May 26, 1999

NATO approves plans for heavily armed peacekeeping force of about 50,000 soldiers for Kosovo, part of broad drive by NATO's top commander to increase political and military pressure on Yugoslav Pres Slobodan Milosevic; plan, which comes as Gen Wesley K Clark begins pushing to broaden bombing strikes, calls for troops to enter Kosovo only after Serbian troops are withdrawn; would station about 30,000 troops, including soldiers from United States, Britain, France and Germany in Macedonia, positioning allies to move swiftly into Kosovo if settlement is reached; some officials say forces could also play combat role if NATO later decides on land attack (M)

Mystery grows over Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's payment of $10,000 to police informant Charles Joseph Luethke, who helped secure arrest of former employee Christian Curry; Luethke, according to confidential document, asked Morgan Stanley for instructions how to return $10,000 paid to him by firm within days of employee's arrest; Luethke decided in weeks after last August's sting operation against Curry that he wanted to sever his financial ties to Morgan Stanley and distance himself from cash payment; that claim is supported in letter sent by certified mail to Luethke by John P Cooney Jr, Morgan Stanley lawyer at law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell; relationship between Luethke and Morgan Stanley is full of innuendo, accusations and denials, but it is linchpin in huge discrimination suit filed against firm by Curry (M)

House Republican leaders announced that they were drafting a broad package of gun-control measures similar to those passed by the Senate last week. And Speaker J. Dennis Hastert predicted that at least some of the provisions would succeed in the House as well. Mr. Hastert particularly favors mandatory background checks on all buyers at gun shows.

First of eight articles in The Chefs series by Thomas Keller, chef and owner of French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, Calif; recipe for cornets of Atlantic salmon tartare with sweet red onion creme fraiche; photo (M)

Boston Red Sox beat New York Yankees, 5-2; photos (M)