Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Bush Administration Wins Court Victory on Guant[omega]namo Detentions. A federal appeals panel ruled unanimously that prisoners from Afghanistan being held in Guant[omega]namo Bay may not challenge their detentions in federal court. By Neil A. Lewis. 5:17:46 PM

Senators Thumb Their Constitutions in Debate Over Judges. The Senate debated its constitutional role in confirming judges, in an endeavor by Republicans to break the stalemate over federal appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada. By Neil A. Lewis. 5:17:46 PM

An Order of Fries, Please, but Do Hold the French. The French may have Champagne, Brie, croissants and even kisses. But the House of Representatives has freedom fries and freedom toast. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 5:17:45 PM

Investigators Focus on Shuttle's Skeleton. Investigators analyzing the shuttle's breakup said that part of the aluminum skeleton of the spacecraft may have vaporized, exploding like a bomb. By Matthew L. Wald and John Schwartz. 5:17:44 PM

Congressman Is Chastised for Remarks on Jews and Iraq Policy. The White House and Congressional leaders joined Jewish groups in sharply criticizing a Democratic congressman who said Jews were behind the buildup toward war with Iraq. By David Firestone. 5:17:44 PM

Panel Faults Bush on War Costs and Risks. The cost of postwar reconstruction of Iraq will be at least $20 billion a year, a panel of national security experts say in a new study. By Patrick E. Tyler. 5:17:43 PM

Administration Drafting Proposals to Preserve Pension Plans. e Bush administration is drafting proposals to discourage companies struggling to pay for traditional worker pension plans from dropping them. By Bloomberg News. 5:17:43 PM

House Budget Chairman Vows Tax Cuts and Balanced Budget. The chairman of the House Budget Committee promised to produce a budget that would include all the tax cuts President Bush wanted and still balance the budget in seven years. By David E. Rosenbaum. 5:17:42 PM

Judge Affirms Terror Suspect Must Meet With Lawyers. A federal judge in Manhattan refused to reverse a ruling that Jose Padilla, who has been held for nine months in military custody, be allowed to meet with lawyers. By Benjamin Weiser. 5:17:41 PM

Court Stay Issued in Airline Smoke Death. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Greece-based Olympic Airways won a stay at the Supreme Court that will protect it, for now, from paying $1.4 million to heirs of an asthmatic man who died after being exposed to second hand smoke on an international flight. By The Associated Press. 5:17:40 PM

Lobbyists on Both Sides Duel in the Medical Malpractice Debate. Parties on both sides of the medical malpractice debate have been bringing victims to the Capitol to tell stories that have fueled a war of dueling images. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 5:17:39 PM

Senate Blocks an Amendment to Alter an Abortion Measure. Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bid to add expanded birth control insurance coverage and education to a measure that would ban a disputed abortion procedure. By Carl Hulse. 5:17:39 PM

New Federal Plan for DNA Testing. Facing a huge national backlog of cases, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced plans Tuesday to seek $1 billion over five years to increase DNA analysis. By Eric Lichtblau. 5:17:38 PM

Largest Conventional Bomb Dropped in a Test in Florida. In a flashy debut for its biggest non-nuclear bomb, the Air Force on Tuesday dropped a 21,000-pound behemoth onto a test range in Florida. By Thom Shanker. 5:17:37 PM

U.S. Would Accept Short Extension of Iraq Deadline. The White House also said President Bush would force a vote by the end of the week on an American-backed resolution. By Richard W. Stevenson with Felicity Barringer. 5:17:37 PM

Suit Says Transplant Error Was Cause in Baby's Death in August. A second case has come to light in which a child died after doctors failed to take the precaution of making sure the organ donor and recipient had compatible blood types. By Denise Grady and Lawrence K. Altman. 5:17:35 PM

Treatment for Infections Takes Top High School Science Prize. A high school senior who researched a treatment for infections that are especially dangerous for AIDS and cancer patients won first place in the Intel Science Talent Search. By Jennifer Medina. 5:17:34 PM

New Federal Plan for DNA Testing. Facing a huge national backlog of cases, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced plans Tuesday to seek $1 billion over five years to increase DNA analysis. By Eric Lichtblau. 5:17:34 PM

Focus on Shuttle Skeleton. Investigators analyzing the shuttle's breakup said that plasma gas had probably vaporized part of the aluminum skeleton of the spacecraft, which may have exploded like a bomb. By Matthew L. Wald and John Schwartz. 5:17:33 PM

Technology Briefing: Deals. GUIDANT AGREES TO BUY X TECHNOLOGIES;. 5:17:32 PM

Technology Briefing: Hardware. DELL TO OFFER CHIPS FROM BROADCOM AND INTEL; I.B.M. PLANS SERVERS WITH FASTER CHIP;. 5:17:31 PM

Technology Briefing: Telecommunications. LUCENT SIGNS PACTS WITH 9 EUROPEAN COMPANIES;. 5:17:30 PM

Dealtime Agrees to Buy Epinions. Dealtime, a Web site for comparing prices, has agreed to buy Epinions, a site that lets users write and read product reviews. By Saul Hansell. 5:17:26 PM

Glasnost on War's Looted Art. Russia's Ministry of Culture is posting images and descriptions of art and valuables looted by Soviet forces on a new Web site. By Sophia Kishkovsky. 5:17:26 PM

AOL Providing Software to Customers to Block Pop-Ups. America Online, which has sworn off selling pop-up ads, is now giving its users software that will block those ads on other sites. By Saul Hansell. 5:17:25 PM

Antiwar Song, With Whimsy. With no advance fanfare, the Beastie Boys released "In a World Gone Mad," an antiwar single, on their Web site. By Neil Strauss. 5:17:25 PM

Military to Clamp Down on E-Mail. Concerned that secret information might leak out, some units of the military are starting to clamp down on e-mail communication. By Matt Richtel. 5:17:24 PM

National Briefing: Health and Science. FAKE DRUG PROMPTS WARNING BY F.D.A.; CHEMICAL LINKED TO HEART PROBLEMS ;. 5:17:13 PM

National Briefing: South. MISSISSIPPI: Legal Aid Criticized;. 5:17:12 PM

National Briefing: Midwest. WISCONSIN: Milwaukee Indictment;. 5:17:12 PM

National Briefing: West. CALIFORNIA: Injunction Against Tree-Sitters;. 5:17:11 PM

National Briefing: New England. MASSACHUSETTS: University President Blasts Plan; MAINE: Brain Drain;. 5:17:11 PM

National Briefing: Washington. BUSH SIGNS DO-NOT-CALL LAW;. 5:17:10 PM

House Budget Chairman Vows Tax Cuts and Balanced Budget. The chairman of the House Budget Committee promised to produce a budget that would include all the tax cuts President Bush wanted and still balance the budget in seven years. By David E. Rosenbaum. 5:17:09 PM

Senators Thumb Their Constitutions in Debate Over Judges. The Senate debated its constitutional role in confirming judges, in an endeavor by Republicans to break the stalemate over federal appeals court nominee Miguel Estrada. By Neil A. Lewis. 5:17:08 PM

An Order of Fries, Please, but Do Hold the French. The French may have Champagne, Brie, croissants and even kisses. But the House of Representatives has freedom fries and freedom toast. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 5:17:07 PM

Senate Blocks an Amendment to Alter an Abortion Measure. Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bid to add expanded birth control insurance coverage and education to a measure that would ban a disputed abortion procedure. By Carl Hulse. 5:17:06 PM

Universities Learn Value of Neighborliness. Tensions between town and gown stretch from the Middle Ages, but more and more, universities are trying to forge bonds with the communities that surround them. By Tamar Lewin. 5:17:06 PM

Black College Diversifies, Luring Russian Town. Alcorn State University, a historically black school in Mississippi, now has a number of white students from Russia. By David M. Halbfinger. 5:17:05 PM

Congressman Is Chastised for Remarks on Jews and Iraq Policy. The White House and Congressional leaders joined Jewish groups in sharply criticizing a Democratic congressman who said Jews were behind the buildup toward war with Iraq. By David Firestone. 5:17:05 PM

Bush Administration Wins Court Victory on Guant[omega]namo Detentions. A federal appeals panel ruled unanimously that prisoners from Afghanistan being held in Guant[omega]namo Bay may not challenge their detentions in federal court. By Neil A. Lewis. 5:17:04 PM

Phil Spector Says in E-Mail He Is Cleared in a Killing. LOS ANGELES, March 11 The record producer Phil Spector, who has maintained a public silence since his arrest last month in the shooting death of a woman in his house, said this week in an e-mail message to friends that he had been exonerated. Mr. Spector, 62, best known for creating the By Nick Madigan. 5:17:04 PM

Order Soundly Defeats Chaos as Florida County Goes to Polls. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 11 Finally, a chaos-free election in South Florida. By Dana Canedy. 5:17:03 PM

New Federal Plan for DNA Testing. Facing a huge national backlog of cases, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced plans Tuesday to seek $1 billion over five years to increase DNA analysis. By Eric Lichtblau. 5:17:03 PM

Catholic Group Picks Academic Team to Study Problem of Sexual Abuse. Researchers at New York City's John Jay College of Criminal Justice will study the extent of child sexual abuse in the church and how much it has cost the church financially. By Laurie Goodstein. 5:17:02 PM

Lobbyists on Both Sides Duel in the Medical Malpractice Debate. Parties on both sides of the medical malpractice debate have been bringing victims to the Capitol to tell stories that have fueled a war of dueling images. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg. 5:17:01 PM

Investigators Focus on Shuttle's Skeleton. Investigators analyzing the shuttle's breakup said that part of the aluminum skeleton of the spacecraft may have vaporized, exploding like a bomb. By Matthew L. Wald and John Schwartz. 5:17:00 PM

Largest Conventional Bomb Dropped in a Test in Florida. In a flashy debut for its biggest non-nuclear bomb, the Air Force on Tuesday dropped a 21,000-pound behemoth onto a test range in Florida. By Thom Shanker. 5:16:59 PM

Judge Affirms Terror Suspect Must Meet With Lawyers. A federal judge in Manhattan refused to reverse a ruling that Jose Padilla, who has been held for nine months in military custody, be allowed to meet with lawyers. By Benjamin Weiser. 5:16:58 PM

Death Toll in Army Copter Crash Rises to 11. The Black Hawk helicopter went down on the western edge of Fort Drum, which covers 167 square miles near Lake Ontario. By James Barron. 5:16:58 PM

Suit Says Transplant Error Was Cause in Baby's Death in August. A second case has come to light in which a child died after doctors failed to take the precaution of making sure the organ donor and recipient had compatible blood types. By Denise Grady and Lawrence K. Altman. 5:16:57 PM

Ex-Judges and Prosecutors Fight Milestone Execution in Texas. Texas plans on Wednesday to execute an inmate who would become the 300th person to be executed by the state since 1976. By Peter T. Kilborn. 5:16:56 PM

San Francisco Police Chief Case Dropped. In a significant retreat, a judge dismissed conspiracy charges against the San Francisco police chief and the assistant chief at the request of the district attorney. By Dean E. Murphy. 5:16:56 PM

Teenager, Missing Since June, Is Found Alive. Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nearly eight months ago, was found alive today during a traffic stop in suburban Salt Lake City. By The Associated Press. 5:16:55 PM

Technology Briefing: Deals. GUIDANT AGREES TO BUY X TECHNOLOGIES;. 5:16:54 PM

Technology Briefing: Telecommunications. LUCENT SIGNS PACTS WITH 9 EUROPEAN COMPANIES;. 5:16:53 PM

OPEC Says It Will Maintain Current Level of Oil Production. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided at its meeting here to maintain oil output at current levels. By Neela Banerjee. 5:16:52 PM

Capitalists in Chinese Legislature Speak Out for Property Rights. Pro-business groups have issued loud public calls for a constitutional amendment to protect private property from arbitrary confiscation. By Christopher Buckley. 5:16:50 PM

Auction Houses Settle in Foreign Price Fixing. Christie's and Sotheby's agreed to pay $20 million each to settle a lawsuit accusing them of fixing sellers' commissions and buyers' premiums. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:48 PM

Venture May Bid for Enron Plant in India. The mothballed $2.9 billion Dabhol power generation project in western India may be revived. By Saritha Rai. 5:16:47 PM

Indonesia Is Urged to Intervene in Company Loan Debacle. A number of nations have written to the Indonesian president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, urging her to intervene in efforts to recover $6.5 billion in loans. By Wayne Arnold. 5:16:47 PM

China Buys Another Piece of Big Caspian Sea Oil Field. For the second time in four days, a Chinese state-owned enterprise has agreed to buy a stake in a huge oil field in the Caspian Sea. By Keith Bradsher. 5:16:46 PM

An Attempt to Simplify Ownership at Gazprom. Gazprom, Russia's national gas monopoly and by far its largest company, said that it had completed a long-awaited measure to make the company more accessible to foreign investors. By Sabrina Tavernise. 5:16:45 PM

Korea Indicts 10 Executives of SK Group in Stock Case. Ten executives of the SK Group, including Son Kil Seung, the chairman, were indicted on charges of illegally manipulating stocks. By Don Kirk. 5:16:44 PM

Nokia Warns on Earnings. Nokia warned that its revenue for the first quarter would be slightly off from, mainly because of the slump in sales of equipment to phone companies. By James Connell. 5:16:43 PM

Glasnost on War's Looted Art. Russia's Ministry of Culture is posting images and descriptions of art and valuables looted by Soviet forces on a new Web site. By Sophia Kishkovsky. 5:16:42 PM

Stan Brakhage, Avant-Garde Filmmaker, Is Dead at 70. Stan Brakhage was one of the leading figures in American experimental cinema. By A. O. Scott. 5:16:41 PM

HBO Countersues 'Sopranos' Star. HBO escalated its salary war with James Gandolfini, the star of "The Sopranos," countersuing him for more than $100 million. By Bill Carter. 5:16:39 PM

News Corp. Won't Bid for AOL Book Units. The News Corporation said that its HarperCollins unit would not bid for the book publishing business of AOL Time Warner. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:38 PM

Gateway Switches to Leo Burnett. Gateway Switches To Leo Burnett. 5:16:38 PM

Reality Shows Try Product Placement. ABC's new reality show "All American Girl" will work in the products of sponsors. By Stuart Elliott. 5:16:37 PM

Administration Drafting Proposals to Preserve Pension Plans. e Bush administration is drafting proposals to discourage companies struggling to pay for traditional worker pension plans from dropping them. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:36 PM

Wholesale Inventories Decrease. Wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell in January after sales increased, keeping the amount of goods on hand at a record low. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:36 PM

McDonald's Tries to Bottle Paul Newman. In an effort to burnish its tarnished image on Wall Street and Main Street, McDonald's has formed a partnership with Paul Newman. By Marian Burros. 5:16:35 PM

The AOL Unit Turner Started Is Reconfigured. Philip I. Kent, in his second day as chief executive of Turner Broadcasting System, moved to put his mark on the AOL Time Warner division that holds the cable networks founded by Ted Turner. By Jim Rutenberg. 5:16:35 PM

Andersen Seeks Graceful Exit to Leases. Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that is winding down its operations, is disengaging from over 100 leases. By Michael Brick. 5:16:34 PM

Honeywell Leaves Ireland. DUBLIN, March 11 (Bloomberg News) Honeywell International Inc., a leading maker of aircraft-cockpit electronics, said today that it would move software production to India from Ireland to reduce costs. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:34 PM

Citigroup Paid Executive More Than C.E.O.. Citigroup said in a regulatory filing that an executive, Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary, earned $18.4 million last year. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:33 PM

Most Fund Brokers in Study Failed to Give Full Discounts. An examination of 43 brokerage firms found that all but 2 had overcharged at least some customers who were eligible for discounts on the purchases of mutual funds. By Floyd Norris. 5:16:33 PM

AOL Providing Software to Customers to Block Pop-Ups. America Online, which has sworn off selling pop-up ads, is now giving its users software that will block those ads on other sites. By Saul Hansell. 5:16:32 PM

From Hotel, Icehouse and Supply Store to Offices. A former hotel on the Hudson River in Pougkeepsie, N.Y. is being renovated as a modern 60,000-square-foot office building. By Elsa Brenner. 5:16:32 PM

War Complicates United's Bankruptcy Strategy. United Airlines asked a bankruptcy court judge for six more months to file its restructuring plan. By Micheline Maynard. 5:16:31 PM

Dealtime Agrees to Buy Epinions. Dealtime, a Web site for comparing prices, has agreed to buy Epinions, a site that lets users write and read product reviews. By Saul Hansell. 5:16:30 PM

House Budget Chairman Vows Tax Cuts and Balanced Budget. The chairman of the House Budget Committee promised to produce a budget that would include all the tax cuts President Bush wanted and still balance the budget in seven years. By David E. Rosenbaum. 5:16:30 PM

Broadway Strike Ends. The curtains went up on Broadway musicals on Tuesday night after producers and musicians reached a settlement, ending a four-day strike. By Robin Pogrebin and Steven Greenhouse. 5:16:29 PM

Worries on Drug Makers and Insurer Lead Shares Lower. Stocks fell on Monday, pushing indexes to the lowest levels this year. By Bloomberg News. 5:16:29 PM

Ford Decides to Cancel Arrangement With Ad Agency. Ford Motor canceled a new arrangement with its primary advertising firm, the WPP Group. By Danny Hakim. 5:16:28 PM

Volkswagen's Profit Declines. Germany's largest automaker said that its first-quarter profit would fall significantly below that of last year. By Mark Landler. 5:16:27 PM

Pfizer Nears Drug Settlement. Six years after filing a whistle-blower lawsuit against Warner-Lambert, Pfizer, which acquired Warner, is nearing a settlement. By Melody Petersen. 5:16:27 PM

ImClone Founder and S.E.C. Settle Some Charges on His Stock Trades. Samuel D. Waksal, founder and former chief executive of ImClone Systems, agreed to settle a civil complaint by regulators. By Constance L. Hays. 5:16:26 PM

Jailed South Korean Heir Facing the Loss of His Fortune. The jailed 42-year-old heir to South Korea's third largest conglomerate offered his own private wealth to help cover the debts of one of SK Global. By Don Kirk. 5:16:26 PM

U.S. Trade Gap Narrows in January. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in January to $41.1 billion, but was still the second-highest on record despite an upturn in exports, the government said on Wednesday. By Reuters. 5:16:25 PM

Class-Action Lawyer's Fee Under Scrutiny. Joseph F. Rice, a class-action lawyer, has agreed to accept a $20 million fee. Legal ethicists said the payment raised concerns. By Alex Berenson. 5:16:25 PM

Japan Legislators Seek Ways to Prop Up Falling Stock Prices. Jolted by the recent declines in Japanese stock prices, lawmakers from the ruling party proposed several measures to prop up the market and soften the impact on banks. By Ken Belson. 5:16:24 PM

As Stocks Near Their Lows, Some Signs of Hope. The three major market guages are near five-year lows, but there are actually several bright spots for investors. By Jonathan Fuerbringer. 5:16:23 PM

2 Enron Executives Charged With Generating False Earnings. Federal prosecutors charged two Enron executives today with a scheme to generate false earnings through an Internet movie-on-demand service that flopped. By The Associated Press. 5:16:23 PM

Olivetti-Telecom Italia Merger Planned. Telecom Italia investors reacted with fury to the news, saying the proposed merger would shortchange them. By Eric Sylvers. 5:16:21 PM

China Trims Rolling Stones' Song List. The Chinese government has refused permission for the Rolling Stones to play four of their best-known songs during their concerts in Shanghai and Beijing. By Agence France-presse. 5:16:21 PM

Arab Nations Allow Antiwar Protests on Carefully Controlled Terms. By allowing public displays of anti-war fervor, Arab leaders hope to satisfy the pent-up demands of their own constituents. By Susan Sachs. 5:16:20 PM

Germany Hoping for Return of Strong American Bond. To all appearances the Iraqi crisis has transformed German-American relations, but how bad are things really? By Richard Bernstein. 5:16:19 PM

A Postponed Deadline, a Beleaguered Blair and De-Frenched Fries. The United States budged slightly at the United Nations on its ultimatum for Iraq, where the mood was growing tense in expectation of war. Hairline fractures appeared in the relationship between the United States and Britain, and new potential troubles with Turkish cooperation in military planning emerged. 5:16:19 PM

Panel Faults Bush on War Costs and Risks. The cost of postwar reconstruction of Iraq will be at least $20 billion a year, a panel of national security experts say in a new study. By Patrick E. Tyler. 5:16:18 PM

Kurds in Positions Along Turkish Border. Hundreds of Kurdish soldiers armed with artillery, rocket launchers and heavy machine guns are continuing to take up positions along Iraq's border with Turkey. By David Rohde. 5:16:18 PM

Erdogan to Form New Turkish Government as U.S. Presses for Use of Military Bases. In a setback to the Pentagon's war plans for Iraq, the American military does not yet have approval to use Turkish air bases or airspace for an attack on Iraq. By Eric Schmitt with Dexter Filkins. 5:16:17 PM

Military to Clamp Down on E-Mail. Concerned that secret information might leak out, some units of the military are starting to clamp down on e-mail communication. By Matt Richtel. 5:16:16 PM

Business as Usual, and on Display, at an Iran Nuclear Plant. Iran allowed journalists to tour the Bushehr plant to demonstrate its openness about its nuclear program, which it claims is all about electricity, not weapons. By Nazila Fathi. 5:16:16 PM

Amnesty for Army Is Unsettling Bangladesh. Reprieves for the army and the government's growing intolerance for dissent, has raised concerns about a drift toward authoritarianism. By Amy Waldman. 5:16:15 PM

World Court for Crimes of War Opens in The Hague. The court's task will be to try individuals not nations or armies accused of large-scale crimes against civilians. By Marlise Simons. 5:16:14 PM

Streamlining Government, Putin Creates New Anti-Drug Force. President Vladimir V. Putin said he was transferring both the staff and resources of the tax police to a new independent agency to combat illegal narcotics. By Michael Wines. 5:16:14 PM

Capitalists in Chinese Legislature Speak Out for Property Rights. Pro-business groups have issued loud public calls for a constitutional amendment to protect private property from arbitrary confiscation. By Christopher Buckley. 5:16:13 PM

Student's Suicide Leads Czechs to Bout of Soul-Searching. Zdenek Adamec's death struck a chord in a country increasingly nervous about the future, with a weak government, a stagnant economy and rising unemployment. By Peter S. Green. 5:16:12 PM

In a Contest of Cultures, East Embraces West. In Asia, there is a slow, daily tug of war between the old-guard traditionalists and the insurgents of an open society. By Seth Mydans. 5:16:12 PM

Sandbags Already on Streets, Baghdad Is a City in Waiting. As the likelihood of war ratchets steadily upward, the what-me-worry mood has given way to an anxious waiting. By Neil Macfarquhar. 5:16:11 PM

Gunman Dies When Israelis Level Building. Soldiers also shot and killed two militants carrying pipe bombs outside a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip. By Greg Myre. 5:16:11 PM

British Dissent Over an Iraq War Imperils Blair's Political Future. Tony Blair's destiny seems entwined with Security Council developments and with the nature of any military campaign in Iraq. By Alan Cowell. 5:16:10 PM

U.S. Would Accept Short Extension of Iraq Deadline. The White House also said President Bush would force a vote by the end of the week on an American-backed resolution. By Richard W. Stevenson with Felicity Barringer. 5:16:10 PM

West Bank Battle Leaves One Israeli and One Arab Dead. Israeli troops searching for Palestinian militants came under fire near a village today, the Israeli Army said. By Greg Myre. 5:16:09 PM

Stealth Fighters, and U.S. Marines, on Way to South Korea. United States Stealth fighter planes were flying here today to take part for the first time in seven years in war games with American and South Korean forces. By Don Kirk. 5:16:09 PM

European Union in New Warning on Bush Go-It-Alone War. The foreign relations head of the E.U. warned today that Europe might withhold money for the reconstruction of Iraq if the U.S. waged war without the U.N. approval. By Elaine Sciolino. 5:16:08 PM

Afghanistan's Police Force Needs Overhaul, Rights Group Says. Amnesty International said that Afghanistan and the international community needed to make the overhaul of the country's police force an urgent priority, to restore the rule of law. By Amy Waldman. 5:16:08 PM

Iraq Resolution May Not Reach Vote, Spanish Official Says. Ana Palacio, Spain's foreign minister, told reporters today that a draft resolution that sets the stage for a military confrontation with Iraq may not be put to a vote. By Timothy L. O'brien. 5:16:07 PM

U.S. Lays Siege to Mexico's Chief, and So Do Many Others. President Vicente Fox of Mexico, who is coming under increasing pressure at home and abroad, said he would undergo spinal surgery. By Tim Weiner. 5:16:06 PM

Serb Leader Is Assassinated. Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic helped overthrow and send Slobodan Milosevic to face a war crimes tribunal. By Daniel Simpson. 5:16:06 PM

Britain Sets Out 6 New Terms for Hussein to Avoid War. Britain is trying to push wavering nations to support a second resolution, which may be put before the U.N. on Thursday. By Alan Cowell. 5:16:05 PM

U.S. Sees Progress in Gathering Support for Iraq Resolution. A State Department official said today that U.N. support for a new Iraq resolution was increasing but the vote was not "in the bag." By David Stout. 5:16:04 PM