Taleban shut down in US

Supporters of Osama bin Laden say he is a "Hero of Islam"

Afghanistan's Taleban authorities have been ordered to close their office in New York, their only outpost in the United States.

The US Government, which issued the order, also said the visa status of the movement's representative in New York, Abdul Hakim Mujahid, would be reviewed.

The moves follow a tightening of United Nations sanctions against the Taleban, aimed at securing the extradition of the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden.

The sanctions are also meant to force the closure of alleged terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, which the Taleban say do not exist.

Embassy trial

The trial against four men alleged to have been accomplices of Mr Bin Laden in the bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 is due to resume next week.

Witnesses are being called from six countries

Qatari television has reported that Mr Bin Laden's organisation has denied any links to a key witness at the trial, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, who had presented himself as a close associate of the Saudi dissident.

Mr Al-Fadl told the court in New York that Osama Bin Laden formed an organisation known as Al-Qaeda in 1989 to fight the United States and to topple pro-western Arab governments.

In 1993, according to Al-Fadl, Osama Bin Laden even attempted to buy uranium in an apparent effort to produce a nuclear device.

The trial is expected to last for 10 months and is taking place under unprecedented security in a Manhattan court.