WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A senior U.S. intelligence official told CNN on
                  Monday that a soil sample from the Sudanese pharmaceutical factory
                  destroyed last week by U.S. missiles has tested positive for a chemical that
                  is "one step away" from deadly VX nerve gas. 

                  The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sample, which was
                  obtained "by clandestine means" before the attack, contained a chemical
                  ingredient known as EMPTA. 

                  EMPTA, according to the official, has no commercial use except in the
                  production of nerve gas. He said it is "one step away" from VX nerve gas. 

                  "Once you have this, it is very simple to make VX," the official told CNN. 

                  
                  
                  
                  Surveillance photographs of Iraqi
                  chemical plants
                  
                  
                  An independent chemical weapons expert told CNN that the presence of EMPTA
                  is "the smoking gun," proving that the plant was involved in the production
                  of nerve gas, as the United States has claimed. 

                  Sudanese authorities insist that the plant manufactured only pharmaceuticals. 

                  The United States also claims it had other evidence linking the plant with
                  chemical weapons production. That evidence includes links between officials
                  at the facility in Sudan and an Iraqi official who has been labeled by U.S.
                  intelligence as "the father of Iraq's chemical weapons program." 

                  The Iraqi, identified as Emad Al Ani, is said to have had extensive dealings
                  with officials at the plant in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. 

                  That and the connection between terrorism
                  sponsor Osama bin Laden and Sudan's "military
                  industrial complex" were enough to convince the
                  United States that the Shifa plant was involved
                  in chemical weapons production, the official
                  said. 

Judges Grant Microsoft's Appeal

                     A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals today ruled in favor of
                     Microsoft in its appeal of a district court decision concerning Microsoft's
                     Windows operating system software. The Court unanimously overturned
                     the preliminary injunction issued last December by U.S. District Court
                     Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, which ordered Microsoft to give personal
                     computer manufacturers the option of licensing Microsoft's Windows 95
                     operating system without its Internet Explorer software. 

                     In overturning the injunction, the Court stated that Microsoft has
                     "clearly" demonstrated "benefits to its integrated design" of Windows 95
                     with Web browsing functionality. The Court recognized that "integration
                     of functionality into the operating system can bring benefits" for
                     customers. 

                     As the Court explained, "Antitrust scholars have long recognized the
                     undesirability of having courts oversee product design, and any
                     dampening of technological innovation would be at cross-purposes with
                     antitrust law." 

                     "This decision is good news for consumers and the entire computer
                     industry," said Bob Herbold, Microsoft executive vice president and chief
                     operating officer. "Our integration of Internet technology into Windows
                     makes our operating system and the personal computer a more powerful
                     and useful tool for our customers." 

                     William H. Neukom, Microsoft senior vice president for law and corporate
                     affairs, added: "We're gratified the Appeals Court has agreed with
                     Microsoft that there was no basis for the entry of a preliminary injunction
                     against our efforts to add new Internet capabilities to Windows.The
                     Court today has helped focus the legal issues squarely where they
                     belong, by concentrating on whether a product innovation brings new
                     benefits to consumers. We have long been confident that our Internet
                     improvements to both Windows 95 and Windows 98 meet this test." 

                     The Appeals Court action effectively rejects the main claim that the
                     Government made in its October 1997 lawsuit: that Windows and
                     Internet Explorer are separate products. In its ruling today, the Appeals
                     Court noted that "the Department [of Justice] has not shown a
                     reasonable probability of success on the merits," and added: "Microsoft
                     has clearly met the burden of ascribing facially plausible benefits to its
                     integrated design as compared to an operating system combined with a
                     stand-alone browser such as Netscape's Navigator 匸W]e are inclined to
                     conclude that the Windows 95/IE package is a genuine integration;
                     consequently, [the Consent Decree] does not bar Microsoft from offering
                     it as one product."