NEW YORK

Office space at WTC site depleted under new guides

New guidelines for rebuilding the World Trade Center site will call for less office space, hoping to spur more creative plans after six original designs were widely criticized.

The guidelines will call for 6.5 million to 10 million square feet of office space, several sources familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The original guidelines called for 11 million square feet.

The new guidelines are to be announced Friday.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corp.’s original six plans for the site were roundly criticized in July. Each featured office buildings clustered around a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attack.

Malaysia

Alleged terror conspirator heads to U.S. to face charges

An American citizen wanted in the United States for allegedly conspiring to support Osama bin Laden’s terror network was deported today from Malaysia.

Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal was being flown to the United States, but officials would not disclose the exact destination. Federal indictments filed against him last week were handed up in Portland, Ore.

Last week, the U.S. government charged him and five others with belonging to a terrorist cell in Portland, Ore., and trying to join al-Qaida to fight U.S. troops.

CHICAGO

Charity leader raised funds for terror, indictment say

The leader of an Islamic charity was indicted Wednesday on charges of funneling donations to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, with Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft vowing, “We will find the sources of terrorist blood money.”

Enaam M. Arnaout, 40, head of the Benevolence International Foundation, has been in federal custody since April.

The indictment said a criminal enterprise that existed for at least a decade used charitable contributions to support the al-Qaida network, Chechen rebels fighting the Russian army and armed violence in Bosnia.