November 15, 2002

Man in the News profile of Hu Jintao, new leader of China; he is veteran Communist Party insider who never strays from party's prescribed oratory; his past suggests that he values power over vision; photo (M)

Deutsche Telekom names Kai-Uwe Ricke as chief executive and simultaneously reports loss of $24.7 billion in first nine months of 2002; rumors persist that many executives approached to run Deutsche Telekom refused position and that changes in its mobile phone division, Voicestream, renamed T-Mobile USA, will be necessary components of remedy for parent company's financial malaise; photo (M)

Plan to name Asst Atty Gen Michael Chertoff to head Securities and Exchange Commission is withdrawn, either by White House or Chertoff himself; sudden turn of events adds to disarray as Bush administration tries to work quickly to find effective overseer of nation's financial markets; some Justice Dept officials say administration is reluctant to transfer Chertoff in light of his role overseeing variety of important terrorism cases; some Wall Street lobbyists say despite his impressive record as prosecutor, he has little experience with important issues before SEC; say securities industry would prefer executive from Wall Street or regulator from one of stock exchanges; administration officials are being cautious about recommending any person whose background may present same kinds of potential conflicts that became fodder for criticism of Harvey Pitt, who represented many firms on Wall Street before he was named chairman; photo (M)

Sen Bob Graham, Democrat and chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee, charges that Bush administration has been distracted from fight against terrorism by preparation for possible invasion of Iraq; American intelligence agencies come under renewed attack in Congress for failing to find Osama bin Laden; increasing certainty that he is still alive prompts senior Democratic senators to say effort to dismantle Al Qaeda is failure; Graham says American intelligence agencies must determine extent of terrorist threat at home before any military action is taken in Iraq; Defense Sec Donald H Rumsfeld, in radio interview, underscores concerns that US could face increased dangers of terrorist attacks if Pres Bush orders military action against Iraq; says Pres Saddam Hussein might orchestrate such attacks; administration officials take FBI to task for warning issued on Nov 13 about possible attacks on hospitals, but FBI issues another warning, saying Al Qaeda's highest-priority targets remain within aviation, petroleum and nuclear sectors, as well as significant national landmarks (M)

Malaysian cellular operator Celcom discovers another questionable deal involving its former chairman and controlling shareholder Tajudin Ramli; new finding concerns fraudulent invoices and improper severance payments; Celcom will attempt to recover additional 185 million ringgit from Tajudin (S)