The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Ankara

The threat of a Turkish military strike on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq grew Saturday after crisis talks with an Iraqi delegation failed to satisfy Ankara.

Newspapers reported that the army was massing more forces along the Iraqi frontier, with F-16 fighter jets ready for "orders to strike". Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country was on a "constant state of alert".

But the diplomatic focus has turned to contacts with the United States including Erdogan's talks in Washington next month which analysts said could still avert military action.

An Iraqi delegation, led by Defence Minister Abdel Qader Mohammed Jassim was to leave Ankara on Saturday after its proposals to curb Kurdish separatist rebels were rejected by Turkey, an Iraqi embassy official said.

Tensions have risen since the Turkish parliament last week gave authorisation for a military operation against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq.

Turkey has reported killing more than 60 PKK fighters in clashes since last Sunday when a rebel ambush on a military patrol along the border left 12 soldiers dead. Eight Turkish soldiers were also captured.

After Friday's talks, Turkey said the Iraqi proposals to curb the PKK would take too long to implement.

The Iraqi minister proposed international coalition forces patrolling the Turkish-Iraqi border to prevent infiltration by Kurdish rebels. He also suggested direct talks between the Turkish, Iraqi and US military and the revival of a tripartite panel to coordinate efforts to curb the separatists.

But Turkey reaffirmed calls for "urgent and determined" action against the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and much of the international community.

Turkish media said that a Turkish incursion was getting closer after the failure of the talks.

"Iraqi proposals empty. Cross-border operation at the doorstep," the pro-government Zaman newspaper said, while the popular Vatan said the crisis was at a "breaking point."

The mass-circulation Hurriyet accused Iraqi officials of "clowning" in the face of Turkish demands for the arrest and extradition of PKK leaders.

But Prime Minister Erdogan signalled on Friday that action may be put off until after he meets US President George W. Bush in Washington on November 5.

AFP, Tehran

Iran's new chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili on Friday brushed aside the latest US sanctions saying they would have no affect on the country's nuclear policies, the ISNA news agency reported.

"These sanctions are nothing new. Sanctions have been imposed on us for 28 years. The new sanctions, like all those before, will have no affect on Iran's policies," Jalili said at Tehran airport on his return from talks in Rome with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"The sanctions will only isolate the United States on the international stage," he said of the measures against Tehran, unveiled on Thursday.

The US sanctions specifically targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused of spreading weapons of mass destruction, and the IRGC's elite Quds Force, which was labelled a supporter of terrorism.

Three Iranian state-owned banks were also blacklisted, along with IRGC-controlled companies and the logistics arm of Iran's defence ministry, as Washington stepped up a drive to squeeze Iran out of global banking.

Despite already being under UN Security Council sanctions, Tehran refuses to suspend its controversial programme of uranium enrichment, which the West fears to be a cover for atomic weapons development, a charge Iran denies. Jalili and his predecessor Ali Larijani, who resigned unexpectedly on Saturday following differences with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the handling of Iran's nuclear case, both attended the talks in Italy with Solana. Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, are also continuing talks following an agreement reached in August for Tehran to provide answers to outstanding questions over its nuclear programme including plutonium experiments and centrifuges.

Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium to make nuclear fuel. In a highly enriched form, the material can also be used to make the explosive core of a nuclear bomb.

AFP, London

British involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is a hangover from its imperial past, a distinguished military historian has said, accusing politicians of exaggerating the country's importance in the world.

Award-winning Cambridge University academic Correlli Barnett said Britain has delusions of grandeur about its role as a world power, which has led to the "ludicrous" over-commitment of its armed forces.

He also said Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his predecessor Tony Blair, and the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, David Cameron, were deluded that Britain's influence was comparable to that of the United States.

At a seminar in Cambridge, Thursday to mark his 80th birthday, Barnett said politicians and officials had been exaggerating Britain's importance since before the end of World War II in 1945.

"Such exaggeration has remained the besetting sin of British total strategy right up to the present day and also remained a sure recipe for a discordance between military commitments and financial resources," he said.

AP, Kabul

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the entrance to a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing three Afghan soldiers and one Afghan civilian, a U.S. official said.

Initial reports indicated the bomber walked up to the first security gate outside of Forward Operating Base Bermel in Paktika province, said Maj. Christine Nelson-Chung, a U.S. spokeswoman.

She said three Afghan soldiers and one civilian were killed and that four Afghans were wounded.

No Americans were wounded in the attack, she said. It wasn't immediately clear if the bomber had been trying to gain entry to the base, which is near the border with Pakistan.

Taliban insurgents have set off more than 100 suicide blasts this year, a record pace, and violence in 2007 has been the deadliest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. More than 5,200 people have died because of the insurgency this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.

Australia's prime minister, meanwhile, said more NATO powers must directly engage the Taliban to help ease the burden on Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, which all have troops in the dangerous southern and central parts of Afghanistan.

Germany, Italy, France and Spain have troops in the safer northern sections, and Australian Prime Minister John Howard said those countries need to help ease the burden on the countries in the south.

"Some of the other countries have lots of troops in Afghanistan but they're not in some of the areas that are experiencing the heaviest fighting," he said.

Reuters, Garhi Khuda Baksh

Thousands of party faithful greeted former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Saturday as she visited her stronghold in southern Pakistan, days after an assassination bid that killed 139 people.

Chanting "Long Live Bhutto", around 4,000 jubilant supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) cheered and clapped as Bhutto arrived in a bullet-proof vehicle at her father's vast mausoleum in their ancestral village of Garhi Khuda Baksh, near the town of Larkana in Sindh province.

Standing through the sunroof behind her secretary, Bhutto -- who returned to Pakistan last week after eight years of self-exile -- waved to crowds who were prevented from approaching the vehicle by security staff wielding AK-47s.

A huge Bhutto portrait hung from a pylon, and green, red and black PPP flags fluttered as her convoy whipped up a dust storm.

AFP, Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas agreed on Friday to try to find a meaningful agreement to take to a planned Middle East meeting, an Israeli official said.

"They agreed to try to reach, as soon as possible, a meaningful statement," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said after two and a half hours of lunchtime talks between the two at Olmert's official Jerusalem residence.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams tasked with crafting the joint document for a conference scheduled in Annapolis, Maryland later this year also attended the talks, and Eisin described the atmosphere as "very good."

Reuter, Beijing

Sonia Gandhi, India's most powerful politician, stressed the importance of frank dialogue with China during her visit to Beijing, as the two rivals pledged to strengthen bilateral ties.

India and China are competing for global influence and for the raw materials and energy needed to fuel Asia's two fastest growing economies.

"We may well have different views and different perspectives on both bilateral and global issues. That is only natural," Gandhi said in a speech to a selected audience of about 50 students at the elite Tsinghua University on Saturday. "However, I have no doubt that there is no problem that can not be sorted out through free and frank dialogue and discussion." Gandhi, the head of India's ruling Congress Party, is visiting China to pave the way for a visit late this year or early next by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Agencies, Buenos Aires

Argentina will go to the polls to elect a new president Sunday, with first lady and senator Cristina Fernandez the favourite.

Argentines will have a choice between 13 candidates. Senator Fernandez, wife of outgoing President Nestor Kirchner, is expected to top 40 percent according to opinion polls, while her closest rivals, led by Christian Liberal Elisa Carrio, will struggle to reach 20 percent.

To avoid a run-off, the centre-left Fernandez must get at least 45 percent of the vote, or 40 percent with a lead of more than 10 percentage points above the second-place finisher. Polls will be open for 27 million voters from 11.00-21.00 GMT Sunday. In theory, no exit polls are allowed to be made public before the first official results are made known, but Argentine media have a history of violating this embargo. Preliminary official results are expected early Monday

AFP, Mafra

The European Union and Russia moved closer on thorny issues of trade and political relations at a summit here on Friday that steered clear of confrontation on major policy disputes.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and EU leaders hailed a "constructive" meeting and voiced the hope that stalled partnership talks between Brussels and Moscow would begin in the coming months. The European Union welcomed Moscow's commitment to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor Russian parliamentary elections on December 2.

Brussels also reiterated its support for Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and signed a deal with Moscow to raise import quotas on certain types of Russian steel.