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Hamas spurns al-Qaeda's war call Khaled Meshaal says he won't take his cue from al-Qaeda Hamas has dismissed a message by al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urging the Palestinian militant group never to make peace with Israel. Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal said the movement had "its own vision" and did not need Al Qaeda's advice. He was responding to a video statement in which Zawahiri called on Hamas - which won last month's Palestinian election - to continue to fight Israel. Mr Meshaal was speaking after talks with Russian officials in Moscow. Hamas is seeking international legitimacy, as it...

US spurns Seoul plea for North Korea 'guarantee' By David Rennie in Washington (Filed: 04/01/2003) The United States and South Korea found themselves at loggerheads yesterday as Washington flatly rejected a suggestion by Seoul that it guarantee North Korea's security. The public rift came as a source close to the administration said they were inclined to let the Stalinist nation "stew in its own juice" rather than give in to nuclear blackmail. In a sign of how the 50-year-old US-South Korean alliance has drifted, a top aide to South Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-hyun echoed demands from North Korea that the...