Washington/Chicago - Tens of thousands of US voters waited patiently in serpentine queues Tuesday to vote in the country's historic election. Many had started lining up before dawn, some braved pouring rain to cast their ballot.

Officials were prepared for an unprecedented turnout as voters delivered their verdict on Democrat Barack Obama, 47, and his Republican rival John McCain, 72, after the longest and most expensive campaign in US history.

Berlin - Germany's government is expected to decide Wednesday to spend an extra 15 billion euros (19 billion dollars) to help ward off the worst effects of a recession, according to a cabinet paper obtained by reporters in Berlin.

The government believes the two-year programme will generate 50 billion euros in investment and consumption by Germans, the documents seen in advance by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa showed Tuesday.

New York - Two competitors in last Sunday's New York City Marathon have since died, organizers confirmed Tuesday.

A 58-year-old man from Brazil collapsed after crossing the finishing line and later died at the Lennox Hill Hospital while a 66- year-old American, who walked the distance, suffered a heart attack several hours after completing the race.

"There's nothing harder for us than when one of our participants doesn't make it home at the end of the day. We express our deepest condolences to the athletes' families," said Mary Wittenberg, president of the New York Runners.

London - Ashley Young, regarded as one of England's rising stars, has extended his contract with Aston Villa, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old forward, who has won three England caps, signed a new four-year deal, tying him to Villa until the summer of 2012.

Young joined Villa in January 2007 from Watford for almost 10 million pounds (16.1 million dollars).

Brussels  - The French presidency of the European Union agreed Tuesday to scale back its ambitious 11-point plan on reforming global capitalism amid concerns that calls for a "global economic government" would encroach on national sovereignties.

The French proposal is meant to kickstart discussions on a common EU position ahead of a global financial summit due to take place in Washington on November 15.

At a preparatory meeting in Brussels, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said fellow EU ministers had shown "massive support" for the presidency's document, which outlines a series of key changes to the way global capitalism should be run.

Islamabad - Thirteen Taliban militants and three security personnel were killed Tuesday in aerial strikes by government forces and attacks by Islamist insurgents in north-west Pakistan, officials and media reports said.

A suicide bomber ploughed his explosive-laden car into a security wall around an army post, located in Doaba town in the restive Hangu district of North West Frontier Province.