December 17, 2004

World Business Briefing: Japan: Fire Halts

Dutch food processing company,

Remnants of the Twin Towers Are to Be Memorialized, Too A 70-foot-tall, 250-foot-long section of the twin towers' original slurry wall, shown in a computerized rendering above, is one of several remnants of the buildings destroyed on Sept. 11 that are to be included in the trade center memorial. PAGE B3 Two New Challenges To Saudi Royal Family A taped voice on an Islamist Web site, seemingly Osama bin Laden's, accused the al-Saud dynasty of being the ''agents of infidels,'' and a London-based Saudi opposition figure called for protests against the monarchy in Riyadh, the capital, and in Jidda, the commercial hub. PAGE A3 Social Security Plan Argued President Bush countered criticism of his plan to add personal investment accounts to Social Security by saying that addressing the program's problems would reassure the financial markets. PAGE A26 Bill Moyers Ending Program After 33 years on public television, the preacher turned journalist will be the host on ''Now With Bill Moyers'' for the last time tonight. He will continue to make documentaries. WEEKEND/ARTS, PAGE E3 Agnes Martin, Artist, Dies The painter, whose fields of pale color traversed by hand-drawn pencil lines preserved the spirit of Abstract Expressionism and prefigured Minimalism, was 92. PAGE C9

United States, Europe and Arab countries are considering greatly increasing, even doubling, aid to Palestinians on condition they and Israel take certain steps toward reducing their conflict; four-year package of $6 billion to $8 billion would be forthcoming if Palestinian elections set for Jan 9 take place successfully, if new government cracks down on militant groups and if Israel lifts scores of roadblocks and checkpoints to ease transit of goods and people in Palestinian areas; World Bank says package would be largest per person international aid program since World War II; donors believe too much of their money has gone to keep Palestinian Authority afloat, rather than to support development, but say Salam Fayyad, Palestinian finance minister, has instituted reforms improving accountability and increasing tax collections; European and Arab donors are likely to call on US to pay more attention to their views in peace talks as they demand say in return for their increased donations (M)

Russia plans to auction Yuganskneftegas, largest production subsidiary of Yukos, giant private oil company, to pay back tax claim of more than $27 billion, and it sets startlingly low opening bid of $8.65 billion, which is expected to favor Gazprom, government-run natural gas company; presence of two other Russian companies in auction is seen purely as effort to make auction seem valid; foreign bidders are discouraged; sale to Gazprom would create energy company that controls about 20 percent of nation's oil exports but also has some of world's largest energy reserves; signals to Russia's business elite that government is reasserting its control of nation's resources; Judge Letitia Z Clark, federal bankruptcy judge in Houston, issues temporary restraining order intended to block participation in auction of banks that were expected to finance deal; photo; table of world's largest energy companies (M)

Photos from four major films opening today: Spanglish starring Adam Sandler, The Sea Inside starring Javier Bardem, remake of Flight of the Phoenix starring Dennis Quaid and Beyond the Sea starring Kevin Spacey

Article on high-rise condominiums that are sprouting up along Las Vegas Strip; some 30 condo projects have been proposed along Strip corridor, with many condos being bought as vacation homes; photos (M)

World Business Briefing: Britain: Do-It-r

Manohla Dargis reviews movie The Aviator, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio; photo (M)

World Business Briefing: Japan: Faster Flat-Screen Oÿ

Article on midwinter fly-and-dive weekend scuba diving packages in Caribbean and south Florida; photos (M)

WA