Prosecutors in Yemen have charged a radical U.S.-born cleric who is allegedly linked to a failed airplane bombing with plotting to kill foreigners and being a member of al-Qaida.

Prosecutors on Tuesday announced the charges against Anwar al-Awlaki in a Sana'a courtroom, where he is being tried in absentia. It is the country's first formal legal action against Awlaki, who is believed to be hiding in Yemen.

U.S. and British counterterrorism officials say bombs hidden in aircraft cargo apparently originating in Yemen appear to have been designed to explode in flight. Some intelligence analysts believe that al-Qaida is targeting Western economic infrastructure, but others say it was just going after easier targets.

Video by United States Division - Central

The United States has sent a team of experts to Yemen to help screen U.S.-bound air cargo following a plot to mail bombs to U.S. destinations.

U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief John Pistole told the CBS Early Show Monday that the U.S. is working with its international partners to increase defenses against a "determined enemy."

He said the TSA team in Yemen will provide training, equipment and expertise to examine cargo shipments at Sana'a airport.

Yemen's aviation authority says it is tightening security at all of its airports.

Greek police have arrested two men carrying letter bombs addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Western embassies in Athens.

Police said one of the men arrested was a suspected member of the Greek leftist guerrilla group known as the Fire Conspiracy Cells. A police spokesman told the Reuters news agency that authorities do not believe the incident is linked to al-Qaida.

A woman working in a private mail delivery company was slightly injured when one of the bombs, dropped off for delivery to the Mexican embassy, exploded in her hands.

U.S. authorities are investigating suspicious packages on cargo planes at two northeastern airports, after sources said a suspicious package was found on a cargo plane in Britain.

The planes being looked at Friday are in Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey. Newark is just outside New York City.

The aircraft -- both operated by United Parcel Service (UPS) -- have been moved away from other airplanes as authorities investigate.

North Waziristan is inside Pakistan, but outside the law. Located along the border with Afghanistan, North Waziristan has become a crossroads for terrorism.

It is a mixed cauldron of armed jihadi organizations including the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida and one of the deadliest insurgent groups, the network of Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Thursday that France was in a state of "extreme vigilance" but he played down al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's latest threat to attack French citizens.

French officials said a recording of Bin Laden's threats aired Wednesday was authentic, but they minimized his ability to strike France as well as his connection with the kidnap of French nationals in Africa.

Bin Laden threatened to kill French nationals to avenge the country's support for the war in Afghanistan and a new law that bans full-face veils in France.

Somalia's al-Qaida linked al-Shabab militants have executed two girls accused of spying for the Somali government.

A firing squad killed the two teenagers in the town of Beledweyne on Wednesday while several hundred people watched.

An al-Shabab judge says the two were arrested last week and charged with spying for Somali forces.

The Islamic militant group has been trying to turn Somalia into a strict Islamic state. The group has imposed a harshly conservative form of sharia, or Islamic law, in the areas it rules.

Article by VOA News