 Execution Viewing Granted  Survivors and relatives of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing will be allowed to watch Timothy J. McVeigh's execution on closed-circuit television.   PAGE A12    Seeking Calm in Cincinnati  Five days after the police shooting of a black teenager, the authorities struggled to end vandalism and violent protests.   PAGE A12

INSIDE

Government officials and court documents indicate that group of international construction companies defrauded American government out of tens of millions of dollars earmarked for Egyptian water projects undertaken as part of Camp David peace accords; one participant in wide-ranging conspiracy, unit of ABB Ltd, Swiss engineering giant, pleads guilty to its role in scheme, agreeing to pay $63 million in fines and restitution; conspiracy, which lasted more than seven years, involved rigging of contract bids submitted in late 1980's and early 1990's to United States Agency for International Development, which was financing Egyptian water projects that resulted from Middle East peace accords reached during Carter administration (M)

Global Conspiracy on Construction Bids Defrauded U.S.

State of New York will pay $3.25 million to settle lawsuit filed on behalf of Kerry Sanders, mentally ill homeless man, whose arrest in Los Angeles and bungled identification by authorities led to his mistaken two-year imprisonment in New York; officials have written letter of apology to victim and his mother, who searched for him for two years; letter also contains series of improvements to identification procedures; photo (M)

State to Pay In Case of Man Wrongly Held

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column adds New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur to list of best goaltenders of last 50 years; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Another Cup Opportunity For Brodeur

British Telecommunications' management comes under fire from investors, and shareholders start calling for changes; shareholders argue that bureaucracy entangling BT, legacy from its days as state-owned monopoly, prevents it from seizing opportunities; photo of Sir Iain Valalnce, chmn of BT, and Sir Peter Bonfield, chief exec; graph shows decline in share price of BT (M)

Investors Start Calling for Changes at British Telecom

Big European consumer electronics group, Thomson Multimedia SA of France, reports 14 percent growth in revenue in first quarter, to 2.2 billion euros ($1.95 billion), from 1.9 billion euros last year, driving its share price up as much as 9 percent (S)

THOMSON REPORTS 14% PROFIT RISE

New Jersey Devils defeat Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, in opening game of Eastern Conference playoff series; Devils lead series, 1-0; photo (M)

Holik Stars As Devils Win Opener In a Rout

Parents and school officials in affluent suburb of Scarsdale, NY, where test scores are among highest in nation, plan coordinated revolt against New York State standardized tests, saying they stifle creativity and force teachers to abandon programs that have made schools excel; parents of 100 eighth graders--third of class--pledge to keep their children home from school when tests are administered next month; they do this with consent, even subtle advice, from school officials who administer tests; protest highlights apparent paradox of move toward higher standards and tests to measure them; 28 states now require test for graduation and almost all use scores to rank, reward or sanction schools; protest against tests comes mainly from parents in wealthy districts that tend to score well; as testing has spread across country, so have occasional boycotts, mostly student-led (M)

In High-Scoring Scarsdale, A Revolt Against State Tests

Parents, who rejected privitization of five failing New York City schools, give variety of reasons for voting as they did: some said they did not know schools were in trouble; others like relationships children had with teachers; many feared their children would be part of experiment with unforeseen results; photo (M)

Parents Explain Resounding Rejection of Privatization at 5 Schools

Baltimore Technologies, a star of Ireland's technology boom, falls rapidly from grace, propeled downward by its second warning of weaker sales in three weeks; says it expects to report revenue of 23.7 million Irish pounds ($26.7 million) for first quarter, down from 25 million pounds forecast March 23 (S)

Warning on Sales Pummels A Star Irish Technology Stock

 I.R.S. Has Ceased Pursuit Of Many Tax Delinquents  The Internal Revenue Service, its staff shrunken by a sixth and its mission shifted to customer service, has virtually stopped pursuing more than one million tax delinquents and sharply cut other enforcement action.    More than a third of the three million Americans who are behind on their taxes have had their cases sent to an inactive file since the I.R.S. decided in June 1999 not to try to collect their debts. The decision effectively wrote off $2.5 billion in taxes owed last year by 668,018 taxpayers. In 1998, just 98 taxpayers had their cases sent to the inactive file. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

Anthony Tommassini Critic's Notebook on musical legacy of Giuseppe Verdi, who died at 87 in Milan, on January 27, 1901; previews opera productions in international Verdi year; photos (M)

Grappling With Volatile Verdi

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellular phone carrier, and SAP AG, world's leading provider of enterprise software, say they will work together to create and deliver business software applications for use over cellular phone (S)

NTT AND SAP FORM SOFTWARE VENTURE

Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who arrived in United States Senate 100 days ago, seeks to be seen as just another freshman lawmaker; she and her advisers promote message that she is not too big for her new job; her daily schedule on Capitol Hill is as mundane as any other junior senator's, and she says she is satisifed with decidedly smaller goals than she had in White House; says she appreciates good commmittee assignment, pasage of amendment here and there, and support from her colleagues, even Republicans, on issues dear to her; she has reached out to colleagues, quietly joining prayer group led by Republican senators and telling fellow Democrats, in closed-door meeting, that she intends to be 'a workhorse, not a show horse'; her attendance record has been perfect so far; photo (M)

Senator Clinton Settling In as Just One of 100

New York International Automobile show, most popular annual show at Javits Center, opens; photo (M)

Some Assembly Is Required; Tons of Movable Props Make the New York Auto Show

Remy Cointreau SA, world's sixth-largest liquor company, says profit for 2001 fiscal year rose 40 percent, buoyed by increasing demand for cognac and acquisition of Bols Royal Distilleries; earnings per share rise slightly to more than 2 euros in year ended March 31; graph (S)

RÉMY PROFIT INCREASES 40%

Easter becomes an important holiday for toymakers, as they look to bring out their products earlier in year, taking advantage of parents' visits to stores to shop for Easter gifts and of children being taken on spring vacation; with toy companies releasing similar products--miniature dolls, electronic dogs, robots--many manufacturers are introducing more toys in spring in hopes of capturing market early and escaping fall clutter, when most new toys make their way to store shelves; photo; chart (L)

An Easter Release For Christmas Toys; Companies Use Spring Holiday As Way to Create a December Rush

Floyd Norris economic analysis column sees notion spreading that an American economic slowdown may not be that much of a big deal, that all the fuss is overstated; notes National Bureau of Economic Research, which certifies recessions, says it sees no need to even discuss whether recession began last year (M)

Recession Coming? The Prospect Seems Less Terrorizing

Internal Revenue Service, with its staff reduced by sixth since 1992 and its mission shifted to customer service, has virtually stopped pursuing more than one million tax delinquents and sharply curtailed other kinds of enforcement; internal documents, provided by IRS executive who opposes new policy, show that more than third of three million Americans who are behind on paying taxes have had their cases sent to inactive file since IRS decided in June 1999 not to try to collect their debts; that decision effectively wrote off $2.5 billion in taxes owed by 668,018 taxpayers for just last year; by contrast, just 98 taxpayers had their cases sent to inactive file in 1998; David A Mader, assistant deputy commissioner, says dropped cases, some involving as much as tens of thousands of dollars, are too small to be worth going after, given agency's current resources; Mader declines to discuss criteria used by IRS to deactivate cases; since 1992, IRS enforcement actions have fallen by two-thirds for audits and by 99 percent for seizures of property to pay back taxes; IRS Oversight Board, created by Congress to supervise tax agency, issues report saying IRS is seriously underfinanced and calling for greater spending than amount in Pres Bush's budget; Treasury Sec Paul H O'Neill says Bush's budget allotment for IRS, $9.4 billion, is adequate; photo; chart (M)

A Smaller I.R.S. Gives Up On Billions in Back Taxes

Pres Bush, in his first serious foreign policy challenge, took conciliatory approach, suppressing his initial instincts and clamping down on some hawks in his administration and many uniformed commanders; appears to have balanced political instinct and professional advice, ultimately taking cautious path; did delegate to senior members of his administration, but from first moment he was peppering closest aides with questions about state of crew, strategy, and their interpretations of what was going on within Chinese leadership; early on Bush agreed that he should take step back, and that any letters to Chinese government should be sent in name of others, including Sec Colin Powell and Amb Joseph Prueher; using that approach, Bush did not use hotline with China to talk to Pres Jiang Zemin directly; rather, he called leaders of Britain, France, Brazil and Canada to encourage them to quietly press Chinese leaders; former national security advisers Brent Scowcroft and Henry Kissinger also made calls; photo (M)

How Bush Had to Calm Hawks In Devising a Response to China

Pres Bush says American spy plane definitely did not cause midair collision with Chinese jet; tone toward China sharpens after American crew's safe arrival in Hawaii; Pentagon officials are even more explicit in blaming pilot of Chinese jet fighter that was tailing spy plane for causing collision; Bush telephones 24 crew members who had been detained by Chinese to welcome them home; later, in Rose Garden, he warns that two nations will have to make 'determined choice' to improve frayed relations after 11-day standoff; says United States will ask 'tough questions' to China about its practice of challenging American aircraft flying over South China Sea, in recognized international airspace; administration officials say such reconnaissance flights off coast of China may resume as soon as this week; photo (M)

With Crew in U.S., Bush Sharpens Tone Toward China

In ''Bridget Jones's Diary,'' the screen adaptation of Helen Fielding's novel, Ren&#233;e Zellweger, below with Hugh Grant, plays the cigarette-smoking, alcohol-units-consuming London singleton seeking love via self-improvement.    Stephen Holden's film review, Page 14.  

Very Much a Singleton

National Basketball Association owners overwhelmingly approve dramatic rule changes, including allowing zone defense, which will go into effect during summer-league games; supporters believe changes will help revitalize game and renew fan interest; detractors say changes will slow game and waste players' talents (M)

N.B.A. Takes Quick Action to Get the Game Moving Again

Government reports indicate that American consumer, a pillar of strength through economic turmoil of early 2001, is looking shaky; show that Americans spent less money at retail stores last month than they did in February, and in recent weeks have turned still more pessimistic about economy; Labor Dept reports that, in addition, initial claims for unemployment benefits reached their highest level last week in five years; new data reviewed; charts; photo (L)

Confidence Of Consumers Shows Decline

W H Smith Group PLC, largest British bookseller, says economic slowdown in United States, where it owns two retailers, is slowing sales and hurting profits; income for year ended Feb 28 drops 28 percent to 72 million pounds ($104.3 million) (S)

BIG BOOKSELLER REPORTS LOSSES

Neco Shay Williams is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Wales national team.

April 13, 2001

Headlines from April 13, 2001

INSIDE

Global Conspiracy on Construction Bids Defrauded U.S.

State to Pay In Case of Man Wrongly Held

Sports of The Times; Another Cup Opportunity For Brodeur

Investors Start Calling for Changes at British Telecom

Billboard 200

Until The End Of Time

Hotshot

Everyday

Part III

No Angel

Notable Births

Historical Context for April 13, 2001