July 15, 2000

European Union is moving to lift the sanctions imposed on Austria after Jorg Haider's far-right party joined the government; France, the leader in imposing sanctions, has just taken over rotating presidency of European Union, and both its presige and, perhaps, the timely expansion of the union are riding on its being able to deliver on a difficult agenda; Austrian officials have threatened to use their veto to block any sort of progress (M)

Summer day camp of 92nd Street Y holds its once-a-summer overnight event indoors in Manhattan rather than under the stars in Rockland County, where campers would have been exposed to mosquitoes that might be carrying West Nile virus; campfire is replaced by flashlights, and the s'mores are made with Marshmallow Fluff; photos (M)

Apartment prices have soared at Cooperative Village, Manhattan co-op complex where owners recently voted to end price caps and charge market prices; shift is attracting real estate brokers seeking listings; map; diagram; photo (M)

The $6 billion merger of Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian National Railway will probably be called off now that a federal appeals court has upheld a temporary ban on railroad consolidations. The combination, which would have been the largest in railroad history, would have created a vast freight network that would crisscross the United States and Canada and offer service in Mexico.

Alton H Maddox Jr has vaulted back into spotlight with appeal of 1998 decision that he and other prominent black leaders Rev Al Sharpton and C Vernon Mason defamed former Dutchess County Asst Dist Atty Steven A Pagones by accusing him of raping Tawana Brawley in 1987; appeal promises to revive case that once bitterly divided New Yorkers along racial lines; Sharpton and Mason, who plan to join in petition, quietly began to pay part of their salaries to Pagones after state appeals court dismissed earlier appeal; photo (M)