PAGE A12 Bush Forgoes Cuba Penalty President Bush said he would not activate a sanction seeking to punish foreigners for investing in confiscated property in Cuba.
During the briefing, senior administration officials pushed back on the idea that the sanctions sought to increase pressure on North Korea.
A federal judge approved Microsoft's antitrust settlement with the Justice Department and rejected virtually all of the stiffer sanctions sought by a coalition of state attorneys general.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discounted the deal that Brazil and Turkey had brokered as a "ploy" by Iran to delay sanctions, and friction worsened when Brazil voted against the sanctions sought by the United States at the United Nations Security Council.
Russia introduced a rival resolution calling on Mr. Assad's government to accelerate reforms, but making no mention of the tougher sanctions sought by the United States and its European Union allies.
Both China and Russia pushed to dilute some of the mandatory sanctions sought by the West, Japan and South Korea, and the hesitancy about going too far in punishing North Korea was reflected in their statements.
Earlier in the day, an economist testifying on behalf of Microsoft had recanted his charge that strict antitrust sanctions sought by nine states against Microsoft had been developed by its competitors.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose often volatile relationship with her Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, erupted again this week as Russia refused to go along with immediate sanctions, sought on Friday to minimize the differences between their countries.
The Justice Department has interpreted the appeals court decision narrowly, saying it could not be used to curtail Microsoft's expansion into new markets or to justify the panoply of sanctions sought by Microsoft's rivals and critics.
B9 BUSINESS DAY C1-16 Microsoft Agreement Approved A federal judge approved Microsoft's antitrust settlement with the Justice Department and rejected nearly all of the stiffer sanctions sought by a coalition of state attorneys general.
In a hard-fought victory for Microsoft, a federal judge yesterday approved the company's antitrust settlement with the Justice Department and rejected virtually all of the stiffer sanctions sought by a coalition of state attorneys general.
