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Reuters World News Highlights at 0615 GMT, Aug 29

Published: 30 Aug 2009 16:33:12 PST

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VIENNA - Iran has slowed its expansion of uranium enrichment and met some demands for transparency but allegations it researched how to build atom bombs look credible and Tehran must address them, the U.N atomic watchdog said.

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TOKYO - Candidates across Japan made their final pitch on Saturday on the eve of an election the opposition looks set to win, giving the untested Democrats the job of tackling record unemployment and a fast-ageing society.

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JEDDAH - A suicide bomber failed in his attempt to kill the prince who heads Saudi Arabia's anti-terrorism campaign, the first attack on a member of the royal family since the start of a wave of violence by al Qaeda six years ago.

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BAGHDAD - Thousands of Iraqis on Friday mourned the death of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a leading Shi'ite Muslim figure whose death could heighten political instability before national polls many fear may be marred by violence.

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UNITED NATIONS - The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo of North Korean weapons being shipped to Iran, which would have violated a U.N. embargo on arms exports from the communist state, Western diplomats said on Friday.

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TAIPEI - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou will not be meeting the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visits next week, the president's office said on Saturday, a move aimed at avoiding renewed tensions with China.

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WASHINGTON - Two Syrians held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay have been sent to Portugal, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday, the latest move as President Barack Obama tries to close the facility in five months.

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ANKARA - NATO's secretary-general urged member countries on Friday to increase the training of Afghan security forces and said the alliance would stay in Afghanistan "as long as it takes".

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ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is launching legal actions against media in Italy and abroad, including Britain, France and Spain, for libel in their coverage of his private life, his lawyer said on Friday.

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JOHANNESBURG - A strike at Impala Platinum widened on Friday and workers at Anglo Platinum rejected a pay offer, fuelling fears of a sector-wide work stoppage in South Africa, the world's top producer of the precious metal.