Reuters World News Highlights at 0045 GMT, Mar 10

WASHINGTON - Greece, pressing for curbs on financial speculation it blames for worsening the country's debt crisis, said on Tuesday the idea would be examined by the Group of 20 leading powers at their next summit.

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FORWARD OPERATING BASE FRONTENAC, Afghanistan - U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told troops in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday they would soon be part of a "decisive phase" in the war -- an operation to impose control over the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.

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NEW DELHI - China and India joined almost all other major greenhouse gas emitters on Tuesday in signing up to the climate accord struck in Copenhagen, boosting a deal strongly favoured by the United States.

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RAMADI, Iraq - Privileged under Saddam Hussein and relegated to the political wilderness after his fall, many Sunni Arabs voted in Sunday's parliamentary poll.

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JERUSALEM - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

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WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats on Tuesday cast doubt on their chances of meeting the White House's March 18 deadline for voting on a stalled healthcare overhaul, but said they are moving as fast as they can.

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TEHRAN - A close ally of Mohammad Khatami denied a report by a semi-official news agency on Tuesday that the reformist former president had been barred from leaving Iran.

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DUBAI - Yemen, under international pressure to quiet domestic unrest and focus its sights on al Qaeda, has offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances, state media said on Tuesday.

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MOSCOW - Russian Premier Vladimir Putin will offer a traditional cocktail of arms and oil deals when he travels to India on Thursday to persuade a Cold War ally to buy new weapons amid rising competition with the United States.

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WASHINGTON - The United States said on Tuesday it is not trying to rush negotiations with Russia to reach an agreement on the START arms reduction pact before a planned nuclear summit in April.

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KIEV - Ukraine's parliament loosened rules on the formation of coalitions on Tuesday, boosting new President Viktor Yanukovich's chances of securing the government he wants without resorting to a snap parliamentary vote.

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BEIJING - China, the world's biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves, renewed its commitment to the U.S. Treasury market on Tuesday but said it would be wary of substantially boosting its gold holdings.