Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday denied the United States is planning to set up military bases in Colombia as part of an upgraded security agreement with the South American nation. "There have been those in the region who have been trying to play this up as part of a traditional anti-Yankee rhetoric. This is not accurate," Obama told Hispanic media reporters. Leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -- a persistent critic of Washington -- has said the enhanced U.S.-Colombian security plan could be a step toward war in South America. On Sunday, Chavez called on Obama not to...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey is smoothing out differences over a plan to ban bare-it-all bikini waxing. The state is reversing course on the proposal after angry salon owners complained about losing business ahead of swimsuit season.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc denied a CNBC television report on Thursday that it had convened an "emergency" meeting of top investors earlier this week, prompted by worries Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's bank rescue plan was not viable. A Goldman spokesman said the bank invited 30 private equity and hedge fund firms to a dinner Tuesday, a routine gathering for investment banking clients.

CARACAS (AFP) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday dismissed as fiction a report alleging that Iran is dodging UN sanctions by using Venezuelan aircraft to ship missile parts to Syria. "The newspapers of the empire have begun to invent stories that I am sending weapons to Syria from Iran through our airline Conviasa," Chavez said in a speech at the Miraflores presidential palace. The charges are part of a "permanent aggression" campaign by the "empire," as Chavez often refers to the United States, against Venezuela, he said. The Italian newspaper La Stampa, citing US and other Western intelligence agencies,...

BEIJING - China denied accusations by two U.S. lawmakers that it hacked into congressional computers, saying Thursday that as a developing country it wasn't capable of sophisticated cybercrime. "Is there any evidence? ... Do we have such advanced technology? Even I don't believe it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regularly scheduled news conference. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, a senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Wednesday that their office computers were hacked into by people working from China. Both lawmakers, longtime critics of China's human rights record, said the compromised...

The Supreme Court denied an appeal today from a conservative group that wants to run ads promoting an unflattering documentary about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Citizens United's appeal was rejected for jurisdictional reasons. Now, the group must either wait for district court action or run ads that comply with current campaign finance laws by disclosing who paid for the ads. Citizens United's lawyer said that he will be waiting for the Federal District Court to make its decision before taking any other action. "Hillary: The Movie," has had one-night shows in a handful of movie theaters and is available on DVD....

TRIPOLI (AFP) - The Kadhafi Foundation denied a report by Human Rights Watch that it was holding a Libyan political prisoner whose health was deteriorating on Monday, as AFP was allowed to visit the detainee. HRW called at the end of January for the immediate and unconditional release of opposition figure Fathi al-Jahmi, 66, who has been held since 2004 after criticising the regime of Libya's leader Moamer Kadhafi. It said he was seriously ill and needed urgent medical treatment. But Salah Abdessalem of the Foundation, a charity headed by Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, said he was "suprised" by the...

WASHINGTON - A former Paxson Communications president said Saturday he never met with John McCain about the Arizona senator writing letters to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the regulatory delay of a Pittsburgh TV station sale. Dean Goodman, who was in charge of the company's lobbying efforts in 1999, told The Associated Press he also doubts that chief executive Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson met with McCain over the issue, and said he doesn't recall such a meeting. McCain's presidential campaign said the Arizona senator and then-chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee did not meet with Paxson or his lobbyist, Vicki...

HAVANA - Ailing leader Fidel Castro on Monday denied U.S. presidential hopeful John McCain's claim that Cuban agents helped torture American prisoners of war in Vietnam in the 1960s, calling the assertion "a strange legend." "Let me remind you, Mr. McCain: the commandments of the religion you practice prohibit lying," Castro wrote in an essay published by the Communist Party newspaper Granma. "The years in prison and the wounds received because of the attacks on Hanoi do not excuse you from the moral obligation of the truth," the essay added. McCain, Republican front-runner for the November presidential contest, was a...

ABC News' Jonathan Greenberger reports: If she makes it to the White House, Sen. Hillary Clinton said today her husband will take on the same responsibilities as traditional presidential spouses, with no access to National Security Council meetings. "I think he would play the role that spouses have always played for presidents," said Clinton, in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. "He will not have a formal, official role, but just as presidents rely on wives, husbands, fathers, friends of long years, he will be my close confidante and adviser as I was with him."

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday slapped down California's bid for first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUVs, denying a request for a waiver that would have allowed those restrictions to take effect. "The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution - not a confusing patchwork of state rules - to reduce America's climate footprint from vehicles," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said in a statement.

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday Fidel Castro is "writing, and producing," denying rumors circulating on the Internet that the Cuban leader had died. Chavez, a close ally of Castro, has frequently provided information about the health of the ailing Communist leader who temporarily stepped aside after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery a year ago. "On the Internet rumors are circulating that Fidel Castro has died," Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast. "Fidel is producing, he is writing." Chavez said he had spoken to Castro on his 81st birthday on Monday. Rumors had surfaced on Friday...

WASHINGTON – During much of the time that Sen. Dianne Feinstein was a leader on the Senate subcommittee overseeing the Pentagon's military construction budget, her husband was heavily invested in companies holding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts generated by the subcommittee's activities. The California Democrat denied that she helped her husband's companies in any way with contracts and said the Senate ethics committee approved the arrangement. But she declined to discuss the value of the contracts or release the ethics ruling. Feinstein also declined to be interviewed on the subject, relying instead on a spokesman. These questions arose...

MIAMI - The federal judge in Jose Padilla's terrorism support trial refused to declare a mistrial Thursday after at least one juror saw one of Padilla's co-defendants in shackles outside the courtroom. Attorneys for Adham Amin Hassoun said his right to a fair trial had been jeopardized, but U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said after interviewing jurors that none had been "unfairly prejudiced in this matter." On Tuesday, the 16 jurors were being transported in government vans from the courthouse's basement garage to their cars. As one of the vans was leaving, three deputy U.S. marshals escorted Hassoun through the...

WASHINGTON - The State Department rejected on Wednesday suggestions that some terror suspects could have easy access to the United States because of rules that do not require citizens of select countries to obtain visas. Questions about access to the U.S. by extremists from so-called visa waiver countries arose this week following the sentencing of five Britons to life prison terms after their convictions in London in a terrorist bomb plot. The ringleader was Omar Khyam, who is of Pakistani descent. The five Britons, after a yearlong trial, were convicted of plotting to attack the London targets with bombs made...

Nassau County State Supreme Court Justice Robert Ross denied the divorce of a Manhasset couple, saying the husband did not have a valid reason under New York's strict divorce laws. The decision came Monday, two weeks after Ross refused to rule on the case until the state legislature took action on a bill that would add "irreconcilable differences" to the grounds for a divorce. New York is the only state where one spouse must accuse the other of wrongdoing, or else both must agree to a complicated separation agreement and wait one year.

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2007 – An alleged al Qaeda leader being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, denied involvement in bombings in both Indonesia and Singapore, according to a transcript of his hearing released yesterday. Riduan bin Isomuddin, known as “Hambali,” either declined to answer or said he had no involvement with the operations brought forth during his April 4 combatant status review tribunal hearing at the detention facility. The tribunal was an administrative hearing to determine only if the detainee could be designated as an enemy combatant. Hambali said that while he was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, a...

Dow Chemical denies buyout talk; shares slip Mon Apr 9, 2007 9:54 PM BST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co. (DOW.N: Quote, Profile , Research), responding to a British newspaper report that a consortium was preparing a $50 billion bid for the company, said on Monday it has had no discussion about a leveraged buyout. The statement sent Dow shares down 1.1 percent to $46.10 in after-hours trading, after they had risen 4.9 percent to $46.63 during trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Analysts, meanwhile, expressed skepticism about a possible buyout, saying a strategic joint venture was more...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe dismissed claims Friday that his rule was in its final throes while a longtime opponent renewed calls for a peaceful campaign to oust him. The government warned foreign and local correspondents about their coverage of unrest in the country, threatening action against Zimbabwean journalists and singling out CNN for what it called biased reporting. Mugabe, addressing women and youth from the ruling party in Harare, denied opposition claims that his people and forces were no longer loyal and his government was nearing its end, state television reported. He said that at his...

TEHRAN, Iran - An Iranian nuclear agency official has denied claims made by a top lawmaker that the Islamic Republic had begun installing 3,000 centrifuges at an uranium enrichment plant, Iran's state-run news agency reported late Saturday. Hossein Simorgh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization public relations department, said "no new centrifuges have been installed in Natanz," referring to the nuclear facility in central Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Earlier Saturday, lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iran was currently installing the 3,000 centrifuges, underlining that the country would continue to develop its disputed nuclear program despite U.N. sanctions....

China denies reports of North Korean apology Jonathan Watts in Beijing Tuesday October 24, 2006 Guardian Unlimited The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, with soldiers of the People’s army. Photograph: AP Kim Jong-il has reserved the right to escalate the nuclear crisis, China said today, refuting earlier reports that the North Korean leader apologised for this month’s atomic weapons test. The denial dashes hopes for an early resumption of negotiations, which were raised last week when a senior Chinese envoy, Tang Jiaxuan, returned from Pyongyang with an upbeat message for the visiting US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. Although no...

Pakistan denies helping terrorists (Filed: 28/09/2006) Seeking to defuse a row, Tony Blair has reassured Pakistan's leader that the leaked document accusing Pakistan's secret service of backing Islamist extremism did not reflect the view of the British government. Mr Blair's conciliatory words followed the leak of a report prepared for the Ministry of Defence that said Pakistan's powerful secret service was aiding terrorist groups through its support for religious organisations. Pakistan has been accused of helping Taliban fighters Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said before talks with Blair today that he planned to protest over the British think-tank report alleging that...

BAE denies imminent Airbus sale Airbus has been hit by delays to its new A380 super-jumbo Defence and aerospace group BAE Systems has described a report that it is to sell its 20% stake in Airbus later this week as "premature". BAE first announced in April that it was thinking of withdrawing from the pan-European aircraft-maker. The buyer of its share is expected to be EADS, the Franco-German group which owns the remaining 80% stake in Airbus. UK-based BAE said it could not make any decision on the sale until it had completed its own audit of Airbus. Its comments...

Former Postal Official Denies Accusations Thursday August 31, 2006 9:46 PM WASHINGTON (AP) - The former head public affairs official of the U.S. Postal Service is denying charges made by the agency's inspector general alleging improper activities ranging from overspending to excessive drinking. Azeezaly Jaffer left the agency June 30, declining at the time to discuss his reasons. A Postal Inspection Service report dated June 19 includes accusations of Jaffer running up an excessive hotel bill at a three-day event in Washington, of bypassing the Postal Service travel agency in order to obtain travel promotional benefits, and spending extravagantly on...

Young mother denies failing to inform on her husband By Duncan Gardham (Filed: 23/08/2006) A woman with an eight-month-old child and her husband appeared in court yesterday among 11 people charged in connection with a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. Top, from left: Ibrahim Savant, Waheed Zaman, Arafat Waheed Khan, Umar Islam Bottom, l to r: Tanvir Hussain, Cossar Ali, Mehran Hussain and Ahmed Abdullah Ali Cossar Ali, 24, of Walthamstow, east London, appeared accused of failing to disclose information about her husband which could have helped prevent an act of terrorism. Ahmed Abdullah Ali, also known as Abdullah...

A federal judge Wednesday denied bond to six men accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower and conspiring to help al-Qaida blow up several federal buildings in Los Angeles and other cities. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted Bandstra ruled that the men posed too great a risk to the community to be released. "The charges against each of the defendants are serious charges and constitute counts of violence," Bandstra stated, adding that it was "not relevant that the plans appear to be beyond the abilities of the defendants." The six men, who have pleaded not guilty, were arrested June...

DAMASCUS, Syria - Khaled Mashaal's aides praised the capture of an Israeli soldier as a daring operation but claimed Wednesday that the Damascus-based Hamas leader played no role in it. Israel sees him as the brains behind the abduction and threatened to try to assassinate him. The accusations have placed Mashaal at the center of a debate over who runs Hamas, which has power centers in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Syrian capital — where its leadership is seen by some as the most hard-line. Mashaal has not spoken in public since Sunday's kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad...

A judge refused to declare a mistrial Tuesday in the case against a prominent University of Southern California geneticist accused of molesting the daughter of a colleague over a five-year period. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor made the ruling after defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued against the introduction of e-mail exchanges between William French Anderson, known as the father of gene therapy, and his accuser. Anderson, 69, is charged with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors claim...

WASHINGTON - Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she had been "more than fair" with embattled Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), rejecting claims to the contrary by black lawmakers and predicting the party rank and file would vote to strip him of his committee seat. "Mr. Jefferson will be dealt with," she said of the Louisiana lawmaker, ensnared in a federal corruption investigation. Democrats met in early evening to consider his fate, at a time they are attempting to make alleged Republican corruption a central theme in their campaign for control of the House. Jefferson spoke at the...

WASHINGTON - Former Bush administration official David Safavian testified Monday that he wouldn't have taken a golfing trip to Scotland arranged in 2002 by Republican influence peddler Jack Abramoff "if I had known what I know now." Testifying in his own defense in U.S. District Court, Safavian added, however, that "it took a Senate investigation to get out the information I didn't have at the time" about Abramoff's intentions and plans for projects with GSA properties. Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration and chief federal procurement officer in the White House, had said earlier that...

Terror suspect denies shooting own brother in raid (Filed: 04/06/2006) A man arrested by police in an anti-terror raid on Friday has denied allegations that he is responsible for the gun wound suffered by his older brother. Julian Young: 'My client is not a terrorist' Conflicting reports in today's newspapers claimed that Abul Koyair, 20, either shot Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, in the shoulder, or caused the melee that resulted in police opening fire. But Julian Young, Koyair's solicitor, dismissed the allegations and accused the police of attempting a "cover up". He said: "The phrases 'cover-up' and 'Stockwell' (the Tube...

HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro denounced a Forbes magazine report naming him one of the world's wealthiest rulers, putting in a special television appearance on Monday to rebut the story he called "rubbish." In its May 5 article, "Fortunes Of Kings, Queens And Dictators," Forbes put Castro in 7th place in a group of 10 world leaders with "lofty positions and vast fortunes." The magazine estimated Castro's personal wealth to be $900 million — nearly double that of the $500 million of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and just under Prince Albert II of Monaco's estimated $1 billion. The article...

Chirac denies claims of £30m paid into secret Japanese bank account By Colin Randall in Paris (Filed: 10/05/2006) President Jacques Chirac took the exceptional step last night of denying allegations that he had a secret Japanese bank account into which £30 million had been paid over a number of years. Mr Chirac, who rarely responds to allegations questioning his financial propriety, "categorically" rejected the suggestion in the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé that he had ever possessed such an account. A French intelligence chief, Gen Philippe Rondot, was alleged to have told investigating judges that the large amounts were paid...

Court Denies Felons Voting Rights ArgumentBy LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Writer Last update: May 05, 2006 – 2:23 AM NEW YORK (AP) - A landmark civil rights law cannot be used to argue that barring felons from voting discriminates against minorities because they are imprisoned at a higher rate, a federal court ruled Thursday. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which removed barriers to black voters, was not an avenue of relief for 21 plaintiffs, which include six current prisoners. The plaintiffs sued the state in November 2000. Judge Jose A. Cabranes, who...

HOUSTON - Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay dropped his famous affable persona as his cross-examination began Wednesday, snarling at a prosecutor who accused him of witness tampering when the ex-chairman and chief executive called several potential witnesses during his own fraud and conspiracy trial. Jurors who had been listening impassively snapped to attention. "Did you have any conversations to get your story straight for trial?" asked prosecutor John Hueston, equally primed for battle. "Can you elaborate on that Mr. Hueston?" Lay shot back. "I'm not sure what story you're talking about." The prosecutor noted that Lay called two Goldman Sachs...

The Hamas terror group, as part of its new role as head of the Palestinian Authority, when presented in a conciliatory light in Western media, denies in Arabic, statements heralded as moderate. Ismail Haniyah of Hamas told CBS on March 16th that he hoped to some day sign a peace agreement with Israel. In his CBS interview, Haniyah said that he was "seeking a peace settlement and stability in this region," "looking forward to peace and tranquility in this region," and "seeking American administration to create this missing peace." According to a subsequent article in Al Hayat Al Jadida –...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Hollywood director Rob Reiner denied any wrongdoing Thursday in response to recent scrutiny about the potential misuse of taxpayer funds for a June ballot initiative he is spearheading. Reiner, who heads the state's First 5 California Children and Families Commission he helped create, is now leading a campaign for a ballot initiative that would establish a state constitutional right to preschool for all 4-year-olds and raise income taxes for wealthier households to fund a preschool program. A Los Angeles Times story earlier this week detailed, however, how the commission spent $23 million on ads to...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) on Thursday denied any connection between special projects he gained for his state and a Washington lobbyist whose wife works in Specter's office. The Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker's statement was in response to a USA Today report published Thursday which said Specter had succeeded 13 times over the past four years in securing $48.7 million worth of defense projects for six clients represented by a lobbying firm co-founded by Michael Herson. Herson is the husband of Vicki Siegel Herson, Specter's legislative assistant for appropriations. "Ms. Siegel's husband did not lobby my office....

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A judge on Thursday denied a request by defense attorneys to seal records and prevent the Riverside County district attorney's office from releasing information about the recent arrests of 49 men accused of attempted child molestation. Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz denied both motions filed by the county's public defender's office, saying there wasn't enough evidence to justify the request. The decision affected only nine defendants who remain in custody. It was unknown whether defense attorneys will file a similar motion with the other 40 men who have posted bail. A message left for defense attorneys...

CAIRO, Egypt - Syrian President Bashar Assad denied threatening Lebanon's former prime minister but suggested in an interview published Saturday that he would not allow U.N. investigators to interview him about Rafik Hariri's killing. Syria's former vice president Abdul-Halim Khaddam, who defected to France, told The Associated Press on Friday that Assad had threatened Hariri during their last meeting. "I don't know what others meant by threatening," Assad was quoted as saying in the Egyptian opposition weekly al-Osboa. "This never happened and the aim was to connect the threat with the assassination. The game is clear. Nobody attended the last...

LANSING, Mich. - The state parole board rejected a request to pardon assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian or commute his sentence, despite warnings that he is in grave condition. The 77-year-old former doctor is serving a 10- to 25-year prison sentence for murder for giving a fatal injection of drugs in 1998 to a man with Lou Gehrig's disease. Kevorkian is not eligible for parole until 2007. His lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, warned last month that Kevorkian was in "dire shape" and might not live that long. Kevorkian suffers from high blood pressure, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis and Hepatitis C, the lawyer said....

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - California State University, San Bernardino has refused to allow a Christian group to organize on campus, saying it would discriminate against non-Christians and homosexuals. The Christian Student Association's proposed constitution included a statement on sexual morality and required members and officers to be Christian. State law prevents student groups at public universities from excluding people based on religion or sexual orientation. "We are not permitted to charter them under Title V," said Christine Hansen, director of student leadership and development in the office of Student Affairs. She was referring to a section of the state...

Judge Denies Firearms Industry Motion to Dismiss New York City Case Decision Will Be Appealed Immediately A federal judge in New York City today ruled that the city may ignore federal law and proceed with its frivolous lawsuit against firearms companies. Industry defendants had filed a motion to dismiss the suit after Congress passed the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” in October. While the new law was intended to protect firearms industry companies from lawsuits like New York’s, Eastern District Judge Jack B. Weinstein opted to deny the motion and side with the city. Firearms industry defendants plan...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Does U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice want to be president? Even a young girl at a photo opportunity with Rice in her former elementary school wanted the United States' most prominent black Republican to answer the question. Rice, whose wide smile had been fixed on her face as the 10- and 11-year-olds asked her about growing up in the segregated South and playing the piano, furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes for an uncomfortable moment. Sitting on a knee-high chair in front of shelves of books and teddy bears -- and next to the...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Democratic lawmakers won't be allowed to join the attorney general's lawsuit that seeks to strike a redistricting initiative from the November special election ballot, a judge ruled Thursday. Judge Gail Ohanesian rejected the motion by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to join the lawsuit, but said Californians for Fair Representation, which is opposed to Proposition 77, could participate. Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed the lawsuit last week, claiming that supporters of Proposition 77 violated the state Constitution by significantly changing the wording of the initiative after it was approved by state...

On May 16, a judge in Placer County, Calif., refused to hear a motion by medical marijuana patient Steve Kubby -- who believes he can establish compelling evidence that county authorities committed fraud in 1999 to obtain a search warrant against him. Kubby, the Libertarian Party's candidate for California governor in 1998, has lived in Canada with his wife, Michele, since he was convicted in December 2000 for drug law violations in Placer County. He used -- and still uses -- marijuana to control the symptoms of adrenal cancer, which he fought with surgery and conventional medicine before discovering that...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Paul Volcker, who heads a probe into corruption allegations in the U.N. oil-for-food program, denied in a new interview that there was any conflict of interest over his link to a U.N. official being questioned in the probe. Volcker, former head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, told Fox News in comments to be aired Tuesday that he had an acquaintance with Maurice Strong "as many people do over the years." Strong is U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's envoy for North Korea, but has stepped aside while Volcker's commission checks for his possible ties to oil-for-food. He denies...

EU denies free air ticket bribes for Yes vote in French poll By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 21/04/2005) The European Commission denied yesterday it was bribing French voters to vote Yes in next month's referendum on the draft constitution. That was despite its unveiling a scheme to offer free and subsidised transatlantic air tickets to residents of Martinique and France's other overseas territories and departments. Under France's colonial traditions, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Tahiti are legally treated as parts of the mainland and are known in French as "Dom-Toms". That grants residents of those palm-fringed corners of the...

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service recently refused to provide two university researchers with records requested under the Freedom of Information Act while simultaneously asserting, "We are not denying the release" of the documents. The Education Department recently cut off all communication with an interest group about its FOIA request after the group published a critical report based on the first batch of documents released in response to that request. Both requesters now have filed federal lawsuits in Washington to obtain the records they seek. David Burnham and Susan Long, researchers with the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University,...

GENEVA (AP) - The U.S. human rights delegation Thursday rejected a U.N. monitor's claim that child malnutrition had risen in Iraq and said, if anything, health conditions have improved since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Jean Ziegler, the U.N. Human Right Commission's expert on the right to food, cited U.S. and European studies Wednesday in telling the commission that acute malnutrition rates among Iraqi children under 5 rose late last year to 7.7 percent from 4 percent after Saddam's ouster in April 2003. Ziegler blamed the war for the situation. "First, he has not been to Iraq, and second, he...