BEIRUT, Lebanon The latest conflict simmering between Lebanon and Israel is all about food: Lebanese businessmen accusing Israel of stealing traditional Middle Eastern dishes like hummus. (More)

ANKARA, Turkey Turkish warplanes bombed suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey early Tuesday in retaliation for an attack that killed 17 soldiers, the Turkish military said. (More)

BEIJING Lawyers advising the families of children sickened in China's tainted milk scandal said Tuesday they are facing growing official pressure to withdraw from the cases. (More)

BEIJING More than a decade after the last major economic crisis, East Asia is spooked by the prospect of a new global financial tidal wave rolling its way. (More)

LUXEMBOURG The European Union's 27 governments agreed Tuesday to guarantee private savings of up to euro50,000 for one year and set guidelines on how each country could rescue failing bank, finally taking a measure of coordinated action against the financial crisis after days of wrangling. (More)

Protesters have occupied Thailand's seat of government for six weeks, demanding the resignation of governments they say are proxies for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Military leaders ousted Thaksin in a 2006 coup, accusing him of corruption. A look at recent events: (More)

BRUSSELS, Belgium A committee of EU lawmakers approved an ambitious climate change plan Tuesday, resisting heavy pressure from lobbyists who sought to water down the bill because of the financial crisis. (More)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Afghan refugees ordered out of a Pakistani war zone begged Tuesday for bus fares and flowed over the border into their homeland, worsening a humanitarian crisis resulting from an army offensive against Taliban militants, officials said. (More)

MALE, Maldives To supporters, President Mamoun Abdul Gayoom is a hero who turned a poor nation of fishermen into a tourist paradise and the economic success story of South Asia. (More)

BELGRADE, Serbia A Serbian court has freed a former diplomat suspected of helping a student facing assault charges in the United States flee to Serbia, a court official said Tuesday. (More)

BEIJING More than a hundred villagers in southern China have been poisoned by after drinking water apparently contaminated with arsenic, official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday. (More)

BAGHDAD Iraq's prime minister welcomed the crown prince of Abu Dhabi to Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest high-level visit by regional Arab dignitaries. (More)

BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet decided Tuesday to extend Germany's military mission in Afghanistan for 14 more months. (More)

BANGKOK, Thailand Thai protesters demanding the government resign set fire to cars and threw bottles and metal barricades at police, who used tear gas to break through their blockade around Parliament Tuesday. At least one person was killed and more 350 people were injured. (More)

MOSCOW Hundreds of people gathered in central Moscow Tuesday to remember Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya on the second anniversary of her killing. (More)

TSKHINVALI, Georgia Russian forces will begin withdrawing from a buffer zone in Georgia on Wednesday and be out within 24 hours. (More)

MEXICO CITY The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Marco is hitting land north of Mexico's Veracruz port on the Gulf coast. (More)

GENEVA The U.N. refugee agency says at least 5,000 people have fled violence in northeastern Congo and sought shelter in neighboring Sudan over the last two weeks. (More)

RAFAH, Egypt A high-level Hamas delegation has crossed into Egypt for talks with the country's intelligence chief as part of Egyptian efforts to mend the rift between Palestinian factions. (More)

MUNICH, Germany Gino Massetti was 15 when he was rounded up by German troops near the Italian village of Falzano di Cortona and herded with 10 other civilians into a barn. (More)

ROME A U.N. agency on Tuesday called for an urgent review of agriculture and biofuel subsidies and trade barriers, saying their removal would increase opportunities for developing countries to take advantage of rising biofuel demand. (More)

NEW DELHI The Dalai Lama underwent a second medical checkup in as many months Tuesday and doctors cleared him to resume foreign travel, said a spokesman for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. (More)

GENEVA The U.N. humanitarian office says aid workers in eastern Chad have been attacked by bandits over 120 times this year, hampering efforts to bring food and other relief to tens of thousands of displaced people. (More)

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan Rescuers in Kyrgyzstan searched the rubble for signs of life after an earthquake that killed at least 74 people. (More)

MOGADISHU, Somalia A man on a hijacked ship carrying tanks and heavy weapons said Tuesday that the ransom had been reduced to US$8 million (euro5.87 million). It was unclear if he was officially speaking for the pirates holding the vessel. (More)