November 27, 2003

New York State Governor George E Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg continue to clash over interpretation of Court of Appeals ruling on 1993 class action suit that ordered New York State to fix New York City public schools problems; Pataki contends that ruling allows him to use increased funds to broadly improve state's educational infrastructure, while Bloomberg insists ruling's intent was to fix city's public schools; photo (M)

British advertising magnate Charles Saatchi sells bulk of his collection of early works by British artist Damien Hirst back to artist and his dealer, Jay Jopling; price for about 12 pieces reportedly is around $15 million; photos (M)

U.S. Drug Industry Trying To Roll Back Prices Abroad Having beaten back price controls on prescription drugs in the United States, the pharmaceutical industry is trying to roll them back overseas, with help from the administration and Congress. In talks over a free-trade agreement with Australia, United States officials are pressing to break down the system by which the Australian government negotiates the prices its citizens pay for prescription drugs. [Page A1.]

Atomic Agency Rebukes Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution that condemns Iran for covering up its nuclear program but stops short of urging Security Council action. PAGE A22 U.S. Passed in Driver Safety The United States, long the safest place in the world to drive and still better than average among industrialized nations, is being surpassed by other countries. PAGE A34

Areva, France's government-controlled maker of nuclear-reactor fuel, will spend 3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) on building uranium-enrichment plant and acquiring necessary technology; investment includes purchase of 50 percent stake in Enrichment Technology Co, owned by Urenco, uranium-processing company established by Britain, Germany and Netherlands in 1971; graph (S)