August 24, 1993

UNDER the renowned Sargon and his successors, the Akkadians of Mesopotamia forged the world's first empire more than 4,300 years ago. They seized control of cities along the Euphrates River and on the fruitful plains to the north, all in what is now Iraq, Syria and parts of southern Turkey. Then, after only a century of prosperity, the Akkadian empire collapsed abruptly, for reasons that have been lost to history. The traditional explanation is one of divine retribution. Angered by the hubris of Naram-Sin, Sargon's grandson and most dynamic successor, the gods supposedly unleashed the barbaric Gutians to descend out of the highlands and overwhelm Akkadian towns. More recent and conventional explanations have put the blame on overpopulation, provincial revolt, nomadic incursions or managerial incompetence, though many scholars despaired of ever identifying the root cause of the collapse.

A tax imposed at a growing number of airports across the country for projects like noise abatement, security, and new or improved runways and terminals is inspiring a budding revolt -- not among the passengers who pay the tax, but among the airlines that collect it. The passenger facility charge, as it is formally named, has proved hard to resist for airport authorities. In the 19 months the tax has been in effect, 130 of the 428 primary airports in the United States -- those with at least 10,000 passengers a year -- have been authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to impose more than $7.3 billion in taxes. Thirty-eight more applications are pending.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its pricing practices went on trial yesterday in an Arkansas courtroom, where three independent pharmacies are trying to prove that the nation's largest retailer sold merchandise below its costs in an effort to drive competitors out of business. The retail druggists in Conway, Ark., north of Little Rock, contend that their business suffered from Wal-Mart's "predatory prices" on items ranging from toothpaste to mouthwash to over-the-counter drugs sold at its Conway superstore.

The Clinton Administration took aim at executives' pay and stock packages in its new tax law. While the law is likely to lead many companies to make changes in compensation plans, most experts say it probably will not drastically change the way public companies pay their top talent. The new law is "more symbolic than anything," said Anne Hansen, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, a group of 85 large pension funds that has fought for more shareholder influence. "We applaud it, but we don't want to sign onto it because of the loopholes."

After an 11-month, 450-million-mile voyage, the Mars Observer spacecraft should arrive at its destination today, primed to swing into orbit around Mars. But there has been nothing but silence from the craft since Saturday night, and puzzled flight controllers were becoming more fearful yesterday that the $1 billion mission might be doomed. Mission officials said there had been one "ray of hope" when engineering studies suggested that a faulty clock aboard the spacecraft could be responsible for the recent loss of communications. But attempts to switch the craft to a backup clock proved unsuccessful.