Australia oil-for-food inquiry hearing set

MELBOURNE, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- An Australian court has wrapped up its hearing of a challenge by the wheat exporter AWB Ltd. to the power of the Cole oil-for-food inquiry to demand documents.

Judge Neil Young reserved judgment Friday on AWB's legal privilege to withhold about 800 documents from the inquiry into AWB's payment of kickbacks to the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein under the U.N. oil-for-food program.

But negotiations between the company and government lawyers has resulted in about 500 disputed documents being released to the Cole inquiry, which will resume hearings on August 22.