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Reuters World News Highlights at 1715 GMT, Oct 23

Published: 25 Oct 2009 17:28:21 PST

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TEHRAN - Iran will give an answer next week to U.N.-drafted plan for it to cut a stockpile of nuclear fuel the West fears could be used for weapons, a senior official said on Friday after others challenged the scheme.

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BRATISLAVA - NATO defence ministers on Friday gave their backing to the new, broader strategy against the Taliban expounded by top U.S. and alliance commander General Stanley McChrystal.

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ISLAMABAD - A Taliban suicide bomber killed eight people outside a key Pakistani airforce facility on Friday, with officials quick to deny suggestions the target was linked to the country's nuclear programme.

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TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Friday there was no need to rush a decision that could stall a realignment of U.S. troops in the country, as tension grows over an issue that could fray ties with Washington.

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BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel looked set to name hard-nosed former rival Wolfgang Schaeuble finance minister on Friday as coalition talks between her conservatives and the Free Democrats neared a conclusion.

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PRAGUE - Czech President Vaclav Klaus welcomed on Friday a proposal by the European Union presidency for removing his objections to signing the EU's Lisbon reform treaty, increasing the chances of it going into force.

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PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, initially dubbed Sarko the American for his pro-U.S. stance, is finding it much tougher to deal with Washington than he had anticipated and is recalibrating his policies accordingly.

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BEIRUT - U.S. President Barack Obama's high-priority Middle East peace drive has run into predictable quicksands, even as other foreign policy challenges in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond clamour for his attention.

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HUA HIN, Thailand - Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday offered fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra a job as economic adviser, a slap in the face to Thailand's rulers that could worsen a diplomatic row.

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TEGUCIGALPA - Renewed talks to resolve Honduras' deep political crisis collapsed on Friday over whether leftist President Manuel Zelaya could return to power after he was toppled in a June coup.

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MOGADISHU - Somalia's hardline al Shabaab insurgents said they would strike the capitals of Burundi and Uganda in revenge for rocket attacks by peacekeepers from those countries that killed at least 30 people in Mogadishu.

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TOKYO - Japan cautioned on Friday that it could water down planned 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if other rich nations fail to make deep reductions as part of a U.N. deal due in Copenhagen in December.