January 9, 2003

Federal appeals court rules that wartime president can indefinitely detain United States citizen captured as enemy combatant on batttlefield and deny that person access to lawyer; ruling is major legal victory for Bush administration; case involves detention of Yasser Esam Hamdi, American-born Saudi capturerd in Afghanistan; it sets up stark clash between nation's security interests and its citizens' civil liberties; Hamdi's lawyers claim that because he is citizen he has same constitutional rights as citizens in criminal cases, including right to consult lawyer and to question reasons for his confinement; court's unanimous opinion states that safeguards Americans expect in criminal prosecutions do not translate neatly to arena of armed conflict; Atty Gen John Ashcroft says ruling is important victory for president's ability to protect American people in times of war; Lawyers Committee for Human Rights says court ruling seems to say that court has no role whatsover in overseeing administration's war on terrorism; calls this particularly disturbing; photo (L)

Christoph Blocher will sell some of his stake in specialty chemicals company EMS to increase its liquidity; company will also unify its share structure and issue dividend in 2002 for first time since 1998 (S)

Head is restored to Akshobhya Buddha at Four Gate Pagoda in China's Shandong Province, from which it was removed by thieves in 1997; Taiwanese disciples of Buddhist master Sheng-yen acquire head as a gift for him, unaware of provenance, and he commissioned study that determined that it belonged to Akshobhya Buddha; experts speculate on where head has been since theft; Sheng-yen, returning to China for ceremony, visits National Religion Bureau and asks that Four Gate Pagoda, which is largely tourist site today, be made religious shrine once again; photos; map (M)

Wiliam L Hamilton profile of James Coviello, fashion designer, focusing on antiques he collects and uses to furnish his apartment in Brooklyn and weekend home in Taconic, NY; photos (M)

Moody's Investors Service puts debt ratings of Konica Corp on review for possible downgrade after it announced plans to merge with Minolta Co; says Minolta's debt rating could be upgraded (S)