Pakistan’s military leader President Pervez Musharraf pressed ahead with plans for parliamentary elections today by swearing in a caretaker government, despite the threat of an opposition boycott.

Time is running out for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to finalise a pact with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto that would keep the US-allied leader in office, Bhutto’s party warned today.

A handful of Sunni mosques were attacked or burned today, but curfews and increased troop levels kept Iraq in relative calm a day after suspected al Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of a revered Shiite shrine.

The janjaweed militia that is accused of widespread atrocities in Darfur is actively supported by the Sudanese government, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said today.

The US State Department's number two diplomat arrived in South Korea today amid intense diplomacy aimed at ensuring North Korea keeps its pledge for nuclear disarmament.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government is redoubling efforts to detect assassination plots, calling US diplomat John Negroponte a “professional killer” and saying he believes enemies – including the CIA – are out to kill him.

Japan’s prime minister caused outrage in the Far East today after suggesting women who worked in brothels for the Japanese military during World War II had not been forced to do so.

Admiral William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy’s persistence.

Pakistan today demanded that US intelligence networks share information on the whereabouts Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida figures.

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.

The White House announced a shuffling of US military leaders in the Iraq war today as Congress’ new Democratic chiefs criticised plans president George W Bush is considering to boost US troop strength in the war zone.

The White House today announced a shuffling of US military leaders in the Iraq war today as Congress' new Democratic chiefs criticised plans President George W Bush is considering to boost US troop strength in the war zone.

US president George Bush today nominated intelligence veteran, former National Security Agency Director Mike McConnell, to be the second US national intelligence director.

CUBAN leader Fidel Castro is very ill and close to death, the US director of National Intelligence John Negroponte told a newspaper.

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.

CIA director Porter Goss resigned suddenly, nudged out after a turmoil-filled 18 months at the spy agency as it struggled to forge a new identity in an era of intelligence blunders and government overhauls.

CIA Director Porter Goss resigned unexpectedly today, pushed from the helm of a spy agency still reeling from intelligence failures before America’s worst terrorist attack and faulty information that formed the US rationale for invading Iraq.

US National Intelligence Director John Negroponte warned yesterday of possible “major turmoil and conflict” in Nigeria if President Olesegun Obasanjo seeks approval of a constitutional amendment permitting him to seek a third term in office.

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.

THE UN yesterday lent its support to a project which aims to ship inexpensive, hand-cranked laptops to school-aged children worldwide.

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.

The new US national intelligence director has told thousands of employees at America's spy agencies that the US government would pioneer new ways of organising itself to face “a new order of threats to national security”.

US President George Bush today appointed John Negroponte the first US national intelligence director, citing his career in foreign service as key to his appointment.

US President George Bush has chosen John Negroponte, US ambassador to Iraq and former UN ambassador, to be the new director of national intelligence.

More Iraqi civilians may have been killed by coalition forces and their allies than by insurgents, according to Iraqi government figures.

INSURGENTS killed five US soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad yesterday and bombed more polling stations across the country, sending a message that if Iraqis suffer on election day, "you have only yourselves to blame."

US AUTHORITIES are investigating why $300 million in American bills was taken out of Iraq’s Central Bank this month and flown to Lebanon.

A last-minute addition to the US and Britain's Iraq resolution appears to have satisfied French and German demands to spell out Iraq’s “security partnership” with US-led forces.

Four key nations have proposed major changes to the US-British draft resolution on Iraq that would give the country’s new government control over the Iraqi army and police and require the multinational force to consult on military actions except for self-defence.

As the deadline for transfer of power in Iraq nears, US senators are pushing for quick approval of Washington’s ambassador in Baghdad.

President George Bush has named John Negroponte, the United States’ top diplomat at the United Nations, as the US ambassador to Iraq.

President George Bush gave a chilly reception to Spain’s new leader, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, when the pair spoke on the telephone yesterday.

THE US has been harshly criticised for scuppering a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin, calling the measure “one-sided” and saying it ignored the group’s bloody record of terrorism.

The United States says it will consider suggested changes to its draft United Nations Security Council resolution, criticised for not giving the world body a larger role in rebuilding post-war Iraq.

Syria demanded that the UN Security Council condemn Israel’s airstrike against an alleged terrorist training camp near Damascus, but the United States said it would not support any resolution that does not also criticise attacks against Israel.

The US vetoed a UN resolution that called on Israel to halt threats to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from the West Bank.

Media Lab Europe has appointed Dr Simon Jones as Managing Director with effect from October 1, 2003.

US SECRETARY of State Colin Powell sought support from Britain, France, Germany and Russia yesterday for a proposed UN resolution that would give the world body a larger role in Iraq’s economic and political future.