7.7-magnitude earthquake rocks Siberia
A large earthquake struck the sparsely populated region of Siberia in Eastern Russia at 12:30 p.m. local time Friday, the AP reported.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake registered a 7.7 magnitude on the Richter scale. The quake's center was 6,000 miles from Moscow and 625 miles from the largest local city. Damage was minor and only 31 injuries were reported. Seven people were hospitalized.
Small aftershocks followed the quake, registering a 6.1 magnitude.
-R.G.D.
Bin Laden releases new threat against the West
Osama bin Laden issued ominous new threats in an audiotape broadcast Sunday, purportedly saying the West was at war with Islam and calling on his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. force, USAToday.com reported.
In his first new message in three months, bin Laden said the West's decision to cut off funds to the Palestinians because their Hamas leaders refuse to recognize Israel proved the United States and Europe were conducting "a Zionist crusader war on Islam."
In the message, bin Laden also called for a global Muslim boycott of American goods similar to the recent boycott of Danish products after the publication of caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed.
He also said the artists who drew those offending cartoons should be handed over to him for trial and punishment.
Al-Jazeera reported that bin Laden, in a portion of the tape not aired by the Qatar-based broadcaster, scoffed at Saudi King Abdullah for his calls for a "dialogue among civilizations" and blasted liberal-minded Arab writers for taking part in the Western cultural invasion of Muslim lands.
-K.O.
