September 10, 1999

Justice Department says three Japanese pharmaceutical companies, Takeda Chemical Industries, Eisai Co and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co, have agreed to plead guilty to United States antitrust violations and to pay more than $137 million to settle charges that they took part in a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices in vitamin market; case does not involve sale of any vitamin tablets, but the ingredients that go into eveything from vitamins to orange juice; in breaking the cartel, the United States Government has now recovered more than $850 million and exposed loose confederacy of vitamin makers that met secretly for years to plot how to divide up world markets (M)

Two extremely rare, extremely small Egyptian tortoises are reported stolen from Bronx Zoo; leading theory behind theft is that reptiles, as members of endangered species are no longer allowed to be sold on open market, were taken by collectors who covet them as pets or by rogue traders who supply growing black market in forbidden wildlife; photo (M)

Todd Martin defeats Slava Dosedel and Cedric Pioline defeats Gustavo Kuerten to advance to semifinals of US Open tennis championships; photo (M)

New York City vastly expands its week-old air raid on mosquitoes with pesticide spraying scheduled over next three days for all of Brooklyn and Queens and much of Bronx, as number of suspected cases of potentially deadly St Louis encephalitis grows to 60, including, for first time, 3 residents of Manhattan; Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani notes ground spraying of malathion, which kills mosquitoes, is planned for most of Manhattan in coming days, and that aerial assault will continue until first frost; asks public not to create any undue alarm or panic; photo; map shows schedule of areas to be sprayed (M)

N Chandrababu Naidu, cyber-savvy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and India's most dynamic economic reformer, wages his campaign for Parliament not by talking about economic growth, but by speaking traditional language of social programs: marriage halls for Muslims, irrigation canals for farmers, free hand tools for artisans, matching grants to poor women who save money; politicians across India are watching to see whether Naidu's aggressive blend of old-style politicking and new-wave economics gives his party a victory when votes for parliamentary elections are counted on Oct 6; as India's states become more increasingly important in drive for economic growth that is needed to pull hundreds of millions of Indians out of poverty, state leaders like Naidu are at vanguard of efforts to modernize local economies and integrate them into global marketplace; photo; map (L)

Growing number of on-line grocers are moving to build warehouses and Web sites for what they see as next big industry trend: Internet food shopping; most recent company to enter this venture is Webvan Group, San Francisco; company, which has been filling orders only since May, is spending $1 billion to build automated warehouses in 26 markets and is planning public offering of stock next month, hoping to raise $345 milion to expand even further; companies say that within a few years, consumers in virtually any metropolitan market will be able to buy food and household products by computer with same quality and prices offered by existing food chains; while some industry analysts are skeptical, most predict that these ventures will be profitable within two years; photos; chart on e-commerce (M)

On Baseball column reviews career of pitcher Jim (Catfish) Hunter following his death at age 53; photo (M)

With ''Stir of Echoes,'' another wise little boy can see dead people on the movie screen. And you needn't be as psychic as he is to see the potential for another ''Sixth Sense'' here. Kevin Bacon (above) stars as a Chicago father who is reluctantly hypnotized, then suddenly finds himself in touch with the neighborhood ghost.

Yen Hits Three-Year High On News of Growth in Japan The yen jumped to a three-year high against the dollar after the Japanese Government surprised analysts with a report indicating that the economy grew from April to June, expanding for two successive quarters for the first time in more than two years.

Clyde Haberman NYC column discusses Abe Hirschfeld handing out $2,500 each to jury members in his tax fraud trial after they announced themselves deadlocked; notes Hirschfeld's trial for hiring hit man to murder his business partner begins next week in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan (M)

Autos on Friday column on 1949 Ford that rescued company from financial free-fall of late 1940's; clean-looking model was developed by industrial designer George W Walker; advice for collectors; photos (M)

New York City school system, faced with challenges posed by limited classroom space, looming high-stakes exams and sudden threat of disease-carrying mosquitoes, opens; scenes at various schools described as more than a million New York City children begin new school year; Chancellor Rudy Crew comments; photo (M)