France and Germany have reaffirmed their commitment to reform the eurozone, after ratings agency Standard and Poor's put most of the zone on "credit watch" over debt crisis fears.

The two countries said proposals for a treaty change agreed on Monday would reinforce governance of the eurozone.

A Chinese child who died after drinking a Coca-Cola product last month was the victim of poisoning, officials in Jilin province say.

The 11-year-old died and three others became ill after drinking bottles of Pulpy Milky in Changchun.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala has declared a state of emergency in a northern region that has seen bitter protests against a gold mine project.

Mr Humala said the measure would last 60 days and allow security forces to restore public services shut by rallies and marches against the mine.

A second day of voting is taking place in Egypt in the first elections since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, with indications of a high turnout in Cairo and other big cities.

The first day of polling for a new parliament was mainly peaceful.

A three-month blockade by a tribal group of roads into the Indian state of Manipur has been lifted ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip there.

The Nagas had blocked two key highways linking Manipur with the rest of India in protest against the demand for a new district by the rival Kuki tribe.

Egyptians are voting in the opening stage of the first elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.

As dawn broke, people were already queuing to cast their ballots outside polling stations in the capital, Cairo.

The three most senior surviving leaders of Cambodia's genocidal Khmer Rouge regime have gone on trial.

They include Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two. He was the right-hand man of the Maoist regime's supreme leader Pol Pot, who died in 1998.

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is due in Turkey for talks on how to address the growing crisis in Syria.

The visit comes a day after the Arab League gave Damascus three days to end attacks on civilians or face sanctions.

US President Barack Obama has said that the Asia-Pacific region will play a key role in defining the world's future.

"The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay," he stated in a speech to the Australian parliament, sending a clear message to Beijing.

Osama Bin Laden has been described as both "tender" and "kind" in a video released by the new head of al-Qaeda.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over at the head of the network after Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in May, said the former leader was a sensitive man.

Syrian army defectors have attacked a major military base near Damascus, Syrian opposition groups say.

Parts of the Air Force Intelligence building in Harasta were reported to have been destroyed in the attack, but there were no reports of casualties.

Representatives of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei have been holding talks with tax officials over the $2.4m (£1.5m) demand he has been told to pay.

He has already said he intends to appeal against the bill, which is due to be paid by the end of Tuesday.

Australia's prime minister has called for the country's ban on selling uranium to India to be overturned.

Julia Gillard wrote in a newspaper columnthat it made no sense to sell nuclear material to China, Japan and the US, but not to India.

Syria's leadership is under mounting pressure from other Arab states to halt its continuing violent repression of pro-democracy protests.

The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, said the organisation was "studying mechanisms it could implement to protect civilians in Syria".

Salvage teams have pumped all of the oil out of a cargo ship stranded off New Zealand, officials say.

The Rena, which got stuck on a reef and was in danger of breaking apart, initially leaked 350 tonnes of oil, killing more than 1,000 sea birds.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Arab League to suspend Syria, saying the abuses against civilians in Homs are crimes against humanity.

The US-based group has issued a report documenting allegations of torture and unlawful killings in the city of Homs.

A section of pipeline carrying gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan has been blown up in northern Egypt, the latest in a series of attacks.

Two blasts took place near the Mazar area, some 30km (18 miles) west of the town of Al-Arish, near the Israeli border, Reuters reports.

There have been violent clashes in Nicaragua between supporters and opponents of President Daniel Ortega, following his disputed reelection on Sunday.

At least four people were shot dead in the north of the country, police said.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has flatly denied allegations of sexual harassment and said he does not know his latest accuser.

In a press conference, Mr Cain said the accusations would not force him out of the race for president.

The UN's nuclear watchdog says it has information indicating Iran has carried out tests "relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device".

In its latest report on Iran, the IAEA says the research includes computer models that could only be used to develop a nuclear bomb trigger.