Milestones

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HILARY ROXEDIED. EMIKO TAIRA,48, mother of trend-setting Japanese pop icon Namie Amuro and author of a book on her life with the young star, after Taira's brother-in-law ran her over repeatedly with his car and attacked her with a hatchet; in Okinawa. Police found the body of her assailant, Kenji Taira, in his parked car five km away, after he apparently committed suicide.DIED. KIRK ALYN,88, the first Superman to grace the silver screen; in The Woodlands, Texas. The dancer claimed that Columbia Pictures had turned down 100 actors for the planned 15-part movie serial before he landed the role because he looked good in the form-fitting costume. After playing the Man of Steel in the 1948 series and again in 1950, however, Alyn became typecast as a superhero and left the film industry, spending the next two decades working on Broadway and in commercials. He revisited the storyline as Lois Lane's father in the 1978 feature film starring Christopher Reeve.DIED. HARRY CALLAHAN,86, distinguished photographer whose pictures expressed the beauty and dignity of ordinary life; in Atlanta. Lacking formal training, the son of a middle American farmer built a career by taking pictures of the everyday--a weary pedestrian, drifting clouds, his own wife. While teaching at art institutes in the U.S., he continued to shoot, earning his place beside the giants of the art.ARRESTED. ABU HAMZA AL-MASRI,40, militant Muslim leader of the London-based Supporters of Shariah, who has been accused of orchestrating terrorist acts and of masterminding a 1998 kidnapping that left four people dead in Yemen; in London. The Yemeni government requested al-Masri's extradition after connecting the Egyptian-born champion of global Islamic uprisings to five men arrested in the kidnapping. The cleric, who attributes his loss of both hands and an eye to his experience defusing mines in Afghanistan, denies any involvement in the Yemeni incident.CONVICTED. ARYEH DERI,40, dynamic head of Israel's third-largest political party, Shas, and a leading figure among religious, Sephardic Jews, on charges of fraud, breach of public trust and corruption; in Jerusalem. Channeling the religious zeal and sense of persecution among Sephardim into a political force, the Moroccan immigrant shot to success in the 1980s, becoming Interior Minister in 1988. But police began investigating the rabbi's dealings in 1990, and he was removed from his position three years later, charged with accepting $155,000 in bribes. The four-year trial included 147 witnesses and yielded 41,000 pages of transcripts. ELECTED. IRENE SAEZ,37, glamorous former Miss Universe, as governor of the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta; in Nueva Esparta. When the incumbent governor died in January, a month after Saez had been trounced by Hugo Chavez in the presidential election, she saw a chance to restart her career. Though critics say the beauty queen, who was mayor of Caracas' affluent Chacao municipality for six years, is an unprincipled carpetbagger, supporters argue her success in cutting crime, corruption and bureaucratic turmoil--as well as her dazzling looks--are just what the ailing, tourism-hungry state needs.CROSSED. By the DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE,the elusive 10,000 mark; in New York. The benchmark index's dance with five figures is purely symbolic, and some analysts warn that hard times are ahead for U.S. securities as the country's economic expansion nears its inevitable end. Of course, they've been saying that for nearly eight years now.By TIM LARIMER/TokyoOnly a few weeks ago, Japan's second-biggest car maker, NISSAN, was widely reported to be up for sale, and the likely buyer was no secret: Daimler-Chrysler. But the German-American auto giant evidently got cold feet, and last week another suitor stepped forward. France's Renault confirmed that it had submitted a formal offer to purchase about 35% of Nissan, enough to give it control. The expected price: at least $5 billion. The move would link two troubled companies, which together built only about 4.8 million cars last year. Nissan has piled up an estimated $36.2 billion in debt and has watched sales plummet in the important U.S. market. Buying Nissan would give Renault, which sells 85% of its cars in Europe, a needed toehold in Asia. The French connection will be welcome relief not only to Nissan but also to the banks holding its debts.