International News Briefs

The Pentagon on Monday announced a proposed death-penalty prosecution of a Saudi man at Guantanamo, alleging he organized the October 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Aden, Yemen, that killed 17 American sailors.

The 11-page charge sheets, signed by a Marine major, accuse Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, 43, of conspiracy, murder and other law of war violations.

It seeks to try him by military commission at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba and execute him if he is convicted.

The CIA subsequently confirmed it subjected him to a regime of waterboarding to extract his confession while he was held in secret overseas detention after his capture in 2002.

WASHINGTON

War funding bill signed

President Bush on Monday signed legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan cooperation.

Bush made clear to thank members of both parties in Congress, singling out some sponsors of the long-delayed, compromise measure for praise. His positive comments contrasted with the confrontational tone that has dominated the debate between Congress and his administration over Iraq.

The legislation will bring to more than $650 billion the amount Congress has provided for the Iraq war since it began more than five years ago. For operations in Afghanistan, the total is nearly $200 billion, according to congressional officials.

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt

Mugabe greeted at meeting

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe entered an African summit accompanied by the meeting’s host Monday, a sign that African leaders won’t shun him despite Western demands they take a tough stance over his re-election in a tainted ballot.

But behind the scenes, some leaders were pushing for Mugabe to share power with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, who dropped out of Friday’s runoff election after allegedly state-sponsored killings and beatings of his supporters.

France said Monday it considered Mugabe’s government “illegitimate,” and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the African Union to reject the result of the runoff.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands

Giraffe aids circus escape

Amsterdam police say 15 camels, two zebras and an undetermined number of llamas and potbellied swine briefly escaped from a traveling Dutch circus after a giraffe kicked a hole in their cage.

Police spokesman Arnout Aben says the animals wandered in a group through a nearby neighborhood for several hours after their 5:30 a.m. breakout.

The animals were back at the circus later Monday after being rounded up by police and circus workers with the assistance of dogs. Aben says neighbors fed some of the animals — which he said was a bad idea — but they were tame and nobody was hurt.

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