Rice says what to do about Syria

The international community must decide what to do about Syria after a U.N. report implicated it in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday.

She did not give any details of what measures the international community might take. Rice was speaking from her home state of Alabama, where she is on a visit with her British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

The U.N report, issued last week to members of the Security Council, implicated Syria in the Feb. 14 bombing that killed Hariri, an opponent of Syria's domination of Lebanon. The report also said the Syrian government did not cooperate with the U.N. investigation into Hariri's murder - a charge that Syria denies.

Rice was asked about Syria following a visit to a camp where victims of Hurricane Katrina are housed. She said she was confident that the international community will respond appropriately.

Straw, meanwhile, also was confident about a positive outcome because, he said, the situation involves "a set of circumstances that the international community cannot ignore", AP reports.

A. A.