Japan's ruling party, bowing to pressure from US and other Western governments, strongly suggest that they are putting together package of $80 billion or more to stimulate nation's economy; it appears tax cut, as favored in the West and by some Japanese business leaders, will not be substantial part of it; size of package is uncertain, with amounts ranging from $48 billion to nearly $160 billion (L)

Japanese Map A Plan to Aid An Ill Economy

High school guidance counselors say with colleges acceptances month away, fear of litigation by parents has made them more cautious in letters of recommendation and informal conversations with college admissions officials, threatening longstanding system by which high school students are selected for cherished freshman class spots; colleges increasingly are emphasizing campus safety and worry that if they admit student with criminal past who then becomes violent, university officials will be held liable; guidance counselors, hearing differing interpretations of state and Federal laws, are caught in middle; past alcohol and drug use, widely reported to college admissions officers in earlier era, is now shielded under 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act (M)

High Schools Fear Telling Colleges All About Johnny

Pres Clinton's top lawyer, David E Kendall, and prosecutors investigating Monica S Lewinsky matter have opened discussions over whether Clinton will provide grand jury testimony; discussions suggest that independent counsel Kenneth W Starr could complete fact-finding phase of Lewinsky inquiry within next few weeks; prosecutors question former White House volunteer Kathleen Willey about alleged 1993 Oval Office sexual encounter with Clinton; lawyers and other members of Clinton's defense say Willey's testimony is evidence of collusion between Starr and Paula Corbin Jones's legal team; photo (M)

CLINTON TESTIMONY BEFORE GRAND JURY IS BEING DISCUSSED

Will Joyner reviews new Significant Others, new Fox show that focuses on three people starting adulthood in Los Angeles (M)

Prime Time: Starting Out In L.A. at 25

Bruce Weber article on why he and others enjoy risky sports; photos (M)

The Thrill of Risk, and Other Reasons Why

New York Knickerbockers defeat Orlando Magic, 85-78; photo (M)

Ward Turns the Knicks Around

The President of India asked the main Hindu nationalist party yesterday to form a coalition Government, stirring fears among many Indians, particularly the Muslim minority, that the party would dismantle the country's historical commitment to equality for people of all faiths.     The nationalists, the Bharatiya Janata Party, now seem likely to cobble together enough votes to form a parliamentary majority after a tumultuous national election that ended on Saturday with no clear victor.   

Hindu Party in India Chosen for Coalition

Ensemble Studio Theater is marking its 25th anniversary with series of readings of plays from company's past, many of them featuring actors who performed roles early in their careers; photo of Kevin Bacon; Boston Symphony conductor Seiji Ozawa, in gesture of thanks to greater Boston community, is to lead free performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on Boston Common on Sept 27, one of highlights of his silver anniversary season as music director of Boston Symphony; The Full Monty captures 11 nominations, including best film and best original screenplay, in 50th annual British Academy Awards; Mrs Brown, film about Queen Victoria, receives eight nominations; Kyle Newman, 21-year-old New York University undergraduate film student, will be honored at ShoWest, film industry trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada, for his filmmaking prowess (M)

Footlights

Six Iraqis who worked in concert with Central Intelligence Agency in failed plots against Saddam Hussein have been declared threats to American national security in court ruling so secret their lawyers cannot read it; ruling by Federal Judge D D Sitgraves means that they may be deported to their homeland, where they would probably face execution; Iraqis are Ali Yasin Mohammed Karim, Safa al-Betat, Adil Hadi Awadh, Mohammed Jawer al-Ammary, Mohammed Tuma and Ali Saleh (M)

6 Iraqis Who Aided C.I.A. Are Ordered Deported From U.S.

Real estate developer Harry Macklowe, saying that his past problems with tenants, city officials and lack of financing are behind him, discusses his future plans; says he is currently building 300-unit apartment house at Eight Avenue and 50th Street and demolishing buildings at 53d Street and Second Avenue to make way for another apartment building; says that he has hired Lehman Brothers to advise him on an possible initial public offering for his company and to build $400 million office tower on Madison Avenue and 42d Street; photo (M)

Man With Past Speculates on Future; Without Renters in Place, Macklowe Plans a Manhattan Office Tower

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column, noting upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, expresses belief that quality of play in college basketball has diminished; cites dispersal of talent, scholarship limitations, freshman eligibility rules and players leaving early for professional ball as major reasons; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; A Retro Look To Madness: Amateurism

Whether cliff-diving in Moab, Utah, or biking in Vietnam, Americans are leaving the beaten path in search of something extra. A look at the sports, the risks and the reasons.    Section G  

SPECIAL TODAY: Adventure Sports

James B McDougal in 1992 turned over to New York Times banking records from Whitewater real estate deal in which he and Bill and Hillary Clinton were partners; McDougal intended papers to harm Clintons; instead, they destroyed him, leading to appointment of independent counsel Kenneth W Starr, who indicted, convicted and jailed McDougal for his management of corrupt savings and loan association; when McDougal died in solitary confinement in Federal prison hospital on March 8, he was admitted victim of his own acts of revenge; while McDougal's actions started four-year-old investigation, his importance to it is uncertain; ailing McDougal, fearing he would die in jail after his conviction in 1996, cooperated with Starr in return for lighter sentence; photo (M)

Consumed by a Blaze He Set, McDougal Grasped His Fate

United States Olympic Committee is not ready to announce specific punishment for room-trashing episode involving American hockey players and appears to be moving away from threats, hoping for settlement in form of group apology and significant payment by team members (M)

U.S.O.C. Backs Off Threats in Vandalism Case

Dozens of Connecticut state employees return to wortk at lottery headquarters in Newington for first time since disgruntled employee Matthew Beck shot and stabbed four of their executives before killing himself; funeral services are held for two of victims, Linda A Blogoslawski Mlynarczyk and Frederick W Rubelmann 3d; photo (M)

At Work and Funeral, Lottery Workers Struggle With Their Grief

Metropolitan Opera presents Lohengrin, directed by Robert Wilson; James Levine conducts; Ben Heppner sings title role; Bernard Holland review (M)

Robert Wilson Adds Theater To 'Lohengrin'

 Crude Burial in Kosovo  Serbian police seized the bodies of 51 ethnic Albanians killed in Kosovo province and buried them, preventing autopsies or funerals. Page A10.    A Scandal in Nicaragua  The leader of Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution, an international icon of the left, has been accused by a stepdaughter of sexual abuse. Page A3.

INSIDE

Article on Prairie View A&M preparing for NCAA basketball tournament and opening round opponent Kansas; photo; map (M)

1998 N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT -- Team No. 64, Who Are You?; With Unlikely Upset, Prairie View (13-16) Finds Itself in the N.C.A.A.'s

US House Republican leaders propose compromise to break long stalemate over how to update legislation governing financial services industry, offering bill that would eliminate many of barriers that separate banks, securities firms and insurers; proposal wins support from Wall Street and insurance industry; big banks say they want to study details before taking position (L)

G.O.P. Pushes To Overhaul Finance Law

Market Place column on Manuel P Asensio, who makes a living betting that certain stocks will fall; says Asensio has drawn attention to himself by publicly challenging some companies' claims; notes Asensio dismisses criticism of his practices, maintaining that his blunt talk fights fraud; also notes that in 1996 Asensio attacked claims by Diana Corp, now called Coyote Network Systems, that it had innovative Internet technology; says eventually Diana collapsed and stock was kicked off New York Stock Exchange; notes fiercest battle Asensio has undertaken thus far is against Avant, software company; photo (L)

THE MARKETS: Market Place -- A Stock Crusader In a Short-Seller Suit; He Says Blunt Talk Fights Fraud, But Critics Say He Talks Too Much

David Gonzalez About New York column on campaign by Bronx civic group Nos Quedamos to convert old Bronx County Courthouse into civic center; group is battling to stop city from auctioning off property; group's president Yolanda Garcia comments (M)

About New York; Championing Lady Justice In the Bronx

Challenge of integrating differing corporate cultures of MCI Communications Corp and Worldcom Inc--one a brash newcomer to upper echelons of telecommunications world, the other onetime rebel that joined establishment--is just one of potential hurdles in pending merger; analysts say those hurdles are not likely to block merger altogether; two companies will propose directors of the new company; photo of MCI chairman Bert C Roberts Jr and Worldcom head Bernard J Ebbers (L)

2 Corporate Cultures Meet in MCI-Worldcom Merger

Guernsey's, small auction house, will be offering some 600 items of John F Kennedy memorabilia on March 18 and 19 at Seventh Regiment Armory in Manhattan; about half items belong to Robert White, who possesses 100,000 items of Kennedy memorabilia; he inherited most of his items in sale from Kennedy's late secretary Evelyn N Lincoln; Kennedy family has questioned how she obtained some personal items they feel ought to be theirs; other critics question propriety of selling items, rather than consigning them to Kennedy Library; photo (M)

600 Scraps in Camelot's Attic For Kennedy Dreamers' Bids

Paintings, sculptures, antiquities, antiques and icons on view at European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, Netherlands, are closely examined by roaming inspectors made up of fair's vetting committee, stern enforcers of standards of quality and authenticity; vetters can, and frequently do, order an item removed from dealer's stand simply because it is 'not in the best interests of the fair'; can command a dealer to change a description of a work, demoting a Rembrandt, for example, to 'a circle of Rembrandt,' with ensuing drop in price of millions of dollars; they can turn a 15th-century manuscript into 17th-century copy; photos (L)

The Old Masters? They're the Ones Inspecting the Art; At the Maastricht Fair, Security Teams Come Armed With Magnifying Glasses

Profile of and interviwe with Alain Ducasse, first chef in 60 years to win six of coveted Michelin stars at once--three apiece for two luxury restaurants separated by nearly 600 miles; his restaurants are Louis XV, in Monaco, and Alain Ducasse, in Paris; photo (L)

March 11, 1998

Headlines from March 11, 1998

Japanese Map A Plan to Aid An Ill Economy

High Schools Fear Telling Colleges All About Johnny

CLINTON TESTIMONY BEFORE GRAND JURY IS BEING DISCUSSED

Prime Time: Starting Out In L.A. at 25

The Thrill of Risk, and Other Reasons Why

Billboard 200

Titanic

Let's Talk About Love

Charge It 2 Da Game

Savage Garden

The Wedding Singer

Historical Context for March 11, 1998