Across the country, foreign grass-roots organizations that investigate human rights abuses, promote democracy and work with refugees folded their tents until further notice, informing staff that all operations must cease immediately. The only work officially authorized was the paying of staff and bills.

The law, signed by President Vladimir Putin at the start of the year, drew broad criticism as part of a general rollback of democratic freedoms in Russia. Activists said it was intended to rein in one of the last areas of independent civic life here; Putin called it necessary to prevent foreigners from interfering in the country's political process.

On Thursday, officials said the suspensions resulted simply from the failure of private groups to meet the law's requirements, not from a political decision on the part of the state. The groups would be allowed to resume work once their registrations are completed, they said. "No political order has been given . . . to tighten the screws," said Vladimir Lukin, Russia's federal ombudsman, speaking at a Moscow forum hosted by the Council of Europe, a 46-country human rights organization based in Strasbourg, France. "Colleagues from international NGOs are not in the habit of keeping their affairs and documents in order."

Many nongovernmental organizations fear that the current bureaucratic tangle might be the beginning of a larger crackdown on activism that is not controlled by the Kremlin. They note too that successful registration would not end their dealings with the Justice Ministry. After that, they would have to report on planned activities for the year, and they worry that officials could reject their plans or penalize the groups if they deviate from the plans because of unexpected events.

Many of the suspended organizations are American, including adoption agencies, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute. The latter two are funded by the U.S. Congress but act independently to promote democracy.

Other suspended groups include two branches of Doctors Without Borders, the Danish Refugee Council and the Netherlands-based Russian Justice Initiative, which helps Russians bring cases to the European Court of Human Rights.

Under the law, Russian nongovernmental organizations are also subject to new regulation. But a Wednesday deadline to meet the paperwork requirements or stop operation applied only to foreign groups.

Russian officials stressed that the suspensions, which went into effect at midnight Wednesday, are temporary. "We are not speaking about closing organizations; that is out of the question," said a senior Justice Ministry official, Natalia Vishnyakova, in a telephone interview. Concerning the registration process, she said: "We are working properly, and put all our efforts into making it even faster. It is not at all complicated, believe me, absolutely not. It's really their own headache. On our part, we provided all necessary conditions."

Activists complained, however, that the requirements of the law are so vague and cumbersome that meeting the deadline was extremely difficult. Russian officials, they said, nitpicked their way through the submitted documents.

The local Human Rights Watch operation, for instance, called itself the "Representative Office of the Non-Governmental Organization Human Rights Watch in the Russian Federation." Officials at the registration office rejected that description and said the group should call itself the "Representative Office of the Corporation Human Rights Watch Inc. (USA) in the Russian Federation."

That change, among others, required Human Rights Watch to send its submission back to its headquarters in New York to have the document revised and re-notarized, then retranslated into Russian and re-notarized in Russia.

Officials at the Human Rights Watch office in Moscow said they could not speak on the record to a reporter because they interpreted the strictures of the suspension to extend to news media interviews. The law says that suspended groups can do nothing that would advance the aims and goals of their offices in Russia.

"We are registering, and we are complying with the law," said Carroll Bogert, associate director of Human Rights Watch, in a telephone interview from New York. "But we have been really distracted from our work by the onerous burdens that this law imposes. But this is not particular to us. It's a hassle for everyone."

Other groups, however, said they found the registration office helpful. The American Chamber of Commerce, for instance, said Russian officials there pointed out errors before the organization formally submitted its documents, allowing it to correct them and expedite the registration. In all, the office accepted the registrations of 99 foreign organizations, freeing them to continue their work, officials at the Justice Ministry said. The American groups included the chamber, the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Amnesty International said it was exploring whether it could continue field research in Russia by flying in researchers from its London headquarters. "We are seeking clarification," said Lydia Aroyo, a spokeswoman based in London. "But we are very unhappy. There were no clear guidelines as to what documents were required or how to fill them out. The process was very cumbersome and very time-consuming."

Burnham, who has been instrumental in pressing investigations into corruption especially in U.N. procurement activities, said the corruption probe goes beyond the procurement department.

"This investigation is as serious as a heart attack and is at full throttle," he said.

The warning from Burnham followed Wednesday's indictment and arrest of former U.N. procurement official Sanjaya Bahel.

In an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court, Bahel of Manhattan was accused of using his influence to steer contracts worth more than $50 million to a man who rewarded him with valuable real estate. The man, Nishan Kohli, was arrested Wednesday in Miami.

Bahel, 55, pleaded not guilty Thursday and was freed on $900,000 bail. Defense lawyer Raymond A. Levites said Bahel, an Indian diplomat and the former head of the U.N. commodity procurement section, "looks forward to the trial and being acquitted and then getting some apologies."

Bahel was one of eight staff members put on paid leave by the U.N. in January while a new Procurement Task Force pursued allegations of fraud and mismanagement in purchasing for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

In 2005, the U.N. Procurement Department handled almost $2 billion in purchasing for the Department of Peacekeeping, almost double the amount in 2003, U.N. officials said.

On Aug. 31, the U.N. charged Bahel with misconduct and suspended him without pay after an investigation concluded that Bahel used his relationship with a wealthy Indian businessman and his son to steer deals to the company they represented.

The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services, the U.N.'s internal watchdog, provided its final report to U.S. and Indian authorities and the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District launched its own investigation, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Dujarric was grilled by reporters Thursday on why Bahel was initially cleared by the U.N. watchdog, and why anyone should have faith in the supposedly independent body to rout out criminal activity.

"There may have been issues with previous audits that were not followed through on, that were not acted upon," Dujarric said.

But he pointed to the reforms instituted after a sweeping year-long probe led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker concluded last year that the United Nations allowed "illicit, unethical, and corrupt behavior" to overwhelm the $64 billion oil-for-food program in Iraq.

"One of the great lessons learned from the Volcker report is the fact that we do need to tighten up our procedures, in terms of audits that have taken place, audits that have to be followed up on," Dujarric said.

After the Volcker report and the guilty plea in August 2005 by U.N. procurement officer Alexander Yakovlev to wire fraud and money laundering, Secretary-General Kofi Annan transferred authority for procurement from Assistant Secretary-General Andrew Toh to the U.N. controller.

Dujarric said two of the eight people suspended in January are still under investigation.

U.N. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing probe, said one of them is Toh.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton on Thursday praised Burnham, an American, for being the driving force in the creation of the Procurement Task Force which assisted in the case against Bahel and is playing an important role in uncovering U.N. fraud.

In the most opulent sequence the camera zooms in on glittering jewelled clusters in the hair of the bride, Thandar Shwe, then pans down from her diamond ear-studs to at least six thick strings of what appear to be diamonds.

At a lavish reception the groom, Major Zw Phyo Win, an army officer and deputy director at the ministry of commerce, pours champagne over a cascade of glasses and helps his bride slice into a five-tiered cake.

What is not seen are the gifts, which reportedly include luxury cars and houses worth a total of $50m (£26m). According to south-east Asian newspapers the rush to buy jewels as presents and decorations pushed up the price of precious stones in the run-up to the wedding. The video appears to have been filmed with the approval of the married couple and guests. It is unclear how it was leaked or how widely it can be seen in Burma.

"Such mindless indulgence - smiling, well-fed guests wrapped in their finest clothing and most expensive jewels - is an affront to the millions of Burmese suffering under the incompetence and brutality of the country's military leadership, and the millions of Burmese migrants trying to scratch out a living on foreign soil because no proper employment is available at home," wrote editor Aung Zaw in Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based magazine popular among Burmese exiles.

"Than Shwe was the one who accused other top leaders of corruption whenever he wanted to remove them. It's the pot calling the kettle black."

The minutiae of the wedding arrangements provided material for observers of the secretive regime who believe Than Shwe may be preparing to step back from the day-to-day running of the country. "In the seating arrangement Than Shwe and his deputy were on one table and all the other junta members were on a very distant table. That tells you a lot about the hierarchy," Soe Aung of the Bangkok-based National Council for the Union of Burma was quoted as saying by Reuters.

In footage of the ceremony at a state hall, Than Shwe walks beside his daughter in white shirt and a traditional orange wrap called a longgyi, a rare sight of a general almost always seen in military uniform. Many other guests were in uniform.

The office might be far from the playground, but it's not off limits to bullies. From a screaming boss to snubbing colleagues, bullies can create a "war zone" in the workplace.

In a recent study, bullied employees likened their experiences to a battle, water torture, a nightmare or a noxious substance. Understanding the seriousness of workplace bullying and what it feels like to get bullied could help managers put the brakes on the behavior, shown to afflict 25 to 30 percent of employees sometime during their careers.

"Many Americans are familiar with sexual and racial harassment, but not generalized workplace bullying," said study team member Sarah Tracy of Arizona State University. Bullying can lead to higher company costs including increased employee illness, use of sick days, and medical costs, ultimately affecting productivity, she added.

Workplace bullying can include "screaming, cursing, spreading vicious rumors, destroying the target's property or work product, excessive criticism, and sometimes hitting, slapping, and shoving." Subtle behaviors, such as silent treatment, disregard of requests and exclusion from meetings, count as bullying.

Bully icons

The scientists interviewed 17 women and 10 men ranging from 26 to 72 years old, who had experienced bullying. Often, people have trouble putting into words their emotions surrounding bully behavior. So the researchers analyzed the metaphors found throughout the participants' descriptions of bullying.

More than any other metaphor, participants characterized bullying as a contest or battle, with a female religious educator saying, "I have been maimed. ... I've been character assassinated." Others expressed feeling "beaten, abused, ripped, broken, scared and eviscerated," the researchers stated in the upcoming issue of the journal Management Communication Quarterly.

The bullies were described as two-faced actors, narcissistic dictators and devils, leading workers to feel like vulnerable children, slaves and prisoners in these situations. As one employee explained, "I feel like I have 'kick me' tattooed on my forehead."

Bully-proof office

How can you take the bite out of a bully-fied office? "An important first step of changing workplace bullying, is helping people to understand that it's more than just kid stuff," Tracy told LiveScience.

Early intervention can nip bullying in the bud before it escalates into an established pattern, one resulting in high company costs. The problem is that most bully victims keep their mouths shut, whispering their horrid experiences to close friends rather than higher-ups. The use of metaphors, the researchers suggested, is more subtle and more likely to seep into conversations both public and private.

The scientists will continue examining the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying. In another research project, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Office Management, they found that out of more than 400 U.S. workers surveyed, 25 percent were bullied at work.

"There are hundreds of lives here, a lot of struggle, washed up on the beach," said Bill Lacovara, a Ventnor insurance adjuster who was fishing last month with his son when he spotted a flowered plastic shopping bag and waded out to retrieve it. "This is just a hint of what really happens. How many letters like this all over the world aren't being opened or answered?"

Many of the letters were addressed to the Rev. Grady Cooper, though many more simply said "Altar." According to the text of several of them, they were intended to be placed on a church's altar and prayed over by the minister, the congregation or both.

Some were neatly written in script on white-lined paper, others in a feverish scrawl on tattered scraps of parchment or note cards. Many were crinkled from being in the water and then dried out after Lacovara fished them out of the sea.

A dog-eared business card inside one of the letters identified Cooper as associate pastor of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Jersey City. A woman who answered the phone at the church office confirmed Cooper once was a minister there, and had died nearly two years ago. The current pastor did not return several calls from The Associated Press over the past few days.

Other documents in the bag, including bank statements and canceled checks, also listed Cooper's name and an address for him in Jersey City. A death certificate issued in 2004 for a Grady Cooper lists the same address as those on the bank documents and some of the letters.

His wife, Frances, whose name also showed up on some of the letters at the same address, died in 2000, according to Hudson County records.

No one answered the door last week at the address where Cooper once lived, and a neighbor said he did not recall anyone by that name. Attempts to locate Cooper's relatives were unsuccessful.

Lacovara speculated that someone cleaning out Cooper's home found the letters and threw them on the beach in Atlantic City, about 100 miles from Jersey City.

"I guess rather than just throw them in the garbage, maybe they thought they'd set them out to sea to bless these people," he said. "So they made a trip to Atlantic City, maybe went to a casino, and put the letters in the water."

The letters, wrapped in several smaller brown paper bags inside the larger plastic bag, did not appear to have been in the water too long, Lacovara said, though about half were too badly damaged to be legible.

He opened a few with his son, Rocky, on the beach. The first few were humorous.

"I'm still praying to hit the lottery twice: first the $50,000," one man wrote. "Than after some changes have taken place let me hit the millionaire."

Another asked God to make a certain someone "leave me alone and stay off my back," while still another asks God to calm a woman who "call the Internal Revenue on me."

One woman complained that her husband always talks about sex, and another writer anonymously dropped a dime to God on someone cheating on his wife, complete with dates, times and locations.

But those, Lacovara soon found, were the exception.

Many more were written by anguished spouses, children or widows, pouring out their hearts to God, asking for help with relatives who were using drugs, gambling or cheating on them. One man wrote from prison, saying he was innocent and wanted to be back home with his family. A woman wrote that her boyfriend was now closing the door to her daughter's bedroom each night when it used to stay open, and wondered why.

A teenager poured out her heart on yellow-lined paper in the curlicue pencil handwriting of a schoolgirl, begging God to forgive her and asking for a second chance.

"Lord, I know that I have had an abortion and I killed one of your angels," she wrote. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about the mistake I made."

One unwed mother wrote that her baby was due in four weeks, and asked God to make the father fall in love with her and marry her so the child would have a father.

Lacovara said he is sad that most of the writers never had their letters read. But he hopes to change that soon: He is putting the collection up for sale on eBay.