Mr Dumas denies that he even knew the chess game existed.He may be acquitted, though not entirely by public opinion. The court may fail to prove there was a price on Mr Dumas' soul The public will surely remember the price-tag of his soles.. President George Bush unveiled the core project of his "compassionate conservative" administration yesterday - announcing the formation of a special White House office to look at ways of funnelling federal welfare funds to church groups interested in converting the poor and needy as well as providing them with food, shelter and counselling. President George Bush unveiled the core project of his "compassionate conservative" administration yesterday - announcing the formation of a special White House office to look at ways of funnelling federal welfare funds to church groups interested in converting the poor and needy as well as providing them with food, shelter and counselling. The new Office for Faith-Based Action has been criticised even before its launchby civil liberties groups concerned about the separation of church and state, and even by some religious leaders who fear they will be forced into a tussle for federal funds in which political favouritism will play as much of a role as the provision of effective social services.Seeking to allay some of the initial concerns, Mr Bush picked the least ideological of his domestic policy advisers, Professor John DiIulio of the University of Pennsylvania, to head the unit. Welfare professionals fear that "compassionate conservatism" will lavish funds on far-right fundamentalist Christian groups - a concern that the naming of Professor DiIulio, a mainstream Catholic who describes himself as a moderate Democrat, is intended to defuse.The President, who considers himself a born-again Christian and reads the Bible daily, also stressed his constitutional obligations. "We will not fund the religious activities of any group," he pledged.

However, all signs suggest the Office for Faith-Based Action will seek to whittle that obligation to its narrowest interpretation - not actually paying for the bibles but still allowing groups to insist on their use in federally-funded welfare programmes.Since welfare and government health services account for the largest chunk of the federal budget after defence, the impact of the President's initiative could be huge.The controversy is not about faith-based groups participating in welfare provision, since many already do. Rather, it is about how far religious organisations should be allowed to go in making their services conditional on spiritual devotion.A rule introduced a decade ago during the presidency of George Bush Snr states clearly that soup kitchens, drug rehabilitation clinics and other services cannot receive federal funding if they make religious activities compulsory for their users. That rule, which reflects constitutional provisions on the separation of church and state, is what George Bush the younger now wants to overturn.His fervour - one of the few areas of government, along with education reform, in which he appears to invest considerable personal passion - is backed by numerous right-wing ideologues who believe the problems of poverty and drug abuse can be ascribed to lack of religious faith and the misguided do-goodism of Sixties liberals. Mr Bush said yesterday: "It is charities who turn cold cities into true communities."A key adviser at the new office will be Stephen Goldsmith, a two-term Republican mayor of Indianapolis who extended his passion for privatising city services to the creation of a so-called Front Porch Alliance - a loose association of religious groups actively encouraged to bend federal rules, take over city land and mop up the crime-ravaged inner city. Although Mr Goldsmith is Jewish, the main beneficiaries of his policies were Christian fundamentalists.This was partly a matter of ideology: just as evangelical churches distinguish between the damned and the saved, the compassionate conservatives divide the poor into the Victorian categories of "deserving" and "undeserving", depending on their willingness to be converted, practise sexual abstinence and swear off all stimulants including alcohol.They also tap into the ideology of the free market, with government contracting out its social services to save money just as a corporation might outsource its catering services.Another prominent champions of faith-based welfare reform in recent years has been John Ashcroft, the recently defeated Missouri senator now fighting for confirmation as Mr Bush's Attorney General.While on Capitol Hill he championed "charitable choice", effectively a constitutional loophole enabling proselytising groups to take federal money so long as they do the actual proselytising in their own time..

A Chilean judge reordered the house arrest of the former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet yesterday on charges of alleged involvement in murder and kidnap. A Chilean judge reordered the house arrest of the former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet yesterday on charges of alleged involvement in murder and kidnap. Judge Juan Guzman re-issued an indictment for 75 murders and kidnaps linked to the notorious "Caravan of Death", which assassinated political prisoners and leftist activists after his coup.An earlier warrant, ordered before mandatory medical tests, had been annulled by the courts. Judge Guzman's order followed new, detailed allegations linking 85-year-old General Pinochet to atrocities by a hit squad that carved out eyes with daggers and shot the bodies to pieces for torture.At the weekend, the former military dictator had been taken to hospital after complaints of severe headache, numbness in his left side and swelling. Military doctors released him from intensive care on Saturday to recuperate at home from what they called a "mini-stroke".Human rights activists ridiculed the medical drama, suggesting it was a ploy to avoid trial for abuse of power. Gruesome allegations on national television preceded General Pinochet's sudden rise of blood pressure.

General Joaquin Lagos (no relation to Chile's socialist president, Ricardo Lagos), spoke out against his former commander-in-chief on Thursday and revealed that General Pinochet personally put red ink marks beside names on a list of those to be executed."He ordered me, 'Never mention the list', and for me to sign it," said General Lagos. "In that case, I would be the only one responsible, as the crimes were committed in my jurisdiction I told him that, and he said he would fix it. I said, 'What are you going to fix? They are all dead'." There are 210 cases against General Pinochet from his 17-year rule.. Sean "Puffy" Combs, the rap music star facing charges of illegal weapons possession and bribery, did more than run away with his girlfriend, the actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, when squabbling turned to shooting in a busy New York nightclub 13 months ago, prosecutors contended at the start of his trial yesterday. Sean "Puffy" Combs, the rap music star facing charges of illegal weapons possession and bribery, did more than run away with his girlfriend, the actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, when squabbling turned to shooting in a busy New York nightclub 13 months ago, prosecutors contended at the start of his trial yesterday. In a packed New York courtroom, Matthew Bogdanos told jurors that witnesses would testify to seeing Mr Combs pull his own gun on the night of 27 December 1999 and fire it into the ceiling.The hip-hop impresario, who owns a record label and has had several hit songs of his own, could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of all charges by the jury.

The trial, which is attracting wide media attention because of Mr Combs' celebrity status, is expected to last about a month.Also on trial is a protégé of Mr Combs, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow. He is accused of firing his gun inside the club when Mr Combs got into an altercation with another man about how rich he was. Bullets from the Barrow gun wounded three people, none critically.According to police, Mr Combs then fled the club with Ms Lopez and leapt into a limousine, which then went through 11 lights before stopping for police.A gun was allegedly thrown from the car as it sped away and police officers found another gun - unlicensed and stolen - under the front seat.Only yesterday did the prosecution publicly suggest that Mr Combs himself had a gun in the club. "A witness saw Sean Combs pull out a gun, he fired it by all accounts straight up," Mr Bogdanos said in his opening statement. "Witnesses will say they saw the muzzle flash."In his statement, Benjamin Brafman, Mr Combs' defence lawyer, accused prosecutors of going after Mr Combs because of his fame and wealth. "This was a star-struck selective prosecution of a superstar," said Mr Brafman, who will be assisted at trial by Johnnie Cochran, who helped to defend O J Simpson.Among those featured on witness lists is Ms Lopez, who was Mr Combs' girlfriend at the time. The singer and actress may or may not still be Mr Combs' romantic partner, depending on which tabloid newspaper you read.Whether she would be called to testify was not clear..