THE US is to withdraw more than 30,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer, US President Barack Obama revealed last night.

The US President Barack Obama is to announce his timetable for pulling American troops out of Afghanistan in a TV address to the nation tonight.

Any decision to drawdown international troops from Afghanistan should be based on security conditions on the ground, US Defence Secretary Lim Fox has said.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on European allies to spend more on defence and work together to reduce the reliance on the United States for high-tech weapons.

Libyan government forces have pounded the outskirts of the rebel-held city of Misrata, killing at least 22 people, a hospital physician said today.

NATO faces a “dim, if not dismal” future, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned.

Nato – the cornerstone of US security policy for six decades – faces a “dim, if not dismal” future, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today.

GOOGLE has become a “political tool” vilifying the Chinese government, an official Beijing newspaper said yesterday, warning that the US internet giant’s statements about hacking attacks traced to China could hurt its business.

THE US has no “definitive evidence” that Pakistan knew Osama bin Laden was living in the compound where a Navy SEALs assault team killed him, but the country must now show convincingly its commitment to defeating the al- Qaida terrorist network, a senior Pentagon official said yesterday.

The US Afghanistan commander General David Petraeus is to be made the new head of the CIA, security sources have said.

The US Afghanistan commander general David Petraeus is to be made new head of the CIA, security sources have said.

BRITAIN and the United States planned to step up military pressure on Muammar Gaddafi, as the Libyan leader’s army pressed its bloody siege of the rebel-held city of Misrata.

Government troops retreated to the outskirts of Misrata under rebel fire today and the opposition claimed victory after officials in Tripoli decided to pull back forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi following nearly two months of laying siege to the western city.

Yemen’s political opposition presented the most detailed outline of how it hopes to see power change hands after nearly two months of protests that have weakened the long-time president but failed to drive him from office.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Yemen hurled stones at riot police backed by tanks in the southern province of Aden as rival rallies were held in the capital today.

The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping Nato partners can take up the slack.

Muammar Gaddafi struck a defiant stance after two high-profile defections from his regime, saying he was not the one who should go but the Western leaders who decimated his military with air strikes.

Libya has played down the resignation of Foreign Minister Musa Kusa says it is a personal decision driven by health problems, not a sign that the embattled regime is cracking at the highest levels.

Libya’s rebel forces were closing in on Muammar Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte, the gateway to the western half of the country, today after it was targeted for the first time by international air strikes.

Yemen’s president, clinging to power despite weeks of protests, has scrapped his offer to step down by the end of the year.

Nato is to take command of all international military operations over Libya, including air strikes on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s ground forces.

Libyan rebels seized back two key oil complexes and pushed west towards Tripoli today, gaining momentum after international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Muammar Gaddafi’s military.

Libyan rebels have seized back a second key oil complex and are pushing west toward Tripoli.

TINY Qatar became the first Arab country to fly combat missions over Libya yesterday after NATO agreed to take command of the no-fly zone part of air operations against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

A Nato helicopter gunship inadvertently killed two civilians while attacking suspected insurgents in the northern province of Khost, the alliance announced today.

YEMEN’S president offered to step down by the end of the year yesterday in a bid to appease mounting demands for his resignation, but opposition groups showed no sign of easing up on efforts to force him out.

A DEFIANT Muammar Gaddafi said Libya is “ready for battle”, as Western leaders mulled yesterday their next steps on the fifth day of UN-backed military strikes on his oil-rich country.

Paul Taylor reports from Paris on the problem with NATO taking the lead on Libya

YEMEN’S president has warned his country would descend into civil war if he were forced to quit and the US voiced concern about instability in the Arabian state that has become an al-Qaida stronghold.

RUSSIA and the US clashed over Western bombing raids in Libya, with the US defence chief saying Moscow had accepted Muammar Gaddafi’s “lies” about civilian casualties.

Libyan rebels are struggling to take advantage of the aerial shield provided by international forces protecting them against most of Muammar Gaddafi's heavy weaponry.

BARACK Obama said yesterday the US favours the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi but the international military effort has a more limited goal of establishing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians against massacre by forces loyal to the longtime ruler.

Western forces have carried out another night of attacks in Libya, including one raid which destroyed a building inside the compound where Colonel Gaddafi lives, but authorities say the dictator is not a target.

LIBYAN rebels have claimed as many as 8,000 people opposed to Col Muammar Gaddafi’s rule may have died since the uprising began, as the US claimed last night coalition forces had succeeded in establishing a no-fly zone after two nights of airstrikes.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama is approving the resumption of military trials for detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ending a two-year ban.

US President Barack Obama is approving the resumption of military trials for detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ending a two-year ban.

Libyan warplanes have launched multiple air strikes on opposition fighters regrouping at an oil port on the Mediterranean coast.

Libyan warplanes have launched a fresh air strike on rebel positions around a key oil port, trying to block fighters from advancing toward Muammar Gaddafi’s stronghold in the capital, Tripoli.

Libyan rebels today vowed to regroup and bring in heavy weapons after forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi pounded opposition fighters with helicopter gunships, artillery and rockets to stop their rapid advance toward the capital.

US defence secretary Robert Gates began a two-day visit with US troops, allied commanders and Afghan leaders today to gauge war progress as the Obama administration moves towards crucial decisions on reducing troop levels.

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, some in helicopter gunships, pounded opposition fighters with artillery, rockets and gunfire, dramatically escalating their counter-offensive to halt the rebels’ rapid advance towards the capital.

Barack Obama insisted he was considering every intervention option in Libya, including military might, along with America's allies.

The US is tempering its tough talk on Libya with a dose of reality, explaining that even a no-fly zone over the country would require a military attack on Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.