December 6, 2001

Enron Corp reportedly paid out $55 million in bonuses to about 500 employees just days before it filed for bankruptcy and laid off 4,000 people; Enron spokesman confirms bonuses, describing them as 'retention incentives' for crucial employees; bankruptcy experts say payments are almost certain to be closely scrutinized--and probably challenged--by Enron's creditors; Labor Department opens investigation into how Enron managed its employees' 401(k) retirement plans; says employees lost up to 90 percent of value of their accounts; Labor Sec Elaine L Chao comments; Enron spokesman Mark Palmer defends bonus payments as necessary; Amalgamated Bank, activist shareholder, files lawsuit accusing 29 Enron officers and directors of engaging in 'massive insider trading' and making 'false and misleading' statements about company's financial performance while selling about $1.1 billion worth of stock over last three years (M)

David Pogue column on pros and cons of camcorders that are small enough to fit one's pants pockets; rates models from JVC, Canon and Sony; drawing; photo (M)

Porsche reports surprisingly strong sales for first four months of fiscal year; in August to November period sales rose 6.3 percent to 1.18 million euros ($1 million) and unit sales increased 1 percent to 14,615 (S)

Article discusses intense maneuvering over selection of next New York City Council speaker; process is unusually public; contenders include A Gifford Miller of Manhattan and Angel Rodriguez of Brooklyn, widely viewed as having established most support; photo (M)

Article on management style of Richard D Parsons, who has been named chief executive of AOL Time Warner; chief executive Gerald M Levin, in announcing his retirement, says he chose Parsons because of his ability to deal with strong egos inside and outside company; photos (M)

Delivery of supplies to half million displaced people in northern Afghanistan is being blocked by refusal of Uzbekistan government to allow trucks across only bridge that spans Aju Darya; Uzbek Pres Islam Karimov fears influx of Taliban across border; he has been supportive of antiterrorism war, but he wants United States to provide American military guards to prevent bandits and refugees from entering from Afghanistan; Uzbekistan clamped border shut when Taliban took power in 1998; Secretary of State Colin L Powell is not expected to commit American troops to guard bridge; instead, he will offer opposition Afghan troops who have been trained by American soldiers as alternative guard corps; private relief organizations worry that neither US nor United Nations is pushing hard enough to provide adequate security; say refugees are at end of their endurance and need help desperately; photo; map (M)

Arrest in Anthrax Hoaxes A fugitive suspected in a wave of anthrax threats against abortion clinics was arrested after an employee at a photocopy store recognized him from a wanted poster. PAGE A20 Christian Coalition Shake-Up Pat Robertson, the television evangelist and former presidential candidate, resigned as president of the Christian Coalition, a political power in the 1990's. PAGE A30

Desire for increased private security fuels exodus of senior officers from New York City Police Department; although such departures are typical during mayoral transition, losses are heavier than expected because of booming security business in aftermath of Sept 11; Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg voices concern and commitment to stem tide of departing officers (M)

Robert De Niro and film producer Jane Rosenthal plan first TriBeCa Film Festival in May to bring some economic and emotional relief to lower Manhattan neighborhood hard hit by Sept 11 terrorist attack; about forty world premieres and jury awards planned over four days; New York officials back project; De Niro photo (M)

Henri Philippe Reichstul will step down after two and half years at helm of Petrobras, Brazil's largest state-owned enterprise; Francisco Gros, president of Brazilian National Development Bank, will assume leadership of company; photo (S)

European governments react to terrorist attacks in United States by proposing new laws that are tougher and more restrictive than ones they instituted in response to terrorism at home; France expands police powers to search private property without warrants, Spain curbs organizations associated with Basque guerrilla group ETA, and European Council moves to create pan-European arrest warrant and common definition of 'terrorist crime'; Germany loosens restraints on phone tapping and monitoring of e-mail and bank records and frees up once-proscribed communication between police and secret services; debate over restricting civil liberties in name of fighting terrorism is not as heated in Europe as in US, but tightening up since Sept 11 in countries that have faced terrorist bombings and assassinations continually over last three decades does provoke some argument; photo (M)

Party at Four Seasons Hotel promotes Charlotte Ford's new book 21st-Century Etiquette; photos (M)