30,000 US troops are likely to be withdrawn from Afghanistan….

President Obama is expected to outline his plans for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. According to reports, 30,000 US troops are likely to be withdrawn.

 President Obama has been under pressure from Pentagon that he should announce withdrawal only 5,000 troops from Afghanistan this year.

Robert Gates said there had been contacts between US and Taliban….

"There s been outreach on the part of a number of countries, including the United States. I would say that these contacts are very preliminary at this point," US Defence Secretary.

The comments from the outgoing US defense chief were aired a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the United States was in contact with the Taliban, a striking public acknowledgment of a peace initiative that has been cloaked with secrecy.

US Defence Secretary Gates said that most NATO countries lack military capabilities...

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates delivered a sharp parting shot at European allies on Friday, saying NATO risks “collective military irrelevance” unless they bear more of the burden and boost military spending.

In a final policy address before retiring at the end of the month, Gates said NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Libya had exposed significant shortcomings in military capabilities and political will among the allies.

Panetta and Petraeus nominated for top slots in US......

Panetta and Petraeus will move to their new offices on June 20.

 President Barack Obama has declared his new defence team according to which Leon Panetta, the current CIA chief, has been named as secretary of defence and David Petraeus, who commands the international force in Afghanistan, as the CIA chief.

Barack Obama and David Cameron said: Gaddafi will 'lose power' ......

Barack Obama and David Cameron have said Col Gaddafi will ultimately be forced out of power and Libya's people allowed to "choose their own future".

At a joint press conference in London, the UK prime minister vowed to "turn up the heat" on the regime in Tripoli amid suggestions of deadlock on the ground.

But the US President urged people to be "patient", saying the allied campaign in Libya would be "slow and steady". Both men celebrated the US-UK relationship as "stronger than ever".

PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS REPEAT OPERATION IN PAKISTAN......

US President Barack Obama has said he would order a similar operation to that which killed Osama Bin Laden if another militant leader was found in Pakistan.

He said the US was mindful of Pakistani sovereignty but said the US could not allow "active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action".