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Following is a letter sent by the office of Benon V. Sevan to the senior vice president for Cotecna, one of the companies connected to the United Nation’s oil-for-food program. April 2, 2004 Mr. Andre Pruniaux Cotecna Geneva, Switzerland Dear Mr. Pruniaux: With the transfer of the Oil-for-Food Programme (the …

NEW YORK – U.S. factories slowed their pace of expansion in output last month, but factories added more workers, a survey released Monday said. TheInstitute for Supply Management (search)said its manufacturing index slipped to 62.4 in April from March’s 62.5. Economists had forecast a rise to 63.0. A reading above …

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen.Arlen Specter (search)has so far spent more than $15 million to defend the Senate seat that he nearly lost in the closest Republican primary challenge of his career, according toFederal Election Commission (search)records filed Thursday. But Specter, Pennsylvania’s four-term senator, still raised twice as much as his …

Patrick Swayze’s friends and family are stunned and inspired by how bravely the actor is coping with pancreatic cancer. “I was looking in his eyes and I didn’t see a flicker (of fear),” when Swayze was discussing his options during a conference call five weeks ago, the actor’s brother Don, …

HOUSTON – A virus is playing havoc with the municipal court operations in Houston. The court system had to close down Friday afternoon after a computer virus affected staff members’ access to data on court cases. Courtroom operations aren’t expected to be back in business before Thursday morning. Meanwhile, people …

MEXICO CITY – Net migration from Mexico, mainly to the United States, plunged by more than 50 percent in late 2008 compared to a year earlier as fewer Mexicans left their country in search of work, the government said Thursday. Mexican officials attributed the sharp drop to tough economic conditions …

An Indian woman, who lived with a football-sized tumor on her face for 25 years, has gotten a new lease on life. Doctors removed the massive parotid tumor from the side of Lakhmani Devi’s face, which weighed more than 4 pounds, Agence-France Presse reported Monday. “It was made of solid …

DES MOINES, Iowa – A good Samaritan armed only with a pocketknife stabbed a dog to death as it was attacking a 77-year-old woman in her front yard, officials said. Ann Lyon, who was with her own dog when the other dog attacked Sunday afternoon, was wearing a leather coat …

BRASILIA, Brazil – A Catholic priest serving in the Brazilian congress was temporarily suspended from his priestly duties for supporting the free distribution of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS. The Rev. Luiz Couto was suspended from his work in the northeastern state of Paraiba. Archdiocese spokesman Eisenhower de …

BAY CITY, Michigan – A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home, an autopsy has determined, just days after the city limited his flow of electricity for not paying his bills. Marvin E. Schur died “a slow, painful death,” said Kanu Virani, Oakland County’s deputy chief medical examiner, who …