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AFP, Washington

Opposition Democrats assailed President George W. Bush's tentative plan to withdraw up to 30,000 US troops from Iraq by next July even before he announced it Thursday.

Bush will make a 15-minute, televised address on Thursday night saying he could bring force levels back to where they were in December 2006 if the conditions are right

A senior aide said that the president would closely follow the strategy laid out by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, which would end the military "surge" ordered in January.

That would leave roughly 130,000 US troops in Iraq about six months before Bush -- who has cited the half-century US presence in South Korea as a possible model for Iraq -- hands the White House keys to his successor.

With the war-weary US public largely in favor of a withdrawal from the strife-torn country, it was unclear whether Bush's announcement would take some pressure off his Republican allies ahead of the November 2008 elections.

Under heavy fire from Democrats who want a swifter end to the conflict, the White House insisted it saw progress in Iraq on the security and political fronts but flatly refused to even hint at when the conflict would be over.

"You don't know when the war's going to end because you don't know when the war's going to end -- you don't have a crystal ball," Bush spokesman Tony Snow told reporters.

Bush's speech is to start at 9:00 pm (Friday 0100 GMT).

A top White House official who asked not to be named said that Bush would say that "all draw-downs will be based on the conditions on the ground" and that the withdrawal, to be completed in July 2008, could start this month.

Democrats were having none of it Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the decision not to replace some 30,000 troops when they are rotated out "neither a drawdown nor the change in mission we need."

"It appears the president is dug in," Reid said, calling Bush's plan "more of the same."

"This is unacceptable to me. It is unacceptable to the American people," said Reid, who vowed to craft legislation this month "that changes the mission in Iraq and begins a true redeployment of our troops." On the campaign trail, Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama demanded a withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by late 2008 -- and used a new war plan as a prism to atack his top rival, fellow Senator Hillary Clinton.

"Unfortunately, conventional thinking in Washington lined up for the war," the senator said in remarks not specifically mentioning Clinton, but targeting the Washington political class of which she is a leading member.

Turning to the Bush administration's strategy, Obama warned "the bar for success is so low that it is almost buried in the sand."

Over the past 10 days, including during a surprise trip to Iraq, Bush has said that the surge he ordered in January has paid off in progress on the political and security fronts, while warning that a withdrawal now would have cataclysmic repercussions.

"It's a success story," the White House spokesman said of the "surge."

White House aides acknowledge that the strategy has not yielded what Bush identified as a central goal: passage by Iraq's parliament of legislation seen as key to fostering national unity and quelling sectarian violence.

Reuters, Bengkulu

Indonesia's Sumatra island was pounded by aftershocks on Thursday after a massive earthquake killed at least nine people and buried many others under collapsed buildings.

Tsunami warnings were repeatedly issued and lifted for Indian Ocean countries after the magnitude 8.4 earthquake -- the biggest anywhere in the world this year -- was followed over the next 18 hours by 22 tremors ranging in intensity from 4.9 to 7.8.

An Australian seismologist said the region was lucky to have escaped a devastating tsunami similar to the one triggered by the 2004 quake that killed more than 280,000 people.

"There was a tsunami created by the earthquake, it just travelled in a southwest direction away from land," said Mike Turnbull at Central Queensland University.

The initial quake, which happened on the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, was felt across the Malaysian peninsula and Indonesian archipelago, cuting communication lines and sparking fears that the region would awake on Thursday to scenes of widespread devastation.

AP, Kabul

Airstrikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The batle in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday began when insurgents atacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the coalition said in a statement late Wednesday.

Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village of Aduzay, while atack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force on Wednesday said insurgents increased atacks during Ramadan last year and that they could do the same this year.

"On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, the enemies of Afghanistan have shown they will shun peaceful coexistence in favor of atacking government forces," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman. "Fortunately for the citizens of Afghanistan, the ANA (Afghan National Army) is improving their tactics."

The coalition said no Afghan or coalition soldiers or civilians were wounded or killed.

Fighting has increased dramatically in the last several weeks in Afghanistan, with more than 300 suspected Taliban fighters killed since late August, according to the U.S.-led coalition.

Reuters, Washington

U.S. officials on Wednesday confirmed Israel launched air strikes against Syria last week and said they were to target weapons Israel believes were headed for the militant group Hezbollah.

One defense official dismissed speculation Israel had aimed for any nuclear-related target Two others said the target included weapons Israeli and U.S. officials have said Iran provides to Hezbollah through Syria.

"They saw a weapons flow," one official said, referring to weapons caches intended for Hezbollah, which fired thousands of rockets into Israel during a 36-day conflict last year.

It was still unclear whether Israel hit its targets in the September 6 air strikes.

Israel has declined comment on the strikes. Syria says the munitions dropped by Israel did no damage.

One U.S. defense official, speaking only on condition of anonymity, said the significance of the strikes was not whether Israel hit its targets, but rather that it displayed a willingness to take military action.

Syria has protested to the United Nations about the air strikes. On Wednesday, Syria's U.N. ambassador said Israel's motive was to torpedo peace moves.

AFP, Miranshah

Up to 30 Islamic militants were killed and nine Pakistani troops wounded after insurgents atacked a checkpost in a troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan, the army said Thursday.

The fighting in North Waziristan, where US officials say the Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban have regrouped since 9/11, came a day after the military said it had killed another 40 rebels in a nearby area.

Pakistan has been rocked by violence since troops stormed the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, with suicide atacks killing nearly 250 people since then and scores of militants dying in clashes with the military.

"Militants atacked the post in Nawaz Kot district overnight but troops fought off their assault," top military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP.

"The security forces retaliated using gunship helicopters. Local sources are reporting 25 to 30 militants are killed but the toll could go higher," he said. He said nine paramilitary soldiers were wounded but did not confirm local reports that 10 soldiers also died.

Reuters, Tokyo

Japan's finance minister became the first to launch a bid to lead the country on Thursday as the ruling party scrambled to avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shock resignation. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers decided to hold an election for party president -- and hence premier -- on September 23, rejecting a proposal for September 19 to give candidates more time to make policy pitches to the public. "To turn this adversity into opportunity, we should seek candidates from a wider spectrum. This is a golden opportunity to convey the messages of candidates to the party members as well as the people," said former party secretary-general Tsutomu Takebe, who had lobbied for an even later date. Abe's year in office has been marked by scandals involving cabinet members and a disastrous election defeat in July.

AFP, Islamabad

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte offered broad support Wednesday for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf as Washington's key ally faces mounting opposition and Al-Qaeda-linked violence. Negroponte refused to condemn military ruler Musharraf's deportation of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif hours after his return from seven years in exile, saying it was an "internal" mater for Pakistan. He also played down indications that the United States could launch unilateral strikes against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, saying that US forces would always respect Islamabad's sovereignty. The fresh show of support comes at a valuable time Musharraf, who according to a poll released on the same day is less popular among Pakistanis than Al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden. "We welcome Pakistan's leadership as a voice of moderation and reason in the Islamic world.

AP, Tehran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday rejected the congressional testimony of the top U.S. officials in Iraq accusing Iran of interfering in its war-torn neighbor. He also said the Islamic Republic could help in Iraq if the U.S. and British governments stopped alleging it is fighting a proxy war there by arming Shiite Muslim militias accused of atacking coalition forces and Sunni Arabs. In an interview on Iranian state television, Ahmadinejad said Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker raised allegations of Iranian meddling solely because of the political debate within the United States over the war in Iraq. "These comments are the result of their domestic competition. Our stance on Iraq is quite clear, but they made a mistake and keep repeating it," the hardline leader said in a live interview. "Iran has no need to interfere in Iraq. The Iraqi government and nation are close friends of Iran," he added. Later, in an interview broadcast by Britain's Channel 4 television, Ahmadinejad denied charges that Iran supplies weapons to Iraq's Shiite groups or allows bomb-making technology to be passed to insurgents, saying Iranians don't benefit from having a neighbor in conflict

AFP, Washington

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to the Middle East next week to lay the groundwork for a US-sponsored regional peace conference, as talks between Israelis and Palestinians begin to intensify. Rice will travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah from September 18-20, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday. She will meet with top officials "in order to continue the discussions on advancing the development of a political horizon and the two-state solution," McCormack said. During the long-anticipated trip, Rice "wants to build upon some of the progress the two parties themselves have made during their discussions recently," he added, referring to recent meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. US President George W. Bush has called for the international conference, expected to be held in November, in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Reuters, New Delhi

Communist allies of India's government would end support to the ruling coalition if it went ahead with a controversial nuclear deal with the United States, the most powerful left leader said on Thursday. "We won't be there to help this government conclude this agreement," said Prakash Karat, the chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), the nation's biggest left party. "That's final," Karat said at a seminar on the nuclear deal. The pact -- seen as a sign of booming economic and strategic ties between the two powerful democracies -- allows India to import nuclear fuel and reactors from the United States, despite having tested atomic weapons and having refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty.