AP - Hurricane Gustav slammed into the heart of Louisiana's fishing and oil industry with 110 mph winds Monday, delivering only a glancing blow to New Orleans that raised hopes the city would escape the kind of catastrophic flooding brought by Katrina three years ago.

AP - Thailand's Constitutional Court has dissolved two main parties in the ruling coalition and banned the prime minister along with top party executives from politics for five years.

Reuters - India demanded Pakistan hand over its most wanted man as sign of faith as diplomatic efforts to prevent the nuclear-armed rivals from heading toward a confrontation over the Mumbai attacks intensified on Tuesday.

Reuters - Australia slashed rates by a full percentage point on Tuesday and Japan's central bank met to consider its response to an acute cash squeeze, kicking off another global push to shore up economies and soothe markets.

AFP - Thailand's constitutional court on Tuesday dissolved the country's ruling party and banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years over a case of voting fraud.