May 25, 2000

Elvis Mitchell report on Cannes International Film Festival says several directors charted new courses for themselves or expanded horizons of the musical; comments on Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, Neil LaBute's Betty, Roy Andersson's Songs From the Second Floor and Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love; photos (M)

Tripp Charges Are Dropped A prosecutor dropped wiretapping charges against Linda R. Tripp, whose recorded conversations with Monica S. Lewinsky led to President Clinton's impeachment. PAGE A12 Eritreans in Retreat Following a 12-day offensive by Ethiopia, Eritrea said it was pulling its troops out of territory it seized from its neighbor two years ago. PAGE A5

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column on Eric Lindros returning to Philadelphia Flyers after recovering from concussion; his performance in loss to New Jersey Devils in sixth game of NHL Eastern Conference championship series discussed; photo (M)

House Approves Trade Bill Granting China Privileges By a surprisingly wide margin of 237 to 197, House lawmakers granted China permanent normal trading privileges after months of fierce lobbying that pitted business against organized labor. The vote virtually assures the end of the annual review of China's trade status, a ritual that Beijing considers humiliating but opponents say maintains leverage over improving human rights. The Senate is expected to endorse the measure as early as next month but may question some of the amendments the House added to the bill. [Page A1.]

IN a world where nearly everything seems to be getting miniaturized, the new I.B.M. Thinkpad T20 portable computer is traveling in the other direction. If it were any larger, I.B.M. could have equipped this impressively redesigned laptop with folding legs and offered it as a card table. It would be an expensive card table, to be sure, given that the fastest model starts at about $4,000, not counting the broad array of options that I.B.M. is offering for it. But hey, thanks to the games built into the Windows operating system, this would be a card table that came with its own game of solitaire.