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Reuters World News Highlights at 2200 GMT, Sep 22

Published: 22 Sep 2009 16:42:34 PST

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UNITED NATIONS - World leaders tried to inject momentum into climate change talks on Tuesday but new proposals by China and a rallying cry from U.S. President Barack Obama did little to break a United Nations deadlock.

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WASHINGTON - The White House is weighing a range of options to stem Taliban gains in Afghanistan, from sharply increasing U.S. ground forces to stepping up aerial attacks on targets in Pakistan, or a combination of the two, officials said on Tuesday.

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TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a military parade in Tehran on Tuesday Iran would "cut off the hands" of anyone who attacked the country.

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WASHINGTON - Leaders from some of the largest Western powers rallied support on Tuesday behind a U.S. plan to build a more balanced global economy and warned against returning to business as usual once recovery takes hold.

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NEW YORK - An impatient U.S. President Barack Obama scolded Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday for not doing more to unblock the peace process and urged them to relaunch negotiations soon.

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BEIJING - China plans to transform its naval and air forces to project power further from its shores, China's defence minister said a week before the nation puts on a massive military parade showcasing its strength.

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WASHINGTON - Democrats pushed on Tuesday to make insurance reforms more affordable for workers and Republicans decried what they called a rush to judgment as debate began in a key Senate committee on a sweeping overhaul of U.S. healthcare.

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BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are holding onto their opinion poll lead ahead of Sunday's German election, raising their hopes of avoiding another late meltdown and forming a centre-right government.

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WARSAW - Poland's prime minister on Tuesday blamed his main political rival, President Lech Kaczynski, for an expected rise next year in the budget deficit and debt because of his opposition to spending cuts.

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TEGUCIGALPA - Honduras' de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, said on Tuesday he has no intention of confronting Brazil or entering its embassy where ousted President Manuel Zelaya has taken refuge to avoid arrest.

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BERLIN - Cancer is a bigger killer in developing countries than tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS combined and a "tsunami" of the disease threatens to overwhelm the nations worst equipped to cope, experts said on Tuesday.

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JOHANNESBURG - The United States will keep its embassy and other American government offices in South Africa closed on Wednesday after it received an undisclosed security threat, the embassy said on its website.