NOVEMBER 15, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 19

Milestones
By HANNAH BEECH

RESIGNED. DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, 50, beleaguered French Finance Minister who tried to tame the nation's perennially high unemployment rate, after allegations of financial misconduct began to stain the liberal politician's career; in Paris. Strauss-Kahn is reported to have accepted $100,000 in lawyer's fees for fictitious work conducted before he entered the cabinet. His resignation hurts France's leftist coalition government, which was trying to elevate itself above the corruption-riddled opposition.

DIED. ROBIN BLACK, 93, archetypal British colonialist who served as governor of Singapore and Hong Kong; in London. After stints in Malaya and Trinidad, Black reluctantly paved the way for Singapore's independence in 1959. One of the last members of Britain's tradition-steeped Colonial Service, Black called for improved conditions for the waning empire's farflung outposts, lobbying London for aid to help absorb the Chinese refugees pouring into Hong Kong during the 1950s and '60s.

DIED. WALTER PAYTON, 45, legendary American football star who blazed past beefy defenders to lead the National Football League in all-time rushing; in Barrington, Illinois. The gentlemanly Chicago Bears running back owned the Windy City's heart before a certain basketball player soared into town. Eulogized veteran broadcaster John Madden: "Walter epitomized what a man and a football player should be."

DIED. MALCOLM MARSHALL, 41, feared West Indies cricketer whose wickedly fast deliveries whipped past lesser and greater batsmen alike from 1976 to '91; in Bridgetown, Barbados. The sixth most prolific Test bowler in the sport's history, Marshall made up for his slight build with a mix of cunning and tenacity, batting in a remarkable 1984 outing with only one hand because his injured left arm was encased in a cast.

ARRESTED. ABUL-MUHSIN, on suspicion of heading Yemen's extremist Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, just two weeks after the previous leader was executed for kidnapping Western tourists; according to government sources in the capital San'a. Ransoms collected from abducted but unharmed travelers have helped fund the offshoot of the Islamic Jihad group. But a bungled government rescue attempt last year ended in the deaths of four tourists, sparking a renewed effort to squelch the radical Muslim outfit, which wants to impose Islamic law in Yemen.

RETIRED. SAMUEL RUIZ GARCIA, 75, controversial Mexican bishop who mediated between Zapatista rebels and the government, from the Chiapas diocese; in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Despite his key diplomatic role, Ruiz irked both church and state: the Vatican tried to remove him before the mandatory retirement age of 75 because of his support of Indian and Zapatista goals, while the government accused him of preaching violence--even though the cleric publicly castigated the rebels for their bloody tactics.


BODY SHOP

DARWIN'S ANGELS? Playboy filmmaker and soft-porn entrepreneur Ron Harris' website got more than 5 million hits on its first day of business. His commodity? Eggs harvested from fashion models for in-vitro fertilization. The auction could be a fraud, but if people want models, they should get the best. We asked fertility clinics what qualities clients look for in donors and rated models to see whose eggs would be best.