February 26, 2002

Enron Corp's former chief executive Jeffrey K Skilling is scheduled to appear before Senate Commerce Committee on Feb 26 and will no doubt be subjected to intense, skeptical questioning about his role in company's collapse; Skilling, in House subcommittee testimony, portrayed himself as unaware of details of financial arrangements central to Enron's collapse and as supporting subordinates who brought their concerns to him; vice president Sherron S Watkins, who raised questions about transactions at time Skilling resigned last August, is also scheduled to appear before Senate committee; she testified to House subcommittee that Skilling was aware of details of transactions and that he had power to keep Enron's board in dark about what was happening; her account is likely to be supported by friend and ally in Enron's internal wars, president Jeffrey McMahon, who is also scheduled to appear before committee; McMahon has already told Congress that he confronted Skilling nearly two years ago about conflicts of interest in Enron's finances--account disputed by Skilling; photos (M)

Enron Corp for years thrived on spending big, and even as late as October, with warnings of financial problems, no one at Enron saw any reason to change; company set aside $1.5 million for Christmas party at Enron Field hoping to match sumptuous gatherings of earlier years; only in mid-November, when ruined Enron was headed for bankruptcy and trying to sell itself Dynegy, was celebration called off; former employees say company's spending reflected go-go corporate culture in which top executives cast traditional business controls by wayside; photos (M)

Article on disagreement that continues among scientists over when, where and how anatomically modern humans became fully human in behavior as well as body and when and where human culture was born; tradition has held that modern behavior began 40,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens moved into Europe, but some researchers point to several recent discoveries in Africa and Middle East that show more gradual evolution of modern, non-Eurocentric behavior; photos; timeline; maps (L)

New York City high school basketball star Niesha Butler has fallen out of favor with Georgia Tech, after college career marked by injury, suspensions and problems with coach Agnus Berenato ended abruptly when Butler quit team and offered no explanation; career traced; photo (M)

Clubby Philippine banking industry is pitted against central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura, who has accused some bankers of breaking promise to lower their interest rates in step with cuts in benchmark rate, rate at which central bank lends to them; many banks are still charging loan customers as much as 20 percent while overnight rate is 7.5 percent; while Buenaventura says bankers agreed to keep lending rates no more than five percentage points above yields on government three-month Treasury bills, now about 7 percent, executive director of bankers' association, Leonilo Coronel, remembers it differently, saying 'there is a gentleman's agreement, but it covers prime clients without any weaknesses'; Buenaventura says bankes are being 'intellectually dishonest'; analysts have tended to side with banks, saying banks are in no position to ease credit terms; photo (M)