Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan yesterday to end the fighting in Najaf that would disarm his militia and remove them from their hideout in a holy shrine.

REBEL Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr backed down last night in the face of a looming Iraqi army assault on a holy shrine in Najaf where his gunmen have been holding out.

Rebel Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeared to back down today and accepted a peace plan just as government forces were preparing to storm a holy shrine in Najaf where his gunmen are holed up.

INDIA test fired a new air-to-air missile yesterday, a day before the scheduled arrival of a US diplomat trying to improve relations between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, according to media reports.

Kashmir’s ruling party failed to win enough seats to form a majority government, and may end up in opposition if it cannot form an alliance, almost complete election results showed today.