Senate leaders Bill Frist and Harry Reid have been meeting privately in hopes of reaching a deal in which Senate Democrats would allow confirmation of at least two of President Bush's seven disputed nominees for appellate judgeships, but only as part of a larger agreement in which Republicans would end their attack on judicial filibusters. [...]

A US investigation into the accidental shooting death of an Italian agent in Iraq by American soldiers has cleared the troops of the wrongdoing, an Army official said Monday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official also said that the troops will not be disciplined in the matter, but that the Italian government disagrees with [...]

Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the suspected leader of al Qaeda in Spain, has denied any connection to Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta , as well as accusations that he helped arrange a planning meeting between Atta and another suspected Sept. 11 hijacker. Barakat Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah, is the prime suspect in the [...]

The US has indicted Haji Bashir Noorzai, an accused Afghan heroin kingpin, in a massive narcotics conspiracy involving Afghanistan's former Taliban regime . US Attorney David Kelley announced the indictment against Noorzai, one the world's most wanted drug kingpins . The seven-page indictment alleges Noorzai of leading an international trafficking ring based in Afghanistan and [...]

The Justice Department and the SEC are close to announcing a settlement with bankrupt cable television provider Adelphia Communications Corp. over the company's accounting issues. Under the terms of the settlement, Adelphia would pay $715 million into a compensation fund. The Rigas family, the founders of Adelphia, will also settle with the DOJ and SEC [...]

In a historic step for ex-communist Romania and Bulgaria, the two countries Monday signed an accession treaty with the European Union (EU) which should lead to them joining the bloc in 2007. They were left out of last year's EU enlargement from 15 to 25, including the incorporation of eight ex-communist countries, because they were [...]

Iraqi politicians again delayed naming a government on Monday, prolonging a three-month political vacuum in the country. Jawad al-Maliki, a top member of the main Shiite alliance that won January's elections, said wrangling over appointments to key ministries had put off Monday's expected announcement of a proposed cabinet. Shiites, Kurds, and Sunnis are all especially [...]

Industry leaders including Microsoft and Oracle spoke out on Monday about the need to reform US patent law to curb abusive litigation and protect technological development. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to meet later today to discuss patent reform, with Segway inventor Dean Kamen, and lawyers for Intel and Micron Technologies to give testimony . [...]

Russian president Vladimir Putin stressed the need for a law-based society in his annual State of the Nation address on Monday, and encouraging investors to keep their money in Russia. "Tax authorities have no rights to terrorize business," Putin said in a 47-minute speech in the Kremlin. Putin's emphasis on boosting investor confidence comes two [...]

Arthur Andersen , the former accounting giant which lost its licenses in the Enron collapse, announced a settlement on Monday with WorldCom investors who had accused the firm of violating securities laws and failing to protect them from WorldCom's $11 billion accounting fraud. Details of the settlement were not announced, and an expedited preliminary approval [...]