IBT Staff Reporter

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's approval rating has slipped in the past month while faith in opposition parties inched up ahead of regional elections in March, according to a poll published on Tuesday.

German engineering sector union IG Metall has agreed with Volkswagen to extend job guarantees at the carmaker's western German plants by three years until 2014, the union said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp has decided to cancel production at two U.S. plants for a total of two weeks in anticipation of a drop in sales in the wake of its massive recalls, Japan's Chunichi Shimbun reported on Tuesday.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it was overhauling its pay practices for top management, including pay freezes and limits on bonuses, after a shareholder revolt last year.

Sony Corp has pulled the plug in Japan on sales of a next-generation flat TV due to sluggish demand, a setback for a product the company had trumpeted as a sign of its revival as an innovator.

Passenger car sales rose 12.9 percent in January in EU member states, as the ongoing effects of scrapping incentive schemes boosted demand.

Many Iraqis released by U.S. forces after being detained for suspected links to Sunni insurgents have been killed by tribes seeking revenge or are being driven back into the arms of al Qaeda.

Tata Motors, India's largest vehicles maker, is keen to sell a stake in its financing arm, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Shares in Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain surge 9 percent after said it expects up to $5 billion in returns from its $10.7 billion deal with Bharti Airtel , after it pays off obligations.

An increase in online journalists and freelancers has made the press more vulnerable to repression, but new media are also helping raise awareness about such attacks, a watchdog group said on Tuesday.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday as corporate earnings fueled investors' optimism on their return from a 3-day holiday.

But 90 percent of the most vulnerable people remain unvaccinated, with only about 61 million Americans having received shots, the CDC said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A hormone thought to encourage bonding between mothers and their babies may foster social behavior in some adults with autism, French researchers said on Monday.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.4 to 0.6 percent, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday, pointing to a higher opening, as corporate earnings fueled investors' optimism on their return from a 3-day holiday.

Sweden's finance minister said on Tuesday Greece's deficit-reduction plan was not enough, raising pressure on Athens to do more to prevent a swollen debt and broader financial market trouble from getting out of hand.

European shares gained on Tuesday after UK bank Barclays beat profit forecasts, and the euro rose against the dollar as European finance ministers put more pressure on Greece to resolve its fiscal problems.

France deliberately exposed its soldiers to nuclear explosions in Algeria in the 1960s to study the effect of radiation on humans, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing confidential documents.

Barclays Plc said it had started the year well after beating expectations with 2009 profits of over 11.6 billion pounds ($18.18 billion), on the back of a strong performance at its investment banking unit.

Pakistani lawyers for five young Americans accused of contacting militants over the Internet and plotting terrorist attacks sought their release on bail on Tuesday, saying the prosecution lacked evidence.

Iran would consider any new ideas on a proposed nuclear fuel swap with major powers, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Tuesday, after meeting his Turkish counterpart in Tehran.

Iraq is the country most at risk from terrorist attacks for the second straight year, according to a ranking by global analysts Maplecroft, while Thailand has joined the nine countries most in danger for the first time.

Indian police were questioning several people on Tuesday in connection with a bomb attack that killed 10 people in a western city after viewing closed-circuit television footage, officials said.

The Taliban's top military commander was captured in Pakistan, U.S. and Pakistani officials said on Tuesday, but the move may not deal a decisive blow to a group putting up fierce resistance to a NATO offensive.

Denmark's Danisco (DCO.CO) launched on Monday a new enzyme for bioethanol production from plant waste material and rival Novozymes (NZYMb.CO) said it would unveil a competing product on Tuesday.

European shares rose on Tuesday at midday, led by the banking sector as Barclays (BARC.L) posted stronger than expected results.

Sterling edged higher against a broadly weaker dollar on Tuesday, tracking a relief rally in euro/dollar as investors trimmed short positions in the single European currency.

Greek customs officials began a three-day strike on Tuesday to protest against cuts in their income, in a further sign of discontent among public workers with an EU-backed deficit-cutting plan.

North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong-il's birthday on Tuesday with synchronised swimmers glorifying the kind-hearted father of the reclusive state while it made overtures for dialogue with its foe the United States.