World
The second-ranking leader of Al Qaeda warned of gruesome new terrorist attacks on the US and Britain "until all your infidel armies leave Prophet Mohammad's lands." In a videotape broadcast on al-Jazeera, the Arabic satellite news channel, Ayman al-Zawahiri said there is "no way out" for the US except by immediate withdrawal from Iraq, Afghanistan, and all other Islamic countries. He warned of "tens of thousands" of additional deaths and "more destruction" as long as Western governments ignore a "truce" offered in April 2004 by Osama bin Laden. Zawahiri spoke from hiding and referred to the London subway bombings of July 7, suggesting that the tape may have been recorded in recent days.
Negotiations over North Korea's nuclear ambitions ground toward an 11th day with little apparent hope of a breakthrough as the communist nation refused to abandon any of its related programs. The six participating nations, meeting in Beijing, failed again Thursday to agree on the language of a statement of principles for future rounds of talks. Reports said the North was demanding that the statement mention only its "nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons program." But the US said it must include references to all programs that could be diverted to weapons use.
Hospitals were reported full of victims of the violence in Sudan's capital, and police were cracking down on participants in the rioting that has wracked it for three days in the wake of Vice President John Garang's death in a helicopter crash. At least 111 people were killed and about 300 others were hurt in three straight days of rioting by Garang's angry followers. More than 1,400 suspects were arrested. The situation in Juba, southern Sudan's major city, was similar, with 13 more deaths and Arab-owned shops in ruins.
The military junta that seized power in Mauritania Wednesday said it would run the country for no more than two years, but the pledge failed to impress other African governments, the US, and the UN. All of them condemned the coup that ousted President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, whose government had maintained close relations with the US and had extended diplomatic recognition to Israel. But the coup appeared popular with ordinary Mauritanians, and the capital, Nouakchott, was calm.
