The CIA has pulled its top spy out of Pakistan after threats were made against his life, according to officials.

The top US commander in Afghanistan was summoned to Washington today after criticising politicians and civilian officials over their attitude to the war.

THE Pentagon said yesterday that the US wanted a UN Security Council resolution “within weeks” to tackle Iran’s nuclear programme as Iran said it had begun making higher-grade nuclear fuel.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew to Iraq today to meet Iraqi officials amid a wave of bombings which have killed 127 people and rattled the country’s government.

At least four people were killed today when a bomb exploded near an intelligence office in the central Pakistani city of Multan, police said.

BARACK OBAMA has begun one of the toughest sales jobs of his presidency, launching the much-awaited roll-out of his Afghan war strategy by informing top military and civilian advisers in Washington and Kabul and telephoning key allies around the globe.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today that the US will never accept a North Korea with atomic weapons, saying the communist regime poses threats “even more lethal and destabilising” than before.

AN American war jet blasted two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban in northern Afghanistan yesterday, killing up to 90 people, including insurgents and dozens of civilians who had rushed to the scene to collect fuel, Afghan officials said.

North Korea's quest for nuclear weapons could spawn a destabilising arms race in Asia that would threaten world security, South Korea's president warned today.

AFGHANISTAN said yesterday it hoped the newly named commander of US and NATO troops would do more to avert civilian deaths, which had soured relations under outgoing commander General David McKiernan.

RUSSIA insisted yesterday its nuclear arsenal is secure, angrily rejecting US allegations that tens of thousands of aging Soviet weapons may not be fully accounted for.

US president George Bush sent a stern warning to Russia today that it cannot lay claim to two breakaway provinces in neighbouring Georgia, a US ally, and said there was no room for debate on that point.

DEBRIS from an obliterated US spy satellite is being tracked over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans but appears to be too small to cause damage on Earth, a senior military officer said yesterday, hours after a Navy missile scored a direct hit on the failing spacecraft.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today the United States is prepared to share with China some of the information it has about today’s missile strike on an ailing satellite.

Iraq’s political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress towards reconciliation, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today.

About 3,200 US Marines are being told to prepare to go to Afghanistan to boost troop levels in preparation for an expected Taliban offensive in coming months, military officials said.

President Vladimir Putin warned US officials today to back off on their plan to install missile defences in eastern Europe or risk harming relations with Moscow.

Iraq’s prime minister today said he expects the US ambassador and military commander to give his government favourable marks when they report to Congress next week and predicted passage of a law soon that could return more Sunnis to government jobs.

Iran remains the biggest threat to Middle East interests, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned today.

US President George Bush’s administration said there is no trade-off in its plans to sell billions in sophisticated weaponry to oil-rich Persian Gulf states whose cooperation Washington is courting in Iraq.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed Tony Blair as an "historic and passionate leader" today, saying his debut as Middle East envoy could breath new life into long-stalled talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today that the decision to send a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region does not mean the United States is planning for a war with Iran.

The Army general who would carry out US President George Bush’s US troop buildup in Iraq urged patience today and predicted “tough days” ahead.