Reuters World News Highlights 1800 GMT Oct 16

GENEVA - The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday endorsed a U.N. report that accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza, passing a resolution that singled it out for censure without referring to wrongdoings by Hamas.

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KABUL - Tension was high in Afghanistan on Friday as electoral authorities prepared to announce whether incumbent Hamid Karzai would be forced into a run-off presidential election against his main rival.

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PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Pakistani warplanes and artillery pounded a Taliban stronghold on Friday, as a suicide bomber killed 12 people in the city of Peshawar in the latest in a bloody wave of militant attacks.

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VIENNA - World powers will seek to finalise an agreement with Iran next week on processing its uranium abroad to help allay Western fears it is developing nuclear weapons.

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HARARE - Zimbabwe's opposition MDC said it would boycott the country's power-sharing government until sticking points have been resolved and a political deal is reached, sparking the biggest crisis since the administration was formed nine months ago.

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BRUSSELS - A European Union investigation has found Sri Lanka in breach of international human rights laws, meaning it is likely to lose concessions worth over $100 million for its top exports to Europe, EU sources said.

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TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's new government got a harsh reality check on Friday as requests for funds for ambitious new spending programmes came up against the country's huge debt and expected revenue shortfalls.

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PRAGUE - Czech President Vaclav Klaus may settle for a political rather than strictly legal guarantee from EU leaders that the bloc's new treaty does not reopen post-war property claims, news agency CTK reported on Friday.

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BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives proposed 20 billion euros in German tax cuts over the next four years in a fresh round of talks on Friday with the Free Democrats on forming a new centre-right government.

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BANGKOK - Thousands arrived in busloads to pray outside a Bangkok hospital on Friday for the swift recovery of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a day after concerns about his health sparked the biggest slide in a year in Thai stock prices.

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MOSUL, Iraq - A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded 90 on Friday in a Sunni Muslim mosque in northern Iraq whose imam had criticised al Qaeda, officials said.

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BUCHAREST - Romania's prime minister designate Lucian Croitoru failed to win the backing of the ethnic Hungarian party on Friday, all but shattering his chances of securing parliamentary approval.