While leadership meetings continued, the Council began holding separate briefings for members who were not chairmen.

In separate briefings, the generals cited reports of summary executions in Iraq as signs that Mr. Hussein's control had been shaken.

Chen Jian, the spokesman for President Jiang's delegation, told reporters at a separate briefing that the meeting had been "candid, friendly, positive and useful."

And why do you want that sort of separate briefing rather than one that General Scowcroft will brief you.

He revealed that he had received five separate briefings.

Mr. Cheney is also scheduled to meet with Congressional leaders on Friday at a separate, closed-door briefing on the program.

The Mayor's office outlined the problem in separate briefings yesterday for City Council leadership and the City Comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi.

In a separate briefing with reporters, Mrs. Bush said the family members had shown great strength and had not expressed misgivings about the war.

At a separate briefing, Romano Prodi, the president of the European Commission, said he supported a European contribution of $1 billion to match the American commitment.

In a separate briefing, the chief of the counterterrorist center warned that someone would surely be killed in the operation.