April 10, 1999

Sports of The Times interview with Michael Jordan at New York Yankees home opener; Jordan has signed up celebrity shortstop Derek Jeter for his line of Nike sports apparel, Jordan Brand; photo (S)

Hong Kong reacts positively as China moves closer to joining World Trade Organization, even though some experts say membership could threaten Hong Kong's role as middleman; Hong Kong is separate trading entity with own WTO membership, but its residents have followed China's drive for membership closely; some concessions China has made in trade talks pose threat to Hong Kong companies that serve as gateway to China (M)

On the eve of its biggest show, the museum is grasping for purpose. Just what does it want to be when it grows up? A report by Arthur Lubow, in The Times Magazine.

United States and China have made enormous progress in resolving most of trade issues that divided them for years, but several things prevented China from joining World Trade Organization during Prime Min Zhu Rongji's recent visit; Pres Clinton did not make strong public case for China's entry until morning of Zhu's arrival, and Clinton was reluctant to wage battle on Capitol Hill, where there is increasing suspicion about China's intentions; it is too early to tell what longterm impact of failure to reach deal may be, but certainly momentum has been lost (M)

NATO and Pentagon officials now estimate that it could take month before American Apache helicopers are available to fly into Kosovo; earlier, officials said it would take only 7 to 10 days to have them ready for combat; officials now say full deployment has moved sluggishly, citing bad weather, slow-moving Army structure and bottleneck over Albania because of airlift of food and relief supplies for refugees; alliance has come under criticism for not moving fast enough to protect hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians now living in open in Kosovo under threat of attack from Serbian forces and with little food and water; NATO attacks resume for 17th day, relying heavily on cruise missiles; photos; map (M)