Reuters World News Highlights at 1645 GMT, Nov 20

LONDON/WASHINGTON - Fears of a deep, long global recession intensified as markets hit new lows in alarm at reports of record U.S. job losses, oil prices plunging below $50 a barrel and worry that U.S. automakers would not get a bailout from Washington.

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MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin assured Russians he would guide them through the global financial crisis without the economic convulsions of the past, but acknowledged there would be pain.

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MOGADISHU - One of the world's biggest shipping firms said it would no longer send part of its huge merchant fleet through the Suez Canal because of rampant piracy off Somalia's coast.

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ISLAMABAD - Pakistani forces killed 40 Islamist fighters as artillery and jet fighters backed ground troops fighting in the Bajaur tribal region, and an air strike hit militants in Swat valley, officials said.

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BAGHDAD - A pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three more years has a chance of being approved by parliament despite some heated opposition, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said.

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HARARE - South Africa said it would withhold aid for Zimbabwe until a representative government is in place, in what appeared to be the first punitive measure by a regional country to enforce a power-sharing agreement.

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AMSTERDAM - The International Criminal Court prosecutor requested arrest warrants for rebels in Sudan's Darfur region, accusing them of storming an African Union camp and killing 12 peacekeepers.

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BEIJING - Chinese police have arrested 30 people for taking part in a riot that saw thousands attacking official buildings and burning cars in protest against the government's confiscation of land, an official said.

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WASHINGTON - A Japanese warship failed to shoot down a ballistic missile target in a joint test with U.S. forces because of a glitch in the final stage of an interceptor made by Raytheon Co , a U.S. military official said.

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WASHINGTON - Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan being crafted by Republican U.S. senators, with White House support, to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would receive enough backing from Democrats to pass before the end of this week.