May 10, 2004

New York State has collected $440 million since 1991 in special taxes on cellphones that is supposed to go to enhancing 911 emergency service, but only about $30 million has gone to program; of $1.20 collected monthly, 50 cents goes to general tax fund, 24 cents goes to state police and 34 cents goes to homeland security; tax is also expected to fund proposed $1 billion wireless radio network to improve communications between emergency services; about 12 cents goes to developing 911 emergency system; in 2003, state collected $132 million on surcharge and still had to sell $100 million in bonds so counties could buy equipment for enhanced 911 system; state gave counties ability to impose their own surcharge of 30 cents monthly in 2002; 18 counties and New York City have done so; graph (M)

Shari Redstone, president of family-owned National Amusements, says she plans to spend third of her time at Viacom Inc, diversified media company controlled by her father, Sumner M Redstone, interview; she will not have formal title, but her presence could create tensions with president, Mel Karmazin, who blocked her role in past; she says they get along well; Mr Redstone, 80, says there will be no problems between two because his daughter will not have operating role, interview; notes she is likely to eventually control Viacom through her control of trust that owns National Amusements, which owns his Viacom stock; photo (M)

Bomb explodes in stadium in Grozny, capital of Chechnya, killing republic's president Akhmad Kadyrov and delivering severe blow to Pres Vladimir V Putin's efforts to end long, deadly conflict in region; Kadyrov, former rebel leader who was elected president in vote widely considered to be fraudulent, was political figure Putin entrusted to wind down war in Chechnya; his death plunges Kemlin's strategy into ominous uncertainty; there is no immediate claim of responsibility for bomb, which kills 13 others and wounds more than 50; explosion occurs as Kadyrov and other Russian and Chechen leaders attend parade and concert in Grozny; Putin announces that Sergei B Abramov, Kremlin-appointed prime minister of Chechnya, will take over as acting president, as stipulated in republic's new constitution, until elections are held sometime before Sept; photos; map (M)

World health agencies race to acquire 100 million doses of artemisinin, Chinese herbal drug that has proved strikingly effective against malaria; artemisinin, a compound based on sweet wormwood, cut death rate by 97 percent in malaria epidemic in Vietnam decade ago; is rapidly replacing quinine derivatives and later drugs against which disease has evolved into resistant strains; to protect artemisinin from same fate, it will be given as part of multidrug cocktails; until recently, major donars like United States and Britain had opposed artemisinin's use on wide scale, saying it is too expensive and has not been tested enough on children; Unicef opposed its use during Ethiopian epidemic last year; now almost all donors, Unicef and World Bank have embraced it; World Health Orgn estimates that 100 million doses will be needed by late 2005; malaria, one of leading killers of poor, causes 300 million illnesses a year, and at least 1 million deaths, 90 percent of them in Africa and most of them children under 5; map; chart (M)

New Jersey Nets defeat Detroit Pistons, 82-64, to lead second-round playoff series, 2-1; photos (M)