Reuters World News Highlights at 0545 GMT, Mar 29

TOP STORIES

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- At least 35 people were killed on Monday when two separate blasts rocked metro stations in central Moscow during the rush hour, law enforcement and emergency officials said.

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SEOUL - North Korea warned on Monday of unpredictable disaster unless the South and the United States stop allowing tourists inside a heavily armed border buffer that is one of the most visited spots on the peninsula.

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SHANGHAI - A Chinese court will deliver a verdict on Monday against four Rio Tinto employees accused of accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets in a case closely watched by foreign investors and the huge domestic steel industry.

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WASHINGTON - Can Republicans ride all the way to Election Day in November by opposing most of President Barack Obama's major policies? So far they are sticking with this strategy.

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KABUL - Barack Obama made his first trip to Afghanistan as U.S. president on Sunday, delivering a rousing speech to troops and telling Afghan President Hamid Karzai that progress on fighting corruption should match military gains.

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SYDNEY - The euro rallied further on Monday from 10-month lows, buoyed by a burst of short-covering as the quarter draws to an end, while Chinese shares hit two-month highs as investors bought large cap stocks like banks.

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BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva held talks with protest leaders on Sunday in an effort to defuse growing tension and avert possible confrontation after protesters intensified their drive to topple the government.

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JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected on Sunday a description of President Barack Obama as Israel's "greatest disaster", a phrase a best-selling newspaper attributed to an anonymous confidant of the premier.

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OTTAWA - Canada will press the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to tighten United Nations sanctions on Iran when it hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from the grouping on Monday and Tuesday.

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ROME - Graft scandals and bureaucratic bungling by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's party appeared to put a damper on turnout, which could favour the opposition, as Italians voted on Sunday in regional elections.