Egypt: Al-Qaida official threatens attacks on Americans, Jews

The spokesman for the al-Qaida terror group has threatened more attacks on Americans and Jews in a message published Sunday by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat Sunday.

“We confirm our continuation in working to attack Americans and Jews, and targeting them, both people and buildings,” Al-Hayat quoted Sulaiman Abu Gaith as saying in an article that the newspaper said was published on the Web site www.alneda.com. The site could not be accessed on Sunday.

“What will come to the Americans, God willing, won’t be less than what has come. America should be ready and on high alert and fasten the seat belts, as with the will of God, we will come to them from where they didn’t expect,” Abu Gaith was quoted as saying. The newspaper did not give Abu Gaith’s whereabouts.

New York City: Families gather at WTC site

Hundreds of relatives of people lost on Sept. 11 joined hands Sunday at the site of the World Trade Center as those hit hardest by terrorism sought solace at an interfaith memorial ceremony marking the end of the recovery effort.

On Thursday, thousands of people attended a service organized by the city to mark the end of the cleanup at the site and to honor the rescue workers. Some victims’ relatives had criticized Mayor Michael Bloomberg for not holding the service on a weekend, when they said it would be easier for families to attend. Sunday’s ceremony was planned for family members who weren’t able to be at Thursday’s ceremony.

The mayor said he chose a weekday because he did not want the service to interfere with religious observances. He said he wouldn’t attend Sunday’s service because he didn’t “want to politicize anything.”

Toronto: British team at North Pole

Two British women on Sunday reached the North Pole, becoming the first all-female team to make it to both the North and South Poles.

The women reached the North Pole 81 days after departing from Ward Hunt Island at the extreme northern tip of the Inuit territory of Nunavut in northern Canada.

The pair, Caroline Hamilton, 35, and Ann Daniels, 37, were also part of an all-female group that trekked to the South Pole in 2000.

Afghanistan: Karzai consolidates power

Afghanistan’s interim President Hamid Karzai on Sunday won the backing of the country’s popular former king and the majority of its most powerful warlords to head the nation’s next administration.

In closed-door meetings Sunday in Kabul, Karzai won commitments of support from regional strongmen, including Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, the deputy defense minister and northern regional commander; Karim Khalili, leader of the central Hazara people, and from Ismael Khan, the powerful governor of western Herat province, said Abdul Manan Oruzgani, a spokesman for Karzai.

The interim president also received an official letter Sunday from former King Mohammed Zahir Shah expressing his support for Karzai in the upcoming loya jirga, or grand national council meeting, set for June 10-16 in Kabul, Oruzgani said.