hU.S. tells Texas court: Dismiss suit against Pope

hU.S. tells Texas court:Dismiss suit against Pope
ROME -- The U.S. Justice Department has told a Texas court that a lawsuit accusing Pope Benedict XVI, above, of conspiring to cover up the sexual molestation of three boys by a seminarian should be dismissed because the pontiff enjoys immunity as head of state of the Holy See. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler said in Monday's filing that allowing the lawsuit to proceed would be "incompatible with the United States' foreign policy interests." There was no immediate ruling from Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the southern district of Texas in Houston. However, U.S. courts have been bound by such "suggestion of immunity" motions submitted by the government, Keisler's filing says. A 1994 lawsuit against Pope John Paul II, also filed in Texas, was dismissed after the U.S. government filed a similar motion. Keisler's motion was not unexpected, as the Vatican Embassy in Washington had asked the U.S. government to issue the immunity suggestion and do everything it could to get the case dismissed.
Iran threatens resumptionof uranium enrichment
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran threatened Tuesday to resume uranium enrichment and bar open inspections of its nuclear facilities if an ongoing meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog decides to refer it to the Security Council for possible sanctions. However, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, offered Europe a new round of talks, saying the world should give Tehran's new government a chance to reach a political understanding. At the International Atomic Energy Agency board meeting in Vienna, European negotiators prepared a draft resolution that would refer Iran to the Security Council for alleged "failures and breaches of its obligations to comply" with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. But Russia's opposition could delay the vote until a later meeting of the 35-member board, diplomats in Vienna said. Larijani criticized the discussion in Vienna, saying nuclear technology has become a matter of national pride and that the Iranian government would not compromise over its right to enrich uranium.
U.S. dismisses demandby Korea for reactors
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration dismissed on Tuesday North Korea's demand for civilian nuclear reactors and appeared confident about a final agreement to end that nation's nuclear weapons program. Still, the United States and South Korea foresee difficulties. The next round of negotiations is planned for early November. In the interim, informal discussions among the six negotiating nations -- the United States, North Korea, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia -- are expected. "We are going to get this done," U.S. negotiator Christopher Hill told The Associated Press in an interview. He stressed that North Korea must agree to international restraints before its demand can be considered seriously. In New York, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said "we will not get hung up" on the North Korean demand. "If North Korea truly wishes to join the community of nations and if its negotiating partners truly wish for a peaceful region, the country's egregious human rights record must be at the focus of serious discussions," she said in a statement.
Jury deadlock leads to mistrial in Gotti case
NEW YORK -- The judge in the John A. "Junior" Gotti racketeering case declared a mistrial on the most serious charges Tuesday and said she likely would grant bail to the jailed scion of the Gambino organized crime family. After eight days of deliberations, jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked on all but one count. They acquitted Gotti, 41, of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. That verdict will stand if there is a retrial. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin declared a mistrial on the remaining counts, which included an allegation that Gotti plotted the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime-fighting group. Prosecutors told the judge that they would seek to retry Gotti, the son of the late mob boss John Gotti.
Associated Press