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Reuters World News Highlights at 1045 GMT, Oct 24

Published: 25 Oct 2009 17:43:31 PST

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VIENNA - Iran ignored a U.N. deadline on Friday to respond to an international draft deal for it to cut an atomic stockpile the West fears could be used for weapons, and challenged the basis of the pact.

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BRATISLAVA - NATO ministers on Friday backed a broader strategy against the Taliban insurgency expounded by U.S. and alliance commander General Stanley McChrystal.

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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery recaptured a strategic town from Taliban militants after fierce fighting, officials said on Saturday.

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RAMALLAH - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Friday for presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 24, in a political gamble that could end in divorce for the divided Palestinian movement.

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TEHRAN - A judge and five members of the same family were killed in the capital on Thursday during a dispute, local media quoted judicial sources as saying.

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BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives sealed a coalition deal with the Free Democrats on Saturday after marathon talks and said they will press ahead with 24 billion euros in tax cuts despite a yawning deficit.

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HUA HIN, Thailand - Japan's prime minister backed a U.S. role for a proposed EU-style Asian community on Saturday, telling Southeast Asian leaders Japan's alliance with Washington was at the heart of its diplomacy.

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TOKYO - The Asahi newspaper reported on Saturday that chances are growing Japan may sign off on a plan to reposition a U.S. Marine air base, which would help clear the way for a realignment of U.S. troops in the country.

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TEGUCIGALPA - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya pulled out of talks with the country's post-coup de facto leaders on Friday, throwing efforts to resolve a months-long political crisis back to square one.

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SAN JUAN - Authorities in Puerto Rico on Friday ordered the evacuation of hundreds more residents from homes around a huge fire at an oil depot which spewed a column of toxic black smoke into the sky near the capital San Juan.