March 14, 2002

About 3,000 Taliban prisoners, captured in Kunduz, have been living in miserable conditions in Afghan jail for last four months; Americans interviewed them and took worst of lot to Gunatanamo naval base in Cuba; Uzbek government took about 10 of its citizens; warden freed about 250, most of them either very old or very sick, before recent Muslim holiday; remaining prisoners, all of them Afghan or Pakistani, appear to be largely forgotten; 800 Pakistanis face especially uncertain future; 3,000 men are living in 40 cells in prison, in Shibarghan, Afghanistan, designed to hold about 800; there is little food and hardly any medical aid or medicine; exactly how many prisoners have died remains mystery; photo (M)

Anglo American says net income in 2001 rose 62 percent, to almost $3.2 billion; profit from continuing operations rose 3.8 percent; chief executive Tony Trahar comments; Anglo American has spent about $350 million this week buying stakes in Kumba Resources and Anglovaal Mining to increase its iron ore business; photo (S)

George Vecsey Sports of The Times column suggests that in NCAA basketball tournament, coaches and players on teams big and small know that traveling great distances to compete is just part of game; photo (M)

Dr David P Franklin contends in whistle-blower case, filed after he resigned from Warner-Lambert in 1996, that drug company was not satisfied with limited sales potential of drug Neurontin, approved only to treat epilepsy in certain cases; Franklin says company aggressively marketed Neurotin to doctors for more than dozen medical conditions for which it was not approved; it is illegal for drug manufacturer to promote medicine actively for indications that are not approved by Food and Drug Administration, which requires detailed clinical trials showing its safety and effectiveness; US attorney's office in Boston is conducting criminal and civil investigations into marketing of Neurotin; Mariann Caprino, spokeswoman for Pfizer, which acquired Warner-Lambert in 2000, says lawsuit relates to business activities that were said to have taken place before acquisition; adds Pfizer is not aware of any credible evidence that Warner-Lambert employees made false claims about Neutrontin; Pfizer is cooperating with federal investigators and contesting suit (M)

Technology for automated customer service telephone systems is getting increasingly sophisticated but consumer satisfaction with calling experience is decreasing, perhaps because companies have applied technology to handle calls more cost-efficiently rather than to focus on customers' needs; photo (M)