Prime Min Tony Blair and Labor Party sweep to victory in Britain's election, sending Conservatives to their second consecutive large-scale defeat and guaranteeing Labor its first re-election to a full term in office; William Hague, Conservative leader, concedes defeat; Labor is winning with majority similar to landslide 179-seat margin it received when it came to power in May 1997; photos (L)

BLAIR LEADS LABOR TO SECOND SWEEP OVER THE TORIES

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column notes that although Stanley Cup was in New Jersey's Continental Arena for Game 6 of playoffs, Devils loss will force last game in Denver against Colorado Avalanche; odds of visiting team winning are slim; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; Stanley Is Rerouted To Denver

Body Shop acknowledges being in talks to sell its 1,840 health and beauty products stores to Grupo Omnilife, rapidly-growing multilevel marketing company based in Mexico (M)

Body Shop Is in Talks on Sale to Mexican Company

Photo of Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who wrote, directed and star in movie The Anniversary Party

Hollywood on Ice

Bergen County (NJ) executive William Schuber faults plan to build arena in Newark to house New Jersey Devils and Nets because it neglects to provide for Meadowlands football stadium and racetrack; Acting Gov Donald T DiFrancesco vows to ensure fiscal viability of property and says negotiations are under way with major entertainment companies interested in building at Meadowlands; state is also in talks with Giants and Jets about long-term commitments to keep teams in Meadowlands and possibility of new stadium (M)

Meadowlands Is Loose End In Arena Plan For Newark

Russia is building pipeline that will bring natural gas from Russia, under the Black Sea, to energy-hungry Turkey; $3 billion project is daring engineering feat, in which pipeline will be laid at record depths of 7,000 feet in corrosive mud at bottom of sea, and its success would represent setback in American efforts to curtail Russia's influence in one of world's most strategic regions; pipeline would increase Turkey's dependence on Russian natural gas from current 66 percent to around 80 percent; American diplomats from the outset have warned that project would give Russia too much leverage over Turkey, and that it would constrain gas development in neighboring countries; photo; map (L)

Russia's New Reach: Gas Pipeline to Turkey

People in Rockland County, NY, are battling proposals to place three new power plants in county; same factors that favor plants in county--proximity to natural gas lines, electrical transmission lines and water for cooling--cause anxiety about environmental and scenic degradation; even developers' success at getting so many plant proposals on state's review list provokes backlash; photo; map (M)

Alternating Currents in Rockland; Great Connections for Power Plants, but Foes Abound

News analysis of efforts getting under way on Capitol Hill to revise tax law just signed by Pres Bush; Republicans want to speed up tax rate reductions and give new tax breaks to businesses; Democrats, who now control Senate, want to block some of cuts in new law before they take effect (M)

Subject to Review

Councilman Adolfo Carrion Jr is conducting his campaign for Bronx Borough President from his jail cell in Brooklyn, where he is serving sentence for protesting near United States Navy bombing site on Puerto Rican island of Vieques; photos (L)

Bronx Candidate Undeterred By Detour Into Brooklyn Jail

Bahrain plans to sell bonds that conform to Islamic law banning interest; bonds, 'certificates of peace,' mature in three months and offer share of earnings of state projects they will finance (S)

World Business Briefing | Middle East: Bahrain: Bond Issue

Volkswagen AG receives overwhelming approval from shareholders to buy back its stock and shore up its defenses against hostile takeover; there are protests from dissident investors, including several large institutions; Ford Motor Co and General Motors Co have been rumored to want German automaker (M)

VW Holders Approve Buyback

German unemployment rose a seasonally adjusted 18,000 in May, to 3.83 million, leaving the unemployment rate at 9.3 percent. The increase in the jobless rate, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, dashed hopes for a labor market recovery in spring. The federal labor office said the unemployment data reflected the impact of a slowdown in economic growth. Despite the poor economic news in Germany, the largest economy in Europe, the European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5 percent.   Petra Kappl (NYT)    

World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Jobless Rate Grows

Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld tells NATO counterparts that United States is likely to deploy certain antiballistic missile systems before testing on them is completed, signaling speed with which Bush administration hopes to develop and use still-unproven technology; outlines two-tiered approach in which administration intends to continue consultations with its skeptical allies and Russia, even as Pentagon moves as swiftly as possible to develop and deploy systems (M)

Rumsfeld Outlines to NATO Fast Track for Missile Shield

Consumer electronics giant Thomson Multimedia of France acquires modem division of Alcatel SA for $386 million (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: France: Modem Acquisition

Tiny old yellow three-wheeled Reliant car from Britain is now cruising Manhattan streets with ads on top and sides; photo; AdMobility Marketing has imported 50 Reliants, which must be more than 25 years old so they do not have to meet safety and emissions standards (S)

Welcome to New York. Watch Those Potholes.

Cable television giants get defensive as battle to provide high-speed Internet service heats up, refusing to sell advertising time to phone companies to promote DSL, advanced telephone network technology that competes with cable modems; trend is seen in big markets like New York City, where Time Warner Cable refuses DSL advertisements Verizon Communications, to small towns like Newtown, Conn; advertising bans are raising concerns from some consumer advocates (M)

Cable Giants Block Rival Ads In Battle for Internet Customers

Sen Robert G Torricelli makes rounds at Democratic fund-raiser in New Jersey for his 2002 re-election campaign, but specter of federal investigation is palpable; investigation has produced allegations of unreported gifts and cash from political supporters and indiscretions on behalf of aides; Torricelli says he has nothing to fear from inquiry because he had broken no laws; photo (M)

For Torricelli's Gala, Feverish Calls and Muted Expectations

Growing number of smaller law firms are forming alliances to compete with larger firms; networks offer alternative to growth by mergers or acquisitions, which can create host of problems because they require law firms to prune clients with conflicting interests and combine managements that might differ in substantial ways; alliances are being formed to provide better service at lower prices; operations of Worklaw Network, which links 24 firms from Hawaii to Florida, discussed; map; photos (M)

Making a Network Of Lawyers; Small Firms Find Way To Compete With Giants

Timothy J. McVeigh abandoned all efforts to postpone his execution after a federal court rejected his lawyers' most recent appeal.    Mr. McVeigh now ''wants to make the final preparations necessary to be ready to die on Monday,'' said one of his lawyers, Robert Nigh Jr.  

McVeigh's Lawyer: He's 'Ready to Die'

Jennifer Capriati defeats Martina Hingis in semifinals of French Open tennis tournament; advances to finals against Kim Clijsters; photo (M)

Carpet Ride Continues for Capriati

Ben Brantley reviews John Guare's play Chaucer in Rome, directed by Nicholas Martin at Lincoln Center's Newhouse Theater; photos (M)

Sorry, Pilgrims, No Absolution

Reuters, financial news company, will scrap its product business units and reorganize around customer lines when Tom Glocer succeeds Peter Job as chief executive in July, 2001; photo (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Britain: Reorganization At Reuters

Report in Izvestia that there is vodka shortage in Russia is untrue; trouble stems from June 1 regulation requiring new tax stamps on liquor bottles, stamps government failed to produce in sufficient quantity in time; officials were also slow to inspect and approve storage areas for liquor, as new rules require (M)

Reports Of Shortage Of Vodka Are Untrue

 Cable Giants Refuse to Sell Ads to Internet Competitors  As the battle to provide high-speed Internet service heats up, the cable television giants are increasingly using a defensive tactic: refusing to sell advertising time to phone companies to promote digital subscriber lines, an advanced phone network technology that competes with cable modems.    No laws or regulations appear to bar cable companies from blocking advertisements from competitors. But combined with the cable carriers' strong market power, the advertising bans are raising concerns from some consumer advocates. [Page A1.]  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Clean Car Campaign, coalition of environmental groups, is trying to persuade automakers not only to stop using mercury in car parts but to take responsibility for toxic element in millions of existing vehicles, in parts such as headlamps, antilock braking systems and light switches; industry agrees to phase out most mercury switches by end of 2001 model year but is balking at monumental effort to remove those now in use; mercury accumulates in water and was declared hazardous air pollutant by EPA in 1971, but is still used in many industrial processes; most European and Japanese automakers stopped installing mercury convenience switches in mid-1990's (S)

Lots of Finger-Pointing Over Mercury in Cars

Alexander de Renzy was an American director and producer of pornographic movies.

Alex de Renzy, American director and producer (born 1935)

Alex_de_Renzy

Mamoru Takuma  was a Japanese mass murderer who killed eight children in the Ikeda school massacre in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on 8 June 2001.

Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan.

June 8, 2001

Headlines from June 8, 2001

BLAIR LEADS LABOR TO SECOND SWEEP OVER THE TORIES

Sports of The Times; Stanley Is Rerouted To Denver

Body Shop Is in Talks on Sale to Mexican Company

Hollywood on Ice

Meadowlands Is Loose End In Arena Plan For Newark

Billboard 200

Break The Cycle

Lateralus

Survivor

Malpractice

Miss E ...So Addictive

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for June 8, 2001