Iran moves ahead with missile testing, faces more sanctions

Iran is testing missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, underlining threats to close the vital oil-transit waterway as the West prepares more sanctions.

China concerns evolve: US to send marines to Darwin

US President Barack Obama will use a visit to Australia next week to announce that America will station marines at a base in Darwin.

Gates: US missile strikes in Pakistan to continue

President Barack Obama is retaining a powerful but controversial US weapon left over from the Bush administration's battle against terrorism.

Obama closes Guantánamo, names conflict envoys

Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the closing of Guantánamo prison and named veteran trouble-shooters for the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Pentagon denies Pakistan fired on US helicopters

The Pentagon on Monday denied reports that Pakistani troops fired on two US military helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Israeli jet exercise 'was warning to Iran'

Israel carried out a large-scale military exercise earlier this month as a warning to Iran, Pentagon sources confirmed on Friday.

Burma death toll soars as diplomats tour delta

Burma's ruling military junta took diplomats on a tour of the storm-ravaged Irrawaddy delta on Saturday as its toll of dead and missing soared above 133 000 people, making Cyclone Nargis one of the most devastating ever to hit Asia. An estimated 2,5-million people are clinging to survival in the delta.

Big guns roll through Red Square once more

Seventeen years have gone by since T-90 tanks last rolled across the historic cobbles of Moscow's Red Square. But on Friday they were back -- with an unmistakable diesel-fumed roar -- and trundling past Lenin's tomb and the fantastic domes of St Basil's Cathedral. Led by a rather tubby general holding a sword, Russia held its annual Victory Day parade.

Luxury hotels and golf: Welcome to the Green Zone

Picture, if you will, a tree-lined plaza in Baghdad's International Village, flanked by fashion boutiques, swanky cafes, and shiny glass office towers. Nearby a golf course nestles agreeably, where a chip over the water to the final green is but a prelude to cocktails in the clubhouse and a soothing massage in a luxury hotel.

US mulls thousands more troops for Afghan war

The Pentagon is considering sending up to 7 000 more United States troops to Afghanistan next year to make up for a shortfall in contributions from Nato allies, the New York Times reported on Saturday. The paper said the push could drive US forces in Afghanistan to about 40 000.

Top cleric vows crushing response if Iran attacked

A top cleric on Friday vowed that Iran would deal a knock-out blow to what he called maniacs in the United States and Israel if they ever attacked the Islamic republic. "If maniacs in Washington or Tel Aviv seek to take action, the Iranian nation will slap them so hard they will not get off the floor," hard-line cleric Ahmad Khatami said.

Al-Jazeera cameraman returns from Guantánamo

A Sudanese cameraman with the al-Jazeera on Friday accused United States authorities of insulting Islamic symbols on his return home after six years of detention at Guantánamo Bay. There were "many violations -- [we were] deprived from praying and there were ... deliberate insults to God's holy book" said Sami al-Haj.

Top US official pushes cybersecurity goals

Federal cybersecurity officials are trying to develop an early-warning system that alerts authorities to incoming computer attacks targeting critical United States infrastructure, says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. His keynote speech on Tuesday at the RSA security conference, however, was light on details.

US commander to halt Iraq troop withdrawals

The top United States commander in Iraq told Congress on Tuesday he plans to stop US troop withdrawals in July due to fragile security gains and heard appeals for quicker action to find a way to end the war. Appearances by General David Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, drew US presidential candidates.

US memo authorised extreme interrogation methods

A newly declassified 2003 Justice Department memo gave United States military interrogators broad authority to use extreme methods in questioning al-Qaeda detainees, US media said on Wednesday. The memo argued that the US president's wartime authority exempted them from laws banning cruel treatment.

US sent nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan in error

The Pentagon mistakenly shipped four electrical fuses for Minuteman nuclear missiles to Taiwan, officials said on Tuesday. The Taiwan shipment could have had international repercussions because of the sensitivity of United States arms sales to the island.

Iraq begins sixth year of chaos, bloodshed

The United States-led war on Iraq that toppled the brutal regime of dictator Saddam Hussein entered its sixth year on Thursday with millions of Iraqis still battling daily chaos and rampant bloodshed. On March 20 2003, US planes dropped the first bombs on Baghdad.

Bush: Battle in Iraq is noble, necessary and just

George Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion on Wednesday with an uncompromising speech in which he described the war as noble, necessary and just and claimed there was now an unprecedented Arab uprising under way against Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

Five years on, Bush again talks of Iraq victory

United States President George Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure" and declared that the US was on track for victory. With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq campaign.

Bush to hail prospect of Iraq 'strategic victory'

President George Bush will acknowledge on Wednesday the Iraq war has been fought at a high cost but will insist a United States troop build-up has opened the door to a "major strategic victory" against Islamic militants. "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable," Bush will say in an upbeat assessment.

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