Reuters World News Highlights 0230 GMT Sept 22

KABUL/NEW YORK - The Afghan war will be lost unless more troops are sent to pursue a radically revised strategy, the top U.S. and NATO commander said in a confidential assessment that offers stark choices for President Barack Obama.

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LONDON/NEW YORK - Recession has set the stage for the sharpest fall in world greenhouse gas emissions in 40 years, an estimate showed, as world leaders gathered in New York to seek a way forward on a new climate change treaty.

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WASHINGTON - The United States will urge world leaders this week to launch a new push in November to rebalance the world economy, but there are doubts national governments will bow to external advice.

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ZURICH - Russia's top general said plans to deploy missiles in an enclave next to Poland had not been shelved, despite a decision by the United States to rethink plans for missile defence in Europe.

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NEW YORK - South Korea's president urged rival North Korea to seize a "last chance" to shed its nuclear weapons in exchange for aid for its struggling economy and an end to diplomatic isolation.

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JERUSALEM - Israel and the Palestinians traded blame for blocking U.S. efforts to revive peace negotiations and President Barack Obama's aides played down what he hopes to achieve when he hosts their leaders in New York.

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ANKARA - Turkey's top military commander called on Kurdish rebels to lay down their arms in a speech in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast that coincides with government efforts to broaden rights of minority Kurds.

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MIDRAND - South African President Jacob Zuma promised to ease inequalities but showed no sign of bowing to union allies who want a shift to the left in economic policies.

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BERLIN - Germany's Social Democrats went on the offensive a day after suffering a blow to their election hopes, warning voters a centre-right government under Angela Merkel would lead to an erosion of workers' rights.

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PARIS - Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin launched a bitter attack on President Nicolas Sarkozy as he went on trial for conspiring to smear his political rival before the 2007 election.

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TEGUCIGALPA - Ousted President Manuel Zelaya sneaked back into Honduras almost three months after he was toppled in a coup, and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy to avoid arrest by the de facto government.