Iraq At least 100 people were killed and 180 wounded as US and Iraqi troops stormed the rebel-held city of Samarra in a first effort to restore government control before promised elections, while a shocked nation buried 34 children killed by car bombs. Iraq The Islamic Army in Iraq has asked Indonesia to release Abu Bakar Bashir, a cleric accused of leading the extremist Jemaah Islamiyah group, in exchange for two Indonesian hostages kidnapped by the Islamist militant group in Iraq, in a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera television. Iraq At least seven people were killed and 13 wounded in a US air strike on a suspected hideout of Iraq's most-wanted man Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi in the rebel city of Fallujah, medics said. USA Group of Seven finance chiefs called on oil producers for help in keeping energy prices manageable as they pledged action to alleviate the debt burden on poor countries and renewed an appeal for exchange rate flexibility. Oil-price USA Oil prices rebounded higher, with prices in New York closing above 50 dollars a barrel for the first time, as traders fretted about Nigerian oil production amid a threatened rebel uprising. Nigeria Rebels in the Niger Delta, where unrest sent world oil prices soaring this week, promised to stop fighting government forces and hand in their weapons, the Nigerian president's office said. USA Both claiming victory in their first debate, US President George W. Bush and Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry clashed on Iraq as they courted voters in key up-for-grabs states. Mideast Seven Palestinians were killed during a massive Israeli incursion into the northern Gaza Strip, as Washington urged Israel to use only proportionate force and bear in mind the consequences of their actions, while refusing to condemn the operation. Baseball-USA-JPN-Ichiro-record USA Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki set the Major League Baseball record for hits in a single season here, the Japanese star reaching 258 hits in 2004 to break the mark set by George Sisler in 1920.