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Sudan's president threatens South

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan's president threatened Wednesday to topple his rival government to the south, harsh words that could escalate the conflict between the two nations as they intensify clashes over the border.

As the international community pushed for a peaceful solution, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed to "liberate" the people of South Sudan, saying it was his country's duty to them.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July after decades of civil war, creating the world's newest country. But the two never agreed on how to share the oil wealth found in the region between the countries, and the border was never fully demarcated.

Fighting has intensified in the last several weeks amid fears the two sides could return to an all-out war. On Tuesday, soldiers clashed at a river dividing their two countries, leaving 22 dead.

- AP

Libya insists on own prosecution

TRIPOLI, Libya - Libya insisted Wednesday it will put a son of deposed ruler Moammar Gadhafi on trial itself, just as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court flew to Tripoli to look into his case and that of Gadhafi's notorious spy chief.

The Hague-based court is locked in a legal tug-of-war with Libya's ruling National Transitional Council over who should try Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, once considered his father's heir apparent. He was captured last year in Libya after a civil war that toppled the Gadhafi regime.

Libyan spokesman Nasser al-Manei emphasized his government's decision not to hand over Gadhafi's son. "Procedures are going forward to try all former regime figures, including Seif," Manei told reporters. The government statement cast a shadow over the visit of the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who was expected to press the ICC's case for taking over the trial of Gadhafi's son.

- AP

Egyptian cleric visits Jerusalem

CAIRO - A top Egyptian Islamic cleric paid a rare visit to Jerusalem on Wednesday, breaking with decades of opposition by Muslim leaders on traveling to areas under Israeli control.

The Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa wrote on his Twitter account that the symbolic visit was in solidarity with the Palestinians' claim to East Jerusalem, under Israel's control since it was captured in the 1967 Mideast war. He prayed in the Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, during his two-hour visit.

Gomaa called the trip an unofficial visit, clearly an attempt to defuse criticism he is already facing for breaking an unofficial ban by Muslim clerics and most Egyptian professional and private associations on visiting Israel or Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories. - AP

Elsewhere:

Mexican customs inspectors seized 268,000 rounds of assault rifle ammunition found in a U.S. truck at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported Wednesday. Angel Torres, a spokesman for federal prosecutors, said a 37-year-old man from Dallas was detained for trying to drive the truck across the border from El Paso.