Britian falls in graduation rate ranking (AFP)

AFP - Britain's position in an international graduate league table has plummeted, as spending cuts threaten to cast a further blow to higher education, a report showed Tuesday.

Japan reporter tricked captors into using Twitter (AP)

AP - A Japanese journalist held hostage in Afghanistan for five months managed to send out a message via Twitter that he was alive when his captors asked him how to use a cell phone.

Blast rocks police installation in NW Pakistan (AP)

AP - A government official says a large explosion has ripped through a police compound in a northwestern Pakistani city.

Kenyan court convicts, sentences 7 Somali pirates (AP)

AP - A defense lawyer says a Kenyan court has convicted and sentenced seven Somali pirates to five years in jail.

Facebook generation gears up to monitor Nigeria poll (Reuters)

Reuters - Tech-savvy young Nigerians are gearing up to use BlackBerries, mobile phones and social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook to monitor polls in January, in an effort to stamp out electoral fraud.

Top US commander: Burning Quran endangers troops (AP)

AP - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned Tuesday an American church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

Commuters walloped by strikes in France, London (AP)

AP - Strikes hobbled public transit across France and in London on Tuesday, forcing tourists and commuters to alter their plans as they bore the brunt of a wave of discontent over government cost-cutting measures — a wave expected to soon prompt walkouts elsewhere on the continent.

UK police likely to quiz PM's aide over hacking (AP)

AP - A key aide to Prime Minister David Cameron will be questioned by police over allegations a major British tabloid illegally eavesdropped on politicians and celebrities — including the British princes, a senior Scotland Yard officer said Tuesday.

Ohio auto parts plant blast hurts 9 near Toledo (AP)

AP - An explosion at an auto parts plant in northern Ohio has injured nine people.

Egypt reactor failed in April says nuclear chief (AP)

AP - Egypt's 50-year-old, Russian built nuclear reactor suffered a breakdown last April, though no radiation leaked out, the head of the country's atomic program told a local paper Tuesday.

Wall Street opens down on Europe bank worries (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks opened lower on Tuesday pressured by fresh concerns about Europe's financial stability.

Norway man pleads not guilty to terror financing (AP)

AP - A Somali-born Norwegian citizen pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of sending over $30,000 to top leaders of an al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group at the start of the first trial under Norway's 2002 terror financing law.

HSBC confirms Chairman Green to step down (Reuters)

Reuters - Change swept through the top of Britain's banks on Tuesday as Barclays said its investment banking supremo Bob Diamond will take over as chief executive and HSBC said its chairman is leaving to go into government.

Oracle hires HP's former chief Mark Hurd (Reuters)

Reuters - Silicon Valley technology giant Oracle Corp has hired Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co who resigned amid a scandal, as president.

Coke Enterprises sets profit, revenue growth plan (Reuters)

Reuters - Coca-Cola Enterprises said it expects revenue to increase 4 percent to 6 percent annually, with earnings per share up in the high-single digits after its pending deal to sell some operations to Coca-Cola Co closes.

EU OKs new financial supervision deal (AP)

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.

Google to start TV service in U.S. this autumn (Reuters)

Reuters - Google will launch its new service to bring the Web to TV screens in the United States this autumn and worldwide next year, its chief executive said, as it extends its reach from the desktop to the living room.

Imam behind NYC mosque back in US after Gulf trip (AP)

AP - An imam who has become the public face of a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero has returned to the United States following a taxpayer-funded tour of the Middle East, his wife said Monday.

The Treasury's New Research Office (BusinessWeek)

BusinessWeek - Don't expect an Elizabeth Warren-style campaign for the first director of the Office of Financial Research, yet another agency set up under the financial system overhaul. Unlike the pending decision over who will lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has prompted online petitions and a viral rap video in support of the Harvard law professor, the competition over who will be the head of the research office is a wonks-only affair. ...

Oil prices drop, weighed down by energy supplies (AFP)

AFP - World oil prices fell on Tuesday as the market reacted to the end of the peak demand season coming at a time when supplies are high, analysts said.

Australia PM Gillard handed power by independents (AFP)

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.

AIG seeks Sept 21 approval for AIA IPO: sources (Reuters)

Reuters - American International Group Inc plans to seek Hong Kong listing committee approval on September 21, to list its Asian life insurance unit, aiming to raise about $15 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

Afghan elections: Candidates flock to Kabul for safety (Time.com)

Time.com - More than 600 candidates are running for office out of Afghanistan's capital because it isn't safe to campaign in the provinces

Uganda: Democratic Reform and Security Top U.S. Agenda (Time.com)

Time.com - Pushing for electoral reform is tricky when the strongman in power is also a key ally against extremist violence

Chavez's base, the poor, wobbles as election looms (AP)

AP - On a hilltop overlooking Caracas, dozens of shacks made of wood scraps and corrugated zinc have risen among tall weeds — a new slum tacked on to an old one as the poor face harder times in Venezuela.

Obama to propose plant, equipment tax write-off (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama will propose on Wednesday that businesses be allowed to write off all their new investments in plant and equipment through 2011, an administration official said on Monday.

The glittering Gulf states' dark labor secret (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - The rise of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf is a now-familiar tale. Tiny societies of pearl divers, coastal merchants, and nomadic Bedouin were transformed in the last half of the 20th century by oil and natural-gas wealth. Sparkling office towers and hotels sprang into the muggy air, the monarchs that rule these tiny emirates became bywords for financial excess, and newspapers described the region's economic "miracle."

New Two-Hour TB Test (OneWorld.net)

OneWorld.net - JOHANNESBURG, Sep 3 (PlusNews) - A new, accurate, easy-to-use test can diagnose tuberculosis (TB) - including drug-resistant strains of the disease - in less than two hours. It has the potential to save thousands of lives in developing countries, where current tests are often unreliable, take weeks to process, or are simply unavailable.

Venezuela OKs payment for French retailer Casino (Reuters)

Reuters - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has approved a $690 million payment to French retailer Casino and other owners of a supermarket chain nationalized earlier this year, state media said on Saturday.

China tells state companies to explore Potash bid (Reuters)

Reuters - Chinese officials have ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Summary Box: Stock market snaps a three-week slump (AP)

AP - SEPTEMBER RALLY: The stock market had its first winning week in a month after better news on employment and manufacturing lifted shares.

Settlers defy Netanyahu with vow to begin construction (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - JERUSALEM — Jewish settlers across the West Bank have vowed to begin construction in more than 60 locations, posing a direct challenge to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he returned home from Thursday's first round of direct peace talks in Washington.

Campbell reports Q4 profit rise on better margins (AP)

AP - Summer is rarely a hot sales season for Campbell Soup Co., and this year's sweltering June and July made that even more true, but the company said Friday that cost-cutting and strong drink sales helped its net income climb.

MGIC added $1.2B in mortgage coverage in August (AP)

AP - Private mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. said Friday it added $1.2 billion in new primary insurance coverage in August and the number of delinquent loans it insures declined.