March 24, 2001

Farmers who have generally been receptive to genetically altered crops are now voicing concerns about them, not so much because they oppose them in principle but because they fear losing ability to export their crops to Europe, Japan and other places where consumers are shunning such food and where governments strictly regulate it; are backing bill in North Dakota that would make state the first to place moratorium on planting of genetically modified crops; biotechnology and food companies, not eager to deal with patchwork of laws, have successfully lobbied against such bills in other states, and many other bill have failed simply for lack of support; North Dakota bill is largely symbolic, since moratorium would expire on July 31, 2003, probably before any genetically modified seed would even come to market; photo (M)

Forecasts about Britain's foot-and-mouth epidemic worsen alarmingly, casting doubt on Prime Min Tony Blair's carefully nurtured plan to seek re-election in spring; number of affected farms and other sites is now expected to reach 4,000 by June; officials concede having lost control of spread of contagion because of delay between finding virus and slaughtering animals; Blair is reportedly dismayed and furious that true dimensions of crisis were kept from him until March 22; orders creation of two-square-mile 'firebreak cull' killing zones around every infected farm; says time between diagnosis and slaughter has been reduced to maximum of 24 hours; photos of cows being killed and heaped on pyre (M)

From Julian Schnabel to the Iranian former painter Shirin Neshat, artists are finding a new canvas for their work: film. And a former painter and explorer and one-time cannibal returns to the jungle more than 40 years later, with the cameras rolling. Reports in The Times Magazine by Philip Weiss, Deborah Solomon and Daniel Zalewski.

Dow Jones industrial average ends week at 9,504.78, up 115.30 for day; Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rises to 1,139.83, up 22.25; Nasdaq composite rises to 1,928.68, gain of 30.98; prices fall in bond market, as money moves into stocks; 10-year Treasury note yield jumps to 4.80 percent, from 4.74 percent day before; its price falls 16/32, to 101 18/32; graph; list of key rates (M)

Temple defeats Penn State, 84-72, in South Regional semifinal of NCAA basketball tournament (M)

New Jersey Acting Gov Donald T DiFrancesco releases various documents relating to his public and private life, including tax returns for past seven years (M)

Oxygen-boosted water is latest entry into $5.7 billion bottled water market; trend toward functional waters is spurred by smaller companies that have to bring something new to crowded market to get consumers' attention from big multinationals like Perrier; potent claim is made by New York Jets trainer David Price, who says perception of quality may be most important thing in marketing; photo (M)

Illinois defeats Kansas, 80-64, in Midwest Regional semifinal of NCAA basketball tournament; photo (M)

Exxon Mobil halts operation of gas fields in Indonesia's Aceh province in face of disruptions caused by separatist movements and sectarian violence since fall of Pres Suharto in 1998; says situation has gone from one in which its employees and contractors were in dangerous areas to one in which it appeared they were being targeted; move jeopardizes more than $1 billion in annual revenue for Indonesia; government responds by sending in more troops and ordering a military offensive in areas around gas fields; photo; map (M)

Multimillion-dollar scandal spreading throughout Brazilian soccer causes shock, disgust, outrage and sorrow among ordinary Brazilians, who hold sacred the sports integrity; has touched team administrators, managers, players agents and even some top players, although latter have apparently been more naive victims of manipulative team officials than wrongdoers; irregularities uncovered thus far include income tax evasion, nonpayment of social security taxes, money laundering, evasion of foreign exchange controls, skimming of gate revenues and perhaps even bribing of referees to help throw games; photo (M)

School systems adopt different responses to rumors of impending violence or idle threats that have surfaced with some frequency in weeks since shootings at Santana High School in Southern California; some districts go so far as to cancel school, while in others, as many as half the students stay away from school out of fear for what might happen; schools are practicing lockdowns where administrators announce passwords to signal students to move into rooms designated as havens; must judge not only if they are taking incidents seriously enough, but also if they are perhaps taking them too seriously, thereby reinforcing notion among students desperate for attention that this is way to get it; photo (M)

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc will buy its most-reviled rival and Ted Turner's pet project, World Championship Wrestling, unit of AOL Time Warner (M)