UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The outlook for imposing tough new U.N. sanctions on Iran is increasingly grim, as Russia and China work to slow down a U.S. and European drive for swift action, Israel's U.N. envoy said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Greece, pressing for curbs on financial speculation that it blames for worsening the country's debt crisis, said on Tuesday the idea would be examined by the Group of 20 leading powers at their next summit.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is confident there will be no security vacuum in Haiti as U.S. and other foreign troops withdraw from the earthquake-struck Caribbean country, a top U.N. official said on Tuesday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged quake-stricken Haiti on Tuesday to hold legislative elections "as soon as appropriate," saying new polls were key to the stability and legitimacy of the Haitian government.

KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two NATO soldiers were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a military base in Afghanistan, the alliance and local government sources said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department apologized on Tuesday for dismissive comments its spokesman made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's call for "jihad," often translated as "armed struggle," against Switzerland.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The family of an American killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza will launch a damages case on Wednesday, stoking controversy over the treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters and angering Israelis frustrated by international criticism.

BELFAST (Reuters) - The Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to take control of its own police and justice powers, cementing the latest hard-won agreement between the province's divided communities.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Tuesday it was wrong to focus blame for child abuse on the Catholic Church and denied accusations it had sought to cover up pedophilia by its clergymen around Europe.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urged Sweden Tuesday to extradite two men it says are Chechen separatists and accuses of involvement in killings and kidnappings.

JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria must prosecute those behind a weekend massacre and address underlying issues of poverty and discrimination if it is to end a cycle of violence in the zone between its Muslim north and Christian south, rights groups and diplomats said.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's new austerity package has driven a wedge between private and public sector workers, pitting resentful private employees against civil servants seen as privileged over who should pay for the country's debt crisis.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria has said it is ready to restart peace talks with Israel mediated by Turkey, and there are some positive signals from the Israeli side, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - The brother of Pope Benedict said in an interview on Tuesday he slapped pupils in the face at a German school where he led the choir, but had been unaware of the brutality of discipline there.

have shot dead a top fugitive militant, wanted over the 2002 Bali bombings, in what could be a major coup in the country's fight against Islamist radicals, police and analysts said on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Preliminary results from Iraq's parliamentary election will be released on Wednesday, an electoral commission official said on Tuesday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. and Russian arms control officials began on Tuesday what both sides hope will be a final push to clinch a treaty cutting their strategic nuclear arsenals, officials said.

LONDON (Reuters) - A soldier serving with the British Army in Afghanistan has told of the moment he threw back a Taliban hand grenade, telling himself: "I've really only got one chance to do this."

DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on Tuesday.