CAIRO, Egypt — Osama bin Laden warned in a new audiotape of a "severe" reaction for Europeans' publication of cartoons of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in what experts saw as a direct threat of a new attack in Europe.

The message, posted late Wednesday on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with an assault rifle.

Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors militant messages, called Wednesday's video a "clear threat against EU member countries and an indicator of a possible upcoming significant attack."

The five-minute message, bin Laden's first this year, made no mention of the fifth anniversary Wednesday of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Vice President Dick Cheney said today the United States will ask NATO countries to step up their commitment to help Afghanistan recover from years of tyranny and war."We believe the commitment needs to continue and perhaps needs to be reinforced," Cheney said.Standing beside Afghan President Hamid Karzai at a news conference, the vice president also said neighboring Pakistan has an obligation to battle insurgent activity along the border between the two countries.He said the Pakistani government, like that of Karzai, is a target for al-Qaida and other extremists. "They have as big a stake as anyone else," he said.Cheney's remarks came after a meeting with Karzai at the Afghan leader's palace to discuss ways the country's fragile government can counter rising threats from al-Qaida and Taliban militants.Cheney said there has been remarkable progress in improving security forces and rebuilding in the country even as it struggles in a continuing war with insurgents.

DHARMSALA, India — The Dalai Lama said today he was willing to meet Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, and reiterated he was not seeking independence for Tibet.The comments came as Chinese authorities acknowledged that riots against Chinese rule of Tibet had spread to other provinces after sweeping through Tibet last week. The government also announced the first arrests stemming from the violence.The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, said he would be prepared to meet with any Chinese leaders, including Hu. But he said he would not travel to Beijing for talks unless there was "a real concrete development" in relations between the Beijing government and Tibet.