October 17, 1998

NATO grants Yugoslav Pres Slobodan Milosevic a reprieve, extending by 10 days its deadline for him to withdraw military and police forces cracking down on ethnic Albanians in province of Kosovo; in face of abundant evidence that Milosevic has not yet kept his pledges to withdraw forces, NATO's reprs in Brussels give him until Oct 27 to comply or face threat of NATO military attacks; they say reprieve brings time for international observers to arrive on ground in Kosovo; they also say it will allow NATO to start surveillance flights; photo (M)

Arrest of Manhattan veterinarian, Dr Marco Zancope, on charge of manslaughter for allegedly helping Cara Beigel, his friend and former receptionist, commit suicide as she lay gravely ill with breast cancer in Memorial Sloan-Kettering in August 1997, puts focus on pacts to help terminally ill commit suicide; such acts still remain fairly unusual, and there is heated legal and ethical debate about what role, if any, doctors should play in ending of life, and what constitutes 'physician-assisted suicide' in first place; photos (M)

As a murderers row of media barons steps up to the plate, sports is becoming a hot entertainment product, changing the rules of the game. An all-sports issue of the Times Magazine.

Cut in U.S. Interest Rates Helps Markets Rally Abroad Stock markets in Asia and Europe surged in response to Thursday's interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 9 percent, to 9,777.01, its highest level since early May.

William C Rhoden's Sports of The Times column on San Diego Padres player Tony Gwynn, who has played with team for last 17 seasons; Gwynn comments on being in 1984 World Series and upcoming World Series against New York Yankees; photo (M)