Iran's president to attend anti-racism conference

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The United Nations confirmed Tuesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend a U.N. anti-racism conference starting in Geneva next week. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the Organization of The Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, will participate in the opening of the conference, U.N. spokeswoman Marie Heuze said. The conference will be held April 20-25. At least 35 nations have confirmed participation, Heuze said. The U.S. and European countries have threatened to stay away if Muslim countries turn the meeting into an attack on Israel and free speech. Another round of negotiations aimed at easing those concerns is scheduled to start Wednesday, European diplomats said. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/14/international/i074745D44.DTL