May 11, 2003

New York Yankees defeat Oakland Athletics, 5-2; photos (M)

Interview with Barry Gibb on his finances; recalls past disputes with brothers Robin and late Maurice, with whom he performed as Bee Gees singing group, in part over management of Gibb business interests; differences offer insights into how complex family dynamics can affect successful family business; table of Bee Gees recordings; photos (M)

Shiite leader Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim returns to Iraq from exile and immediately rejects liberal Western-style democracy as incompatible with country's Islamic culture; says Iraq must base its laws on Islamic strictures; says new Iraqi government must be elected and be representative of all ethnic and religous groups, not only majority Shiites; his emphasis on elected government and national unity reflects marked shift in tone for Shiite leaders after fervent calls for Islamic state in initial euphoria after collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime; Ayatollah Hakim has spent much of his life outside Iraq fighting to overthrow Hussein, who deported and killed thousands of Shiites in relentless campaign to silence dissident religious leaders; he is also one of few senior clerics who openly challenged Hussein and survived assassination, because Iran sheltered and financed him for 23 years; his views are expected to help shape Iraq's political future; photo (M)

Secretary of State Colin L Powell, in Jerusalem for first American engagement in Israeli-Palestinian dispute in year, calls on both sides to take quick military steps and not get bogged down in arguing over long-term peace plan drafted by United States and others; specifically rejects Prime Min Ariel Sharon's appeal to revise so-called road map to accommodate certain Israeli objections to granting Palestinians who left Israel when it was founded 'right of return' to their native areas as part of any final settlement; notes right of return was major stumbling block when Israeli-Palestinian talks broke off two and half years ago; he will meet with Israeli Foreign Min Silvan Shalom and new Palestinian Prime Min Mahmoud Abbas, but not with Yasir Arafat; US has refused to deal with him since last summer; photos (M)

GAO study finds that 733,000 taxpayers claimed they donated cars in 2000 that were worth total of $2.5 billion, reducing their tax bills by average of $892, or total of $654 million; no data exists on whether deductions were appropriate and money received by charity after sale of vehicles is sometimes only tiny percentage of deduction; graph (S)

Zadie Smith article on tranformation of her novel White Teeth into PBS Masterpiece Theater television version, saying that script is better than her book; photos (M)

Pres Bush enters two weeks of intense diplomacy over disarming North Korea; American and Asian officials say nature of threat it poses to world has changed significantly in recent years, as have bitter arguments over how to prevent starving, desperate nation from lashing out; South Korean Pres Roh Moo Hyun, expected in Washington this week, will discover Bush advisers are divided over whether to continue negotiating with country that says it is building nuclear weapons, or to organize international blockade that would leave North Korea's leadership with stark choice between collapse and dismantling its nuclear programs; governments of both South Korea and Japan are viewing North Korean problem through their own domestic political prisms, further complicating task of drafting unified strategy; Roh was elected on platform of conciliation with North; Japanese Prime Min Junichiro Koizumi's efforts at reconciliation with North ended badly last year, and his government now talks publicly about expanding its definition of self-defense to embrace active containment of North Korea; he will visit with Bush next week; map (M)

Frank Rich comment compares prime time TV coverage of Pres Bush to delayed broadcast and buried spots allotted to Democratic candidates' debates; says Democrats are clueless about medium that can make or break them, while GOP has adopted hard-hitting approach to patriotism seen in movies made by Donald Rumsfeld's friend Jerry Bruckheimer; also cites media savvy in staging Bush's arrival, in full flight suit, on deck of aircraft carrier positioned just far enough at sea so skyline of San Diego would not be seen; photos (L)

Lisa Belkin Mother's Day column explains how parenthood changes everything in life, from work patterns to empathy for others with children (M)

First tenants are set to move into 48-apartment East Harlem, New York City rental building developed by BFC Partners that is product of financial collaboration between state and city; were selected by lottery from unusually broad spectrum of low- and moderate-income candidates; photo (M)

First article in series Invention for 900 Hands describes making of Steinway piano No. K0862 at Steinway & Sons factory in Astoria, Queens; it will take about eight months to finish No. K0862, an 8-foot 11 3/4 inch concert grand; along the way, rim will be aged in a room as dim as a wine cellar; it will be sprayed with lacquer, rubbed and sprayed again; it will be broken in by machine that plays scales; every Steinway is made same way from same materials by same workers; yet every Steinway ends up being different; photos of scene at Steinway plant (L)

New York Mets defeat San Diego Padres, 4-2, in extra innings; photos (M)