Ben Brantley reviews Ingmar Bergman's 'macabre' production of Ibsen's Ghosts, at Brooklyn Academy of Music; photo (M)

Bergman Reimagines Ibsen's Haunted Widow

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways will restore 170 flights per week to various destinations starting in July, in expectation that passengers will return now that severe acute respiratory syndrome is fading away; will then be operating nearly 700 flights each week, or 71 percent of its schedule before SARS (S)

World Business Briefing | Asia: Hong Kong: Flights Restored

Royal Bank of Scotland agrees to buy Churchill

Royal Bank Is Acquiring Churchill

Harvey Araton Sports of The Times column contends that San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker, who is subject of much media attention during playoffs and NBA finals, is showing he has matured over past couple years, but is still no match for New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd; photo (M)

Sports of The Times; After Three Games of Standout Play, Parker Starts to Act His Age

 Health Plans Force Workers To Pay More for Treatments  After a decade of soaring spending on prescription drugs, employers and health plans are forcing their workers to pay more for most drugs and refusing payment for certain medicines that they reject as not essential.    The shift comes as Congress considers a government-subsidized drug benefit for 40 million Medicare beneficiaries, and at a time when many plans have eased restrictions on hospital care and doctor visits. [Page A1.]

BUSINESS DIGEST

European Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg suggests that three interest rate cuts by bank in last six months may be enough to revive economies of dozen nations using euro currency (S)

World Business Briefing | Europe: Banker Cautious On Rate Cut

Intervew with Hany Abu-Assad, Palestinian director, on his films Rana's Wedding, which will open Human Rights Watch Internatinal Film Festival at Lincoln Center, and Ford Transit, which will be shown later in festival; photo (M)

Drama Finds a Palestinian Filmmaker

Article profiles Ashrita Furman, who breaks physical records such as those in Guinness Book of World Records and insists it contributes to his quest for spiritual enlightenment; over past 24 years, he has set or broken 78 records; he lives simple life in Jamaica, Queens, as member of tight-knit community of disciples of Indian guru Sri Chinmoy; photo (M)

Got Milk? Hula Hoop? It's a Record!; He's Guinness's King Of Strange Feats, All for Inner Peace

Scientists think they see for first time faces of immediate ancestors of modern humans in 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls of two adults and child found in Ethiopia; except for few archaic characteristics, skulls are readily recognizable; they are longer than their Neanderthal contemporaries from Eurasia or earlier ancestors; discovery of oldest near-modern human remains is considered major step in establishing time and place for emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens, probably 150,000 years ago in Africa, as previous genetic studies suggest; Dr Tim D White, paleoanthropologist who lead international team that excavated and analyzed skulls, reports findings in journal Nature; findings are thought to fill frustrating gap in fossil evidence between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago, when transition from prehumans to modern humans is thought to have taken place; fossils, found in 1997, were so fragmented that it took years of cleaning, re-assembling and analyzing before discoverers felt they could report their findings; photos; map (L)

In Ancient Skulls From Ethiopia, Familiar Faces

Federal prosecutors begin criminal investigation into Freddie Mac after company fires its president for failing to cooperate with internal probe into its accounting practices; company also discloses Securities and Exchange Commission has opened formal investigation into it; Freddie Mac pledges to cooperate with government investigations; also says Leland C Brendsel, who stepped down as chairman and chief executive, received stock options and shares worth $21.1 million as result of his resignation; Brendsel's severance also includes $3.2 million in salary and bonus payments over next two years and health care and life insurance benefits for next five years; David W Glenn, who was fired as president and chief operating officer, will not receive any future salary or bonus; company does not disclose compensation it paid Vaughn A Clarke, who resigned as chief financial officer because he not among five highest-paid employees, and companies are required to disclose compensation of only those five (M)

Prosecutors Investigating Freddie Mac

New Jersey Nets defeat San Antonio Spurs, 77-76, to tie NBA finals series, 2-2; photos (M)

The Nets Are Not Going Away

J D Biersdorfer State of the Art column explains how MP3 player can be set up to play through car's tape deck and speakers; evaluates several models; photos; drawing (L)

A New Mix: MP3 Players For the Car

Houston Astros beat New York Yankees, 8-0, in first no-hitter against Yankees in 45 years, longest stretch in major league history, and first time Yankees have been no-hit at Yankee Stadium in 51 years; six Houston pitchers make appearances in game, breaking another major league mark for number of pitchers involved in hurling no-hitter; in past, four pitchers have combined for no-hitters; game described; photos (M)

Team Effort: 6 Astro Pitchers, 0 Yankee Hits

Israel sells 60 million shekels ($13.6 million) in shares and options in initial public offering of El Al Israel Airlines Ltd, about eighth of what government had aimed to raise; sells 15 percent of airline, with options to buy shares of additional 77 percent (S)d

World Business Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Airline Shares Sold

Colleen Maguire, special deputy commissioner of human services in New Jersey, dismisses 10 high-ranking managers of state's troubled Division of Youth and Family Services in first steps toward overhauling agency; firings are in response to death of Faheem Williams, whose body was found in Newark basement in January (M)

Managers Fired At Youth Unit In New Jersey

Pres Bush plans to announce measures intended to speed introduction of generic versions of brand-name drugs; measures include rule limiting number of regulatory delays that manufacturers can impose on companies hoping to introduce competing versions of their drugs; would also add $13 million to Food and Drug Administration's budget so it can hire more employees and approve generic drug applications more quickly; Senate health committee unanimously approves bill that would also limit regulatory delays of generic drug applications; bill would penalize companies that reach agreements with makers of brand-name drugs to delay introduction of generic versions, deals that have attracted attention of regulators; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America president Alan F Holmer says current law works well for patients and that further legislation is unnecessary; Generic Pharmaceutical Association president Kathleen D Jaeger lauds Senate billl and Bush's coming proposals (M)

Bush to Back Measures on Generic Drugs

OPEC leaves current levels of oil production unchanged at 25.4 million barrels per day; OPEC president Abdullah al-Attiyah says cartel was considering big cut but Iraq oil production has been delayed for technical reasons; OPEC's ability to get clearer understanding of what is happening in Iraq is complicated by fact that 10 voting members of cartel are unwilling to welcome back Iraq as full member as long as it lacks government, even interim one; photos (M)

OPEC Leaves Production Levels Unchanged

Dennis Halstead, John Kogut and John Restivo are released on bail after serving 18 years in prison for 1984 rape and murder of Theresa Fusco in Lynbrook, NY; although DNA evidence appears to exonerate them, Nassau County Dist Atty Dennis Dillon says he is considering ordering new trials; investigation is under way to determine if killer is still at large; Kogut had confessed to murder and implicated others after more than 18 hours of sleep deprivation and interrogation; he later recanted but prosecutors used confession at trial; photos (L)

DNA Evidence Frees 3 Men In 1984 Murder of L.I. Girl

Cardinal Edward M Egan says he will make public name of any priest permanently removed for sexually molesting children, day after archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling said names would not be revealed; many abuse victims and others were angered by Zwilling's announcement, and pleased by Egan's later clarification; archdiocese seeks to clear up what it describes as confusion regarding cardinal's policy; minutes of Priests' Council meeting last month make it clear that Egan does not want to announce permanent dismissals of priests; Zwilling says Egan will not reveal names of suspended priests who are returned to ministry; American Roman Catholic bishops have promised to deal more honestly and publicly with victims, many of whom say church culture of secrecy caused reports of priests' sexual abuse to be covered up (M)

Clarifying Stand, Egan Now Vows To Name Priests Ousted for Abuse

President Bush plans to announce measures today to speed the availability of generic drugs. A Senate panel passed a similar bill. Page C1.

Proposals on Generic Drugs

Professional golfers can spend hours tweaking their custom-made clubs, many of which are provided by equipment sponsors who hope successful golfers' use of their brand will prompt weekend amateur golfers to buy clothing, clubs and accessories used by their favorite golfers; pro golfers depend on modern technology and trial and error to find best clubs suited to them, and make drastic changes when game suffers; photos (L)

Hidden Game: Pursuit of the Perfect Club

J Michael Boxley, top aide to New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is arrested and charged with raping staff member, possibly after drugging her; victim says she lost consciousness during incident, which occurred at her Albany apartment after Boxley drove her home from bar; this is second time Boxley has been accused of sexual assault; photo (M)

Aide to Silver Is Arrested In Rape Case

Television repair in 21st century is odd business--sets are both bigger and smaller than they used to be; common thought is that they have become more disposable as prices have dropped, but Adam Goldman, who repairs sets in New Jersey, finds people are attached to TV sets and have various threshholds for how much they will spend for repairs; photos (M)

For a Precious TV, Mr. Fix-It Is Still There

Japan to Spend $16.5 Billion to Save Bank

Bush administration says it will place teams of American inspectors at 20 to 25 major seaports in Muslim nations and other smaller, strategically located foreign ports to prevent terrorists from using cargo containers to smuggle chemical, biological or nuclear weapons into United States; move is second phase in government program begun shortly after Sept 11 terrorist attacks, to station American customs inspectors overseas to work side by side with foreign counterparts in searching for unconventional weapons; first phase focused on 20 large container ports in Europe and Asia, none of them in countries with predominantly Muslim populations; Dept of Homeland Security will now place inspectors in Dubai and Malaysia, countries thought to have sizable presence of Al Qaeda, in Turkey and in other Muslim nations; intelligence agencies report Al Qaeda has repeatedly used cargo ships to move conventional weapons and explosives; human cargo is also concern; only weeks after Sept 11 attacks, Italian seaport authorities found Egyptian man suspected of Qaeda membership hiding in shipping container bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia, with airport maps and security passes; world map shows ports monitored by US customs agents in first and second phases of program (M)

U.S. WIDENS CHECKS AT FOREIGN PORTS

Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

June 12, 2003

Headlines from June 12, 2003

Bergman Reimagines Ibsen's Haunted Widow

World Business Briefing | Asia: Hong Kong: Flights Restored

Royal Bank Is Acquiring Churchill

Sports of The Times; After Three Games of Standout Play, Parker Starts to Act His Age

BUSINESS DIGEST

Billboard 200

How The West Was Won

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

Fallen

Thankful

Come Away With Me

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for June 12, 2003