Reuters World News Highlights at 1355 GMT, Nov 17

LONDON - Japan became the latest major economy to fall into recession on Monday with France close behind, and the IMF said it needed at least $100 billion to fight an economic crisis enveloping the world.

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DUBAI - Pirates have taken control of a large Saudi-owned oil tanker off east Africa, the U.S. Navy said on Monday.

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MADRID - The suspected military leader of Basque separatist group ETA has been arrested in France, Spanish and French authorities said on Monday.

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GAZA - Israel opened a border crossing with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time in two weeks, allowing in a limited amount of humanitarian aid.

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KABUL - A Taliban militant leader rejected on Monday an offer from Afghan President Hamid Karzai of safe passage for insurgent leaders who wanted to talk peace.

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BAGHDAD - Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker signed a long-awaited accord on Monday requiring Washington to withdraw its forces within three years.

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MOGADISHU - Rival Islamist militia have fought in a town just outside Somalia's capital Mogadishu, illustrating splits in the forces ranged against the government and its Ethiopian military backers.

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CHICAGO - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama resigned his seat in the Senate on Sunday to focus on his transition to the White House, appointing new staff and thanking his home state of Illinois for launching his political career.

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LOS ANGELES - Thousands of Southern Californians returned home to find their houses burned to the ground, or miraculously intact on Monday, after a wind-whipped weekend firestorm swept through bone-dry canyons and hillsides.

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HOUSTON - Space shuttle Endeavour docked at the International Space Station on Sunday on an outer-space home improvement mission to add amenities like a new toilet and kitchen to the 10-year-old orbital outpost.