posted July 07, 2006 01:23 PM              

New Haven - A former ambassador for Afghanistan's taliban regime was denied admission to a degree granting program at Yale, but he can continue studying at the school, one of his financial supporters said. Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, who had been studying at Yale in a special program that does not award degrees, became the topic of debate after a New York Times magazine story is February described his life at the Ivy League school. Supporters said the school was promoting understanding across cultures. But critics were aghast that Yale would open its gates to the 27-year-old who once represnted a regime that harbored Al Qaeda.