April 17, 2002

BP increases its stake in Russian oil company Sidanko to 25 percent from 10 percent; deal comes little more than two years after BP came close to scrapping its investment in Sidanco altogether during drawn-out legal battle over oil assets with two Russian companies that are now its partners in Sidanko; BP pays $375 million for 15 percent plus one share of Sidanko; transaction leaves BP's local partners, Alfa Group and Access/Renova with reduced, but still majority, stake (M)

Mexico and Microsoft Corp plan to announce agreement to develop digital community centers as part of broader 'eMexico' initiative meant to bring entire nation online by 2006; Microsoft will contribute software, consulting and training for centers, which are to be built in remote Mexican towns and villages to give residents free access to Internet; Microsoft will license its Windows, Office and Encarta software on same terms that colleges and universities use and will train 4,000 computer operator to run centers (M)

Statement issued in Rome says American cardinals have been summoned to Vatican not only to talk about sexual abuse involving priests but also to agree on guidelines for restoring 'sense of safety and tranquility to families and trust to clergy'; ambitious agenda suggests meeting was mapped out carefully as Vatican seizes initiative on scandal; Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, facing demands for his resignation, says he has met with pope and others who are aware of gravity of situation (M)

Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc will invest combined $57 million to open three outlets each in China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang amid mounting competition for consumer spending in mainland (S)

State to Take Over Schools After years of failing test scores, the long-beleaguered Roosevelt school system in Nassau County is about to make history as the first district in New York to be taken over by the state, officials said. PAGE B6 Balloon Ban Floated A county legislator on Long Island wants to ban the intentional release of more than five helium-filled balloons at once. PAGE B5

Andrew M Cuomo offers lacerating attack on George E Pataki's record of governor of New York as he begins three-day tour across state to formally promote his candidacy for governor; denounces Pataki's handling of upstate economy, conditions of public school system and what Cuomo describes as faltering effort to rebuild devastated site of World Trade Center; seeks to defect Republican effort to derail his candidacy by putting blame for state's problems on his father, Mario Cuomo; photo (M)

NTL reaches agreement to reorganize by converting about two-thirds of its $17 billion in debts into equity and handing control of company to bondholders; several NTL holding companies will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in US; operating subsidiaries in Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe will not be part of bankruptcy proceedings and more than $6 billion in bonds and bank loans backed by these assets will remain outstanding; plan is subject to approval of NTL's bank lenders; executives of J P Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland, among others, meet to discuss details (M)

Sec Colin Powell, nearing end of Mideast peace mission, takes pains to play down expectations of any last-minute surprise, although he says he hopes to further progress that has been made; warns that whatever is achieved it will fall short of cease-fire; Israel is on high alert for suicide bombers; Prime Min Ariel Sharon, in Independence Day radio interview, makes clear that Israeli dragnet for terrorists on West Bank is not over; reiterates that forces intend to pull out of Jenin and Nablus but will maintain tight ring around Palestinian cities to see whether 'terror resumes'; makes clear that army will remain in Bethlehem until 250 gunmen holed up in Church of Nativity surrender, and in Ramallah until two wanted men in Yasir Arafat's compound are arrested; vast majority of Israelis stay indoors on holiday, considering danger even greater following arrest of popular Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who Sharon says will be tried for 'horrendous acts of murder of hundreds of Israelis'; chances of holding of regional peace conference, perhaps at ministerial level, remain uncertain (M)

G.M.'s Profit Drops 3.8% But Exceeds Expectations The revival of General Motors continued as it reported a slight decrease in earnings, well above analysts' expectations, despite financial difficulties at its European unit. G.M. reported net income of $228 million, or 57 cents a share, with sales of $46.3 billion. That was down 3.8 percent from a year earlier. The company also raised its 2002 earnings estimate to $5 a share from $3.50. G.M.'s shares rose almost 5 percent, to $64.05. [Page C4.] Bristol's Financial Officer Resigns Bristol-Myers Squibb, struggling to recover from a series of disappointments, said that Frederick S. Schiff, its chief financial officer, would leave. Harrison M. Bains, vice president for tax and treasury, will serve as acting chief financial officer. [C2.]

Intel Corp reports profit of $936 million for first quarter on sales of $6.8 billion; chief executive officer Andy D Bryant says company is not seeing recovery in business; predicts that profit margins will improve slightly and issues sales forecast of $6.4 billion to $7 billion in current quarter, up from $6.3 billion (M)

Heart researchers urge change in emergency care of heart patients in response to findings that angioplasty, surgery to open clogged arteries, is superior to clot-dissolving drugs; view is that it may be better to take people with suspected heart attacks not to closest community hospital but to hospital where trained team can perform angioplasty immediately; study by Dr Thomas Aversano says angioplasty could be extended to community hospitals without heart surgery facilities, as now required, if team is extensively trained in procedure; Dr Christopher P Cannon, in editorial with AMA Journal report, explains plan to extend angioplasty availability to all hospitals in Boston (M)

Five current and former employees of Sights, strip club in Newark, say Mayor Sharpe James, who referred to club as 'den of iniquity' when it was raided by police in March, visited club in 2000 and spent about an hour watching stage show featuring women in various stages of undress; James, who is running for re-election, says he will not dignify allegation with an answer; club's owner, Moses Wilson Jr, was charged with running brothel, and more than two dozen women were arrested, including a 16-year-old; photo (M)