YANGON, Myanmar, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Several hundred protesters faced down security troops in Yangon Saturday as state-run newspapers in Myanmar declared peace had been restored.

The demonstrators, chanting slogans against Myanmar's military regime, were surrounded by troops, but no shots had been fired, the BBC reported.

At least nine protesters, and likely many more, died earlier this week when troops use tear gas, beatings and bullets to breakup massive protests led by thousands of monks, who since have been arrested, beaten or locked in their monasteries.

United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari was due in Myanmar for talks with ruling generals as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations condemned the violence and urged the generals to transition to democracy, the Hindustan Times reported Saturday.It is believed to be the first time ASEAN has condemned the actions of a member country, the Hindustan Times said.

Taliban bomber kills 27 in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility Saturday for a suicide bomb attack that killed at least 27 Afghan soldiers and injured 21 more in Kabul.

The bus carrying the troops was split in two after a man dressed in army uniform climbed in the vehicle and detonated the bomb, a BBC correspondent reported.

In June, an attack on a police bus in Kabul killed 35 officers. In all, more than 3,000 people have died this year in fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan and NATO forces.

Musharraf nomination papers approved

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Pakistan’s election commission Saturday approved President Pervez Musharraf’s re-election nomination papers a day after his court victory, GEO TV reported.

In approving Musharraf’s papers, the commission set aside the objections of opposition parties and lawyers, who had sought to stop the process despite the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling that Gen. Musharraf can seek re-election in the balloting by parliament and national assembly members next Saturday while continuing to be the country’s military chief.

The commission also approved the nomination papers of two others planning to oppose Musharraf in the voting, the report said.

GEO TV reported police clashed with some of the lawyers and political workers as the commission began its work. The report said a few were arrested but later released.

Musharraf court win problem for opposition

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Pakistani opposition to President Pervez Musharraf, shocked by his court win to seek re-election while still military head, considered its next steps Saturday.

Its numerous challenges to stop Gen. Musharraf, who took power in 1999 in a bloodless military coup, from keeping both his titles as president and military chief in the run up to the poll next month were rejected in a 6-3 ruling Friday by a Supreme Court panel.

The opposition can now either start a new legal fight against the Election Commission or build public pressure against Musharraf's candidacy in the Oct. 6 election which will be decided in balloting by parliament and national assembly lawmakers, the BBC said.

Musharraf has pledged to resign his military post if re-elected, but his lawyers have said he will stay as army chief if he is not elected.

Britain’s Telegraph quoted one opposition lawmaker as saying, “Now our fight against dictatorship will be on the streets.”

The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) said although the high court has become more independent since the reinstatement of a dismissed chief justice, most of 13 justices remain pro-government as they were all appointed during Musharraf’s rule.

Togo appeals for flood aid

LOME, Togo, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The government of Togo says it urgently needs food and medicine to help 20,000 people left homeless by flooding in Africa.

An estimated 23 people in Togo died in the flooding, which killed at least 300 more in several African countries, the BBC reported Saturday.

The now-receding floods affected 20 countries -- almost half the countries in Africa, with Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Uganda and Sudan among the hardest hit during the last month.

The government of Togo, one of the world's poorest countries, so far has spent more than $1 million on rescue and repair operations. The European Union plans to divide nearly $3 million in emergency aid between Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Uganda's transportation system has been severely affected, including routes to Sudan where more than 600,000 people are said to be in need of aid, the BBC reported.

The United Nations says the countries are at risk of locust infestations, cholera and dysentery.