Meanwhile, Starr faces other problems, including a looming Justice Department investigation into his handling of the Lewinsky probe. He’s firing back, questioning Justice’s ability to conduct a fair inquiry. He’s even enlisted support on Capitol Hill, dispatching his deputy, Jackie Bennett, to complain to GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch. The senator later publicly questioned Justice’s “integrity.” A Hatch aide says he didn’t act in response to Starr’s complaint.

NORTH KOREABehind the Curtain

A rare refugee memoir obtained by NEWSWEEK shows that indoctrination in North Korea is failing and dissatisfaction with Kim Jong Il is widespread. Ahn Chol, the young North Korean refugee in China who stole back into the DPRK last fall to capture the famine on videotape, has released a 20-page account of his ordeal. His mission was dangerous and discovery would have meant certain execution, yet old friends were surprisingly willing to cooperate in the filming. At one point, Ahn meets an old companion who urges him: “Next time you go to China bring back some guns and I will shoot party leaders.” Traveling without a proper identity card, Ahn slept outdoors or stayed with peasants. One couple, he wrote, lived in a shack with no furniture and had a son who was “skin and bones and hadn’t bathed for a long time.” Their village had electricity for only one hour each day. “What could possibly change this situation?” the father said. “We need Kim Jong Il to step down and let someone else take over.”

WHAT’S COOL IN …New York: Kimchi, Color and Kitten Heels

These days, things are so upbeat in New York–Wall Street’s booming, crime is down–that Manhattanites have even started wearing color. Below, our list of what to do, buy, wear and eat in the Big Apple as Peri kicks off a regular look at what’s cool in the world’s hottest cities.

Neighborhoods: Nolita (North of Little Italy) reigns for chic boutique shopping. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a new haven for cutting-edge art. Nightspots: Gen-Xers indulge fantasies of Marrakech with a water pipe and apple tobacco at Kush. Food: Trendy palates prefer upscale Indian and Korean, but Belgian frites are just as fab. Fashion: Hemlines are varied, color is in–as are Prada sport shoes and Jimmy Choo kitten heels. Fashionistas raise paddles at William Doyle’s vintage-couture auctions. Health and Beauty: Urbanites enjoy standing on their heads at Jivamukti Yoga. The less limber head for Bliss Spa and a 75-minute rub-down or pedicure. Music: Cuban crooners make the Buena Vista Social Club CD a top sell. Also hot: hip-hop music mixed with ’70s tunes.

BRITAINNazi Chic?

It almost makes the days of heroin chic seem tame. Among the 200 men named the “Most Stylish of the 20th Century” in the current issue of British GQ were the Nazis and Field Marshal Rommel, Hitler’s general in North Africa. Rommel was tapped as a man who’d retained “style in the face of true adversity.” After a firestorm in the British papers, which included complaints from Holocaust groups, Conde Nast dismissed GQ’s 33-year-old editor, James Brown. Say company insiders, the gaffe was the last in a series of disputes between Brown and his bosses over what was “edge” and what was over it.

MARRIAGEI Do’s and Don’ts

Italian bricklayers know how to cement a marriage. A recent survey of 1,500 married women by the Milan-based station Radio Montecarlo showed that those married to masons were the least likely to stray: 95 percent said they would not cheat on their husbands. Why? According to the survey, “polished muscles make happy wives.” Here’s how other husbands fared:

MUSICGoing PopTRENDSStaying Afloat

The movie may have come and gone, but Titanic mania is steaming full-speed ahead. Last week the public was treated to two close encounters with the vessel: the Titanic’s whistles blew for the first time since the ship sank in 1912, and several artifacts from the ocean liner were auctioned at Christie’s in New York.

The ship’s two 750-pound bronze whistles, plucked from the deep Atlantic in 1993, were sounded at an exhibit of Titanic memorabilia in St. Paul, Minnesota. They’re rumored to have blown as the vessel went down.

At the Christie’s auction, successful bidders walked away with a cast-iron nameplate from a Titanic lifeboat and a letter from Bruce Ismay, the man who urged the captain to attempt a speed record in crossing the Atlantic, among other artifacts. But the pay-load was a disappointment: the auction was expected to pull in between $250,000 and $300,000 but reaped only $206,000. Another letdown: Leo, Kate and Celine couldn’t make it.