March 18, 2003

France poised for huge bribe scandal trial Telegraph -  The most far-reaching financial scandal in French history reached court yesterday after eight years of investigation, the death and flight of several witnesses, and a concerted government effort to ensure the less savoury elements of France's Africa policy are not exposed to public scrutiny. In his testimony, Le Floch-Prigent says he urged M Mitterrand in 1989 to turn off the bribery tap. "Ah non," he claims M Mitterrand told him. "Let's carry on with what General de Gaulle started." 1:35:53 PM

Recording industry targets companies suspected of music piracy San Jose Mercury News -Major record labels have targeted about 300 companies whose computers were allegedly used by employees to feed file-swapping networks in the latest attempt to crack down on Internet music piracy. 12:13:12 PM

Third UK Minister Resigns Over Blair's Iraq Policy Reuters - A mid-ranking British interior minister, John Denham, resigned from government on Tuesday, becoming the third minister to quit in protest at Prime Minister Tony Blair's hawkish Iraq policy. 12:11:53 PM

CNN Standoff continues with man in tractor CNN - A tobacco farmer claiming to have explosives held more than 100 police at bay from his partially submerged tractor Tuesday, paralyzing traffic and rattling nerves in a city already on heightened alert for terrorist threats and war with Iraq. 12:08:08 PM

Army Web server hacked FCW.com - A hacker last week exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 operating system to gain control of an Army Web server, and the extent of the damage done is still unknown. 12:05:27 PM