumping heavy rain onto northeastern Mexico near the Texas border, a region still recovering from Hurricane Alex's visit in June.

A wind-whipped wildfire in the Colorado foothills that has sent flames roaring through a rugged canyon has destroyed dozens of homes, fire officials say.

Hundreds of people line the streets of Corner Brook, N.L., as the body of a soldier killed by an Afghanistan bomb is brought home.

Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard secured a wafer thin parliamentary majority on Tuesday, ending a political impasse but hardly cheering investors worried about the fragility of her government and its plans to tax mining profits.

Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - China is seeking to expand its influence in South Asia at India's expense, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned in rare public criticism of his country's main rival for regional resources and geopolitical clout.

Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Millions of commuters across the British capital struggled to get to work on Tuesday as a 24-hour strike by workers on London's underground rail system crippled much of the network, hurting the city's convalescent economy. Passengers took to bikes, buses, walked, or made use of extra boat services on the River Thames that runs through the city in a bid to beat the stoppage, called in protest at 800 job cuts driven by austerity measures.

Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China wants to quell tensions with the United States through quiet talk, not shouting matches, a top diplomat told White House advisers on Tuesday, aiming to pave the way for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard secured a second term in office Tuesday, winning the support of independent lawmakers to form a minority Labor government after losing her majority at elections last month.

Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China wants to reduce tensions with the United States through quiet talk, not shouting matches, a top diplomat told White House advisers on Tuesday, aiming to pave the way for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India must be prepared for a newly-assertive China that wants a foothold in South Asia, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, in a rare open criticism of the Asia giant competing for regional resources and geopolitical clout.

Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's Labor Party looked close to retaining power on Tuesday after a pivotal independent lawmaker signaled the remaining two unaligned parliamentarians would support her.

Reuters - WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's second-biggest city, Christchurch, struggled to get back to business on Tuesday as aftershocks caused more damage and kept parts of the city cordoned off three days after a magnitude 7.1 quake.

A wildfire that broke out in the Colorado foothills and quickly spread has destroyed some buildings and triggered the evacuation of as many as 1,000 homes.

Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's agonizing wait for a new government is expected to end on Tuesday when independent lawmakers reveal who they will back, but there is still no clear favorite for who will head the minority government.

Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Hermine slammed into northeastern Mexico near the Texas border on Monday, dumping heavy rain on a region still recovering from Hurricane Alex's visit in June.

Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China has told the United States it wants to narrow differences that have developed over a range of issues, state media said on Tuesday, aiming to lay the ground for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

Public consultations on the thorny issue of euthanasia begin Tuesday in Quebec with hundreds of people expected to voice their views.