The White House has denied reports of a rift with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he and President Barack Obama reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A firsthand account of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden contradicts previous accounts by administration officials, raising questions as to whether the terror mastermind presented a clear threat when the navy Seals first fired upon him.

A US Navy SEAL who participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden says the terror chief was apparently shot in the head as he looked out his bedroom door.

The White House abruptly announced that it had scuttled plans to hold the coming G8 economic summit in Chicago and would instead host world leaders at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland's mountains north of Washington.

Barack Obama will host the G8 summit at his Camp David presidential retreat in the Maryland countryside instead of Chicago as first scheduled, the White House said.

THE White House is denying a plan to release high-ranking Taliban officials held in Guantanamo Bay in exchange for an agreement by the Afghan insurgency to open a political office to begin peace negotiations in Qatar.

The US is abandoning plans to keep troops in Iraq past an end-of-year withdrawal deadline, it emerged today.

AGENTS of the Iranian government were last night accused of being involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, with help from a purported member of a Mexican drug cartel.

Wounded Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh tonight called on armed forces around the country to move against the “armed gangs” who hit his palace with rockets.

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.

Talks are under way between the Obama administration and senior Egyptian officials on the possible immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the formation of a military-backed caretaker government, US officials said.

Egyptian protesters trying to topple the regime of President Hosni Mubarak called on their supporters to fill every square in the capital Cairo today.

THE online whistle-blower WikiLeaks said it will continue to publish more secret files from governments around the world despite US demands to cancel plans to release classified military documents.

Online whistleblower WikiLeaks vowed to continue publishing more secret files from governments around the world despite US demands to cancel plans to release classified military documents.

Simultaneous bombings bearing the hallmarks of international terrorists ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final in Uganda's capital, killing 64 people.

Tony Blair has welcomed the easing of Israel's blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza to allow in virtually all consumer goods that had been barred for years.

Squads of US Marines and Afghan soldiers slowly pressed deeper into the Taliban stronghold of Marjah today, painstakingly clearing out booby-trapped houses one by one.

Former US president Bill Clinton made a surprise trip to North Korea today amid an international stand-off over the country’s nuclear programme and concerns about two imprisoned American reporters.

Former US president Bill Clinton has released records that show governments, corporations and billionaires with interests in US foreign policy contributed millions of dollars to his charitable foundation.

Former US President Bill Clinton has released records that show governments, corporations and billionaires with their own interests in US foreign policy made millions of dollars in contributions to his charitable foundation.

The two US presidential rivals go head-to-head in their second debate tonight after the race to the White House took a nasty turn.

DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate Barack Obama has shown the power of the internet for political fundraising. Now he is fighting its darker side as a vehicle for “smears” against his White House bid.

America should not assume it can do whatever it wants and should instead live up to its duties as a world leader, Republican presidential candidate John McCain said today.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has declared she is “only human” and “misspoke” after she was accused of overstating her foreign policy experience on the campaign trail.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain called on US banks today to help their customers in the same way as they have been helped by the US government.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign said she “misspoke” last week when saying she had landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia as first lady in March 1996 - the candidate herself described the episode as a “misstatement” and a “minor blip”.