July 11, 2001

Mars Inc acquires Royal Canin, French pet food maker, in deal worth $1.3 billion (S)

Scientists at Virginia fertility clinic break taboo against creating human embryos expressly for medical experiments, mixing donated eggs and sperm to derive embryonic stem cells; experiment at private Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine is not major scientific advance because stem cells have already been isolated from frozen embryos that were no longer wanted by couples who created them, but work has political ramifications as Pres Bush weighs government funding of stem cell research; Dr William E Gibbons of Jones Institute explains that donors were informed and counseled about research goal before giving consent; says younger egg donors could thus be used, possibly yielding more robust embryos; abortion opponents denounce 'ghoulish' experiment; stem cell researcher Dr John Gearheart is also critical; ethicists comment (M)

Singapore's economy has slipped into recession, becoming first of what economists predict will be long list of export-dependent Asian countries that will suffer from economic slump in US; preliminary estimates by Trade and Industry Ministry indicates economy shrank 0.8 percent in second quarter compared with first three months of year, its second consecutive quarterly decline; blames slower growth in US, especially in electronics industry, for deteriorating performance; lowers forecast for economic growth this year to 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent, down from earlier estimate of 3.5 percent to 5.5 percent; photo (M)

The Bush administration declined a request from the Salvation Army to exempt religious charities that receive federal money from local laws that bar discrimination against homosexuals. The decision came on the same day that a Salvation Army document was made public asserting that the administration had made a commitment on the issue to the Salvation Army, a claim that outraged some civil rights groups and lawmakers.

Hundreds of Russian Interior Ministry troops backed by helicopter gunships sweep into Assinovskaya and second Chechen village after two mine blasts kill and injure Russian soldiers; witnesses describe how troops arrested 1,500 people, looted homes and subjected men to beatings and electric shocks in day of terror; photos; map (M)