May 13, 2003

Four separate overnight bombing attacks strike Western targets in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on eve of Secretary of State Colin L Powell's visit there, causing undetermined number of deaths and dozens of injuries; United States Embassy in Riyadh says 44 Americans are injured, some seriously; local press reports deaths of one Saudi, one Lebanese and one Westerner; casualty figures are expected to rise; Powell says violence is likely work of Al Qaeda, saying it bears its hallmarks; says Al Qaeda has been weakened but not destroyed; live pictures from scene attest to power of blasts at apartment compounds that are home to American, British, Italian and other Westerners, as well as to Saudis and citizens of other Middle Eastern countries; Saudi Interior Min Prince Nayef says first three blasts were suicide bombings set off by cars stuffed with explosives driven into targeted compounds; attackers strike after State Dept's extraordinarily specific warning on May 1 that terrorists would soon attack American targets in Saudi Arabia; there was botched attempt by Saudi security services to seize cell that Interior Ministry accused of being linked to Al Qaeda terrorist network; 19 suspected militants escaped, but police seized huge arms cache; photos; map (L)

Pharmaceutical companies are beginning to contemplate new collaborative efforts to lower cost and speed development of drugs for cancer; task force will present preliminary proposal on collaborative drug development to pharmaceutical industry chief executives at meeting in Washington on June 6; Dr Gabriel Leung, co-chairman of task force, who was head of oncology at Pharmacia until its recent acquisition by Pfizer, says drug industry consortium will conduct or finance research aimed at understanding underlying mechanisms of cancer; Robert Ingram, vice chairman for pharmaceuticals at GlaxoSmithKline, says pharmaceutical companies need to cooperate on drug development because drugs in future will be tailored for patients based on their genetic makeup; photos (M)

NYC column on plans for thousands of video lottery terminals to be placed at sites around New York State, despite studies linking spread of state lotteries and casinos to increases in compulsive gambling; notes relentless expansion of state-sponsored gambling, particularly under Gov George Pataki, 'who shows an abiding affection' for this form of revenue (M)

Former Credit Suisse First Boston banker Frank P Quattrone is indicted by federal grand jury on charges he obstructed justice and destroyed evidence; charges state that in December 2000, Quattrone, who then headed Credit Suisse's investment banking division for technology companies, endorsed e-mail recommendation from colleague that his bankers destroy their files in advance of expected onslaught of civil lawsuits; Quattrone's atttorney says he is innocent; photo (M)

GeoForecaster, established last February, is private company that gives earthquake predictions at cost of $9.95 per month for local service and $240 per month for global service; efforts of new company, various governments and other companies showcase trend in earthquake forecast information based on variety of indicators; none have proven truly effective at predicting where and when next quake will occur and some critics say predictions are really not much more than random guesses; scientists contend understanding of physics of earthquakes could lead to more reliable seismic predictors; company QuakeFinder is launching $1 million satellite in hopes that electromagnetic wave emissions can help pinpoint disasters before they happen; photo; map (M)