Reuters World News Highlights 0200 GMT Nov 17

BAGHDAD - Iraq's cabinet approved a pact on Sunday that will let U.S. troops stay in the country until 2011, setting a final date to end a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

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CHICAGO - A package of economic rescue measures agreed by the world's major governments appeared to fall short of calming investors jangled nerves as the trading week dawned in Asia.

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JOMBA, Congo - Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda agreed on Sunday to take part in U.N.-backed peace talks, but fighting between the army and rebels raged on in the east despite his declared support for a ceasefire.

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CHICAGO - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama resigned his seat in the Senate on Sunday to focus on his transition to the White House, appointing new staff and thanking his home state of Illinois for launching his political career.

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LOS ANGELES - Wildfires hop-scotched around Southern California on Sunday although calmer winds slowed flames that have destroyed almost 1,000 houses, forced tens of thousands to evacuate and turned some neighborhoods into scenes resembling war zones.

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MOGADISHU - President Abdullahi Yusuf has admitted Islamist insurgents now control most of Somalia and raised the prospect his government could completely collapse.

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PARIS - France faces a week of disruption from transport and public sector strikes as unions wage a number of separate campaigns against President Nicolas Sarkozy's labour reforms.

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KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday he would guarantee security for Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar if he ever wanted to negotiate and said Western allies should remove him or leave if they disagreed with that.

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GAZA - An Israeli air strike killed four militants in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had commissioned a plan for military action in the Hamas-run territory if rocket attacks on Israel persist.

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HOUSTON - Space shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station on Sunday on an outer-space home improvement mission to add amenities like a new toilet and kitchen to the 10-year-old orbital outpost.