North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket on its east coast launch pad in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite early next month, US officials said today.

OSAMA bin Laden, deeply isolated and likely to be somewhere near the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has been forced to devote much of his energy to his own security while his al-Qaida terror network remains resilient, CIA director Michael Hayden said.

Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry denied an assertion by the top US intelligence official that only 30% of the country is under the control of President Hamid Karzai’s government.

Al Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the US and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike, according to a new intelligence assessment.

Rejecting accusations from America’s top spy that Pakistan is harbouring al-Qaida and Taliban leaders, Islamabad today said it remained committed to fighting international terrorism and extremism.

US President George Bush today met with a bipartisan group seeking consensus on a new approach for the war in Iraq amid widespread agreement that the administration's current efforts have not worked well enough or fast enough.

US President George Bush is reportedly “open to ideas” as he meets a panel studying the war on Iraq today.

US military commanders are re-evaluating strategy in Iraq to determine what changes are needed, the top general said.

US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, yesterday amid spiralling violence that included four American deaths and the discovery of 56 bodies bearing signs of torture.

AMERICA’S top intelligence official took down a government website with captured Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi documents after questions were raised about whether it provided too much information about making atomic bombs.

America’s top intelligence official took down a government website with captured Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi documents, after questions were raised about whether it provided too much information about making atomic bombs.

Israeli helicopter gunships, tanks and ground troops tightened their grip today on a northern Gaza town they overran yesterday, killing two Palestinians in Israel’s biggest push in months to stop militant rocket fire.

US President George Bush today said it is naïve and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration.

US President George Bush’s nomination of General Michael Hayden as CIA chief has ignited a confirmation fight over the intelligence veteran’s ties to the controversial eavesdropping programme and his ability to be independent from the military establishment.

US President George W Bush’s nomination of Gen Michael Hayden as CIA chief ignited a confirmation fight Monday over the intelligence veteran’s ties to the controversial eavesdropping program and his ability to be independent from the military establishment.

US administration officials say they remain committed to a diplomatic solution to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, but they will not rule out military action as an option, even as they try to calm down talk about military planning.

IRAQI documents collected by US intelligence show that Saddam Hussein’s regime was investigating reports of al-Qaida activity in the country.

Iraqi documents collected by US intelligence during the Iraq war and released by the Bush administration show Saddam Hussein’s regime was investigating “rumours” that 3,000 Iraqis and Saudis had travelled unofficially to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to fight US troops.

Sunnis and Shiites have traded bombings and mortar fire against mainly religious targets in Baghdad, killing at least 68 people after authorities lifted a curfew that had briefly calmed a series of sectarian reprisal attacks.

The US spy agencies have not known where Osama bin Laden is hiding for some time, the nation’s top intelligence official said today in an Associated Press interview.

US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte takes centre stage today as he delivers his first annual assessment of national security threats to Congress.

A top CIA manager who remains undercover will soon oversee the traditional human spying activities for the entire intelligence community, a new position created in the post-September 11 intelligence reforms.

The CIA’s independent watchdog has recommended disciplinary reviews for current and former officials who were involved in failed intelligence efforts before the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The CIA’s independent watchdog has recommended disciplinary reviews for current and former officials who were involved in failed intelligence efforts before the attacks of September 11, 2001.