KOREAS-NUCLEAR. NKorea raises threat to get US into direct talks.

AFGHANISTAN. Afghan president says opponents welcome in govt.

SPAIN-CLIMATE TALKS. Africans protest low emissions targets at UN talks.

CZECH-EU TREATY. Czech court endorses EU reform treaty.

FIJI. Fiji orders Australian, NZ diplomats out.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA-COUP PLOT. Coup plotter Simon Mann pardoned in Equatorial Guinea.

ASIA-STORM. Tropical storm kills 23 in Vietnam.

TOP STORIES:

AFGHANISTAN

KABUL _ Afghanistan's president welcomes his re-election by default and reaches out to opponents, promising to create a government of national participation and banish corruption that has undermined his administration. Moved. By Heidi Vogt and Amir Shah.

KOREAS-NUCLEAR

SEOUL, South Korea _ North Korea says that it has completed reprocessing thousands of spent nuclear fuel rods to extract plutonium to bolster its atomic stockpile, raising the stakes in an apparent effort to get the U.S. into direct negotiations. Moved.

SPAIN-CLIMATE TALKS

BARCELONA, Spain _ African countries suspend several meetings at U.N. climate talks to protest what they call the low targets industrial countries have set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Developing. By Arthur Max. AP Photos.

CZECH-EU TREATY

PRAGUE _ A Czech court rules that the EU reform treaty is in line with the country's constitution, removing the charter's last legal hurdle and intensifying pressure on President Vaclav Klaus to sign the document already ratified by the EU's other members. Developing. By Karel Janicek. AP Photos.

FIJI

SUVA, Fiji _ Fiji's military ruler gives the top diplomats from Australia and New Zealand 24 hours to leave the country, deepening a rift between the island nation and its biggest South Pacific neighbors. Moved.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA-COUP PLOT

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa _ Equatorial Guinea's chief judge says convicted British coup plotter Simon Mann and four South African mercenaries have been pardoned by the central African nation's president and will be freed shortly. Developing.

WAR CRIMES-KARADZIC

THE HAGUE, Netherlands _ Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic promises to attend a procedural hearing of his genocide trial. U.N. judges will decide how to continue the trial if he continues to boycott the case. Developing; starts at 1315 GMT. By Mike Corder.

US-ELECTIONS

WASHINGTON _ Just a year after President Barack Obama's historic election victory, his Democrats face the possibility of significant symbolic setbacks in Tuesday's election: the potential loss of governors' mansions in the states of New Jersey and Virginia. Developing. By Steven R. Hurst.

WITH: US-WHAT'S AT STAKE?

US-GERMANY

WASHINGTON _ German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to make the case for a global deal on climate change to a skeptical audience: members of the U.S. Congress. Merkel is addressing both chambers of Congress, a rare honor extended to America's closest allies and not to a German chancellor since Konrad Adenauer in 1957. Developing; Merkel-Obama meeting scheduled for 1410 GMT. By Desmond Butler.

WITH: US-EU

MYANMAR-US

YANGON, Myanmar _ The United States embarks on a new policy of engagement with Myanmar, sending two senior diplomats for the highest-level visit in more than a decade. Moved.

ASIA-STORM

HANOI, Vietnam _ Tropical Storm Mirinae unleashes severe flooding in parts of central Vietnam, killing 23 people, leaving two missing and forcing families onto rooftops, disaster officials say. Moved. By Tran Van Minh.

LATAM-NEW STRONGMEN

MEXICO CITY _ Horrified by the excesses of dictatorship, Latin Americans discarded the strongman model at the end of the 20th century and limited politicians' time in power. Now a new wave of populist presidents is trying to do away with those limits, arguing they impede change. Moved. By Alexandra Olson. AP Photo.

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

BRITAIN-BANKS

LONDON _ Lloyds Banking Group PLC announces plans to raise at least 21.5 billion pounds ($35.1 billion) in new capital through a record issue and debt swap, while Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC says it will dispose of some assets to comply with conditions for surviving on state aid. Moved. By Robert Barr.

SWITZERLAND-UBS-EARNINGS

ZURICH _ Swiss bank UBS AG reports a third-quarter net loss of 564 million Swiss francs ($542 million) Tuesday, blaming accounting charges of 2.15 billion francs for keeping it in the red. Moved. By Ernst E. Abegg. AP Photo.

AUSTRALIA-INTEREST RATES

SYDNEY _ Australia's central bank raises its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point for the second month in a row, declaring the global downturn over and warning that inflation is set to rise. Moved. By Rohan Sullivan. AP Photos.

CHINA-MOVIE STUDIO LISTING

HONG KONG _ A third leading Chinese movie studio is aiming for a listing _ this time on the New York Stock Exchange _ as the country's entertainment companies turn to the capital markets to raise funds. Moved. By Min Lee.

EUROPE-INTEREST RATES

LONDON _ The European Central Bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the historic low of 1 percent Thursday _ and could indicate the eurozone won't see growth strong enough to warrant a hike for quite a while. Moved. By Pan Pylas.

___

YOUR QUERIES: Contact your local AP bureau, the Europe & Africa Desk in London at +44 207 427 4300 or the Asia-Pacific Desk in Bangkok at +66 2632-6911.