The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Baghdad

US air strikes in a Shi'ite stronghold of Baghdad early on Sunday killed two toddlers, Reuters TV footage showed, in clashes that police said left a total of 13 dead and 69 wounded.

The bodies of the toddlers, one in a nappy, lay on crumpled blankets in the morgue of Imam Ali hospital in the poor district of Sadr City where doctors tended to wounded men and boys.

In a house where one of the children lived, a man pointed to bloodstained mattresses and blood-splattered pillows, choking back tears as he held up a photo of one of the dead.

"We were waking in the morning and all of a sudden rockets landed in the house and the children were screaming," said a woman outside the house.

Clouds of black smoke rose from Sadr City as sirens wailed, heavy gunfire echoed and U.S. attack helicopters circled overhead, the video footage showed.

The district is the main stronghold in Baghdad for the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and has seen many clashes between U.S. forces and militants. "The operation's objective was an individual reported to be a long-time special groups member specializing in kidnapping operations," the U.S. military said in a statement.

"Upon arrival, the ground force began to clear a series of buildings in the target area when they were engaged by machinegun fire and rocket propelled grenades from adjacent structures. Supporting aircraft was called in to suppress the enemy fire, killing an estimated six criminals," it said.

It added that the operation targeted "criminals believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of coalition soldiers in November 2006 and May 2007."

Three U.S. soldiers were kidnapped south of Baghdad on May 12. The body of one of the soldiers was found later that month but the other two are classed as missing and captured.

A U.S. army translator of Iraqi descent, was kidnapped on October 23 last year when he went to visit relatives, including his Iraqi wife, in Baghdad. His family said he was taken by the members of the Mehdi Army. The U.S. commander for Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, said in September that while security was getting better in some parts of Baghdad following a U.S. crackdown, areas such as Sadr city were likely to continue to see higher violence.

Meanwhile, US forces in Iraq discovered nearly 19 tons of explosives in a weapons cache north of Baghdad this week, one of the biggest finds of its kind, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

The cache was discovered west of Tarmiya, some 30 km (19 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad, in Salahuddin province where Sunni Arab militants have a strong presence. The find was made up of 41,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate and 35 mortar bombs. U.S. forces destroyed the cache.

"It's a crippling blow against the enemy, it's really huge," said Peggy Kageleiry, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq.

Car and truck bombs are used on almost a daily basis by militants in Iraqis targeting U.S. and Iraqi security forces and civilians.

AFP, Tehran

Iran warned on Saturday it would fire off 11,000 rockets at enemy bases within the space of a minute if the United States launched military action against the Islamic republic.

"In the first minute of an invasion by the enemy, 11,000 rockets and cannons would be fired at enemy bases," said a brigadier general in the elite Revolutionary Guards, Mahmoud Chaharbaghi.

"This volume and speed of firing would continue," added Chaharbaghi, who is commander of artillery and missiles of the Guards' ground forces, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

The United States has never ruled out attacking Iran to end its defiance over the controversial Iranian nuclear programme, which the US alleges is aimed at making nuclear weapons but Iran insists is entirely peaceful.

Iran has for its part vowed never to initiate an attack but has also warned of a crushing response to any act of aggression against its soil.

"If a war breaks out in the future, it will not last long because we will rub their noses in the dirt," said Chaharbaghi.

"Now the enemy should ask themselves how many of their people they are ready to have sacrificed for their stupidity in attacking Iran," he said.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned the military would target the bases of US forces operating in neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan in the event of any attack and already has these sites under close surveillance.

Chaharbaghi said that the Guards would soon receive "rockets with a range of 250 kilometres (155 miles)" whereas the current range of its rockets is 150 kilometres (91 miles).

"We have identified our targets and with a close surveillance of targets, we can respond to the enemy's stupidity immediately," Chaharbaghi added.

AP, Yangon

Myanmar lifted a curfew on Saturday and ended a ban on assembly imposed during a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests - the latest sign the military rulers are confident they have fully crushed the largest demonstrations in two decades.

The White House dismissed the move as "cosmetic," a day after President Bush announced new penalties against the military-run government.

"The actions of the regime are `cosmetic'. What we need are signs of serious intent to move toward a democratic transition," presidential press secretary Dana Perino said.

The relaxing of restrictions imposed Sept. 25 was announced from government vehicles driven through the streets of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon.

"The curfew and ban on assembly has been revoked effective today, because security and stability has improved," according to the announcement issued from a speaker atop one of the vehicles. It was not immediately clear if the restrictions were also lifted in Mandalay, another major city and a focus of last month's anti-government demonstrations.

The lifting of the 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and ban on gatherings of more than five people indicates the junta believes it has stamped out the uprising that was sparked in August by public anger at a sharp rise in fuel prices. Small protests quickly grew into anti-government demonstrations tens of thousands of people strong and spearheaded by legions of the country's respected monks.

AFP, Seoul

Pyongyang Sunday accused South Korea of "provocation", claiming its neighbour's navy had intentionally strayed into the North's waters and warning against it happening again.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said South Korea sent 50 navy ships and boats deep into disputed Northern waters last week, with as many as 30 coming in on Thursday alone.

"The (North Korean) Navy will never remain an onlooker to the South Korean naval warships' reckless military provocations as intruding into the inviolable territorial waters of the North side," KCNA said.

"The South Korean military authorities had better stop acting rashly."

The agency labelled the South's naval moves a "sadly mistaken" bid to enforce the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the disputed sea border.

The NLL, drawn unilaterally by US-led UN forces after the 1950-1953 Korean War, has since served as a de facto border. But the North has never recognised it and has demanded a new sea border, a move the South has rejected.

In response to the North's radio calls to withdraw last week, the South's military was quoted by the KCNA saying: "It is our waters. Don't make far-fetched assertions."

The KCNA said: "The South Korean military authorities are sadly mistaken if they think they can 'defend' the illegal Northern Limit Line in such a manner."

AFP, Nairobi

Ethiopian rebels on Sunday claimed they had killed at least 140 government troops in an attack in the Ogaden region, where the army is carrying out a crackdown.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said in a statement that almost 1,000 of its fighters attacked Ethiopian troops near Wardheer early Saturday, killing more than 140 troops, with "many more wounded".

Wardheer is about 650 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.

"Thousands of rounds of ammunition and military hardware, including communications equipment, were captured by ONLF forces during the operation," it added.

The army officers were escorting Abay Tsehaye, a senior official in the Ethiopian ruling party, when they came under attack.

"Abay Tsehaye and a few senior officers escaped by helicopter after all land routes out of the area were blocked by ONLF forces," it said.

It was impossible to confirm the claims. Journalists and aid workers are blocked from visiting the area, where the military is battling insurgents.

The rebels said the attack was "a direct response" to the burning of a village, Caado, and "abuses" of people in the Wardheer area by Ethiopian troops, the ONFL said.

AFP, Gaza City

Two Palestinians were shot dead on Saturday by Israeli forces that fired on their vessel off the Gaza Strip coast, according to Palestinian medical sources.

The two were fishermen, according to a spokesman for Hamas, but Islamic Jihad said one of the dead men was a member of its group.

The Palestinians said the Israeli fire came from a naval patrol boat but the Israeli military later said the men had been killed when an Israeli aircraft opened fire on a boat near the border with Egypt.

Israel maintains close control on shipping on the coast off Gaza, up to 11 kilometres (seven miles) from shore, saying it is needed for security reasons.

AFP, London

Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto has "only herself to blame" for the deadly suicide attack on her homecoming parade, opposition politician Imran Khan said. The former Pakistan cricket captain said Bhutto had made herself an assassination target by striking a deal with President Pervez Musharraf which "deliberately sabotaged the democratic process." "The bombing of Benazir Bhutto's cavalcade as she paraded through Karachi on Thursday night was a tragedy almost waiting to happen. You could argue it was inevitable," he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph. "Everyone here knew there was going to be a huge crowd turning up to see her return after eight years in self-imposed exile. Everyone also knows that there has been a spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan lately." "This may sound equally harsh, but she has only herself to blame," he said. Bhutto has condemned the blasts, which killed 139 people Thursday night hours after Bhutto returned from eight years in self-imposed exile, as an "attack on democracy."

But Khan said Bhutto's deal with Musharraf, which gave her an amnesty from corruption charges, undermined democracy.

"The sad thing is, she didn't need to do it. Musharraf was sinking and isolated. He was on the point of declaring a state of emergency. Just when it looked as if he had no lifelines left, Benazir came back and bailed him out.

"Worse, by publicly siding with a dictator, she has deliberately sabotaged the democratic process.

Khan said Musharraf has "dismantled state institutions, such as an independent judiciary and an election commission, and has introduced a controlled assembly, a controlled prime minister and a controlled media.

AP, Beijing

China's politically powerful vice president stepped down Sunday amid a reshuffling of the Communist Party leadership, removing from office a potential challenger to President Hu Jintao's unrivaled authority.

Closing out a weeklong party congress, delegates selected a new Central Committee, a body that approves leadership positions and sets broad policy goals. Vice President Zeng Qinghong not among those selected, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. Zeng's absence means he cannot be in the Politburo or its Standing Committee, the powerful grouping that runs China, whose members will be approved by the Central Committee on Monday.

Aside from Zeng, Xinhua said two other Standing Committee members, the defense minister and two vice premiers were among the more senior officials stepping aside. No reasons were given but all were either over or near the party's preferred, but not mandatory, retirement age.

AFP, Sydney

Australian Prime Minister John Howard Sunday prepared to face his strongest opponent in 11 years in office amid criticism of his decision to hold only one debate ahead of the November 24 poll. Howard is fighting for political survival against the centre-left Labor Party's Kevin Rudd who has taken a commanding lead against the conservative incumbent in opinion polls. The one-off debate in the six-week campaign is expected to cover the war in Iraq, to which Howard has committed troops and Rudd has promised to withdraw soldiers, as well as climate change. But the verbal jousting is likely to centre on the crucial issue of tax cuts, with Howard promising to deliver 34 billion dollars (30.4 billion US) in cuts against Rudd's offering of 31 billion dollars in sweeteners. Howard, who this week clawed back some ground in opinion polls which predict him losing in a landslide, has accused Labor's Rudd of copying the government's tax policy.

"I think it is going to be a very interesting debate," Howard said on the campaign trail Saturday.

"It will be an unusual debate as there will be only one plan to debate," the 68-year-old premier said in reference to the tax proposals. Treasurer Peter Costello, Howard's likely successor to the Liberal Party leadership, agreed with his boss.

AP, Moscow

A Soyuz craft left its docking port at the international space station on Sunday, starting a return trip to Earth with two Russian cosmonauts and Malaysia's first space traveler aboard. The capsule was to bring back Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov after a six-month stint at the station, along with Malaysian Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who arrived at the orbital outpost Oct. 12. The Soyuz briefly fired thrusters to distance itself from the station after leaving its berth on schedule at 3:14 EDT, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman for Russian Mission Control outside Moscow. It was scheduled to touch down about 50 miles north of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, about three hours later, Lyndin said. Weather on the Kazakh steppe was chilly and mostly clear, with some clouds expected to roll in before landing time. NASA television showed footage from the space station of the Soyuz, creeping along past the sunlit curve of the Earth.

Back aboard the station, the remaining crew - U.S. astronauts Peggy Whitson and Clayton Anderson, and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko - monitored the progress of the Soyuz on its return.

Whitson, the station's first female commander, arrived along with Sheikh Muszaphar and Malenchenko on another Soyuz that lifted off from the Russian-leased launch facility in Kazakhstan Oct. 10.