September 1, 2003

Anthony Tommasini Critic's Notebook column on collaboration of pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, with Chamber Orchestra of Europe, on new three-CD set of Beethoven piano concertos; photo (M)

Federal investigators find deplorable conditions in many state institutions where children in state custody are supposed to get treatment for severe mental illnesses; Justice Department cites care deficiences at Metropolitan State Hospital, Norwalk, Calif, and two state training schools in Mississippi; California official says state disagrees with some of findings but is taking steps to improve care; Mississippi pledges to seek alternative placements for mentally ill children at schools; General Accounting Office survey finds parents in 19 states placed over 12,700 children in child welfare or juvenile justice systems so children could get mental health services; graphs of children placed to get mental health care (M)

Elvis Mitchell Critic's Notebook column on 30th Telluride Film Festival as it marks transfer of cinematic tradition from old guard to new; photos (M)

Funeral cortege for slain Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim crawls south from Baghdad in tumultuous cavalcade freighted with both political and religious symbolism as Iraq's Shiite Muslims assert their importance while mouring one of their leading voices; tens of thousands of mourners march through city and line route south in first day of three-day rite; United States military says it will delay turning over control of area around Najaf to Polish-led forces following bombing at city's holiest shrine that killed Hakim; Iraqi Governing Council meets to agree on final list of cabinet members; American officials say they hope move will let Iraqis begin to take over responsibilities from Americans; photos (M)

Taliban, backed by new volunteers from Pakistan, are reportedly regrouping and steadily expanding their attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan, their former stronghold; clashes have increased since mid-Aug, particularly in Zabul Province and other parts of southeast; Western diplomats say Taliban in region have changed their tactics, attacking Afghan police, aid workers and midlevel officials as well as American forces; United Nations reports attacks on aid workers, most of them Afghans, have risen significantly since May; says pace of reconstruction and investment is slowing as result and populace, nearly all ethnic Pashtuns, is becoming more alienated from Kabul government and its American backers; Westerners active in area warn of slow deterioration, not immediate collapse; American military officals say Taliban, while becoming more sophisticated in their tactics, are failing to regain power; map; photo (M)