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in a neighborhood where hearses and teetering buildings underscore the devastation of last week 's great earthquake , the army has set up special tents that for many residents are the main landmark in the restoration of vital services . the tents contain public baths , and the thrill they have aroused illustrates the way kobe and neighboring cities are beginning the slog back to normality . japanese are among the most scrubbed people on earth , and their army may be the only one that travels with communal baths . estimates of the damage caused by the quake are rising steadily and now often exceed 100 billion . the transport ministry said the cost of repairing railroads alone would be about 40 billion , but whatever the amount the work is proceeding . stores are reopening , some schools are summoning students to class and every day more families are getting back telephone lines and electrical connections . demolition experts are tearing down wobbling buildings , and rail service is steadily being extended closer to kobe . more than 5 , 000 people died in the earthquake , and some japanese are probably scarred forever by the jolt of finding the bodies of spouses or children . yet in more tangible ways , kobe is making a remarkably quick recovery . factories and offices are partly back to work , and everyone has shelter , food , water and access to a nearby portable toilet equipped with spare rolls of toilet_paper and sometimes a mirror on the door . the 310 , 000 people left homeless by the quake welcome all the ways in which life is getting better , but it was the return of public baths that really got kobe excited . in a nation where cleanliness is almost a fetish and drug stores sell disposable underwear , the earthquake victims had been stoical about the loss of houses and jobs but could not help grumbling about the lack of bathing facilities in the shelters in which they have been encamped . " i 'm so excited i can have a real bath now , " said toshiko hakenaka , a 66 year old woman who stumbled across the army established baths this afternoon . " i 've been cleaning myself with wet tissues , but now i can have a real bath . i 'm going to dash home and get my friends and get some clean underwear , and then i 'll be back . " mrs . hakenaka said it would be her first bath since the earthquake on jan . 17 . but some people have traveled in the last few days to osaka despite a round trip of up to eight hours to indulge in the public baths there . now , with baths in the area , some said they planned to bathe twice a day . so the bathers soaped and scrubbed themselves in the army tent separate sections for men and women , the modern way rather than the mixed bathing that used to be common and then simmered in a communal vat of steaming water for as long as they could endure it . a couple of other public baths also have reopened in kobe , to huge lines . in the shelters , the prime gossip is about the baths and about special discounts that baths in osaka offer to quake victims . bulldozers and backhoes from all over japan have been rushed to kobe , and they are visible on almost every street . the first step is to cart off the rubble , but other workers nearby are already busy on the next step assembling 11 , 000 tiny prefabricated homes on parking_lots and other bits of spare ground so that some of the homeless can move out of school gymnasiums . electricity and phone service has been restored almost everywhere in kobe , but running water will not return for another month to many areas . gas supplies are also cut off for the next few weeks . although schools are beginning to reopen in the kobe area , particularly in neighborhoods that were not badly_damaged , more than 290 remain closed . an informal survey suggests that in the hard hit areas very few schools are open . many are still packed with hundreds of refugees , and the city will have to figure out what to do with them before it can resume classes . " i like it these days , because i do n't have to study , " said kaori nakamura , 11 , who lost her home and is now camping outside a shelter in a tent . " i play around with my friends , and sometimes i go out and collect firewood . " most children interviewed seemed to feel the same way . they did not exactly voice approval of the earthquake , but so long as they had not lost friends they seemed willing to put up with endless days of games and camping out . " i like living in a shelter here , " said kukori morimoto , 7 , as she played with a donated lego set in a camp for hundreds of people in a school gym . " i can make friends here , and i can get on television . and now i can get in a newspaper . " kukori 's mother has other ideas , however , and is about to send the girl to another city . families all over japan have volunteered to put up the children of quake victims , so kukori has grumpily agreed to live with one such family and go to school there . " we did n't want her to get behind in her studies , " the mother , kazuko morimoto , said as kukori grimaced . shops and supermarkets are reopening throughout the earthquake zone , and most are able to restock with trucks from osaka . there have been some reports of price_gouging , but most shops are charging the same prices as before the quake . yoshiharu yamone 's bakery , for example , is again fragrant with the aroma of sandwiches , danish pastries and loaves of bread . the bakery was undamaged by the earthquake . but mr . yamone 's mother in law died a day later , apparently of shock , and two of the bakery 's employees lost their homes and are no longer able to work . the lack of running water has complicated the baking process . despite such difficulties , mr . yamone said the bakery was gradually returning to normal . he said he also intends to reopen a neighboring toy shop that he owns when he finds people to replace the sales employees , who have left the area to stay with relatives . asked if he had raised prices to whatever the market would bear , mr . yamone paused in momentary shock , and rushed to say that such a tactic would be unthinkable and would only offend his customers . " my customers have been so good to me , " mr . yamone said , " that i feel badly about charging any money at all . "

its manhole covers sealed , rain dispersing air_force circling aloft , unsightly shacks summarily torched , quadrilingual phrase books issued to police and cellular_phone encryption disabled , russia 's baroque czarist capital is girded this weekend to wrap president_bush and nearly 45 other world leaders in an extravagant bear hug to celebrate its 300th birthday . peter , as the locals call it , has perhaps not been at once this radiant and this tense since the russian_revolution , in 1917 . aboard a gleaming white cruise liner in the neva river , president vladimir v . putin convened a summit meeting today of the commonwealth_of_independent_states , the club of leaders of former soviet nations . on saturday comes a summit meeting with leaders of the european_union , followed on sunday by a 90 minute one on one with mr . bush . presidents putin and bush will focus in particular on rekindling a relationship dampened by the united_states' invasion of iraq . the two also are expected to talk about iran 's nuclear ambitions and to exchange ratified copies of the treaty of moscow , the year old agreement to reduce the active nuclear_arsenals of their two nations . so much for the official excuses for this weekend 's appearance of most global statesmen , leaders from italy to india and china to the czech_republic , in this city of 4.5 million . in fact , this is nothing less than a fabulous slumber party for the world 's most powerful men ( and three women , the leaders of latvia and finland and the spanish foreign_minister ) a weekend of laser shows , concerts , sailing regattas , and literally palatial parties in an imperial city where it currently does not get dark until well after 1 a.m . every minute bears the personal stamp of mr . putin , a native petersburger whose passion for his hometown has propelled more than 1 . 3 billion in federal spending to replaster and paint his city 's grimy facades , repave its roads and repair its great monuments for the party . private businesses contributed at least another 290 million to restore the konstantin palace , conceived by peter the great as his personal versailles , and ready it for saturday 's european summit meeting . many ordinary people here are grousing about the spending on palaces rather than on crumbling infrastructure , about the smell of corruption in repair contracts and about the omnipresent security that has kept them a discreet distance from the v.i.p . spots to view the celebrations . one internet site , only half facetiously titled ''st . petersburg 300 troubles , '' chronicles everything from the filling of the city 's port with empty ships ( presumably to thwart terrorists ) to one man 's effort to stop federal officials from encamping a sniper in his apartment . manholes were sealed along one main_street to thwart inventive terrorists , and the federal_government double checked a list of the city 's 138 , 000 registered firearms owners to weed out some 2 , 000 potential threats . mobile_phone companies disabled encryption of signals for their 2.4 million st . petersburg customers for the duration of the festivities . beneath the grumbling about overreaching , though , runs a thread of pride that russia 's second city is getting its long delayed due . ''we took lots of pictures and bought lots of postcards , and we 're going to make albums to celebrate the anniversary of my city , '' 77 year old anna k . kostina said as she stood in palace square after having her photo snapped with an actor dressed as peter the great . ''we 'll send copies to all our relatives in ukraine , in voronezh , in pittsburgh . '' ''our mother saw the original amber_room before it was stolen , '' one daughter , nadezhda , chimed in , ''and now we hope to see it after the restoration . '' the famed amber_room , presumably lost to german invaders during world_war_ii , has been recreated and will be formally unveiled on saturday during a ceremony in the great catherine palace , a 286 year old restored mansion in tsarskoye selo , a village outside st . petersburg . despite all the money lavished on the city , a few blemishes still show . moscow has grabbed most of the power and foreign money in russia 's 12 years of independence , leaving this city to struggle with abysmal housing , medieval heating and mediocre economic prospects . but even a blemished peter leaves its richer rival looking pale and provincial by comparison . most major monuments and palaces have been refurbished or repainted in classic russian pastels , as have most major buildings along the wide neva river , luminous walls of color in the acutely angled sunlight of the city 's white nights . determined to impress the world , russians have spared little excess in their civic primping . the city has strung nearly 2 , 800 flags from poles and lampposts around town , and borrowed 31 million from the world_bank to refurbish its historic main boulevard , nevsky prospekt . the thousands of militia members have each been issued blue 119 page pocket size booklets offering english , french and german translations of what are purported to be typical russian law enforcement phrases . ''comrades ! ( gentlemen ! ) you are violating the peace ! '' one helpful militiaman read in a literal translation and the thickest of accents . and , ''comrades ! ( gentlemen ! ) you are not allowed to sing loudly to turn high your transistor radio ( tape_recorder ) in the streets ! '' main roads leading to konstantin palace , set magnificently on the gulf of finland about a dozen miles outside downtown , have been repaved , repainted and festooned with uniformed militiamen every hundred yards or so . to great scorn , most evidence of dilapidation and decay that is , the wooden cabins and kitchen gardens of average russian peasants has been blotted out by high green picket fences , some of them plastered with advertising . nearly 60 sheds and huts across the street from the palace , thrown up by gardeners during the years when it was a windowless , roofless hulk , abruptly went up in smoke about a month ago , shortly before a fence was erected to cover their remains . officials blamed hooligans for the fires , which makes the gardeners smile . ''there was a special team of people who said they had orders to burn them down , '' aleksandr i . shalagin , 70 , who has lived in the area for 49 years , said during a pause in his gardening this week . ''they wore orange jackets like road workers . they did n't hide . it was the middle of the day . '' peter was gloriously sunny and cloudless most of this week . but as skies began to glower today , the government ordered a fleet of 10 military aircraft aloft to bomb the approaching clouds with ''environmentally pure substances and internationally certified chemicals'' to wring the rain from them before they reached town . it was a master example of the fastidiousness with which officials have approached this grand city 's tricentennial . but as v.i.p . planes began heading en_masse into pulkovo airport this afternoon , it was cloudy and drizzling . the president's trip russia.

the state began pulling a second connecticut municipality , west_haven , back from the edge of financial insolvency today . but the 35 million package of loan_guarantees approved by the house of representatives differs sharply from the bailout of bridgeport , the state 's largest city , which filed for federal bankruptcy_protection last year . state officials said that the far stiffer terms being dealt to west_haven , a mostly blue_collar community of 55 , 000 on long_island_sound , are intended specifically to head off another bridgeport fiasco , where the former mayor battled the state for control , then took the city into bankruptcy court over vehement state objections . under the plan , which was approved tonight by the house of representatives on a vote of 124 to 18 , the west_haven finance planning and assistance board would effectively take over west_haven 's government . taxes could be raised by order of the state panel labor contracts could be approved or disapproved outside regular channels an emergency city_manager could even be appointed over the head of the mayor . the state has none of those powers in bridgeport , which it rescued in 1988 with a 60 million loan_guarantee plan . the numbers also tell the story gov . lowell p . weicker_jr . can appoint only three members of the 11 member bridgeport financial review board . in west_haven , six out of seven members of the board would either be state officials or appointees of the governor . " bridgeport has taught us an awful lot , " said the state treasurer , francisco l . borges , who would be a member of both boards . the appearance of a reward but the proposal evoked some ambivalence in the house . " west_haven should take care of itself , " said one lawmaker who opposed the plan , representative eugene a . migliaro jr . , a republican from wolcott , who feared the state was setting a bad precedent . " it looks like what we 're doing up here is condoning poor spending , poor management , " he said . but both state and local officials agreed that a rescue could not be postponed , regardless of the terms . west_haven has 12 . 7 million in bonds that mature on april 15 , which city officials say cannot be refinanced or paid off without help . terms for new state backed bonds would have to be set by monday if they are to be issued in time , mr . borges said . the city also faces a cumulative 17 . 3 million shortfall in its 90 million budget , and an aide to mayor h . richard borer , sandra lorusso , said today that west_haven only has enough cash to pay its expenses through the end of the month . " if there 's no money , every one of the city 's 1 , 000 employees , including teachers , wo n't get paid , " ms . lorusso said . mr . borer , who took office in december , was in new york today to make presentations to the municipal_bond rating companies , but his pleas apparently fell flat . late this afternoon , standard_poor 's corporation lowered west_haven 's bonds from an already low bbb to bb , a " speculative " rating equivalent to junk_bond status . moody 's investors service quickly followed suit , dropping west_haven 's rating from baa1 to ba , a rating also below investment grade . diminished tax revenue the city 's problems did not crop up suddenly . as long as two years ago , west_haven was forced to lay off public_school teachers as the recession eroded property_tax collections . mr . borer has also charged that his predecessor as mayor , clemente evangeliste , aggravated the problem last year by cutting taxes in what mr . borer characterized as a failed attempt to win re election . whatever the causes , however , restrictions on mr . borer 's future actions , as well as west_haven 's city_council , are likely to be severe . although the bill passed by the house tonight must still be approved by the senate and signed by mr . weicker , both the administration and leaders in the legislature have already agreed on the main elements . one treasury department official , donald a . kirshbaum , said the state 's role in bridgeport was primarily to review what municipal officials did . in west_haven , he said , there will be " direct power to set the budget . " the bridgeport panel could only " review and analyze " capital contracts over 250 , 000 and general fund contracts over 100 , 000 . the west_haven panel will approve or reject any contract of 50 , 000 or more . the bill also pointedly prohibits a bankruptcy filing without the written consent of the governor . the bridgeport bailout contained no such language . the connecticut conference of municipalities , one of the state 's largest lobbying groups , has already vehemently attacked the weicker administration 's attempts to impose greater controls on distressed municipalities like west_haven . just today , the group issued a scathing attack on an administration proposal that would impose far fewer regulations on troubled cities than the west_haven plan . that bill is expected to come up for a committee level vote as early as thursday .

the avon park city_council rejected an ordinance monday that would have cracked down on illegal_immigrants after one member changed her vote amid strong protest about the law . the ordinance , called the illegal_immigration relief act , would have fined landlords 1 , 000 for every tenant found to be an illegal immigrant , denied city permits , contracts and grants to businesses that employed illegal_immigrants and required city documents to be in english only . mayor tom macklin of avon park , a city of about 9 , 000 in florida 's citrus belt , proposed it last month after hearing of a similar plan in hazleton , pa . councilwoman brenda gray , who voted for the measure on first reading last month , voted against it on final reading monday_night after a heated public hearing where dozens of residents spoke for and against it . ms . gray said she had changed her mind because she disagreed with the ordinance 's claim that illegal_immigration ''leads to higher crime rates , contributes to overcrowded classrooms and failing schools , subjects our hospitals to fiscal hardship and legal residents to substandard quality of care , and destroys our neighborhoods and diminishes our overall quality of life . '' ''no one could give me any literature or anything that showed me that was true , '' ms . gray said after the vote . last week , the city_council fired the city_attorney , michael disler , after he told the ledger of lakeland that the ordinance had serious flaws . ms . gray told the ledger last week that she had originally supported the measure because avon park 's black residents strongly supported it . she is the council 's only black member . at the long public hearing before monday 's vote , some black residents spoke in favor of the ordinance , saying they were tired of competing with illegal_immigrants for jobs and housing . ''the hiring of these illegals will have a devastating effect on the people of avon park , '' said willie jenkins , a resident . ''this illegal practice will take away jobs from our high_school kids looking for employment . '' opponents of the ordinance included local citrus growers and farmers who feared it would decimate their labor force . florida 's citrus industry is already experiencing a labor shortage , and some growers have blamed the national crackdown on illegal_immigrants for scaring away migrant_workers . ''the bottom line is we hire them because americans do n't want to milk cows , '' said joe wright , a dairy farmer who pleaded with the council to vote down the ordinance . ''if folks in avon park want to work , we have plenty of good jobs just waiting for them . '' mayor macklin said earlier this month that he proposed the ordinance out of frustration at the federal_government 's failure to curb illegal_immigration . it was virtually identical to the one passed in hazleton on july 13 . at least two civil_rights groups , the puerto_rican legal defense and education fund and the american_civil_liberties_union , had threatened to challenge the ordinance in court , saying it violated the fair_housing_act and title vi of the civil_rights_act .

however it plays out in the criminal_justice system , the arrest in new york of two chinese citizens on charges of conspiring to sell human organs has drawn attention to practices inside china that have long drawn criticism from western human_rights advocates . the two arrested men cheng yong wang , who claimed be a former criminal prosecutor from china 's hainan province , and xingqi fu , who lives in flushing , queens were said to have offered to arrange for kidney transplants inside china and to export corneas and other body parts to the united_states . according to a court papers filed in new york , the men said the organs would come from executed prisoners . asked today to comment on the charges , the spokesman for china 's foreign ministry said the chinese government ''has repeatedly stated clearly that such an incident should never happen in china . '' ''should it occur , '' he said , ''the relevant departments will punish people according to the law . '' the spokesman , zhu bangzhao , was presumably referring to the overt sale of organs , which has been declared illegal in a health ministry regulation . but the practice that gave resonance to the new york charges and has fueled global ethical debate the everyday use of executed prisoners as organ donors is legal here . china insists that organs are taken only from voluntary donors . according to one chinese expert , who broke the general silence about this issue in a 1996 article in a chinese medical_ethics journal , a majority of all organs used in transplants in china come from executed prisoners . this could not be independently_verified . over the last decade , also apparently legally , hundreds of foreigners , mainly from hong_kong , taiwan and singapore , have entered chinese hospitals and paid premium prices to receive transplanted organs , especially kidneys . these patients come from places where the medical demand for organs far outstrips supply . most likely , many of them received organs from executed prisoners . human_rights advocates like harry_wu , the chinese born american citizen who has made this a crusade and who helped investigate the new york case , say it is impossible for condemned prisoners in china 's harsh penal system to give voluntary consent for their organs to be used . these rights advocates , along with many western medical ethicists , also charge that the possible profits , for prisons and prosecutors and hospitals , create an unhealthy incentive to condemn criminals . roughly 2 , 000 kidney transplants are reported in chinese medical journals each year , said dr . charlotte ikels , an anthropologist at case western reserve university in cleveland who has studied organ procurement in asia . the number is low for such a populous country , held down not only by a scarcity of donated organs but also by a lack of funds and skills to maintain transplant patients , she said in a telephone interview . in an article last year in the china journal , dr . ikels cited an estimate that from 10 to 15 percent of kidney transplants involved foreign patients . what is sometimes described abroad as a gruesome trade may appear here as routine and acceptable with costs relatively low , overseas_chinese come to china for many kinds of medical care , and many hospitals actually have separate wings devoted to foreign patients . for china 's money starved medical system , high priced transplants are a welcome source of income , and chinese surgeons have been known to advertise in hong_kong for transplant patients . what the foreign transplant patients usually pay , who profits and how doctors choose which patients get priority to receive scarce kidneys and other organs are issues that get virtually no public discussion in china . discussing the accused organ sellers he helped lure to the authorities in new york , mr . wu said the one who said he was a former prosecutor , mr . wang , had told him that prisoners ''have no political rights , so we do n't ask . '' mr . wu said mr . wang also said that sometimes , relatives of prisoners were paid ''a little money'' to get their consent to organ_donation . such practices would clearly violate stated national policy , but it is impossible to know how actively the central government has worked to enforce voluntary donor consent or to curb abuses . one reason why china gets so much attention for its reliance on the organs of executed prisoners is that it kills more prisoners than the rest of the world combined . in 1996 , according to figures compiled by amnesty international , 4 , 367 people were put to death , while more than 6 , 100 received death sentences . these numbers were higher than in previous years , reflecting the strike hard anticrime campaign . comparable figures are not available for 1997 , but earlier this month , a senior judge in beijing announced that the number of death sentences had been reduced since adoption of criminal_law revisions last october . ''the greater restriction on capital_punishment shows that china cherishes the lives of criminals , '' said the judge , zhang jun of the supreme people 's court , according to the new china news_agency . but mr . zhang gave no numbers . reached by telephone today , an official of the hainan province prosecutor 's office , wang shiqi , said that cheng yong wang had worked at a branch office several years ago . on being informed of his arrest in new york , however , the official changed his mind and said the man had never worked there . then he said goodbye .

victor ortiz longs for his youth . there was a time , recalled mr . ortiz , a 72 year old retired police detective , when he could speak off the cuff and ''create a little fire . '' he walks with a cane , slightly stooped and slowed by terminal spinal cancer . judging by the ovation he received at an awards_ceremony on monday , he still has the spark that led him to found the department 's hispanic society in 1957 . he recounted the struggle for recognition among hispanic officers who entered the unfamiliar and sometimes unwelcoming realm of the job . unity was important for progress , he said , as were vigilance and respect . those beliefs , he said , were the pillars of the hispanic society , which he left a few years ago . his remarks came at a celebration of the first anniversary of the group that might supplant it , the latino officers association , of which he is chairman . the split followed complaints by society members that its leadership had grown authoritarian , complacent and beholden to the administration of mayor rudolph w . giuliani ( whom it endorsed in a narrow 1993 vote ) . no one from city hall or police headquarters attended monday 's ceremony they said invitations were faxed at the last minute . mr . ortiz is n't buying that . he said he believes that city officials are avoiding the l.o.a . because they want to keep the hispanic society 's endorsement in the next mayoral election . ''i say to those guys , get your heads out of the sand , '' mr . ortiz told the audience at el museo del barrio . ''whatever is left of the hispanic society is through . finished . so often , the people in power are the last to know what is good and righteous . '' the l.o.a . 's leaders say it has more than 1 , 000 members and is growing , despite fears that membership may not have its privileges . they said their meetings have been monitored by other officers and that they have been given undesirable assignments . some of this , they said , was in response to their group 's outspokenness on claims of discrimination regarding promotions and discipline . sgt . anthony miranda , the president of the l.o.a. , said the hispanic society used to be forceful in representing its members but quieted down after the election of mr . giuliani , who appointed some of the society 's leaders to choice police positions . after that , he and others said , tensions grew as an insurgent faction , including mr . ortiz and other members who had shepherded the society into being , questioned its direction and was met with expulsion . ''it 's like throwing your own father out of the house , '' sergeant miranda said . ''among hispanics , we are family oriented and respect our elders . the society gave away that basic principle . '' robert maldonado , the society 's recently elected president , said that the criticisms were off base , and that business had been conducted properly among its 900 members . after all , he said , they were police officers . he portrayed the l.o.a . as dissidents who stormed out when they did not get their way and were quick to decry discrimination on the job . ''it 's never because they made a mistake , '' he said . ''it 's because they 're hispanic and it 's racial . when they have nothing else to fall back on , they play the race card . they made it tough to be a hispanic police_officer in new york . '' despite those criticisms , the l.o.a . attracted several political supporters to their celebration , including the bronx borough_president , fernando_ferrer , who recently announced his candidacy for mayor , and the bronx district_attorney , robert johnson ( who shared the stage with a representative of gov . george e . pataki , with whom he had clashed last year over the death_penalty ) . and although relations between the police and city hall are strained by the contract impasse , sergeant miranda said he had hoped to welcome the mayor or the police commissioner to the gathering . ''we never closed the door to him , '' he said . ''he would have gotten respect . he would have had the opportunity to be heard at a different level , not a rally or a demonstration . we 're not looking to burn bridges . '' police commissioner howard safir 's spokeswoman , marilyn mode , said that he was ''certainly'' willing to meet with the l.o.a . she added that deputy commissioner tosano j . simonetti had tried calling the group ''10 times , '' but to no avail . ''never happened , '' sergeant miranda insisted . ''i do n't know where he 's calling or who he 's trying to reach . '' better to watch the mailbox . sergeant miranda just sent a letter to headquarters to request a meeting . ''now we 'll see how much they want to meet , '' he said . about new york.

after being subjected to two weeks of relentless bombing that has destroyed many of the power centers of president saddam_hussein 's government , the iraqi capital found itself today deep into the ground battle that promises to be the decisive phase of america 's war to topple the iraqi leader . from the heart of the capital , a new cacophony of battle signaled the shift from a war fought primarily from the air to one where the outcome will depend increasingly on american ground troops . the earth shaking devastation of bombs and missiles was mostly stilled today , overtaken by the more distant sounds of artillery and rocket fire , by the staccato of machine_gun and rifle bursts , and by the scream of american jets flying what appeared to be low level ground support missions . most of the fighting appeared to be concentrated away to the southwest of the city , in the area of what , until its capture by american_troops on friday , was saddam international airport . now symbolically stripped of the iraqi leader 's name by the americans , the airport has become a magnetic point on the personal compass of almost everybody in this city of 4.5 million people , whether the hard core of loyalists to mr . hussein or the increasingly venturous iraqis , numerous if not yet demonstrably a majority , who have begun to shake off decades of fear and to whisper hauntingly that they wait anxiously for the end . the government has up to now held to its official line , even since the capture of the airport three days ago the americans , the information minister has repeated with a cherubic air at daily news conferences , have fallen into the iraqi trap by advancing to the gates of the city . but for those listening for shifts , for the minor notes that rise even as the major ones pound out the familiar theme , there have been hints of a wavering certainty . today , the minister , muhammad said al sahhaf , was no longer contending , as he did on saturday , that the americans had been routed from the airport by an iraqi counterattack , and divided into isolated pockets where they were surrendering en_masse . instead , he told a news conference , the republican guards were ''tightening the noose around the u.s . enemy in the area surrounding the airport , '' having killed 50 american_soldiers and destroyed six american tanks . that appeared to be a subtle but important shift , an acknowledgment that american_forces really are close by and ready to fight . as for the citizens of baghdad , the question being posed by many is this when will american tanks and infantry try to storm the city , not as they did for a few hours early saturday , but in earnest , with intent to seize the city 's heart , to haul down the iraqi flag that still flutters atop the republican palace . to mr . hussein 's die_hard supporters , the very notion that the iraqi ruler 's days might be numbered remains unthinkable , or at least inadmissible . but today the information minister 's talk of the ' 'scoundrels'' and ''villains'' and ''criminals'' who have invaded iraq was in a lesser key , subordinated to more pressing , more practical concerns . iraqis , he said , should be on the lookout everywhere for the enemy , and ' 'should not ignore'' sightings of american units , or fail to report them to the iraqi military . from the official iraqi standpoint , mr . sahhaf has made himself the media star of the war , if anybody other than mr . hussein would dare claim that distinction for himself . a sort of iraqi donald h . rumsfeld with the rhetorical flourishes of soviet_era moscow , he likes to muse on stage , developing his thrusts , amusing himself with his caustic wit at the americans' expense . but he was in a distinctly more sober mood today . in a statement read on state television , he said iraqis should not be prey to ''rumors , '' especially of a kind that suggested that american_forces were gaining the upper hand . the allies , he said , ' 'might attempt to release rumors , believing that they can cause confusion , and tell lies , asserting that there is a landing here and there . '' at about the time that statement was being broadcast , iraqis who had filled up at a baghdad gas station were reporting that drivers arriving from points west and northwest of the city were telling of seeing american paratroopers descending from the sky alongside the access roads that american commanders , in qatar , were saying they were seizing so as to tighten the encirclement of baghdad . there was no way of knowing if those sightings were merely the work of the imaginations of the drivers . mr . sahhaf had other words of advice , and warning . iraqi fighters , he said , should refrain from firing their guns in baghdad ''for no reason , '' as many appear to have done through the prolonged heavy bombing , conducted from an altitude that made the endless rattle of antiaircraft_guns and automatic_rifle seem more like a reaffirmation of vulnerability than an act of meaningful defense . but if that sounded like an appeal for conserving ammunition , there was an intriguing , slightly menacing , counterpoint . with the enemy in baghdad , he said , it was the duty now for ''anybody who wants to do so to use his weapon , '' and anybody who failed to do so would be considered ''cursed . '' violators , he said , would not be treated leniently . later in the day , mr . hussein himself weighed in , in the form of a message to iraqi fighters read on television . the smiling iraqi leader was shown in his field marshal 's uniform presiding at a meeting with senior officials that was said to have taken place today . in a film broadcast on friday that showed mr . hussein , or a double , strolling about some of baghdad 's western neighborhoods , the message was of a leader on top of his game , full of beaming , hand slapping , climb on the car hood geniality . but the statement read on his behalf today suggested an awareness that the iraqi_army was not getting its job done . first , the statement said that anybody who destroyed an allied tank , armored_personnel_carrier or artillery gun would be awarded 15 million iraqi dinars , about 5 , 000 . second , any iraqi fighter losing touch with his unit during battle ''let him join a unit of the same kind that he is able to join . '' to some iraqis , that sounded like a warning against giving up when units are decimated by american firepower , as american commanders have reported iraqi soldiers and paramilitaries doing in droves . reporters traveling with american units pushing north to baghdad have described roadsides littered with abandoned combat_boots and uniforms , and large numbers of young men in civilian clothes waving white strips of cloth . in the effort to show iraqi defenses as holding , and even prevailing , the information ministry organized a press tour of a sole , burned out american m1a1_abrams tank that had been abandoned on an expressway during the probing reconnaissance that a unit of the third infantry division conducted on saturday . the tank , presumably , was one of the six that mr . sahhaf claimed as trophies of iraq 's counterattack on the american_forces near the airport . an iraqi officer , brig . muhammad jassim , told reporters that the tank was one of five american tanks destroyed in the battle , the other four having been towed away by the iraqis to make way for traffic . the american account acknowledged the loss of one tank . the iraqis at the site of the abandoned tank gave another version , one that made the american probe not so much a tour de force as a debacle . senior army officers joined with officials of the ruling baath_party in clambering atop the tank and chanting devotions to mr . hussein . ''god is great , and to him we owe thanks , '' someone had scribbled in arabic on the blackened hulk . soldiers were produced to describe the withering fire that had been trained on the americans , and to affirm that all iraqis were ready to die for their leader . the lone tank hardly made the triumphal point iraqi officials intended , especially when western newsmen were conducted to the scene along a highway littered with the tangled , burned out wreckage of at least 30 iraqi tanks , armored carriers , army trucks , artillery guns and pick up trucks of the kind favored by the fedayeen_saddam . what the tour also showed was that large areas of baghdad are being turned into a military camp . tanks , armored cars and artillery guns could be seen posted near bridges , in civilian neighborhoods and alongside the expressways , at places where no major defenses were visible only days ago . soldiers and paramilitaries were visible digging bunkers . some flashed victory signs at the westerners as they drove by . a nation at war baghdad.

lead from traditional parades and fireworks displays to concerts in historic villages and stately towns , independence day events in new jersey assume the character of their surroundings , whether played out against sunlit ocean backdrops or in the shade of verdant woods . from traditional parades and fireworks displays to concerts in historic villages and stately towns , independence day events in new jersey assume the character of their surroundings , whether played out against sunlit ocean backdrops or in the shade of verdant woods . and some settings provide a chance for historic reflection befitting the holiday . cape may . among shore communities , cape may city , at the southern tip of the state , is a living museum of victorian houses that lays claim to being the oldest seashore resort in america . a beach tag goes for 2 , and visitors may stroll through the cape may mall for items from ice_cream to artworks . a highlight is the fourth of july concert and laser light show by the new jersey pops orchestra at 7 45 p.m . on the lawn of the congress hall hotel . tickets for 5 are to go on sale at the hotel at 6 30 p.m . the events tomorrow include a pancake day brunch sponsored by the kiwanis club from 7 a.m . to 1 p.m . at convention_hall , a patriotic review from noon to 1 30 p.m . on the boardwalk at convention_hall , and the big independence parade on beach avenue at 1 p.m . the brownstone puppet theater is to perform 10 a.m . and 4 p.m . monday and tuesday in convention_hall . admission adults , 3 children , 1 . also on monday , the devon festival ballet is to perform at 8 p.m . in convention_hall . admission adults , 3 children , 1 children . the nabb leslie american_legion band is to play at 8 p.m . tuesday at the victorian bandstand on lafayette_street near the mall , and a dance show called the ''boardwalk review'' is to begin at 7 p.m . in convention_hall . take the garden state parkway south to the end or , as cape may residents say , the beginning . information ( 609 ) 884 9565 . fireworks in wildwood . set against the atlantic with the night aglow from the lights of the hurly burly amusement piers , the fourth of july fireworks display in wildwood is usually spectacular this tuesday , the fireworks are to begin at 9 15 p.m . the air_force band of the east is to perform from 4 to 7 p.m . tomorrow through monday and noon to 3 p.m . on tuesday at the holly beach station , a mall on pacific avenue between spencer and maple avenues . the championettes , dancers ranging in age from 5 to 20 , are to perform at the mall from 4 to 7 p.m . tuesday . take the garden state parkway to exit 4b . information , ( 609 ) 522 1407 or 1 800 992 9732 . parade in ridgewood . many new jersey communities hold parades , but one of the most popular , dating from 1910 , is in ridgewood , a pleasant northwest bergen_county village . although its population is 25 , 000 , as many as 50 , 000 parade watchers usually jam ridgewood 's sidewalks on the fourth of july . at night , a band concert is expected to draw a crowd of 30 , 000 , concluding an independence day observance that seems to be the nostalgic embodiment of small town america . the parade , starting at 10 a.m . at godwin avenue and monroe street , is to feature 23 bands , 18 floats , many antique cars and in keeping with the event 's origin as a firefighter 's parade , trucks from eight fire departments that are to drive past east ridgewood avenue stores and village_hall on maple avenue and end on linwood avenue . a concert by the village band and the bergen_county cadets is to begin at 7 p.m . on veterans' field , with sky divers scheduled to drop in at 8 p.m . fireworks are to begin at 9 15 p.m . tickets at the gate cost 4 children under 6 free . folding_chairs or blankets are recommended . take route 17 to ridgewood avenue or linwood avenue and exit west . parking is confined to streets many blocks from the parade and concert areas . information ( 201 ) 444 1776 . concerts at waterloo . concerts in a historic setting can be enjoyed in the restored iron town of waterloo village , which made cannonballs for the revolutionary army . waterloo , which is near stanhope , features buildings from the colonial to victorian periods and demonstrations of colonial crafts . the waterloo festival orchestra , conducted by david atherton and featuring the violinist elmar oliveira will stage a concert tomorrow at 8 30 p.m . tent seating is 18 lawn seating 10 . the allman brothers band is to perform at 8 p.m . tuesday in the concert field a mile west of the village entrance . admission is 25 . advance tickets , 20 . information ( 201 ) 347 4700 . village hours are 10 a.m . to 6 p.m . tuesday through sunday . weekend admission charge is 7 . 50 for adults , 3 for children ages 6 through 12 years , and 5 for the elderly . village admission includes a chamber_music sampler 3 p.m . sunday and a 3 p.m . fourth of july concert of sousa marches by the waterloo concert band . interstate_80 west to exit 25 and follow signs three miles . information ( 201 ) 347 0900 .

a draft report by a mayoral task_force recommends that public_school students who do not speak english be given the option of a speedier immersion in it , a proposal that would most likely curtail many of the city 's long running bilingual programs . the task_force is racing to build support for its recommendations even as the chairman of a board of education subcommittee is corralling board support for his more modest recommendations to improve the troubled bilingual program without dismantling it . the mayor 's task_force on bilingual_education , headed by randy m . mastro , a lawyer and former deputy_mayor in the giuliani administration , recommends that students who do not speak english be given the option of taking all their subject classes in english , a process known as english immersion , according to the draft report obtained by the new york times . right now , students have two options . they can choose bilingual_education , in which they learn academic subjects in their native languages and study english in separate classes . or they can choose not to take bilingual_education and be placed in english as a second language classes while taking their subject classes in english . english as a second language courses are taught in english , although native languages are used to help students move into the mainstream . one model of english immersion , used in oceanside , calif . , requires teachers to instruct non english speaking students in english exclusively . if students do not understand a word or phrase after a teacher repeats it three times , teachers are allowed to translate it into the child 's native language and then resume teaching in english . two years ago , californians voted to end bilingual_education and make spanish speaking students spend the day taking classes in english . initial test scores have been encouraging for supporters of immersion , and now the efficacy of bilingual_education appears to be called into question across the nation . on election day , arizona residents will vote on a ballot_initiative seeking to outlaw bilingual_education . in new york city , the mayor 's task_force , according to the draft report , would also call for giving students a maximum of three years to achieve english proficiency . in the current program , students have been known to remain in bilingual_classes for eight years or more . other areas of recommendations by the task_force include plans for recruiting more certified teachers and increasing the amount of time english_language learners receive in instruction , according to the draft . the task_force is scheduled to hold a hearing today at city hall . members are seeking public comment before drawing up recommendations for submission to the board of education by the end of the month , mr . mastro said . some advocates for bilingual_education are lining up to support the recommendations of the board subcommittee chairman , irving s . hamer jr . , who wants to preserve a longstanding system that encourages immigrants and other non english speaking students to take their classes in both english and their native languages . dr . hamer said yesterday that he had hoped to put his recommendations up for a vote before his six board colleagues tomorrow , but william c . thompson jr . , the board president , said late yesterday that a vote would be premature and that the proposal was unlikely to appear on the agenda . dr . hamer released the recommendations to board members over the weekend . the seven member board of education will ultimately decide on the shape of bilingual_education . the mayor controls two votes on the board , but he has been known to use his considerable influence to sway other members . both proposals are being circulated almost a month after the board of education released a study of bilingual_education and english as a second language . the study evaluated the performance of 16 , 000 students over nine years and found mixed results for both programs . the report found , among other things , that students in middle_school and those in special_education sometimes remained in bilingual and english as a second language programs for eight or nine years . support for the bilingual method , particularly by hispanic groups like aspira , became so insistent that new york state adopted a law in the 1970 's giving non english speaking students the option of taking bilingual programs instead of english as a second language . the task_force recommends taking a hard look at the law to see if any changes are needed . any changes , however , would require a vote by the board of education and an amendment to the statute . some advocates of bilingual_education were pleased with dr . hamer 's recommendations because they do not seek to dismantle the law . ''i fully endorse the recommendations that dr . hamer has put forth to the board , '' said luis o . reyes , an assistant professor of education at brooklyn_college and a former board of education member . dr . reyes also served as a director of the office of research and advocacy for aspira of new york . dr . hamer recommends changes that few bilingual supporters can quibble over , including a policy to stop switching non english speaking students between bilingual and english as a second language classes , because doing so hurts their academic performance .

a senior state_department official apologized sunday_night for saying that the united_states had acted with ''arrogance'' and ' 'stupidity'' in its campaign in iraq . the apology from alberto fernandez , director of the office of press and public_diplomacy in the bureau of near eastern affairs in washington , involved a comment that he had made during an interview conducted in arabic and broadcast saturday on al_jazeera , the arab television_network . in the 35 minute interview , mr . fernandez , who speaks arabic fluently , said , ''history will decide what role the united_states played . '' according to a translation by cnn , he said that while the united_states had tried its best , its role might be criticized by future historians ''because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the united_states in iraq . '' other news sources have translated the remarks in a similar way . after news of the remarks spread sunday , american officials said they did not reflect the administration 's views . ''i can only assume his remarks must have been mistranslated , '' said a senior administration official , who was not authorized to speak for attribution . ''those comments obviously do n't reflect our position . '' in a statement released sunday_night by the state_department , mr . fernandez said ''upon reading the transcript of my appearance on al_jazeera , i realized that i seriously misspoke by using the phrase 'there has been arrogance and stupidity by the u.s . in iraq . ' this represents neither my views , or those of the state_department . i apologize . '' mr . fernandez has a reputation for outspokenness that predates his comments to al_jazeera . though he is responsible for getting top state_department officials into the arab_news media , he has given dozens of interviews himself , he told newsweek in a profile published in august . his popularity in the arab_news media has been bolstered by his command of arabic and his willingness to speak passionately about issues . mr . fernandez 's interview on al_jazeera came at the end of a week when the american military command conceded that it had failed to quell violence in baghdad , despite a two month offensive , and fighting between and within religious sects rocked several iraqi cities . his opinions may open him to criticism from supporters of the bush_administration 's policies in iraq . but some iraqi lawmakers welcomed the remarks . mahmoud_othman , a kurdish lawmaker , said more american officials should be willing to be self critical about missteps in iraq . ''i have been expecting american officials , someday , last year , this year , to say something about this , that this policy has not worked , '' mr . othman said . ''it has been a failure . they should admit it before it is too late . ''

the big stucco house spreads out like a very solid white cloud , mostly hidden by trees , on the quiet street only a few blocks off this city 's bustling main artery of park_avenue . the rambling 13 room house is now a picturesque wreck , inhabited by robert and mary anne mazzola , who bought it a month ago and plan to turn it into a showplace again . " we 're living in this portion of the house right now , " said mrs . mazzola , whose enthusiasm for every detail of the old house from the stained_glass_windows at the top of the stairs to the 1940 's six foot cast_iron bathtub is contagious . greeting guests in the tiny kitchen off the side porch , she put her arm around her husband and strolled into the next room . " my husband went to see the house with my father , who 's a contractor retired and they came back and tried to tell me about it but i did n't want to listen , " she said . " we had done a lot of work on our old house and i was n't ready for it . " but the second i walked in the front door and looked up these wide stairs at that double stained glass window i was so thrilled with those windows i said 'let 's write the check . ' " the rooms are larger than usual the living room is 18 by 26 feet and the dining_room is 17 by 20 feet . in the living room , the 9 foot ceiling is coffered plaster , and there is a fireplace , the only one in the house . according to neil sterrer , the local real_estate agent who handled the house , the two story structure sits on one of the largest house lots here 100 by 120 feet . " it may not sound big , but it 's gigantic here , " mr . sterrer said . the house was built in the 1920 's by william h . reynolds , the first mayor of the city of long_beach , mr . sterrer said . reynolds , who built the dreamland amusement_park on coney_island , developed the block of west walnut street where the mazzola 's house is located , part of a four block area full of his trademark white stucco houses with red tile roofs . the house had been owned by a 99 year old woman , who died six weeks before her 100th birthday , mr . sterrer said , and it was placed on the market in september 1991 , with an asking price of 399 , 000 . he said that hundreds of people looked at it , noting that the estate had received several offers around 150 , 000 . the price was dropped to 250 , 000 last february . when the estate dropped the price to 195 , 000 , mr . sterrer told his stepson , joseph catapano , the broker who had brought the mazzolas to see the house , to " get on the phone to robert . " the mazzolas bought the place on may 10 for 195 , 000 . fixing up the house will be a family effort . mrs . mazzola 's father , brother and two teen_age sons will pitch in . " we 'll work on it bit by bit as we get the money , " she said , " which is probably why we figure it will take about three years . " since the closing , mr . mazzola , a maintenance supervisor for the new york city transit_authority , has found more than the source of the many water leaks in the house he found another stained glass window upstairs in a closet . that closet has since been torn out , and the little square window , with its ruby red and cerulean blue sparkle , sits in the middle of old wooden studs waiting for its plaster surround . " a lot of imagination went into building this house , " he said , " and it 's going to take a lot more to put it back together again . "

as president_clinton works to win international consensus for air_strikes against iraq , republican congressional leaders are trying to carve out a distinct foreign_policy stance that allows them to support the administration and yet appear tougher than the president . some republicans have been calling for the removal of saddam_hussein from power once and for all . yet even as they talk of such extreme action , they shrink from the idea of committing the hundreds of thousands of ground troops that military planners say would be needed to hunt down and capture mr . hussein . some are arguing for a long term strategy of support for democratic opposition groups inside and outside iraq , creating radio operations to carry an opposition message , and expanding western patrolled zones over which iraqi military aircraft are banned from flying . trent_lott of mississippi , the senate_majority_leader , said today , ''i do think there are a number of things that can be done between just pure diplomacy and military action or you know the ultimate action , which would involve troops on the ground . '' but it was less than two years ago that mr . hussein 's assault on the kurdish zone in northern iraq undermined just such an operation and left scores of members of the iraqi opposition arrested or executed . ''you have to have somebody to replace somebody , '' said senator joseph r . biden , jr . , democrat of rhode_island , adding tartly that a democratic opposition ''is kind of hard to find unless it exists . '' the latest confrontation with mr . hussein comes at a time when the republicans in congress are split between isolationist and interventionist factions and the conservative intelligentsia have been calling for the party to rearticulate a ''reaganite foreign_policy'' of military strength . some republicans quickly saw an opportunity to do so in the case of iraq . as early as last december , the weekly_standard , a conservative publication , urged in an editorial that ''rather than try to contain saddam , a strategy that has failed , our policy should now aim to remove him from power by any and all means necessary . '' last week , returning from a long recess , congress was briefed by administration officials on the president 's limited aims for a bombing campaign , and both mr . lott and representative newt_gingrich of georgia , the house speaker , called for mr . hussein to be toppled . ''this is a real problem that requires a real solution , '' mr . gingrich said , ''and incremental timidity which only punishes saddam and leaves him in place to build weapons is a defeat , not a success . '' mr . clinton 's republican critics say that limited air_strikes have been used against mr . hussein before and he has only emerged stronger . moreover , his critics argue , there is no guarantee that even large scale air_strikes now would lead to his overthrow or stop him from rebuilding chemical and biological_weapons . but it is also true that for seven years the united_states has not had the will or the international support for an all out military effort to topple president hussein . democrats point out that president_bush was best placed to overthrow mr . hussein at the end of the persian_gulf_war , but decided that the risks of occupying baghdad were too great . the action had not been authorized by the united_nations , and it would have fractured the international coalition . in fact , as administration officials rallied support on capitol_hill for an air campaign last week , republicans and democrats alike were raising concerns about whether even an air campaign would result in unacceptable civilian casualties that could create a backlash against the united_states . to go further and remove mr . hussein from power , administration officials said , would require a high risk military operation employing hundreds of thousands of ground troops , a deployment that would never be approved by congress . secretary of state madeleine k . albright hammered at that point in a speech today , saying , ''the administration does not agree with those who suggest we should deploy hundreds of thousands of american_troops to engage militarily in a ground war in iraq . '' today mr . lott took a longer_term view of removing mr . hussein . he outlined a series of steps including american support for ' 'democratic factions wherever we can find them in iraq'' a radio campaign against mr . hussein , and expansion of no flight zones and no drive zones where troops and tanks cannot mass to weaken the iraqi military 's hold on the country . the same theme was taken up by senator john_mccain , republican of arizona , later in the day . in a speech in the senate , he called for iraqi assets frozen by the united_states after the invasion of kuwait to be used to provide logistical support for dissident groups in iraq and in exile . he said that sanctions against iraq should be tightened and that air_strikes should be used not just against military targets but also against domestic communications in iraq , ''to sever saddam 's ability to communicate to the iraqi people . '' ''the key to a long term resolution of the iraq problem lies largely in one man , '' he said , ''or to be more precise , given what is known about his sons , one family . '' mr . mccain acknowledged that such an effort would be difficult . and democrats were skeptical , asking whom the united_states would find to support in mr . hussein 's place . despite the debate over strategy , congressional leaders are still working out the wording of a bipartisan_resolution to be considered in both the house and the senate that will express support for the administration 's actions in iraq . mr . lott said it could be taken up in the senate by the end of the week . he said the resolution would urge the white_house ''to work with congress in furthering a long term policy'' to definitively end ''the threat to international peace . '' senator richard shelby of alabama , chairman of the senate_intelligence_committee , said , ''i do n't think there 's a lot of enthusiasm on the hill for the moment for the administration 's policy but once the die is cast and things are imminent , the overwhelming majority of members of the senate will back the troops and hope for the best . '' standoff with iraq the republicans correction february 12 , 1998 , thursday because of an editing error , an article on tuesday about the republican congressional strategy on iraq misstated the home state of senator joseph r . biden_jr . , who commented . he is a democrat from delaware , not rhode_island .

with its short term interest rates already effectively at zero , the bank of japan had no real way to join the federal_reserve , the european_central_bank and other central_banks in easing monetary_policy today . all it could do to show solidarity with international efforts to forestall recession and shore up financial markets was to offer a symbolic gesture it announced a reduction in its discount_rate to 0.1 percent from 0 . 15 percent , a move with very little practical effect . the bank also said it would continue to flood the japanese money_market with cash , to ensure that neither companies nor investors were hamstrung by any shortage of credit . that move , too , was largely symbolic , because much of the money it has already made available to the banking system has sat unused and there is little call for more . of perhaps greater consequence , analysts said , was what the bank did not do today . the bank shrugged off the calls of political leaders for it to step up purchases of government_bonds . instead , the bank reiterated its position that the government must take some of the hard steps it has been avoiding to clean up the bad debt problems in the banking system and not look to the bank of japan for painless remedies . ''it is indispensable that progress is made in the area of structural_reforms with respect to the financial system , '' the bank said in its announcement . the japanese stock_market , which fell hard on monday in anticipation of the reopening of american trading , recovered some of the lost ground today . the mood among investors was one of relief that the first day 's action on wall_street had not gone too badly and that the fed and european monetary authorities had acted swiftly . the bank of japan 's actions were seen in the markets as a footnote and something of a disappointment for bond investors who had hoped for more intervention , analysts said . currency markets barely reacted to the bank 's move , though there was some speculation that the bank would continue buying dollars and do it in a way that would leave even more yen available to the money markets . correction september 20 , 2001 , thursday an article in world business yesterday about the discount_rate in japan misstated the reduction . the rate was cut to 0.1 percent from 0 . 25 percent , not 0 . 15 percent .

from the dormitories of syracuse_university to the box office windows of wily new jersey ticket brokers , a feverish case of avarice has taken hold of many of the fortunate few who were able to secure tickets to this weekend 's n.c.a.a . final four basketball_tournament . " people get these tickets and they try to sell them because they figure they can buy a car , pay a year 's tuition , or pay the mortgage , " said john scher , president of metropolitan entertainment , a concert promoter . " i think the scalping that 's going on now for the final four is repugnant . the temptation that this puts in front of the average person who 's waited his entire life to go to the final four is crazy . " but while scalping is a time honored tradition for championship sporting_events and top concerts , this year there is a difference scalping in new jersey is now legal , even if that means a 70 ticket goes for 2 , 500 . for 12 years , new jersey had one of the strongest laws against ticket scalping in the united_states . tickets could not be legally resold for more than 20 percent , or 3 , above the face value , whichever was higher . then last october , after an intense lobbying effort by ticket brokers , gov . christine_todd_whitman approved legislation that temporarily repealed the anti scalping law and cleared the way for brokers to charge as much as the market was willing to pay . the move , mrs . whitman contended at the time , would make more tickets available to the public , thus lowering prices . but with this final four , tickets are as scarce and as pricey as ever , brokers and fans say , leaving mainly the wealthy and well connected as the eyewitnesses to college_basketball 's premier event . as if it were not annoying enough to mrs . whitman that she has been criticized by some political leaders and residents of new jersey for receiving more than 50 tickets to dole out as she pleases , critics say the final four ticket madness has also exposed the limitations in the new law . " you ca n't make scalping go away by legislating against it any more than you can prostitution , " said mr . scher , who has been an outspoken critic of lobbying efforts to repeal anti scalping legislation . " however , new jersey had a law that helped keep prices under control and they killed it . this is a black_eye on the state of new jersey . " but mrs . whitman and some legislators contend that the final four is not a good event to gauge the effectiveness of the changes in the scalping law because the number of tickets to the final four is so tightly_regulated by the n.c.a.a . they note that the anti scalping law was erased for an 18 month trial period to determine if it would free up more tickets . " i do n't think the scalping deal is affecting this , " said state senator robert w . singer , a republican who was a co sponsor of the measure to repeal the anti scalping law . " the ticket prices , no matter where the final four is held , would be high because there are just not enough tickets to go around . " the tight supply has caused ticket prices to multiply an average of 35 times their face value , brokers said . still , brokers said that many sellers were seeking unrealistic amounts . news reports of tickets that have gone for as much as 10 , 000 have helped drive prices even higher , they said . " students call us and they want to sell for 4 , 000 , " said ed lefebvere , owner of the ticket outlet in west_orange . " the media has helped create this frenzy all around the country . " although the final four tournament always produces a heavy demand for tickets , the supply at the meadowlands is especially scarce , n.c.a.a . officials and ticket brokers say . one reason is that the meadowlands arena is a relatively small one for such a big event , with just 18 , 500 seats . usually , the tournament is played in much larger arenas . in addition , the games are being played in the new york area , where there are plenty of people and corporations wealthy enough to pay handsomely for their seats . a spokeswoman for mrs . whitman said the governor would wait until the 18 month trial is complete before commenting on its impact . " obviously she 's concerned about ticket prices , " said the governor 's spokeswoman , becky taylor . " but before making any final determination she wants to see a study of the entire period . " the governor , who had fielded requests for tickets from around the country , issued a list today of the 55 people who will join her in her luxury suite at the continental_airlines_arena for the games . former secretary of state henry_kissinger and former gov . thomas kean of new jersey were among them , as were ambassadors , business leaders , special_olympics athletes and ministers . mrs . whitman also had about 25 more seats for the games , but she did not say who got those tickets . of the 18 , 500 seats , only 1 , 000 were made available to the public through a lottery conducted by the n.c.a.a . the remainder went to the four colleges competing in the tournament , n.c.a.a . officials , coaches , local organizers and legislators . new jersey 's anti scalping law was first enacted in 1983 . but the limit on prices that brokers could charge under the law encouraged illicit street corner ticket sales . the street market , in turn , encouraged a growing market in counterfeit tickets . while the handful of legal brokers who continued to operate in new jersey found they could make very little in profits , brokers in nearby states with no limits on scalping were cashing in on events at new jersey venues . in response , ticket brokers joined together about a year ago , forming a lobbying group that ultimately helped get the law repealed . similar lobbying efforts are under way in new york and connecticut , which are among the small number of states with strict limits on the reselling of tickets . without the limits , " these guys can make a mint , " said state senator richard j . codey of new jersey , who sponsored the 1983 law . " you get barbra_streisand at the meadowlands and these brokers do n't have to work again for a year . " but senator singer defended the repeal measure . " if we find that all it did was create high ticket prices and no more tickets are available to the general public , then it wo n't be renewed , " he said . for now , the prospect of making big money has intoxicated many holders of final four tickets . one senior at syracuse_university who would identify himself only as morgan said he spent much of the week calling new jersey ticket brokers , trying to sell the six tickets that he and a group of fellow students had . the students said they were asking between 2 , 500 and 3 , 500 for the tickets . " everybody 's trying to cash in , " he said . " they charge you so much to go to school here , everyone sees this as their chance to get something back . "

business confidence in japan has rapidly deteriorated in the last three months and has reached the lowest level in five years , the bank of japan reported friday . economists said the report , reflecting a survey of business sentiment , indicated that a rebound of japan 's sagging economy , which optimists had expected to begin this summer , would be delayed until later this year or perhaps next year . the survey results were worse than expected , said robert alan feldman , director of economic research for salomon_brothers in tokyo . " i think it does indicate that recovery will be delayed , " he said . officials of japan 's central_bank said that they were not particularly uncomfortable with the new numbers and noted that the results had some hopeful signs . companies in the survey , for instance , generally reported that they expected business to improve in the fall . sharper trade tensions seen a deepening japanese economic slump could further inflame trade tensions with the united_states and japan 's other trading partners . with its economy weak , japan 's imports are slowing , causing its trade surplus to bulge . and if consumption remains weak in their home market , japanese companies will be tempted to try to export more goods . the report released by the bank of japan was the tankan , a quarterly survey of businesses here . the most closely_watched number from the survey , an index reflecting the sentiment of leading manufacturers , dropped to minus 24 in may from minus 5 in february . the new figure means that the number of businesses saying that business conditions are unfavorable exceeded the number saying conditions are favorable by 24 percent . more public spending sought the drop in the business confidence index is one of the sharpest single quarter drops ever experienced , reflecting how quickly the mood here has swung . and the new level is the lowest since minus 27 was recorded early in 1987 , when japanese businesses were trying to cope with a sharp rise in the yen . analysts said the survey results could make it more likely that the japanese government would try to stimulate the economy with more public spending , by approving a supplemental_budget of several trillion_yen for this fiscal year . the united_states has been pushing for such supplemental public spending to spur the world_economy and increase japan 's imports . some speculation also arose that the bank of japan would be moved to stimulate the economy by cutting the discount_rate , now 3 . 75 percent . but analysts said the central_bank was unlikely to consider such action until it sees the supplemental_budget . some analysts , however , said the survey results showed that japan 's economy was still suffering from an excess of inventories , which will force manufacturers to reduce production rates for months to come . " the inventory adjustment problems are more difficult than the japanese companies anticipated , " said noboru kawai , the economist for morgan_stanley japan . consumers are n't spending consumer_spending is also weak , in part because overtime has been reduced and some workers have been laid off , said yoshihisa_kitai , senior economist for the long term credit bank of japan . he said the bank of japan 's survey found a sharp drop in confidence among retailers . " maybe the japanese economy has not reached its bottom , " said mr . kitai , who thinks , however , that recovery will be delayed only until the fall . of course , japan 's slump is only by comparison with its past performance . most analysts expect the economy to grow by 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent this fiscal year , about half of what japan would consider sufficient but well above what other nations manage in a recession . moreover , the unemployment rate here is only about 2 percent . the latest survey does show , however , that fewer businesses than before now believe there is a labor shortage . one result of the weak economy is a bulging trade surplus . the finance ministry reported on thursday that japan 's trade surplus in may jumped 88 . 9 percent over the figure for may 1991 , reaching 7 . 87 billion . the surplus with the united_states shot up 51 percent to 2 . 9 billion .

responding to the sumitomo corporation 's copper trading scandal , british regulators put the entire london based metal market under scrutiny today . the securities and investment board said it would conduct a six month inquiry into trading on the london_metal_exchange , a leading international market , as well as off exchange dealing . the board is already investigating whether british dealers were involved in trades with yasuo hamanaka , sumitomo 's top copper trader , who acknowledged losing 1 . 8 billion as a result of unauthorized trades over 10 years . the investigation could result in tighter regulation by the british_government of off exchange trading , which has been vulnerable to fraud . details of the copper trading losses emerged last week when sumitomo dismissed mr . hamanaka . in tokyo today , sumitomo said that it would set aside cash and other assets worth 1 . 5 billion to help cover the losses and that it had suspended 1 . 1 million in executive bonuses and canceled a share buyback plan . criminal investigations in britain were begun last week by the serious fraud office a federal grand_jury in new york is also to examine the case . copper prices rose today after the chairman of the london_metal_exchange , raj bagri , said clearing and trading arrangements had absorbed the major shocks of the affair . " we have not melted down , and we are not going to , " he said . copper on the london_metal_exchange gained more than 25 , to 2 , 025 a metric_ton . at the comex division of the new york mercantile exchange , copper for delivery in july rose 2.2 cents , settling at 97 . 2 cents a pound . andrew large , head of the securities and investment board , said the agency 's review would cover the entire metals market as well as unregulated deals outside the london_metal_exchange . the board will work with the united_states commodities futures trading commission , the american agency in charge of futures markets . over the years , the american commodities industry has sought tighter supervision of london trading . in new york , daniel rappaport , the chairman of the new york mercantile exchange , told the dow_jones news service that he expected that regulatory changes in the aftermath of the sumitomo losses would benefit the comex division and its copper contract . he said congress was likely to amend the commodity exchange act to force foreign exchanges with delivery points in the united_states to abide by american regulations on commodities trading . futures_contracts on the london_metal_exchange form a benchmark for world prices . but the exchange has said it cannot supervise or regulate deals struck off the exchange among traders , like sumitomo , that are not exchange members . the board said events had " demonstrated the potentially damaging impact nonmember and nonregulated firms can have on the metals market . " traders say mr . hamanaka 's strategy of controlling supplies for nearby delivery seemed to prop up the london_metal_exchange 's copper prices when other metals weakened in the early 1990 's . investigators are also re examining chinese losses in the exchange 's copper trading and a 1995 scandal involving chile 's state producer codelco , which lost 170 million on unauthorized trading . one of codelco 's former top traders has denied fraud charges in chile . international business.

lead rothschild inc . , a new york investment firm , said yesterday that it had opened an office in vancouver , british_columbia , and named daniel pekarsky , a canadian businessman , to be its authorized representative in canada . rothschild inc . , a new york investment firm , said yesterday that it had opened an office in vancouver , british_columbia , and named daniel pekarsky , a canadian businessman , to be its authorized representative in canada . mr . pekarsky has been associated with the belzberg family , canadian investors , and from 1983 to 1986 was president of first city financial , a belzberg company . the vancouver office is rothschild 's first expansion outside its new york headquarters , according to robert s . pirie , president and chief executive . ''rothschild 's decision to enter canada comes at an excellent time because the canadian_business community is expanding , '' mr . pekarsky said in a statement . he said he would be traveling throughout canada on behalf of rothschild .

just hours after endorsing the house republican plan to revamp medicare , officers of the american_medical_association said today that they had received a commitment from house republicans not to reduce medicare payments to doctors treating elderly patients . but the organization said that it was not for sale and insisted that there was no quid_pro_quo . " it 's wrong to suggest that the a.m.a . endorsement was contingent on billions of dollars , " said kirk b . johnson , senior vice_president of the association . " there is n't a precise figure . we do n't know the amount . " in any event , he said , the money is less important than the overall policy embodied in the republican bill , which would slow the growth of medicare and open the program to all sorts of private health plans , including those organized by doctors . the house ways and means committee approved the bill today by a party line vote of 22 to 14 . page a20 . representative bill thomas , a california republican who is chairman of the ways and means subcommittee on health , said the concession to doctors would cost no more than 400 million over seven years . an aide to speaker newt_gingrich said , " if the doctors are for sale , they come real cheap . " lawmakers and lobbyists scrambled today to explain events leading to the association 's endorsement of the republican plan , which is fiercely opposed by democrats and some consumer groups . their accounts , though incomplete , opened a revealing window on the normally secret negotiations between congressional leaders and a high powered lobby . mr . gingrich met a.m.a . leaders on tuesday and beamed as they announced their support for his handiwork . mr . thomas , who attended the meeting , confirmed that the doctors would be protected against any reduction in medicare fees in the next seven years . under current law , and under the house republicans' original proposals , fees for many doctors would have declined . the association denied that it had sold its endorsement for monetary gain . in a telephone interview from his office in chicago , mr . johnson said , " we got assurances that there would not be absolute rollbacks or reductions in physician fees . " but he said the endorsement was not predicated on those assurances . the cost of the concessions was a subject of dispute . mr . thomas said " how much is it going to cost us to make the adjustment ? two or three hundred million dollars . i do n't know the exact amount . " but independent health_policy experts and budget analysts said that the republicans' assurance to the doctors , if taken literally , could increase medicare spending by a few billion dollars , beyond the amounts that would be spent under current law in the next seven years . the experts said they could not easily reconcile the republicans' promise to the doctors with the large savings the house republicans still expect to achieve . the republicans plan to cut projected spending on medicare by 270 billion , or 14 percent , over the next seven years , and they still intend to get 26 billion of that amount by limiting payments to doctors . the senate version of the legislation would cut only 22 . 6 billion from projected spending on doctors' services , and leaders of the a.m.a . said they thought they had received a commitment from some house republicans to move toward the senate position on this issue . the a.m.a . apparently assumes that doctors will control the growth of physician services much better than the congressional_budget_office expects . the budget office assumes that the volume of such services under medicare will increase by an average of almost 10 percent a year through 2002 . mr . gingrich has been wooing other groups , like the american_hospital_association and the american association of retired persons , in hope of winning their support for the republican medicare plan . but they are demanding more than the republicans can afford to provide . hospitals are hit much harder than the doctors and are responsible for more of the savings . democrats had a field day criticizing the agreement between mr . gingrich and the a.m.a . president_clinton 's press_secretary , michael d . mccurry , said , " it appears that the doctors have won at the expense of elderly patients . " representative henry a . waxman , democrat of california , said , " the a.m.a . has taken an extremely narrow view of the interests of doctors . " but mr . gingrich dismissed the criticism as " tawdry nonsense " and called the democrats hypocritical . " when the democrats offer to spend more money on something , which by the way will go to doctors and hospitals , that 's good " in their eyes , he said . " but if it 's a republican idea to send money to doctors and hospitals , then that 's a bad idea . " on medicare , mr . gingrich said , the democrats " do n't have a plan , they have no solution , they have no ideas , and all they do is complain . " cathy hurwit , legislative director of citizen action , a consumer group , said the republicans " have sought to buy off special interests like the a.m.a . by including provisions that put the financial interests of doctors ahead of the medical needs of their patients . " mr . thomas vehemently denied that republicans had bought the doctors' endorsement . he said leaders of the association were already in " philosophical agreement " with much of the bill , including new limits on medical_malpractice lawsuits and changes in the law regarding fraud and abuse in the medicare program . in addition , he said , doctors like the bill because it would allow them to " control their destiny " by forming their own health plans to serve medicare patients . but just last week the association expressed concern about the bill 's stringent limits on medicare payments to doctors . on oct . 3 , james h . stacey , a spokesman for the association , said the house bill would reduce medicare fees for some doctors , and as a result , he said , they might be less willing to participate in the program , which serves 37 million people . the doctors' arithmetic was correct , but they violated a cardinal rule of political etiquette by going public with their concerns while house republicans were trying to negotiate with them behind the scenes . republican leaders chided them , but their faux_pas might have paid off . medicare uses a fee schedule to pay doctors , and the fees are updated each year to reflect increased costs and other factors . mr . thomas said " the doctors came to us and demonstrated that within the medical profession and between specialties , there were certain instances of an actual negative factor between years , rather than just a slowing of the growth . we examined their materials and came to the conclusion that they were right . " mr . thomas described the latest changes as " a fine_tuning , a rather minor adjustment . " as a result , he said , " there will be no year in which a medical specialty gets less money than the year before . " under the medicare fee schedule , every physician service , from a routine office visit to a coronary_bypass operation , is assigned a numerical value , and this number is multiplied by a fixed amount of money , called a dollar conversion factor , to determine how much the doctor is paid for the service . under current law and under the original house republican bill , the conversion factor would have declined in the next seven years . mr . johnson of the a.m.a . said today that house republican leaders had promised to " work with us to prevent the conversion factor from declining . " an increase in the conversion factor increases total medicare costs , and a reduction lowers the cost , assuming no change in the volume of doctors' services .

the new owner of two vacant_lots on separate blocks in central harlem plans to put up rental buildings totaling 28 one and two bedroom market rate apartments . but instead of being built with traditional techniques , they will be manufactured in a factory and assembled on the sites . the owner , dw development of middle_village , queens , plans to develop a five story building on each of the sites , which have been vacant for more than 10 years . one , with 10 two bedroom units , will be built at 111 west 113th street between lenox_avenue and adam_clayton_powell_jr . boulevard the other , with 18 one bedroom apartments , will be at 2101 eighth_avenue , between 113th and 114th streets . site work is to start in october and on site assembly is to begin two months later . monthly rents will be 750 to 950 for the smaller units , with 600 square_feet , and 950 to 1 , 200 for the larger ones , with 850 square_feet , said andrew heiberger , president of citi_habitats , a manhattan rental brokerage that is the project 's leasing agent . the 1 . 5 million two building project , to be completed by january , is the latest investment in a neighborhood that is experiencing a wave of residential development . while most of the housing is being developed with public financing , the two rental buildings will be built using private money . ''this reflects a growing trend , '' said richard t . roberts , the city 's commissioner of of housing preservation and development . ''because of a significant amount of public investment and the strength of the market , there is increasing interest on the part of private investors to look for opportunities in northern manhattan . '' along with other city and state agencies , the department is a sponsor of a number of programs that have helped spur the development of 11 , 000 new and renovated housing units since 1994 in central and east_harlem . they comprise mostly rental_apartments as well as condominium and cooperative units and two and three family homes , mainly for families with low and moderate incomes . an additional 3 , 700 residences are planned , according to the department . ''there is intense potential in harlem and we 're building for the future , '' said anthony dirusso , president of dw development . this project , the company 's first in the neighborhood , ''is an effort to create market rate housing in an area where in the next few years such housing will be at a premium , '' said mr . dirusso , who owns rental and commercial properties in brooklyn , queens and manhattan and has been involved as a contractor in the development of rental projects in queens . the company bought the lots for 150 , 000 at a bankruptcy auction in may and is in the process of securing bank financing , but , if necessary , will use its own money to start the project , mr . dirusso said . both lots , he noted , are just a few blocks from renaissance plaza , an 11 story , 60 million mixed use building under way at the northeast corner of west 116th_street and lenox_avenue . financed mostly with public funds , it will contain 241 one to three bedroom limited equity cooperative apartments , 60 , 000 square_feet of ground floor retail space and more than 200 parking_spaces . dw is developing its two sites with factory built houses ''because it 's a way for us to produce a higher quality apartment at a more economic rate , '' mr . dirusso said . since the factory built homes are produced under closer supervision than is the case with ' 'stick built'' housing , ''the quality is there , '' he said , adding that because of greater operating efficiencies , the project 's timetable will be reduced to three months from a year and its overall cost has been lowered by about 15 percent . mr . dirusso said he would sign a contract next month with one of three manufacturers to produce the buildings , which will require no special permits because they will be built to meet state and city building codes for multistory housing . last year , 2 , 600 factory built homes , also known as modulars , were assembled in new york state , about 10 percent of which were put up in new york city , said fred hallahan , a baltimore based consultant who works with the modular industry . that represents about 6.5 percent of the state 's overall housing production , he said . though the early cracker box design of assembly_line houses proved unappealing , mr . hallahan said , ' 'modular manufacturers have taken great strides'' in providing designs that are both functional and esthetic . the central harlem buildings will be faced with red brick and will have front stoops to blend with other neighborhood buildings . they will also have small rear yards and video intercom security systems . inside , all the apartments will have features like nearly 10 foot_ceilings , hardwood floors and dishwashers as well as internet and cable access . mr . heiberger , the broker , said that although the rents were about 5 percent higher than those for existing apartments in the area , he expected the buildings to attract young middle_income singles and couples who would be willing to pay a little more for the amenities and a brand new unit . in addition , he said , the rents are still much lower than those for similar size units in comparable new buildings elsewhere in manhattan , where monthly rents average 2 , 400 for one bedroom apartments and 3 , 200 for two bedroom units . ''the bottom line , '' he said , ''is that the neighborhood is changing , and where else can you find new rentals in this price range ? '' leasing is expected to begin in october .

will americans , confused by a lackluster economy and wearied by higher energy costs , pay 12 , 000 for a nearly five foot_wide enameled iron stove that has no dials , no gauges and is designed to stay on all the time ? william mcgrath , the chief executive of the aga foodservice group , is hoping they will . aga stoves have been known since the roaring 20 's as an english country house staple david oglivy , the famous advertising man , cut his teeth selling agas in the 1930 's . ''you have a shooting stick , you have a spaniel , you send your children to some ghastly boarding_school and you have an aga , '' mr . oglivy told the bbc in 1997 , describing his upper crust clientele . but selling the aga to americans may not be so easy . agas are still relatively unknown in the united_states aside from a few celebrities who own them like dustin hoffman , mel gibson , billy_joel and sarah jessica parker . instead , most upper income americans ( and their decorators ) have opted for the bigger , restaurant style vikings , garlands and thermadors , priced at 6 , 000 to 10 , 000 , which , in turn , have spawned dozens of cheaper lookalikes , by everyone from amana to frigidaire . mr . mcgrath , 44 , attacks this trend as ' 'soulless stainless , '' and says the world , and especially americans , are ready for a change . he plans to go head to head against the vikings , not only with the original 58 inch wide aga , but with a new model developed primarily for the states , which comes with the same super thick enameling but looks and acts more like an american range , for closer to 7 , 000 . called the 6 4 , the stove has six burners on top , and four ovens at 39 inches , it is about the same width as most of the ' 'soulless'' american cousins . and it does not stay on all the time . this is aga 's first attempt to make the american market a significant part of its stove business . the company , which has headquarters in the west midlands , england , is introducing a full scale american campaign , complete with advertising , public_relations , new displays and training sessions for both employees and potential customers . last year , aga sold 7 , 500 stoves ( 300 in america ) in a few years , the company hopes to sell 10 , 000 , including the 6 4 . the chief_financial_officer said last week that the company hoped to sell 500 in the united_states this year . within the last year , aga pots have come on the market a new enameled steel aga refrigerator ( very 1930 's looking ) will be introduced soon . besides selling more aga made appliances , the company 's goal is to raise the price of aga stock , which has declined about 27 percent in the last year . despite the slip , mike costello , a research analyst for dresden kleinwort_wasserstein , said that ''continued growth and net cash make aga more secure than most manufacturers . '' two years ago , aga sold its cast_iron pipe business to a belgian company for 1 . 2 billion , paid off some debt , enriched its shareholders by buying back stock at a philanthropic price and bought all or part of two home furnishings concerns one of them french and the other the american chain of mid price home furnishings called domain . domain is headed by judy george , 62 , who founded the boston based chain 18 years ago , and will be handling the american distribution of the aga . starting soon , agas will be displayed in the 27 domain shops and in independent dealers' stores across the united_states , focusing initially on the northeast , ''that bastion of anglophilia , '' ms . george said . until now , the aga was limited to the upstairs , downstairs british stately home , with perhaps a few hollywood villas thrown in . the coal burning stove was invented in sweden in 1922 by gustav dalen , a nobel winning physicist . ( mr . dalen was blinded after an acetylene cylinder exploded seconds before the accident , he told onlookers that his experiment was perfectly safe . ) the aga is made in a foundry in coalbrookdale , near birmingham the same foundry started by abraham darby , the inventor of the smelting process in 1709 . the stove is made pretty much the same way today as it was in the 20 's except that instead of coal , it now runs on either gas or electricity . a traditional model is almost five feet wide , weighs 1 , 290 pounds and , before it is installed , requires a home visit by the dealer , who is trained to measure niches , prescribe vents and , in some cases , re engineer the floors . ( installation costs 700 to 1 , 200 , depending on the model and the type of venting carpentry is extra . so is shipping . ) but the weight does not matter to a lot of its buyers . ( energy costs do , but the aga salesmen contend that the largest stove costs only 1 a day to run and is never really hot just cozy . ) what matters most may be the look the thick skinned shiny enamel , which comes in 14 colors , including one akin to a red candy apple , another closer to that of a new york city taxicab . ''we reject an amazing amount of enameling , '' mr . mcgrath said . ''if it looks different in different lights or if there 's a dimple here or there , our customers do n't want it . '' last year , mr . mcgrath opened the company 's first london shop on beauchamp place , a silver spoon 's throw from sloane square . ''the shop was one of our little breakthroughs , '' he said . ''we 'd never had a shop inside the m25 , the london ring road . it was part of our move from the countryside to the more urban customer . '' one of aga 's new advertisements shows a hip looking sloane ranger in a black cocktail dress standing in front of a black aga , with an equivocal expression one commentator here interpreted as ''you ca n't actually believe i would wreck my manicure cleaning this thing , do you ? '' the ad reads ''welcome to the new iron age . '' still , it is not easy to sell an aga . even the salesmen admit that new owners need time to perfect their cooking technique . each oven has a different purpose , and a different name simmering , roasting , baking and warming ovens . the top burners , with their distinctive chrome covers , can cook hamburgers or sizzle pancake batter . stews are simmered , not on the stove top where they can dry out , but in the simmering oven , where the moist heat surrounds the dish . before ms . george 's company was acquired by aga , she wanted to try an aga for herself . ''i figured if i could n't cook on it , i would n't do the deal , '' she said . she made roast stuffed leg of lamb , roast potatoes , rice pilaf , rolls and blueberry surprise all at one time . it all came out fine .

when they met in vietnam last november , prime_minister shinzo_abe of japan presented president_bush with a little gift a photograph of their grandfathers , playing golf on a course outside washington with president dwight d . eisenhower . after lunch and a garden stroll , mr . bush said , ''i told the prime_minister he needs to get over to the united_states quickly . '' on thursday , mr . abe took the president up on his offer , arriving in washington with his wife , akie , for a two day stay that is as much about fostering personal ties as diplomatic ones . mr . bush and mr . abe have at least one thing in common each comes from a political dynasty . mr . abe 's grandfather was prime_minister his father , foreign_minister . mr . bush 's grandfather was a senator his father , the 41st president . but the two leaders are not nearly as close as president_bush was with mr . abe 's predecessor , junichiro_koizumi , whose flamboyant personality and love of elvis_presley 's music captivated mr . bush . so , with an eye toward a japanese public that expects the new prime_minister to get the same treatment as the old , the white_house is taking pains to turn alliance into friendship , allowing the leaders plenty of time to talk substance trade , global_warming and nuclear_disarmament in north_korea , among other matters but also time to do a little male bonding . to that end , no state_dinner was planned for the abes just an intimate affair on thursday night in the white_house residence with the president and mrs . bush , the japanese and american ambassadors and their wives , and the golfer ben crenshaw and his wife , julie . ( the crenshaws , of austin , tex . , are good friends of the bushes , and the white_house says the prime_minister likes to golf . ) on friday , the two leaders will head to camp_david , where they will hold their meetings and greet a small pool of reporters , not the usual white_house herd in the peaceful setting of mr . bush 's presidential cabin in the catoctin mountains in maryland . mr . bush likes to ride his mountain_bike there mr . abe is not much of a bike rider , but he is a baseball fan , and japanese officials said thursday that they were hoping the prime_minister and the president would get a chance to toss a ball around . it would be important symbolism , if only because mr . koizumi was at camp_david so much . ''they really want an opportunity not to be constrained , if you will , by a very large state event to get to know each other much better , '' said dennis wilder , senior director for asian affairs at the national_security_council , explaining the informal dinner . he said the president and first lady discovered ''personal chemistry between them and the abes in hanoi . '' most people develop personal chemistry in a matter of weeks , months or even years world leaders have only hours , or maybe a day . as mr . bush has discovered , there can be a risk to fast track personal diplomacy critics have never let him forget his 2001 comment about president vladimir v . putin of russia ''i looked the man in the eye , '' mr . bush said then , adding , ''i was able to get a sense of his soul . '' asia experts say the bush koizumi bond was genuine . ''he and koizumi were real friends , '' said michael j . green , a former senior director for asian affairs at the national_security_council . ''their summit meetings were substantive , but frankly , they talked about the stuff friends talk about . '' the bush koizumi bond culminated with the ultimate buddy road trip a jaunt down rock 'n' roll memory lane to graceland , the presley manse in memphis , where the two frolicked amid gold records and gold lam suits . for mr . abe , who was chief_cabinet_secretary to mr . koizumi , and whose popularity at home is not nearly as high as that of his predecessor , that is a tough act to follow . ''abe san both has a great burden and a great benefit , '' said kurt campbell , an asia expert at the center for strategic and international studies . ''the benefit is that u.s . japan relations have been taken to another level , given the closeness of the relationship that existed between koizumi and the president . but the burden is that he is following in the footsteps of a relationship that would be difficult to replicate , '' mr . campbell said . part of that is simply timing . mr . koizumi and mr . bush got to know each other early in mr . bush 's presidency , before the white_house was dragged down by the war in iraq , and before efforts to end the north_korean nuclear buildup put a slight strain on united_states relations with japan . at the same time , mr . abe did not help himself with mr . bush when he publicly denied that the japanese_military had coerced women into sexual slavery during world_war_ii . mr . abe subsequently explained himself in a phone call with the president . according to a japanese official , he raised the issue in his meeting on thursday with congressional leaders , saying he ''wholeheartedly sympathized with former 'comfort women , ' '' as they were euphemistically known . the white_house has little interest in highlighting such differences . japan is an important contributor to the rebuilding of iraq , and mr . abe , like mr . koizumi before him , has a strong vision for a democratic japan a vision that dovetails nicely with mr . bush 's freedom agenda . the prime_minister 's sense of history may also appeal to mr . bush mr . abe 's grandfather , nobusuke kishi , advocated re establishing japan as a full security partner with the united_states at a time when that idea was hugely unpopular , and was eventually forced to resign over it . ''i think abe has a very strong sense of destiny to implement the vision of japan that his grandfather had , '' said mr . green , the former national_security_council official . ''i think that resonates with president_bush , who also has a very strong sense of his own roots . '' mr . abe suggested as much in the inscription on the photo he gave mr . bush . ''to president_bush , '' it said , ''our family friendship , from past to future . shinzo_abe . '' washington memo.

iraq has angrily rejected the recommendations of three special panels that have tried to find a solution to the diplomatic impasse over iraq on the security_council . western diplomats said iraq 's blistering response made it clear that baghdad would not accept any further arms inspections unless economic_sanctions imposed after its defeat in the 1991 persian_gulf_war were lifted . ''the net result of the recommendations is disappointing'' because they ''fall short of the goal , which should have been putting an end to the prolonged regime of sanctions , '' iraq wrote in response to three reports issued last week by celso amorim , brazil 's representative to the united_nations , who was the chairman of all three panels . the panels' conclusions not only provide ''the enemies of iraq with the pretext for future aggression , '' baghdad said they would infringe iraq 's territorial sovereignty and dignity . ''such a position , '' the statement declared , ''will never be accepted by the government of iraq . '' the three inquiries were set up in january to seek compromises that would permit arms inspections to resume , improve the health and welfare of iraqis and resolve the fate of more than 600 people who disappeared after iraq 's invasion of kuwait in 1990 . western diplomats said iraq 's defiant rejection of the findings puts russia , china and france , the permanent members who have argued most forcefully for an end to the sanctions , in a politically difficult position . ''iraq 's most vocal advocates now have a big problem , '' said a senior american official . ''iraq clearly does n't want to cooperate , and we intend to make that noncompliance and noncooperation the major issue . '' for that reason , western diplomats said , richard_butler , the executive chairman of the special commission charged with disarming iraq , decided once again not to provoke a fight within the council by trying to attend security_council deliberations on friday on the future of his agency . sergey v . lavrov , russia 's representative , vowed today to bar mr . butler from the council 's discussions on friday , as he did on wednesday . mr . butler agreed on wednesday to send in his place his american deputy , charles duelfer , after mr . lavrov warned that unless mr . butler were barred , he would not enter the room . according to associates and friends , mr . butler decided that provoking a fight over his presence would only distract the council from the real issue iraq 's unwillingness to disarm and to comply with the council 's resolutions . the united_states and britain have argued that council resolutions require iraq to disarm itself of unconventional_weapons and meet its other commitments before sanctions are lifted . russia and china have argued , by contrast , that sanctions are no longer warranted because most questions surrounding iraq 's past weapons programs have been answered . mr . amorim tried to strike a balance , arguing that a reinforced long term monitoring system could both answer questions about iraq 's past programs and monitor future ones . while recommending that steps be taken to get more food and medicine to iraq , he did not urge that sanctions be lifted . iraq also repeated reports that the united_states has used inspection missions and the monitors' field office in bahrain to spy on president saddam_hussein and select targets for american air_strikes . clearly unnerved by such allegations , bahrain , another security_council member , has asked secretary_general_kofi_annan for public assurances that the monitors are not using their base there to spy or for any purposes other than disarming iraq . ''we want to be assured publicly , as we have been in private , that things have been done according to the united_nation 's resolutions , '' said jassim m . buallay , bahrain 's representative . ''we do n't want our facilities to be used for anything else . '' in another development today , american officials and diplomats confirmed that the united_states had asked mr . annan to help set up meetings with libya to clarify what tripoli must do to persuade the council to lift sanctions imposed in 1992 and 1993 . this week libya surrendered two men charged with downing pan am flight 103 over lockerbie , scotland , enabling washington to abandon its longstanding prohibition on direct contacts with tripoli , officials said .

nearly four years after quitting their work in frustration at iraqi defiance , united_nations arms inspectors equipped with a new , no tolerance mandate began a new search on wednesday for banned weapons programs that could determine whether the united_states carries out its threat to go to war to topple president saddam_hussein . two teams of inspectors checked three sites for traces of illegal weaponry , and united_nations officials reported they faced no iraqi resistance . in effect , the day amounted to a shakedown cruise for the inspectors and for the iraqis , since the first sites chosen were ones that were checked previously , during inspections that ran from 1991 to 1998 , and were thus not high on the checklist of sites thought most likely to yield hidden violations . a far sterner test for iraq is expected to come after dec . 8 , when mr . hussein 's government is required by the united_nations_security_council 's new weapons inspection mandate to declare all of its activities in the field of nuclear , biological and chemical_weapons development , as well as any banned work on missiles and ordnance . that declaration is expected to move the new inspections into a period of higher tension , especially if iraq adheres to its insistence in recent days that it has absolutely no banned programs . iraq 's claim runs directly counter to the insistence by president_bush and prime_minister tony_blair of britain that iraq has continued work on nuclear , chemical and biological_warfare programs , as well as missile development , since the united_nations pullout in 1998 . the dec . 8 deadline for iraq to account for all of its weapons programs , and for any civilian work in related fields , thus sets up the possibility of an early crisis should the weapons inspectors , working on intelligence provided by washington and london , conduct searches that turn up evidence of iraq cheating . officials of the two international agencies involved the united_nations monitoring , verification and inspection commission , or unmovic , charged with tracking down biological , chemical and missile programs , and the international_atomic_energy_agency , which is searching for nuclear programs refused to disclose any of the results of the inspections , saying their findings would be reported confidentially to the united_nations bodies involved . but the inspections , involving a military run graphite rod factory , a nearby missile testing site and a motor plant with a potential link to nuclear activities , ended with both sides expressing guarded satisfaction at the way in the which the inspections were carried out . ''we hope the iraqi response today represents the future pattern of cooperation , '' said jacques baute , leader of the nuclear inspectors . demetrius perricos , head of the unmovic team , said , ''we managed to do the things we planned to do . '' iraqi officials were also keen to emphasize their cooperation . ''we opened doors , and submitted to inspection openly , '' said ali jassem hussein , director of the missile site 25 miles southwest of baghdad beside the euphrates_river . still , the inspectors' first forays outside their headquarters in the united_nations compound on baghdad 's eastern outskirts gave a taste of potential dramas ahead as the teams proceed with plans for daily , unannounced visits that could focus on any of more than 1 , 000 potential search sites across iraq , including mr . hussein 's palaces and even some of the country 's mosques . the new mandate approved unanimously by the security_council earlier this month grants the inspectors an ''unfettered'' right of immediate access to any site they choose , as well as the right to ''freeze'' all movement in and out of the sites during the inspections . the inspectors will also have the right to interview any iraqi scientists without iraqi officials present to monitor the exchanges , and to take the scientists and their families out of iraq for the interviews , if the inspectors choose . the inspectors' new powers were drawn up in the hope of preventing iraqi officials from renewing the blocking tactics that impeded the inspectors during the 1990 's . although united_nations teams scored major successes , effectively halting an iraqi nuclear_weapons program that was close to producing a bomb , and uncovering a wide range of banned chemical , biological and missile programs , iraqi officials repeatedly barred access to sites , or used delaying tactics to allow equipment , materials and documents to be removed from sites , sometimes by rear exits , while inspectors waited at the front . an air of tension settled over wednesday 's inspections from the outset . just as the inspectors set out from the united_nations_headquarters in a former hotel outside baghdad , air raid sirens wailed across the capital . iraqi officials said later that a ''hostile flight'' meaning american or british military aircraft enforcing the no flight zones over northern and southern iraq had flown near baghdad . the sirens were followed by a furious car chase through the crowded streets of baghdad , and out through the suburbs into open country , as the inspectors raced off with iraqi ' 'minders'' assigned to them , with reporters in hot pursuit . the trip ended among the riverside wheatfields of al amiriyah , the site of the graphite plant . the inspectors were admitted to the plant almost immediately , but most then left and drove to another compound housing the al rafah missile testing station , where the iraqis have built steel structures called test stands for testing missile engines . american intelligence reports have suggested that a new stand at the site could be used for testing missiles with a range of more than the 90 miles permitted by united_nations limits imposed after the gulf_war . the iraqis have said that the structure can be used only for the shorter_range_missiles that are permitted . threats and responses hunt for weapons.

when michelle_kwan had her cast removed last november , her self assurance also peeled away . the stress_fracture in her left foot had not healed as quickly as she had hoped . she began skating timidly and in pain , and one day tears came to her eyes . ''what am i going to do ? '' she asked her coach , frank carroll . ''you 're going to do the alcoholic 's slogan , '' carroll replied . ''one day at a time . '' the winter_olympics were less than three months away . as late as christmas , kwan was n't certain she would be able to challenge tara_lipinski at the national figure_skating championships . but she followed a plan devised by her coach and her parents , and wednesday night , she won the short_program at the nagano games and became a prohibitive favorite in friday 's free skate to win a gold_medal at age 17 . the family has followed its own strategy , sometimes uncertainly , sometimes in conflict with carroll , sometimes drawing criticism from others , but always with the idea of giving kwan the best chance to be successful . michelle 's father , danny kwan , has long taught his daughter that the most painful thing to experience is not defeat but regret . danny kwan said ''i asked her 'what can frank do for you to help better prepare you ? what can mom and dad do to make you feel better ? what do you need to get better conditions than now ? ' she came up with zero answers . i have peace of mind . there is no regret . '' not that danny kwan expected to become a figure_skating father . he does not have a birth certificate , but believes he was born in canton , china , in 1948 , two months after his father had gone to hong_kong to make a better life for his family . it would be years before danny and his mother received permission to immigrate to the united_states , and he did not see his father for the first time until he was 8 or 9 . in 1971 , he came to pasadena , calif . , and worked as a busboy for a year in a hollywood restaurant . a year later , he brought his parents to the united_states and they opened a restaurant called the golden pheasant in torrance , calif . in 1974 , danny and estella kwan were married . they had known each other since elementary_school in hong_kong . it was not until the 1988 calgary olympics that he remembers paying attention to something as frivolous as figure_skating . ''in your 20 's , you are fighting for your life , '' he said . the kwans have three children a son , ron , now a student in his early 20 's at california irvine daughter karen , 19 , three times a top 10 finisher at the national figure_skating championships , who is now at boston_university , and michelle . after watching ron play hockey , michelle took an interest in skating at age 5 . quickly , it became a serious interest . by age 10 , she had won a junior regional competition . the family moved to lake arrowhead , calif . , so that karen and michelle could work out at the ice castle international training center . danny kwan drove two hours each way to work as a systems_analyst for pacific_bell , and he challenged his daughters to gauge their devotion to skating . he had grown up poor . skating was expensive . so he offered michelle and karen 50 a day not to skate . if they accepted , he figured he would save a few bucks . ''if they did n't have their hearts in it , why waste money ? '' he said . they never took the money . but at the 1992 national junior championships in orlando , fla . , danny kwan began wondering whether they were doing the right thing . one night , michelle began whimpering in her sleep , ''it 's nothing it 's nothing . '' he had been telling her that the competition was unimportant , thinking it would relieve pressure on his young daughter . instead , she felt so much pressure that she talked about it in her sleep . ''i hate myself for this , '' danny kwan said . ''this is like torture for her . '' michelle finished a disappointing ninth and her father sat her down for a talk . if she felt this kind of pressure at a junior championship , what would she feel if she ever got to the olympics ? ''if you can stand the torture , stay with it , '' he told her . ''it 's your choice , not my choice . it was a clarification . i learned the fine line between pressure and discipline . '' she stayed with it , and just before her 12th birthday michelle took a skating test to jump from the junior to senior level . the problem was , she did it without the knowledge or consent of carroll , then her new coach . carroll wanted kwan first to become a junior champion . ''i was furious , '' carroll said . but the coach conceded , ''sometimes athletes have to make their own decisions . '' by 1996 , kwan had become world champion . a year later , though , she began skating cautiously , looking over her shoulder at challengers , and the sport became a chore . ''she lied to herself , '' danny kwan said . ''she thought she had it in perspective , but she did n't . this year she 's really working hard on perspective and appreciation . '' at the winter_games , the kwans have placed michelle in a sort of protective cocoon . she is eating a diet of noodles , vegetables and fruit , and she is avoiding raw fish so that she will not get food_poisoning or diarrhea . she washes her hands frequently to avoid germs and she is staying in a local hotel to avoid the flu that is going around the olympic village . even her trips outdoors have been limited so that she does n't slip and fall on the ice or get hounded by well wishers seeking pictures and autographs . ''you do n't want to embarrass yourself or your country , '' danny kwan said . ''did you come for the fun of it or do you have a job to do ? it 's the chance of a lifetime . you want to give it your best shot . '' he took early retirement from pacific_bell last year and the family also sold its restaurant . michelle 's skating is the family focus . danny , a chain smoker , has promised michelle that he will quit . he is supposed to pay her 20 every time she catches him smoking . ''i lied to her a couple times , '' he said . ''i told her in 1993 , 'you make top six at nationals , i quit . ' i did n't . in 1994 , i told her , 'you make top three , and i quit . ' i did n't quit . i will try this year . '' but he will not quit following the plan that he believes is best for his daughter . even if he still struggles to determine whether it is the right plan . ''maybe i 'll never know , '' he said . the xviii winter_games figure_skating.

senior pentagon officials acknowledged thursday that a suspected iraqi terrorist who was held in a military jail but kept off prison rosters should have been registered more quickly with the international committee of the red_cross . but the officials said the fact that the secret detention of the captive , who was jailed near the baghdad airport without records , stretched for seven months was probably attributable to a bureaucratic breakdown . defense secretary donald h . rumsfeld said thursday at a pentagon news briefing that he ordered the detainee held without a registration number at the written request of george j . tenet , the director_of_central_intelligence . at the same briefing , daniel j . dell'orto , the pentagon 's principal deputy general_counsel , said the initial decision to hold the detainee without registering him was permissible , at least temporarily , for security reasons . but he added ''we should have registered him much sooner than we did . it did n't have to be at the very instant we brought him into our custody . and that 's something that we 'll just have to examine as to whether there was a breakdown in the quickness with which we registered him . '' pentagon officials declined to discuss mr . tenet 's reason for wanting the detainee , believed to be a high ranking officer of ansar_al_islam , a terrorist organization , held off the prison rolls . an agency spokesman said the c.i.a . would have no comment on mr . tenet 's reasoning . mr . rumsfeld said the detainee , who is still in military detention in iraq , has been treated humanely . officials said he was now being registered with the red_cross . a human_rights_watch report last week identified 13 ''ghost detainees'' taken into united_states custody since sept . 11 , 2001 . the author of the report , reed brody , said the 13 were either being held in undisclosed detention facilities , or the united_states_government had not acknowledged holding them . the detainees are all associated with al_qaeda and include khalid_shaikh_mohammed and ramzi bin al shibh , whose interrogations were discussed at the sept . 11 commission hearings this week . mr . brody 's staff identified the 13 detainees by tracking their arrests , largely from news reports or interviews with their relatives , he said . they were arrested in pakistan , indonesia , thailand , morocco and other countries . ''what 's clear in these cases is that they 're being held in situations that are equal to or worse than triple x , '' said mr . brody , referring to the ansar detainee in iraq . ''they are being held outside anybody 's scrutiny . we have no idea in most cases whether these people are dead or alive . '' also on thursday , the senate_judiciary_committee rejected a proposal by two democratic senators , patrick j . leahy of vermont and dianne_feinstein of california , to subpoena justice_department documents on the administration 's policies regarding the treatment of prisoners . the proposal , which was rejected in a_10 9 vote , identified 23 memos , letters or reports from sept . 25 , 2001 , through march of this year on topics that included the treatment of prisoners at guant_namo_bay , cuba , and rules for interrogation . according to the proposal , the documents include a memo from mr . rumsfeld to gen . james t . hill , the senior officer of the southern_command , dated april 2003 and titled , ''coercive interrogation_techniques that can be used with approval of the defense secretary . '' another memo dated jan . 4 , 2004 , written by the top legal adviser to lt . gen . ricardo s . sanchez , the senior american commander in iraq , and sent to military_intelligence and police personnel at the abu_ghraib_prison , is titled , ''new plan to restrict red_cross access to abu_ghraib . '' mr . leahy and several other senators asked attorney_general john_ashcroft for some of the documents at a june 8 hearing , but mr . ashcroft said he would not hand them over , an aide to mr . leahy said . ''a formal request would have to come by way of subpoena under the rules of the senate , '' said mark corallo , a department of justice spokesman . ''you would think that senators would know their own senate rules . '' before the vote was taken , the senate_judiciary_committee chairman , orrin g . hatch , told committee members that he had read several of the memos and advised them against voting for the proposal . ''we should not reveal our interrogation_techniques to our enemies , '' said senator hatch , republican of utah . ''there must be some reasonable limits on what can and should be disclosed by the executive branch to congress and the public about the war against terrorism . '' the reach of war prisoners.

an 11 year old middle_school student who investigators suspect had sexually molested five female classmates over the past two months was arrested yesterday morning at his brooklyn school , officials said . the arrest of the boy , who was not identified by the police , led to his immediate suspension from intermediate_school 201 , officials said . the police said that the boy , who attends sixth_grade at the school , also known as the dyker heights elementary_school , was charged with five counts of third degree sex abuse and that the investigation was continuing . investigators say they believe the boy molested the girls , all of whom are 11 years old , by touching them on their chests over their clothing , the police said . all the incidents occurred on school grounds , officials said , but it was unclear last night exactly where on school grounds they happened . the break in the case came when two of the victims told their parents last weekend about what had happened to them , officials said . the parents of those two girls went to the 68th precinct station house on saturday and reported it , the police said . later , the police learned the identity of three other girls who had similar complaints about the boy . when school resumed yesterday , a sergeant and a youth officer from the precinct went to the school and placed the boy in custody . he was later released to the custody of his parents , the police said . school officials said they were unaware of the incidents until the police notified them because none of the girls had complained to school workers . yesterday , vincent grippo , the superintendent of school_district 20 in brooklyn , put the arrested boy in a special suspension program , said margie_feinberg , a spokeswoman for the new york city board of education . the boy will attend a different school during the 10 day suspension after that , the superintendent can take further disciplinary_action , ms . feinberg said . intermediate_school 201 , at 8010 12th avenue , includes grades six through eight . it had 1 , 559 students enrolled in may 2000 , according to the board of education .

gov . mario m . cuomo today nominated dr . mark r . chassin , a california medical researcher and businessman who has worked to improve the quality and affordability of health_care , as the state 's new health commissioner . in selecting dr . chassin , mr . cuomo placed the state 's evolving policies on aids , health_insurance , medical_malpractice and health_care regulation in the hands of a man with little experience in new york 's singular health_care problems . but aides to mr . cuomo and californians who know dr . chassin praised his intelligence and his openness to diverse opinions , and said those qualities would offset his lack of familiarity with new york . the nomination is subject to confirmation by the state_senate . john e . mcardle , a spokesman for the senate_majority_leader , ralph j . marino , said the senate is not likely to consider the nomination until the legislature convenes a special session , probably in november or december . extra pay mr . mcardle said " some eyebrows have already been raised " by the salary package offered dr . chassin , which would total 160 , 000 . the previous health commissioner , dr . david_axelrod , received 98 , 399 , but cuomo officials said they could not lure dr . chassin for that . dr . chassin , 44 years old , will receive the health comissioner 's salary , which is set by law , and an additional 61 , 601 as president of health research inc . , a nonprofit_corporation operated by the health department . the corporation , which dr . axelrod directed without pay , solicits and administers grants for health department research projects . dr . chassin is senior vice_president of value health sciences , a santa_monica company that markets state of the art computer software that helps hospitals and doctors determine the appropriateness of particular medical treatments . he is a former health_care researcher for the rand_corporation and an emergency room physician . complicated search his areas of expertise health_care access and cost containment are likely to dominate the state 's health agenda in the 1990 's , particularly as the governor and legislature grapple with the costs imposed by a growing medicaid caseload and simultaneous epidemics of aids , tuberculosis and measles . " dr . mark chassin has distinguished himself as an innovative leader in the health_care field , particularly in his work on such key issues as quality of care , cost control and the appropriateness of various health services , " mr . cuomo said in a statement . the governor made it clear , however , that dr . chassin would have to fill large shoes in succeeding dr . axelrod , who suffered a stroke in february . dr . axelrod , who directed the 4 , 200 workers and 930 million budget of the health department for 11 years , was a nationally recognized expert on health_policy and one of the governor 's closest advisers . dr . chassin was en_route to albany today for two days of meetings and could not be reached for comment . several leaders of new york 's health_care community said they found the governor 's choice unusual because dr . chassin has had little experience managing a public_health bureaucracy and has spent most of his professional life in california , where health_care is far less regulated than it is in new york . the search , which began formally with the announcement of dr . axelrod 's retirement in april , was complicated by a state law requiring the health commissioner to be a medical doctor . cuomo aides said many doctors found the statutory salary unacceptably low . by creating a salary for the corporation job , mr . cuomo was able to offer dr . chassin the highest salary paid to a state commissioner . by comparison , the governor receives 130 , 000 . because the corporation salary will be paid with funds generated by the corporation 's activities , and not through the state budget , it will not require legislative approval , said michael j . dowling , mr . cuomo 's director of health , education and human services . raised in new york dr . chassin , a doctor 's son , was born in brooklyn and reared in new york city and on long_island . he received undergraduate , master 's and medical degrees at harvard and spent three years in washington as deputy director of an agency within the department of health_and_human_services . he has lived in california for the last 10 years . some health_care officials in new york expressed concern that dr . chassin 's positions on major issues are unknown and questioned whether he would take the tough stands that made dr . axelrod a larger than life figure in the state 's health community . but those who sometimes resented dr . axelrod 's uncompromising dedication to heavy regulation said they welcomed a change . " from what we understand about him , he is extremely bright but is not going to be an individual who is going to overpower other opinions , " said kenneth raske , president of the greater new york hopsital association . mr . cuomo has said there will be no backsliding on any of the administration 's leading health initiatives , including proposals to impose universal_health_care and no fault malpractice insurance . but some health_care advocates questioned where dr . chassin would place his priorities . " the concern is , is this a guy who has the commitment to and the expertise in the area of health_policy to play the aggressive role necessary to make these things happen ? " asked david a . hansell , deputy executive director of gay men 's health crisis , the new york city based group that serves people with aids . mr . hansell and other aids lobbyists said they are particularly concerned about the future direction of dr . axelrod 's policies protecting the confidentiality of aids patients . in light of new federal guidelines and several high profile cases , the health department currently is reviewing its policy of not requiring infected health_care workers to disclose their condition to patients .

the first piece of the international_space_station was orbiting earth today , sprouting antennae and unfolding solar_power panels as it awaited other segments , which will eventually grow into the largest orbital laboratory in history . the module called zarya , from the russian term meaning sunrise or dawn , took a flawless ride into space atop a three stage russian proton booster_rocket that lifted off at 1 40 a.m . eastern time from the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan . the launching was witnessed by the heads of the space agencies of the 16 nations that are sponsoring the station , which will cost at least 40 billion to build over the next five years . zarya , built in russia with 240 million from the united_states , is to be joined in two weeks by the first american module , a docking hub called unity . the space_shuttle_endeavour is to take off on dec . 3 to rendezvous with zarya and attach the two units . this is to be followed by 43 more flights by american and russian rockets carrying more than 100 parts to be assembled in space to form a 900 , 000 pound research station housing up to seven astronauts . daniel s . goldin , the administrator of nasa , said after the launching , ''now we only have 44 launches to go , about 1 , 000 hours of space walks and countless problems . '' but because of all the partner nations trusting each other and working together , mr . goldin said , ''the international_space_station is going to be a reality . '' even as the new space_station is coming together , questions continue about the fate of russia 's existing space laboratory , the 12 year old mir . because of the collapse of the russian economy , doubts that russia can produce enough rockets and other equipment to support both projects led russia to promise that it would abandon mir and destroy the station by next summer . but in recent weeks russian officials have been lobbying to find ways to extend mir 's life . according to a report by the reuters news_agency , president boris n . yeltsin 's space adviser , yevgeny shaposhnikov , said today that he was preparing proposals on extending mir 's life past the year 2000 . support for such options has been growing in recent weeks among russian space officials , astronauts and nationalists , who see mir as a symbol of russian achievements in space . james van laak , nasa 's deputy manager of operations for the space_station , said today that the agency had not received any formal proposals about extending mir 's life . ''nasa would find such a proposal unacceptable if it has any measurable impact on the international_space_station , '' mr . van laak said in a telephone interview from the johnson_space_center in houston . ''no one has any objection to mir or keeping it operational if the russians find a way to support both projects . '' yuri koptev , head of the russian space agency , said the launching of zarya , a 42 , 000 pound space tugboat that will supply power and propulsion in the early stages of station construction , was a needed vindication for the troubled russian space_program .

ghana 's christian sabah connected twice and eliminated perennial powerhouse italy from the olympic soccer tournament in a hot tempered , foul filled game last night at r.f.k . stadium in washington . sabah sent in blistering shots from 23 and 20 yards as the 1992 bronze medalists capitalized on a second half ejection in a 3 2 victory . the result kept ghana ( 1 1 ) in contention for one of the two quarterfinal berths from group c . it also piled more misery on soccer mad italy ( 0 2 ) , which went into near mourning when its national team fell out in the first round of the european_championship last month . ( ap ) atlanta day 5 roundup.

it was a good session . dr . marcie fallek had guided several razor thin needles a half an inch into ted e bear without a yelp or even a flinch from the 13 year labrador retriever , who had a ruptured disk and could not walk . ''most dogs do n't have a problem with the needles it 's being anxious over what might happen to them , '' said dr . fallek , a homeopathic veterinarian and acupuncturist who practices in fairfield and manhattan . after a couple of sessions , ted e bear was walking again . sticking needles into an animal to alleviate pain or promote healing would have been an anomaly 10 years ago , mostly practiced by a small group of veterinarians on the fringe of the holistic medicine movement , said dr . carvel tiekert , a holistic veterinarian and the executive director of the american holistic veterinarian medical association in bel air , md . ''these alternative practices did n't exist 10 or so years ago , '' he said . ''what we learned in vet school was an emphasis on drugs and surgery , with a minimal emphasis on nutrition . '' this is slowly changing . dr . joyce harmon , a holistic equine veterinarian in washington , va . , who recently made a presentation on holistic animal medicine at the american medical veterinarian association 's annual convention in boston , said some conventional veterinarians are using herbs , vitamins , acupuncture , chiropractic and other holistic methods in their practice . ''there 's definitely an increase in holistic practices , and chronic disease is one of the driving factors , '' she said . dr . edward senker , a veterinarian and owner of the broad river animal hospital in norwalk , said he considered himself a conventional doctor , even though he uses acupuncture . what led him to acupuncture was when it helped one of his patients , a dog , that was paralyzed after being hit by a car . the owner brought the dog to an acupuncturist , and , after , it was able to walk again , dr . senker said . ''maybe he would have ended up walking anyway , i do n't know , but that incident peaked my curiosity , '' he said . ''i do n't practice acupuncture exclusively in my practice . i just see it as another modality of therapy . depending on the situation , sometimes i reach for a drug and other times acupuncture . '' dr . craig smith , a staff consultant for the veterinarian association , a trade organization that represents more than 65 , 000 veterinarian , said there is n't any data that proves if more conventional veterinarians are using holistic medicine and if it works . ''it 's all subjective , based on phone_calls from vets asking about training and people looking for holistic vets , '' dr . smith said . ''we 're open to considering it , but were looking for scientific data . we 're not shutting the door , but we 're urging vets to do the research . '' although there is a lake of statistics , many people are treating their pets with alternative methods and reporting success . diane wood , a cosmetologist in stamford , recently discovered that junior , her 8 year old doberman mix , had kidney disease . her initial reaction was to go the traditional route junior had blood work done , x rays were taken and antibiotics and intravenous fluids were administered . ''it got to the point where he could n't lift his head off his bed , '' she said . ''he stopped eating for 11 days and then the doctor told us he was n't going to get better . '' as a last ditch effort , ms . woods said she started looking for a holistic animal doctor . ''i use homeopathy on myself and my kids , and i thought to myself , 'i have to find a holistic vet , ' '' she said . dr . fallek , she said , started treating junior with homeopathy , which is a branch of holistic medicine . within a week , junior 's condition started to improve , ms . wood said . one of the most tell tale signs was that he was begging for table scraps again a few weeks later , he was back to taking a walk around the neighborhood . ''the regular vet was in shock , '' she said . there are other stories of pets being brought back from the abyss , which tends to be when many holistic veterinarians get their hands on them , said dr . anne hermans , a certified acupuncturist and homeopathic veterinarian in bridgewater . ''sometimes i 'm the doctor of last resort , and other times i get animals earlier because people were n't happy with a particular diagnosis , '' she said . pet owners are also questioning the use of drugs such as steroids . ''it had terrible side affects on berin , '' said sara muirhead of farmington . berin , a_10 year old rottweiler , was diagnosed with lupus , an auto immune disease , a few years ago . side affects such as diarrhea , vomiting and a bleeding ulcer pushed ms . muirhead to consider acupuncture , nutrition and eventually homeopathy . her efforts to cure her dog have ballooned into a full fledged business called naturally raw pet foods . what began in her mother 's kitchen , cooking naturally prepared food for berin and a handful of others , has kept ms . muirhead busy . and berin 's lupus ? ''have n't seen any signs of it , '' she said . whether or not holistic practices work will require more research and development money , dr . harmon said . the money usually comes from drug companies , but they need to get something out of it , she said . ''if drug companies ca n't patent it , they are n't going to invest in it , '' she said . besides research , universities need to acknowledge holistic medicine to enhance its reputation and give it more widespread acceptance , said dr . allen schoen of sherman , a certified acupuncturist and chiropractic practitioner . he is also an adjunct professor at tufts_university , where he said he is developing programs in holistic medicine for the university . ''no form of medicine has all the answers , it 's taking the best of both , '' he said . barbara callaghan of darien is searching for that balance . she has been looking for answers to help her 11 year old irish setter , who has had a host of problems since he was a puppy . the conventional veterinarians have not been able to provide enough answers , while a holistic doctor failed to treat tucker with antibiotics for lyme_disease , a traditional course of treatment for the tick borne illness . while searching for answers , which included a trip to see a neurologist at tufts_university , she was trying to get an appointment with dr . schoen , who was not taking on new patients at the time , ms . callaghan said . when she heard he was opening up a new office , she went to the opening reception , with tucker in tow . ''he spent a lot of time with him that day , '' she said . ''that amazed me . '' more trips followed , and eventually dr . schoen found arthritis in tucker 's shoulder . ''he did acupuncture and i saw immediate results , '' ms . callaghan said . ''his eyes rolled up and you can see it relieved his pain . '' tucker still has medical problems , and ms . callaghan is not giving up as she shuttles him between conventional and holistic veterinarians . ''there 's a need for both , '' she said .

lead private investors , promised at least 10 shares each in the government 's sale of the state owned bank group paribas , will have to settle for four shares because of heavier than expected demand . private investors , promised at least 10 shares each in the government 's sale of the state owned bank group paribas , will have to settle for four shares because of heavier than expected demand . the two week offering was oversubscribed 40 fold when it closed on jan . 31 , foreign_minister edouard_balladur said today . french and foreign bankers described the outcome as a major success for prime_minister jacques_chirac 's crusade to promote capitalism in france . mr . balladur said the reduced allotments were forced by overwhelming demand for the 14 . 7 million shares offered to the french public at a price of 405 francs , or about 67 , a share . official trading in paribas shares on the paris stock_market will start thursday . in unofficial ''gray market'' dealing , brokers put prices at around 490 francs , or 82 , a share . mr . balladur said more than 3.8 million private individuals bid for 590 million shares during the two week sale last month . this was the second offering in the government 's ambitious 50 billion program to sell state owned companies to private investors .

concluding that iraq has gone from ' 'relative affluence to massive poverty'' since economic_sanctions were imposed against it after the 1991 persian_gulf_war , a new report to the security_council recommends several steps aimed at alleviating its people 's suffering . the report was prepared by one of three special panels convened in january to overcome the political divisions over iraq on the security_council and to help devise a common policy . it did not recommend that sanctions be lifted , but it did suggest easing them with specific modifications , some of which the united_states said today it might oppose . the four member panel of senior united_nations officials recommended , for instance , that oil companies be allowed to invest directly in iraqi oil fields to increase iraq 's production , which is currently at 2.5 million_barrels of oil per day . this would enable iraq to free up funds for food that it now spends buying new oil equipment and repairing and replacing spare_parts in its oil fields . while iraq is now permitted under an oil for food program to sell 5 . 256 billion worth of oil every six months and to use some of the proceeds to alleviate suffering caused by the sanctions , it has been unable to produce that much , given depressed oil prices and the state of its fields . in addition , the report suggests that the security_council authorize foreign companies to invest in iraqi export industries , like fertilizer , sulfur , and dates , that are unrelated to military production . in both cases , the report states , the added funds would be monitored by the united_nations to insure that they are only used for buying essential goods . the report also recommends that the council consider reducing temporarily the amount of money that iraq pays into a fund that compensates victims of its 1990 invasion of kuwait , which also comes from the oil proceeds . ''it is the panel 's view that under current conditions the humanitarian outlook will remain bleak and become more serious with time , '' the report states . ''infant_mortality rates in iraq today are among the highest in the world , '' it says . ''low infant birth_weight affects at least 23 percent of all births , chronic malnutrition affects every fourth child under 5 years of age only 41 percent of the population have regular access to clean_water 83 percent of all schools need substantial repairs . '' the report added that it would take 7 billion just to bring the country 's power to generate electricity to where it was before the gulf_war . ''the gravity of the humanitarian situation of the iraqi people is indisputable and cannot be overstated , '' the report concludes . but it was disputed , only hours after celso l . n . amorim , brazil 's representative , who heads all three panels , gave it to the council . western diplomats noted , for instance , that many of the report 's statistics about the situation of the iraqi people like infant_mortality rates relied heavily on data provided by iraq , much of which had not been independently confirmed . while washington is concerned about alleviating the suffering , said a . peter burleigh , the american representative , ''the basic responsibility for their plight lies with saddam_hussein , '' iraq 's leader . sanctions were still in place ''because iraq has not disarmed itself of weapons_of_mass_destruction'' or honored other commitments to the united_nations . several united_nations agencies contend that iraq has not spent the money it has on food and medicine , he said . the united_states wants to insure that any additional funds for iraq would help iraqis , not their government , he said . while mr . burleigh was not willing to single out the proposals that troubled him , other american officials cited , for example , the report 's recommendation that contributions to the iraqi victims' compensation fund be temporarily reduced , or borrowed to enable iraq to buy more goods for its people . though the proposal was sponsored by britain , america 's closest_ally on the council , one official said that the united_states might hesitate to help one group of victims , the iraqi people , at the expense of another people from many different countries who were working in iraq when it invaded_kuwait .

an american soldier was killed and six others were wounded in a bold guerrilla attack at dawn today in the heart of the city 's affluent mansour district . unidentified assailants fired several rocket propelled grenades at a military convoy of the third infantry division , military officials said . evidence of the firefight had been cleared by the time iraqis headed to work in morning traffic . american_forces are at a higher state of alert this week after the formation of the first postwar government since saddam_hussein was deposed in april . the alert is also associated with saddam era anniversaries july 14 , marking the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 , and july 17 , marking the coup that brought the baath_party to power a decade later . the holidays were abolished by the interim iraqi_governing_council , which was formed on sunday . this morning 's attack occurred on the first full day of deliberations by the 25 members , who met privately for more than five hours . iraqi officials said the council would send a delegation to new york this month to claim iraq 's seat at the united_nations . the step , some members said , would confer greater legitimacy on the governing body , though a spokesman for the united_nations special representative here said the staff was not aware of the plan . an hour after the council members finished meeting , an unknown assailant threw an explosive_device from a speeding taxicab at a car parked nearby , engulfing the vehicle in flames , the iraqi_police said . an iraqi official said the delegation going to new york would include adnan_pachachi , a former iraqi ambassador to the united_nations ahmad_chalabi , leader of the iraqi_national_congress , and akila al hashemi , who worked in iraq 's foreign ministry under mr . hussein . another official said the group might include jalal_talabani , a kurdish leader who is also a council member . in their session today , the council deferred the sensitive question of who would be chairman by setting up a rules committee to recommend ways to rotate the leadership . the council formed two other committees , one to develop an agenda of priority issues and a second to draft a policy statement . iraqi officials said that l . paul_bremer iii , the american occupation administrator in iraq , joined part of the discussions . he asked the council for recommendations on how to develop an accelerated training program for 70 , 000 municipal police officers and on how to set up a special court for prosecuting those charged with war_crimes . in addition , mr . bremer asked the council to review the problems of re integrating the 400 , 000 members of mr . hussein 's armed_forces through job training and other programs . but some of the most intense discussions centered on how the council would project itself to iraqis , many of them skeptical that the body is anything more than an extension of mr . bremer 's authority . at one point mahmoud_othman , the elderly kurd who was an adviser to mustafa barzani , the late leader of the kurdish revolt of the early 1970 's , asked the group where it derived its legitimacy , a sensitive point . mr . hashemi , a seasoned diplomat under mr . hussein , replied that the interim government 's legitimacy was derived from a united_nations resolution that called for an interim administration . mr . chalabi objected , and said the new government had to assert its independence from both the occupation powers and the united_nations . the interim government 's legitimacy , he said , according to those present , arises from ''the struggle of the iraqi people to overthrow saddam_hussein and our participation in that struggle . '' in brief comments to reporters , mr . bremer suggested that the occupation powers would still direct the rebuilding of iraq . asked whether the council would have the authority to sign contracts and make decisions about privatizing state corporations , mr . bremer responded , ''the coalition made it very clear in its discussions yesterday with the governing_council that we consider that the coalition has very broad authorities to determine the direction of the iraqi economy . '' foreign investment in iraq , mr . bremer added , ''is an issue on which the governing_council will obviously want to give its advice , and we intend to listen very carefully to whatever the governing_council has to say . '' another council member , mowaffak_al_rubaie , said he expected iraq to have a fully functioning government within two years , at which time , he said , american and british_troops should leave . ''nobody wants the americans to stay one day longer than they are necessary , '' mr . rubaie said . longer commitment of g.i . 's washington , july 14 ( reuters ) the pentagon said today that thousands of soldiers from the army 's third infantry division would not return home by september as expected but would stay in iraq indefinitely . maj . gen . buford c . blount_iii , the division 's commander , last week announced plans for the division to return home during july and august . but the army reversed itself today , saying the return of 9 , 000 of the division 's troops had been suspended . the pentagon deployed about 16 , 500 third infantry division soldiers during the war , and about 15 , 000 remain in iraq and kuwait . after the war occupation.

facing four hours of sharp and occasionally argumentative questioning by connecticut lawmakers , robert k . kraft , the owner of the new england patriots , today defended the terms of his tentative contract to move the team to a state built stadium in hartford , but asserted that the deal would be as good for the city as it would be for him . first in cramped caucus rooms and later on statewide television , legislators grilled mr . kraft on the costs and risks of the agreement , which would provide the football team with a 375 million stadium , rent free , in return for a 30 year agreement to stay in hartford . but mr . kraft insisted that it was not a giveaway . ''this deal has been portrayed by some as a sweetheart deal , and i do n't think that we 've done a good job getting the message out on this deal , '' said mr . kraft , who is 57 . ''that just is n't true . i want to say this up front i 'm at an age where if i make a commitment for the next 30 years , that takes me through my lifetime , i believe . i do n't want to do a deal that is n't a good deal , both ways . '' many lawmakers said they were not convinced about that , however , and said they still did not have enough information to evaluate the decision . ''people keep saying it 's a done deal , but every legislator i talk to has serious reservations about it , '' said state representative nancy beals , a democrat of hamden . last week , gov . john g . rowland released a private study commissioned by the state that showed that the stadium would pay for itself over the 30 year span of the agreement . but today the legislature 's nonpartisan office of fiscal analysis issued a report concluding that the project was likely to wind up costing taxpayers money possibly as much as 323 million . mr . kraft told lawmakers that the deal was fragile and discouraged them from contemplating any changes . but the house majority leader , moira k . lyons , said that after meeting with mr . kraft she still had concerns about the agreement that could only be addressed by changes in the bill . she said the governor 's negotiators had agreed to take up the issues with mr . kraft 's representatives . ''i feel that in good faith , they 're going to see what they can do , '' ms . lyons said . ''i do n't know what the outcome will be . '' with such questions remaining , some legislators worried that they would have little time to review the measure before the vote , scheduled for next tuesday . representative richard d . tulisano , a democrat of rocky hill , said he wanted the vote postponed , ' 'so we 'll know what we 're doing . '' during a meeting with senate democrats , mr . kraft seemed taken aback when senator john w . fonfara of hartford scolded him , saying , ''you have a lot of detail in this document in terms of protecting your interests , '' while protections for the city and state were vague . the governor , a republican , has said he was willing to stake his legacy on the plan , and the leaders of the house and senate , both controlled by democrats , are energetically pushing it . the opposition , on the other hand , has been diffuse , and the lawmakers who are leery of the plan have mostly raised questions rather than organizing outright opposition . one group of opponents , the connecticut citizens action group , livened up the legislative office building , where the hearing was held , by handing out cheese with stickers that said ''kraft gets 1 billion . our kids get surplus cheese . '' in his opening remarks at the hearing , governor rowland acknowledged that the opposition had become increasingly vocal , telling lawmakers , ''you 've heard from constituents that obviously are opposed to it , because they are the only people who call . '' he called the eight hour hearing ''our opportunity to drive past the doldrums and the naysayers . '' he implored the legislature to consider the alternative no new franchise and compare that to ''the long term hit that we get with an n.f.l . franchise . '' ''the patriots and the kraft family believe in us , '' the governor said . ''now , it 's time for us to believe in ourselves . no dream is worth having without some risk involved . '' later , the suits gave way to patriots caps worn by average fans . among the opponents was a man who wore a santa cap to protest what he said was the deal 's generosity and the ''holiday rush'' to vote . during mr . kraft 's testimony he said that while the team is to pay no rent during the 30 year lease , the patriots would would be paying operating expenses . he added that the 10 percent tax the patriots will pay on ticket sales was a better deal for the state than rent , since the amount would grow as the stadium began to flourished . but he said a unique feature of the deal was the team 's agreement to invest 70 million for a hotel and a high tech national_football_league store next to the stadium . ''these two projects will only succeed if the whole city of hartford is developed with a sense of vibrancy , '' he said . the provision that has drawn the most ire from lawmakers is a guarantee of as much as 17 . 5 million a year that the state would pay if luxury suites and boxes went unsold . although the governor and mr . kraft have maintained publicly that this is a nonnegotiable provision , aides to the governor have promised senior lawmakers that they will try to tinker with these guarantees to try to reduce the state 's risk . in defending the guarantees , mr . kraft pointed to the risk he was taking . he asked lawmakers to imagine they owned the patriots and had the choice of moving to los_angeles or houston , which lack n.f.l . teams , or to hartford . ''let 's analyze , '' he said , tossing out a few statistics about the wealth and size of the bigger cities . ''hartford , '' he continued , ''is a city that has not had a great record in maintaining corporations here or attracting new corporations and i say this respectfully . '' ''we want to come to hartford , '' he continued . ''that analysis was simply an academic one , to make you understand how we try to get an equivalent basis , on these guarantees . i will say this to you if , in fact , we have to take any revenue from these guarantees from the state , we both will have failed . ''

washington has formally complained to china 's ministry of foreign trade that china has not fully carried out bilateral agreements easing the sale of american_tobacco , citrus and chicken in china , american and chinese officials said . the united_states is hoping improved market access will increase annual farm exports to china to 3 billion by 2005 from about 1 billion in 1999 . among the breaches of the bilateral agreements cited by the united_states is china 's recent effort to restrict poultry imports to just four ports in the southern_province of guangdong . craig s . smith ( nyt ) world business briefing asia.

securitas a.b. , the swedish maker of security systems , will decide this week whether to proceed with a 3 billion takeover of chubb , a british rival , people close to the companies said today . chubb shares soared 15 percent , to 2 . 10 pounds ( 3 . 08 ) on friday , after the british company said that it was in preliminary talks with securitas , the world 's largest maker of security devices . the same day , shares of securitas declined 15 percent , to 185 kroner ( 18 ) , reducing the value of its all stock offer and making a potential deal less attractive , these people said . chubb , the world 's third largest maker of security and fire protection devices , has no relation to the american insurance_company by the same name .

59e59 theaters will announce today the full lineup for its fourth annual festival of new theater from across the pond , " brits off_broadway , " running from may 3 through july 1 . this year 's crop of seven shows will bring alan ayckbourn 's 1982 series of plays , " intimate exchanges , " to town for its new york premiere . the prolific mr . ayckbourn , whose " private fears in public places " was a hit of the 2005 festival , will direct " intimate exchanges , " an eight part series sparked by one character 's problem to smoke or not to smoke . also included in the 2007 festival will be jonathan lichtenstein 's holocaust drama , " memory , " directed by the tony award nominee terry hands and the american premiere of " rabbit , " written and directed by nina raine , who received the 2006 evening standard award for most promising playwright . highlights from last season 's festival included andrea hart 's adaptation of " nothing , " the novel by henry green and ron hutchinson 's " beau brummell . "

in bemused tones , the oct . 19 internal memo from the chairman of the coldwell_banker hunt kennedy residential brokerage to his company 's 110 sales agents said ''we actually have sellers out there deciding whether to accept offers and buyers deciding whether they should make an offer based on what the dow is doing that morning or afternoon . '' back then , a whole month ago in the day to day slalom ride of the financial markets , there were reports of luxury apartment buyers walking away from million dollar deposits , of jittery sellers visions of precipitous_decline dancing in their heads lopping off 20 percent or more of their asking prices . ''we feel this is silly , '' the brokerage chairman , david michonski , wrote in his memo . and many observers and players in the new york regional residential market would concur , especially with the dow having recovered substantially from its 513 point aug . 31 plunge . to be sure , the stock_market gyrations and the profound problems plaguing some foreign economies have dampened the heat of a feverish residential market and muffled the drums of bidding_wars . but those dampening developments appear to be limited at least for now to the high end of the manhattan market , to the new residential buildings of the downtown financial district and to the most affluent enclaves of new york city 's suburban ring . in the broader residential market , both national and regional , where the fundamentals buttressing home buying high employment , low inflation and low mortgage rates remain firm , middle_class and working_class buyers continue to keep the real_estate business percolating . ''when the stock_market starts to bump , '' said edward lee cave , chairman of the high end manhattan brokerage that bears his name , ''the very rich feel less rich . their wall_street shares have appreciated about 80 percent over the last four or five years . they 've now gone down 20 to 30 percent . so instead of saying they are 50 percent richer than they were before , they are saying they are 30 percent poorer . that 's human nature . '' and so , what the luxury market has seen in the last few months , said clark halstead , founder of the halstead property company , ''has been an emotional reaction to the world economic crisis , rather than a real economic phenomenon . '' as one high end new jersey broker , michele kolsky assatly of coldwell_banker 's fort lee office , said , ''there is a reserved nervousness in the market . '' and she told of a fort_lee home that had been on the market for 235 days while the owner held out for a bid of 1 . 25 million , then , in august , accepted an offer of 1 . 14 million . but in the more down to earth bronx , one leading brokerage , era besmatch , is reporting the sale of 450 properties so far this year , compared with less than 400 by this time in 1997 , and a demand that increased the average price for the homes it handles in neighborhoods like wakefield , williamsbridge and pelham from 161 , 000 a year ago to 166 , 000 . in queens , judy young , manager of market place realty , complained , ''i have customers , but nothing to show them , '' pointing out that a house in flushing , listed one day two weeks ago at 270 , 000 , had sold the following day for 279 , 000 . the westchester putnam multiple_listing_service recorded more sales in the third quarter of this year than in any previous quarter , an increase of 20 percent over the third quarter of last year . on long_island , sales were up 10 percent during the first nine months of this year , compared with the corresponding period in 1997 . and two sundays ago , at the grand opening of a_37 unit town house development in smithtown , where prices ranged from 210 , 000 to 235 , 000 , ''people were lined up with checks in their hand , '' according to the developer , steven klar , and about 18 units were sold . ''the silliness is still with us , '' mr . michonski of coldwell_banker hunt kennedy said last week , ''but it 's abating as people look beyond the weekly valleys to more important and stable factors of the market . '' among those factors , mr . michonski said , are suburban buyers , single people seeking starter apartments and the steady flow of immigrants . ''few people realize that we are at a 100 year high in immigration , '' mr . michonski said , ''and what immigrants provide is first time home buyer support in key markets . now that 's not as sexy as the manhattan real_estate market , but neighborhood after neighborhood is being revitalized by these immigrants , who save more and have a stronger desire for home ownership than americans . '' there are , certainly , some pale spots in the rosy picture . as in any volatile time , people think twice or thrice about making a major purchase . ''we do n't feel yet that the pace of sales has been hit significantly and prices have n't come down , '' said jacob shayovitz , president of the brooklyn board of realtors , ''but i think it 's slowing down a bit . the word on the street is , 'maybe i 'll hold off a bit and see what happens tomorrow . ' '' and in connecticut , diana hughes , a broker with preferred properties in stamford , said ''people are thinking twice . some people backed out of deals . '' other market observers , however , point out that any indications of a slowdown have come at a time in the fall when real_estate sales traditionally take a breather . and it is during such spells that prices moderate toward more realistic levels and buyers become more serious . the lower end of the market is more affected by mortgage rates than stock prices , said liz lindsey , owner of lindsey real_estate in mount_vernon , n.y . ''our buyers look at housing as shelter , not an investment . '' and even in tonier scarsdale , n.y. , audrey rapaport , manager of the houlihan_lawrence brokerage there , said two weeks ago , ''whenever the market 's down , the traffic you get tends to be the serious buyers , and that 's what we 're seeing now . '' underpinning the residential market are some of the firmest fundamentals in decades . barring the unforeseen , in 16 days , on dec . 1 , the nation will break the record for the longest peacetime economic expansion in history , the 92 months of growth between 1982 and 1990 . mortgage rates , now hovering at about 7 percent , have been low and stable for most of this year , setting a 31 year low of 6 . 68 percent for a 30 year , fixed rate loan during the week that ended oct . 9 . that 6 . 68 percent low , compared with the year 's high of 7 . 28 percent for the week that ended may 1 , marked the narrowest annual range for mortgage rates . 60 percent since the late 1970 's . ''certainly , '' said keith gumbinger , vice_president of hsh_associates , a butler , n.j. , firm that tracks mortgage rates , ''it 's instructive to note , in the midst of volatility in the financial markets , that we have had tremendous stability this year in mortgage interest rates . '' and so , according to projections calculated by the national_association_of_realtors , 1998 is forecast to be the third year in a row that the nation sets a record for sales of existing homes . there were 4.1 million sales in 1996 and 4.2 million last year , and 4.7 million are expected this year . ''what we have , '' said james w . hughes , dean of the school of planning and public_policy at rutgers_university , ''is an extraordinarily powerful national home market , and that is certainly the overlying market reality for the region . '' dr . hughes offered allegorical allusions to recent stages of the market ''first , we had a goldilocks economy not too strong , not to weak , just right . that was over the past three years . ''the past nine months or so , overlaying the goldilocks economy , has been an alfred e . newman economy 'what me worry ? ' after we first had the asian_financial_crisis about this time last year . ''and since the stock_market swoon , we 've had a jekyll and hyde economy it still has great underlying fundamentals , but we have an increasingly worrisome dark side . and that 's related to the impacts of the world financial_crisis . '' fortunately , dr . hughes said , the new york area is less exposed to the effects of foreign crises than other sections of the country . ''the areas most hard hit are those that export manufactured_goods , such as seattle boeing has lost a lot of airline orders and those that export food to asia , '' he noted . the major local effect , he said , has been ''the stock_market swoon , and we have n't yet seen its impact on the broad housing market . ''the tony sectors certainly now have the jitters , '' dr . hughes said . ''but the broad middle market is less impacted because the driving force there really is a maturing baby_boom generation trading up , positioning themselves in communities where they want to raise their children and live for a long time . for them , this is not a discretionary item , like moving from a 2 million house to a_4 million house . '' there are some less obvious nuances to the new york area 's residential market , said rae rosen , senior regional economist at the federal_reserve_bank of new york . ''it is a very strong housing market , '' she said , ''but this region has been one of the weaker areas of the country in terms of demand . '' one barometer of that fact is relatively moderate price appreciation , except in the most affluent communities . ''for existing homes , price increases are lagging the nation in percentage terms , '' ms . rosen said . for example , in the first half of this year , according to data published by the office of federal housing enterprise oversight , prices in new jersey rose by slightly less than 4 percent , compared to 5 percent nationally . moderate price appreciation , however , is not necessarily bad news . ''in the 80 's , prices nearly tripled in the metropolitan_area , '' ms . rosen said . ''so the silver lining is that we improve our competitive position . '' for most people , one truism holds , ms . rosen said the ability to buy depends on their current job and salary . ''when you 're talking about people who work for wall_street , their ability to purchase the mansion of their dreams may be crimped , '' she said . ''but for most people the rest of us middle_class people the thing that 's driving it is job growth and low interest rates , and that 's holding so far . '' even in high end manhattan so noosed to the year end bonus and the quarterly report the financial tremors have not loosened a trap door under the residential market . ''we have n't had a downturn in prices , '' said barbara corcoran , chairwoman of the corcoran group . ''what we have seen , and this is based on my own business , is that people had a knee jerk reaction to the 500 point drop on aug . 31 . '' the next day , ''five out of our 51 contracts due to be signed were just not signed , '' ms . corcoran said . ''i ca n't recall such a quick reaction borne out of sheer fear . '' september was marked by price reductions and far fewer multiple_bids , she said , but by mid october , ''we had a tremendous uptick in activity . '' in the month since , the dow has crept upward , even flitting near the 9 , 000 mark . the 513 point drop on aug . 31 represented a 6 percent decline in the dow . eleven years ago , on oct . 19 , 1987 so called black monday there had also been a 500 plus decline in the dow . but , at the time , those 508 points represented a 22 . 6 percent stock_market plunge . nowadays , said mr . halstead of the halstead property company , ''unlike what we had in 1987 , when there were 90 days of total paralysis in our office , just no new deals , the real_estate market has continued through these gyrations . ''there may be an isolated case or two of people , not abandoning contracts , but reneging on verbal price agreements , '' mr . halstead said . ''no one has abandoned their deposit and run for the hills . on the other hand , we have had some sellers reduce their asking prices . '' mr . cave , of the brokerage bearing his name , said , however , that he had heard of instances where buyers walked away from deposits ''two instances one was 400 , 000 and the other about a million . '' still , he said , ''if it was rife in the industry , i would have heard . '' the essential well being of even the sometimes immoderate luxury market was validated by the most recent findings of the douglas_elliman manhattan market report , the most comprehensive analysis available . jonathan miller , president of miller samuel , the appraisal company that prepares the elliman report , said that there were 2 , 214 verified sales of co ops and condominiums in manhattan during the third quarter of this year , a 9 . 61 percent increase over the 2 , 017 transactions recorded for the corresponding period in 1997 . ''and we found that the average sales price remained essentially unchanged , '' mr . miller said . in the second quarter , the average price was 529 , 416 , and in the third quarter it was 518 , 986 a 1 . 97 percent drop . at the same time , he said , the average number of days on the market decreased 6.2 percent , from 112 days to 105 , and the discount from asking price ( the difference between the last list price and the sale price ) declined 14 . 02 percent ' 'meaning that the sales price was 14 percent closer to the list price than during the previous quarter , '' mr . miller said . if any single sector of the manhattan market has quickly felt the effects of the stock_market 's zig zags it is , not surprisingly , the downtown financial district , where new apartment buildings have risen and outmoded office towers have been reborn as residences . andrew heiberger is president of citi_habitats , a brokerage that deals , in his words , ''with 20 to 30 somethings , would be purchasers who work in the wall_street area and are not only making large salaries but get commissions and bonuses that usually represent two or three times their base salary . '' ''they are pulling in their horns , sitting and waiting , '' mr . heiberger said . ''especially in the upper end , they are either staying put or are going to rent for a year and then look . '' mr . heiberger said that since merrill_lynch announced the layoff of 3 , 400 workers on oct . 13 , the number of sales inquiries at his offices for the upper end of the downtown market the condominium loft buildings in tribeca , the far west_village and the financial district have just about halved . ''six months ago we were probably getting 75 inquiries a month for apartments priced from 400 , 000 to 1 . 5 million , and in the last five weeks we 've probably received 45 inquiries . '' prices , however , have not dropped . ''for a typical condo loft in those neighborhoods , we 're still talking 400 to 500 per square_foot , so just the demand is on hold , '' mr . heiberger said . ''if there is another two months of stable wall_street activity , the bidding_wars could return as quickly as they vanished . '' bidding_wars , or the lack of them , may not be the most rational measure of the residential market . but there is a school of thought that the current jitters and reasonable concerns , especially about the luxury end , will eventually prove to be a healthy development . ''probably , in retrospect , '' said mr . halstead , ''when we look at this period three or four months from now and get some data that 's meaningful , we will see that prices stopped ascending and were level for the first time in a very long time . we needed it , because the market was overheated and going up too fast . '' assuming there is no global financial_meltdown , said dr . hughes at rutgers , ''what we 'll really see for the national economy , as we look forward from here , is a slowing of growth . '' ''but it 's a manageable slowdown , and a slight slowing of the housing market in turn , '' he noted . ''after all , the 1998 housing market has been the equivalent of the yankees winning 125 games . '' and unlike the 1980 's , when inflation was rampant , lending was uninhibited and the real_estate market subverted itself by over building , ''the hallmark of this expansion has been that there have been no excesses , no imbalances that caused the expansion to abort , '' dr . hughes said . ''the one excess which had been developing is the extreme overexuberance in the high end of the housing market , '' he said . ''and so the effect of the stock_market swoon is to tone down that excess , and make the whole market much more sustainable in the long run . ''

behind the maze of men with guns in iraq is a very simple truth their barrels offer protection , something iraqis say the government has never given them . on friday , the web wound tightly around the southern city of amara , where the two largest and best armed militias , both made up of religious shiites , were fighting for control of the city . but when the prime_minister speaks of disarming militias those mushrooming armies of men with guns that carry out most of the killing here iraqi brows begin to furrow . ''he 's just talking , '' snapped fadhil sabri , a_37 year old generator repairman in a grease stained shop in sadr_city , a baghdad stronghold of the mahdi army , a shiite_militia . ''not now . not even in 10 years . you need arms to defend yourself , '' he said . iraq is awash in killings , and many are blamed on the mahdi army , the militia commanded by a glowering shiite_cleric , moktada_al_sadr . an indignant mr . sadr called his men to fight against the american military twice in 2004 . it was bloodied , but survived . since then the mahdi army , and a growing criminal breakaway element , have grown into one of the government 's biggest problems and are a major obstacle to the success of the american enterprise here . despite its new rogue fringe , iraqi shiites see the mahdi militia as their most effective protector against the hostile sunni groups that have slaughtered shiites and driven them from their homes . shiites say that as long as the government cannot keep them safe , they cannot support the disarming of militias . that paradox confronts the american military as it presses the iraqi government to contain militias like mr . sadr 's how is it possible to control a militia when trust among iraqis has vanished and the government is incapable of containing the spiraling violence ? mr . sadr and his mahdi army have emerged as one of the biggest puzzles of the war . the cleric controls a large and crucial bloc of seats in parliament . at the same time , 92 percent of the mortar and rocket attacks in august and september on the green_zone the protected area in baghdad that houses the american military and the iraqi government came from sadr_city . as the recent fighting in amara shows , the group and its rogue elements have settled deeply into the crevices of iraqi society , filling college security offices and student unions , as well as the ranks of the police and the army . it is often at the center of spasms of sectarian killing , like the violence last weekend in balad , and it frequently battles rival shiite groups , as in amara , and earlier this month in another southern city , diwaniya . but in a measure of just how complex iraq has become , it is impossible to tell where loyalties to mr . sadr end and criminal activity begins . rogue groups of his former followers now run underground fiefdoms of sectarian killing and kidnapping and even a special market for victims' cars . one of his senior aides was arrested by the american military earlier this week on suspicion of having directed the killing and torture of sunnis . the americans later reluctantly released him at the request of the iraqi government . the changes in the mahdi army are so profound the american military estimates that as much as a third of it has fallen away that it is becoming a generic term for shiite_militia . a senior american military official estimated there were 23 militias operating in baghdad alone . ''it 's hard to understand the amount of groups who are moving around and where they are getting their funding , '' said col . thomas vail , the american commander in charge of eastern baghdad . ''it 's very complex right now , more than when we first came . '' the mechanisms for killing have become more sophisticated . a senior coalition intelligence official at a briefing last month detailed an example of a mahdi army death_squad . group leaders are issued instructions on order forms listing a target person and an address , the official said . a group can consist of special_forces , intelligence units and punishment committees , complete with clerics who impose sentences . some of the leaders may be inside the interior_ministry , the official said . others may work with their contacts within the ministry to obtain equipment such as cars . the american military 's task has been vastly complicated by the sheer relentlessness of the violence . ever larger portions of the iraqi population have been radicalized in three years of war , chopping ground out from under the moderates . now , even those whose job requires them to take a position against militias reluctantly back them . ''right now i support the presence of the mahdi army , '' said a senior judge on iraq 's criminal court , who declined to be named out of concern for his safety . ''i know this is unacceptable in law , in politics , in society , but in this unusual time we are living in , this is the reality . '' it is a broadly held view among shiites that the american military has unfairly focused on shiite_militias and has largely forgotten the sunni militias that they say launched the sectarian war . groups like the omar brigade , formed to kill shiites and carry out lethal suicide bombings , went unchecked , prompting a shiite response , they say . just how far shiite sentiment has shifted can be seen in the words of qasim dawood , the national_security minister under former prime_minister ayad_allawi during mr . sadr 's fight against the americans in 2004 . ''the support of the militias within the shiite community comes from the failure of the ministry of interior , the ministry of defense and the coalition_forces to provide security , '' he said . ''the creation of these militias comes as a reaction . '' but that reaction spilled over into open carnage in february , when shiite mobs rampaged through baghdad , dragging sunnis out of their homes and mosques and killing them . shiites' patience had snapped , and they began to take systematic revenge . as the killing spun off in strange new directions , the mahdi army , or those associated with it , was at the forefront . the mahdi army 's victims are sad , struggling figures , often stuffed into the trunks of cars . this tactic became so widespread that iraqi soldiers at checkpoints have been known to stop cars that are playing loud , thumping music , mistaking the sound for a person trying to get out . in the eastern baghdad neighborhood of ur , which is connected to sadr_city by a fast and largely empty road , a worker counted 14 victims on a particularly bad day in august , shortly after an attack on a procession of shiite_pilgrims . he said four were shot in front of him on a dirt road near a high_school . the bodies of another 10 were dumped there later that day . police cars , like hearses , later picked them up . the killing took place openly , often silently , and without fanfare . gunmen did not bother to hide their faces . one resident sardonically referred to ur as gbour , which means graves in arabic . iraqis began referring to the victims , often sunnis , as sheep . most condemn the killing , which they attribute to the mahdi militia . ''i know they are killing sunnis now none of us likes this , '' said firas al saeidi , a 29 year old shiite resident of sadr_city , who works in the ministry of defense . ''but it keeps balance in our sensitive areas . we need that . '' ''life was not just cheap , it was free , '' said ibrahim , a shiite from ur who asked that his last name not be used . despite the carnage , ibrahim sees the militia as providing important protection . his sparely furnished guest room was subdued last week , after the killing of his brother and the brother 's 15 year old son by sunni gunmen in september . at the funeral , mahdi members approached him and offered to kill sunnis to avenge the deaths . he declined , but said he would draw on their intelligence to find the killers . he could not go to the police station where his brother was shot because the policemen are sunni , he said . ''if i find who killed my brother , i will tell mahdi army to kill him , '' he said . the government , on the other hand , refused to even pick up the body of an acquaintance of his in a sunni neighborhood recently , because the area was too hostile . ''if a government is too scared to pick up a body , is it a government ? '' ibrahim asked . a protector for most shiites , the mahdi army can also be a persecutor . mahdi members first approached edrice al_aaraji , a shiite , shortly after he moved to a shiite area in northern baghdad this spring . the men acted chummy and asked if he and his brother would pitch in on overnight watch shifts on the block . mr . aaraji pretended to be interested , but avoided them . he even traveled to a different neighborhood to make it look as if he was serving on guard duty somewhere else . the men become more aggressive , particularly after the killing of his uncle , apparently by mahdi affiliated gunmen , in august . later mr . aaraji learned that the men had been eyeing the house he moved into as a weapons storage space . ''now they are after us , '' he said . ''they watch our comings and goings . '' in sadr_city , in a darkened room off a sun splashed courtyard hung with laundry , sayeed abdul zahra , a member of mr . sadr 's social service committee , dismissed any suggestion of the mahdi army disarming ''impossible . '' besides , he said , mr . sadr does not own the guns . ''i bought my weapons with my own money . '' a short drive north , in ur , mourners were gathering for the funeral of a man and his 6 year old son . a bombing on monday in a nearby market killed them both . the family blamed a puritanical sunni islamic sect , the wahhabis , whose name has become the shiite codeword for sunni extremists . a boy around the age of 8 took money from his father to buy candy at a market across the street . as he walked away , his father called after him ''be careful of the wahhabis . '' when asked why he had said it , his reply came fast and cold . ''i want to teach him whom to hate , '' he said . the struggle for iraq.

senator tom_daschle , the democratic leader , called president_bush 's diplomatic efforts in the iraq crisis a miserable failure on monday , in a speech that drew strong criticism today from the white_house and congressional republicans . appearing before a union legislative conference before mr . bush issued his ultimatum to iraq , mr . daschle said ''i am saddened , saddened that this president failed so miserably at diplomacy that we 're now forced to war . saddened that we have to give up one life because this president could n't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country . '' speaker j . dennis_hastert , republican of illinois , said today that mr . daschle 's remarks ' 'may not give comfort to our adversaries , but they come mighty close . '' the white_house spokesman , ari_fleischer , said mr . daschle 's comments were inconsistent with his past statements against politicizing the war and about the likelihood of the need to use force against iraq . ''he 's essentially blaming president_bush for the fact that we may be on the verge of war , '' mr . fleischer said . the senate_majority_leader , bill frist , called the remarks ' 'deeply disappointing , '' given that american_troops were potentially hours away from conflict . ''any remarks that their lives in some way have been compromised by the president of the united_states is irresponsible , '' dr . frist said . senator james m . inhofe , republican of oklahoma , called on mr . daschle to apologize to mr . bush . but mr . daschle did not back down . ''i do n't know that anyone in this country could view what we 've seen so far as a diplomatic success , '' he told reporters in response to questions about the republican criticism . he said he would continue to speak out if he thought it was warranted . ''i do think we have to be honest and open in a democracy , '' said mr . daschle , who said that as an air_force veteran ''there is no question that i stand strongly with the troops . '' mr . daschle was backed by fellow democrats in the house and senate . representative steny hoyer of maryland , the no . 2 democrat in the house , described the administration 's iraq diplomacy as ''probably the least successful handling , of dealing with allies that we 've had in a long period of time . '' threats and responses the minority_leader.

continuing its campaign to become the dominant financial_services provider around the globe , citigroup said yesterday that it would buy the associates first capital corporation , the biggest american consumer finance company , for about 31 . 1 billion in stock . the acquisition , the biggest since the formation of citigroup in 1998 , would give citigroup a significant position in consumer lending in japan and a few other countries . it also would improve citigroup 's standing in the credit_card and commercial leasing businesses . ''this transaction really fits better than most anything that we could think about , '' said sanford i . weill , the acquisitive chairman and chief executive of citigroup . ''from the consumer finance point of view , the exciting thing is the global presence . '' even before he engineered the merger of the travelers corporation with citicorp in 1998 a deal that required legislative changes in washington that finally occurred last year mr . weill was intent on building his company 's overseas businesses , especially in japan . in one swoop , citigroup would become the fifth biggest consumer finance company in japan , the world 's second biggest market for consumer lending , mr . weill said . buying associates first would give citigroup a lending business to match the 77 billion in deposits it holds outside of the united_states . those deposits could provide a low cost source of funds for more lending to foreign consumers to buy cars , appliances and other goods , analysts said . mr . weill said the deal should add 10 cents a share to citigroup 's earnings next year , despite the hefty premium citigroup is paying . citigroup agreed to swap 0 . 7334 share of its stock for each share of associates first 's stock . that translates to 42 . 49 a share , or nearly 52 percent more than associates first 's 28 closing price on tuesday . associates first shareholders would own about 10 percent of citigroup . shares of associates first soared on the deal , rising 37 . 5 percent , or 10 . 50 , to 38 . 50 in heavy trading . but , to mr . weill 's obvious disappointment , citigroup 's stock dropped 3 . 02 , to 54 . 92 . the two stocks were the most heavily traded shares on the new york stock_exchange yesterday . shares of other finance companies also rose on speculation that there might be more acquisitions . household international , the third largest consumer finance company , rose 2 . 56 , to 50 . 19 . shares of finance companies have been depressed by concerns about the quality of their loans and government inquiries into their lending practices . david sandor , a spokesman for associates first , said that the justice_department had begun an investigation of the industry two years ago , but that the company had never been charged with wrongdoing . if completed , the acquisition would be the fourth biggest deal involving united_states financial companies and the eighth biggest in the financial sector anywhere in the world , according to thomson_financial securities data . ''i really think sandy scored , '' said robert albertson , president of pilot financial , a money_management firm in new york . ''it may not be his biggest deal , but it may be his best deal . it 's a superb strategic and tactical fit . '' mr . albertson and other analysts said they were not concerned about the rich price as long as the deal made strategic sense and would add to citigroup 's earnings quickly . several of them predicted that the acquisition would yield even bigger immediate gains than promised . mr . weill said the combination should result in a reduction of 400 million in costs in the first year and 600 million over two years . about half of those savings would come from combining the two companies' credit_card operations , he said . associates first operates private label credit_card programs for several companies , including some retailers like radio shack and some operators of gas stations . citigroup is already the biggest company in the united_states credit_card business , through its citibank visa and mastercard products . ''this puts us in the oil card business , which is a very good margin business and very profitable , '' said robert lipp , who oversees citigroup 's consumer finance businesses and was recently named a director of the company . mr . lipp said that after the deal was completed later this year citigroup would have 85 billion to 90 billion in outstanding credit on its cards . associates first started out in south bend , ind . , as an automobile finance company , lending people money to buy model t fords . it was owned for almost 25 years by the gulf and western corporation , before that company sold it to the ford_motor_company . ford spun off a_20 percent stake in associates first in a public stock sale in 1996 and sold the rest two years later . to cover the costs of merging the companies' operations , citigroup will take charges against its earnings of 600 million to 700 million before taxes . judah kraushaar , an analyst at merrill_lynch company , said the big opportunity for citigroup was in combining the companies' consumer lending units . citigroup 's 1 , 200 citifinancial branches are considerably more productive and profitable than associates first 's 750 full service branches . most of the loans made through associates first 's branches are home_equity loans , in which consumers borrow against the value they have built up in their homes . citifinancial 's branches offer a wider array of loan products , some of which are more profitable than home_equity loans . by bringing the acquired branches closer to its own standards , citigroup could reap big gains , mr . kraushaar said . he estimated that the deal would add 15 cents a share to citigroup 's earnings next year even with ''no revenue synergies . '' mr . kraushaar predicted that mr . weill would follow up this deal with the acquisition of another consumer finance company in japan in an effort to quickly make citigroup one of the top ranked companies in that market . sitting in his office yesterday mesmerized by the changing stock prices on a nearby computer screen . mr . weill did not argue with that theory . ''it will probably be a pretty fair guess , '' he said , with a smile .

yen continues its rise . the yen continued to surge against the dollar on expectations that investors will pour more money into japanese stocks . in new york , the dollar settled at 104 . 23 yen , down from 105 . 79 on tuesday .

the japanese said yesterday that the economy appeared to be gaining momentum after a four year recession . the economic_planning agency said in its latest monthly report that japan 's real gross_domestic_product will grow 2.5 percent in the next fiscal year , up from estimated growth of 1.2 percent in the current fiscal year , which ends in march . the unemployment rate reached a postwar high of 3.4 percent in november . the agency forecasts that unemployment will drop to 3.1 percent next year . ( ap ) international briefs.

lead president_bush and many officials in his administration say they are deeply disappointed by the failure of the chinese government to relax its repressive rule in response to numerous conciliatory gestures by mr . bush . president_bush and many officials in his administration say they are deeply disappointed by the failure of the chinese government to relax its repressive rule in response to numerous conciliatory gestures by mr . bush . the american officials explained that divisions within the chinese leadership , compounded by fears about a resurgence of the democracy movement in china after the rapid democratic change in eastern_europe , have made it difficult for beijing to respond as the president had hoped . those concerned about the meager results so far include the architects of mr . bush 's policy and some who carried it out , like deputy_secretary_of_state lawrence s . eagleburger . he acknowledged in recent congressional testimony that the repression continued after his visits to china , that there has been no ''rapid payoff'' from mr . bush 's policy and that china has no plan to lift martial_law in tibet . mr . eagleburger secretly visited beijing with brent_scowcroft , the president 's national_security adviser , in july and december . getting worse , not better administration officials say the crackdown has become harsher in the last few months , with more surveillance of dissidents , more political education classes for students , more restrictions on overseas study and more persecution of the roman_catholic_church and other religious groups . in addition , the officials said , the government has recently purged or punished many chinese journalists and police officials who expressed support for the democracy movement or did not take a firm stand against it . administration officials said they hoped that , by openly expressing their disappointment with china , they could coax beijing to end the abuse of human_rights . in a surprise to the administration , trade with china was booming even as repression increased there . commerce_department data show that chinese exports to the united_states rose 42 percent last year , to a total of 12 billion . much of the increase occurred in the second half of 1989 , despite the killings in and near tiananmen_square early in june . the beijing authorities have been hard pressed to obtain convertible currency to pay off foreign debt obligations . personal embarrassment to bush for mr . bush , these developments represent a special problem because he invested a lot of political standing in defending his china policy and risked his reputation as someone knowledgeable about the country , where he served as chief of the united_states mission in 1974 and 1975 . mr . bush now voices such disappointment , sometimes even irritation , but has no new policy . in an interview with nbc_news last week , he acknowledged that ''there has n't been much'' give yet by the chinese , and he said , ''i wish there would be more . '' his criticism of china is far milder than that in the state_department 's annual report on human_rights , which sharply assailed chinese abuses . ''i believe i know how to go about trying to see things move forward again , '' mr . bush said . ''some think isolation bring them to heel by publicly slapping people . i think i know china well enough to know that this is n't the way to do it . '' beijing vilified mr . bush for allowing the state_department to issue the report . it further strained relations with washington this week when it expelled an american businessman , john p . cragin , on a charge of conducting ''illegal religious instruction . '' china said he had done ' 'missionary work under the guise of holding english_language training courses in tianjin since october 1989 . '' how state dept . sees it a state_department official said ''we hoped there would be more of a response to the president 's overtures . we are still hoping . the people in power in china today fear that if they do the things we would like them to do to heal the wounds of last june , they will jeopardize their own personal positions . '' the increase in trade between china and the united_states would have been impossible if congress had imposed stiff economic_sanctions , as many lawmakers advocated last summer . mr . bush persuaded congress to hold off , arguing that commercial contacts were good because they ''have led , in essence , to this quest for more freedom'' in china . ''the chinese are desperately trying to increase exports , '' said jan m . whisler , an economist at the united states international trade commission . ''china must now depend almost entirely on export revenues for the hard_currency needed to service its foreign debt of nearly 40 billion . '' major payments on the debt are due this year . a new fight looms in june over trade benefits . china 's most favored nation status , which generally guarantees the lowest possible tariffs on exports to the united_states , is scheduled to expire july 2 . administration officials say mr . bush will seek a regular annual extension of that status for china . many in congress are already gearing up to resist . at least six bills have been introduced to suspend or terminate china 's status as a most favored nation . use of 'forced labor' senate republicans are collecting evidence to show that some of china 's exports , particularly textiles , were produced in prisons and labor_camps . federal law prohibits the importing of any goods produced in a foreign country by ''forced labor'' or ''convict labor . '' textiles accounted for 3 . 2 billion of the 12 billion in chinese exports to the united_states last year . roger w . sullivan , president of the united_states china business council , a trade_association of 300 american companies doing business there , said there would be ''a very strong challenge by congress to renewal of most favored nation status for china . '' although quick to acknowledge that mr . bush has not achieved his objectives , white_house officials are sensitive to criticism of the president 's china policy . mr . scowcroft complains bitterly that his toast ''to u.s . chinese friendship , '' at a banquet in beijing on dec . 9 , has been misread as an endorsement of the military crackdown . likewise , douglas h . paal , the senior specialist on china at the national_security_council , severely criticized a report on china issued last month by asia watch , a human_rights group . when is ferocity restraint ? mr . paal marked up a copy of the report with marginal commentary , like a professor 's comments on a student 's essay . asia watch said that the chinese people 's liberation army had shown ''ferocity'' in suppressing the democracy movement . mr . paal wrote ''some of the p.l.a . actions were indeed ferocious other units at other times did show great restraint . '' asia watch said that thousands of peaceful dissenters were being detained in china without trials . mr . paal wrote , ''the very fact that so many detainees have not been tried indicates some degree of restraint . '' people who originally backed mr . bush 's policy say they , too , have been disappointed . a . doak barnett , professor emeritus of chinese studies at johns_hopkins_university , said he supported mr . bush 's effort to ''halt the downward_spiral in our relations with china'' by sending mr . eagleburger and mr . scowcroft to beijing in december . ''that mission had valid objectives and was worth trying , '' said mr . barnett , who has been studying china for more than four decades . ''but the chinese have not responded sufficiently to indicate a reversal of repressive trends or to have a significant impact on american public opinion or congress . ''

senior british_airways executives are expected to meet on tuesday to discuss business options in the wake of talks between two of its largest competitors . the discussions will include roger maynard , british_airways' director for investments and alliances , an executive close to the company said today . most businesses are closed on monday for a british bank holiday . ''we 're watching recent developments and not ruling out any options , '' steve double , a spokesman for the company , said today . the re examination of british_airways' strategy comes as its biggest local competitors , bmi british_midland airways and virgin_atlantic_airways , have had talks over a possible partnership on some routes or even a merger . ''we have had talks and are continuing to talk with virgin about a number of ways to cooperate , '' ray eglington , a bmi spokesman , said today . ''but there are no ongoing merger discussions . '' bmi could be a valuable asset to either virgin or british_airways because of the access it has to local airports . at heathrow_airport , bmi has 14 percent of all takeoff and landing_slots , behind british_airways , which has 38 percent . one of british_airways' options could be to try to start a partnership with bmi . mr . eglington declined to comment on that possibility . bmi 's chairman , sir michael bishop , has a controlling stake in the company and would have to approve any deal . virgin_atlantic and british_airways , meanwhile , have been fierce competitors for years and any cooperation between the two would be a radical departure . virgin airways is 51 percent owned by the virgin_group , which is controlled by sir richard branson . he has often been openly critical of the british_airways management and business style . most recently , sir richard offered to rescue the british_airways fleet of concorde supersonic jets from planned oblivion by buying them . a virgin_group spokesman , will whitehorn , said he thought british_airways' strategic options with bmi were limited . regulators would not allow a deal between british_airways and bmi , he said . ''they have no chance of acquiring bmi and could never make it work , '' mr . whitehorn said . an alliance between virgin_atlantic and british_airways is also unlikely because of sir richard 's stake in virgin and unwillingness to sell out , mr . whitehorn added . both british_airways and virgin_atlantic were able to turn a profit in the last year , despite falling traffic and prices , by cutting costs . bmi , on the other hand , had a pretax loss in 2002 .

an entry in the ''on the market'' column last sunday for a 649 square_foot condominium with one bedroom and one bath in a gated_community in greenburgh , n.y. , misstated the price . it was 249 , 500 , not 629 , 000 .

lead a decline in imports of cars and other manufactured_goods , combined with a new record in exports , produced a sharply lower trade_deficit in april , the government reported today . a decline in imports of cars and other manufactured_goods , combined with a new record in exports , produced a sharply lower trade_deficit in april , the government reported today . in the second straight month of improvement , the excess of imports over exports fell to 8 . 26 billion , off 13 percent from march . it was the lowest level since july 1988 . the lower trade balance signals that the united_states is becoming more competitive . administration officials and many economists hailed the report as an indication , in particular , that improvement has been achieved despite the run up in the dollar since the beginning of the year . warning on the dollar but some warn that the latest strong advance of the dollar , over the last six weeks , could yet mean a deterioration in the trade_deficit . a higher dollar raises the prices of american exports and lowers the cost of imports forces that normally cause the deficit to widen , and may yet do so later in the year . the dollar rose briefly yesterday on the news of the improved trade_deficit , only to be battered by a selling wave when traders said the improvement was actually not enough to support the heavy buying they had done in anticipation of the report . stock and bond prices also fell with the dollar . the dow_jones_industrial_average was off 28 . 36 points . page_d1 . note of caution from mosbacher the white_house spokesman , marlin fitzwater , said the administration was ' 'very pleased . '' commerce secretary robert a . mosbacher cautioned that while the data are encouraging , it was ''always unwise to put too much weight on any one or two months' figures in these volatile statistics . '' exports rose in april to a record 30 . 57 billion , up from 30 . 32 billion in march . imports , meanwhile , fell to 38 . 84 billion in april , off more than 1 billion from march . the deficit , which had risen to 9 . 82 billion in february from 8 . 67 in january , fell in march to a revised 9 . 54 billion , a drop of 2.9 percent . if during all of 1989 the trade figures maintained the rate of the first four months , the imbalance would show an improvement of nearly 11 billion from the 119 . 8 billion deficit recorded in 1988 . in 1987 , the deficit was a record 152 . 1 billion . the improvements came despite a nearly 9.9 percent jump in the nation 's bill for imported oil . in fact , there was a drop of 1.6 percent in the volume of oil brought into the country , but this was more than offset by an 11 . 6 percent increase , to 17 . 83 a barrel , in the average price of oil over the month . several economists also saw signs in the data , especially in falling imports , that the economy is slowing . but that , they said , is not necessarily bad news . ''if the federal_reserve had a wish list of how it wanted the economy to fall into place , then you could almost say it is falling into place too perfectly , '' noted ram bhagavatula , chief financial economist for citicorp . 'soft_landing' is seen ''all the domestic growth is coming from the export sectors , while domestic demand is weakening , '' he said . ''to the extent that they want a soft_landing , that seems to be what they are getting . '' the federal_reserve has been trying to orchestrate such a soft_landing for the economy by controlling interest rates tightly for more than a year . only recently , on other signs of an economic slowdown , has it begun to ease rates in a way that helps calm fears that the slowdown could lead to a full scale recession . the decline in auto imports , which account for about a third of all cars bought in the united_states , was seen as one sign of a slowdown in the trade report . auto imports fell nearly 7 percent , to their lowest level since january . high inventories of imported cars suggest that imports will remain under pressure . a 9 percent drop in imports of capital goods , like machine_tools , was taken as another sign of sluggishness . still , the latest commerce_department survey of spending plans , released last week , shows that business is generally optimistic . capital expenditures were projected to grow 6.5 percent in 1989 , against 10 . 1 percent actual growth in 1988 . fears on rising exports earlier there had been fears that rising exports , under conditions of robust domestic growth , would push the nation 's production toward its capacity limits , causing more inflation . but many economists see a slackening economy avoiding that pitfall . ''the trade numbers are consistent with a softening economy , '' said brian horrigan , manager of united_states long term forecasting for the wefa group of bala cynwyd , pa . mr . horrigan predicted that both inflation and growth will taper off . against 4.3 percent in the first quarter , wefa is now forecasting the annual rate of economic_growth for the second quarter at 2.6 percent , dropping to 1.9 percent in the third . the economy would remain slow through the first quarter of next year , mr . horrigan said , without falling into a recession , which is normally defined as two straight quarters in which overall activity declines . still , some economists continued to voice concern about the strong dollar , warning that not enough time had elapsed since the dollar began its run up and that this could hurt the trade picture later in the year . they noted that the improvement in the trade balance in recent years was largely the result of a weakening dollar that began in 1985 . largest gap is with japan during april , patterns improved with many of the nation 's trading partners . as usual , the largest deficit was posted with japan , but the 3 . 89 billion imbalance was off sharply from 4 . 22 billion in march . should trade with japan continue at the rate of the first four months , the deficit with that country would be nearly 49 billion , still large , but down from the 52 billion recorded in 1988 . the united_states has just begun a new round of trade talks focused on removing trade_barriers in japan . last month , the united_states named japan , brazil and india as unfair traders , which subjects those nations to sanctions in 18 months if trade restrictions are not removed . with brazil , the april deficit was 365 . 4 million , up from 341 . 3 million . surplus with europe with the european_community , the united_states had a surplus for the third straight month , but the gap was a bit smaller in april than the previous month 437 . 5 million , against 502 . 2 million in march . with canada , america 's largest trading partner , with which it has joined in a free_trade pact , the trade gap widened over the month to 476 . 6 billion , from 387 . 4 billion . other large deficits were recorded with taiwan , 840 . 4 million korea , 544 . 6 million china , 323 . 3 million , and mexico , 318 . 2 million . correction june 17 , 1989 , saturday , late edition final a front page article yesterday about the united_states trade_deficit for april referred incorrectly in some editions to the history of improvement in recent months . april 's was the second monthly improvement in a row , not the third .

mccormick company , the world 's largest spice and seasonings maker , said it was in talks to buy the ducros herb business of eridania beghin say of france to bolster sales in europe . mccormick said in a statement that the discussions were at an advanced stage , but the company declined to comment further . ducros is france 's biggest maker of herbs and spices , with about 234 million in sales last year . it owns five plants in france , albania and portugal and employs about 930 people . mccormick , which is based in sparks , md . , has been working to cut costs in europe to free cash for new products . company news.

after a day of talks here with iraq 's fractious political leaders , vice_president dick_cheney said wednesday that he detected ''a greater sense of urgency'' among them in tackling a list of divisive issues that the bush_administration sees as the key to any sustained progress against the country 's insurgent and militia groups . keeping up the bush_administration 's drumbeat of pressure on iraqi leaders , mr . cheney began his tour of the middle_east with a previously unannounced visit to baghdad , his second since the invasion . in 12 hours of meetings with prime_minister_nuri_kamal_al_maliki and other leaders , he urged the iraqis to act decisively on issues that have riven shiites , sunnis and kurds and told them that political progress in baghdad is essential if american military support is to be sustained in the face of strong congressional and popular opposition in the united_states . at a news conference after the meetings , mr . cheney acknowledged that the iraqis had given him no specific time commitments for legislative action on issues the americans have identified as crucial . they include an oil law that assures a fair distribution of revenue to the different population groups , constitutional reforms that reassure the sunni minority and a revised de baathification law that opens the way to a return to government jobs by thousands of midlevel officials from saddam_hussein 's era . but mr . cheney said his talks with mr . maliki , a shiite , and with leaders of sunni and kurdish factions , had left him with a sense that the iraqis understood the importance of resolving differences that have threatened to collapse the government . just this week , the largest sunni arab bloc threatened to pull out of parliament in frustration at what it described as shiite disregard for their interests , but backed off after a personal intervention by president_bush . ''i do believe that there is a greater sense of urgency now than i 'd seen previously , '' mr . cheney told reporters after separate meetings with mr . maliki , president jalal_talabani , who is a kurd , and with vice_president tariq_al_hashemi , the sunni leader who had led the threatened pullout . in other meetings , he talked with the iraqi ministers of oil , finance , interior and foreign_affairs with lt . gen . aboud al maliki , the iraqi military commander in baghdad and with the leader of a powerful shiite religious bloc who is both a political ally and rival of mr . maliki 's , abdul_aziz_al_hakim . mr . cheney was accompanied at the meetings by the two top american officials in iraq , ambassador ryan c . crocker and gen . david h . petraeus . mr . cheney 's visit was part of a pattern of sustained , high level american engagement with the iraqi leaders in recent weeks . last month , secretary of defense robert m . gates visited baghdad , with a message similar to the one carried here on wednesday by mr . cheney . last week , the message was pressed by secretary of state condoleezza_rice when she met with mr . maliki at an international conference on iraq in egypt . senior administration officials in washington have said the talks have been aimed at pushing the iraqis to act , but also at reassuring them of american support in the face of congressional pressures for a troop_withdrawal . the pressures mr . maliki faces in his own constituency of shiites were underscored when crowds of several hundred protesters gathered in the shiite holy cities of karbala and najaf to protest against mr . cheney 's visit . the protesters were loyalists of the shiite_cleric_moktada_al_sadr a message from him that was read to the crowds gave vent to the virulent anti_americanism that is his hallmark . calling mr . cheney ''one of the world 's most evil infidels , '' the statement said the vice_president had come ''for no purpose other than killing and destruction . '' the crowd responded with cries of ''no , no , america ! '' and ''out , out , occupiers ! '' mr . cheney was cautious in his appraisal of the iraqi response to his appeals for movement on issues that have virtually paralyzed the maliki government in the year it has been in office . during his news conference , he veered away from a question about so called benchmarks that would tie future military and financial support to iraqi progress on the disputed issues , saying the administration would continue to oppose any congressionally mandated restraints on president_bush 's ''prerogatives as commander_in_chief'' or on the ''flexibility'' of american commanders . but it seemed clear that he had warned the iraqi leaders of the threat posed by the mood in congress . ''i did make it clear that we believe it 's very important to move on the issues before us in a timely fashion and that any undue delay would be difficult to explain , and that we hoped they would approach these issues with all deliberate dispatch , if i can put it in those terms , '' he said . ''i think they 're somewhat sympathetic to our concerns . '' the vice_president was similarly tentative about the effects of the increase in american and iraqi troops in baghdad that began two months ago and that will continue as two additional brigades of american_troops , on top of the three already deployed , arrive in the next two months . he said the iraqi leaders he had met here had told him that ''the situation has gotten better'' in the capital and had cited a sharp reduction in sectarian_violence between sunni and shiite groups . as well , he said , the iraqis had cited ''the really dramatic shift'' in anbar_province , west of baghdad , where sunni tribal_leaders have forged an alliance with the americans since the turn of the year that has sharply reduced the levels of violence there . but mr . cheney advised caution . ''the impression i got talking with them , '' he said , referring to the iraqi leaders , ''is that they do believe we are making progress , but we 've got a long way to go . '' in remarks to reporters after his meeting with mr . cheney , prime_minister maliki appeared reluctant to offer any public assurance that the iraqi political process would be accelerated . always enigmatic , mr . maliki has pledged before to speed up the reconciliation process , only to back away almost immediately , leaving american officials unsure whether he has been deterred by fear of criticism from hard line shiites or by more machiavellian motives . ''we talked about the challenges we are facing in our own political process , '' mr . maliki said , with mr . cheney standing beside him . he then embarked on a brief discourse about all that iraq had achieved in the past four years , as though to remind the americans that iraq 's was a sovereign government , for all the help it has received from the united_states . ''we have achieved our own constitution , we have achieved freedom , we have achieved democracy , and we have achieved sovereignty throughout our country , '' he said . in a reminder of the hazards of life in baghdad , reporters accompanying mr . cheney said a late afternoon explosion somewhere in the distance rattled windows in the building in baghdad 's heavily_fortified green_zone where mr . cheney met with many of the iraqi leaders . the blast prompted american security officials to move the reporters down two floors into a basement ''attack shelter'' for a few minutes before the all clear was sounded . a pool report said it was not clear whether mr . cheney who was uninjured when a suicide_bomber attacked an american military base in afghanistan where he was visiting earlier this year had also been moved to a shelter . mr . cheney 's visit was accompanied by continuing violence across iraq . a truck loaded with explosives detonated in front of offices of the kurdish regional government in the northern city of erbil , killing at least 19 people and wounding more than 70 . it was one of the most violent attacks in the city in the course of the war , and prompted a message of condolence from ambassador crocker and general petraeus , who described the attack as ''heinous'' and vowed continued american support in the quest for peace in iraq . ten people were killed when gunmen opened fire on their minibus near latifiya , in a troubled area on the southern perimeter of baghdad that has been the scene of intense sectarian_violence between sunnis and shiites . and the american command said an american soldier had been killed by gunfire on tuesday in diyala_province , a region north and east of north of baghdad that has become the bloodiest focal_point of the war in recent months . a statement by the command also acknowledged that five iraqi civilians , including two children , were killed on tuesday when an apache attack_helicopter fired on what the command said were two men planting a roadside_bomb near mandali , a town in diyala . the chief spokesman for the command , maj . gen . william b . caldwell_iv , said that an investigation had shown that there was no truth to claims by some iraqis in the area that the missile fired by the apache had hit a school . the struggle for iraq.

lead tenant rights , especially in a highly regulated environment like new york city 's , are in a constant state of flux . court decisions , administrative rulings and legislative amendments make it hard for tenants and landlords to keep up with their rights and responsibilities . this is particularly true for the narrowly_focused changes that do not make headlines when they are announced . tenant rights , especially in a highly regulated environment like new york city 's , are in a constant state of flux . court decisions , administrative rulings and legislative amendments make it hard for tenants and landlords to keep up with their rights and responsibilities . this is particularly true for the narrowly_focused changes that do not make headlines when they are announced . several such modifications were made in rent_regulation rules during the last year that may have escaped notice , these among them landlords have won the right to permanent increases in rent after they complete major capital improvements . a new fraud task_force has been established in the state 's division of housing and community renewal to investigate the filing of fraudulent information by landlords with the division 's office of rent administration . the right of an elderly person to break a lease to enter a nursing home has been established in law . there also has been a decision affirming the right of a tenant to make certain improvements in an apartment . the decision concerning major capital improvements came in november in ansonia residents association v . new york state division of housing and community renewal . the state court of appeals turned down a challenge from the tenants in the 500 unit building at 2109 broadway , near 74th_street , who had maintained that any rent increase for large scale improvements in this case new storm windows had to be limited to the recoupment period rather than go on indefinitely . the tenants had argued that once an owner had recovered his costs , the rent increases should be nullified . a lower court had agreed with the tenants . but the housing agency and the landlord appealed , resulting in a reversal by the state 's highest court . nevertheless , if tenants have reason to believe that their rent was raised without the capital improvement 's having been made , or that a new and higher rent has been established through other fraudulent means , they may write to the new fraud task_force created by the state_housing agency ( office of deputy commissioner , office of rent administration , d.h.c.r. , 9231 union hall street , jamaica , n.y . 11433 ) . further , as a result of a decision in versailles realty corp . v . d.h.c.r. , upheld in the appellate_division , second department , several months ago , regulated tenants in co op buildings can no longer be charged a higher rent for a major capital improvement if it was paid for by the co op corporation 's reserve fund . under two laws that became effective late last year , the elderly all over new york state now have the right to break a lease without incurring penalties . both are designed to protect an elderly tenant who wants to move into housing for the elderly or a nursing home during the term of a lease . if the tenant is entering a publicly funded nursing home or nonprofit housing unit , the minimum age for qualification is 62 years if the new accommodations are in the private_sector say , an age restricted condominium the minimum eligibility age rises to 65 . thirty to 60 days' notice , depending on circumstances , must be given in both instances . some leases signed before 1989 , or in the early part of the year , may not qualify . lawyers note that such legislation is likely to become increasingly important to older tenants in expensive apartments now that the market for high rent accommodations is soft . with fewer tenants seeking such apartments , landlords are less likely to be forgiving when an elderly tenant wants to break a lease . without the new protection , the accumulated sum due over the remainder of the lease could cost a tenant thousands of dollars . last october , a decision was handed down that could deter landlords from initiating capricious eviction actions . garay v . devine involved a tenant in a manhattan apartment who had installed new kitchen_appliances without the landlord 's consent . reversing a lower court decision , the appellate term , first department , ruled that the landlord could not evict the tenant because the change did not materially damage the unit or its value . according to deborah davis , a new york city lawyer who handles many landlord tenant cases , this decision should deter landlords from starting eviction actions based on paltry violations of lease terms . ''but it still means that you cannot go ahead and make structural changes without permission , '' she warned . warren estes , a new york city lawyer with expertise in landlord tenant matters , warns tenants that owners are becoming more aggressive in seeking the rents due them . ''in today 's economy , and with higher amounts outstanding , '' mr . estes said , ' 'most landlords are watching their delinquencies more closely . '' he has noticed that landlords are demanding the full rent due on a lease while tenant complaints are being adjudicated , and the courts are supporting their demands . in part , many lawyers say , owners are reacting to the long delays , sometimes as long as two years , in getting decisions from the state rent agency on tenant allegations of rent overcharges . in such cases , tenants had been withholding rents . now owners are seeking evictions for the rent delinquencies . in many of these cases , the courts are now directing tenants to pay the disputed amount into escrow accounts until their complaints are resolved .

gov . george e . pataki said yesterday that he had signed legislation to help self insured workers who lost their jobs because of foreign competition . under the law , such workers will be reimbursed for 65 percent of the cost of their health premiums . the legislation also covers those age 55 and older who are self insured and whose failed company pensions were taken over by the pension_benefit_guaranty_corporation , the government_agency that guarantees pensions . to qualify , a person must directly subscribe to an insurance_company . the reimbursement may be credited to an individual 's federal tax filing or be paid to the insurance_company . stacy albin ( nyt )

japanese insurance_companies have learned to protect themselves against massive losses from earthquakes and will bear very little of the burden of rebuilding the area devastated by the earthquake near kobe . instead , japanese homeowners and companies have been left to bear the brunt of property damages from the earthquake themselves , or to rely on help from the government . even so , analysts expect that the latest earthquake will result in higher premiums for individuals and businesses around the world . " the californian who was looking to buy a home and was already finding it hard to get coverage is likely to find it even harder as a result of the japanese earthquake , " said sean mooney , chief economist for the insurance information institute . after last year 's earthquake in northridge , calif . , where insured losses are now estimated at more than 10 billion and still rising , most insurers in the state stopped accepting new customers and have applied with state regulators to double the price of earthquake insurance . allstate , the second largest insurer in the state , yesterday raised its own estimated loss to 1 . 5 billion . american insurers , with a few exceptions like the american international group , do not have enough business in japan to face significant losses from the earthquake there . but they do rely on other companies , called reinsurance companies , to sell policies that cover very large losses from catastrophes like earthquakes . such disasters have become much more frequent in the past several years , and each new event pushes reinsurers to raise their prices or cut back on the amount of coverage they sell . insurance_companies that deal directly with individuals or businesses must then either pass on those changes to their customers or accept greater risk of loss . although japanese are avid buyers of insurance , spending far more per person on life_insurance than americans , they have been forced by their geological circumstances to accept the risk of earthquakes . harold talbot , a managing director in charge of japanese business at guy carpenter company , a reinsurance broker , noted that the frequency of earthquakes in many highly developed parts of japan means that there is not enough insurance capacity in the world to fully insure japanese households and industry . guy carpenter is a subsidiary of the marsh mclennan companies , the world 's largest insurance_broker . to limit their risk of loss from earthquakes , takeshi sanuki , manager of the new york office of taisei fire marine , noted that companies follow " very tough underwriting standards , " meaning that they simply decline to sell insurance for buildings they think are especially vulnerable to earthquakes . another defense is to charge very high prices . although the japanese government is the major backer for an insurance_industry pool to share losses of up to 18 billion in homeowners insurance , earthquake insurance is not widespread in japan . in 1990 , the latest year for which data was available , fewer than 8 percent of japanese homes had earthquake insurance . because there is no government safety net for earthquake insurance policies for businesses , japanese insurers carefully limit the amount they will sell . in the risky tokyo area , earthquake policies are limited to only 15 percent of the amount of fire insurance . in the district that includes kobe , earthquake coverage is limited to 30 percent of fire insurance . quake in japan paying for it.

lead west_germany today reported another strong monthly trade surplus . economists were surprised at how well exports fared despite the appreciation of the mark against the weakened dollar . west_germany today reported another strong monthly trade surplus . economists were surprised at how well exports fared despite the appreciation of the mark against the weakened dollar . germany 's surplus for march came to 10 . 1 billion_marks , or 5 . 6 billion , down 2.9 percent from february 's 10 . 4 billion_marks , which is equal to 5 . 8 billion , and way above the 8.5 billion_marks , or 4 . 7 billion , in march last year , according to the federal statistics office . economists said they were concerned that the surplus could draw renewed fire from the united_states , which wants germany to buy more and export less as part of the global effort by the united_states to correct its own huge trade_deficit . the dollar 's fall against the mark led economists to expect a sharper cut in the trade surplus , as the higher price of west_german exports should have made them less competitive abroad . but the figures showed march exports were 11 percent higher than in february and 7.6 percent higher than in march last year . the government and economists have said that in real terms the trade surplus is falling . the published trade figures show only nominal trade flows and do not take foreign exchange movements into account .

in a senate race that became a proxy_fight between president_bush and the senate_majority_leader , tom_daschle of south_dakota , mr . daschle can take a little satisfaction , for now . his candidate , the democratic incumbent , tim johnson , held a 527 vote edge in the initial tally over the republican challenger , representative john_thune , who was recruited by the white_house to make the run . but mr . thune did not concede and he has the right to a recount . he said he would await the results of the official vote tally , expected next week . mr . thune 's place in the house will be taken by gov . william j . janklow , a popular republican who was barred by a term_limits law from running again . mr . janklow will be replaced as governor by mike rounds , the former republican state_senate majority leader , who defeated jim abbott , a democrat . senate 100 reporting johnson 167 , 481 ( 50 ) thune 166 , 954 ( 49 ) governor 100 reporting rounds 189 , 899 ( 57 ) abbott 140 , 260 ( 42 ) the 2002 elections midwest.

this sunday 's indianapolis 500 , which usually attract 's the world 's largest crowd for a one day sporting_event , will once again be a showcase of british automotive design and engineering skills . there are no made in britain labels on the sleek , spider like racing cars at the brickyard , where cars are plastered nose to tail with american brand names like miller , marlboro , hertz and pennzoil . but the engines and car bodies that dominate the indy class races are made mainly by specialized companies in england , whose workshops are a blend of high technology and hand craftsmanship . the dozens of specialist english manufacturers , foundries and suppliers in the midlands and southern_england comprise the silicon_valley of auto_racing . in britain , the motor racing industry is a little known success story that earns the country an estimated 1 billion a year from abroad in the sale of cars and parts and from international sponsorship attracted by british based racing teams . the british influence in indy racing is repeated in formula one , the top performance racing series outside the united_states . roughly three quarters of the formula one cars are made in england by leading teams like mclaren , williams and lotus , although the japanese , led by a team involving mclaren , which makes the bodies , and honda , which makes successful racing engines , has made inroads on the formula one circuit . going for 4th straight indy win the chevrolet indy v 8 engine has won the last three indy 500 's , and the winners of all 16 indy series races around the united_states last season were equipped with chevy power_plants . besides its nameplate , chevrolet contributes mostly development money and a computerized engine management system . the engine is designed and produced here in the english midlands by ilmor engineering ltd . the top chassis and body makers are lola cars ltd . and penske cars ltd . , both in southern_england . in the qualifying rounds for the indy 500 , a buick engine actually beat out speeds set by the chevrolet indy v 8 . the buick engine , which is built entirely in the united_states , recorded the fastest speed , an average of 224 . 468 miles an hour over four laps , in a car driven by gary bettenhausen . of the 33 engines in the race on sunday , the two most prevalent engines are the chevrolet indy v 8 , which will power a dozen cars , and the buick engine , which will be in 10 others . the buick engine , which is made from a passenger car v 6 engine block , has never won an indy race . it benefits from indy 500 regulations that allow it have a larger piston displacement and greater turbocharge boost than specially_designed racing engines . england is the center of innovation and production in the auto_racing industry partly for historical reasons . motor racing , like tennis , got its start as a sport here . but britain has retained its traditional edge in auto_racing by displaying a nimbleness in adapting quickly to changing technology and practices that the country has often lacked in other industries . many people involved in auto_racing recall the " club car " days of about 30 years ago , when a racing team meant a tweed coated designer hunched over some drawings and surrounded by a couple of men in overalls who were building a car in a glorified garage . today , by contrast , the cars are designed with the aid of computers and months of wind tunnel testing , and the chassis are predominantly made of vacuum cured carbon_fiber , which is fabricated in the pristine manufacturing environment of a " clean room . " now , behind every car at indianapolis is a team of more than a hundred manufacturing and racing specialists . advancing the frontiers of automotive technology is expensive . that has meant attracting big company sponsors to finance the multimillion_dollar effort of putting a car on the speedway . and those sponsors want their brandnames on winners . " the technology , money and increased competitive pressures have transformed this industry in the past decade or so , " said nick goozee , managing director of penske cars in poole , where a 71 member work force designs and manufactures indy car bodies for the penske race team . new interest in detroit the 1980 's also marked a big shift in detroit 's thinking about auto_racing . because of the oil price shocks of the 1970 's , the racing programs of the detroit auto_makers took a back seat during that decade . " muscle cars " were suddenly seen as unsafe and economically and environmentally gauche . detroit was preoccupied with making cars lighter and cleaner . yet by the 1980 's , detroit again toyed with racing . the engineering challenges of indy racing packaging a powerful but fuel efficient engine in an aerodynamic body were the same ones detroit faced in family sedans . in short , the technology_transfer from racing seemed less tenuous than before . in addition , the general_motors_corporation decided that it wanted to burnish its image as a maker of high performance cars by having its name on indy winners . the announcement by general_motors' chevrolet division in october 1984 that it was going to back ilmor engineering was viewed as a sign of racing 's genuine return to respectability in detroit . " chevrolet decided that it needed to win at indianapolis , " said leon mandel , publisher of autoweek magazine . " backing ilmor was the ultimate affirmation of its commitment to motor racing . " at the time , ilmor was little more than the_dream of its two founders , mario illien and paul morgan . they were supported by roger penske , the former race car driver , chairman of the car retailing and truck leasing company that bears his name , as well as the head of a leading indy car team . both of ilmor 's founders came from cosworth engineering ltd . , then the dominant producer of indy car engines , and just eight miles down the road from where ilmor set up shop . mr . morgan had for years been a field representative for cosworth , visiting the race teams using cosworth engines . mr . penske was intrigued and agreed to back them financially in the early stages , even though the engine design did not yet exist . " i felt those two guys could do it , " mr . penske explained last week . " not a line was on paper then , " recalled mr . illien , a swiss born engine designer , who was convinced he could design an engine more poerful than the cosworth offering . by the time chevrolet agreed to fund the development costs and take a 25 percent stake in ilmor ( mr . penske and the two founders own the rest ) , the blueprints for the 32 valve v 8 engine were complete . seven months later , a prototype had been built and in august 1985 the driver rick mears gave the chevy engine its first test run . its race debut came in april 1986 at the phoenix international speedway in a car driven by al unser a broken rear aerodynamic wing forced it to pull out . some early problems the chevy engine had problems of its own during the first year or so . at the outset , the engines finished about two thirds of the races they started compared with more than 90 percent today . the two founders were constantly shuttling across the atlantic , mr . illien especially . he can stand at the curve of a race_track , listen for a ping , a whine or a murmur to detect an engine malady like a doctor with a stethoscope . the constant attention to detail raised the chevy engine 's winning percentage . in 1987 , the engine powered five winners 14 in 1988 12 in 1989 and all the indy series car races last year . the chevy engines are light , muscular and reliable and cost about 100 , 000 each . the v 8 packs 720 horsepower into 300 pounds of aluminum and steel . by contrast , a five liter , chevy v 8 engine , which powers the full sized chevrolet_caprice used by many new york cabdrivers , weighs 606 pounds with an automatic transmission , and produces 170 horsepower . of the 3 , 000 parts in the chevy indy engine , 587 were designed , redesigned and refined by ilmor . in the rigorous stress of racing , the durability of each part is crucial . in 1987 indy 500 , with just 22 laps of the 200 lap race remaining , mario andretti 's chevy powered car was leading by a full lap . then a valve spring broke , and the car lost . " we lost because a_10 part failed , " mr . morgan said . 12 hour days the ilmor production system is a tightly_controlled team of 110 people at the brixworth factory , backed up by a core of 20 suppliers from small foundries to specialized machine shops , all within 60 miles of ilmor , each typically with the owner working in the shop . " you know you 're going to get quality and performance from that type of firm , " mr . morgan said . at brixworth , 12 hour days are the norm , weekend work is common and there is no overtime pay . " all that matters is getting an engine built on time in perfect working order , " noted paul skelton , a senior production worker . since ilmor was founded with 10 refugees from cosworth , only two workers have left , and mr . morgan gets three letters a day from job_seekers . chevrolet executives decline to say precisely how much money they have invested in ilmor or in racing overall . but they insist their multimillion_dollar investment in the chevy engine pays dividends . herb fishel , director of the chevrolet raceshop , which manages the company 's racing program , says that the lessons learned on the track about engine packaging , electronics and reliability can be applied to enhancing the performance of future family cars . and the production discipline of racing is invaluable for young engineers at a time when detroit is straining to hasten its development of new models and engines . " racing is no ivory_tower environment , " mr . fishel said . " you find out very quickly come sunday afternoon whether something works or it does n't . " the marketing payoff from racing is often measured by the number of " impressions " or " mentions " of the chevrolet in the press , television and at the race_track . for his part , mr . fishel measures it more simply . " winning the indy 500 is one hell of a marketing tool , " he said .

the air_force 's top general said monday that american warplanes would have to support iraq 's fledgling security forces well after american ground troops eventually withdraw from the country . gen . john p . jumper , who is to step down this week as the air_force chief of staff , predicted that american fighter and reconnaissance_aircraft would continue flying missions over iraq for a long time , until iraqi forces are capable of fighting insurgents on their own . ''as i see the transition into the hands of the iraqi military , i will continue to see the need for them to require the support from the air until they 're able to set up their own ability to support themselves , '' general jumper told reporters at the pentagon . ''and that 's going to take a while , even after some future withdrawal of ground forces . '' in an interview earlier this month , general jumper was even more explicit when asked about the air_force 's future in iraq . ''we will continue with a rotational presence of some type in that area more or less indefinitely , '' he said . ''we have interests in that part of the world and an interest in staying in touch with the militaries over there . '' american and other allied combat aircraft , including remotely_piloted predator drones , now fly about 50 close_air_support and armed reconnaissance missions every day . iraq 's tiny air_force consists of just a few cargo and reconnaissance planes the main allied effort has been to rebuild the iraqi ground forces . a small number of the american planes are in iraq , and if they remain there , they would have to be protected , probably by united_states ground forces . but many american warplanes also fly missions over iraq from other countries in the region . in the wide_ranging interview with reporters on monday , general jumper said the loss of access to an important air base in uzbekistan could be offset without hurting combat operations and relief missions in afghanistan . ''we have plenty of alternatives , '' he said , without identifying them . ''from a political point of view , i 'm disappointed we 've been asked to leave . from a mission point of view , we 're going to get the mission just fine . '' he also said that despite a decision last week by the military base closing commission to keep ellsworth air force base in south_dakota open and to delay the closing of cannon air force base in new mexico , as well as to restore some proposed shifts of air_national_guard units , the panel approved about 70 percent of the pentagon 's recommendations affecting air_force bases . ''that 's still a considerable amount of change , '' general jumper said . ''i do n't look at it as a severe blow . i look at it as getting actually most of what we asked for . '' four previous commissions each endorsed about 85 percent of the defense_department 's recommendations to close , consolidate or shift military sites . a pentagon spokesman , glenn flood , said pentagon analysts were still calculating the results of the panel 's decisions last week . general jumper , 60 , whose first day at the office as chief of staff was sept . 11 , 2001 , will be succeeded friday by the air_force vice chief of staff , gen . t . michael moseley .

saeko ichinohe blends japanese and western modern_dance forms . ms . ichinohe , a new york based modern_dance choreographer , goes further in ''stars stripes and cherry blossoms , '' revived on tuesday night for a program at kaye_playhouse . the piece examines the changes in japanese culture following the arrival of commodore perry in 1853 . the theme is unclear at times . but there was nothing mystifying about ''utamaro , '' choreographed with ms . ichinohe 's longtime company member jeff moen . ms . ichinohe and mr . moen draw on the near stillness and stylization of japanese classical_dance in the new piece , which was inspired by the work of the 18th_century woodblock artist utamaro . the dance gets off to a somewhat cluttered start , but it quickly moves into four portraits like those utamaro created of everyday women of the time . in mr . moen 's ''oiran , '' an aging courtesan meditates on life , her layers of colorful robes slipping off to reveal a severe black underdress , which is then covered again as she puts the robes back , one by one . ms . ichinohe is haunting and powerful as the courtesan in a solo that is essentially one very slow , broken walk to the center of the stage . in ms . ichinohe 's ''awabi tori , '' the luminous shiho miyazawa is a diver catching abalone , her gently stretching arms and her body seemingly bathed in an early morning light and atmosphere . three women haruno yoshida , cho ying tsai and ms . miyazawa are the ''kitchen beauties'' in ms . ichinohe 's charming ''suji bijin , '' every part of their bodies chattering as they prepare and serve a meal to an invisible master . two lovers move as one through ms . ichinohe 's ''michiyuki , '' dedicated to her mentor , antony_tudor , in a dance whose every drawing apart brims with pain and fear , in part because of the strong performances of mr . moen and yukie okuyama . ms . okuyama designed the costumes for ''utamaro , '' which was performed to japanese traditional music and scored by contemporary japanese composers . chenault spence designed the lighting . the company also included tetsushi segawa , a guest from les_ballets grandiva , and takashi irisawa and rie fukuzawa . dance review.

without depositing any driving rain or generating any gusty wind , hurricane frances reached into the bronx yesterday and disrupted the yankees' baseball schedule . despite a sun that shone brightly over yankee_stadium , the yankees did not start a labor day doubleheader with the tampa_bay_devil_rays at the originally scheduled time of 1 p.m . nor did they start at 3 p.m. , the adjusted time . perhaps a thousand fans were in the stands and the yankees players were in their clubhouse they had been instructed to report at noon but they had no one to play . the devil_rays , buffeted by hurricane frances , had not arrived . the tampa_bay traveling party had planned to leave yesterday morning , but area airports were closed or impossible to reach because of stormy weather . the team 's chartered plane finally took off from tampa airport at 3 p.m. , and as it flew north , the yankees and the commissioner 's office announced that the teams would play a single game starting at 7 p.m . the devil_rays landed at la_guardia airport at 5 25 p.m. , and a police escort led them to yankee_stadium , where they arrived at 6 05 p.m . ''i think we can be ready to play at 7 , '' rick vaughn , the devil_rays' vice_president for public_relations , said on his cellphone as the plane taxied to the buses waiting to whisk the team to the stadium . they were ready , and orlando hern_ndez threw the game 's first pitch at 7 02 p.m . a crowd of about 30 , 000 appeared to be on hand some of the fans having waited hours and hours for a game to finally begin , others learning from radio and television announcements that the doubleheader had been derailed and showing up far closer to the real starting time . later , the yankees announced that the paid attendance was 44 , 422 , reflecting the number of tickets actually sold . the second game , which was to be a makeup of a game that was rained out in the second week of the season in april , was a subject of controversy . the yankees wanted the commissioner 's office to forfeit the game to the yankees , but baseball officials said that would not happen . one official said bob dupuy , baseball 's chief_operating_officer , engaged in a shouting incident with the yankees on sunday over the issue . dupuy prevailed . commissioner bud_selig essentially confirmed that he would not award a forfeit to the yankees , saying in a statement , ''given the stage of the season we are in , and the exciting pennant races , it is critical that we do everything to decide the championship on the field , being fair to all teams involved . '' but the devil_rays are not expected to get away with their tardiness completely . ''the situation will be reviewed , '' dupuy said yesterday , and that review is expected to result in a heavy fine for the devil_rays . brian_cashman , the yankees' general_manager , said yesterday that if the game was not forfeited , the yankees would schedule it for oct . 4 , the day after the regular season ends , and then play it only if necessary . but they are not going to get their way there , either , an official said . the missing game , the official said , would be played as part of a doubleheader tomorrow or thursday , though rain is forecast for both days . ''we believe there should be a forfeit , '' randy_levine , the yankees' president , told reporters in a news conference on the field before last night 's game . ''a rule is a rule . it should be applied . '' levine said the yankees were sensitive to hurricane victims , but he also said the devil_rays could have been in new york on time for the doubleheader and should have left tampa before the hurricane hit saturday afternoon . ''it was not unforeseen , '' levine said in reference to the hurricane 's time of arrival . indeed , dupuy said , baseball officials asked the devil_rays to try to go to new york on friday night , but they opted not to . there was speculation that vincent naimoli , the team owner , who has had financial difficulties with his low payroll team , did not want to pay an extra two days of expenses hotel rooms and meal money but the players had their own reason for not wanting to leave before today their families . vaughn said that the devil_rays were in texas three weeks ago when hurricane charley pounded florida and that the players did not want to be away from their families when the second hurricane arrived . the players also had the backing of the players association in making sure their families were safe and secure . ''rocco baldelli called me last week about it , '' gene orza , the union 's chief_operating_officer , said in reference to the devil_rays' outfielder . ''i told them not to go to new york before the hurricane hit and their families were secure . then they had an obligation to make a reasonable effort to get here in time . '' the devil_rays played at home against detroit on friday night , but they postponed the saturday and sunday games . detroit flew out after the friday night game . . meanwhile , the weather in tampa remained good until saturday afternoon . then rain and heavy winds battered the area much of the remaining part of the day and again sunday . the players arrived at tropicana field in st . petersburg by 8 yesterday morning , ready to fly to new york , but had nowhere to go , vaughn said , because they could not get to any of the outlying airports . an official of the hillsborough aviation authority said tampa airport reopened at 9 yesterday morning . there was no explanation why the devil_rays did not leave for that airport earlier than their 1 p.m . departure time . ''we 're on a bus going to the airport , '' vaughn said on his cellphone at about 1 30 . ''we 're right over tampa_bay . the traffic is pretty bad . '' but having overcome frances , the devil_rays plowed through the traffic , too , and their delta airlines charter took off at 3 p.m . ''we 're taxiing down the runway , '' vaughn said a minute before takeoff . when the devil_rays arrived at the stadium in two buses , about 100 people were standing around the players entrance . many booed the players as they got out and headed into the stadium . one player was not on the plane . aubrey huff , one of the team 's best hitters , was stuck at home . ''aubrey lives in a low lying area and a heavily flooded area , '' vaughn said . ''he was n't able to get out . '' but with the devils rays in the house , a long day 's journey was finally progressing toward a baseball game . it was a day that really began in the bronx at 11 a.m. , when the gates opened and several hundred people took their seats , not knowing what lay ahead . shortly after 3 p.m. , the yankees announced that free hot_dogs and drinks were available . and the yankees decided that fans could get a rain check , whether or not they used yesterday 's tickets . compliments came the yankees' way . ''they have been extraordinarily cooperative under extremely difficult circumstances , '' dupuy said . selig issued a statement in which he , too , praised the yankees . but he did not grant them their forfeit . baseball.

big and bold are the signs outside chelsea mercantile heralding its conversion from four interconnecting commercial buildings at 252 seventh_avenue into a condominium with 354 studio to four bedroom loft apartments that went on the market in late may . an electronic sign flashes features of and reasons to live in the horseshoe shaped group of 14 to 19 story buildings built between 1906 and 1914 and combined over time that fills the blockfront along seventh_avenue and turns the corner on both 24th and 25th streets . atop another sign , with 5 to 7 foot high head and shoulder pictures of potential buyers , is a cutout of a calico cat , indicating that the 700 , 000 square_foot condo is pet friendly , said the rockrose development corporation , which with partners is converting the sand colored brick and limestone complex . when completed next summer , the 168 million project , among the bigger condominium conversions in midtown_manhattan , ''will be a throwback to classic loft living with modern day amenities , '' said kevin p . singleton , vice_president at rockrose . the apartments range in size from 856 to 3 , 069 square_feet and include 26 one to three story penthouses . so far , 90 apartments have been sold , said richard cantor of cantor pecorella , the project 's sales agent . prices are 345 , 000 to 3 million , he said . originally , a garment factory and mail_order business occupied 252 seventh_avenue , which was once known as the chelsea mercantile building . the government owned the property from 1946 to 1996 and housed different offices and operations there . the department_of_veterans_affairs , which used it as a clinic and light manufacturing center where shoes and prosthetic devices were made , was the last tenant before rockrose bought the building for 41 . 1 million at a 1997 government sponsored auction . in place of old production lines and offices , rockrose is creating apartments , with 108 floor plans . all units will have 11 to 14 foot_ceilings and large windows and some will have river views . top floor apartments will have terraces others will share a common 10 , 000 square_foot roof_deck . to offer what mr . singleton described as ''intimacy within grandeur , '' the interior is being designed to appear much smaller . four elevators , reached through a rotunda lobby , will take residents to different parts of the complex and open onto residential floors where six or seven apartments are to be visible , though the floors extend throughout the building . the architect for the apartments is avinash k . malhotra gruzen_samton designed the lobby and common corridors . planned amenities include doormen , a fitness center and garage parking for 167 cars . whole foods market , a natural foods supermarket_chain , is to open a 40 , 000 square_foot store , its first in manhattan , in the building .

a marine transport helicopter that crashed last week northwest of baghdad was shot down , the top united_states military spokesman in iraq said wednesday , reversing the military 's earlier contention that mechanical failures had caused the crash . the spokesman , maj . gen . william b . caldwell , said the helicopter , a ch 46 sea knight , had been brought down by ' 'some sophisticated piece of weaponry , '' killing all seven people aboard . at a briefing in baghdad , he declined to speculate about where the shot or shots came from and did not identify the weapon used except to say it was more than a machine_gun . but by acknowledging that antiaircraft fire had brought the helicopter down , he confirmed that more aggressive methods of attack were being used against american aircraft , underscoring concerns that one of iraq 's safest forms of transport has become more perilous . the ch 46 was one of seven helicopters to crash in recent weeks , five of them apparently shot down . several iraqi witnesses were unequivocal in their assessment that militants downed the ch 46 , citing smoke trails from what appeared to be a missile . a statement from the united_states military on wednesday defended the initial assessment , noting that the attack was not seen by the pilots of the ah 1w super_cobra helicopter escorting the ch 46 . ''the pilots did observe the fire , descent and subsequent crash , '' the statement said . ''the initial signs resembled fires that have occurred aboard ch 46s experiencing mechanical difficulties in the past . '' in his briefing , general caldwell also said military officials were scrutinizing a video from a shiite_militia web_site showing a man who appeared to be specialist ahmed al taie , an american soldier abducted by masked_gunmen in baghdad last year . in the video , he appears to be reading a statement , but the sound is muted . the struggle for iraq.

you may not always think so , because numbskulls are hardly in short supply , but there are a lot of very smart people in new york city . proof of a sort came this week when the 1997 macarthur fellowships were announced . each year , the john d . and catherine t . macarthur foundation of chicago distributes several million dollars among 20 to 30 americans for no better reason than that they are world class brains , people who push the envelope in their fields . not for nothing are the awards often called ''genius grants . '' of this year 's 23 winners , 4 were from new york . even this nongenius could tell right away that that 17 percent share was disproportionately high for a city that has less than 3 percent of the united_states population . nor was this year exceptional . a macarthur analysis of its 457 fellows from 1981 to 1995 showed that 93 , or 20 percent , lived in new york state , with most coming from this city . only california had more grant recipients barely , with 95 . keep in mind that california has 32 million people compared with new york 's 18 million . let's not fool ourselves . geographical happenstance is an important factor . regardless of where they are born , creative people tend to flock to cities , and this country 's largest magnets are university centers on either coast , new york included . still , the point is that this is a town with no shortage of mega brains . that being the case , it gives rise to a question if we 're so smart , how come we cannot devise a state government that works better than the existing dysfunctional system of late budgets , closed door negotiations and legislators who seem unable to walk and chew on more than one issue at the same time ? that question looms larger than ever now that the melodrama over rent regulations has put albany 's shortcomings so harshly in the spotlight . the answer is that of course we have the smarts to come up with something more efficient . and this year we have the means to put that brainpower to work a statewide referendum on the november ballot that will ask new yorkers if a convention should be held in 1999 to amend or even totally rewrite the 220 year old state constitution . the constitution requires that voters be asked every 20 years if they want to hold a constitutional convention , known to lovers of shorthand as a con con . usually , they say no . the last con con was held in 1967 , but not at the voters' instigation . when the elaborate document that emerged was put before them , they shot it right down . there has been no dramatic reworking of the state constitution since 1938 . but consider the opportunity that now exists . if you think that an issue like new york city 's rent regulations should be settled by people living in the five boroughs and not in rensselaer_county , then a convention is perhaps the best way to overhaul the system so the city gets the home_rule it deserves and sorely lacks . that alone would make the effort worthwhile , some feel , although many other matters could be taken up , from the eternal senate assembly gridlock to albany 's moribund legislative committees . ''it 's the last and best chance in modern new york to get a political system that works , '' said prof . gerald benjamin , a political_scientist at the new paltz campus of the state university . former gov . mario m . cuomo gives it almost a biblical dimension . ''it 's as though somebody said look , moses did a pretty good job , but maybe you think we need some more rules , or fewer rules , '' he said . even some who are undecided about a con con have pet issues they would put before it . ''no decision of any consequence in the legislature is done in front of the public , '' said eric lane , a hofstra_university law professor . writing recently in city journal , a publication of the manhattan institute , he likened legislative sessions to ''a meeting of the supreme soviet . '' right now , the odds against a convention are long . the voters said no in the last referendum , in 1977 , and this year does not look different , despite the widespread disenchantment with albany . legislative leaders oppose the idea , and the governor shows no enthusiasm . and a broad array of interest groups conservatives , advocates for the poor , environmentalists share a fear that any constitutional change may be bad for them . even so , this is the best opportunity in a long time to put new york 's brains to work . not that a single genius grant went to a politician . or to a newspaper pundit , for that matter . nyc.

japanese stock prices rose today in moderate trading . the nikkei index of 225 issues gained 244 . 99 points , or nearly 1 percent , to close at 25 , 643 . 65 . on wednesday , the nikkei lost 82 . 55 points .

the department of defense has identified 1 , 051 american service members who have died since the start of the iraq_war . it confirmed the death of the following american yesterday prewitt , tyler d. , 22 , sgt . , army phoenix first infantry division .

lead trying to help single mothers leave welfare and join the work force or job training is often thwarted by the fact that many of the women cannot read above a fourth_grade level . trying to help single mothers leave welfare and join the work force or job training is often thwarted by the fact that many of the women cannot read above a fourth_grade level . early this year , the state_department of income maintenance earmarked more than 300 , 000 for remedial education programs to prepare 300 single mothers on welfare to start careers . now , the officials say that the training has been so successful that this fall the department is allocating 600 , 000 for at least 500 women . of the women in the program from last february to june , most are either earning more than 12 , 000 a year or are training for a career , according to the officials . the program tries to raise educational skills a minimum of two levels or grades , said rosemary talmadge , director of the job connection program for the welfare agency . the women register with job connection , a requirement for all women who collect welfare and have children who are older than 6 . according to miss talmadge , 61 percent of the women do not have high_school diplomas and 24 percent completed less than eight years of school . however , many have fourth_grade or lower levels in reading , writing and mathematics skills , she said , and have been collecting welfare at least five years . ''we 've found that there are a lot of wonderful job training programs out there for welfare_recipients , '' miss talmadge said . ''but lots ca n't meet the educational requirements . in general , they have to be on an eighth_grade level to qualify . our goal is to get these people off welfare by providing that first step . '' the training is offered in bridgeport , hartford , meriden , middletown , new haven , new london , norwich and waterbury . the classes are in y.w.c.a . 's , community centers , board of education buildings and community_colleges . eliza white , 30 years old , of meriden , was one of eight women at the meriden y.w.c.a . open dohr developing opportunities for human_resources program last february . a single mother of four young_boys , she said she always had wanted to work with disadvantaged people , but did not possess the necessary academic skills . she dropped out of school after the ninth_grade . since completing the program , miss white said , her skills had improved enough to take the general equivalency_diploma examination . she added that she also had found a ''good paying job'' with the state_department of mental_retardation as a residential aide . ''i 've really come a long way , '' she said . ''the meriden program taught me how to be aggressive and assertive , as well as helping me with reading and math skills . when i was a little girl , i wanted to be a nurse . now i feel i can do that . '' the executive director of the meriden y.w.c.a. , shane rood , said ''we 're trying to get them a job with a living wage and career paths . these parents face barriers like child_care costs and transportation problems . and on top of that , if they ca n't read beyond a fourth_grade level , no matter how motivated they are , they wo n't get a decent job . '' the director of the education program that began this fall at the greater hartford community_college , maria posada , said if single mothers could not obtain jobs that paid substantially more than their welfare allotments ''it 's useless . '' ''in a few months they 'll be back on welfare , '' she said . miss posada 's program has 25 hispanic recipients whose first language is spanish and who are illiterate in spanish and english . reading and writing are just part of the daily lessons , miss posada pointed out . such topics as being a parent , child_abuse , teen pregnancy and medical problems also will be discussed . ''i 'm doing my dream , this is what i 've always wanted to do , '' miss posada said . ''i 'm a firm believer that when you 're dealing with the disadvantaged , you ca n't just teach them one thing like reading and think it will change their lives . '' she said she hoped not only to increase educational skills , but also to help the mothers understand ''who they are , how they got in their situations and how to get out . '' in new haven , the program , called abc , is offered by the regional council on education for employment at science park . last spring , 150 women completed it and are in computer science or other job training programs , according to the abc manager , james bradley . ''the common misconception is that these people are stupid , '' he said . ''but no , we 're not dealing with stupid people , just uneducated . ''look at the typical bus route schedule or store directions in a mall . people on a fourth_grade reading level usually ca n't understand them . stupid ? no . just limited . '' the new haven program is structured like a corporate office . the women are required to follow strict dress and attendance rules . ''no one 's ever asked very much of these people , '' said mr . bradley . ''but when you make demands on them , it 's remarkable . their self_image just skyrockets . '' miss posada agreed , saying ''this is a desperate situation . they 're good people , but they do n't have any dreams . many feel they and their children have no way out . ''

the ruling liberal democratic_party will pump 400 billion_yen ( 3 . 3 billion ) of taxpayer money into a fund to repay the policyholders of bankrupt life insurers . the fund , the life_insurance policyholders protection corporation of japan , uses money from life insurers and the government to pay off policyholders , but the failure of several large life_insurance companies has drained almost all the money from the fund . life insurers have resisted pressure from the government to replenish their part of the fund , saying that they lack the available cash . the government will make its share of the fund available through march 2006 . if no money is used , it will be returned to the government . ken_belson ( nyt )

the president of germany 's central_bank , helmut_schlesinger , said today that pressure from abroad for lower german interest rates was only causing new mistrust . in a speech at the university of frankfurt , mr . schlesinger said inflation was still not under control in his country . he reiterated his belief that because the mark served as an anchor currency in europe , excessive inflation in germany would also endanger the value of currencies in other european_countries . " the pressure from some of our partner countries for an easing in german monetary policies , even though the goal of price stability has not yet been achieved , would only raise new mistrust , " mr . schlesinger said .

chinese bankers are in new york to gauge investor interest in about 2 billion of nonperforming_loans and real_estate assets from one of china 's largest state banks , the industrial and commercial_bank of china . the china huarong asset_management corporation , set up to liquidate the bank 's bad_debts , expects to auction the assets at the end of the year . craig s . smith ( nyt )

it certainly seemed to be an englishman 's sort of afternoon as the dark clouds hung low and the spectators kept their overcoats buttoned and their umbrellas at the ready . but it turned out to be ideal argentine weather instead , as guillermo coria put an end to an unlikely and deeply diverting run by tim_henman of britain with a 3 6 , 6 4 , 6 0 , 7 5 victory in the semifinals at the french open . for coria 's pains and henman caused him plenty with his risky , net rushing style he earned a place in his first grand_slam final . and whoever wins sunday at roland_garros , argentina will be the winner , because coria 's opponent will be his countryman gaston gaudio . even in the heady days when guillermo vilas and jos luis clerc were whipping ground strokes heavy on topspin and machismo , argentina never put two players in the same major final . but argentine tennis is much more than a two man show in this era , as the unseeded , 25 year old gaudio proved with his 6 3 , 7 6 ( 5 ) , 6 0 victory in friday 's first semifinal over yet another argentine , eighth_seeded david nalbandian . nalbandian was not at his best after straining a rib in his quarterfinal victory over gustavo kuerten , but even at his best , nalbandian would have had difficulty overcoming gaudio 's consistent forehand and beautiful one handed backhand . gaudio still had to overcome a 1 5 deficit to win the second set , and when it ended , he sat in his chair at the side of the court and sobbed into a towel , his mind flooded with memories . ''all those practices , all those sacrifices , all the people who helped me , it was all playing like a movie in my head , '' he said . now argentine tennis will have its hollywood ending , and vilas , who won here in 1977 , will finally have his successor . ''this final is going to be something historic , '' coria , who is seeded third , said . ''the truth is that argentine tennis deserves this . we 've been fighting and working hard , and it 's been difficult because we 're often far from home . '' though an all argentine final is a first in a major tournament , it fits neatly into the modern tennis continuum . since 1994 , there have been three all spanish men 's finals at roland_garros , and all williams or all belgian finals have been the rule of late in the women 's game at grand_slam events . this year , the nationalities have changed . on saturday , anastasiya myskina and elena_dementieva will play the sport 's first all russian grand_slam final . the next day , coria and gaudio will renew their occasionally testy rivalry , which boiled over in hamburg , germany , last year when they exchanged harsh words and according to some reports shoved each other in the locker_room after gaudio said coria taunted him on court during his three set victory . ''yeah , but we talk about it , and that 's it , '' gaudio said . ''it 's over . everything is clear now . '' it is also clear that coria deserves to be the favorite . since losing last year in the french open semifinals to martin verkerk , coria has won 37 of 38 matches on clay . ninth seeded henman played superb tennis in the early going , attacking the net selectively and effectively and hitting bold winners with his forehand from the baseline . after henman broke coria 's serve to take a 5 3 lead in the first set , coria broke his racket on the clay , receiving a warning for racket abuse . henman then coolly served out the set . henman took a_4 2 lead in the second set before coria began producing more depth with his strokes and henman 's level began to sink . henman 's forehands began to fly and coria 's passing shots regularly found the inside of the lines . he won 13 games in a row , taking a 3 0 lead in the fourth set before henman shifted the momentum by winning five consecutive games . but when the time came to serve out the set at 5 4 , he was unable to convert , double faulting at 15 15 , then losing the next two points . as the set wore on , the 29 year old henman began to look leg weary . the match ended with a backhand long . unlike gaudio , coria kept his composure in victory . ''it 's been my dream to win roland_garros , '' he said , ''not to get to the final of roland_garros . '' it turned out to be argentina 's day , despite the very english weather and the very english ending . does n't henman always lose in the semifinals at wimbledon , too ? match points martina_navratilova 's bid to win the women 's doubles title here at age 47 ended in the semifinals friday , when she and lisa raymond were beaten by svetlana kuznetsova and yelena likhovtseva of russia , 6 2 , 6 4 . kuznetsova was navratilova 's regular partner last year . . . . there is one american still in contention in paris . alex kuznetsov , a 17 year old who was born in ukraine but now lives in richboro , pa . , will face gael monfils of france in the boys' singles final on sunday . tennis.

a 9 percent stake in lukoil , russia 's largest oil company , was sold on friday to an offshore company thought to have close ties to lukoil management . the stake , which was held by the russian government , was acquired by reforma investment ltd . of cyprus for only 5 , 000 more than the state 's asking price of 200 million . the starting price itself was at least 30 percent below the market value of the shares . the low asking price , the murkiness of reforma 's ownership and the slim margin by which it won the stake are reminiscent of the insider deals during the privatization of russia 's largest companies in the mid 1990 's . lukoil denies any ties to reforma . but executives at russia 's largest companies have historically been interested in buying newly_privatized state shares to keep as tight a grip as possible on their concerns . reforma must now also invest an additional 240 million in lukoil over the next six months , mostly to pay off the company 's debts .

senator john_kerry urged president_bush yesterday to share responsibility for iraq with the united_nations , saying the administration 's ' 'stubborn'' insistence on controlling the reconstruction there was costing americans money and lives . ''we should n't only be tough , we have to be smart , '' mr . kerry said at a news conference in harlem in which he directly responded to mr . bush 's on tuesday . ''and there 's a smarter way to accomplish this mission than this president is pursuing . '' mr . kerry said mr . bush ought to ''just come out and say , 'i want the united_nations to be a full partner , ' '' and offer to turn over civil authority in iraq . ''that 's the argument right now , '' he said . ''whether or not we 're prepared to turn the authority over , whether they 're prepared to come in without the authority . that 's the fight . and the question is why the president wo n't do that . '' mr . kerry asked why lakhdar_brahimi , a united_nations special envoy , was charged only with handling the transition of government authority ''and not the reconstruction and not the full authority for the transformation of government . '' mr . kerry was short on specifics , however , when asked what he would do were he president . reminded that some countries appeared uninterested in becoming involved , he said , ''it may take a new president , then , in order to change the atmosphere . '' he referred vaguely to the presidential ''power of persuasion . '' and he described the problem as a chicken and egg quandary , saying ''which comes first , european participation or stability ? the worse it gets , the harder it gets to get what you need . '' but again , when asked what he would offer european_nations to enlist their help , mr . kerry said only that he would be ''personally deeply involved with the leaders of those countries'' and would work with secretary_general_kofi_annan of the united_nations ' 'much more directly'' than mr . bush . mr . kerry spoke in the great_hall of the city_college of new york , where a short time earlier he found himself defending the president 's stay the course approach in iraq , insofar as both officials have made stability in iraq a precondition for withdrawing american_troops . in a town hall style meeting attended by more than 400 people , with senator hillary_rodham_clinton and representative charles b . rangel beside him , mr . kerry came under attack from the left when a retired professor of mathematics , walter daum , questioned him on iraq . ''you said , 'stay the course , ' but what the u.s . is doing is bombing hospitals , bombing mosques , killing hundreds of civilians , '' mr . daum , 64 , said . ''is that the criminal course you want to stay ? it 's an imperialist country fighting an imperialist war . at one time you opposed an imperialist war . i 'm old enough to have done that myself . '' mr . daum , who called himself a socialist , continued ''people hate george_bush . but by the end of your presidency , people will hate you for the same thing . '' as several people in the audience hooted in support , mr . kerry answered ''i have consistently been critical of how we got where we are . but we are where we are , sir , and it would be unwise beyond belief for the united_states_of_america to leave a failed iraq in its wake . what we need to do is help transition to stability , that helps recognize people 's rights . i 'm sure you want to recognize people 's rights . '' ''i want the americans out ! '' mr . daum shouted . ''yes , and i want the americans out '' mr . kerry started . ''no you do n't , you say , 'stay the course' ! '' mr . daum shouted again . ''stay the course of leaving a stable iraq , '' mr . kerry said , finally winning a round of applause . though he was addressing a room full of college students , mr . kerry barely mentioned his plan for full four year state college scholarships for 200 , 000 students who perform public service . his campaign released a proposal on paying for the scholarships , which it estimates would cost 13 billion over 10 years . the campaign said mr . kerry would save 12 billion by changing a law that guarantees what critics call excessive profits for banks that make federally guaranteed student loans . the profits come from a spread between the rates charged to students and the rates the banks receive from the government . the plan would make banks bid to reach the lowest rates . the two rates are now set by law at a fixed amount above fluctuating interest rates . jonathan gruber , a former treasury department official who is a professor of economics at the massachusetts_institute_of_technology , said that he wrote a report in 1998 arguing that banks were making excessive profits , but that congress cut the rate for students 80 basis_points while reducing the bank rate 30 basis_points , effectively widening profit_margins . ''you can think of this as congress 's paying banks to make very profitable government guaranteed loans , '' professor gruber said , adding that although the subsidy was widely criticized , ''no one wants to take on the banks . '' mr . kerry closed out his day in new york by raising money . his campaign said that a gala at the sheraton new york raised 6 million and that another at a nightclub , crobar , brought in 500 , 000 . the campaign said the total was a one day record for new york .

the german central_bank 's surprising decision to increase interest rates last month has raised new questions about germany 's commitment to international cooperation in general and to western_europe 's goals of economic_integration and monetary_union in particular . in the week after jan . 31 , when the central_bank , the bundesbank , raised two important rates by half a percentage point each , the dollar fell to new lows against the mark . the decline of the dollar was hastened by the decision a day later by the federal_reserve_board in the united_states to cut its discount_rate , also by half a percentage point . the dollar 's decline came despite three days of intervention by the world 's central_banks to stem the american currency 's fall . attractive to investors the widening difference , as german interest rates rise and american ones fall , bothers american officials because it makes germany more attractive to international investors . the united_states is preoccupied by a recession and thus cannot raise rates to remain more competitive . but the lower dollar helps american exports by making united_states products cheaper overseas . conversely , it hurts european exports to the united_states because they become progressively more expensive as the dollar weakens . the german currency 's growing strength has also increased pressure for a realignment of exchange_rate parities in the european monetary system just as other european_community nations want to maintain the status_quo . that is why many foreign officials and economists saw the move by the bundesbank as a message that national concerns still far outweighed any international considerations . " there are those who think of others , and there are those who think of themselves , " pierre_beregovoy , the french finance minister , said last week . shifting priorities some economists said the bundesbank might also be signaling that the european_community 's plans for economic_union , a european_central_bank and a single_currency were not high on its agenda . " the increase was a reminder that when these things come about , it will be on germany 's terms and that for now , the bundesbank can dictate policy to europe , " said a . gary shilling , the president of shilling company , an economic consulting and investment advising group based in springfield , n.j . " i think it is bound to slow down the move toward a single european_community market in 1992 and the plans for economic_integration , " he added . " in times of turmoil , like now , internationalism goes by the boards . " bundesbank policy_makers justified the increase on domestic grounds . they said it was needed to counteract the inflationary potential of chancellor helmut_kohl 's plans to finance the reconstruction of eastern_germany through intense public_sector borrowing . the friction between the central_bank and bonn over the soaring german budget_deficit and the need to cut spending and raise taxes has rarely been greater . an awkward position but the bundesbank directors are in the awkward position of having to curry support in bonn for their plan for reorganizing the bank to reflect the increased size of a united germany . the reorganization was mandated by the german unity treaty and must be done in 12 months . it is likely to become a subject of political debate . the german move also spotlights the fact that monetary and economic policy among the 12 european_community nations is still so divergent that it has to be adjusted through individual interest rate and currency rate moves , economists said . giles keating , the director of economics at credit_suisse_first_boston in london , said germany currently looked like an island . " the bundesbank is obviously no stranger to feelings of isolation , " mr . keating said . " when it is a time of strong economic_growth , people tend to be with them . but with a shift of the economic cycle toward slower growth , the bundesbank often comes under attack for being inflexible . " bundesbank officials argue to the contrary , saying their policies are intended to provide a stable base for growth in europe , not a damper . the same officials quickly note , however , that by law their first obligations are to preserve the stability of the nation 's currency , the mark , and keep prices from rising too quickly . benefit to all nations the bundesbank 's president , karl_otto_pohl , has staunchly defended his bank 's actions to foreign audiences . last week in switzerland at a meeting of world economic leaders , mr . pohl asserted that the increase was in the interests of other european_nations because their currency exchange_rates were tied to the powerful mark through the european monetary system . " without a stable deutsche_mark , you ca n't have a stable e.m.s . , " he said . a governor of the federal_reserve , wayne d . angell , supported mr . pohl 's view of the contrasting german and american actions on interest rates . " it seems to me that both actions may be explained by price stability considerations , " he said . mr . pohl also offered a few ideas on what the bundesbank 's economically united europe might look like . he suggested that the 12 nation european_community be expanded to include austria and the nations of eastern_europe after their economies have been converted to capitalism . the community could then be transformed into a three tier federation with six or seven hard_currency nations forming a core and creating a european_central_bank , he said . minimal loss of sovereignty such changes would minimize the bundesbank 's loss of sovereignty to the european_central_bank , since most of the core nations already peg their monetary policies to germany 's , directly or indirectly . the bundesbank has an excellent track record in battling inflation and keeping the currency stable . but from mr . pohl on down , bundesbank officials have repeatedly hammered home their view that the economy is in danger of overheating and that the government 's fiscal_policy carries great inflationary risks . the consensus in german banking circles is that the rate increase was part of that campaign . these bankers say the bundesbank will raise rates again if the government does not come up with a convincing package of spending cuts and tax increases .

on monday , jan . 4 , europe 's new single_currency , the euro , will be introduced in 11 nations with some 290 million people . but this old steel town , with a population of 250 , 000 and a tendency to attract unwelcome mockery of its provincialism , has beaten the rest of europe to the punch . while britain itself has rejected initial participation in the single_currency , the business leaders of rotherham ( pronounced roth er um ) decided that for a week in mid november , they would introduce the ''rotherham euro'' a voucher with a nominal value of 70 pence ( 1 . 12 ) , roughly what one euro was worth at the time . two months before the euro 's debut in cross_border transactions and more than two years before real euro bills and coins will be available , some 90 , 000 euro vouchers were given out to the people of depressed south yorkshire to let them know just what the euro fuss is all about . in american terms , its equal would have been , say , a mock dollar redeemable in only akron , ohio . the rotherham euro was a matter of ' 'some hype , '' acknowledged phil davies , a marketing consultant involved in the project . but he added that it ''was hype , with substance , '' because it drew attention to a debate that is growing more ferocious in britain even as it watches the inception of the euro from the sidelines . it is a debate in which economic issues have long been colored by a fierce nationalism , driven by conservative newspapers and politicians . yet , it is also coming to reflect a more basic philosophic conflict between the freewheeling , market driven ethos that britain models on america and the big_government priorities of a continent pressed to the left by the recent elections in france and germany . many business leaders argue that britain cannot afford to delay joining the euro , saying that it will revolutionize european markets and that british exports will lose competitiveness if the country remains outside the euro_zone . but others worry that monetary_union would also mean higher taxes and heftier labor costs in line with the rest of europe . ''you cannot operate a single_currency for long without a unified fiscal_policy , '' argued kevin gardiner , an economist with morgan_stanley dean_witter in london . ''so the question has to be raised do the british people want to cede fiscal sovereignty ? '' the latest flare up in the debate concerns ''harmonization , '' the notion promoted by france and germany that the euro will be undermined if some countries within the monetary_union offer tax and labor incentives , drawing investment and money away from others , in much the same way as states in the united_states compete for businesses . but such talk is alarming in britain , which cherishes its status as a magnet for banks and other companies that find the continent too pricey . compared with the 11 nations austria , belgium , finland , france , germany , ireland , italy , luxembourg , the netherlands , portugal and spain that will make up euroland , britain generally has weaker labor_unions and lower taxes . germany , for example , has a maximum tax rate of more than 60 percent , compared with 40 percent in britain . france and germany deny they are seeking uniform tax rates across europe , saying what they want is a withholding_tax on cross_border savings and an end to tax havens in places like luxembourg . while the british_government says it , too , is against unfair tax systems , it also does not want to alarm london 's financial district , the prime marketplace for europe euro or no euro . ''what we want , '' said gordon_brown , britain 's chancellor of the exchequer , ''is tax competition , not tax cooperation . '' the battle over taxation levels is one of several economic issues intertwined with the fiercely nationalistic political debate that has forced the labor_government , like its conservative predecessor , to adopt a wait and see policy . it says a decision on joining the euro will not be taken until after a referendum to be held after the next national election , which must be called , at the latest , by 2002 . but , the single_currency 's promoters maintain , the longer britain stays out , the less its influence will be and the more conditions in europe will be dictated by others . in a way , britain has already had a taste of that when the central_banks of the euro nations lowered interest rates on dec . 3 , the bank of england was a spectator . on thursday , britain 's central_bank lowered its benchmark rate a half point , to 6 . 25 percent but still double the euroland norm . for critics of the euro , being outside euroland is a plus , not a minus . britain , they say , is at a different point in the economic cycle and has nothing to gain by exposing its strengths cheaper labor , lower taxation and flexibility to any further dictates of common european policies . at its most visceral level , the political debate is driven by such euro skeptic institutions as rupert_murdoch 's mass market newspaper , the sun . a front page of the sun , for instance , described finance minister oskar_lafontaine of germany as the most dangerous man in europe , and hinted at a vulgar expletive to tell him what to do with his tax proposals . so deep is the nationalistic vein that there has already been a debate about whether queen elizabeth 's head would appear on the euro as it does on the pound even though britain is not a member . ( under current plans , an image of her head would be allowed . ) for many euro advocates , though , britain has already waited too long . ''too many people in britain have spent the last few years deluding themselves , some hoping that if we all shut our eyes tightly enough the single_currency would simply go away , '' said niall fitzgerald , the chairman of unilever , the british dutch consumer products company . ''others arrogantly assumed that if britain did n't like the idea it just would n't happen . '' on nov . 23 , 114 business leaders took out a full page advertisement in the financial_times to urge a speedy embrace of the new currency . an earlier survey cited 63 percent of business respondents as saying they favored the euro . why ? ask julie a . kenny , managing director of a security company employing some 200 people in an industrial_park on the outskirts of rotherham . mrs . kenny started the business in 1986 with a start up stake equivalent to 32 , 000 from the sale of a house with a further 13 , 000 in outside capital . these days , its annual sales , she said , are around 18 million , and her company , pyronix ltd . , is seen as a local success story . since 1992 , when the european_union introduced its single_market , knocking down nearly all the remaining barriers to trade , finance and travel within europe , pyronix has exported some 40 percent of its output , the bulk of it to the continent . but in recent years , as the pound has strengthened against the german_mark and french_franc , pyronix 's continental customers have complained about rising prices , while her british market has been undercut by cheaper imports . ''the exchange_rate has meant tremendous pressure , '' she said . the cost of a strong pound ''has got to be found in reduced profits . '' like other small british exporters , her company has already set up a euro bank account to deal with clients that want to pay in euros only siemens , the german electronics giant , has so far said it will and it will put out a euro price list in january , when the currency comes into use in electronic transactions . rotherham 's biggest employer , british_steel , is also prepared to use the euro . ''we are going to allow our customers to decide which way they want to do business , '' said colin jackson , a british_steel manager . mrs . kenny now believes , with some qualifications , that britain should join . ''if it 's successful and the europeans are trading extensively in euros , then we as businesses have to be on the inside , playing on the same terms as everyone else , rather than on the outside looking in , '' she said . the 114 signatories of business leaders' advertisement made similar points . the euro ''will promote low and stable interest rates and low inflation , and encourage prudent fiscal management , '' they wrote . but even business leaders worry that there may be negative consequences if britain joins . for instance , continental labor laws make it harder to lay off workers . personal and corporate taxes are generally higher . as a proportion of national output , british tax revenues account for only 40 percent compared with some 50 percent in continental_europe . if britain were forced to emulate other european_nations , mrs . kenny said , it would mean ''higher prices , and more companies going bust . '' indeed , ralph robins , chairman of rolls_royce , told an audience in australia that ''the last thing we want in britain is some of the european labor laws appearing in the united_kingdom , and i 'm not just saying that for rolls_royce , i 'm saying it for every industrialist in the u.k . '' a move in that direction is unlikely because britain retains a veto over having to impose such measures adopted by the 15 nation european_union . but the anxieties touch the core of britain 's euro debate , fueling the argument that by joining britain would cede control over taxes and government spending . the counterargument advanced by mr . brown , chancellor of the exchequer , is that taxes need not be uniform . ''you have a single_currency in the united_states , but they have different income , corporate and sales_taxes right across the u.s.a . , '' he said after meeting with other european finance ministers in brussels . ''so there is no reason why the single_currency requires the same tax rates for businesses to be able to work . '' but there is no denying that joining the euro means giving up control over interest rates . that leaves individual countries unable to rely on monetary changes to counter economic ups and downs when they are out of step with the rest of europe , as britain is today . ''there 's going to be a single euro interest rate set by the european_central_bank , '' an economist in london said . ''while that may be appropriate for europe as a whole , it may not be appropriate for individual countries . '' in rotherham , some of the arguments seemed arcane , particularly for those who are , as mr . davies , the marketing consultant , put it , ' 'still getting over decimalization , '' when britain abandoned pounds , shillings and pence in favor of decimal currency . that was in 1972 . john redwood , a conservative_party foe of the euro , dismissed the rotherham euro as a ''ridiculous stunt . '' not so , mr . davies replied . the point was to show that obscure places like rotherham are ready to deal with euros when necessary . ''the issue of whether we join or not , '' he said , ''is for another day . ''

seeking to lower expectations , clinton_administration officials had insisted that two days of talks with president vladimir v . putin should not be viewed as an arms control summit meeting . but they were . the main purpose was to soften the kremlin 's resistance to american plans for a limited missile_defense and to pave the way for a new arms control framework by the end of the clinton presidency . the meetings , however , failed to produce progress on either count , and the prospects for a breakthrough on mr . clinton 's watch seem as dim as ever . there are several reasons the clinton_administration approached the summit meeting with a sense of urgency . unlike the reagan or bush administrations , the clinton_administration has yet to negotiate a landmark accord on strategic arms , and it is eager to add to its legacy . the pressure also comes from the clinton_administration 's schedule for deploying an antimissile system . its goal is to install 20 interceptors and build a large battle management radar in alaska by 2005 , a defense system the white_house insists is needed against a potential north_korean threat . to meet that deadline , mr . clinton needs to give the go ahead for at least some of the work by the end of year . and unless the russians drop their objections and agree to modify the 1972 antiballistic_missile treaty to allow a limited defense , president_clinton will have to consider withdrawing from the accord . that would not only create a confrontation with moscow , but it would also seriously fray washington 's relations with its allies in western_europe , who are nervous that the american missile_defense program will undermine the existing framework of arms agreements and set off a new arms_race with russia and china , and perhaps even new nuclear states like india and pakistan . despite some modest shifts in the russian positions , however , the fundamental disagreements remain . ''president putin made absolutely clear to president_clinton that russia continues to oppose changes to the abm treaty that the united_states has proposed , '' said strobe_talbott , the deputy_secretary_of_state . the two sides did make some headway , agreeing on guidelines , grandly called the ''principles of strategic stability , '' for future talks . the guidelines take note of the emerging missile threat and allude to the possibility of amending the accord , steps american officials billed as an indication that moscow is beginning to take account of washington 's worries about the potential missile abilities of north_korea and iran , even if the kremlin believes that those fears are exaggerated . the united_states and russia also signed two secondary , but noteworthy , agreements . one requires each side to dispose of 34 tons of weapons_grade plutonium during the next 20 years . while 34 tons is enough to make thousands of warheads , it represents one fourth of the russia 's military stockpile . the disposal would not take place unless industrialized_nations underwrite the 1 . 75 billion cost to carry out the program in russia , a contribution yet to be arranged . another accord would set up a moscow based center where the united_states and russia would exchange information on missile launchings . the purpose is to help the russians compensate for gaps in their system of early warning radars and reduce the chance that they might launch missiles on a false alert . while mr . clinton and mr . putin signed the accords with great fanfare , that did not mask their deeper dispute over missile defenses . clinton_administration officials are still holding out the hope that they may bring mr . putin around by the end of the year . and some observers have speculated the solution might be a grand bargain in which the united_states would move forward on missile_defense in return for arms cuts that russia is seeking . there are , however , several reasons why the clinton_administration is unlikely to succeed . for one thing , the clinton_administration does not appear to have pursued the grand bargain with any real enthusiasm . driven by budgetary pressures , for example , moscow has urged that the two sides agree to slash their strategic arms to 1 , 500 warheads as part of a start iii treaty . that would be substantially less than the level of 2 , 000 to 2 , 500 warheads the united_states has insisted on . in his news conference today , mr . clinton did not rule out the deeper cuts . but administration officials said later that such cuts probably could not be considered until after a start iii treaty was concluded . one reason is that the pentagon is opposed to such deep cuts , and the white_house does not want to pick a fight with the military during an election year . also , the clinton_administration has not yet conducted the sort of wide_ranging review of its nuclear_war plans and targeting policy that would be required to properly assess such a significant reduction . ''we have previously agreed to a range of 2 , 000 to 2 , 500 on start iii , '' mr . clinton said . ''if we were to come down below it , it would require us to change our strategic plan , and we believe it would be much better , if we were going to do that , if we could also know that we were defending ourselves against a new threat . '' another reason why a breakthrough does not seem near is that russian officials know missile_defense is a campaign issue . even if they agree to mr . clinton 's proposal , they may end up negotiating again with george w . bush , the presumptive republican candidate , who is promoting a far grander plan . the more fundamental reason , however , is that mr . putin and his generals are still deeply concerned that a missile_defense will unleash a competition in defensive technology that the financially pressed russian state is bound to lose . even if the united_states builds a limited defense , the russians say , it is likely to be just the first phase in a more ambitious system that would give it a strategic edge . the purpose of the summit meeting was to ease those anxieties . while administration officials sought to put the best face on the meeting , they acknowledged that there was still considerable work to do . russia , mr . talbott added , still believes that an american missile_defense ''will undermine strategic stability , threaten russia 's strategic deterrent and provoke an arms_race . '' clinton in moscow_news analysis.

the trial of a 30 year old computer executive , soon to begin in shanghai , heralds a new electronic battleground for china 's political dissidents and security forces determined to preserve communist_party control . lin hai , the defendant , is charged with ''inciting subversion of state power . '' prosecutors say that from september 1997 until his arrest in march , mr . lin gave tens of thousands of chinese e mail addresses to ''hostile foreign publications . '' in particular , they say , he provided addresses to an electronic newsletter called vip reference , which is compiled by chinese democracy advocates in washington and sent to hundreds of thousands of computer users inside china . according to the indictment , mr . lin helped the newsletter ''carry out propaganda and incitement by distributing essays inciting subversion of state power and overthrow of the socialist system . '' mr . lin appears to be the first legal casualty of a building struggle , as internet users here and abroad make shreds of the government 's efforts to censor political debate and filter foreign news . vip reference which sends out reports on dissident activities , essays and reprinted articles on human_rights and other issues is the most prominent of several electronic forums that are breaching china 's information defenses . ''we 're promoting freedom of speech on the internet , '' said feng donghai , a software_engineer at columbia_university who moved to the united_states three years ago and helped start vip reference last fall . ''they are putting lin hai on trial to set an example . '' the main vip reference , sent out every 10 days , mostly includes essays and debates on democratic topics . a subsidiary daily news edition , sent daily , includes detailed accounts of dissident initiatives and arrests . the main newsletter is now sent to more than 250 , 000 addresses in china said its publisher , lian shengde , who spoke from washington . the daily news edition goes to about 25 , 000 , and the numbers are steadily climbing as sympathizers send in lists of chinese addresses . the newsletter accepts addresses indiscriminately many are from commercially traded lists then mails to everyone . the theory is that when so many are automatic recipients , individuals cannot be accused of deliberately subscribing . ''we 're posing a new problem for the communists , '' said mr . lian , a software_engineer in his 30 's who moved from china after the 1989 military crackdown on student led demonstrators in beijing 's tiananmen_square . ''i do n't think there 's any way they can stop us . '' another , similar publication is tunnel , a self described ''webzine'' of commentary written in china and sent electronically to the united_states from where it is wired back to thousands of accounts inside china . addresses are , for vip reference , www . ifcss . org ftp pub org dck and for tunnel , www . geocities . com siliconvalley bay 5598 . chinese script software is required . a third newsletter , public opinion , is edited and distributed electronically from inside china . it includes commentaries and reprints of items taken off the internet and is produced by a group of young computer company workers who call themselves ''political netters . '' over the last year , these newsletters , plus assorted on line discussion groups , have become important means of communication among political activists , said xiao_qiang , executive director of human_rights_in_china in new york . china now has some 1.2 million internet accounts , many shared by several users , with the numbers zooming . the government has encouraged hookups in the interest of promoting national development , but is fighting a losing battle to control political uses . chinese officials use an electronic ''firewall'' to block access to web_sites it deems objectionable , including those of human_rights groups and some considered pornographic . but it cannot keep up with new sites , and clever users can sidestep the firewall . e mail is virtually uncontrollable , although agents can identify a particular individual and read that person 's mail . china 's security agencies have formed special units to fight not only conventional computer crimes like illegal break ins and fraud , but also the spread of dissident information . to evade government filters and electronic disruptions , vip reference is mailed from a different american address every day . somehow , the authorities zeroed in on mr . lin . last week , mr . lin 's wife , xu hong , learned that his trial will begin on nov . 26 but will be a closed proceeding so that she cannot attend . the lawyers she hired will be present but , ms . xu said by telephone , ''i 'm afraid the lawyers wo n't have much influence on the results . '' if convicted as charged , mr . lin may face a prison sentence of five years or more . he and his wife have a_20 month old son . ms . xu , who says her husband is innocent , said that e mail addresses are ''public information , like telephone books , which can be exchanged or purchased . '' he has never been involved in politics , she said .

the british_government last week announced a novel approach to lure small investors into the stock_market . its plan involves a system of " share shops " through which individuals could buy the stock of both government owned companies that are being sold to the public and regularly traded shares of existing companies . the first stock offered through the shops will be shares of british telecommunications p.l.c . when the government sells its remaining 48 percent stake in the telephone company in november . but when asked to discuss the idea , the british treasury , which is selling the british_telecom shares and proposing the share shop idea dewe rogerson , the treasury 's public_relations firm , and s . g . warburg , the investment_bank that is advising the government , all said they could not talk about british_telecom or even about the share shops . why ? because of rules of the united states securities and exchange commission , which have acted like a gag order on discussion of some overseas share offerings and even topics unrelated to them . the s.e.c . rules , which are intended to protect american investors , cover share offerings that are exempt from the s.e.c . 's normal disclosure_requirements . these include share sales that occur entirely outside the united_states and the so called private_placement of shares in the united_states . under a private_placement , stock is supposed to be sold without publicity to large institutional_investors who are savvy enough to know what they are getting into . the british_government plans a private_placement in the united_states for part of the british_telecom shares , and this is what brings the stock sale and the share shops under the s.e.c . umbrella . to gain approval for this s.e.c . exemption , the issuers have to insure that there is no direct effort to sell shares in the united_states or even to stir up interest here about the offshore sale . and in the private_placement , there must not be any general solicitation that would cause unqualified buyers that is , the general public to be interested . in other words , the private_placement has to be private . those involved in the british_telecom offering and some lawyers , think the s.e.c . 's restrictions have gone too far , even though they are intended to protect american investors from being enticed by advertisements and news stories to buy such stock offerings . in britain , in fact , the government has used such promotions in many of the stock sales in government companies . " i can do no more than pass on the advice that i have received , " said a spokesman for the finance secretary of the treasury . he acknowledged that the prohibition on talking about share shops , just because british_telecom stock will be sold to small investors through them , is ridiculous . but until the s.e.c . makes it clear that such discussions are permitted , lawyers say , they will continue to take the view that it is better to be safe than sorry . this means disclosing no information that could cause the stock sale to run afoul of the s.e.c . it is not clear if the s.e.c . will do anything to clarify the rules , although one s.e.c . official , who insisted on anonymity , conceded that some of the important definitions , like the one for general solicitation , are not clear . the s.e.c . chairman , richard c . breeden , indicated recently that he was surprised that there had been a blackout of information in similar situations . " it is totally and utterly stupid , " said cary j . martin , the deputy chief executive of dewe rogerson . he said its lawyers had advised the firm not even to reveal the name of the american investment_bank that is the lead manager for the private_placement . but dewe rogerson received this advice after it had announced in a news release that salomon_brothers would be the lead manager . mr . martin also said he could not send press_releases to american newspapers or their correspondents in britain , although reporters could pick them up themselves in the firm 's office . samuel f . pryor 3d of davis polk wardwell , the new york law_firm that is acting as american counsel to the british treasury for the british_telecom private_placement , said the goal was to minimize publicity in the united_states and thereby to avoid any possible clash with the s.e.c . " certain things are black , certain things are gray and certain things are white " in trying to determine what the s.e.c . will or will not allow , he said . " the only way that we can avoid generating publicity in this country is not to discuss it , " he added . stephen h . cooper of the new york firm weil , gotshal manges , a lawyer who is not involved in this case , agreed with mr . pryor . " part of the definition of a private_placement is that it is not a general solicitation , " he said . " but the s.e.c . has vague standards for what that means , and something appearing in the paper can trouble them . " the s.e.c . official countered " you write rules to accomplish a lot of good objectives and lots of times they have far reaching effects . it is hard to write a rule that controls something without people complaining that it overcontrols . "

so , can americans profit from the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment that britain is attracting ? surely all the savvy stateside investor has to do is identify a few fast growing british companies that stand to profit from the trend , snap up their shares on the london_stock_exchange and watch their prices rise . if only it were that simple . first , there is the currency risk . if the dollar continues to strengthen against the pound , as many expect it to do , american investors in britain could take a foreign exchange hit that would reduce or wipe out gains in the sterling value of their holdings . unlike americans , the germans , swiss , japanese and other big investors in britain have comparatively strong currencies , which allow them to find good value for relatively low prices when they buy stocks in britain . it is no surprise , therefore , that germany 's siemens and dresdner_bank , switzerland 's swiss_bank_corporation and japan 's nissan and fujitsu are among the biggest foreign companies investing in britain . their home currencies are strong , unlike the dollar . " when you have a high foreign currency , you can use that to your advantage , " said peter canelo , an equity strategist at the new york office of natwest markets , a unit of national_westminster_bank p.l.c. , a big british bank . " you really need superior currency value to take advantage of this . when the currency is on the floor , you 're a good seller and not a good buyer . " and there are other potential risks . as in the united_states , the threat of a major stock_market correction looms in britain . in both countries , a long bull market has pushed prices close to all time highs and made bargains scarce . true , the influx of foreign money is bolstering britain 's economy , but these benefits have largely been factored into british stock prices , economists at brokerage_firms in london said . " it 's improved the trade_deficit it 's helped to improve management standards in the u.k. it 's taught lessons here . there are positive knock on effects , " said gavyn davies , head of research at goldman , sachs company 's london office . but , he added , " it 's not obvious how the american investor can benefit " from the trend . one strategy suggested by mr . davies and by paul c . walton , an equity market strategist at goldman , sachs , was to buy shares in british companies like gkn p.l.c . and lucas industries , which make industrial equipment , and unitech , which makes electronics parts . all three are likely to be suppliers to foreign companies setting up in britain . but , they cautioned , a lot of the smart money in britain seems to be focusing more on potential players in the current wave of mergers and acquisitions than on beneficiaries of foreign investment . some analysts suggest that americans eager to put their money in foreign stocks might be better off shopping around in asia or elsewhere in europe . merrill_lynch 's international investment strategists , for example , are cautious on europe in general . as for britain , " we 've got a moderate underweight on it now , " said thomas c . van leuven , an international investment strategist at merrill_lynch in new york . " the u.k . is starting to resemble the u.s. we see investors getting a little nervous about the earnings outlook . " in europe , mr . van leuven added , " we like the peripheral markets , like sweden , spain , switzerland and finland . "

the most important scandal these days might not be the scandal you 've been reading about . it might instead be the one that is engulfing japan 's finance ministry . two ministry officials were arrested last week on charges of taking payoffs mostly in the form of expensive meals and then doing favors for the banks that had fed them . a little titillation was supplied by the allegation that one of the bureaucrats had been entertained at a restaurant known for its scantily_clad waitresses . the minister of finance and his top bureaucrat promptly resigned . another bureaucrat killed himself , perhaps because of the investigation . as corruption goes , taking a free meal does n't rank very high . but it looks as though those out to get the ministry have just started . by the end of the week , a japanese newspaper was claiming that the ministry had suggested the scheme by which the now bankrupt yamaichi_securities had covered up huge trading losses . viewed from across the sea , it appears that somebody in japan 's establishment has figured out that things must change economically , and so has decided to defang the finance ministry , hitherto the roadblock to reform . if that impression is correct , japan may finally be ready to do what has long been needed stimulate its economy with a loose fiscal_policy and use a lot of public money to clean up the sick banking system . if so , the last thing you want to own is stock in a japanese bank that is about to be closed down . but what you should most want to own are shares in japanese banks that are destined to survive . ''it is citicorp at 10 , '' says robert barbera , the chief economist at hoenig company . early in this decade , the american banking system looked as though it was going broke , and citicorp shares fell to the single digits . now they sell for well over 100 . for years , japan was in denial about its banks' problems . the government 's policy was to push interest rates down to almost zero and hope banks would use the cheap money to make enough profits to offset the bad_loans whose existence was officially denied by both banks and ministers . the strategy did not work , as was clear even before bad_loans to other asian_countries began mounting . on jan . 12 , the topix_index of 100 japanese bank stocks was 73 percent below its level at the end of 1989 and 41 percent below where it was at the end of 1996 . if it went much lower , that would imply the death of the financial system of the world 's no . 2 economy . the next day , japan 's banks promised to come clean on bad_loans by adopting international disclosure standards . that was one sign that the japanese establishment realized action was needed . this week 's scandal is another . previously , there were false indications that japan was going to act . but now the stakes are higher . with the rest of asia in so much trouble , the need for action in tokyo is clear . without it , the implications for japan , the rest of asia and the world_economy are bad , and there will be few good investments available anywhere . but if action is forthcoming , japanese bank shares will soar , as american ones did after 1990 . japanese bank shares already have started to move . since jan . 12 , the bank index is up 23 percent , much better than the overall japanese market . among the better banks , tokyo mitsubishi is up 10 percent sumitomo has gained 23 percent . if reform is coming , and the power of the finance ministry is really being broken , those moves are just the beginning . market watch.

hostages freed two turks whose captors had threatened them with beheading were released after they agreed never to work with americans again . a pakistani who had been kidnapped was also freed . there was no word on the situation of an american marine who had been taken hostage . page a7 rockets in baghdad several rockets were fired at hotels in baghdad frequented by foreign journalists and workers . three security guards were injured . a7 military fatalities the united_states military said two marines had died in combat in falluja , one from wounds received the day before . a7 arab troop offers yemen became the second arab country , after jordan , to offer to send troops to iraq to help quell violence . iraq 's deputy foreign_minister , hamid_al_bayati , said it was unlikely his country would accept troops from neighboring countries , saying this could complicate the security situation . a7 abuse charges four american_soldiers were charged in connection with the drowning of an iraqi man after he and another iraqi were said to have been pushed off a bridge in samarra . a british soldier will face a court martial for the nonfatal shooting of a 13 year old boy in southern iraq last year . a7 qaddafi to the defense the daughter of libyan leader muammar_el_qaddafi will help defend saddam_hussein in court , a lawyer for mr . hussein said . aicha muammar_el_qaddafi , a law professor , will join a team including lawyers from jordan , lebanon , tunisia , the united_states , britain , france and belgium . a7 disputed discovery the head of poland 's military_intelligence said terrorists may have been close to obtaining munitions containing the deadly nerve_agent cyclosarin that polish soldiers recovered last month in iraq . the american military said traces of the nerve_agent found in rockets dating from the 1980 88 iran iraq_war had deteriorated too much to be effective . a7 u.n . envoy salman haidar , a former indian foreign_secretary , is the front runner to become the new united_nations representative in iraq , the associated press cited diplomats as saying . last fall , secretary_general_kofi_annan ordered all non iraqi united_nations staff to leave iraq after two bombings at the organization 's headquarters , including one that killed united_nations envoy , sergio_vieira_de_mello . the reach of war.

stocks traded lower here today . at the close , the nikkei index of 225 issues stood at 20 , 543 . 41 , down 100 . 52 points , or 0 . 49 percent . on thursday , the index gained 162 . 93 points .

an axe rose and fell above a jeering mob in a narrow street behind iraq 's central_bank here as a man worked to crack open a safe . men with kalashnikov assault_rifles raised in the air shouted for others in the crowd to keep back , then set off a stampede down the street with an extended burst of fire . ''sometimes one group opens a safe and then another armed group shoots them dead and takes the cash , '' said abdel wahab hamid , a 29 year old unemployed iraqi , after he had rounded a corner to flee the shooting on tuesday . money continues to spill from iraq 's broken banking system , although the amounts are smaller now than they were in the first days after president saddam_hussein 's son uday reportedly arrived at the bank to load sacks of cash into waiting cars . since then , armed gangs have been slowly working their way through the strongboxes and vaults . many people have died in the chaos . the rest of the country 's formerly government run economy is faring little better . almost all of iraq 's thinly spread industry is at a standstill , its offices charred shells , its computers cannibalized or carried off by looters , its paperwork blowing down countless streets . the oil fields that provided almost all of the government 's revenue and accounted for most of the country 's economic output are not operating , largely because the people who ran them have disappeared . agriculture is about the only part of the economy untouched , although dates and tomatoes do not provide much beyond subsistence . american military officials , hoping to jump start the economy by restoring basic services like electricity and water , complain that the country 's leaderless bureaucrats are paralyzed , waiting for commands that no one is giving . in the absence of a viable banking industry , the united_states is even flying in dollars in small denomination bills for emergency payments to workers . ''ninety nine percent of the economy was dependent on the government , and that has all stopped , '' said mahadi hindassi , 50 , one of iraq 's largest egg suppliers . though parts of iraq 's economy are slowly returning to operation , all transactions are being conducted in cash , limiting the amount of business that can be done . and with the banking system devastated , the value of the iraqi_dinar sinking and the larger government economy unable to offer support , it is unclear how long those private businesses now operating can run before they stall again . mr . hindassi , speaking at his home in baghdad 's wealthy zaiona neighborhood , said his chicken farm 30 miles south of the capital was facing a shortage of protein concentrate for feed , which he used to buy from government warehouses . but without a government to buy it from he fears his 300 , 000 chickens will die . ''we were always dealing with the state , but now there is no state , '' he said , sitting in the marbled receiving room of his palatial villa . as war approached , mr . hindassi said he and other businessmen began pulling money out of the banks and buying dollars . he used some of his cash to buy goods , including a new blue mercedes , and some to gird his business for the shock of war . he bought generators to keep his egg operations running when the electricity stopped and hired 10 armed_guards to keep looters at bay . he stocked a two month supply of all the essentials he could find to keep his business running . his egg prices rose briefly by 40 percent because of temporary food shortages caused by the war , but he said any gains had been wiped out by the sinking value of the dinar . lawlessness has prevented him from buying more dollars , leaving him with a growing hoard of weakening dinars . on kefah street , which is lined with the shuttered offices of currency exchange shops , khalid muhammad , a money changer , said the dinar had dropped to 4 , 000 per dollar before the war but briefly recovered to about 2 , 500 dinars before sliding again to 3 , 500 dinars , ''because the thieves have so many dinars that they have stolen from the banks and they want dollars . '' mr . muhammad said he could not reopen his shop because it was too dangerous . a gun battle on kefah street on tuesday left several people dead . their bodies had yet to be picked up by late afternoon . american officials have said they hope to have some iraqi oil flowing again in a matter of weeks , and they are trying to round up former executives of iraq 's state oil marketing organization to get the industry back on its feet . even so , it will be almost certainly be years before the iraqi economy recovers . though iraq has the second largest oil_reserves in the world , the pumps and pipelines that move the oil to market have been steadily deteriorating in recent years , and the country 's production capacity has dropped by a third since the 1991 persian_gulf_war . upgrading the oil fields will take time and money . revenue from iraqi oil , meanwhile , will not be enough to meet all the competing demands on the country for cash . iraq owes more than 200 billion in debt and reparations from the 1991 war , an amount that will drain the economy for years unless there is some form of international debt_relief . the question of how to deal with iraq 's foreign debt will be taken up next week at a meeting of creditor nations . the united_states , which is owed little or nothing by iraq , has proposed canceling the debt , but the idea has been resisted by russia and some other large creditors . at the doura refinery north of baghdad , workers who have been guarding the refinery with weapons issued by mr . hussein 's government say they have about one week 's supply of gasoline left for the capital . but they say cannot resume their operations until oil starts flowing again in the pipeline from the northern oil fields near kirkuk . ''the telephone lines are down so we do n't even know whether the northern oil fields are operating or not , or whether it is the pipeline itself that is broken , '' said raad rafiq , 45 , who is in charge of the pipeline . for his part , mr . hindassi , sipping iced pepsi from a gold embossed glass beneath a crystal chandelier in his baghdad home , said , ''i 'm hoping there will be a new national government soon , and that the dinar will strengthen as stability returns . '' but , he added , ''only god knows'' whether his chickens will still be alive then . a nation at war the economy.

lead the number of american rigs drilling for oil and natural_gas fell by 8 last week , to 1 , 047 , compared with 978 a year ago , baker_hughes inc . , an oilfield services company , said on monday . the weekly rig_count reflects the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and gas , not those producing oil and gas . the number of american rigs drilling for oil and natural_gas fell by 8 last week , to 1 , 047 , compared with 978 a year ago , baker_hughes inc . , an oilfield services company , said on monday . the weekly rig_count reflects the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and gas , not those producing oil and gas .

having rejected beijing 's request for a formal state_visit in washington , the white_house announced today that president_clinton would hold a summit meeting with president jiang_zemin of china in new york city on oct . 24 , during the 50th_anniversary celebration at the united_nations . the white_house formally acknowledged plans for the meeting this afternoon , shortly after secretary of state warren_christopher told reporters that it had been agreed to in principle . last week , mr . clinton invited mr . jiang to drop by the white_house around the same time , but the chinese declined unless they were offered a full dress visit with red_carpet and 21 gun salute . now both sides have agreed to a more informal setting . " the fact of the meeting in my judgment is much more important than the type of meeting , whether it 's labeled an official visit or a state_visit , " mr . christopher said . " the fact is that the parties , the two presidents , will be meeting in new york under i think good circumstances to enable them to have a full discussion of the issues . that seems to me to be appropriate under these circumstances . " but the white_house spokesman , michael d . mccurry , also made it clear that the administration 's concerns over china 's record on human_rights and other issues did not justify the higher honor of a state visit the most splendid greeting a president can offer foreign leaders . mr . clinton was unwilling to appear too cozy with a government he once accused president_bush of coddling . " we do n't believe that our bilateral_relationship at the moment is at a sufficient state of progress to warrant a state_visit , " mr . mccurry said .

germany 's high unemployment rates are not reason enough to cut interest rates further , the chief economist of the german central_bank said yesterday . the unemployment problem " will go on for months , " the economist , otmar issing , said . but " that is not an argument for further monetary easings . " financial markets have been expecting another rate cut after the latest german unemployment report , which showed joblessness surging to post world_war_ii highs at 10 . 8 percent in january , up from 9.9 percent a month earlier . mr . issing argued that rate cuts did not directly stimulate employment or economic_growth , but did help to maintain industry and consumer confidence in a low inflation economy . ( ap ) international briefs.

japan 's merchandise trade surplus grew for the fourth consecutive month on the back of strong exports to asia and shrinking imports . the surplus hit 1.3 trillion_yen ( 11 . 1 billion ) in june , 71 . 4 percent above june 2001 and almost twice the growth that economists expected . exports were up 8.9 percent in june , the third consecutive rise , while imports slipped 5.1 percent . japan 's trade surplus with the united_states , however , grew just 5.6 percent as the yen 's rise during the period made japanese goods more expensive in dollar terms . ken_belson ( nyt )

major_league_baseball has held the montreal_expos hostage long enough . it 's well past time to liberate them and let an independent owner determine their future . it 's too late for a new owner to salvage vladimir_guerrero , the expos' best hitter , and javier_vazquez , their best pitcher , for which other national_league east teams are grateful . but before the expos completely disappear down the baseball drain , m.l.b . needs to set them free . baseball officials , interestingly , do not disagree that the time has come or has passed to sell the expos to an independent owner . they just ca n't seem to decide where they want that owner to operate the team . major_league_baseball , in effect the other 29 clubs , bought the expos for 120 million before the 2002 season . the deal was part of an unprecedented three way franchise swap that was engineered to enable a group friendly to the baseball hierarchy to buy the boston_red_sox . for john henry , the principal owner of the florida_marlins , to be free to buy the red_sox , he had to sell the florida_marlins . the buyer , conveniently , was jeffrey loria , who owned the expos . baseball officials were so eager to pull off the complex deal that they lent loria 38 million , much or all of it designed to be interest free , to add to the 120 million loria received for the expos . that enabled loria to pay henry the 158 million he paid for the marlins . meanwhile , major_league_baseball wound up as the expos' proprietor , and not much about the arrangement has smelled right since . have baseball officials interfered with the operation of the club , telling its executives what they could and could not do ? no , not in such a direct , blatant way . but the expos' payroll has been held hostage to a group of owners who have not been about to subsidize a team that could beat their team in the standings . why would the mets or the phillies , for example , want to enable the expos to retain their best players guerrero , vazquez and others ? no one has ordered the expos to shed those players , but they have been told what their payroll can be , and the designated payroll has not had room for such high priced players , unless the expos want to play with 15 to 18 players on their 25 man roster . to their credit , general_manager omar_minaya and manager frank robinson have done a remarkable job in generating winning records in their two seasons running the expos . their ability to maintain that streak , however , decreases with each player they lose . baseball officials argue that other teams in economically dire circumstances face the same problems the expos have confronted . many teams , they say , have had to make difficult decisions and shed good players . look at the players the minnesota_twins have given up this off season eddie guardado , latroy hawkins , eric milton , a . j . pierzynski . the marlins have shed ivan rodriguez , ugueth urbina , braden looper , derrek lee and juan encarnacion . but those teams made those decisions on their own they were n't forced to make them by officials and owners who were acting in their own selfish interests , not those of the team in question . one of the game 's new owners , arturo moreno of anaheim , on the other hand , has opted to spend money , signing guerrero and bartolo col n , among others . another ramification of the expos' economic and ownership limitations tommy john , until last week a pitching coach in the montreal organization , told the expos last year about a good college prospect in the southeast , but because they are underfinanced , the expos had no scouts in the area to follow the pitcher . toronto drafted him instead , and tom mastny compiled a first year 8 0 record with a 2 . 26 earned_run_average for auburn of the new york penn league . the expos for years have developed good young players through their minor_league system it has been their lifeline . if major_league ownership aborts that , the expos will deteriorate quickly and irretrievably . so , what should major_league_baseball do ? move quickly to select a new site for the expos and sell them . why has n't it happened long before this ? the economy , for one reason . at one point officials believed they would reap a windfall for the expos , going so far , an official said , as to tell the owners they would each earn a_10 million profit on their initial investment . but that would mean selling the expos for about 400 million , which was probably never realistic but certainly was n't once the economy turned bad . whatever the price , baseball has exceeded the deadline that should have been placed on the sale and relocation of the expos . baseball continues to investigate a whole roster of cities and areas washington portland , ore . northern_virginia southeastern virginia ( norfolk ) las_vegas san_antonio and monterrey , mexico . but each site has drawbacks . some baseball officials acknowledge that northern new jersey might have been the best possible site demographically , but the area 's officials have demonstrated no interest in building a park and pursuing the team . washington officials have long believed they were the front runner for the expos and do n't understand baseball 's hesitancy in placing the team there . peter angelos , the baltimore_orioles' owner , is reason no . 1 . baseball officials most recently have said they will have a decision by the all star game in july . the expos and their suitors have heard similar claims before . it would not be in the best interests of baseball or the expos to let this latest deadline slip past . on baseball.

lead in other circumstances , secretary of state george p . shultz 's departure for moscow this weekend for talks on arms control might have evoked strong expectations of a fresh start on improving soviet united_states relations . in other circumstances , secretary of state george p . shultz 's departure for moscow this weekend for talks on arms control might have evoked strong expectations of a fresh start on improving soviet united_states relations . but that prospect was fractured this week by the furor on capitol_hill over security lapses at the old and new american embassies in moscow and by deep divisions in the reagan_administration on the questions mr . shultz is to discuss with foreign_minister eduard a . shevardnadze . as a result , a cloud of vindictive discussion and political disarray now shadows the secretary of state 's trip . events and disclosures this week in moscow and congress and within the administration have dimmed not only the chances for arms control but also the prospects for president_reagan 's political recovery as well . already battered by the iran contra affair and deserted by republican senators in a vote last week to override his veto of the highway bill , mr . reagan found his administration the target of intense criticism not only from his democratic adversaries but also from his natural allies among the bedrock of congressional conservatives . shultz urged not to go the two groups joined to pass , by a vote of 70 to 30 , a resolution urging mr . shultz not to go to moscow until he could find ' 'secure facilities'' for the talks , either in moscow or elsewhere . today , senator bob_dole of kansas , the republican leader , stepped up the criticism of the state_department . in a senate speech , he said he had received ' 'disturbing reports'' that in 1984 arthur a . hartman , then the united_states ambassador to moscow , resisted making recommended security improvements in the embassy ''on the rather extraordinary grounds that such improvements would somehow damage u.s . soviet relations . '' he asked the department to made available to the senate leadership the ''harshly worded cable , '' which mr . dole said he had not seen and which mr . hartman sent to mr . shultz objecting to proposed security measures . mr . hartman was asked about the cable at a hearing in the house of representatives last week and said he had no memory of it . death_penalty sought for spies senator dole and other republicans also introduced a package of bills this week , one of which would permit federal courts to impose the death_penalty on civilians convicted of espionage . senator robert c . byrd of west_virginia , the majority leader , said today that he supported the death_penalty for spies and planned to introduce his own bill . he sponsored legislation last year after the walker family spy ring was uncovered . ''why not ? '' mr . byrd said this morning at his daily news conference . ''these people are traitors . execute them . they 're not fit to live . we 've got to quit being so chicken hearted . '' although the nonbinding_resolution had no legal effect , it was the political equivalent of a vote of no confidence in mr . shultz 's mission . the sponsors were a group of the most conservative republicans in the senate , including malcolm wallop of wyoming , gordon j . humphrey of new hampshire and jesse_helms of north_carolina , whose distaste for arms control and suspicion of the state_department are well known . strong bipartisan support although the resolution was by no means a senate referendum on arms control , its origins and the strong bipartisan support it received 36 republicans and 34 democrats , including mr . byrd and alan_cranston of california , the majority whip may cause the soviet negotiators to question whether any arms control that emerges from the talks could receive senate ratification . some of the senate 's strongest arms control supporters voted against the resolution for fear of jeopardizing the talks . senator patrick j . leahy , democrat of vermont , who has been one of the administration 's most persistent critics on the question of embassy security , voted against the resolution . none of the opponents spoke during the brief senate debate . asked to explain senator leahy 's vote , his press_secretary , joe jamele , summarized the senator 's view as ''let them use magic slates and talk in a winnebago , the arms control talks have to go on . that supersedes any other concern . '' position clouded further but senator john h . chafee , republican of rhode_island , who is one of the senate 's leading supporters of arms control , voted for the resolution after a stinging speech in which he called the embassy situation in moscow a ' 'mess , '' ' 'disaster'' and ''a pathetic tale of shortsightedness , waste and what appears to be naivete . '' his press_secretary , cleve corlett , said he did not see a vote for the resolution as calling arms control into question . if the message from the senate was , at best , ambiguous , the secretary of state 's position was further clouded by the administration 's own actions . in giving mr . shultz his negotiating instructions , president_reagan rejected the state_department 's position in favor of the pentagon 's views on several key issues . rebuffed on such matters as strategic arms , nuclear_testing and the timing of deployment of ''star_wars'' systems , mr . shultz would be in an extremely awkward position even had the embassy security issue not arisen . visit by representatives but the espionage scandal proved irresistible to many politicians , and it took on a life of its own this week . the week that ended with the senate vote began with a midnight visit to the american embassy in moscow by two members of the house of representatives who left washington in virtual anonymity and returned to find themselves celebrities . the two , representatives daniel a . mica , democrat of florida , and olympia j . snowe , republican of maine , faced 100 television cameras when they arrived at dulles international airport on wednesday . mr . mica , chairman of the international operations subcommittee of the house_foreign_affairs_committee , and ms . snowe , the ranking republican member , were bemused and a little baffled , though scarcely displeased , by their sudden prominence . mr . mica provided a dramatic image of the embassy security problem by demonstrating a child 's slate , which the state_department had suggested that he use while in the embassy to prevent eavesdropping by hidden bugs . his staff director had bought half a dozen of the slates at a toy store and taken them on the trip . mr . mica 's subcommittee had never before achieved a high profile in the house . the panel had been receiving evidence on security problems at the new moscow embassy for a year without attracting any public notice . ''it 's very strange , '' mr . mica said , as house colleagues interrupted the interview to congratulate him on the way he had handled the issue . ''members of congress toil day and night on an issue and never get this kind of recognition . '' as the week progressed , it was evident that this was an issue that had something for everyone , with the notable_exception of the white_house . from some of the comments coming from conservative republicans , it was difficult to tell whether the state_department or the russians were the more dangerous .

the house voted on friday to pull the shadowy tradition of congressional earmarking into the daylight , requiring lawmakers to attach their names to the pet items they slip into spending or tax bills and certify that they have no financial interest in the provisions . more than any of several ethics rules adopted by the house this week , the earmark measure could prevent the kind of corruption that led to several big scandals in recent years , including former representative randy_cunningham 's sale of earmarks to government contractors for cash , gifts and campaign contributions . the cost of earmarks has tripled in the last 12 years , to more than 64 billion annually . some lawmakers treated their share of that money as personal accounts to dole out to constituents or , in many cases , campaign contributors . in what lawmakers of both parties called a recognition of the backlash against such corruption in the november elections , the earmark rule the democrats passed extends far beyond the proposal they introduced last spring and campaigned on in the fall . that proposal applied only to earmarks that are typically already well publicized . it also goes further than a measure the republicans passed just weeks before the november election . as in other efforts to change the earmarking process , the republican leaders foundered against the opposition of the powerful appropriations committee , which doles out earmarks as it writes spending bills . the vote on the new earmark measure was linked to a rule known as ''pay as you go'' that would prohibit the house from increasing the deficit by passing any new tax cuts or entitlement spending programs without offsetting them with spending cuts or tax increases . republicans denounced the ''pay as you go'' rule as an excuse for democrats to increase taxes . ''i call it the flip wilson rule , '' said representative mike pence , republican of indiana , referring to the comedian whose signature line was , ''the devil made me do it . '' still , the changes were approved by a vote of 280 to 152 , with 48 republicans joining all 232 democrats . on the subject of earmarks , mr . pence and several other republicans commended the democrats as heeding the message the voters sent at the polls . ''we went through an election where voters were rightfully outraged'' by the practice of earmarking , said representative paul d . ryan , republican of wisconsin . in a signal that they , too , had heard the message , the republican minority incorporated the same changes into the token alternative they proposed before the democratic majority passed the new house rules . ''i 'm pleased that democrat leaders agree with republicans that earmark reform is a critical issue , '' representative john a . boehner of ohio , the republican leader , said . even as the democrats were passing the strict new disclosure rules , however , at least one influential chairman suggested that he was less than fully committed to the full breadth of their application . the rules would require lawmakers to disclose their sponsorship of not only spending earmarks but also narrowly_focused tax or tariff reductions affecting fewer than 10 companies or people something the tax writing ways and means committee had resisted just as the appropriations committee had for spending provisions . after the vote on friday on the new rule , representative charles b . rangel , democrat of new york , the new ways and means committee chairman , suggested that such resistance had not disappeared . ''you have to assume that everything we have done is subject to a revisit , '' mr . rangel said . ''we support the speaker and her drive to get things done within 100 hours , '' he said , referring to speaker nancy_pelosi . but , he added , ''these things are not locked in cement . '' mr . rangel and other democrats also acknowledged that the adoption of the pay as you go rules would force tough choices when it came to delivering on campaign promises like new education subsidies , some of which would fall under the rules . in particular , the rules will make it more difficult to repair the alternative_minimum_tax , which , thanks to inflation , penalizes millions of middle_class households as well as its original targets , the rich . repairing the tax is estimated to cost as much as 1 trillion in lost revenue over 10 years . mr . rangel said he was determined to find 1 trillion of tax revenue elsewhere to pay for the repair , as much as possible by eliminating outdated tax loopholes . ''you have to throw it right in the middle of the tax_code and say , 'we are removing this , ' and then you have to find the money , '' he said . in a meeting with reporters , representative steny h . hoyer of maryland , the house majority leader , promised that democrats would cut the number of earmarks in half in the next budget , for the 2008 fiscal year . but several democrats emphasized that the new rules would not alone reduce the amount of earmarks , but could result in more restraint . lawmakers already race to take credit for earmarked projects for their districts . but it has often been impossible for outsiders to learn who sponsored earmarks no one took credit for , and unclaimed earmarks were often the ones that played a role in corruption scandals . the new rules will require disclosure of all earmarks in a bill , as well as their sponsors , their purpose and their costs . the rules will also prohibit party leaders from trading earmarks for members' votes . in contrast to the past opposition of appropriations chairmen , representative david r . obey , the wisconsin democrat who now leads the committee , was a driving force behind the earmark rule , several democrats involved in the matter said . mr . obey said friday that over the last 12 years of republican control the number of earmarks in the labor , health and education spending bill had risen to 3 , 000 , from zero . ''i think that is a gross exaggeration of what our staffs have the ability to review , '' he said . ''i do n't want a single earmark in any bill that the committee staff cannot review to make certain that the reputation of this house and the reputation of the committee are protected . '' in particular , mr . obey added the requirement for lawmakers requesting earmarks to clarify that they had no financial interest in the project , to prevent directing taxpayer money toward projects like the beautification of a relative 's shopping_mall . although previous rules already prohibited such self dealing , ''when a member has to certify publicly , it focuses the mind , '' said representative chris van hollen , democrat of maryland . the senate is expected to take up its own earmark rules next week . the initial proposal , based on a bill that passed the senate last year but not the house , would apply to only a small fraction of earmarks , excluding those directed to military or other federal contracts , as well as those described in legislative reports instead of bill texts . several lawmakers , however , have said they hope to strengthen the senate rules , too .

a month after the attack on the world trade center , one victim 's widow is in the middle of an escalating political battle over whether she can run in her husband 's place for a spot on the westchester_county legislature . the dispute could decide whether the democrats or republicans control the legislature , and it has both sides accusing the other of using the sept . 11 tragedy for political gain . until sept . 11 , michael mchugh , a republican from tuckahoe , was challenging the incumbent , vito j . pinto , a democrat from tuckahoe , for the local seat in the county legislature , which has nine democratic members and eight republicans . after mr . mchugh , a cantor_fitzgerald employee , died in the sept . 11 disaster , his wife , maria mchugh , 34 , a political newcomer , decided to run . but because the two member county elections board split on whether she had filed in time , she was told that she was not eligible for the nov . 6 ballot . she needed the approval of both commissioners for her name to be added to the ballot . state election law stipulates that a candidate can be only be replaced within 10 days of his death . mrs . mchugh did not announce she was running until oct . 11 , and filed to run tuesday . mrs . mchugh 's lawyer , john ciampoli , said today that he would file a lawsuit thursday in state supreme_court in white_plains to allow her name to be placed on the ballot . ''who 's to say what date this man was declared dead ? '' he said . ''the democrats are trying to get a free ride on the basis of a tragedy . '' explaining her delay , mrs . mchugh said that her first few weeks after sept . 11 were filled with chaos , grief and uncertainty . she also said that she has not been able to obtain a death_certificate , which she needed to remove her husband from the ballot . the issue has divided the board of elections , which has two commissioners , one selected by the county 's republican_party and the other by the democrats . reginald lafayette , the democratic commissioner , said ''the law is very clear on this . she had 10 days after sept . 11 , and i have no wiggle_room on that . '' he called her campaign 's charges ''political exploitation of the world trade center deaths just to spread divisiveness and embarrass the democrats . '' carolee sunderland , his republican counterpart , said that mrs . mchugh should be allowed to run ''because of the unprecedented extenuating_circumstances . '' mr . pinto , who has held the seat since 1997 , said yesterday ''i could n't care less if she runs . i 'd welcome the challenge if they could see a way to get her on the ballot . '' mrs . mchugh grew up in tuckahoe , the daughter of an auto mechanic . she said she does not want to be known as ''the sympathy candidate . '' but her formal public service consisted of being a member of the local p.t.a. , doing some charity work and helping her husband with his roles on local government boards . she said she continues to bone up on local issues , but that she would carry on her husband 's campaign platform project good , which she called a package of common_sense , family oriented values . her campaign flier includes a family portrait and explains mr . mchugh 's death at the hands of terrorists , adding , ''it is essential that we do n't allow this act of cowardice to rob you of the right to make a choice on election day . ''

lead his nomination as united states ambassador to italy raised questions in rome about his qualifications and complaints in washington about his lapses into undiplomatic language . his nomination as united states ambassador to italy raised questions in rome about his qualifications and complaints in washington about his lapses into undiplomatic language . for all that , it was a confident peter secchia who presented his credentials to the italian government this week , saying he had ''nothing to make excuses for . '' but almost immediately , mr . secchia found himself embroiled in fresh controversy , amid accusations that he was interfering in domestic politics . the issue arose when the new ambassador publicly reaffirmed united_states embassy policy not to meet with italian communist party leaders , even though the party has been trying hard to recast its image and to align itself more closely with european social_democratic movements . its secretary , achille occhetto , recently became the first party leader to visit the united_states , where he met with some senior members of congress but no bush_administration officials . 'clearly our preference' ''we 've said for many years that it 's up to the italian people to decide who will govern them , '' mr . secchia said in response to a question at a news conference monday at the sprawling roman villa that is now his residence . ''however , the united_states_government has its view on this matter , and it is clearly our preference that the communists not enter the government for a number of reasons , specifically the positions taken on key strategic issues . until i hear differently , i do not intend to meet with the leadership of that party . '' although there was really nothing new in his remarks , they prompted swift protests from communists , other left_wing politicians and at least one national newspaper , all to the effect that the ambassador was intruding heavily into domestic affairs as italy is struggling to find a replacement for the caretaker_government of prime_minister ciriaco de mita . silent on complaints ''imagine what would have happened if , in the course of a press conference , the soviet ambassador declared that he prefers a government without the christian democrats , '' la_repubblica , a national daily with a gadfly reputation , said wednesday . mr . secchia made no response to the complaints . but few new ambassadors have arrived here to the public uproar that has accompanied him as a wealthy businessman from michigan without diplomatic experience and with the principal credential of being politically close to president_bush . complicating_matters were a series of four letter and scatological comments attributed to him . conservative republicans in the senate delayed mr . secchia 's confirmation for weeks , an action that the ambassador says was politically_motivated ''to get the president 's attention . '' ''i was a victim of this system , '' he said this week . he also made clear that he was not about to apologize for his political connections . ''i ask the italian people to accept me as an american businessman , a friend of the president and a man who has accomplished and who reached this position through his political activities and his friendship with the president , '' he said . ''i make excuses to no one . i will study hard . no one will outwork me . ''

lead two thirds of american adults say the space shuttle program is worth continuing , but as many also expect it not to be ' 'successful'' by the end of this year , the latest new york times_cbs_news_poll shows . two thirds of american adults say the space shuttle program is worth continuing , but as many also expect it not to be ' 'successful'' by the end of this year , the latest new york times_cbs_news_poll shows . forty three percent of the 1 , 663 people interviewed nationwide said the united_states was spending too much on space_exploration in general . but 49 percent wanted such spending to be at least at current levels , with 30 percent of poll respondents saying the spending on space was about right and 19 percent saying it was too little . eight percent did not express an opinion . the poll had a margin of sampling_error of plus or minus three percentage_points . the survey was conducted by telephone jan . 17 21 , almost two years after the shuttle challenger blew up , taking the lives of its seven crew members and grounding the other shuttles . the first shuttle flight since the disaster has now been pushed back to augest . 28 object to risk and cost the survey found that 66 percent of the public said the shuttle program was worth continuing , while 28 percentsaid it was not worth the cost and risk . the results were very similar to those of a times_cbs_news_poll in january 1987 . americans with higher incomes and more years of education showed greater support both for space_exploration in general and for the shuttle program in particular . those with lower incomes and less education were more likely to think that spending on space was too high and that the shuttle was not worth the cost and risks . the poll found widespread expectation of further problems in the shuttle program . only 22 percent of the public expected ''a successful space shuttle program by the end of the year , '' while 68 percent thought that problems would cause delays . a majority of all income and education groups said they expected delays .

lead mayor koch sharply attacked civil_libertarians and some advocates for the homeless today , asserting that their actions were doing more harm than good . mayor koch sharply attacked civil_libertarians and some advocates for the homeless today , asserting that their actions were doing more harm than good . mr . koch said that by challenging new york city 's authority to hospitalize people living on the streets and judged to be dangerous to themselves and others , civil_libertarians were in effect saying that ''not only must we let the suffering continue , we must do so in the name of civil_rights . '' such civil_libertarians , he added , ''want to create a society in which citizens are told to simply step over the prostrate body of a mentally ill person . '' the mayor spoke at a luncheon at the national_press_club here today . he singled out the new york civil_liberties union , asking rhetorically ''with all the fights i had to take on , did i have to take on the new york civil_liberties union ? yes , i 'm taking them on . '' 'the worst damage' he said the homeless ''advocates who do the worst damage'' were those who ''hand out literature'' telling homeless people that they have the right to refuse to go to city hospitals and shelters . norman siegel , executive director of the new york civil_liberties union , responded by calling on mr . koch to ' 'stop the name calling and the diversions . '' the mayor 's program for the mentally ill homeless , mr . siegel said in a telephone interview , ''is a smokescreen and it 's also illegal . '' he added , ''for the 10 years koch has been in office , he 's failed miserably in providing viable mental_health programs and affordable low_income_housing . '' mr . siegel said his group had handed out leaflets to homeless people informing them of their civil_rights . ''there are vans roaming the streets of new york looking for people to take to bellevue_hospital , '' he said . ''that 's not what america is supposed to be about . '' 'a cruel existence' in contrast , mr . koch said that many homeless mentally ill on the streets were being ''condemned to a cruel existence by people who claim the best of intentions . '' he assailed what he termed ''a lofty new attitude , wrapped in the rhetoric of civil_liberties . '' that attitude , he said , is ''in reality 'the snake pit' of the 1980 's , '' a reference to the 1948 film about life in a mental institution . ''instead of hiding mentally_disabled people in the back wards of state hospitals , proponents of the new snake pit prefer to hide them in plain sight , '' he said . ''then they justify their heartlessness by calling it a defense of freedom . '' the mayor mentioned the case of joyce brown , a homeless woman whose involuntary hospitalization is to be argued this week in the new york state court of appeals . civil_libertarians , mr . koch said , ' 'did nothing to help when she was living under filthy conditions on the street , but when she got to court , they suddenly turned into self designated saviors . '' among advocates for the homeless , responses to the mayor 's speech varied . peter smith , president of the partnership for the homeless , said he supported mr . koch 's program ''in principle'' and had no ' 'major problem'' with his position on civil_rights . ''on the other hand , we do not believe there are sufficient emergency psychiatric and backup facilities for these people , '' he said . 'been through it already' diane sonde , director of project reachout , a nonprofit program for homeless mentally ill people in manhattan , said that ''what the mayor does n't understand is that there are a lot of people out there who may need services but not to be shoved into a shelter or a hospital because he thinks that 's what they need . '' many homeless people , she said , ' 'do n't trust the hospital system and are paranoid because they 've been through it already . '' beth gorrie , associate director of the coalition for the homeless , said mr . koch was ''attempting to distort the issue by making it about involuntary hospitalization . '' ''the problem is the beds are full , '' she said . most critical of the mayor was mitch snyder , director of the community for creative non violence . mr . snyder attended mr . koch 's talk here today and afterward accused him of trying to send ''a message to the homeless to disappear . '' mr . snyder added ''he 's telling them that if we can see you and find you , we 're going to pick you up and put you in beds and handcuffs . so hide deeper . ''

at the cramped offices of the icho no kai credit counseling center here , about a dozen struggling workers , housewives and other hard luck cases are engaged in what has become an increasingly common ritual they are declaring bankruptcy . once almost inconceivable in a nation that places such a high value on savings , personal bankruptcies have risen to record numbers among the japanese in response to a punishing economic squeeze caused by five consecutive years of falling wages and rising unemployment . as their financial woes have worsened , many have turned first to legal lenders but then often to loan_sharks who charge rapidly compounding interest rates . to try to escape this trap , about 220 , 000 people are expected to seek protection from creditors this year , up more than a third from 2001 . ''out of pride , most japanese do n't want to declare bankruptcy , '' said dean perry , who follows the consumer finance industry for ing baring_securities . ''but stigma or no stigma , they will do what they need to do to get by . '' declaring bankruptcy in japan is still relatively uncommon , and americans are four times as likely as japanese to seek bankruptcy_protection . but as long as the stagnation of the japanese economy continues , personal bankruptcies seem as if they will continue growing sharply . according to some estimates , as many as two million japanese are effectively bankrupt , but have not or cannot file the paperwork required . even that does not convey the full extent of the financial stress in japan . for despite encouragement from a government that is committed to making it cheaper and easier to file for bankruptcy , every year thousands of people in distress commit_suicide , police statistics show , rather than face their debt collectors , friends and families in shame . for those who do file , bankruptcy can restore some financial breathing room . but for those still in debt to illegal loan_sharks , it does not always end the harassment . and few escape personal trauma of some sort . that is what happened to kazuhiko tashiro and shinichi doi , two owners of small businesses who live in the osaka region . osaka , a city of more than two million , is the center of japan 's battered industrial heartland , which is filled with factories and businesses like theirs suffering from the general downturn and the shift in production to china and other low wage countries . at 7.2 percent , unemployment in the city is nearly twice that in the tokyo region . both men declared bankruptcy this year after more than a decade of accumulating debts and struggling to keep up with snowballing payments . like many debtors , they used their personal savings to keep their companies going before turning to loan_sharks in hope of staving off the collapse of their businesses . ''people get desperate , '' said yoshiaki tanaka , the secretary general of icho no kai , which has experienced a sixfold increase in visitors in the last two years . ''a drowning man will grasp at straws . '' the two men 's fall from grace parallels the growth in one of japan 's most profitable industries , the business of lending money to those with little or no collateral . while americans have lived with easy credit for decades , most japanese pay off their credit_card bills each month . increasingly , though , the lure of quick cash has turned the nation 's loan companies into financial lifelines , particularly for those who do not understand the risks involved . in this weak economy , low wage workers and marginal business owners are being forced to dip deeply into their savings to pay their bills . the closing of a factory or a round of induced early retirements can push families to the brink . finding new work at similar pay is difficult because most workers devote their entire career to one job , leaving them unprepared to find another . to make the payroll at a family business , many japanese seek short term , high interest loans to tide them over and avoid the embarrassment of having to ask friends or relatives for money . in his 27 years as a credit counselor , mr . tanaka has repeatedly seen the dark side of this trend . consumer finance companies lend money at rates up to 29 . 2 percent a ceiling set by the government and borrowing 500 , 000 yen ( 4 , 151 ) is as easy as going to an automated teller machine . most borrowers repay their loans , but for those who cannot , the consequences can be frightful . interest accumulates so quickly that debtors take out new loans to keep up with the previous payments due . when legitimate loan companies cut debtors off , loan_sharks called yamikin can dole out fresh loans at rates of up to 10 percent a day . the police try to enforce the anti usury laws . in the first half of 2002 , 118 loan_sharks who lent to more than 42 , 000 people were arrested . estimates of the illegal loan market vary , but analysts say it easily exceeds 3 percent of the legal market in consumer loans , or about 3 billion . despite the outrageous rates , there is no shortage of takers for these loans a sign of how thin the line is between making ends meet and spiraling downward . it also illustrates the fuzzy border between the regulated loan companies , which cater to salaried workers , and the web of marginal operators who often have links to organized_crime gangs . these illegal operators often employ brutal harassment techniques that make ordinary lives impossible . mr . doi , 52 , thought he knew all these risks . his troubles began just as the stock_market and the real_estate_bubble of the late 1980 's were about to burst . mr . doi 's small trucking company started to sour , so he borrowed about 12 , 000 from his bank to keep up with his auto loans . most japanese , mr . doi included , thought that the economy would rebound , as it had done throughout the postwar period . but income from his business fluctuated , so the bank cut him off . he took out consumer loans to tide him over . mr . doi was an ideal client for the loan companies someone who needed cash but always came up with just enough to stave off default . he usually borrowed just under 400 at a time , but other times he took out larger loans with lower rates . ''if you meet your interest payments , '' he said , ''the companies will lend you even more money . i knew it was dangerous , but i could n't help but borrow more . '' the fastest_growing_segment of the 100 billion consumer finance industry is built around loans of more than a million yen , or about 8 , 300 . to lure new customers , companies like promise and acom encourage japanese with long repayment histories to consolidate their loans . pushing people to borrow more in a recession comes with risks , though . defaults are rising along with the jobless_rate . mr . doi met his obligations because his wife took a job at a food_processing plant for about 800 a month . last year , though , the debts had grown so large that mr . doi found his way to icho no kai . his move was probably encouraged by a regulatory change late in 2000 that allowed bankruptcy lawyers to advertise . mr . doi 's wife was appalled and threatened to divorce him . they stayed together for the sake of their two children . he went through with the bankruptcy proceedings , though he needed another loan to cover the 2 , 900 in legal fees . on sept . 23 , a month after he filed the paperwork , mr . doi was formally freed from more than 65 , 000 in obligations . in a trench coat , wool scarf and shined loafers and with a new job at a building maintenance company , he no longer looks like a harried scavenger on the underbelly of the economy . though his wife is still working , he is trying to repair their relationship . ''i 've caused her so much trouble , '' he said . ''in the future , i 'm going to attach more importance to our lives . '' unlike mr . doi , mr . tashiro , 48 , still fits the sad sack image of a besieged debtor . his eyes puffy and his hair unkempt , he looks worn out from a decade long ordeal with creditors and the strong arm men they employed to chase down their money . in 1989 , he and a friend started a company to dispatch security guards . it did well for a few years . but they discovered that a worker had embezzled the equivalent of 12 , 000 . they settled the issue informally and the man returned to work . when he stole again , they fired him . to keep the company afloat , mr . tashiro borrowed 2 , 400 . unfortunately , a former assistant turned out to be a gangster and returned to extort money . mr . tashiro and his friend shut down the company , hoping that he would go away . instead , the man visited mr . tashiro 's home and threatened him . at wits' end , he borrowed about 4 , 000 against his life_insurance policy and paid off the gangster . he then went to the police , who pursued a criminal case . mr . tashiro 's problems did not go away , though . feeling obligated as a boss , he used his entire nest_egg of 16 , 000 to pay his employees ' 'sorry money'' when he shut the company . as a company owner , he had no jobless_benefits , so he worked as a security guard for 1 , 000 a month . his wife worked , too , but mr . tashiro said nothing about his loans or his brush with gangsters . there was never enough money , and in 1996 mr . tashiro again went to the regulated loan companies . ''this was the beginning of the real troubles , '' he said in a heavy osaka dialect . one loan led to another and soon he owed about 36 , 000 to 16 companies . desperate , he turned to the loan_sharks , hoping to get enough money to pay off his original creditors . he also considered killing himself . some japanese believe that suicide is an honorable way to repent for failing to meet obligations . suicides have risen 47 percent in the last decade , though obviously not all are related to financial woes . deaths directly attributed to the adverse economy have risen to more than 6 , 800 a year in that time from about 1 , 600 , according to the national_police_agency , accounting for about half of the overall increase in suicides . the vast majority of these cases involve men 40 and older . mr . tashiro held out long enough to find a debtors' group in nearby amagasaki called brighter tomorrow , where he learned how to file for bankruptcy himself , a significant savings . last month , a weight was lifted when the courts cleared his debts . he now wants to remarry his wife , whom he divorced so she would not be named in the bankruptcy proceedings . he also counsels other debtors . a government panel is now deliberating over more ways to make it easier to declare bankruptcy , including speeding up the court process , easing some of the criteria and allowing people to refile for bankruptcy in less time . the government hopes that by helping ordinary workers to start over with fewer debts , they can spend more and help lift the economy . critics argue that this will create a moral_hazard , with people borrowing excessively because they know they can escape their debts more easily . but this ignores an essential point most japanese still feel a sense of obligation to repay their debts . few would abuse the system , most experts say . international business.

the mets and citigroup have agreed on a_20 year sponsorship deal to call the team 's new stadium citifield . the announcement will be made at a groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow , a baseball official who was briefed on the ceremony said , confirming a report on the deal friday by bloomberg_news . the ceremony will be attended by gov . george e . pataki and mayor michael r . bloomberg . the ballpark is being built next to shea_stadium and will open for the 2009 season . the sponsorship deal will be worth at least 20 million a year and will set a record for united_states stadium rights . the associated press reported that the agreement included options for the mets and citigroup to extend the deal to 35 years . the previous record for stadium naming rights is about 10 million annually the houston texans receive from reliant energy to call their home reliant stadium . the mets have played at shea_stadium since 1964 . shea_stadium is named for william a . shea , a lawyer who helped bring national_league baseball back to new york . in other mets news , the bench coach manny acta , who canceled an interview with oakland for the athletics' managerial opening , is reportedly close to being named manager of the washington nationals .

the chinese government increased health screenings of travelers and hospital patients on saturday after acknowledging that doctors in this coastal city were treating the first suspected sars case in mainland_china since the disease was declared contained by the world_health_organization in july . the patient , identified by the government as a 32 year old freelance_journalist , was listed in stable condition . chinese state media reported that he had had a normal temperature for three days and that he was being kept in a quarantine ward at the no . 8 people 's hospital here . in recent weeks , a sars case has been confirmed in taiwan . another case was reported this summer in singapore . both those patients were health workers apparently exposed to the disease in hospital settings . in neither case was the virus believed to have spread . if sars is confirmed as the cause of the illness in guangzhou , it would raise the possibility of severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome re entering the general population . it was not clear when health officials would be able to determine whether the patient had sars or some type of pneumonia with similar symptoms . he has shown mixed results on tests , and chinese health officials plan to continue testing him . the world_health_organization has offered its assistance . speculation has abounded for months that sars could return this winter . for the last two months , some hotels in china have asked guests to have their temperatures taken before being checked in . the government came under harsh international condemnation for initially covering up the disease when it came to light in southern china last winter . in beijing , where the disease all but shut down the city for several weeks in the spring , state run news_media reported that government officials were increasing temperature screenings for travelers at bus and air terminals and taking some people with high fevers for examinations at hospitals . in hong_kong , about 80 miles down the pearl river from guangzhou , health officials , painfully aware of how sars swept through the city last spring , announced a series of precautions . hong_kong has been using infrared scanners to check for anyone entering with a fever . at hong_kong 's main train_station , officials in surgical_masks and white latex gloves used ear thermometers to double check the temperatures of dozens of adults and children as an extra precaution . dr . henry kong , a hong_kong health department medical officer , said the scanners had detected many people with the flu and other respiratory infections in recent months . these people were referred to doctors , but no sars cases were found . the chronology of the latest suspected victim 's illness may raise questions about whether officials disclosed the case quickly enough . the man apparently fell ill on dec . 16 , suffering from aches and high fever . he saw a doctor on dec . 20 . the doctor diagnosed pneumonia and sent the man to a hospital . news reports said his condition had worsened enough by dec . 24 that he was transferred to a quarantine ward . the case did not become public until saturday morning , when it was reported under a banner_headline by the southern metropolitan daily in guangzhou , a full week after the patient was admitted to the hospital . according to the world_health_organization , sars has infected 8 , 099 people and killed 774 of them since its emergence in november of last year .

more than an hour after president_bush ordered the secret strike against saddam_hussein 's bunker on the first night of the iraq_war , lt . col . david toomey was streaking toward baghdad in his f 117a stealth_fighter when , he said , he realized he had a big problem . an indicator light on the satellite guidance system for one of the plane 's bombs had gone dead . without the target 's coordinates locked in , colonel toomey could drop only one of the plane 's two special bunker busting bombs , reducing the surprise attack 's chances for success . his problem was compounded by the fact that the new 2 , 000 pound bomb guided by laser_beam or by satellites if clouds obscured a target , as they did that night had never been used in combat . he and two dozen other f_117 pilots based in qatar had never even seen one until hours before his unexpected mission . with dawn fast approaching and the target minutes away , colonel toomey quickly glanced at a troubleshooting guide prepared by his squadron . he successfully restarted the faulty guidance system in time to drop both bombs . his wingman , maj . mark hoehn , dropped two more . ''there were so many things i was trying to do , i did n't have time to have doubts until it was all over , '' said colonel toomey , a short , balding man from haworth , n.j. , who looks more like a business executive than a fighter jock . he and major hoehn were in the air just two hours after receiving their orders . ''there were a lot of distractions , '' he said . ''people were on the radio , and the sun was coming up , '' which would make the bat winged , jet black planes that fly only night missions more vulnerable to ground fire . ''i was just trying to stay focused . '' colonel toomey and seven other f_117 pilots from the eighth fighter squadron , who call themselves the black sheep , recounted new details of the march 19 attack and other missions just days after returning to their home base here in southern new mexico . all the f_117 's sent to qatar are now back . in the iraq_war , the stealth fighters adapted new tactics to hit fiercely defended targets on short notice , unleashed a new bomb that allowed them to strike in bad_weather and reduce the risk to civilians and overcame last minute , mission threatening glitches , the pilots and air_force officials said . these developments underscored how the fluid nature of the modern battlefield , one without clearly defined front lines and full of fleeting targets , required the pentagon 's most specialized attack plane , and its pilots and crews , to make day by day and even minute by minute adjustments . ''from the first night , we demonstrated a new ability to adapt and be more responsive with less preparation to this new kind of warfare , '' said lt . col . matt mckeon , the eighth fighter squadron 's commander . the radar evading f_117 's , nicknamed the nighthawk , dropped their first bombs in combat in panama in 1989 , missing targets on both flights , but they came of age in the persian_gulf_war in 1991 , when 42 of the planes flew about 1 , 300 missions . in the iraq_war , 12 f_117 's based at al udeid air base in qatar flew only about 80 of the 17 , 200 total strike missions so far . but all were against high priority , heavily defended targets in the baghdad area , including radio relay stations , air_defenses and even the iraqi national_olympic_committee , whose ground floor had been used as a government torture chamber . about one third of their missions came in the first three days , the pilots said , when allied commanders sought to destroy iraq 's remaining air_defenses . some problems limited the stealth fighters' attacks , the pilots said . a shortage of refueling planes on the first big_night of the air campaign forced two thirds of the f_117 missions to return home with bombs still tucked in the planes' bays . cloudy weather prevented other flights from dropping their laser guided weapons . the ability of b_52 , b 1 and b_2 bombers to drop dozens of satellite guided weapons , which they could not do until the operation in afghanistan , also made it possible to strike many targets without putting a stealth_fighter at risk . alternately buoyant and reflective about their three weeks of combat , in which they often had to weave through dense thickets of antiaircraft_artillery shells and surface_to_air_missiles in baghdad , the f_117 pilots here said their mission was more than a niche role for american air power . for the pilots and mission planners , the iraq_war marked a culture change . a typical stealth_fighter mission requires six hours of meticulous planning , reviewing high resolution photographs of the targets and coordinating refueling and electronic warfare planes to help protect the f_117 's , which fly at subsonic speed , maneuver only marginally well and carry no on board defensive countermeasures . missions are planned down to the second , and shortly after an f_117 is aloft , a computer flies the plane according to a detailed flight plan , leaving the pilot to concentrate on attacking the target . in this war , that long planning cycle was crunched to two hours on the first night , breaking the mold for future missions . later in the war , nighthawks were put on alert , ready to fly to a target within 30 minutes of receiving orders . lt . col . rick silong , a former navy f a 18 hornet pilot who switched to f_117 's a year ago , recalled that five days into the war , he and another pilot were given a new target at the last minute . their instructions were , ''hit the v shaped palace south of the tigris_river . '' ''no photographs , no grids , everything was ad_hoc , '' said colonel silong , who said he and his wingman found their targets and each dropped two 2 , 000 pound laser guided bombs . the pilots said they had been practicing this kind of ''time sensitive targeting'' for months , in which they react quickly to fresh intelligence of a fleeting target . the snap decision airstrike to try to kill saddam_hussein at the beginning of the war best illustrated this new flexibility . but the attack almost did not happen , the pilots said . even before the trouble with colonel toomey 's faulty guidance system , an air boss in saudi_arabia nearly canceled the f_117 mission , fearing it would take too long to coordinate with ships and submarines that were firing tomahawk_cruise_missiles at the same bunker . a qatari air traffic controller almost blocked the f_117 's from taking off , until air_force officials intervened . the pilots got a few other breaks . mission planners in qatar were tipped off early by a colleague at a saudi command center to begin studying the bunker site . that saved a precious hour . by coincidence , the new bombs the f_117 's would use , egbu 27 's , had arrived the day before the mission . colonel mckeon had weapons handlers load two onto colonel toomey 's jet for practice . that ultimately saved 30 more minutes . when the squadron received the order to go , at about 1 30 a.m . local time on march 20 , tasks were quickly divvied up . call signs and radio frequencies were assigned . a kc 135 tanker , a flying gas station , had to be prepared for the mission , as did f 16cj anti radar and ea 6b radar jamming planes . it was going to be tight . to reach baghdad before daylight , the planes had to be airborne by about 3 30 a.m . at 3 38 a.m. , the pilots said , colonel toomey and major hoehn were zooming north on their two hour flight . ''there was a method to the madness , '' colonel mckeon said . ''we had trained for this , but we 'd never done it in combat . '' aftereffects tactics.

new claims for jobless_benefits fell in the latest week to a five month low , the government said today in a report that suggested the economic_recovery was inching forward . the labor department said the number of americans filing first time claims for unemployment_benefits declined for the second straight week , falling 18 , 000 , to 415 , 000 , in the week that ended april 4 . americans filed 433 , 000 claims during the previous week and 456 , 000 two weeks earlier . the bush_administration hailed the report as a sign that the trend of job losses was reversing . " today 's report indicates that business activity is strengthening and layoffs are on the decline , " labor secretary lynn martin said . unemployment and the recession are top issues in the presidential campaign . the number of unemployment claims was the lowest since october , when 414 , 000 people sought benefits , the department said . economists had expected a moderate increase . " we are probably staring at job growth in the economy , " said donald ratajczak , director of economic forecasting at georgia state university . " it is not vigorous , but at this point we are certainly adding jobs . " the four week average fell to 437 , 750 , from 442 , 000 and 448 , 750 in the previous two periods .

just a week after the chinese government released its most prominent political_prisoner , xu_wenli , and sent him to the united_states , the authorities have intensified efforts to suppress less well known protesters in the country 's restive northeast . this week , the police charged two leaders of worker demonstrations in the northeastern city of liaoyang with subversion a crime that carries the death_penalty after they organized protests to focus attention on workers' interests , family members and a rights group said today . the two leaders , yao fuxin and xiao yunliang , helped rally thousands of laid off workers angry over the government 's failure to pay wages and benefits promised by bankrupt state owned companies . last spring , they managed to link workers from as many as 20 state run factories for large scale demonstrations that rattled authorities because they raised the possibility of organized opposition to the communist_party . the two had solicited support for an opposition political_party as well . local authorities had previously detained the two organizers on charges of illegally organizing demonstrations , a much less severe crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison . the subversion charge , which family members said they learned of on new year 's eve , can lead to a life_sentence or execution . ''i have complete confidence that my father did not intend to subvert the state , '' mr . yao 's daughter , yao dan , said in a telephone interview . ''he was merely trying to help workers to meet their needs . these charges are clearly related to an idea in the heads of government leaders and not based on something that my father did . '' china 's decision to release mr . xu , who has pushed for greater democracy in china since the late 1970 's and has spent 16 of the past 21 years in prison , was greeted as a significant concession to the united_states and western critics of its human_rights record . it also came as china has worked hard to strengthen ties with the bush_administration . but western rights groups had warned that releases of prominent dissidents are a mixed blessing . mr . xu , like many other political activists , was forced to leave china and live in exile , where protest leaders have generally failed to rally people to their cause or influence the course of chinese politics . moreover , china has often used the cover of concessions to begin fresh crackdowns on dissent , assuming that western leaders are less likely to react strongly after a gesture of goodwill . the timing of the new charges , coming over the new year 's holiday , also appears designed to attract as little attention as possible . ''this shows the chinese government will continue to use heavy penalties to deal with the leaders of labor protests , '' china labor watch , a new york based human_rights group that first reported the charges , said in a statement . in another sign that the authorities had toughened their stance on organizers of workers , the police re arrested a third liaoyang protest leader , wang zhaoming , on tuesday . after being released from police custody a week ago , mr . wang had told family members that he did not expect charges to be filed against him . he also hired a lawyer and spoke of suing the police over his nine month detention , china labor watch said .

lead as world leaders prepare to attend the funeral of emperor_hirohito in tokyo on friday , a simultaneous opinion survey in both countries has found that japanese and americans now take a more positive view of ties between the two countries after a period of strain over economic relations . as world leaders prepare to attend the funeral of emperor_hirohito in tokyo on friday , a simultaneous opinion survey in both countries has found that japanese and americans now take a more positive view of ties between the two countries after a period of strain over economic relations . majorities in both countries agree on the rise of japanese power , as previous polls have shown , and japanese and americans share equal disdain for the values of their younger generations . but the two populations are equally split over whether american might has declined and they drastically disagree over the emperor 's responsibility for world_war_ii . and although significant suspicions remain in the areas of trade and military defense , recent tensions between the two countries seem to be declining . these and other findings emerged from the simultaneous surveys using many equivalent questions in japan and the united_states . telephone interviews with 1 , 060 japanese adults were conducted by the tokyo broadcasting system on feb . 16 19 , while 1 , 233 american adults were surveyed by phone in a new york times_cbs_news_poll on feb . 18 and 19 . the margin of sampling_error for both polls was approximately plus or minus three percentage_points . in japan , the poll found that 77 percent support the emperor system today , with 73 percent saying they now view the emperor as a national_symbol and only 2 percent still seeing him as a human god . a plurality of japanese ( 42 percent ) say emperor_hirohito , who died jan . 7 , was too distant , and a majority ( 59 percent ) say they want the new emperor , akihito , to be closer to the people . a solid majority of americans ( 63 percent ) say it is appropriate for president_bush to attend the funeral , but a generation gap emerges . approval declines as the respondent 's age increases . seventy six percent of people under 30 approve of the president 's trip . but of those over 64 , with adult memories of world_war_ii , only 41 percent approved . responsibility for war the age gap also appeared among japanese when asked if hirohito had a great deal or some responsibility for world_war_ii . overall , only one third said the emperor bore at least some responsibility for the war . but the older the japanese the less responsibility they assigned the emperor , from 39 percent under age 30 down to 21 percent for those over 64 . among americans , age did not affect their belief about the emperor 's war responsibility two thirds of all age groups said he bore at least some responsibility . the overall proportion of americans approving the president 's trip did not change when , as an experiment , the same question was asked again after the war was explicitly mentioned . this stability suggests that the minority of americans maintaining enmity toward japan and its emperor needed no prompting to express that attitude while for the majority of americans a reminder of the war was insufficient impetus to prompt a diplomatic snub at a time of japan 's national mourning . when asked to characterize relations between the two countries , 79 percent of americans said they were somewhat or very friendly , up from 72 percent in may 1987 . sixty eight percent of japanese said relations were somewhat or very friendly , up from 43 percent two years ago . some see economic threat but there were some signs of concern among americans . fifty seven percent see japanese ownership of manufacturing plants in the united_states as an economic threat . and only 34 percent of americans now say that two way trade with japan is good for the united_states . that number is down from 42 percent in may 1988 . the percentage who said such trade was bad was essentially unchanged ( from 41 percent last year to 40 percent now ) , but those who said that trade with japan , the united_states' second largest trading partner after canada , had no effect jumped from 6 percent to 11 percent . in japan , 63 percent take the view that such bilateral trade is good for the japanese economy while 11 percent say it is bad and 21 percent see no effect . this question was not asked in japan in previous years . thirty one percent of americans and 16 percent of japanese say the trade situation will improve in coming years . twenty one percent of americans and 37 percent of japanese say they believe it will worsen . and 37 percent of americans and 43 percent of japanese say they believe it will stay the same . working for japanese company asked if they would work for a japanese owned company in the united_states , 51 percent of the americans said they would , down from 58 percent in 1986 . still , 61 percent of americans said they did not believe they would experience discrimination from a japanese employer . twenty one percent anticipated discrimination . the two peoples seem in essential agreement that the postwar generation does not work as hard as their parents did . sixty two percent of americans and 56 percent of japanese agree strongly or somewhat . but americans seem slightly more concerned about a lack of commitment to traditional values among their children . seventy seven percent of americans and 59 percent of japanese shared that concern . forty eight percent of americans and 49 percent of japanese said the united_states was declining as a world power while 63 percent of americans and 62 percent of japanese said japan was now a world power that should assume responsibilities to other countries . seventy three percent of japanese now say that their country benefited from changes imposed during the united_states postwar occupation , up from 55 percent in july 1985 . eighty two percent of americans see similar benefits , essentially unchanged from 84 percent in 1985 . but a sharp disparity continues over belief in american security commitments . among americans , 77 percent say their country would defend japan if it was attacked and only 8 percent say the united_states would not . but less than half the japanese ( 44 percent ) say they believe in the united_states defense commitment 46 percent say americans would not defend japan . in japan , there was little disparity among age groups in this lack of belief . in the united_states , belief in the american defense commitment ranged from 85 percent of those age 30 to 44 down to 64 percent of those over age 64 . nearly half ( 48 percent ) of americans say they perceive japan as a somewhat strong or very strong military power while only one third ( 32 percent ) of japanese do . nearly half ( 48 percent ) of americans and more than half ( 57 percent ) of japanese say japan 's military is at the right level , numbers essentially unchanged from recent years . eighteen percent of americans and 10 percent of japanese say japan should increase its military strength while 8 percent of americans and 31 percent of japanese say it should be decreased . if japan 's military strength was increased significantly , 60 percent of americans and 64 percent of japanese say the military would likely have too much influence in japan . similar findings emerged in a 1985 poll . while 84 percent of americans and 83 percent of japanese say that thoughts of each other as enemies are now things of the past , 11 percent of americans and 17 percent of japanese still think of the other as enemies . thirty four percent of americans said they still held bad feelings against japan for the bombing of pearl_harbor ( up from 27 percent in july 1985 ) while 31 percent of americans said they thought the japanese still held ill feelings against americans for the atom bombings ( up from 27 percent in 1985 ) . similar questions were not asked of the japanese this time . but in 1985 , 51 percent of japanese said they think americans still held pearl_harbor against japan while 44 percent said they still held the atom bombings against the united_states .

mayor rudolph w . giuliani behaved like a good republican today as he went to a fund_raiser for representative rick a . lazio , held a joint news conference with mr . lazio and gave interviews to two networks all while attending his first national political convention . ''i very strongly support rick_lazio and urge everyone that at least wants to listen to me to vote for him , '' mr . giuliani said at the news conference , which lasted 10 minutes . later , at the fund_raiser , which the mayor attended with his friend judith nathan , mr . giuliani thanked the crowd for ' 'supporting rick and for making certain that i do n't have to spend the last year that i 'm the mayor of new york city with hillary as the senator . '' four years ago , the mayor , who had endorsed a democrat for governor ( mario cuomo ) and then barely endorsed a republican for president ( bob_dole ) , showed such disdain for his party 's convention in san_diego that he was not even invited . ''they did n't allow governor wilson to speak , have n't allowed governor weld to speak , and they tried to constrict pataki 's remarks to such a degree that he did n't want to speak , '' mr . giuliani told reporters at the time , referring to the moderate republicans pete_wilson of california , william f . weld of massachusetts and george e . pataki of new york . how times have changed . during the prime time speeches tonight , the mayor was not sitting with the new york delegation , but next to cindy mccain , whose husband , senator john_mccain of arizona , was a featured speaker and a friend of the mayor 's . he was also situated one row in front of the elder bushes and nancy_reagan . the republicans the new york mayor.

a german tourist who had been in florida less than 48 hours was beaten to death outside a resort bar just north of key west this week . he became the first vacationer slain in the new year in florida , where tourism from abroad is rebounding after a decline attributed to a spate of violent crimes against foreign visitors in 1993 94 . investigators say the killing , which occurred early thursday morning , resulted solely from a barroom quarrel , so florida officials say it should have no effect on the number of foreigners visiting the state . we 're still gathering facts from the florida department of law enforcement and monroe county , " said rosetta land , a spokeswoman for the state 's division of international tourism . " but from the facts that we have , this was not a tourist that was in any way targeted for being a tourist . " the office of the monroe county sheriff said the 21 year old victim , rainer puerzer , arrived in miami on tuesday afternoon , accompanied by two friends with whom he had planned to vacation in the florida keys for up to a month . although investigators have been unwilling to discuss many details , they do quote mr . puerzer 's friends as saying that the last time they saw him , late wednesday night , he was drinking with a young american man at a bar at the looe key resort on ramrod key , about 25 miles north of key west . it was this man , identified as mark howard , 21 , of lorain , ohio , with whom mr . puerzer quarreled , the authorities say . a sheriff 's deputy found mr . puerzer 's body in the resort 's parking_lot the next morning , and mr . howard was arrested and charged with second degree murder . as a result of the internationally publicized rash of robbing and killing foreign vacationers a couple of years ago , florida took a number of steps to protect its 30 billion tourism_industry removing from vehicles all markings that identified them as rented , deploying security guards at some highway rest areas and erecting highway signs to help keep visitors from becoming lost on their way from airports to tourist destinations . last year , the state 's tourism_industry began reversing its decline , with places like dade and broward counties posting sharp gains in the number of visitors , according to figures from the florida department of commerce .