A French citizen of Moroccan descent has been charged in the United States with offences directly relating to the 11 September attacks.
Zacarias Moussaoui, aged 33, has been charged with conspiring with Osama Bin Laden and other suspects to kill thousands in the attacks. He has been held as a material witness to the atrocities, which killed an estimated 3,900 people.
He was detained the previous month on immigration charges after he aroused suspicion at a Minnesota flight school where he is said to have sought training in flying a jet but not in landing or taking off.
Four of the six charges are punishable by death if he is found guilty. Officials said that the charges were the first against a key figure in the investigation.
In a further development, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, says that the US has made no decision on where, or even whether, to widen the war on terrorism to countries beyond Afghanistan.
Speaking at Downing Street after talks with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Mr Powell said that his government would first consult other coalition partners.
Britain is thought to be less keen than some in the US administration on military action in countries such as Somalia. Mr Blair said that al-Qaeda was not finished yet and rooting out "terrorism" worldwide would take some significant time.
Meanwhile, the White House is debating whether to will release a videotape, which, according to members of the Bush Administration, shows beyond doubt that bin Laden had prior knowledge of the 11 September attacks.
The White House is concerned that the amateur video may contain some coded message to terrorists. However, the vast majority of the American public wants to see it.
