April 5, 2004

Co-ordinated Shiite militia uprising against American-led occupation reaches into Baghdad's sprawling Shiite slum of Sadr City, where seven American soldiers are killed, and roils holy city of Najaf and at least two other cities in southern Iraq; Iraqi health official in Najaf says 24 people were killed and 200 wounded in clashes that ensued when armed militiamen loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr besieged garrison commanded by Spanish troops on road leading into Najaf; tens of thousands of militiamen emerge into streets of Baghdad, Najaf, Kufa and Amara hours after Sadr tells his followers to 'terrorize your enemy'; armed militiamen easily take control of checkpoints and police stations in Sadr City, Najaf and Kufa that were staffed by new Iraqi-trained police and civil defense force; residents say Iraqis abandoned their posts as soon as militiamen appeared, punching hole in American hopes that American-trained Iraqis can take over providing security in major cities; until now, powerful Shiite clerics have largely avoided pitting their private militias against American-led occupation forces, preferring to challenge Americans politically; Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged followers to protest peacefully, but Sadr has been menacing presence in shadows since onset of American occupation; photos; map (L)

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column discusses Public School 164, Brooklyn, program to help young students who fall behind in first, second and third grade; contends that New York City's plan to hold back third graders who fail standardized tests will only work if right actions are taken to improve students' abilities (M)

Six students at Fairleigh Dickinson University are slashed or bludgeoned and one is shot as first involving 30 people occurs during school dance, leaving many unanswered questions as police make no arrests; photo (M)

Commercial hunting of baby seals is back and even bigger than when it stirred global outcry two decades ago; over last six years Canada's seal hunt has undergone revival that has largely escaped world attention; federal government will allow killing of up to 350,000 baby harp seals, or more than one in three of all those born, largely for their valuable fur; rising prices for skins and contentions that growing seal population is contributing to shrinking codfish pool have eased revival of industry once roundly seen as barbaric; tougher hunting rules, including stiffer regulations to avert skinning seals alive, have muted effort to stop hunt and eased consciences of Canadians; seal products remain banned in United States and they find only limited acceptance in most of Western Europe; new markets have emerged in Russia, Ukraine and Poland; photos; map; graph (L)

Outlook for former Tyco International executives L Dennis Kozlowski and Mark H Swartz discussed in light of mistrial in case against them; defendants, who came close to being convicted on some of 32 charges, must now decide whether to risk retrial in which prosecution can learn from mistakes it made in first one, or seek plea bargain that would probably result in somewhat shorter prison terms than conviction would; some experts say prosecutors are also under pressure to strike plea deal; possible defense strategy in retrial discussed; photos (M)