HTITLE┬
INTRODUCTION²INDEXOUSABOOKS		FEATURES┴	
FINANCIALú	MEDICINEf	POLITICSùM1uM2ΣSCIENCE╒LATIN AMERICA'EUROPE; CIS∞$ASIAZ'AFRICA┐(MIDDLE EASTú,1û/2æ53δ?4ΩF5╛U6([7~h8Ωm9gq10µw11èÇ12ûï13¥ö14ƒ15/º16╖¼17Ç▓18u║19├└20¡╠21!╒22╣▌23Ä24╦2526ÿ127;C29╡P30/W31s_32Jl33å34ò35é¥36ô¼37▓38g╝39╣─40▌41:≡42o÷434445~%46±-47⌡D48,Y49fn50é51"ú52°╣53P┐54?╤55#π56┐≤57â58K59┼(60┌3614>62≈I63=]64-f65⌐}66åê67ùí68¡«69┤70∩╩71-╒72é┌73┬π74┌φ75⌡÷76S
77w78î79k+80â<81QE82üM83╘V84 \85⌠l86éy87æ~88â89tÅ90Åù91·º92Φ«93┴94╟╧95█96∩π97çφ98█²99ò100╝101102Σ103Æ+104q51058<106úF107Y108he109ß~110¢Å111x₧112Ñ113·⌐114N«115╟└116<┼117Σ╘1188┌119∙σ120Ñ∞121ù≥122⌠°123124²	125¢126╨127┤#1286129O130⌐a131sx132╥â133Åï134æò135∩Ñ136
«137ó╡1385┬139b╠140┌141£ε142I∙143}144(145∞ 146╕'147ô21483E149*P150∞T151f`152ßk153°v154ï155sÿ156=º157*▓158½159.160$"161╒/162k6163∙>164DD165▀K166gU167┤f168▌w169dç170ræSUBINFOÉÜENDY½9INTERNATIONAL NEWS E-WIRE SERVICE WEEKLY WEEK OF 3/18/959                INTERNATIONAL NEWS E-WIRE SERVICE WEEKLY-                              ISSN 1080-3149.                            DISTRIBUTE FREELY.                             WEEK OF  3/18/951INFO/GENERAL INFO ON INEWS DAILY - INEWS@AOL.COM5TO REACH EDITOR ------------------ INEWSEDIT@AOL.COM$CLICK THE INDEX BUTTON FOR THE MENU.UNITED STATES,USA.LATIN AMERICA,LATIN AMERICA.EUROPE,EUROPE.RUSSIA  FORMER REPUBLICS,CIS.ASIA,ASIA.AFRICA,AFRICA.MIDDLE EAST,MIDDLE EAST .INEWS DAILY FREE TRIAL,SUBINFOUNITED STATES        \BOOKS\BOOKS\+        \FEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS\FEATURES\/        \FINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS\FINANCIAL\        \MEDICINE\MEDICINE\        \POLITICS\POLITICS\%        \SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY\SCIENCE\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUBOOKSC   \"FAILURE IS IMPOSSIBLE: SUSAN B. ANTHONY IN HER OWN WORDS"\47\<   \"HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION" BY THOMAS CAHILL\48\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS   \CALIFORNIA FLOODS\5\<   \MEMORIAL CEREMONY FOR PAKISTAN DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL\11\D   \MEXICO'S ECONOMIC CRISIS CAUSES RISE IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION\26\   \REMEMBERING IWO JIMA\49\"   \U.S. AGRICULTURAL ROUNDUP\50\/   \WOMEN IN THE MILITARY IN WORLD WAR II \51\&   \MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL EXPANDS\52\>   \$2 MILLION REWARD OFFERED IN WAKE OF KARACHI KILLINGS\53\B   \REPORT SUGGESTS APPREHENDING ILLEGAL ALIENS AT KEY POINTS\54\;   \U.S. SAYS MEXICO COOPERATING IN HUNT FOR DRUG LORD\55\%   \BILINGUAL EDUCATION CRITIQUE\56\   \EXPORTING EDUCATION\57\F   \SPACE SHUTTLE IMAGES MAY SHOW LOST ANCIENT ANGKOR SETTLEMENTS\58\C   \FBI RELEASES TRANSCRIPTS OF SHABAZZ TALKING WITH INFORMANT\59\B   \INFORMANT SAYS RAHMAN ASKED HIM TO KILL PRESIDENT MUBARAK\60\3   \U.S. DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED ENERGY GROWING\61\8   \KEVIN COSTNER NOW UNDER ATTACK BY SIOUX INDIANS\62\%   \KING CENTER DISPUTE RESOLVED\63\/   \KILLER-VIRUS MOVIE BASED ON TRUE EVENT\64\A   \EMINENT AMERICAN ASTROGEOLOGIST TO LEAD SAUDI EXPEDITION\65\$   \SAN DIEGO: THE MEXICAN LINK\66\8   \ACCOUNT OF MARINE SHOOTING AT MOGADISHU AIRPORT\67\   \THE HEAD-HUNTING FLY\68\-   \BALKAN WAR REFUGEES TELL THEIR STORY\69\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS#   \U.S. EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS\27\    \U.S. EMPLOYMENT FIGURES\89\;   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE FALLING DOLLAR\90\>   \RUBIN SAYS STRONG DOLLAR IS IN U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST\91\7   \ANALYSTS POINT TO REASON FOR THE DOLLAR'S FALL\92\@   \GREENSPAN CALLS DOLLAR DROP "UNWELCOME AND TROUBLESOME"\93\E   \U.S. PRODUCTIVITY ROSE IN 1994, DESPITE 4TH QUARTER SLOWDOWN\94\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	MEDICINE=   \REPORT SAYS AMERICANS' HEALTH & SAFETY HAS IMPROVED\106\6   \SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME LINK TO SMOKING\107\?   \MEDICAL CONFLICTS WITH RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL DIVERSITY\108\   \THE DYNAMICS OF HIV\109\)   \TONSILLECTOMY: IS IT NECESSARY?\110\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	POLITICS?   \EX-PRESIDENT SALINAS ARRIVE IN U.S. FOR A LIFE IN EXILE\1\3   \CHRISTOPHER MEETS WITH PERSIAN GULF LEADERS\6\J   \CHRISTOPHER TRYS TO AVOID CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN CONOCO/IRAN DEAL\7\,   \PANETTA DEFENDS NOMINATION OF CARNS\18\$   \DOLE CALLS FOR CABINET CUTS\21\F   \WHITHER NATO?  DESIGNING A NEW EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE\22\8   \U.S., GCC AGREE TO EXPAND ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP\23\H   \U.S., IMF OFFICIALS HAIL MEXICAN ECONOMIC MEASURES JON SCHAFFER\25\?   \CARNS WITHDRAWS HIMSELF AS A NOMINEE FOR CIA DIRECTOR\120\9   \CARNS WITHDRAWAL SPARKS CRITICISM FROM CONGRESS\121\G   \CLINTON NOMINATES DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY DEUTCH TO HEAD CIA\122\(   \CLINTON SATURDAY RADIO ADDRESS\123\3   \PROFILE: CIA DIRECTOR NOMINEE JOHN DEUTCH\124\(   \U.S/CHINA IPR AGREEMENT SIGNED\125\*   \SINN FEIN LEADER ARRIVES IN U.S.\126\.   \CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: HALFWAY HOME?\127\+   \NEW CONCEALED WEAPONS LEGISLATION\128\:   \CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON BORDER CONTROL STRATEGY\129\'   \CIA BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES REPORT\130\7   \CHENEY SAYS CHINA DOES POSE A MILITARY THREAT\131\E   \CHRISTOPHER SAYS THERE IS NEW ENERGY IN MIDEAST PEACE TALKS\132\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU2             \CLICK HERE FORE MORE SELECTIONS\M1\;   \CHRISTOPHER MEETS WITH ARAFAT AT PLO HEADQUARTERS\133\?   \CLINTON ORDERED REVIEW OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS\134\9   \CLINTON ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES\135\!   \CONGRESS WEEK IN REVIEW\136\6   \CATO INSTITUTE REPORT ON CORPORATE "WELFARE"\137\>   \STATE DEPT. THREATEN U.N. SANCTIONS AGAINST N. KOREA\138\G   \REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ADDRESS EDITORS CONFERENCE\139\E   \U.S. OPINION EDITORIAL ROUNDUP: SANCTIONS ON SADDAM HUSSEIN\140\C   \CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SETS-UP NEW PRIORITIES FOR THE CIA\141\G   \NANCY REAGAN SPEAKS TO CONGRESS ON ADMINISTRATION DRUG POLICY\142\:   \LEGISLATION TO SEEK A BASE AGREEMENT WITH PANAMA\143\0   \ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT DEBATE UNDERWAY\144\D   \PERRY SEES LITTLE CHANCE OF A NEAR TERM SOLUTION IN BOSNIA\145\6   \PERRY DEFENDS FUNDING OF RUSSIAN DISARMAMENT\146\I   \WORLD OPINION ROUNDUP: WASHINGTON WATCHES AS THE DOLLAR PLUNGES\147\(   \CONGRESS QUESTIONS AID TO ASIA\148\5   \CONGRESSIONAL REACTION TO PAKISTAN SHOOTING\149\I   \MEASURE TO TIGHTEN CUBAN SANCTIONS WITHDRAWN FROM SENATE DEBATE\150\D   \SENATE REPUBLICANS DECLINE TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST HATFIELD\151\3   \NEW YORK GOVERNOR SIGNS DEATH PENALTY LAW\152\!   \THE SCHOOL LUNCH DEBATE\153\E   \ADMINISTRATION OPPOSES MORATORIUM ON ENDANGERED SPECIES LAW\154\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU2             \CLICK HERE FORE MORE SELECTIONS\M2\3   \CLINTON/CONGRESS: THEIR RHETORICAL BATTLE\155\-   \CLINTON SEEKS SUPPORT FROM VETERANS\156\D   \DOLE, GINGRICH OUTLINE VIEWS ON U.S. INTERESTS, LEADERSHIP\157\   \U.N. WEEK-IN-REVIEW\158\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUSCIENCE-TECHNOLOGYD   \FOREIGN SHARE OF JAPAN SEMICONDUCTOR MARKET HITS NEW RECORD\24\'   \NEXT GENERATION SPACE SHUTTLE\167\:   \SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRESS DISPLAYED ON THE INTERNET\168\D   \SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ANTI-PIRACY CAMPAIGN TARGETS SINGAPORE\169\&   \HONG KONG INTERNET CRACKDOWN\170\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENULATIN AMERICA*   \U.S. APPLY SANCTIONS ON GUATEMALA\95\   \ARGENTINE ECONOMY\96\&   \COSTA RICA/NICARAGUA TENSIONS\97\/   \ECUADOR/PERU OBSERVERS ARRIVAL DELAYED\98\4   \MEXICO ANNOUNCES ECONOMIC AUSTERITY PACKAGE\99\'   \IMF APPROVES CREDIT FOR HAITI\100\   \ARGENTINE ECONOMY\101\   \BRAZILIAN ECONOMY\102\B   \MEXICAN REBEL REPRESENTATIVE BLAMES CLINTON FOR UPRISING\103\#   \CLINTON PLANS HAITI VISIT\104\G   \U.S. DISAPPOINTED WITH CUBA'S IMPLEMATION OF MIGRATION ACCORD\105\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUEUROPEA   \CROATIAN PRESIDENT CHANGES POSITION ON U.N. PEACEKEEPERS\13\$   \U.N. COPENHAGEN SUMMIT ENDS\14\F   \FORMER U.N. BALKANS COMMANDER SAYS TO HONOR CROATIA'S REQUEST\70\H   \UN MAY KEEP HEADQUARTER IN ZAGREB IF PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE CROATIA\71\:   \EU CANADA PREPARES TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST CANADA\72\B   \BOSNIA MUSLIM AND CROAT FEDERATION ANNOUNCES AN AGREEMENT\73\0   \U.N. SUSPENDS HUMANITARIAN AID TO SERBS\74\)   \ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN BOSNIA\75\   \CZECH ECONOMY\76\I   \CZECH COURT UPHOLDS 1945 DECREE STRIPPING GERMANS OF CITIZENSHIP\77\'   \HOLBROOKE TO RETURN TO CROATIA\78\#   \DISARMING NORTHERN IRELAND\79\4   \QUEEN ELIZABETH TRAVELS TO NORTHERN IRELAND\80\?   \GERMANY SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO OSCE PRESENCE IN CHECNYA\81\I   \SLOVENIA DEFENSE MINISTER TO SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION WITH U.S.\82\8   \SUICIDE OF BELGIAN GENERAL CONNECTED WITH CLAES\83\@   \BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TRIES TO REORGANIZE ITS ARMED FORCES\84\@   \BRITAIN LIFTS SOME NORTHERN IRELAND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS\85\G   \RED CROSS EXPECTS REFUGEE CRISIS AFTER U.N. CROATIA WITHDRAWAL\86\0   \EU SUSPENDS TRADE AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA\87\   \BARINGS BANK TAKEOVER\88\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENURUSSIA/FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS)   \KAZAKHSTAN CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS\10\;   \IMF AND RUSSIA REACH AGREEMENT ON LOAN CONDITIONS\159\:   \MORE REPORTS OF CHECHNYA HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS\160\L   \ZHIRINOVSKY SAYS BANGLADESH & PAKISTAN SHOULD BE RETURNED TO INDIA\161\C   \KENYA UPSET OVER UGANDAN HANDLING OF ACCUSED COUP PLOTTER\162\>   \AMNESTY CALLS ON THE MALDIVES TO RELEASE JOURNALISTS\163\K   \RIFT BETWEEN YELTSIN AND MOSCOW MAYOR OVER FIRING OF POLICE CHIEF\164\&   \SEX DISCRIMINATION IN RUSSIA\165\C   \DUMA LEADER CITES HIGH PRIORITY FOR START II RATIFICATION\166\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUASIA5   \500 ARRESTED IN KARACHI CRACKDOWN ON VIOLENCE\2\I   \AFGHAN GOVERNMENT TRIES TO PUSH TALIBAN REBELS FARTHER FROM KABUL\3\2   \BUS/GAS TANKER COLLISION KILLS 70 IN INDIA\8\   \INDIAN ELECTIONS\9\3   \TAIWAN REJECTS CHINESE OFFER TO HOLD TALKS\12\5   \U.S. CHINA IRON OUT REMAINING TRADE PROBLEMS\17\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUAFRICA   \ALGERIAN ECONOMY\4\1   \U.S. PLACES VISA RESTRICTIONS ON ALGERIA\16\    \MOGADISHU PORT RE-OPENS\29\-   \BURUNDI ENERGY MINISTER ASSASSINATED\30\0   \SIERRA LEONE VIOLENCE THREATEN FREETOWN\31\    \AFRICAN AIDS CONFERENCE\32\D   \ALGERIA PRESS CAUGHT BETWEEN MILITANTS AND THEIR GOVERNMENT\33\   \ALGERIAN CAR BOMBING\34\   \ALGERIAN SECURITY\35\E   \U.S. WARNS IT MAY DELAY DEPLOYMENT OF PEACEKEEPERS TO ANGOLA\36\>   \WINNIE MANDELA MEETS WITH S. AFRICAN DEPUTY PRESIDENT\37\9   \U.N. REPORTS INCREASING FOOD SHORTAGES IN RWANDA\38\    \PROFILE: WINNIE MANDELA\39\#   \WINNIE MANDELA CONTROVERSY\40\7   \SECURITY PROBLEMS THREATEN DE-MINING OF ANGOLA\41\=   \AMERICAN STUDENTS SIMULATE PROBLEMS OF OAU COUNTRIES\42\8   \REPORTER NOTEBOOK SOMALIA: HOVERCRAFT FROM HELL\43\A   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: SOUTH AFRICA MOVES AHEAD\44\B   \FOILED NIGERIAN COUP PLOT, 150 MILITARY OFFICERS DETAINED\45\   \U.N. SOMALIA ANALYSIS\46\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUMIDDLE EASTB   \GULF STATES AGREE TO KEEP SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ IN PLACE\15\%   \CHRISTOPHER ARRIVES IN SYRIA\19\<   \CONOCO DEAL WITH IRAN INCONSISTENT WITH U.S. POLICY\20\.   \IRAQ HOSTS AN OIL AND GAS CONFERENCE\111\9   \ISRAEL LIFTS NAVAL BLOCKADE OF SOUTHERN LEBANON\112\A   \LEBANESE FISHERMEN REACT TO LIFTING OF ISRAELI BLOCKADE\113\.   \EXAMINING ARAB ISRAELI PEACE PROCESS\114\?   \SIGNS OF TENSION REPORTED BETWEEN IRAQI TROOPS, KURDS\115\A   \U.S. CALLS IRAQI RESPONSE ON STOLEN WEAPONS 'AN INSULT'\116\.   \U.S. OIL COMPANY SIGN DEAL WITH IRAN\117\L   \ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS END MEETING ON 1967 WAR REFUGEES\118\D   \JORDAN ANGERED OVER U.S. CONGRESS MOVE AGAINST DEBT RELIEF\119\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU   ---------------;   EX-PRESIDENT SALINAS ARRIVE IN U.S. FOR A LIFE IN EXILE   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEB   Reports say former Mexican President Carlos Salinas De Gortari=reportedly has left Mexico for a life in exile in the UnitedBStates.  His departure comes in the midst of political turmoil inMexico.=   The Mexican newspaper La Jornada says Mr. Salinas and his>family left Mexico Saturday for New York.  The newspaper said<Sunday Mr. Salinas, who left office last December, plans toBsettle in Boston, Massachusetts, and become an advisor to the DowJones company.>   Another influential Mexican publication, the news magazine>Processo, reported Sunday that Mr. Salinas struck a deal with=President Ernesto Zedillo to leave the country for a life inBexile. Sources close to the former president have confirmed he is@out of the country, but they are not saying whether he has goneinto exile.@   Earlier this month, Mr. Salinas staged an on-again-off-again@hunger strike against the Zedillo administration.  He ended his>protest after receiving government assurances he would not be>blamed for Mexico's economic crisis, or accused of blocking a;probe into last year's assassination of the ruling party's@presidential candidate.  He staged his hunger strike a few days;after his brother was arrested on charges of mastermindingBanother high profile assassination last year.  If Mr. Salinas hasAgone into exile, he would be only the second former president to-do so in the ruling party's 66-year history.   ----------------   ----------------1   500 ARRESTED IN KARACHI CRACKDOWN ON VIOLENCE   DOUGLAS BAKSHIAN   KARACHI:   In Karachi, Pakistan, authorities have reportedly made:hundreds of arrests in the crack down following a wave ofBkillings that included the deaths of two Americans last week. TheBaction follows a warning from Prime Minister Bhutto that ruthlessmeasures would be needed.:   Reports say more than 500 people were detained by lateBSaturday in a series of raids throughout the city.  Many of those?seized were said to belong to the MQM Haqiqi group, a splinter<faction of Karachi's dominant political organization.  This:follows a warning by Prime Minister Bhutto there would be?ruthless action to deal with the violence that has gripped the$city and taken many innocent lives.B   Meanwhile, members of the U.S. Federal Bureau of InvestigationB(FBI) are continuing their probe into the killing of the two U.S.8consulate workers Wednesday.  Pakistani authorities are#conducting the main investigation.=   Hard facts concerning the probes are difficult to obtain.BNews reports say the Pakistanis are looking for two men who stole;the yellow cab used by the killers of the Americans.  But,Areports say this search is based on a weak identification by theowner of cab.=   Pakistani officials have listed a variety of internal andBforeign forces that could be behind the wave of violence that has0claimed 450 lives in three-and-one-half months.@   Veteran observers of Karachi say the city has descended into?anarchy and is being held hostage by armed gangs.  They say inAsuch a situation it will be difficult to find the killers of theAAmericans or those responsible for a series of bloody attacks on	mosques.B   Analysts in Karachi traditionally blame sectarian, ethnic, and?political divisions for the unrest.  But information secretary=Hussain Haqqani has denied there is a sectarian problem.  He;noted following the deaths of a dozen people Friday in theBbombing of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque, a nearby Sunni mosque quicklydonated blood for the victims.>   Informed observers have been questioning who is behind the@mosque attacks.  They say the incidents are precisely timed and>planned and appear to be the work of professionals.  They sayAextremist religious groups are unlikely to be so well organized.B   A column in Karachi's respected "Dawn" newspaper says there isAa sense of despondency everywhere.  It says the people have lost@trust and confidence in every institution responsible for their@safety.  Many citizens give the same view to reporters, whether>they are cab drivers, successful business people or laborers.   ----------------   ----------------E   AFGHAN GOVERNMENT TRIES TO PUSH TALIBAN REBELS FARTHER FROM KABUL   TIM JOHNSTON	   KABUL=   Fighting is continuing in the south of the Afghan capital:Kabul.  Government troops are consolidating their hold on@captured areas and are trying to push the forces of the TalibanBmilitant Islamic student movement further into the hills south ofthe Kabul.>   The battle between the government of President Burhanuddin>Rabbani and the Taliban militant Islamic student movement hasAcontinued for a second day.  The government managed to evict the@Taliban from their positions inside Kabul in a fierce firefightASaturday, and according to government commanders were continuing=their southerly advance Sunday.  Heavy weapons fire could be8heard Sunday morning in the hills south of the city and@government planes carried out numerous bombing sorties over thearea.?   On another part of the front line, troops were preparing to5attack the Taliban forward headquarters in Charasyab=10-kilometers away.  Inside Kabul itself President Rabbani's=forces were celebrating Saturday's victory over the Taliban.=Grinning soldiers waved their guns as we passed.  Now all ofBKabul belongs to the government they shouted.  In the ditches and=bunkers the bloodied remains of the defenders could still beseen.@   Hospitals in Kabul reported receiving more than 300 civilian>wounded.  Exhausted doctors at the 300-bed Red-Cross hospital9said they had treated more than 100 patients in the past@24-hours.  The exact death toll will never be known and rockets3were still falling into central Kabul late Sunday.?   Although the government seems to be winning this battle the=Taliban are still a formidable fighting force, and no one is#predicting the outcome of the war.   ----------------   ----------------   ALGERIAN ECONOMY   LAURIE KASSMAN   ALGIERSA   Algeria is the world's fifth largest natural gas producer and;the 14th largest oil reserve. Exploitation of its economic=potential is being hampered by political violence, which has@claimed an estimated 30-thousand lives in the past three years.ABut economic reforms continue to transform a 30-year-old corrupt?and inefficient centralized system into a free market economy.>   The collapse of world oil prices in 1986 exposed Algeria'sBlopsided and mismanaged system and cut its much-needed oil income?from 13 billion dollars to eight-and-one-half billion dollars.@The loss of revenues plunged Algeria into the vicious circle ofshort-term debts.<   And, central bank director Abdelwahab Karamane says thatBforced Algeria to speed up the pace of reform, liberalize prices,Aopen the door to the private sector, and devalue the currency by40 percent:B   "This transition to market economy is absolutely necessary for@our economy, which has very good potential and has developed inAthe past, but which was in need of structural transformation. ItAwould have been better once again to make it slowly, not to have;increases in prices and other measures, which may hurt the
population."A   Algeria's economic managers now face the high social costs of<tough reforms imposed by the International Monetary Fund to=restore growth and contain inflation in order to qualify formuch-needed loans.?   Algerians complain about low wages, high prices and soaringAunemployment.  So do business leaders.   Khalid Ait Mouhed heads?an industrial confederation. He says the diminished purchasing>power shrinks the market and curbs production capabilities oflocal industry.A   Mourad Benhachenou is the minister in charge of restructuring>the economy.  In an interview, he is Frank about the negative5impact of reform, but says there is no turning back:A   "When we started this policy we did not think it was going to<be accepted by people. But we were very Frank as far as the?negative affects of the policy which we are looking at now. On>the other side, we say that if we continue the same policy as>before we would be worse off than we are now and we have beenable to prove that."=   Minister Benachenou adds that food prices are starting to9level off and inflation is slowing down.  He expects theBinflation rate for 1995 to fall to 10 percent, one- third of last
year's rate.<   Algeria's reform includes selling off some public sector>holdings, but not the strategic gas and oil industries.  And,8rules are being eased to open the market up for foreigninvestors.?   But investors have been scared off by three years of bloody@confrontation between the authorities and Muslim radicals.  The?political violence has claimed an estimated 30-thousand lives,Bincluding more than 70 foreigners.  Foreign firms have sent their=nationals home and Algerian business executives now complain>openly that Muslim extremists are demanding protection money.:   Mr. Benachenou says Algeria's economy needs a peacefulpolitical environment:B   "An improvement in the economic management of the country willAand is bringing about more relaxed situation, in terms of supplyAof the economy in general, supply of consumers and producers. It>will bring about the increase in investments, creation of new<jobs, and this will lead to an improvement in the political=situation. That does not mean  that at the time the economicApolicy is being implemented that the reforms should be frozen onthe political front."B   Algerian business executives say the government is encouragingBthem to take advantage of Algeria's potential for growth, but the@political turmoil that discourages foreign partners still keepstheir optimism on hold.   ----------------   ----------------   CALIFORNIA FLOODS   ALAN SILVERMAN   LOS ANGELES>   Widespread flooding in California has caused at least nine=deaths and damage estimates have passed two billion dollars.@   This latest natural disaster to hit California swept in fromBthe Pacific.  Heavy rainstorms drenched the west coast state from?its northern tip to the border with Mexico.  The skies cleared6Sunday, but flooded rivers and avalanches of mud down:water-logged hillsides blocked main roads, isolating many
communities.?   Near Los Angeles, bulldozer crews worked round the clock to<clear tons of mud from the Pacific coast highway to re-open>access to Malibu beachfront estates.  South of San Francisco,;only aircraft can get in or out of the Monterey peninsula.BThroughout California's central valley, some of the nation's most@productive farmland was under water and significant crop lossesare likely.B   Searchers scoured muddy streams for the drivers and passengers<from at least four cars swept away when raging flood waters>washed out a major highway bridge near Fresno.  In the Sierra@Nevada mountains, deadly blizzard conditions killed two skiers.<   Late Sunday, President Clinton, responding to California?Governor Pete Wilson's request, declared a federal disaster in?major portions of the state, making flood victims eligible foremergency aid programs.   ----------------   ----------------/   CHRISTOPHER MEETS WITH PERSIAN GULF LEADERS   RON PEMSTEIN	   JIDDAA   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has met with SaudiAArabia's King Fahd, as well as ministers from the Saudi-led Gulf@Cooperation Council, for a discussion of sanctions against Iraq>and the Middle East peace process.  The Secretary of State is@taking actions to prevent accusations of a conflict of interestregarding Iran.<   When Secretary of State Christopher first heard that the>Conoco Oil company was arranging a one-billion-dollar deal to@develop Iran's offshore oilfields, he spoke of the evil hand ofBIran in the Middle East and said the agreement appears to violate1the Clinton Administration's containment policy.=   The administration has not decided whether it will try to;block the largest business arrangement between Iran and anBAmerican firm since the Iranian revolution. However, from now on,ASecretary of State Christopher will no longer be involved in thedeliberations.:   The Secretary of State told reporters traveling on his?airplane from Israel to Jidda he will legally distance himself=from the discussions  because he has learned that Conoco has>hired his former law firm to represent the oil company in thedeal with Iran.=   Mr. Christopher wants to prevent even the appearance of a:conflict of interest. He left the law firm when he becameASecretary of State in 1993, but he says he still has a financial(interest in the firm's retirement plan.:   The Secretary of State says he will remain involved in>American policy regarding Iran, but not in matters concerningConoco.>   Here in Jidda, the Secretary of State wanted to coordinate?policy with the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council about Iraq.>Members including Qatar and Oman have hinted Iraq has alreadyAfulfilled most of the requirements needed to lift United Nations/sanctions imposed at the time of the Gulf War.?   However, the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council;agreed unanimously the U.N. Security Council should resist9modifying  sanctions until Iraq complies with all of theBresolutions. The Security Council is considering whether to allow&Iraq to sell oil on the world market.>   Secretary of state Christopher says Iraq will only use the@money to  fuel what he calls its war machine instead of helping>the Iraqi people. France and Russia say Iraq has done enough.*Secretary of State Christopher disagrees:>   "Speaking for the United States, we do not believe Iraq isBeven close to fulfillment of this requirement. On a wide range ofASecurity Council requirements from stolen Kuwaiti properties andBmissing persons, to accounting for its biological weapons program;and to its treatment of its own citizens, Iraq's record of%compliance is genuinely a travesty."?   The Secretary of State also discussed the Middle East peace?process with the gulf ministers and encouraged them to fulfill;their pledges to aid the Palestinian authority in Gaza and	Jericho.@   He now moves on to Damascus for a meeting Monday with Syrian9President Hafez Al-Assad. The official Syrian press saysAprospects are dim for a breakthrough in the negotiations betweenIsrael and Syria.B   The Secretary of State says without American leadership little@progress can be made. U.S. officials say the Secretary of State>hopes to re-start direct talks between the Israeli and SyrianAmbassadors to Washington.   ----------------   ----------------F   CHRISTOPHER TRYS TO AVOID CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN CONOCO/IRAN DEAL   RON PEMSTEIN   JIDDA, SAUDI ARABIAA   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has withdrawn fromApersonal involvement in U.S. Government policy toward the Conoco?Oil company's agreement to develop Iran's off-shore oilfields.<   The Secretary of State has asked not to receive any more=information about what the U.S. Government plans to do about:Conoco's agreement to develop Iran's off-shore oilfields.?   Mr. Christopher says he is taking the action because he has9learned the oil company has hired his former law firm to8represent Conoco in future negotiations for a potentialone-billion dollar deal.?   The Secretary of State wants to prevent the appearance of aBconflict of interest in the Conoco agreement because the law firmBstill pays him retirement benefits.  Before Mr. Christopher heard3about the law firm's involvement, he expressed the5administration's dissatisfaction with the agreement:>   "We feel it is inconsistent with the containment policy we?have carried forward here.  It is something we will be working,with over the next several days and weeks."@   Mr. Christopher says he will remain engaged in other aspectsBof U.S. Government policy toward Iran, but will refuse to commentAon, or participate in, government action to block Conoco's deal.   ----------------   ----------------.   BUS/GAS TANKER COLLISION KILLS 70 IN INDIA   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIB   Indian police say at least 70 people were killed Sunday when a?passenger bus and a gasoline tanker truck collided in southernIndia.:   Police say the fiery crash occurred on a highway aboutA30-kilometers outside madras, the capital of southern Tamil-Nadustate.@   Indian news agencies say most of the victims were passengers@on a state-owned inter-city bus bound for Bangalore.  The press@trust of India says the passengers were burned alive inside theBluxury bus, and only one managed to escape through the rear door.>   Reports say a third vehicle carrying a marriage party also8plowed into the flaming tanker, killing several people.B   The crash comes just six days after 17 people were killed whenAa truck carrying acid overturned on a highway outside New Delhi.   ----------------   ----------------   INDIAN ELECTIONS   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIB   India's ruling Congress Party faces the prospect of losing two?of its bastions in western India to nationalist Hindu parties,2while taking an eastern state away from the left.>   Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao's ruling Congress Party is=headed for defeat in the western state of Gujarat, while itsAcontrol of neighboring Maharashtra faces a strong challenge frompro-hindu parties.A   The Hindu nationalist Indian people's party, know as the BJP,<appears unbeatable in Gujarat, where the Congress Party hadcontrolled the state assembly.;   In neighboring Maharastra, the BJP and its partner, the?radical Shiv Sena party, are poised to win more seats than the=sitting Congress Party government.  But it is unclear if any<party will get enough votes to take outright control of the288-seat Maharashtra assembly.@   The BJP president LK Advani and Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackery=were meeting Sunday in bombay to stake their claim to form aBgovernment.  Meanwhile Maharastra's Congress Party Chief Minister=Sharad Pawar was courting minor parties and independents for	support.B   Things look better for the Congress Party in Orissa in eastern@India, where it appears to have defeated the leftist Janata Dalgovernment.A   As the vote counting continued, election commission officials?considered what to do about violence-marred polling in eastern=Bihar state.  At least 10-people died and 30 were injured in&first-round voting Saturday in Bihar.?   Election commissioner TN Seshan had threatened to delay the<second and third rounds if Saturday's voting was disrupted.   ----------------   ----------------$   KAZAKHSTAN CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS   ELIZABETH ARROTT   LENINSK, KAZAKHSTAN@   Top officials in Kazakhstan are downplaying a constitutional?crisis that has seen parliament dissolved and has prompted thepresident to rule by decree.@   Officials here in this former Soviet republic say the seriesBof events is a step on the road to democracy and initial reaction$from western diplomats is to agree.>   Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev dissolved parliamentBSaturday following a ruling by the constitutional court that last+year's legislative elections were illegal.B   Mr. Nazarbayev first tried to fight the court's decision, but,Bin the words of his spokesman, the president chose constitutional&imperative over political pragmatism.:   In the wake of parliament's disbanding, the government:resigned, but Mr. Nazarbayev has asked the outgoing prime?minister to form an interim government until new elections are1held.  No date has been set for the new polling.A   The president has also vowed to carry through the work of the6dissolved parliament.  The body, elected last year in<Kazakhstan's first post-Soviet parliamentary elections, was$dominated by Nazarbayev supporters.>   The president says he will use his new powers of decree toBpush through earlier legislative decisions.  At a news conference>following his assumption of rule by decree, the kazakh leader>said he is not becoming a dictator.  He told reporters he has0neither the desire nor the character to be one.B   The outgoing foreign minister tried to reassure foreign envoys<Sunday there is no sign of political crisis in the country.>   The United States' Ambassador here is quoted as saying the<court's decision and the president's acceptance of it would?promote democracy.  The U.S. official says he looks forward to'free, fair, and pluralistic elections.B   Mr. Nazarbayev,  dubbed by local analysts as the strong man of<central Asia, rules the second largest of the former Soviet?republics.  He has been hailed in the west for forcing through>market reforms and opening the country to foreign businesses.BU.S. and British firms have already invested considerably in thisoil-rich nation.   ----------------   ----------------7   MEMORIAL CEREMONY FOR PAKISTAN DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL   DAVID GOLLUST   WASHINGTONB   There were solemn ceremonies at Andrews Air Force Base outside?Washington Sunday as the bodies of the two American diplomatic:personnel killed by terrorists in Pakistan last week were@returned to the United States. Top U.S. officials are vowing to5track down those responsible for the Karachi attack.@   A U.S. Air Force C-141 transport plane carried the bodies of=consulate secretary Jackie Van Landingham and communications>specialist Gary Durrell on the long flight home from Karachi.A   About 200 people, including administration officials, foreign@service officers and grieving relatives of the slain Americans,Bwatched as a military color guard removed the flag-draped coffinsfrom the aircraft.?   The two employees of the U.S. consulate in Karachi, both ofBwhom leave behind two children, were killed when the van in which?they were riding to work last Wednesday was ambushed and rakedwith gunfire.:   A third consulate employee, Mark McCloy, had his ankleBshattered by a bullet and was taken off the returning aircraft ina wheelchair.?   Speaking for President Clinton at the ceremony, White House@National Security Adviser Anthony Lake said it is impossible to?make sense of what he called this senseless act. He vowed that@the United States will use every means at its disposal to track&down and apprehend those responsible:;   "Do not lose faith. We will not rest until we bring theBperpetrators of this cowardly act to justice. We will not  let up@in our fight to stamp out terrorism. And we will not stop doingAthe hard work for peace that these two dedicated Americans, this=daughter of South Carolina, and this son of Ohio, made theirlife's calling."@   Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott called the attack aBcowardly and vicious crime. He said Pakistan, while a good friend@of the United States, sometimes harbors what he called terrible=enemies of its own interests, U.S. interests, and of mankinditself.?   A team of U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents is in=Karachi, assisting Pakistani authorities in the hunt for the?terrorists. The United States is offering a two-million-dollar0reward for information leading to their arrest.>   State Department officials say there has, as yet, been  noAcredible claim of responsibility for the attack, which came in aBcity increasingly plagued by factional and drug-related violence.9   The officials say they are pleased with the degree of8cooperation with Pakistan on the case. They dismissed aAsuggestion in a New York Times report Sunday)that Prime Minister?Benazir Bhutto's absence from an airport ceremony Saturday, onAthe departure of the bodies from Pakistan, reflected a strain inrelations over the killings.   ----------------   ----------------.   TAIWAN REJECTS CHINESE OFFER TO HOLD TALKS   KENDAL BUHL
   TAIPEI>   Taiwan's top policy maker has rejected an offer by Chinese=President Jiang Zemin to hold talks about ending hostilities@between the two sides. The continued political tensions betweenthe long-time enemies.A   China and Taiwan have been arch rivals since 1949.  That year;the nationalists lost a long and bitter civil war with Mao;Zedong's communist army, and fled to Taiwan to establish agovernment in exile.;   Taipei claims to be the legitimate government of China.BBeijing refers to Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled'out using force to reclaim the island.<   Against this backdrop Taiwan formed the mainland affairs@council in 1991 to formulate policy toward China and to oversee@working level talks with Beijing on matters of common interest.;But, this year Chinese President Jiang Zemin made a bid to3heighten the level of dialogue between both sides.;   In a lunar new year's address, Mr. Jiang invited Taiwan?officials to Beijing for talks aimed at ending hostilities and;beginning the long process of reunification.  But mainland=council affairs chairman Vincent Xiao says the time for suchtalks is not yet right.A   Mr. Xiao insists there are too many obstacles that first mustBbe removed before high-level negotiations can be profitable.  The8council chairman cites the threat of a Chinese invasion=constantly hangs over Taiwan.  He also points to what Taiwan@believes is Beijing's efforts to push Taipei into internationalBisolation.  Since it does not regard Taiwan as a sovereign state,<China regularly makes strong protests to any country making diplomatic overtures to Taipei.?   Taiwan President Li teng-hui's attempts to attend the Asian?games in Japan and the APEC summit in Indonesia last year were@both thwarted by such protests, as are Taiwan's regular bids toBjoin the United Nations.  In such an environment Mr. Xiao insists-fair and constructive dialogue cannot exist.@   The two countries are expected to resume working-level talks?some time in the middle of this year, and will attempt to iron@out some of the many wrinkles in their relationship.  But until7these talks produce a major breakthrough, higher-level&negotiations will not be forthcoming.   ----------------   ----------------<   CROATIAN PRESIDENT CHANGES POSITION ON U.N. PEACEKEEPERS   SONJA PACE   COPENHAGEN=   Croatian President Franjo Tudjman says he will allow U.N.>peacekeeping troops to remain in his country even after their;mandate expires at the end of this month.  At a joint news?conference with U.S. Vice President Al Gore in Copenhagen, Mr.?Tudjman said his country now wants a scaled-down U.N. presencewith a redefined mandate.;   Mr. Tudjman said his government seeks a new mandate for>international peacekeepers to position troops along Croatia's9borders with neighboring Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovinia:@   "Croatia will seek an international presence in Croatia that?will control the international borders between the republic of;Croatia and the federal republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia and8Montenegro, and between the Croatia and the republic of;Bosnia-Herzegovinia, at such places where principal border@crossings are not now controlled by authorities of the republic
of Croatia."9   President Tudjman said a force of about five thousand>peacekeepers should be enough to do to the job.  Until now, aB12-thousand-member U.N. force has only served as a buffer between<government troops and the area controlled by rebel CroatianSerbs.<   President Tudjman has said the U.N. presence only helpedBcement rebel control over occupied areas.  And he had insisted onBnot renewing the current U.N. mandate when it expires March 31st.<   U.S. Vice President Al Gore welcomed President Tudjman's-decision to allow a continued U.N. presence:A   "I would like to say this is very good news.  I consider this/a major step away from war and towards peace."<   Mr. Gore promised an American-led effort in the Security1Council to redefine the U.N. mission in Croatia:9   "We are going to bend every effort to secure this new?arrangement as quickly as possible and hopefully by the end of?march.  What the announcement today means is that in the event>that task should not be completed by that date, on an interimAbasis the presence will continue as we actively seek to complete+the negotiations for the new arrangement."<   The deal follows major diplomatic efforts to keep a U.N.Bpresence in Croatia.  The possible withdrawal of the peacekeepers;the end of this month heightened fears of renewed fightingBbetween Croatian government forces and rebel Serbs. And there was<concern that it could re-ignite the conflict in neighboring=Bosnia, where a shaky cease-fire is due to expire may first.=   The agreement was announced at a joint news conference in>Copenhagen, where Mr. Gore and Mr. Tudjman were attending the*U.N. world summit for social development.   ----------------   ----------------   U.N. COPENHAGEN SUMMIT ENDS   SONJA PACE   COPENHAGEN@   The first U.N. world summit for social development has ended:after a week-long debate on eradicating poverty, reducing?unemployment and promoting social integration.  Heads of state?and government from well over one hundred countries adopted anAagenda for action.  But for the world's poor nations, the summit cannot be considered a success.@   U.N. organizers of the Copenhagen summit focused on the need=for change, on the need to reorganize priorities and to make.people the center of the development process.@   One-by-one, world leaders stepped to the rostrum to call for6action to help the world's poor, and to foster social=integration.  They warned of dire consequences if nothing isdone.?   But in the end, they adopted an agenda for action that does>not meet the demands made by the world's poor nations, mainlythose of sub-saharan Africa.=   The document contains only a weak commitment to cancel or@alleviate the debt burden that is crippling many of the globe'sweakest economies.>   There is also  no  strong language on committing a certain9percentage of national budgets and foreign aid to social
development.=   Many African delegates did not hide their disappointment.:Nigeria's foreign minister, Anthony Ani, said he expectedstronger measures:B   "The problems in our developing area of countries is the issue@of servicing the debt, and the debt burden.  And this has had aBtremendous effect and impact on to meet our commitments to socialAdevelopment.  And I would have thought that much emphasis shouldhave been laid on that."A   Other Africans here at the summit were less diplomatic, and a>few noted that, among the leaders represented at the meeting,Awere some who have amassed a great deal of wealth at the expenseof their own people.@   Also, the fact that some heads of state rented lavish villas@and stayed in Copenhagen's most luxurious hotels, while, at the@same time, talking of the need to eradicate poverty, did not gounnoticed.   ----------------   ----------------=   GULF STATES AGREE TO KEEP SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ IN PLACE   RON PEMSTEIN	   JIDDA7   The United States and members of the Saudi-led GulfACooperation Council have agreed to keep United Nations sanctions@in place against Iraq. RON PEMSTEIN reports from the Saudi city?of Jidda, where Secretary of State Warren Christopher met withgulf ministers.A   Secretary of state Christopher says the United States and the>six-member Gulf Cooperation Council agree sanctions should beBmaintained against Iraq until it complies with all United Nations-resolutions imposed because of the Gulf War.B   Council members such as Qatar and oman had earlier hinted IraqBhas done enough to justify lifting the sanctions, such as the one@that prohibits Iraq from selling oil on the world market unless2the profits are used to benefit the Iraqi people.A   Secretary of state Christopher says Iraq is not even close tomeeting the requirements:A   "On a wide range of Security Council requirements from stolen:Kuwaiti property to missing persons to accounting for its;biological weapons program and to its treatment of its own@citizens, Iraq's record of compliance is genuinely a travesty."A   Mr. Christopher repeats an offer to modify the way Iraq's oil?sales are monitored by the United Nations, but he insists IraqBcan not be allowed to use the profits for, what he calls, its war	machine.   ----------------   ----------------,   U.S. PLACES VISA RESTRICTIONS ON ALGERIA   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON;   The United States has joined several other countries in?limiting its visa services in Algeria torn by years of Islamic;extremist violence.  The decision comes as many Algerians,=fearing they may be targets, seek refuge in other countries:A   The U.S. Embassy's decision means Algerians wishing to travel9to the United States must make their application at U.S.Adiplomatic missions in neighboring countries such as Tunisia and3Morocco.  The new procedures took effect Saturday.<   Several other nations have dramatically reduced consular@services and staff at their embassies or closed them altogether=for security reasons.  Algerians wishing to travel to formerBcolonial power France must write to France after Paris closed twoof its consulates.>   Threats by Islamic extremists against foreigners have beenApart of their effort to overthrow the military-backed governmentBafter it cancelled 1992 parliamentary elections.  FundamentalistsAwere on the verge of winning that ballot. Thousands of Algerians+and scores of foreigners have been killed.>   The U.S. decision further isolates many Algerians who have>sought refuge from the violence.  Journalists, intellectuals,/teachers and police have been special targets.@   Islamic extremism is expected to be on the agenda as part ofAMorocco King Hassan's state visit to the United States beginningWednesday.   ----------------   ----------------0   U.S. CHINA IRON OUT REMAINING TRADE PROBLEMS   GIL BUTLER   BEIJING?   The United States and China ironed out some remaining tradeBproblems Sunday in talks between U.S. trade representative Mickey@Kantor and Chinese Foreign Trade Minister Wu Yi.  China and the?United States formally signed an agreement Saturday to protectAintellectual property rights such as movies, music, and computerBsoftware from Chinese counterfeiters.  Sunday, they agreed on how<to proceed with China's application to join the World TradeOrganization.>   Saturday, Minister Wu Yi had sharply criticized the UnitedBStates for blocking Chinese accession to the General Agreement onBTariffs and trade and the successor World Trade Organization.  In>retaliation, China had frozen a 1992 agreement allowing widermarket access for U.S. goods.A   After meeting for several hours Sunday, Ms. Wu and Mr. Kantor6emerged to tell reporters agreement had been reached:?   "Both sides, the United States and China will hold talks onAChina's accession to the World Trade Organization on a flexible,Apragmatic and realistic basis.  As previously stated, the United9States will support China's accession to the World Trade$Organization as a founding member.">   Under World Trade Organization rules, developing countries<have greater leeway to protect fledgling industries than do<developed countries.  U.S. trade officials explained in the@agreement reached by Mr. Kantor and Ms. Wu, China's applicationBto join the World Trade Organization will be considered flexibly.BMeaning in some areas, such as electronic products, China will be>considered a developed country, in other areas, such as heavy6machinery, it will be under developing country rules.@   On the Chinese side, there is the prospect of giving greater=access to the Chinese market for U.S. citrus fruits, apples,<grapes, and wheat, as well as telecommunications equipment.=   China is also to unfreeze its previous, 1992 agreement onmarket access by March 31st.   ----------------   ----------------'   PANETTA DEFENDS NOMINATION OF CARNS   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON<   White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta has defended the>choice of retired Air Force General Michael Carns to head theACentral Intelligence Agency who withdrew his name Friday,  afterAnegative allegations were made against him.  President Clinton's@second choice of deputy defense Secretary John Deutsch may have=little trouble being confirmed by the Republican-led Senate.@   Mr. Panetta says the administration did everything proper in?checking General Carn's background.  He says General Carns was4unanimously acclaimed as the right man for the job.8   However, a background check by the Federal Bureau ofAInvestigation revealed General Carns may have violated labor andAimmigration laws in helping a Filipino national enter the United>States.  General Carns decided not to endure what Mr. Panetta0calls the high level of scrutiny in Washington:A   "And, I think the general decided that although he maintainedAhis position that there was  no  truth to these allegations that@it would just be a very nasty nomination process and he did not=want to take his family through that.  It's unfortunate, butunderstandable.">   Deputy Secretary Deutsch, who has already gone through the?confirmation process for his present post, is expected to gain>quick confirmation to head the CIA, an agency in the midst ofAredefining its post-cold war role and shaken by the Aldrich Ames
spy case.=   The Carns nomination is the latest to be withdrawn by the5Clinton Administration for legal or ethical reasons.   ----------------   ----------------    CHRISTOPHER ARRIVES IN SYRIA   RON PEMSTEIN   DAMASCUSB   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher is in Damascus thisAmorning in an attempt to restart negotiations between Israel andBSyria.  Those talks have been deadlocked since last December. The@Secretary of State will be looking for openings in the toughestArab-Israeli negotiations.@   On the eve of the Secretary of State's early morning arrival@here, the government-run Al-Thawra newspaper greeted him with adiscouraging prediction.B   No breakthrough is likely to happen on the Syrian and LebaneseAtracks during the Christopher trip, the newspaper wrote, despiteBreports from Israel of flexibility in the Israeli stand.  Indeed,?during Secretary of State Christopher's visit to Israel, prime>Minister Yitzhak Rabin held out hope of resuming negotiationswith Syria at any level.B   There have been no negotiations between Israel and Syria since@December when their military chiefs of staff discussed securityAarrangements for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights inAa meeting in Washington.  They were part of the contacts between2the Israeli and Syrian Ambassadors to Washington.?   U.S. officials hope they can at least resume the Washington@dialogue.  Speaking in Jidda, Saudi Arabia Sunday, Secretary of@State Christopher says he believes the United States can play afundamental role::   "The United States plays a very important role in thisAprocess.  We try to assist the parties by presenting options, byAasking questions, by probing, by trying to lead the parties intoBagreement on the difficult issues. And we'll continue to do that.BPast history shows that without United States leadership, withoutBUnited States involvement, generally little progress is made, and/so we're going to continue to play that role.">   The Secretary of State arrived so late in Damascus becauseBSaudi Arabia's King Fahd delayed receiving him for several hours.;The Saudi monarch apologized for the delay but he gave Mr.;Christopher encouraging words about the attitude of SyrianAPresident Hafez Al-Assad.  U.S. officials say King Fahd believesBthe Syrian leader has a serious attitude about peace with Israel.@Saudi Arabia's foreign minister met president Al-Assad Saturdayfor three hours.@   Mr. Christopher's visit to Saudi Arabia produced a unanimous?agreement between the United States and the six members of the?gulf Cooperation Council that United Nations sanctions must be?maintained against Iraq until it fulfills all obligations from>the Gulf War.  France and Russia insist Iraq has already done@that.  The United States insists Iraq is not even close and has%the support of the Security Council.@   The Secretary of State had U.S. General Daniel Christman, an@assistant to the military joint chiefs of staff, give King Fahd;an intelligence briefing on instability inside Iraq.  U.S.Aofficials would not divulge more details.  They say King Fahd is9even more hardline than the United States in maintainingsanctions against Iraq.   ----------------   ----------------7   CONOCO DEAL WITH IRAN INCONSISTENT WITH U.S. POLICY   WASHINGTONA   The acting State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly saidAthe agreement negotiated with Iran by an American oil company to;develop offshore oil and gas fields in the Persian Gulf is?"inconsistent" with U.S. policy.  The agreement between Conoco@Inc. and Iran was announced earlier this week.  It could have avalue of $1,000 million.=   Shelly said Conoco representatives met, at their request,@March 9 with officials of the State Department's Bureau of Near=Eastern Affairs and the department's office of international>energy policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.@   "Conoco provided details on their negotiations with Iran and?the agreement they have reached regarding plans to develop theASirri oil field," she said.  "Department officials expressed our:view that this type of agreement is inconsistent with the6objectives of our policy of containment toward Iran."?   The acting spokesman also stressed  remarks made March 9 by?Secretary of State Christopher, who is traveling in the MiddleEast.=   "The secretary reiterated our view that Iran is an outlaw?nation, that they have projected terror throughout the region,@and they have sought to undermine the peace process," she said.;"He reiterated the fact that the focus of our policy is toBprevent Iran from getting weapons of mass destruction, to prevent=them from getting armaments, and to prevent them from havingBcredit concessions, as those types of concessions give them extra/funds to increase their projection of terror."A   Shelly told a questioner that "We, of course, constantly look=at all of the means which we have at our disposal to try andAattain more effectively our policy objectives."  Senator Alfonse:D'Amato of New York has introduced legislation that would?prohibit American companies or their foreign subsidiaries fromdoing business with Iran.A   Later a senior U.S. official said it was "inconceivable" thatAConoco officials would have gotten "encouragement" from American;officials when the pending deal was discussed prior to itsannouncement.   ---------------   ---------------   DOLE CALLS FOR CABINET CUTS   WASHINGTON@   Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole is proposing the elimination@of four Cabinet-level departments: Education, Energy, Commerce,#and Housing and Urban Development.@   "These four departments are powerful symbols of a WashingtonAout of touch and out of control," Dole said in a March 10 speech5in Washington to the National Newspaper Association.8   "They are over-funded, over-staffed and resoundingly<unnecessary," he said, describing them as "four of the most;ineffective, burdensome and meddlesome departments" in the?federal government.  They employ a combined 74,000 workers and'cost more than $70,000 million a year.B   "When they were created they were supposed to be the answer to:our challenges in education, poverty, energy and economicAopportunity," Dole said.  "Instead, more than $1 trillion later,7they have caused more problems than they have solved."B   Dole said the Education Department has become a captive of the=teachers' unions and has presided over a decline in national?education standards while seizing power from parents and localschool boards.?   He said he voted to create the Department of Energy in 1977=during the energy crisis, but the agency has lost its focus,=spending twice as much on defense programs and environmentalBcleanup than it has on energy. Those functions, he said, could befolded into other departments.;   Dole said the Commerce Department, created in 1903, has=outlived its usefulness and is largely irrelevant in the newAglobal economy, too often trying to regulate markets that shouldbe left alone.@   Housing and Urban Development, he said, was supposed to be aBbeacon of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society but instead is promoting=a public housing system that is "one of the last bastions of<socialism in the world.....We are the landlords of misery."9   Dole, who has said he plans to run for the Republican<presidential nomination, is being challenged by a number ofBRepublicans including Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who casts himself>as the "true conservative" in the race and has suggested DoleAwould not be as dramatic as he would be in reshaping government.   ---------------   ---------------A   WHITHER NATO?  DESIGNING A NEW EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE   RUCE K. BYERS   WASHINGTONB   The cohesion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),>founded in April 1949, won the Cold War.  The most successfulAdefensive alliance of nations in history succeeded in destroyingAthe Soviet communist threat to international peace and stability=because it placed cohesiveness and the mutual defense of theBalliance at the head of its agenda through more than four decades@of nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union.  The Soviet strategy<during this period was to destroy the cohesion of NATO.  Itfailed.=   Now the members of NATO are in a very difficult, perilousBtransition from the successful Cold War architecture which upheldAthe peace and prosperity of European and North American partners?to a new European security architecture, the outlines of which#are barely visible on the horizon.:   There is greater need now for recommitment to the NATO7Charter, according to the founder and president of theAWashington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies,AAmbassador David Abshire, than before the Cold War ended.  Then,>the adversary was known.  The threat of nuclear war was real.<NATO's policies and resources could be and were directed atAcontaining Soviet power and the threat it posed to western peaceand stability.;   Abshire said NATO faces a growing uncertainty among the>peoples of the Alliance members about its future and even its>need.  This uncertainty could result in the loss of politicalBwill and cohesion among the NATO partners unless there is greater=effort to explain to these publics the issues NATO currently>faces and will face in the near future.  This effort includes?informing new members of the U.S. Congress as well as of other@NATO-member governments about the Alliance's successful foreign0and security policies and the challenges ahead.B   This being said, there is a misplaced sense of pessimism about;the future of NATO among U.S. leaders, according to NATO's>assistant secretary general for political affairs, AmbassadorBGebhardt von Moltke. Von Moltke says that the early post-Cold War@optimism among NATO members was naive and based on a false hope:of building a new world order without taking into accountBdecades, even centuries, of European alliances and the successful>transatlantic partnership which has sustained NATO through so>many crises.  At a recent CSIS conference on NATO's new role,BAmbassador von Moltke cautioned that pessimism should not replace?unfounded optimism.  Instead, the positive achievements of the>Alliance must be better communicated to political leaders and=citizens throughout Europe and the United States and Canada.@   Just as NATO helped secure the peace during the Cold War, itBis now shaping peace and stability in a wider Europe, free of the>old ideological wall which divided it for so long.  There is,Aunfortunately, the tendency to use a Cold War score card to rate<NATO's current achievements at a time when NATO members areAresolutely attempting to reach out to former Warsaw Pact nationsin confidence-building ways.?   At the same time the peace of today does not mean that NATO@has lost its political purpose.  It still is the alliance which@guarantees the peace and stability in Europe and, by extension,:much of the world.  Its members are still responsible forBprotecting their territorial integrity.  And military activism is=still no replacement for sustained political will among NATO.members in the face of crises such as Bosnia.<   According to Ambassador von Moltke, crisis management in9Europe requires a common transatlantic approach.  BosniaBrepresents a failure to develop this approach and has proven very=costly in lost lives and opportunities to secure peace.  The@Bosnian experience has underscored the reality that NATO cannot:be subordinated to U.N. peacekeeping efforts; but it also@demonstrates that in the absence of NATO resolve, the U.N. will=attempt to handle a growing crisis according to its charter.>   There are very practical and real considerations which theBBosnian crisis presents to NATO.  First, lifting the arms embargo@imposed on Bosnia would precipitate a NATO-backed withdrawal of>the UNPROFOR forces and require the commitment of U.S. forcesAunder NATO command.  The result of such a development would lead@to misunderstanding among U.S. politicians and the weakening ofAthe transatlantic Alliance.  Thus, any decision to lift the arms:embargo unilaterally must be carefully weighed against an)unintended, possibly disastrous outcome.B   The same obtains for the enlargement of NATO.  During the ColdAWar NATO membership increased for one main reason: to strengthenAthe collective political and defense capabilities of the westernAdemocracies against growing Soviet power.  That reason no longerBexists.  However, the commitment of all NATO members to the North=Atlantic Treaty, especially Articles IV and V, means that no?member, and certainly no new member could simply be a security>consumer.  All members must contribute to the strength of theAAlliance, according to Ambassador von Moltke, and NATO would notAaccept any new member who would import a local conflict into theAAlliance or seek to shut the door to additional membership after	joining.>   There is consensus among NATO members that any new membersBmust be demonstrably democratic and materially capable of meetingBthe responsibilities set forth in the Atlantic Charter.  While no9decision about accepting new members has been made or is=anticipated, NATO is playing a proactive role in encouraging@confidence building activities with non-NATO states through theAPartnership for Peace.  It is no substitute for NATO membership,>but it is a means to develop successful working relationships>with a growing number of European states, now standing at 25.B   Ambassador von Moltke further cautioned that in its pursuit of>a new European security architecture, NATO had to take RussiaAinto account. Without Russia there could be no new architecture.AHe expressed concern that NATO members not treat Russia with its=current domestic problems as irredeemably hostile to Western@democratic interests, lest NATO become hostage to its own worst>case scenario.  This requires long-term commitment to helping@Russia emerge as a democratic state.  The Partnership for Peace@is one mechanism for doing this, and Russia has been invited to3participate in an enhanced relationship with NATO.<   NATO member governments see their alliance in a state ofBchange as the U.S. and European partners' roles evolve.  For this:reason, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for<European Affairs John Kornblum said this is not the time toBlaunch a grand new security strategy. Instead, it is necessary to<maintain a strong alliance and to take care of the historic%constants of transatlantic security.=   Kornblum believes that everyone has emerged a winner as aAresult of the Cold War's end, and while this may not be apparentAeverywhere, the fact is that new, democratically-based societies9are emerging where former communist states existed.  The>difficulty is that a new European security structure is being?built, and new structures are emerging, but there is as yet no?way of telling whether this will become the best guarantee formaintaining continued peace.=   Kornblum said that a successful security system in Europe?requires strong structures because nations simply cannot exist?side by side in peace without structured relationships.  TheseBafford the best means of promoting healthy, democratic societies.<   Ambassador von Moltke also stressed that there can be no>lasting peace without NATO and that other existing structuresBsuch as the Western European Union cannot replace NATO.  For this>reason the United States will continue to be a major Europeanpower.=   Ambassador Kornblum supports this idea, pointing out that?those security structures which attract the greatest adherence@are those which were established by the West in postwar Europe.ATheir underlying philosophy, institutions, and purposes are most>attractive to non-NATO states, and they will be the basis for9European peace and stability for the foreseeable future.@   Kornblum believes that these structures must be enlarged but:that this does not automatically mean an increase in NATO=membership.  There are other structures of enlargement: NACC;(North Atlantic Corporation Council), PFP (Partnership for=Peace), WEU (Western European Union) and others.  This said,@there cannot be a "silk curtain" separating Western Europe fromAexpanded European integration, and the process of NATO expansionAmust be in harmony both with internal NATO requirements and withAnew institutions and political developments in Europe, includingBthe emergence of Russia and Ukraine as strong states in the East.B   The dialogue with Russia and Ukraine over cooperative security?arrangements is very important.  NATO expansion will unfold in=harmony with these and other processes.  For this reason the:United States is deeply involved in dialogue with Russia.AHowever, this should not be misinterpreted as a move by the U.S.?to maintain a different and special role for Russia in the new;European security architecture.  Instead, the U.S. is more<directly concerned in helping Russia evolve as a democratic?state.  After 40 years of confrontation, the two states face a7radical situation demanding cooperation while managing/differences, and this is new terrain for both.A   While the strength of the transatlantic partnership is not in@question, according to Kornblum, there is a question of balanceAin the partnership.  This is manifest in the U.S. in discussionsAabout burden sharing, including financial burden sharing.  There<is some turbulence among the NATO partners as new roles areBdefined and developed, and this can give observers the impressionAthat the NATO alliance is weak and that its European members are=increasingly insecure.  NATO is taking steps to counter such>impressions.  According to Kornblum, NATO is also evolving to=deal with new kinds of security threats and opportunities in?regions outside the traditional NATO defense area, but it will>continue to hold steadfast to its core functions.  Its future;will continue to depend upon the transatlantic, two-pillar?structure which has served it so successfully since its birth.   ---------------   ---------------3   U.S., GCC AGREE TO EXPAND ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP   GEORGE S. HISHMEH   WASHINGTONA   The United States and the six-member Gulf Cooperation CouncilA(GCC) pledged to work toward "the expansion and diversification"Bof their economic relationship, a joint communique announced here
March 10.:   The communique followed two days of talks at the State@Department between an American delegation led by Undersecretary=of State Joan Spero and another from the GCC headed by Saudi&Deputy Foreign Minister Mamoun Kurdi.?   The annual and routine talks are held under the umbrella of@the so-called U.S.-GCC Economic Dialogue, and they covered such<issues as intellectual property rights, the Arab boycott of?Israel and economic support for the Middle East peace process.A   The delegation heads, according to the communique, agreed "to@explore opportunities" to strengthen the dialogue, particularly1in the fields of energy and technology transfer.=   They also emphasized that the ongoing exchange "served to?strengthen the economic cooperation" between the United StatesAand the GCC "to match the deep political and strategic ties thatbind (them).">   Trade between the United States and the GCC member states,?Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and@Oman, exceeded 24 billion dollars in 1993.  U.S. exports to the9region for the same year, the last year that figures are-available, amounted to 11.8 billion dollars.A   Both delegation heads commended the progress made in some GCCAstates on protecting intellectual property rights and "expanding=enforcement." U.S. businesses, which have long suffered from?pirated products, would like to open, for example, the sale of7videos and tapes in the region, an area that is "worth:potentially billions," in the words of one U.S. official.?   The U.S. delegation, the communique reported, expressed its;"appreciation" for the GCC states' decision "to take steps@towards ending the Arab League boycott of Israel" and expressed;hope for "early and full" implementation of this decision.A   Both sides, the communique said, underlined the importance of@"strengthening" the Middle East peace process, and welcomed the,"steps" taken by the two sides to that end.=   At a briefing for American businessmen March 9, the Saudi9deputy foreign minister repeatedly stressed that the GCC:countries would like to attract American middle and smallenterprises to their area.@   "There is a lot of potential for expansion" in the trade and?investment relationship, he pointed out.  He also wondered whyAAmerican firms have not taken advantage of the good relationshipBbetween the two regions and urged them to come forward with their+problems should they have experienced any.@   Kurdi stressed that the United States is "the friend we rely6upon," as was evident during the Gulf crisis in 1991.@   He also told the American businessmen that "peace is coming"Ato the region "which we hope will be comprehensive and durable."?Here, he pointed to a questioner, that full normalization with?Israel will have to wait for total peace between the Arabs and
Israelis.@   He added that a "missing element" in western thinking on theAMiddle East is that the Arab leaders, like those in Israel, have@a public opinion that has to be taken into consideration beforeAembarking on confidence-building measures between the two sides.?   Turning to Iraq, the Saudi deputy foreign minister stressed:that his country does not see any "fundamental" change in@Baghdad, pointing to the Iraqi troop movements last October and6"last week."  He concluded, "Iraq is still a threat."   ---------------   ---------------?   FOREIGN SHARE OF JAPAN SEMICONDUCTOR MARKET HITS NEW RECORD   WASHINGTONB   The foreign share of the Japanese semiconductor market went up@again in the fourth quarter, to a record 23.7 percent, bringing(the 1994 average share to 22.4 percent.@   This yearly figure exceeds for the first time the 20-percent'goal of the 1991 U.S.-Japan agreement.<   In a March 10 announcement, the Office of the U.S. Trade?Representative noted that the foreign share had risen steadily=through the year.  The first quarter share was 20.7 percent,;increasing to 21.9 percent in the second quarter, and 23.2percent in the third.B   At the beginning of the agreement, in the second half of 1991,3the foreign market share just exceeded 14 percent.A   U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor welcomed the progressin implementing the agreement.6   "I believe more can be accomplished," Kantor said,B"particularly in certain sectors such as automotive, video games,@telecom, and some of the emerging technologies where U.S. firms7are highly competitive and progress has been lagging."=   He said the U.S. and Japanese governments should continueAassuring that they meet the agreement's requirement for "gradualand steady progress."@   The announcement came just one day after Japan's two leading9semiconductor producers, NEC and Toshiba, said they wereAconsidering increasing their dollar-denominated export prices toAthe United States to compensate for the appreciation of the yen.;   The dollar has dropped below 90 yen in foreign-exchangetrading this past week.   ---------------   ---------------C   U.S., IMF OFFICIALS HAIL MEXICAN ECONOMIC MEASURES JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTON>   Top Clinton administration and International Monetary FundA(IMF) officials are giving the Zedillo government high marks for@announcing a tough austerity plan but are reserving judgment as?to whether it will be enough to restore investor confidence inthe Mexican government.>   Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department announced March 10@that it is has approved the disbursement of some $3,000 millionBfrom the Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) to help Mexico stretch8out some of its short-term debt, and the World Bank and>Inter-American Development Bank said they intended to provide=$2,250 million to help stabilize Mexico's banking system and2$1,000 million to support social sector programs.A   "The stringent measures announced last night are a major step@forward, and we should recognize the political courage involved>in taking these steps," U.S. Secretary of the Treasury RobertARubin said March 10. Acting IMF Managing Director Stanley Fisher=said the Fund "welcomes the substantive measures" adopted byMexico.B   But a somewhat different message was being sent from Congress.?   "I do not feel confident in the stability of that (Zedillo);government," Republican Banking Committee Chairman Alfonse>D'Amato said during a four-hour hearing that pitted skepticalARepublican members against a panel that included Rubin, TreasuryAUnder Secretary Lawrence Summers, Federal Reserve Board ChairmanBAlan Greenspan, Under Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff and former;Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker. D'Amato askedAwhether the United States "should be in the business of aiding a"corrupt d ictatorial government."@   But administration witnesses said that Mexico has made great9strides in both economic and political reforms and RubinAaffirmed: "I believe they will follow through with what they are	saying."@   On March 9, Mexican officials released a plan that calls for:spending cuts, credit restraint, reductions in government:subsidies and increased privatization of government-ownedbusinesses.<   Greenspan said he hadn't yet had a chance to examine theBdetails of the Mexican reform package but said that ultimately it<will be the markets that will determine if the plan is good<enough to restore confidence that was "shattered" by recent%missteps by the Mexican government."?   But, he added, so far the financial markets "are respondingfavorably."@   Rubin pointed out that the peso, which was trading at around<7.85 to the dollar a day earlier was trading at 6.25 to the dollar in early morning action.>   He said that the commitment by the Mexican central bank to9report weekly on its monetary aggregates will allow U.S.@officials to gauge how well the country is doing in meeting itsAstated economic targets.  And he emphasized that U.S. assistance=from the ESF is linked to that progress; loan guarantees and;currency swaps will be made available in installments uponmeeting the targets.A   Rubin warned against an effort being contemplated in Congress=to try to legislate how and when the ESF is used.  The ESF'sBprincipal purpose is to help maintain the stability of the dollar?on foreign exchange markets.  The legislation being considered@"could very seriously undermine confidence" in Mexico, he said.Greenspan and Volcker agreed.=   "What would be inappropriate...would be to either attemptA'micro-management' of the use of the ESF, or to so constrict its=future use as to render it ineffective in the face of future;crises -- which, if history tells me anything, are sure torecur," Volcker said.@   Much of the Republican concern was over the pace of monetaryAexpansion in Mexico.  Several questioned why the Mexican centralAbank could not simply take pesos out of circulation, contractingthe money supply.@   Rubin agreed that the Mexican central bank needs "to go into@an extremely stringent monetary mode," but said it must be done@in a way that does not result in a difficult economic situationgetting worse.A   Both Greenspan and Rubin said that if the growth of the money?supply is cut back too much, the only effect would be to raiseAinterest rates above already high levels, which could "break theback of the banking system.":   And Rubin pointed out that Mexican money growth, after.adjustment for inflation, is already falling.=   Republican members also used the hearing to challenge the8administration's decision to use the ESF to aid Mexico.@   "I have endorsed the Treasury's approach because I don't see@what the alternatives are," Greenspan said.  "I see no credible,alternatives for doing what is being done."@   Under Secretary Summers told the committee that there were a>number of other options that could have been taken earlier in?1994 but that Mexican authorities had ignored the advice being9provided by U.S. officials and other financial analysts.B   "By waiting as long as they did to act, Mexico deprived itself;of its ability to use other policy options that might have;allowed them to avoid devaluation or to very substantially"mitigate the situation," he said.>   But Summers also noted that the degree of financial crisis?that occurred was not foreseen even by financial observers who*were relatively pessimistic about Mexico.@   Several senators expressed concern over the falling value of<the U.S. dollar and what effect the Mexican aid package washaving on the dollar's value.?   "I have no doubt that the Mexican program...has not had any,material impact on the dollar," Rubin said.B   Greenspan pointed out that while the dollar has fallen sharply9against the German mark and Japanese yen, the decline isAsignificantly less on a trade-weighted basis against a basket ofcurrencies.   ---------------   ---------------?   MEXICO'S ECONOMIC CRISIS CAUSES RISE IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION   JIM FULLER   WASHINGTON<   U.S. immigration officials have called for strengthening@patrols along the nation's Southwest border to stem an increase=in illegal immigration due to the recent economic turmoil inMexico.7   Doris Meissner, commissioner of the Immigration and>Naturalization Service (INS), told a House of Representatives:subcommittee March 10 that reinforced border patrols were?especially needed in the urban areas of San Diego, California,Band El Paso, Texas -- the two regions where illegal alien trafficis highest.?   "As smugglers adjust their tactics and as the pressures for;northward migration increase -- especially with the recent@economic turmoil in Mexico -- we must strengthen and adjust our+tactics in both locations," Meissner said.;   Gus de la Vina, INS western regional director, told theBSubcommittee on Immigration and Claims that the number of illegalBborder crossers apprehended in the San Diego area increased by 27:percent in February compared to the same month last year.;   "Traditionally, this is the time when illegal crossings=increase as workers push northward seeking employment in the@fields," he said.  "But this year the seasonal influx coincided<with another potent force, the economic push sparked by the6uncertainty surrounding the latest peso devaluation."B   "Those two forces...are exerting unprecedented pressure on theSan Diego corridor," he added.:   He said steps had already been taken to counteract the>pressure, including the stationing of an additional 80 patrol>agents along the U.S.-Mexico border south of San Diego.  This<increased the number of agents deployed along the immediate"border to an unprecedented 1,200.B   At the same time, de la Vina and other officials said that theAadministration's new border control strategy to stem the tide ofBillegal immigration at places like San Diego and El Paso has beenvery successful.?   The strategy calls for a dramatic increase in the number of?border patrol agents as well as increased use of steel fences,Ahigh-intensity lighting and high-tech equipment such as infrared?scopes and motion detectors to deter immigrants from trying tocross illegally..@   As a result, de la Vina said, apprehensions in the San DiegoBsector have decreased 25 percent this year from comparable months;last year.  That 25 percent translates into 30,000 people.B   "And perhaps most tellingly, arrests in the San Diego sector's;western-most station, Imperial Beach, plunged by nearly 50Bpercent in the month of January, proof that the effort to prevent&illegal entry...is working," he said.?   Most of the illegal activity in the San Diego region occursBwithin the eight-kilometer section known as Imperial Beach, where?agents apprehend aliens at a rate of over 7,000 per kilometer.A   However, several Congressmen criticized the way border agents>are being deployed along the border south of San Diego.  TheyBcomplained that currently the agents are divided into three lines=along a three-kilometer corridor, each line located a littleBfarther from the boundary, instead of being stationed directly on8the border -- a blockade-type strategy found to be verysuccessful in El Paso.@   "I have grave concerns about this three-tiered approach, dueAto recent reports that beefed up enforcement has not discouraged8attempted illegal border crossing in the manner INS has8previously hoped," said Representative Brian Bilbray of3California.  "If the INS does not initiate changesBadministratively, I would fully support that legislative steps betaken."@   Bilbray also raised the possibility of collaboration between=drug traffickers and U.S. customs agents along the Southwest9border.  He said several sources have presented him with+documentation alleging such collaboration.9   Bilbray also said that customs agents seized only 7949kilograms of cocaine being smuggled across the border in>commercial trucks and passenger vehicles in fiscal year 1994,=compared to 3,648 kilograms of cocaine seized in fiscal year1993.>   In light of these facts, Bilbray said he has requested the@Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee to investigate allegations of,corruption within the U.S. Customs Service.<   "The significant decrease in illegal drug seizure at the=southwestern border should raise a red flag to Congress that;steps being taken to curb drug trafficking are inadequate,.despite increased federal spending," he said.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS   THOMAS EICHLER   WASHINGTON>   The U.S. unemployment rate returned in February to the low8reached in December, and the growth of jobs in non-farm"businesses resumed a steady pace.@   The Labor Department reported March 10 that the unemployment?rate fell to 5.4-percent, the low-point it reached in December?before jumping to 5.7 percent in January.  Non-farm employmentArose 318,000, slightly above the average monthly increase during>the past 12 months.  Job gains had slowed somewhat during theprevious two months.@   President Clinton, speaking to reporters at the White House,Apointed out that the 5.4-percent unemployment rate is the lowest>in five years, that employment has risen 6.1 million since he?became president, and that the combined unemployment-inflation=rate -- the so-called "misery index" -- is at a 25-year low.B"The fundamentals of this economy overall are healthier than they%have been in a generation," he said.A   Laura Tyson, chair of the National Economic Council, said the@rise in the unemployment rate in January was largely the resultBof seasonal adjustment difficulties, and the new Labor Department@data as well as other indicators "suggest that the labor market?actually remains in a very healthy condition and that there is7continuing momentum for job creation in this economy."=   She added that "there are, however,...some signs that the<economy's growth is moderating, and we see that in the most=interest-sensitive parts of the economy -- in housing and inBspending on consumer durables. And one would anticipate that thatBmoderation, which is widely expected, would feed into the economygradually over time."A   Most of the employment gains in February were in the services9and retail trade industries, but manufacturing jobs also=increased.  The services industry added 191,000 jobs, retailAtrade added 73,000, and manufacturing employment rose by 27,000,,slightly below the growth of recent months.B   The construction industry lost 32,000 jobs, reflecting a shift=from unusually mild weather in January to more normal winterconditions in February.A   Average hourly earnings of non-farm workers were unchanged in=February. Tyson said the February report contains no hint of*inflationary pressure from labor factors.<   "If you look at what's happening to productivity growth,>employment compensation growth, average weekly earnings and a@number of other indicators," she said, "you conclude that there;is no cost pressure coming from the labor side.  Inflation7continues to be very well-behaved, modest and stable." Following are some key figures:MAJOR LABOR MARKET INDICATORS>Seasonally adjusted data on civilian employment, not countingCmembers of armed forces.  Labor force, employment and unemployment;in thousands, unemployment rate as percent of labor force.8                  Quarter average         Month average=                 4th qtr  1st qtr      Feb.     Mar.    Apr.=                    1993     1994     1994     1994     1994HOUSEHOLD SURVEY=Labor force      131,050  131,696  131,725  132,136  132,308=Employment       123,207  124,371  124,570  124,639  125,125=Unemployment       7,843    7,325    7,155    7,498    7,183=Unemployment rate    6.0      5.6      5.4      5.7      5.4ESTABLISHMENT SURVEYNonfarm payroll=  employment     113,908  114,781  115,113  115,289  115,607   ---------------=====================   ---------------   MOGADISHU PORT RE-OPENS   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBI<   Mogadishu's seaport reopened to commercial traffic todayBThursday for the first time since the withdrawal last week of the@last U.N. peacekeeping troops and the U.S. led coalition forces<that protected their pull-out.  U.N. officials say they areencouraged by the development.;   The Egyptian freighter Rashida docked at midday and was>scheduled to begin unloading its cargo of 60-thousand tons of&food and other commodities on Friday.@   It was the first vessel to enter the port since the facility>was closed at the end of last month to all but military shipsAused for the withdrawal of the final U.N. peacekeeping personneland equipment.B   Many analysts had expected fighting to break out following the=U.N. pullout as rival Somali militia vied for control of thestrategic facility.?   But Mogadishu's two main faction leaders, Ali Madhi MohamedBand Mohamed Farah Aideed, agreed a joint committee should run theAport and the nearby airport, which are considered Somalia's main lifelines to the outside world.?   In Nairobi, a U.N. spokesman welcomed developments like the?port reopening.  The spokesman, George Bennett, told reporters5the United Nations is willing to provide assistance:<   "The U.N. is ready to provide support and advice for theBrunning of these assets.  It is our fervent hope that cooperation<over the sea and airports will lead to further agreements."B   Mr. Bennett also stressed that U.N. humanitarian organizationsBhave no intention of abandoning Somalia in the future even though0the peacekeeping operation there has now ended.   ---------------   ---------------(   BURUNDI ENERGY MINISTER ASSASSINATED   SONYA LAURENCE GREEN   NAIROBI:   Burundi's energy minister was shot and killed in broad>daylight Saturday in the capital Bujumbura. The assassination?raised tensions in the small central-African country, which is-wracked by political and ethnic differences.@   Burundi's minister for energy and mines, Ernest Kabushemeye,Bwas in the city center Saturday when a lone gunman approached and<opened fire in a street crowded with weekend shoppers.  Mr.@Kabushemeye was killed instantly, and his bodyguard was wounded<in the attack.  The unidentified gunman fled the scene, and)police have launched a hunt to find him.@   The killer's motives were not immediately clear, but Burundi=has been plagued by continued political and ethnic violence.B   Mr. Kabushemeye was the leader of a small political party, the;Burundian people's rally, and was a supporter of PresidentASylvestre Ntibantunganye.  He was also a member of the country'smajority Hutu ethnic group.@   His death comes on the heels of a political standoff between@the mostly Hutu ruling party, Frodebu, and the Tutsi opposition@party, Uprona.  Uprona's leaders have long tried to destabilize;the government.  Last month, Uprona launched a campaign of?disruptive strikes which brought down the previous government.BTwo weeks ago, a new broad-based coalition government was formed,5with new Prime Minister Antoine Nduwayo at its helm.@   Now the assassination is further straining Burundi's fragile=peace.  The country has been in turmoil since a coup attempt9one-and-one-half years ago, in which the country's first@democratically-elected president, Melchior Ndadaye, was killed,Bunleashing a spree of ethnic violence in which 50-thousand peopledied.@   Saturday's assassination of Mr. Kabushemeye was condemned byABurundian leaders and the U.N. special envoy to Burundi, AhmedouBOuld Abdallah.  Earlier this week the U.N. Security Council spoke>out against the violence and subversive political activity inBBurundi, saying there was a climate of insecurity in the country.   ---------------   ---------------+   SIERRA LEONE VIOLENCE THREATEN FREETOWN   PURNELL MURDOCK   SIERRA LEONE?   Clashes between Sierra Leone's government and rebels of theBRevolutionary United Front occur almost daily in outlying regions=of the country.  Many Sierra Leoneans fear the violence willAspread to the capital, Freetown. However, while security outsideAthe capital remains unstable, citizens in the city are trying to(live their lives as normal as possible.<   Until last year, raids by suspected rebels were confined<mostly to the southern and eastern regions of Sierra Leone,Bleaving the area around the capital, Freetown, untouched.  But inBthe past three months, the violence has spread, getting closer to
the capital.A   In January, rebels attacked the town of Kambia, 80 kilometersAnorth of the capital and captured several foreign nuns.  Also inAJanuary, rebels raided two key mining sites in the Mokanji HillsBarea, about 135 kilometers southeast of the city.  At least seven7foreign nationals were kidnapped during those attacks.<   The rebels also have staged successful ambushes on major@highways linking towns in the country's interior with Freetown,=leaving many people in the capital fearful the violence willreach them.+   For example, this comment from one man:@   "Some of us here in Freetown live in fear because of the war@and we think that they will attack us at any time. With some ofAthe people, they like to go into the clubs, they think that theyAwill forget the war.  All the time we are waiting for the rebelsAto attack us, because they always promised that they will attackus.">   Many citizens of Freetown say while rebel attacks have notAreached the city, they are still affected by the violence in the=countryside.   They say food prices are rising because it is+dangerous to transport food into the city.=   They say unemployment is rising because of the decline in@tourism.  One Sierra Leone businessman says he, like many otherBpeople in Freetown, must now care for family members displaced bythe civil war:@   "Since the rebel incursion about three months ago, they flee<from the fighting and they came to me here.  So they are inAFreetown now.  They are displaced people. They are jobless here.>No  schooling here.  And things are so rough for them.  I got@money to give them what we eat, do you understand.  Even for me@things are difficult because there's  no  business for me and IAam out of cash.  But we all hope one day the rebel fighting will	finish."B   Sierra Leone's civil war began as an off shoot of the Liberian=conflict in May 1991.  The Revolutionary United Front led by>Foday Sankoh attempted to topple the regime of then PresidentAJoseph Momoh.  The former president fled the country following a;coup in April 1992, and the new military government led byACaptain Valentine Strasser made destruction of the rebel group a(top priority, thus, continuing the war.<   Despite concerns about the civil war, Sierra Leoneans in;Freetown, continued to go about their lives as normally asBpossible.  Many people say they are confident the government will1prevent rebel attacks from reaching the capital.B   Still there is a tension in Freetown, an uneasiness that grows3with new reports of attacks not far from the city.   ---------------   ---------------   AFRICAN AIDS CONFERENCE   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTONA   More than 500 delegates from 82 countries have been attending?a conference on aids in Capetown, South Africa.  The delegatesBhave tested HIV positive, that is, they have the virus that leadsAto aids.  The conference has offered workshops about alternative3medicines, counseling and legal protection againstdiscrimination.:   It was 1992, her divorce had just been finalized,  and?36-year-old Sarah Smiles was adjusting to a new life of single@motherhood.  Within days of celebrating Christmas with her four<children,  ages nine to 18, Sarah's doctors in Pretoria ran@another test in connection with the cancer in her lymph glands.BOn December 23, she learned the reason for her illness, an immune#system weakened by the aids virus.A   "I think I went brain-dead for a few seconds, says Smiles.  I@was sitting there and I always thought HIV and aids, I've never>seen it.  I've never met anyone who had it.  I didn't think I;could be affected by it. I couldn't believe the doctor was<talking to me.  I was sitting there like playing a cassetteA[tape] in my mind, fast-forward and rewind.  Is it me?  Could itBbe me? When I heard it, I actually said to myself 'please god,' I?so desperately wanted to be anyone else but me on that day.  I%felt like running away from myself."B   France Tzakishi [frahns tah-keesh'-ee] is a 24-year-old former?assistant manager for a business firm near Gaborone, Botswana.BFrance got the diagnosis in 1988 when he went to the doctor abouthis recurring blisters:A   "I heard someone with aids when I was at school, that someone;who has aids has just two to five years to die, so I asked@myself, what should I do.  Should I commit suicide?  But I said?to myself, as a human being living in this world coming across>many problems, I take HIV as a problem coming to me.  I asked@what can I do to solve the problem?  I stayed to myself and theBaids counselor told me to use a condom, and I told myself I would?use the condom  [until] I died.  I did not stay well because I=[thought] I was going to die within a period of two to three	months.":   France and Sarah later learned there were hundreds andBthousands of people in Botswana and South Africa like themselves.8France's parents convinced him to take a family trip to@neighboring Zimbabwe, where, to his surprise, they led him to aBmeeting for people with HIV and aids.  He says that first meeting8was very similar to the Cape Town conference this week:@   "I was surprised because in Botswana we have few people with?HIV and those who do have been infected for about three years.>I've got seven years [since infection], but when I got to the@conference, there are some [surviving] 10 to 15 years being HIVApositive.  I've told myself, even me, I take care of myself, useBa condom, do exercises,  follow a [special] diet, and I will live[as long as] those people."=   Sarah says she lacked family support, at least initially:A   "In the beginning it was tough,  there was about seven monthsAof my life where I can't tell you what happened. I was alive but:still I wasn't here [emotionally].  I was walking around,<unemployed.  It was only when the rejection came in from myBfamily that I decided to come out in the open [about my disease].A[My parents and siblings] were very scared, this was also new toAthem. They thought if I lived with them, I could hurt them, they<are going to die,  that I could infect them. Maybe in theirBhearts they are still scared of me and some prefer not to have meAin their homes but they don't show it openly.  I don't know whatthey say behind my back.">   Sarah and France follow a regimen because their bodies areBespecially susceptible to pneumonia and other diseases.  They sayAthey eat as many foods as possible that are high in vitamins andAproteins.  Although this is not a cure for aids, they say it has6kept them healthy, and improved their quality of life@   They've also learned to manage stress, which can also affect?immune function.   For Sarah, stress reduction has meant goingpublic with her illness:B   "When I was diagnosed I only weighed 37 kilograms; now I weigh>52 kilograms since I came out [publicly]....When you can talkAfreely about your HIV status in public, it takes a lot of strain@from you.  You don't have to lie every day.  Today, you'll haveAthe flu and tomorrow, diarrhea.  And people want to know and you?have to tell lie upon lie and that is stressful.  Try the bestAyou can to come to terms with your disease.  It's like any otherAdisease, diabetes.  What I did was to adopt my disease.  Make itBpart of me.  It makes it easier to live with it.  I won't say HIV=is the best thing that ever happened to me, but it gave me a>purpose and meaning in life.  I really know what I want to do6now. You have to have a vision that keeps you alive.":   For Sarah and France, their mission is to help improve9community understanding of their illness.  France is the=coordinator of a 15-member aids and HIV support group in the<Bobirwa [boe-beer'-wah] sub-district of Botswana [about 500>kilometers southeast of Gaborone].  Sarah works works in aids+education in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.A   She says misunderstanding about aids causes many HIV positive=people to be discriminated against in housing or in the work#place, even when they are healthy:?   "Most of the advertisements they show in health departments<just show aids and a coffin [death].  Now there is a lot inBbetween,  and the reason I am out of the closet is to show people@that you don't have to die when you are diagnosed HIV positive.AYou can still have a full life. You can fall in and out of love.?And to the other ones who are not infected.  They are our last@hope now.  I said to someone the other day, if something is not@done soon, by the year 2000 you will not have attend my funeral?because there will be one in your own home.  If the government>doesn't make aids education part of education in school, theyBshouldn't build schools.  It's a waste of money and time.  We are?all going to die then.  Parents should talk to kids about sex.?Once they've learned how to talk about sex, only then can theyteach them about aids."A   Sarah says she's hopes South Africa's government will work to?improve the plight of people with aids.  She say, for example,>that there's no shelter in South Africa to keep aids stricken?parents with their children.  She says if she wins the lotteryBone day, she'll build a place of her own to take care of everyonewith the same problem.   ---------------   ---------------?   ALGERIA PRESS CAUGHT BETWEEN MILITANTS AND THEIR GOVERNMENT   LAURIE KASSMAN   ALGIERSA   Algerian journalists and intellectuals have become targets of<Islamic extremists who want to muzzle liberal thinkers they@consider the enemy. Thirty-six print and audio-visual reportersAhave been killed in Algeria in the past year and a half.  At the>same time, government restrictions and pressures are aimed atcurbing the independent press.?   It is no longer fun to be a journalist in Algeria.  It is a&dangerous business of life and death.A   After several threats against his life, Ahmed,  a journalist,@spends his time moving between hotels and apartments of friendsAand relatives.  He stays off the street and rarely sees his wifeand two children.=   Tarek, a young TV reporter, says his life has been turned<upside-down.  Many nights, he camps out at the state-run TVAstation along with dozens of his colleagues whose lives are alsoin danger:=   "Many people are killed when they go home or out of their@homes.  That is, they have a known time when they go home or goBout.  So they wait for them, kill them.  So, we no longer go homeBand no longer go to public places, such as cafes or gardens or to<the movies or even mosques, especially those people who areknown."@   Reporters no longer carry their press cards and rarely bringAcameras or tape recorders when they do venture out.  TV crews donot linger on the streets.B   Muslim extremists are killing journalists and liberal thinkersBthey see as the enemy of their campaign to install a pure Islamic-state in Algeria.  Their methods are bloody.?   But editors in Algeria's feisty independent press say theirBwork is also hampered by government efforts to muzzle their voicethrough intimidation.B   Within the past week, the independent French-language daily La>Tribune was suspended on the grounds it did not obey a recent;legal ruling to publish an Arabic edition.  An outcry from@Algerian and foreign media finally convinced the authorities toreverse the order.A   Independent newspapers have been suspended or threatened with=closure at least eight times in the past three years.  Those=sympathetic to the Islamic fundamentalists have been banned.8Reporters who write about the security campaign againstBextremists say they are harassed.  Editors complain about threats<to pull out public sector ads, a financial mainstay of mostnewspapers here.:   Prime Minister Mokdad Sifi says press restrictions areAjustified for reasons of national security.  Human rights groups+complain about the curbs on press freedom.A   Omar Belhouchet edits the independent daily Le Watan.  In the=past two years, he has escaped two assassination attempts by@Muslim extremists.  But in 1993, he spent two weeks in jail for@publishing a report about the killing of six policemen that hadBnot  been cleared by officials.  His newspaper has been shut downAtwice in four years.  Now he is awaiting trial for a story about#corruption in the health ministry.B   on one side we are pursued by the extremists, he says.  And onBthe other side they imprison journalists and suspend publications@and create financial problems to strangle us.  He says they arecaught in the middle.B   Mr. Belhouchet says the pressure from both sides to weaken the?media has strengthened it through a new-found solidarity, evenamong competitors.A   Still, he says it is easier to deal with government pressuresBthan with assassination attempts by extremists.  Many journalists?have fled the country. Those who stay, try to carry on as best
they can.=   Says one young reporter, his hands visibly shaking, everyBmorning I go to work, I am not sure I will come home.  He adds, I?wish I could be like the man in the Arab folktale, and wrap my-head in a magic turban and become invisible.   ---------------   ---------------   ALGERIAN CAR BOMBING   LAURIE KASSMAN   ALGIERS@   A car bomb exploded in the southeastern Algiers neighborhoodBof Kouba Friday morning, injuring at least 60 people and damagingAtwo buildings that house families of police officers.  No deathshave been reported.B   Residents of the five-story apartment building are dumping out?the rubble of broken windows and shattered walls and searching)through the debris for their belongings.B   Meanwhile, police have launched an investigation but spokesman=Issa Kasme says they are still not sure if the explosion was8caused by a car bomb or explosive device hidden nearby.<   Mr. Kasme denounced the attack and called it the work of3cowards whose goal is to destroy Algerian society.>   The explosion rocked the hilltop housing project, known as<Pretty View or Jolie Vu, in French, at 5:45 in the morning,=shortly after the first call to morning prayers.  One policeBofficer who lived alone on the first floor said he was thrown out>of bed by the blast.  It was like an earthquake, he said, butworse.B   Parents grabbed their screaming children and ran outside wherethey found a car on fire.@   Two apartment buildings badly damaged by the explosion house$police officers and their families.A   No group has claimed responsibility.  But the extremist armed;Islamic group took credit for a suicide car-bomb attack in@central Algiers six weeks ago that killed 42 people and injured?more than 280.  Muslim extremists have threatened to intensify>their attacks to avenge the killing of more than 90 prisonersduring a prison uprising.>   The explosion coincided with a warning from the extremistsAthat wives of policemen will be targetted unless the authorities<release women detained on charges of collaborating with the?extremists.  The statement was published Friday morning in the!London-based Al Hayat newspaper.>   Muslim extremists already have targetted Algerian securityAforces, teachers, intellectuals, journalists, women and childrenBin their bloody campaign to take power.  An estimated 30-thousand;people have been killed in nearly three years of political
violence.   ---------------   ---------------   ALGERIAN SECURITY   LAURIE KASSMAN   ALGIERS=   Algerian security forces are locked in confrontation withAIslamic extremists, and the civilian population is caught in the;middle, increasingly fearful and untrusting.  Incidents ofAviolence have increased, shootings, bombings, attacks on schools>and gas stations, and assaults on shopkeepers who do  not pay@protection money.  Units of the gendarmerie, or national guard,?once concerned with traffic control have been transformed into@patrol units, to search for terrorist suspects on the outskirtsof Algiers.A   Their faces are hidden by khaki-colored ski masks; their eyes>alert and searching for trouble in the open fields or crowded<tenements.  They drive along unpaved country roads and city?streets, ignoring the walls of graffiti with initials of armedBIslamic groups and slogans like "islam is the solution." They are!too busy looking for terrorists.B   Officer Sayeed describes the profile of a suspect, a young man?in his 20's or 30's, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket big?enough to hide weapons and looking uncomfortable.  And, SayeedAadds, wearing expensive sneakers for a fast get-away if a patrol gets too close and too curious.>   An alert is broadcast over the walkie-talkie, bringing the@patrol to a halt.  Sixteen gendarmes (or policemen) jump out ofAfour jeeps, their kalashnikov rifles at the ready.  They fan out=(or spread out) while a gendarme pats down (or searches) twoBsuspects for weapons.  It is a false alarm.  The patrol moves on.   Officer Sayeed is nervous.>   "The problem for us," he says, "is that the terrorists are@anonymous, they blend in.  We do not know who they are but theyAcan see us.  We wear the masks to protect our identity so we can@go to the market or walk down a street in our off-hours withoutrunning too high a risk."@   Commander Mohammed says he never expected to do this kind ofBwork when he joined the gendarmes 20 years ago.  His young son isBscared and tells his friends his father sells fish in the market,7to avoid having too many people know his father's realoccupation.<   The patrol slows down as it moves through the mud-soaked@village of Merja, where Muslim extremists were entrenched for a>long time. The area is calm now.  There are few people on the@street, except for a large group of men sitting in front of theshuttered shops.B   But they do not present a danger.  They have gathered to mourn>the accidental death of one of their neighbors, a 69-year-oldBshopkeeper.  He was hard of hearing and did not obey a warning toBstop when an army patrol passed through the area two days before.B   An investigation is underway but the man's son and his friends9are angry and fed up.  "We just want someone to stop the:bloodshed so we can get on with our lives," the son says.=   The gendarmes are not a welcome sight in the poor Algiers&neighborhood of Bab El Oued, a mix of?overcrowded tenement buildings and tin shacks.  Women peek out@from behind the lines of laundry that fill the windows of their@cramped apartments.  Shopkeepers step back inside and young men9look away.  A bearded man moves quickly down the street.?   Nobody wants to be seen talking to a gendarme or a stranger;for fear of being tagged an informer.  The patrol moves on	quickly.:   Algerian authorities have intensified the crackdown on?extremists while efforts at a political dialogue aim to find a!better way to end the bloodshed.@   An estimated 30-thousand people have been killed in the past>three years, including Muslim extremists and security forces.9   Commander Mohammed says each day can hold a dangerous=surprise, a shoot-out, an ambush.  This day was quiet but 24>hours later the same patrol had a close brush with death when@homemade bombs exploded on a country road just as the gendarmespassed by.   ---------------   ---------------@   U.S. WARNS IT MAY DELAY DEPLOYMENT OF PEACEKEEPERS TO ANGOLA   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONSB   The United Nations Security Council has warned it might cancelBthe deployment of more than seven-thousand peacekeepers in Angola?unless the warring parties demobilize and lay down their arms.:The council issued a lengthy formal statement Friday amid;concerns about continuing military activity in the Africannation.@   The Security Council threatened to hold back deployment of a>vastly expanded force for Angola unless U.N. officials reportBlater this month that a cease-fire is holding and the parties are9meeting the obligations of their latest peace agreement.=   Infantry units were scheduled to start moving into Angolaaround may ninth.=   The council also called on UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi and=Angola's president, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, to meet without8delay.  The U.N. has been urging the two rivals to hold;face-to-face talks as a sign of their commitment to peace.@   Seventeen years of war resumed in Angola after President Dos<Santos defeated Mr. Savimbi in winner-take-all elections in?September, 1992.  They agreed to a new peace treaty last year.A   The Security Council expressed concern about an escalation of?tensions in UNITA-controlled areas, including the unauthorized?movement of troops, attacks on villages and harassment of U.N.personnel.   ---------------   ---------------9   WINNIE MANDELA MEETS WITH S. AFRICAN DEPUTY PRESIDENT   DELIA ROBERTSON   JOHANNESBURG8   Winnie Mandela, the estranged wife of South Africa's9president, met into the early hours of Saturday with the?president's deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mrs. Mandela, the deputy arts@and science minister, tried all week to avoid the discussion of%her defiance of presidential orders.>   Winnie Mandela was compelled to meet with deputy president<Thabo Mbeki, despite her earlier refusal, because president?Nelson Mandela made it clear he would not see her.  Mr MandelaAordered his deputy to deal with Mrs. Mandela's highly publicized%defiance of his presidential orders.=   Sources say Mr. Mbeki conveyed to the deputy minister the?president's deep dissatisfaction that she travelled to several?West African countries after he ordered her to remain at home.@   In addition, the sources say Mr. Mbeki informed Mrs. Mandela>she had no right, as a deputy minister, to refuse an official@request by the deputy president for a meeting.  The sources say?Mr. Mandela is angered by these actions, which have caused him-great embarrassment both at home and abroad.@   Mr Mbeki said earlier they would  not discuss allegations ofBcorruption against Mrs. Mandela until the police investigation isAcomplete.  Nevertheless, Mrs. Mandela likely repeated to him herAearlier vehement denials and her anger at the police handling of@the raid of her Soweto home which she said made her unspeakablyangry.B   Last month, Mrs. Mandela was forced to sign a public letter ofAapology to the president after she criticized his government for@what she called appeasing whites to the detriment of redressing?the wrongs of the apartheid era.  Mrs Mandela was informed she'should apologize, resign, or be fired.@   Later, Mrs. Mandela wrote a letter to her estranged husband,@complaining about the forced apology and reminding him that she8had been left alone for the nearly three decades of hisAimprisonment to raise their daughters and continue the political
struggle.;   Sources say Mr. Mbeki also conveyed to Mrs. Mandela herBhusband's concern regarding the mass resignation of 11 executivesAof the ANC Women's League last month.  Mrs. Mandela is president;of the league.  The women say they resigned because of her:autocratic leadership style and because of concerns about.contracts she signed without consulting them.7   No statement was released following the late night,=two-and-one-half hour meeting.  Mr. Mbeki will report to the?president, but no further action is expected until Mr. Mandela#returns to South Africa next week.   ---------------   ---------------4   U.N. REPORTS INCREASING FOOD SHORTAGES IN RWANDA   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA>   U.N. officials in Geneva report growing food shortages forBrefugees from Rwanda and Burundi. They say supplies could run out?completely within the next few months unless donor states makenew financial contributions.@   The spokeswoman for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees,ASylvana Foa, calls the situation dramatic.  She says the lack ofAfunds has already forced the UNHCR and the world food program to=cut back on food distribution in some Rwandan refugee camps:B   "We have already begun having to cut rations in several of theBcamps.  And we expect that only half of the required food will be@available in April.  We will see even more severe shortfalls inDMay and June.   And the food pipeline for July and August is nearlyempty."@   The UNHCR and the world food program Friday launched a fresh?appeal for financial aid to curb the shortfall.  Miss Foa says?donor nations were first alerted to the problem last November.ABut so far, the two agencies have received less than half of the?385-million dollars needed to care for the refugees this year.:   Miss Foa says around three-million people are at risk.BTwo-million Rwandans live in refugee camps in neighboring states.=And another 800-thousand remain displaced inside Rwanda.  In<addition, there are more than one-quarter-million Burundian@refugees in Zaire who also are threatened by the food shortage.A   Miss Foa says the United Nations is concerned about more than5the reappearance of malnutrition among the refugees:@   "But beyond the malnutrition rates, we also have the problem>of the insecurity that is created in a camp when you have the?tension of  hungry people.  It can lead to violence and it can$make our work extremely difficult."=   Miss Foa says the food shortage is also affecting Rwanda,Aitself, at a time when growing numbers of refugees are beginningto return to the country.:   She says that if officials cannot ensure the returnees>adequate food supplies, the U.N. repatriation program will beseverely affected.   ---------------   ---------------   PROFILE: WINNIE MANDELA   DELIA ROBERTSON   JOHANNESBURG=   Winnie Mandela, estranged wife of South African president:Nelson Mandela, is once again at the center of a storm ofBcontroversies, including allegations of fraud and public defiance@of cabinet rules and presidential orders.  These issues are notBonly threatening her job as a deputy minister, they also threaten@her standing among the very people whose support guaranteed her>re-emergence as a political force after a 1991 conviction forkidnapping.<   The existance of numerous supporters have ensured Winnie;Mandela's return to political favor, and power, on the two?occasions when African National Congress leaders sent her into7the political wilderness.  As she once again faces the@possibility of political sanction, and perhaps even jail, thereAare also others who watch and hope the present crises spells herpermanent political demise.<   It is perhaps a reflection of the woman herself that her?compatriots feel so strongly about her.  Born Nomzamo WinifredBMadikizela to aristocratic Xhosa parents in the Transkei in 1934,Bthe intelligent, willful, tempestuous, and beautiful young Winnie>demonstrated early that she would  not easily fit into a moldshaped by others.?   When she met Nelson Mandela in 1957, he was deputy national;president of the African National Congress and on trial inBpretoria on charges of treason.  He says he fell immediately, and?deeply, in love.  The couple married a year later following Mr?Mandela's divorce from his first wife, Eveline.  Guided by her=husband, Mrs. Mandela soon held senior positions in both thewomen's movement and the ANC.B   Throughout the early years of their marriage, with her husband@on trial or on the run, the young Mrs. Mandela had to carry theAload of a single working mother of two young children.  In 1962,?Nelson Mandela was sentenced to five years for incitement, and;while still in jail received a life sentence for sabotage.4Nelson Mandela says his wife took it all in stride:A   "During the two decades I spent on Robben Island (in prison),Ashe was an indispensible pillar of support and comfort to myself<personally.  She also became the international focus of the8campaign in solidarity with all South African political>prisoners.  As such, she earned the ire of the National Party;government which lost no opportunity to harass, persecute, arrest, detain and charge her."A   With her husband in jail, Mrs Mandela became the focus of the@authorities.  She was banned, spent eighteen months in solitary;confinement not knowing what had happened to her two small>daughters, and in 1977 was banished to the remote Orange FreeState town of Brandfort.=   In a 1992 interview with a local television station, Mrs.!Mandela said it all damaged her::   "You know it is, in fact, I think what shaped me, what?brutalized me so much, that I knew what it is to hate. For the=first time I really discovered what the ruling class must be9feeling against us.  I could not imagine any human being@subjecting a fellow human being to such inhumanity.  We did notAknow what was going to happen to us, and even just that state of?mind is enough to damage you emotionally and psychologically."=   In Brandfort, she soon received wide acclaim for her workAamong the poor, becoming known at home and abroad as mama-wethu,@or the mother-of-the-nation.  Eight years later, in defiance of=the authorities and in a blaze of publicity, she returned toSoweto.B   Soon her standing began to slip.  In 1986, with the country in?flames after nearly two years of violent political resistance,BMrs Mandela appeared to endorse so-called necklacing, the grusomeBmethod of murder by setting fire to a gasoline filled tire aroundthe victim's neck.@   "We have no arms," said Winnie Mandela. " We have stones, weBhave boxes of matches.  With our necklaces we shall liberate this
country."=   Soon Mrs Mandela was seen around the townships and cities=accompanied by a group of teenagers and men who acted as her=bodyguards.  Initial quiet criticism in the black community,@accompanied by accusations of thuggery and intimidation against9the group, escalated into a public outcry after the 1988Bkidnapping of a group of young boys from a church. Anti-apartheid=leaders publically denounced Mrs. Mandela and restricted her@public role.  In 1991, Mrs. Mandela was, with others, convicted(of the kidnapping and ultimately fined.>   By then, Nelson Mandela was out of jail and Mrs. Mandela's@political star was once more on the rise.  After the trial, she;was elected to senior positions in the ANC.  Nevertheless,@controversy continued to plague her.  On a number of occasions,9mrs Mandela made public statements the ANC was forced to@repudiate.  There were suggestions, always denied, of financial5mismanagement and a love affair with a young lawyer.?   In April, 1992, an emotional Nelson Mandela announced theirseparation saying:?   "My love for her remains undiminished.  However, in view of;the tensions that have arisen owing to differences between:ourselves in a number of issues in recent months, we have@mutually agreed that a separation would be best for each one ofus.":   A few days later, Mrs Mandela was forced to resign her5official positions in the ANC.  She launched herself=wholeheartedly into social work among the most deprived, the@homeless and jobless. She said in late 1992 she had a new lease	on life:@   "This is what I wanted to do all my life.  I am so liberatedBhere, I am so free.  I was trained to deal with humanity.  Here I?am dealing with human beings whether they are Inkatha members,:PAC members, ANC members.  I have transcended ideological=boundaries and I feel I am now doing proper social work, and*serving humanity as I was trained to do."=   However she used this work to build her political support;base, and it was not long before she once again had a firm<foothold on the political ladder.  In 1993, she was elected:president of the women's league and was well placed to beAconsidered for a government post, which she ultimately received.<The question now remains whether Mrs Mandela can once again4overcome controversy and save her political career.   ---------------   ---------------   WINNIE MANDELA CONTROVERSY   MALLORY SALESON   JOHANNESBURG>   The South African Government of National Unity, led by the:African National Congress, appears to be paralyzed by the<controversy surrounding deputy minister Winnie Mandela, the,estranged wife of President Nelson Mandela.A   The big question hanging over South Africa these days is what=to do about Winnie Mandela, the deputy minister embroiled in?controversy about allegations of corruption as well as her ownBapparent inability to be part of a cabinet team and follow ordersand rules.A   By all accounts Mrs. Mandela, the estranged wife of President;Nelson Mandela, is, in the words of one political analyst,<"larger-than-life".  For years she suffered abuse under theBapartheid regime that had jailed her, banished and banned her and?harassed her.  Her outspoken criticism and calls to action wonBher widespread popular support, especially among the more radicaltownship youth.:   Political analyst Tom Lodge from the University of the@Witwatersrand says the African National Congress-led governmentBdoes not want to mishandle the situation and take the wrong step,=but needs to act.  He says in the party's desire to maintainAunity and accommodate everyone, it has shown weakness in dealingBwith someone who openly flouts the moral authority of leadership:B   "I think that's the kind of message that was being sent to the<wrong sorts of people, that the government was incapable of>disciplining and restraining the behavior of some of its most@important leaders, that the government was incapable of keeping8to the rules that it itself set out for its members and<participants to adhere to.  And that's a very bad message."7   But Mr. Lodge says the government finds itself in a@particularly difficult position, especially because he says theAcontroversies surrounding Mrs. Mandela are not understood by her?supporters as major problems.  He notes the latest allegations?involving corruption have not been proved and are under police5investigation.  He says none of the other individual=controversies, including her criticism of the government and?defiance of presidential order, has been significant enough toAcause government action.  But taken together, he says, they have$clearly embarrassed the government::   "Yes, I'm sure that she's deeply embarrassing both theBgovernment and President Mandela.  I think that embarrassment may@in the end provoke anger and irritation to the point where they=might simply say 'well to hell with it, let's get rid of her7because she's more trouble in than she would be out.'":   President Mandela has passed the problem to his deputy?President Thabo Mbeki, though he too seemed at a loss early in;the week as to how to deal with Mrs. Mandela following her?refusal to meet with him.  He has repeatedly declined to stateAthe government's course of action and has indicated the issue is?a sensitive and fragile one for the government and the AfricanNational Congress.;   "So you can't answer the question, 'oh she's a terrible@embarrassment; let's get rid of her,'" says Mbeki.  "You've got>to deal with the matter in a practical, direct, specific way.@And certainly if we find that there's anything which is grosslyBirregular, then, of course, the necessary action would have to be>taken, commensurate with the grossness of that irregularity.">   Political analyst Lodge says there's a bit of irony in theBfact that Mr. Mbeki is the one dealing with the so-called "Winnie=trouble".  He notes it was Mr. Mbeki who convinced President>Mandela to give her a cabinet position even though, Mr. Lodge>says, she was never suited for the task.  He says it would beBwrong for the government to simply push Mrs. Mandela out into the=cold and humiliate her, but adds under the circumstances shecannot remain in the cabinet:@   "I do think that at this stage it would be wrong for them toBmaintain her in her current position in the government.  It's too?embarrassing.  It's doing too much damage and I suspect in any9case her heart isn't really in the job of being a deputy@minister.  I think what would be sensible is for the government=to give her a job that she can do and do well and as it were5prove herself and regain her political credentials."=   Mr. Lodge has a position in mind.  He says the governmentAshould appoint Mrs. Mandela as the overall political coordinator?of its newly launched "Masakhane" campaign aimed at convincing@township residents to pay their rent and service fees and begin@contributing to their own development.  He says such a positionAwould give her a crucial political role to play.  And he says it@would capitalize on her popularity, her glamour and her genuineArapport and empathy with the natural constituency of the African>National Congress, the millions of South Africans for decadesdisadvantaged by apartheid.   ---------------   ---------------2   SECURITY PROBLEMS THREATEN DE-MINING OF ANGOLA   SEAN KELLY   WINDHOEK>   Security problems are threatening international efforts to%clear land mines in southern Angola.@   Millions of land mines and other unexploded ordinance litter1the major food-supply routes of southern Angola.;   A German de-mining organization, Kap Anamur, is using a<Soviet-built battle tank to clear portions of the main road?leading east from the Port of Benguela towards the war-damagedcity of Huambo.A   Operations manager Uwe Silge says workers had removed 28 tons=of explosive ordinance from the Banguela road, but then were
ambushed:@   "Last week Thursday, we lost a good friend of mine, a German?mechanic, and three of our workers, and one person who was the:son of a farmer and was also in the truck.  Our truck was>attacked by persons not under control, road bandits, and they<killed everybody and stole everything.  We found our people9laying naked on the road, absolutely naked on the road."?   Mr. Silge says the Kap Anamur company truck and its load of?spare parts was left standing.  Only the victims' clothing was6taken, plus whatever could be found in their pockets.=   He says the incident will slow efforts to reopen southern=Angola's road network.  He is now reluctant to continue mine:clearing operations without adequate military protection.B   Mr. Silge said he is going back to Angola this week to take upBthe matter with the United Nations.  U.N. peacekeeping forces are?not  expected to arrive in the area much before the end of themonth.   ---------------   ---------------8   AMERICAN STUDENTS SIMULATE PROBLEMS OF OAU COUNTRIES   RODRICK MURRAY   WASHINGTONA   Students from 24 U.S. universities joined diplomats from some=African countries recently in Washington to participate in a=model conference of the Organization of African Unity (OAU).?Students got a good look at how an organization faces problemsand develops solutions.=   The academic experience enabled participating students to@represent an OAU member country during the 16th annual national0model Organization of African Unity conference.=   The students stepped into such roles as heads of state orBother ministers from such countries as Senegal, Rwanda, and SouthBAfrica.  The role playing plunged them into the problems of their:assumed countries and challenged them to offer solutions.9   As part of their preparation the students visited the=embassies of the countries they represented and learned from<diplomats addressing them the details of specific problems.?   The model OAU at Howard University was organized by MichaelBNwanze from that university's department of political science. In;an attempt to teach students how some regions handle majorBproblems he chose the OAU as an organization students could learnfrom.B   "Because we for very, very many years, American students, have=always simulated the proceeding of the United Nations," saysANwanze, "as a means of understanding the roles, the performance,Aand the organization of the United Nations.  But we noticed that<there were no similar simulations of regional international@organizations,  so we started the model Organization of African:Unity 16 years ago in order to provide an opportunity for5American students, for students studying in AmericanBuniversities, to study the role, organization, and performance of>the OAU through simulations augmented by briefings by African?embassies.  This is a very good way of sensitizing students in;the United States about issues and the problems facing thecontinent."?   The OAU simulation is designed to increase awareness of the@role, organization, and performance of the OAU and to highlight?key economic, social, and political-security issues facing theAfrican continent.:   Wayne Hendry, the first secretary of the South AfricanAembassy, described in a keynote address the political climate of>his country and the changes slowly evolving there to insure abetter economy:;   "The main point that I wanted to get across is that theAprocess that is occurring in South Africa is in its infancy.  It@has only just begun.  We expect it to continue.  It is going to?take time but at the same time what we are trying to stress is<that we are trying to move to a situation where you achieve<racial harmony, where you achieve unity even where there is.diversity, that is what we are trying to do."B   Howard University exchange student Dalia Dangerfield expresseddelight about her experience:B   "I feel that the model OAU conference this year went very wellAand I met a lot of different people from different schools.  AndAI think that the people from the different schools handled theirAcountries very well. And I felt like I was a part of Cape Verde,<because Cape Verde was the country I was doing.  And it wasAinteresting because I was able to go to the embassy and meet the=delegates from Cape Verde.  Also, it was interesting because>interacting with other people, not just on a social level, onBdiplomatic terms, or model diplomatic terms.  And the people, theAstudents portrayed their countries very, very well.  I felt likeBthey were the delegates, the real delegates from their countries.;I think that this conference is very beneficial to African>Americans.  I think it helps us realize the importance of theOAU.":   At the close of the conference Mr. Nwanze compared the>resolutions offered by the student participants to the actual?solutions presented last year in the OAU.  Mr. Nwanze said the1student solutions were close to the OAU reality.   ---------------   ---------------3   REPORTER NOTEBOOK SOMALIA: HOVERCRAFT FROM HELL   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBIB   At the end, it was almost idyllic for a while.  The last dozenBor so reporters, photographers and cameramen on Mogadishu's beach?with the last 200 or so U.S. marines were sitting on the sand,@gazing up at the sky.  Not only were there stars to enjoy but a=spectacular light show as well.  The marines were firing offbright illumination flares.B   On at least two occasions after nightfall, though, red streaks0of tracer bullets also shot out across the sky.=   Some of the gunfire was heading out from marine positions>toward positions where armed Somali militia were located; but>some was heading back toward the marines and the press group,Bwhich took shelter in the center of a circle of armored vehicles.A   It was in the midst of one of those firefights that the pressAdeparted, on the last U.S. navy hovercraft to come ashore.  ThisAfuturistic-looking machine, one that would not seem out of placeAin a science-fiction movie, is officially known as an LCAC which(stands for landing craft air cushioned.?   It roared onto the beach in a huge plume of water and sand,deafening all within earshot.:   We were rushed aboard and seated in a kind of shipping9container with seats, seats coated in sand from previousBpassengers and dripping with sea water from tiny leaks around the=ventilation hatches.  It was hot and stuffy and the sand and@water proved to be an abrasive mix for any exposed flesh as theALCAC rumbled and bounced over the waves.  But so what?  It would8only be a 20 minute ride to the U.S.S Belleau Wood, the@amphibious assault ship standing by at sea off the Somali coastto recover the LCAC.A   Twenty minutes later, we did reach a ship, but it was not the@Belleau Wood.  This was not the express train, it was the local9and this stop was simply one to pick up more passengers.?   The Belleau Wood, we were later told, was just two thousand?meters away.  But we did not get there for another five hours,Afive long hours during which the LCAC roared around the ocean in>circles, five long hours in which I became convinced the onlyBrational explanation for this tortuous experience was that we had=all died.  One reporter became sick but was kindly told by a<marine colonel that it was okay, she could throw up on him.;   The reason for our misery was that the Belleau Wood was=otherwise occupied, too occupied to take us in, and for goodAreason.  The last marines to leave Mogadishu beach left after us<in amphibious assault vehicles (AAV), a kind of ocean-going>armored car, and several of these ended up having a difficult time of it in the heaving seas.A   One of the AAV's, as they are called, nearly swamped.  It was?the one carrying the commander of the ground force, Marine Lt.BGeneral Anthony Zinni.  Hours later, in the officers' wardroom on6the Belleau Wood, he spoke to us about what happened:A   "I was rescued at sea this morning so for all of you who were?unhappy about being in a LCAC, I was adrift in an AAV for over?two hours with about 18 other sick marines and we came through?the hatch to jump from the AAV in high winds and swelling seas@over to a small boat and eventually transferred to another boat>so about six o clock this morning I washed up in the wet wellBhere (Belleau Wood) literally and waded ashore like MacArthur and.ended the operation on a high note, I guess."?   But in recognition of the hardships we had put up with, notBjust that night at sea but also during the even longer and hotterBfly-plagued days on Mogadishu beach, General Zinni made all of us@in the press group honorary marines.  He gave us each a specialAcoin with the marine corps emblem to prove it, too.  I just hope=it does not obligate me to taking any more hovercraft rides.   ---------------   ---------------<   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: SOUTH AFRICA MOVES AHEAD   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON9   The news from South Africa, of judicial reform in one;instance, and alleged corruption involving the President'sAestranged wife in another, continues to rate a place of interestin U-S editorial columns.<   In one month, South Africa will be celebrating the first@anniversary of elections that transformed the nation from white<minority rule to a democracy with former political prisoner8Nelson Mandela as president.  U-S papers are noting the@anniversary, while expressing concern about charges that Winnie;Mandela, the president's estranged wife has been using her/position in the government for her own profit.?   "The Cleveland [Ohio] Plain Dealer" says about the nation'stransformation:<   "What a difference a year makes.  Next month will be the@one-year anniversary of elections that transformed South AfricaAfrom minority rule to a democratically elected government led by;President Nelson Mandela.  ... nearly 12 months after that;metamorphosis, [Mr.] Mandela sat at the swearing-in of the?country's first ever Constitutional Court.  Perhaps no fact soBpoignantly illustrated just how big of a change has occurred thanBwho is heading the new court: Arthur Chaskalson, the attorney who>31 years ago kept [President] Mandela from being sentenced toAdeath in a case stemming from anti-apartheid activities.  If the=new South Africa, or any democracy, is to prosper one of itsAbedrocks surely must be an independent and fair-minded judiciary)with a respected high court at the top."?   Meanwhile, "The New York Times" says one of the battles Mr.=Mandela must take on is the one against internal corruption:9   "Winnie Mandela, the estranged wife of South Africa's@President, Nelson Mandela, is charged by police with defrauding@four impoverished black communities.  The continuing descent of9this former heroine of the anti-apartheid struggle is an?individual tragedy, not a metaphor for the larger story of the<African National Congress in power.  Still, corruption is a?serious problem in South Africa, from bribe-seeking police and:customs agents to the kickbacks sought from businesses by@rainmakers [schemers] trading off old A-N-C connections.  ... aBmore systematic campaign is needed before a culture of corruption=becomes entrenched.  ... President Mandela's moral authority8makes his participation essential to an anti-corruptioncampaign."A   Across Manhattan, the nation's largest tabloid, "The New YorkBDaily News" says the situation leaves Mr. Mandela but one choice:@   "South Africa has undergone an amazing transformation in the@past year.  Unfortunately, President Nelson Mandela's estranged<wife, Winnie, has gone a different route.  She has used her?position as a deputy cabinet minister to abuse her power, line>her pockets with kickbacks and reopen racial wounds.  DespiteAWinnie's best efforts to do so, [President] Mandela's governmentAmust not be dragged down and discredited.  Handing Winnie a pink<slip [firing her] is the only solution.  A painful personal6choice for [Mr.] Mandela, but he has no alternative."A   From m the nation's premier financial daily, "The Wall StreetAJournal" an assessment of just how difficult the road ahead willbe:<   "The real test for Mr. Mandela, like [Russian President]:Yeltsin, will be in his ability to convince the country's@majority that a better life lies in continuing down the path ofBeconomic reform.  Mr. Mandela won't have an easy time of it.  For?all the references to the government of national unity and theAnew South Africa, there have been no shortages of reminders that>the government is far less united than its name suggests, and?that the new South Africa walks very much in the shadow of the@old. Threats of Zulu secessionism and strikes by public service@workers, the specter of renewed violence in the townships and a>shocking level of murder and other violent crime are signs ofBfestering social unrest and creeping anarchy at the local level."<   And that concludes this brief look at some of the latest?editorial comment on South Africa's long and difficult road totrue democracy.   ---------------   ---------------=   FOILED NIGERIAN COUP PLOT, 150 MILITARY OFFICERS DETAINED   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJAN@   Nigerian newspapers are reporting that at least 150 military=officers have been detained in connection with a foiled coup@plot.  But government officials are downplaying the possibility+of an attempt to overthrow the government.@   In an interview defense ministry spokesman Fred Chijuka saidAreports of an attempted coup against the military government arepremature:;   "Some members of the armed forces have been known to beBspreading very unpleasant rumors against the military government.;The rumors were capable of destabilizing the system.  So aBdirective was given that those who are suspected of spreading the?rumors should be invited to give their own side of the story."?   Several Nigerian newspapers reported that at least 150 armyBofficers had been arrested in connection with a failed coup plot.@The reports named army commander Lawan Gwadabe as an instigatorof the alleged plot.<   Mr. Gwadabe is said to be close to former military ruler@General Ibrahim Babangida, who plunged Nigeria into crisis over1the annulment of the 1993 presidential election.;   The annulled elections and the detention of millionaire@businessman Moshood Abiola, the man widely believed to have won>the elections, caused two months of pro-democracy strikes andBriots last year.  Although Nigeria has been fairly peaceful since;that period of political unrest, the government's promised.transition to civilian rule has been delayed.=   Military spokesman Fred Chijuka said the recent political=crisis has nothing to do with the reports of dissatisfactionamong military officers::   "This is not the first time we are having this kind ofAdevelopment without linking it to any recent past.  We have been@having some of these developments (military coups) since 1966."=   Nigeria has had a series of coups since independence fromABritain in 1960.  Political observers say commander Gwadabe, who@has been linked to the recent alleged coup plot, is believed to@have participated in the coup that brought General Babangida topower in 1985.   ---------------   ---------------   U.N. SOMALIA ANALYSIS   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTONA   Last week, U.N. peacekeepers ended two years of controversial=military intervention in Somalia when they withdrew from the@country.  The mission cost billions of dollars and the lives of@more than 130-peacekeepers.  The United Nations entered SomaliaBto alleviate hunger in the midst of civil war.  Now that the U.N.<forces are gone, some critics predict Somalia may return to	anarchy.B   When U.N. peacekeepers arrived in December, 1992,, with relief9supplies for a starving nation, there was occasion for a?flourish.   Rockets and explosions marked their exit, as rival;militiamen fought for control of the sea and airports leftbehind.9   Many observers have mixed feelings about the mission,?applauding the effort to relieve famine, but critical of later?attempts at nation-building.  Mohamed Sahnoun [sah-noon'] is a@former special representative of the United Nations to Somalia:>   "The image we have now of the troops withdrawing is for meAlike as if we had started surgery and we are leaving the body onBthe table before finishing the surgery.  It is a tragic situation>and might have some serious consequences.  Because one of the<negative impacts was there were expectations, but they were@frustrated. People thought with U.N. forces there could be some@kind of political solution.  Instead, there has been antagonism@within the clans.  There is equipment left behind, and weaponry>and supplies which are going to be used in negative fashion."6   Less pessimistic is James Jonah [joe'-nah], former;undersecretary general for political affairs at the United@Nations,  Mr. Jonah is now the chairman of the interim national&electoral commission of Sierra Leone:>   "As the man who was responsible for Somalia at the U.N., I@believe the U.N. achieved a great deal in terms of humanitarianBactivities, the mass starvation and malnutrition evident [to] the>world has abated, mainly because of the protection offered by6U.N. troops.  From that point of view, it was a major@achievement. Secondly, due to the U.N. involvement at least the;structure of the country has remained intact.  Most of theAviolence and disturbances are in [large cities like the capital]@Mogadishu and Kismayu.   In the countryside,  it's pretty calm.8So there, too, I think some achievement has been made."<   More problematic, says James Jonah, were U.N. efforts at?national reconciliation and peacekeeping.  He blames the first@failure on Somali factional leaders, who could not agree on the$formation of a national government.B   Mr. Jonah attributes peacekeeping problems on poor management.=In 1993, when the U.N. mission turned to nation-building. ItBfailed to disarm rival militias.  On October 3, 1993, 18 AmericanBarmy rangers were killed in Mogadishu by forces of Somali faction<leader Mohamed Farah aideed.  Shortly thereafter, presidentBClinton announced he would withdraw American troops [by March 31,1993].9   Mr. Jonah blames the incident on poor management, and=confusion among competing forces:  The rapid reaction forces?controlled by the Americans and those under the control of the>United Nations operation in Somalia (UNISOM II).  He says the@leadership of the peace keeping forces broke down.  James Jonah3says another problem was a lack of political will.B   Mr. Jonah says the failure of the United Nations troops raises>serious implications about future U.N. peacekeeping missions:B   "It raises in the mind of African countries that when it comesBto African matters, the major powers really do not want to commit=their treasury of blood on behalf of Africa.  We saw this inABurundi and Rwanda. [Also]  in terms of peacekeeping, we realize?that you can get into a situation where the logistical base of=intervention has to depend on the U.S..  There is  no  other;country in the world with the logistical capacity for such@intervention.  Even for the withdrawal from Somalia,  we had toAgo to the United States.  So, the U.S. plays a pivotal role.  If;you have a change of policy in the United States where theBgovernment hesitates you cannot have a viable peace keeping forceof the United Nations."@   Both James Jonah and Mohamed Sahnoun say the United Nations,@and the United States, still have a large role to play in worldApeacekeeping.  However,  Mr. Jonah says he's worried by moves in?the U.S. Congress to withhold funding for peacekeeping forces.AHe's also concerned about the reluctance of the untied states toAput its troops under U.N. command.  He says peacekeeping efforts>would be crippled if all United Nations members adopt similar$pre-conditions to troop deployment.?   Mohamed Sahnoun says the Somalian experience emphasizes theBneed for regional bodies, like the Organization of African Unity,<to become more active in managing crises.  He says regional;states are the most likely to be affected by fall-out from<Somalia-type conflicts, like refugees and arms trafficking:>   "The regional organizations have a high responsibility but:let's not forget they have only recently begun to concernBthemselves with internal affairs [of neighboring states].  It was9difficult to do this before because of the [concern with:infringing on another country's ] sovereignty.  They needBlogistical help and encouragement, which was not forthcoming from?the United Nations.  The U.N. [effort] was too centralized and=[aimed] to resolve problems from [U.N. headquarters in]  New@York.  They should have been trying to get the full cooperation6of the regional organizations and decentralize more."A   Mr. Sahnoun says the international community needs to supportAnation-building, on the condition that all sides to the conflict=agree to it.  He says the best way to prevent conflict is by9encouraging the elements of good governance:  Democracy,%openness, and public accountability.   ---------------   --------------->   "FAILURE IS IMPOSSIBLE: SUSAN B. ANTHONY IN HER OWN WORDS"   SARAH WILLIAMS   WASHINGTON, D.C.?   Nineteenth century American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was>instrumental in getting women the right to vote in the United@States.  A tireless campaigner for women's rights, she was alsoAinvolved in the abolitionist and temperance movements during the;mid and late eighteen hundreds.  A new book by an AmericanBtelevision correspondent looks at Susan B. Anthony's life through her many writings and speeches.?   Author Lynn Sherr has long been a great admirer of Susan B.AAnthony.  She collaborated on a book entitled, "Susan B. Anthony@Slept Here," a guidebook to American women's landmarks.  But inAher latest book, "Failure Is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony In Her>Own Words," Lynn Sherr focuses on the suffragist's voluminous=writings which reveal her tenacity and many of her insights.@   Born into a Quaker family in 1820, Susan B. Anthony moved in>1845 with her family to Rochester, New York, where she became=involved with the abolitionist movement to end slavery.  SheBbefriended fellow suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and together?the two women formed a team that propelled the movement to winAwomen the right to vote.  Miss Anthony campaigned tirelessly forAsuffrage until her death in 1906, 14 years before American women(were finally given their voting rights.@   Lynn Sherr says today's admirers of Susan B. Anthony tend to2have misconceptions about the Victorian crusader:?   "In stark contrast to her image as a stern spinster who ran@around the country in bloomers, the real Susan B. Anthony was a@vibrant, eloquent, witty individual who dealt not only with the?vote, but with many of the exact same issues confronting us in<modern society: domestic violence, the frustration of being=single, the value of female friendship, the victimization of+prostitutes and the battle for equal pay."<   Lynn Sherr says it is important for today's feminists toBrealize the tremendous struggles the suffragists faced during the>last century.  And she says Susan B. Anthony often coped with%situations out of today's headlines:<   "She personally took in a battered wife in 1860, and hadBtrouble by the way finding a hotel room in Manhattan because they=were unaccompanied by a gentleman.  Single all her life, she8urged married women to keep their own names, telling anBinterviewer in 1871, quote 'Woman has an individuality as well asBman, and she should preserve it.  Do you suppose that a woman whoAmakes her reputation under her maiden name is going to lose that<name by marriage and adopt that of an unknown creature of aAhusband?'  She also cheerfully approved of a young colleague whoBadopted a baby without benefit of marriage, all of this more thana century ago."B   Susan B. Anthony also campaigned for equal pay, predicted that>women would be in the U-S Congress, on the Supreme Court, and>said, in 1905, that a woman would one day be president.   She<also believed that homemakers had every much a place in theAwomen's movement as career women.  Lynn Sherr reads one of Susan;B. Anthony's letters on the role of homemakers and women'srights:A   "'It is not necessary for you to be a public speaker or to goBon the platform.  Every woman in her own home can be a teacher of@this great principle of equality.  She can instruct her husband@and her children in the ways of justice for all.'  She went on,B'But for the good and true women in the homes but for the loyaltyAof these home women who never speak in public but who in a quiet>way are teaching this gospel, we who stand at the front couldAnever have stood here, we would have had no constituency but forBthis silent magnificent army of women in the homes throughout the
nation.'"B   Susan B. Anthony also took on the great challenge of traveling@throughout the country to campaign for women's rights.  Most ofAthe other suffragists had family obligations that prevented them<from constant travel, so Susan B. Anthony took to the road,Bgiving thousands of speeches.  Author Lynn Sherr says she enduredconstant criticism:?   "At times the antagonism was very ugly.  She was criticizedBfor her looks, for her lack of a husband, for her speaking voice,=and of course, for her views.  She was even burned in effigyAonce, the body dragged through the streets.  That, incidentally,Awas not for women's rights but for her anti-slavery remarks.  AsAfor suffrage, it remains a blot on our national history that not;only were most men opposed to giving women the ballot, the&majority of women were also opposed."B   Many women in 19th century America believed that voting should>be strictly a male privilege.  But through the efforts of the?suffrage movement, and a gradual change in public opinion, the>right of women to vote was amended to the U.S.Constitution in1920.B   When Susan B. Anthony died in 1906 in Rochester, New York, her@funeral was a public occasion, with thousands of mourners.  Her>friend and fellow suffragist, Anna Howard Shaw, delivered the<eulogy and repeated Miss Anthony's famous last words to the,suffrage movement, "Failure is impossible."   ---------------   ---------------7   "HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION" BY THOMAS CAHILL   NANCY BEARDSLEY   WASHINGTON;   March 17th is Saint Patrick's Day, a day when AmericansBcelebrate all things Irish by holding parades, wearing shamrocks,Aand dressing in green, the traditional color of Irish Catholics.>But Thomas Cahill (kay-hill), head of religious publishing at>Doubleday, believes the celebration should also recognize thehistoric name:@   "I think that Patrick is truly one of the monumental figuresAof western history, and nobody seems to know what it was that heactually did."=   What Saint Patrick did, says Thomas Cahill, was introduce?Christianity into Ireland. And in doing so, he ensured a vital>link between  classical antiquity and the middle ages. Mister@Cahill describes how all that came about in a new book entitled$"How The Irish Saved Civilization."<   In the 5th century, A.D, the Roman Empire was toppled by?invading barbarian tribes. Its demise threatened to wipe out a=long legacy of Greek and roman intellectual achievement. The=wisdom of Plato, the eloquence of Homer, the moral vision of@Augustine, all might have vanished from historical record, says;Thomas Cahill, were it not for enterprising Irish scribes:A   "The only way that a book went from one generation to anotherAin those days was if it was copied, and all that came to an end.@And really by the end of the 5th century, continental Europe isAvirtually completely illiterate. We know of one or two librariesAthat survived for a time and that's it. At the same time, at the;very edge of Europe was this Celtic fringe that had become>literate over night, thanks to Saint Patrick, who had broughtBChristianity and with it literacy. And the Irish took up the task@of copying all the Greek and roman manuscripts and all of JudeoAChristian literature. And without that commitment on the part of>Irish scribes, the books of the western world would have beenlost."A   The man who laid the foundation for that bridge was himself a=link between two worlds. Saint Patrick began life as a roman?citizen living in Britain. At the age of 16 he was captured by?Irish pirates and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved as aAshepherd. By the time he escaped captivity 6 years later, he hadBbecome a devout Christian. He subsequently entered the priesthood=and returned to Ireland, then a pagan country, to spread theBfaith. In doing so, says Thomas Cahill, Patrick became one of the"world's great religious pioneers:B   "Christianity was already 5 centuries old, and what is amazing@to think about is that in all those 5 centuries no one had everBpreached the gospel to barbarians. We always think of Paul as the7great missionary, but he never actually got out of theAMediterranean basin. Patrick is the first human being in historyAto consciously and willingly go to the barbarians and preach the'gospel beyond the reach of roman law."A   Patrick proved an innovator in still other ways. He was among;the first Christian leaders to denounce the institution of6slavery. And he introduced into Ireland a new kind of8Christianity, uniquely suited to the Irish temperament:<   "He understood almost instinctively that the Irish had aAmystical sense of the world, that they saw the world as holy, asAmagical. And he began with that because he himself saw the world?as holy, as magical. And in a way this was very different from@the preceding forms of Christianity. Somebody like Augustine ofAhippo really saw the world as evil. Patrick allowed the Irish to7continue to enjoy the natural world and to build their!Christianity on that enjoyment."A   Long enchanted by the power of words, the Irish also welcomed;Patrick's efforts to bring literacy to their country. Soon>monasteric universities were springing up around Ireland, and?scribes were spending long hours copying sacred texts. And not@just sacred ones. The Irish appreciated the pagan literature of@classical antiquity as well. Thomas Cahill says that gave their+scholarly undertakings an unusual breadth:A   "You have a new kind of book for the first time in the world,>the Irish codex, which was not merely one book but many books?brought between two covers. They would put in a little virgil.AThey'd put in some Greek verbs. They'd put in a sermon by one of?the fathers of the church. They'd put in some natural history.>And beyond that they started writing in the margins their own?bits and pieces of early oral Irish literature, as a result of=which we have the first vernacular literature of Europe, the2first non-greek, non roman literature of Europe."A   Irish monks Perpetuated Saint Patrick's evangelical legacy byAtraveling across Europe establishing new monasteries, and so new@centers of learning. Thomas Cahill believes the achievements ofAthose early Irish Christians show how civilizations can adapt to?change, preserving the best from the past, while incorporating>new values and ideas as well. And he believes that's a lesson?with relevance for the late 20th century, also a time of great>migration around the globe. While other historians have takenAnote of what the early Irish Christians did, few have celebrated?their accomplishments as extensively as Thomas Cahill, a proud@Irish American himself. He's recently been given another chanceBto honor his ancestors, helping usher in Saint Patrick's Day with<a speech at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.   ---------------   ---------------   REMEMBERING IWO JIMA   FRANCIS RONALDS   WASHINGTON>   On Tuesday, March 14th, a joint American-Japanese ceremony@will be held on the tiny volcanic island of Iwo Jima, the site,B50 years ago, of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific war.BOn D-day, the day of the attack, more U.S. marines were killed onBIwo Jima than there were Americans killed during D-Day in France,@when allied troops launched their invasion of Europe from great	Britain.B   Major General Fred Haynes, senior surviving officer of the 5thAmarine division, has organized a visit back to the island by 800=marine veterans, some with wives and children, who will meet$there with a delegation from Japan.=   General Haynes was a 24-year-old captain at the time, and;operations officer for the 28th regiment of the marine 5th?division.  That was the regiment which raised the U.S. flag on?Mount Suribachi, an occasion immortalized by what is, at leastBfor Americans, perhaps the single most famous photograph of World<War II. General Haynes says that Iwo Jima was strategically@important because it was just half way between  Tokyo and Guam,=the Pacific island base for the giant American B-29 bombers.AFrom Guam, the B-29s could make it to Japan, but without fighter	escorts.A   "So the decision was that Iwo simply had to be taken for fourBreasons," says Haynes. "To eliminate a listening post which could?watch for the B-29s; secondly, to eliminate the possibility of:any Japanese aircraft being able to take off from Iwo and?intercept the B-29s; thirdly, it could provide a base for P-51>fighter aircraft, which could escort the B-29s for about fiveAminutes over the Tokyo-Yokahama area, and then could fly back toAIwo. Finally, Iwo served as a recovery place for damaged B-29s.";   Iwo was the only battle in the Pacific war in which the@Americans took greater casualties than the Japanese. Out of theA60-thousand marines who fought there, 68-hundred were killed and=21-thousand were wounded. The Japanese lost 22-thousand, but>virtually all of them were killed.  Fred Haynes says that theBtactics of the Japanese commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi,Bwere brilliant, and his men followed the old samurai warrior codeof "bushido":B   "General Kuribayashi could hardly have done a better job.  And@certainly the other aspect of it is, we never understood and we<never will understand the code of 'bushido,' which led him,AGeneral Kuribayashi, to put in each of the major defensive works>a note to all of his men saying that, 'when you die, you musttake ten Americans with you.'"<   Japanese television and other media are giving extensive@coverage to the events leading up to the Iwo Jima ceremonies onBTuesday, partly because General Kuribayashi's widow, now over 80,<will fly there together with the U.S. Ambassador in  Tokyo,?Walter Mondale.  The son of the Japanese tank commander on Iwo@Jima, Tadei Nishi, will also be on hand.  Colonel Nishi is also=famous in Japan because he won the gold medal for equestrian-jumping in the Los Angeles Olympics of 1932.A   General Haynes believes that the visit back to Iwo Jima after>50 years will help to purge the emotions of the Americans who?went through the ordeal there, and the ceremonies will also be<significant for the Japanese, who are still living with the(trauma of their defeat in World War II.A   General Haynes also says that the high American casualties on=Iwo Jima, and subsequently in the battle for the much largerAisland of Okinawa, which began on April 1st and lasted for three:months, was a critical factor in president Harry Truman's9decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki:5   "The high casualties at both Iwo and Okinawa were?unquestionably factors in the decision to drop the bomb,' saysAGeneral Haynes. George Marshall, who was then the chief of staff=of the American armed forces, was literally horrified by the@casualties at Iwo.  But then the casualties at okinawa added toAthe casualties at Iwo, and when you did an extrapolative process?to determine what you thought the casualties would be in Japan?proper, it led to Mr. Truman making the decision to drop thosetwo bombs."@   General Haynes was preparing for the invasion of the Kyushu,>in southern Japan, when the word came that the bombs had beenAdropped and the war was over.  He and his men believed that theyAwould very likely have been killed, or at least wounded, if they+had been obliged to carry out their plans:@   "We had calculated that in a 30-day period, our units, these<were infantry and artillery units, would suffer at least 80Bpercent casualties, which in terms of the total numbers of peopleBattacking would have been somewhere under a million men.  I don't@think there would have been a million in the first 30 days, butAthere certainly would have been somewhere between a half millionand a million.">   The number of dead and wounded among the Japanese, GeneralBHaynes says, both military and civilian, would have been far, farhigher.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. AGRICULTURAL ROUNDUP
   ROB SIVAK   WASHINGTON<   The Clinton Administration defends federally-funded food>assistance programs against congressional critics, as Capitol>Hill lawmakers continue debate on new welfare and agriculture@reform measures.  A new study shows that American workers spend@less on their food than workers in most other countries.  A new@report says conservation tillage techniques are making American+agriculture more environmentally friendly.A   The House of Representatives agriculture committee voted this>week to impose sharp spending cuts on the 27 billion dollar aByear federal food stamp program, which provides monthly subsidies:to more than 26 million low-income Americans to help them>purchase food. House committee members noted that under their?proposal, part of a larger welfare reform measure, food stamps@will remain a federal program. It will not be handed off to the?states to run, as Republican-led lawmakers have proposed doing1with other big federal food assistance programs.;   But the House Agriculture Committee's measure, approvedATuesday after more than 14 hours of heated debate, would cut the>30-year old food stamp program by at least 16 billion dollars@over the next five years by limiting the number of participantsand curbing benefits.@   Acting U.S. agriculture Secretary Richard Rominger, speakingBWednesday in Wisconsin to a national farmer's group, said cuts to;the agriculture department's food assistance and nutrition?programs will hurt not only the poor who rely on them, but theU.S. farm economy:B   "U.S.D.A's food assistance programs are important to our rural?economy as well as important to the lives of one in every five>Americans, many of them children, because each dollar of this:targeted food assistance increases retail food spending."A   Secretary Rominger said U.S.D.A analysts believe the proposedBcuts could eventually total 24 billion dollars, well above the 16@billion cited by the House committee. The U.S.D.A also projects@that under the House proposal limiting the growth in food stamp?payments, food price inflation would erode the buying power of7the food stamp benefits and put low-income families atnutritional risk.@   President Bill Clinton was also busy this week defending the@federal government's role in domestic food assistance programs.<On Thursday the president and top education and agriculture;officials visited a public school cafeteria in alexandria,=Virginia, near Washington, d-c, to join students there for a?federally subsidized lunch, courtesy of the 6 billion dollar a@year national school meals program. The program feeds more than?25 million mostly low income public school children every day.ADuring brief comments after his lunch, Mr. Clinton lashed out at?Republican budget-cutters who would dismantle the school meals?and other federal nutrition programs and hand them over to thestates:=   "This is penny-wise and pound foolish.  While saving some@money now, these nutrition programs for school children and for?women and for infants save several dollars in social costs for:every dollar we spend on them. The American people want a>government that works better and costs less, not a governmentBthat works worse and costs more.  These Republican proposals willAcost us dearly in the health of our children, the quality of our(schools and the safety of our streets.">   President Clinton said he has pledged to work closely withARepublican lawmakers to find ways to balance the federal budget.BBut he said he will resist any efforts to do so at the expense ofthe nation's children.B   Also in Washington this week, the Senate agriculture committee=formally began debate on the 1995 farm bill, a comprehensive@piece of legislation that will govern U.S. food and agriculture=policies for the next five years. Committee chairman RichardALugar, an Indiana Republican who also raises maize, soybeans and@hogs back home, wielded the gavel Thursday to open the first of?five public hearings on U.S. agriculture policy. Senator Lugar?has promised that the hearings will scrutinize every aspect of@current food and farm programs, and he has proposed the gradual,elimination of most federal farm subsidies.;   Acting U.S. agriculture secretary Rominger, speaking to>farmers in milwaukee this week, contrasted the Lugar proposalBwith the Clinton Administration's hold-steady approach to federalfarm spending:@   "This president understands farm policy.  His budget makes a=clear commitment to continuing support for our farmers.  His?position is clear.  Reasoned reform, yes, most certainly.  But>radical change, no.  This is not the time to pull the rug out!from under the American farmer."A   Mr. Rominger said he expects the gathering debate in Congress>over the 1995 farm bill will help to show the American publicAthat U.S. agriculture is a significant economic force, as he putBit, in a globally-linked technological age. He said Congress must?work not to scrap farm programs but to make them more flexibleand efficient:;   "We believe that farm programs must be simpler and more@flexible.  Less restrictive, more flexible and simpler programs=will encourage more diversity in production, will raise farm>income, and reduce potential adverse environmental effects of
farming."   ===============4   The invention of the plow is often credited with8revolutionizing ancient agriculture. But today, another?agriculture revolution is brewing as farmers are encouraged to7set their old plows aside in favor of something called<"conservation tillage."  A major new report, "farming for aAbetter environment," was released in Washington this week by theAprivate soil and water conservation society. One of the report's<22 authors, Purdue University economist Steve Lovejoy, told?reporters that conservation tillage is an increasingly popularBpractice in which farmers tread more lightly on their land, usingBa single pass with a shallow plow to plant seeds and leaving crop2residues in place to hold and enrich the topsoil.>   Mr. Lovejoy said U.S. farmers are discovering that reduced$tillage has real economic benefits::   "Crop residue management systems, conservation tillageBpractices are more profitable for the producer.  They save labor,@they require less equipment and they have yields which are very,similar to conventional tillage practices."?   Mr. Lovejoy and his colleagues also found that when farmersBcut down on cultivation and leave crop stubble in place, wildlife:is enhanced, soil erosion is controlled, water quality is>improved, and in many cases, herbicide and insecticide use is>reduced. University of Tennessee researcher John Bradley says>it's not surprising that U.S. farm acreage being managed with<conservation tillage has more than doubled in the last five@years. He says about thirty five percent of all major crops are@now being grown under this system. And Mr. Bradley expects thattrend to continue:A   "I predict that by the year 2000, eighty percent of the majorBrow crops in the United States will be grown under a conservationtillage situation."?   An extra bonus for farmers, according to the new report, isAthat crops grown under conservation tillage systems usually have:deeper, healthier roots and are sigificantly more droughtresistant.   ===============>   Economists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week>released a new analysis of how U.S. retail food costs compare?with food costs in other countries. Instead of just looking at?consumer's total food bills, however, this report compares how@much time it takes the average urban consumer to earn the moneyAto buy that food.  A survey of 16 major world capitals turned up>some surprising results.  U.S. workers do put in less time to>earn the value of a standard market basket of food items than!almost anyone else in the world.:   But the differences among countries are striking.  For@example, here in Washington, d-c, the average worker has to put@in two hours 35 minutes to buy the same selection of food items=that it takes workers in Brasilia, Brazil over 12 and a half@hours to earn.  But there are some countries where higher wages@and lower food prices have combined to bring the time worked to>earn food close to that in the U.S.. It only takes 2 hours 42>minutes in Bonn Germany, and in Ottowa, Canada, it takes four?minutes less to earn that marketbasket of food than it does inWashington, DC.   ---------------   ---------------)   WOMEN IN THE MILITARY IN WORLD WAR II   SARAH WILLIAMS   WASHINGTON, D.C.>   American women played a special role during world war two.@Not only did they takeover jobs in the workforce vacated by menAwho were drafted for wartime service, but more than 350 thousand=women enlisted in the armed forces.  The so called WACS, the;WAVES, and the WASPS became important members of a massive;American military build up that battled the axis forces of<Germany and Japan.  The national archives recently hosted a>conference including many of these pioneering women veterans.A   American women participated on a large scale in the military.?They worked as secretaries and clerks in the army, navy, Coast@Guard and Marine corps, and served as nurses, doctors, physicalBtherapists, and pilots.  Some were killed and wounded, and otherswere held as prisoners of war.A   Air force secretary Sheila Widnall, told veterans attending aAtwo-day conference on women in world war two, that their efforts+during the 1940's cannot be overestimated::   "Really, World War II was a break point.  It was women@building airplanes, it was women picking up a rather heavy load>and showing that they could simply do that at a time when ourBnation really needed everybody.  And I don't think we ever forgotthat, what that really meant."?   However, initially there was opposition to women serving inAthe military.  Some members of Congress believed enlisting women=would inappropriately remove them from their home duties andBwould create a "sex-role reversal."  But the huge war-time demand=convinced U.S. leaders to recruit women for non-combat jobs.>   American women themselves had many reasons for joining theBmilitary.  Some wanted adventure and many were motivated out of a<deep sense of patriotism.  Mary Blakemore Johnston says she)enlisted in the army for family reasons:A   "My father, John A. Blakemore, from southwest Virginia, was aDWorld War I veteran.    And when World War II came along, he didn't?have any sons to go. Instead, he had three daughters, and then@three little sons.  I was the oldest daughter, and the only one@able to serve in any capacity in World War II.  So he asked me,;and I was a senior in college, if I would like to join the>women's army auxiliary corps.  And I said 'sure, why not?'  I?felt very strongly that every one of us had to do something tohelp this country of ours."8   While there was a strong consensus in Mary BlakemoreBJohnston's family, some military women had to overcome a negative=public perception.  Early on in the 1940's, they experienced<hostility from the male recruits and the women who remained@civilians, and were characterized as "camp followers," or women>of loose morals.  Josette Durmody Wingo, a former WAVE (WomenAAccepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), says it was different
in the navy:?   "One thing was that the WAVES came after the WACS, and theyBlearned a lot from the mistakes the army made.  And so, they kept@drilling us that we were ladies, we were ladies, they also wereAvery careful about what got into the papers, what the guys said,@the guys were not allowed to use bad language around the WAVES,;and so they were very protective of us and we were sort of?thinking that we were their kid sisters.  And so we didn't runinto that."A   African-American women recruits faced special problems in the>segregated armed forces.  Following the Normandy invasion, 63?African-American women nurses were sent to England, where they9treated German prisoners of war, but were prevented from>assisting other white troops.  In 1945, Olivia Hooker was theAfirst African-American to join the SPARS, the women's section ofthe Coast Guard.@   "I had decided to join the navy," says Hooker, "because theyAhad a wonderful recruiting book called 'the story of you in navy?blue.'  and they kept sending my papers back saying there were;technicalities.  And finally I sent them to Navy secretary?Forrestal, and he said, 'i don't see anything wrong with them.>Come on in.' and at that point I realized the same people who?rejected them would have domain over my body, so I went across>the street, the Coast Guard recruiters were across the street@from the navy recruiters.  And they were so congenial and nice.AAnd they said 'well, you have to pass a test.'  and I said 'give8me the test,' and that's how I got in the Coast Guard."@   And Olivia Hooker became a member of SPARS, fifty years ago.AAt the recent gathering in Washington, another veteran described9her experience as a prisoner of war. She was held in the<Philippines for three years during the Japanese occupation.ANavy nurse Mary Rose Harrington Nelson cared for patients during7her internment at a garrison camp outside Manila.  Her@experiences included assisting with surgery while being watchedAby Japanese guards with fixed bayonets. She describes her camp's%takeover by American troops in 1945:B   "They came in, and we had moved out of the permanent buildings@into the barracks, and they said they were frightened when theyBcame through the first gate because there had been rumors that we?were going to be massacred, and they were afraid they were too@late but they went through the second wall.  And we wondered we@didn't even recognize the insignia, we weren't sure till we saw@some men get out.  And somebody quoted me as saying they looked%so big, and so healthy and so good."=   Mary Rose Harrington Nelson and all of the women veterans?attending the national archives conference said they learned a@great deal from their varied experiences and had made life-long?friendships.  Some used the GI bill to further their education:once the war was over. And all realized they made lastingBcontributions fifty years ago toward advancing women in the armed#forces of the United States today.   ---------------   ---------------!   MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL EXPANDS
   ROY CLARK   WASHINGTON>   Major league baseball has expanded to 30 teams by awarding?franchises to Saint Petersburg, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona.2The new teams will begin play in the 1998 season.>   The player strike now in its seventh month has been pushedAaside for the time being to welcome Saint Petersburg and Phoenixto major league baseball.@   The two cities will each pay an expansion fee of 130-millionAdollars, 35-million dollars more than it cost Denver and Floridato join just a few years ago.<   Jerry Colangelo of the Phoenix investment group says the?ongoing baseball strike is not keeping owners from considering$further expansion by the year 2000:?   "I think there is a realization major league baseball has aBbright future, that they will get over this collective bargaining?problem and that there is growth in the future of major leagueAbaseball.  Probably to the tune of 32 teams eventually, and this/is an intermediate step to get to that point."B   The Saint Petersburg team will be drawing on regional support,?so it will be known for now as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Fans@will get a chance to vote on the nickname, so Devil Rays may be	changed.B   The team in Phoenix will be called the Arizona Diamondbacks, a1rattle snake widely found in the U.S. southwest.   ---------------   ---------------9   $2 MILLION REWARD OFFERED IN WAKE OF KARACHI KILLINGS   WASHINGTONA   The United States has offered rewards of up to $2 million for?information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the?terrorist murders of two State Department employees March 8 inKarachi, Pakistan.B   The reward offers were announced in Karachi by U.S. AmbassadorBJohn Monjo and in Washington by State Department acting spokesmanChristine Shelly.@   Jackie Van Landingham and Gary Durell, employees of the U.S.BConsulate in Karachi, were killed when a terrorist gunman riddledAa van in which they were riding to work.  A third U.S. employee,?Mark McCloy, was wounded, but is recovering following surgery.B   "We have no additional information on who conducted the attack4or what their motives were.  And no one has claimed(responsibility," Shelly told reporters.A   She said U.S. and Pakistani authorities are cooperating fullyAin the investigation.  Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan<has pledged that every effort will be made to apprehend the>attackers.  She has assigned two special investigation teams,?including Pakistan's most senior investigators, to work on thecase.;   Several senior State Department officials and a team of;Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and State Department=Diplomatic Security agents left Washington early March 9 for)Karachi aboard a U.S. military aircraft.A   The FBI is the lead U.S. investigative agency responsible for?investigating murders of U.S. citizens overseas, a crime under
U.S. law.A   "They will provide assistance to Pakistani authorities in the;investigation," along with the diplomatic security specialBagents, she said.  In addition, the diplomatic security team willBconduct its own protective security investigation for the purpose@of reviewing and enhancing security at the consulate in Karachi-as well as at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.=   "The U.S. government is committed to working closely withAPakistani authorities to bring those responsible for this attack8to justice," the acting spokesman said.  "The PakistaniBgovernment has requested the assistance of the U.S. government inthis investigation."<   The senior department officials en route to Karachi will?accompany the remains of Gary Durell and Jackie Van LandinghamAback to the United States.  "We anticipate family members of the@victims will also be on the flight," Shelly said.  The aircraft8could return to the United States as early as March 11.?   A special memorial ceremony was held March 9 for Durell and1Van Landingham at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi.?   "Let me assure you, and warn those who staged this cowardlyAassault, that the United States, working with Pakistan, will use@every means at our disposal to bring those responsible for this<crime to justice," Secretary of State Christopher said in a>message read at the ceremony. He is currently on a diplomaticmission in the Middle East.:   Ambassador Monjo announced the reward offer during the9ceremony.  A key element of the program is that the U.S.?government will ensure complete confidentiality for people who>provide terrorism information and, if deemed appropriate, the?U.S. government will relocate people and their families to the!United States, Shelly explained.@   The counter-terrorism rewards program, which was established6by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, is<administered by the State Department's Bureau of DiplomaticASecurity with policy guidance from the office of the coordinatorfor counter-terrorism.B   Under the rewards program, the U.S. government offers a reward>of up to $2 million for information that resolves or prevents@acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens or property overseas or9leads to the arrest of terrorists involved in such acts.B   People located overseas with information regarding the Karachi?attack should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate or?write to: HEROES, P.O. Box 96781, Washington, D.C. 20090-6781.<   The acting spokesman said the reward program has been an?effective tool in combating terrorism.  In the past few years,;the U.S. government has paid over $3 million worldwide for0credible information received in over 20 cases.=   Shelly said there have been no changes in plans for Prime?Minister Bhutto to visit the United States next month.  She is=scheduled to meet with President Clinton on April 11 and has?other appointments in Washington and elsewhere in the country.="We have no reason to expect that the events in Karachi will.affect her visit," the acting spokesman said.   ---------------   ---------------=   REPORT SUGGESTS APPREHENDING ILLEGAL ALIENS AT KEY POINTS   JIM FULLER   WASHINGTON>   A new report says illegal immigration cannot be controlled@solely at the border and calls for new initiatives to apprehend=illegal immigrants at key intervention points throughout theUnited States.;   A two-year study released March 9 by the Federation for7American Immigration Reform, a leading public interest<organization, said that curtailing unlawful migration means>ensuring that persons who enter illegally will not be able toBobtain employment, publicly funded benefits, education or housingwithout detection.?   President Clinton announced an immigration control strategy:last month that calls for use of additional personnel and>advanced technology to crack down on illegal border crossers.BClinton also proposed legislation that would authorize a national employment verification system.@   "More agents on the border helps, but manpower at the border?alone just won't do it," said Dan Stein, executive director ofAthe non-profit federation.  "We need a national commitment to anBentirely new philosophy of immigration law enforcement.  You haveBto control immigration at critical intervention points within the
society."A   Stein said this means the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization>Service (INS) must work closely with state, local and private<agencies across the country to verify citizenship and alien@status whenever a person seeks employment, applies for benefits+or is apprehended for criminal activities.;   "Especially critical is establishing a system to verifyAwhether a person is a citizen or an alien," Stein said.  "And if;an alien, whether that person is an eligible candidate for9benefits.  This is the key to getting control of illegalimmigration."A   Stein said that this is what California's Proposition 187 was?all about making sure state agencies and employers are able to;verify a person's eligibility for benefits and employment.@   "We think, rather than opposing Proposition 187, the Clinton;administration should be working to make 187's initiatives&effective and enforceable," he added.=   Proposition 187, approved by California voters last year,<seeks to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving publiclyAfunded social services, including non-emergency health care, andAto bar illegal immigrant children from attending public schools.A   Since illegal aliens are increasingly able to elude detection?through the use of fraudulent documents, the report recommends4that all U.S. residents be required to carry a new,?electronically verifiable Social Security card to determine an6individual's eligibility for employment and benefits.>   All U.S. citizens currently carry Social Security cards asApart of a government-maintained old-age pension plan.  AccordingBto the report, the new card would have to be made fraud resistant;and contain identification features to include a photo and;fingerprint.  It also would include an encoded magnetic or7optical strip to automate the process of verification.?   The report also recommends ending automatic citizenship for&U.S.-born children of illegal aliens.@   "Many illegal aliens come to the United States to give birth@because their children are granted automatic U.S. citizenship,"Ait said. "Congress should be able, legislatively, to eliminate a@policy that rewards people for violating our immigration laws."B   The study also recommends that the INS target those industries@that are known to employ the largest numbers of illegal aliens.?   "Agriculture is one of the most egregious violators of laws@prohibiting the employment of illegal aliens," the report said.@"In order to effectively enforce the law, the INS must be given?the authority to search open fields where they suspect illegal9immigrants are being employed, without first obtaining a
warrant."@   To accomplish this, the study proposes that the INS increaseBits staff of inspectors, special agents and detention officers by>5,000, and double the size of its border patrol from 5,000 to10,000 agents.@   The federation estimates that the cost required to implementAits plan would be about $650 million annually.  It adds that the?Clinton administration's 1996 budget calls for expenditures of?$550 million just to compensate five states for the impacts of>illegal immigration on their health care facilities, criminaljustice systems and schools.;   "If illegal immigration were brought under control, the@financial burdens on the states would be virtually eliminated,"the report said.   ---------------   ---------------6   U.S. SAYS MEXICO COOPERATING IN HUNT FOR DRUG LORD   JERRY STILKIND   WASHINGTONA   In an effort to highlight the war on drugs, the U.S. attorneyAgeneral has announced that Mexico is cooperating in the hunt forBa drug lord considered so powerful that he is being placed on the'U.S. "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list.B   "The government of Mexico has committed itself to joining withBthe United States to bring about the destruction and dismantling"@of the drug empire, Attorney General Janet Reno announced March9.?   The empire was created by 50-year-old Juan Garcia-Abrego, a?U.S. citizen of Mexican ancestry, to ship tons of cocaine from.Columbia to the United States through Mexico.@   Reno said there would be no need for U.S. authorities to tryAand "snatch" him and bring him back to the United States, as was1done several years ago with another drug figure.A   Reno said she met with Mexican officials in December and they$agreed to cooperate in the manhunt.<   "This represents a great commitment by the government of@Mexico to pursue people like Garcia-Abrego in their country and@join with us in making sure he is brought to justice," she saidat a news conference.;   Garcia-Abrego himself operates mostly in Mexico but hisAorganization has set up distribution cells in several major U.S.<cities.  Reno said 71 members of the organization have been@convicted in the United States of drug charges, 12 are awaiting?trial and 19 are fugitives.  Garcia-Abrego was charged by U.S.@authorities in September 1993 of several drug charges and there?is a $2 million reward for information leading to his capture.@   Reno's announcement comes a day after the Mexican government?said there is evidence that its former deputy attorney general?took millions of dollars in bribes to permit the Garcia-Abrego,empire to ferry drugs to the United States.@   The official, Mario Ruiz Massieu, was arrested in the UnitedBStates March 3 at an airport with $46,000 in currency that he hadnot declared.?   Reno's announcement came on the same day that Nancy Reagan,?wife of former President Ronald Reagan, told a subcommittee of<the House of Representatives that drug use is rising in the<United States because Washington no longer is supplying theB"strong moral leadership" needed to help convince young people inparticular to not use drugs.A   She criticized the Clinton administration, without naming it,?by saying that its emphasis on the treatment of hard-core drug?users is misplaced. "But treatment cannot begin to replace the?overwhelming importance of education and prevention," she told9the Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security.@   As first lady from 1981 to 1989, Mrs. Reagan began a programBof reaching out to school children in particular with the messagethat drugs are harmful.A   "A decade of effort was beginning to pay off.  Attitudes were=being changed," she said.  Cocaine use, for example, dropped3until 1993. President Clinton took office in 1993.>   The Republican leadership of the subcommittee and the full=committee echoed the theme that the current administration's0policies had resulted in an upturn in drug use.B   This idea was rejected later in the day by Lee Brown, director?of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.  He;told the subcommittee that numerous studies by independent@researchers had shown that treatment is the most cost-effective2means of combating drug use in the United States.B   "Research indicates that the best way to reduce the problem ofAillicit drug use and its consequences is to reduce the number of#chronic, hardcore users," he said.>   Of approximately 13 million Americans who use drugs one or@more times a year, about 20 percent are hard-core addicts.  But?they consume 80 percent of all illicit narcotics and make up aAlarge number of state and federal prisoners convicted of variouskinds of crimes.B   Brown said that drug use is rising among young people and that;prevention and education programs do need to be increased.;   That is one reason why the administration is asking forB$14,600 million in the fiscal year that begins October 1 to fightAdrugs, an increase of $1,300 million over the current budget, hesaid.   ---------------   ---------------    BILINGUAL EDUCATION CRITIQUE
   DON HENRY   WASHINGTON;   An English language literacy foundation called the Read<Institute is questioning the effectiveness of public school>bilingual education programs that depend heavily on a foreign8language. The institute says in its latest study issued=Wednesday, that English immersion may be the best way to get=immigrants and other foreign language pupils into the publicschool mainstream.<   The U.S. Government has been funding bilingual educationBprograms for 27 years, and the head of the Institute for Research?in English Acquisition and Development (READ) says what looked;good in 1968 has not proved to be particularly successful.?   Rosalie Pedalino Porter, an experienced bilingual educationBteacher, says she discovered that instructing youngsters in their@native language for most of the day and giving them English forAan hour often does not bring them into the mainstream within thehoped-for few years.>   She believes Congress is responsible for making the native=language transition approach the favored bilingual educationmethod:8   "The federal government, when they enacted bilingual>education, they earmarked 96 per cent of the funding to go to@native language programs and four per cent to go to alternative>models.  So across the country, native language programs haveAdeveloped in great numbers.  It was not until 1988 that Congress9changed that formula to make the federal funding 75-25."<   The bilingual educator says that even though the federal?portion of bilingual education funding is tiny compared to theAstate and local share, federal guidance has set the tone and the2transition !bureaucracy is now firmly entrenched.3   At a news conference in Washington, she cited aAstate-sponsored study in California casting doubt on the successAof bilingual transition.  Porter says 40 percent of the nation'sBthree million limited-English pupils live in California, and much?of the instruction has been based on transition from native toEnglish language:@   "And the conclusion of that study was that no one program is=identified as superior, no evidence of superior benefits for$native language teaching programs.";   She says her own experience in Massachusetts elementaryAschools has been that native language programs that are supposedBto move the pupil into total English in three or four years oftenBfail to do so.  They are extended for another year or two, and by@then the transition is even harder because academic course workhas become more complicated.>   Mrs. Porter also says the native language primacy programsAtend to segregate immigrants by language and culture.  Moreover,>the makeup of the non-English-speaking student population haschanged dramatically:>   "Where in 1968 when bilingual education was first enacted,ASpanish speakers made up 90 percent of the children needing this@program, they now make up 60 per cent.  The rest of that number@of approximately three million children represent 150 languagesAor more.  This is an overwhelming challenge and it is one of the@reasons why it is almost impossible to teach every child in hisor her native language."B   The Read Institute report cites a New York City study in which;80 percent of students enrolled in mostly English programs>reached mainstream classrooms within three years, compared to>only 51 percent of students in bilingual transition programs.BSimilarly, in El Paso, Texas, transition program students took up<to seven years to reach the level achieved by English-basedprogram pupils in four years.=   Rosalie porter and the READ institute are urging federal,@state and local policy makers to permit more flexibility in the;schools to try English immersion approaches instead of the1predominant native language transition programs.;   Mrs. Porter says she arrived in this country at age six@speaking only Italian and suffered at the back of the class for@years before mastering English.  She does not want to return to9that kind of English immersion, but she says integrating?immigrants into the mainstream and giving them special Englishhelp is effective.=   The institute insists that it is not opposed to bilingual@transition as such, merely that it wants to see schools have anAoption to try other techniques.  Congress is expected to examine'bilingual education later in the year.<   The institute says it is taking no position on politicalBissues including efforts in Congress to make English the officiallanguage of the United States.   ---------------   ---------------   EXPORTING EDUCATION   LINDA CASHDAN   WASHINGTON>   The number of students from other countries attending U.S.Bcolleges and graduate schools continues to grow. According to theAlatest enrollment survey, The largest number of foreign students=are coming from Asia, and more than ever before have come tostudy business.:   All told, close to half a million foreign students areAattending college or graduate school in the United States today.AThey are spending about six billion dollars a year on universityBtuition and board, and pumping another one or two billion dollarsAinto the communities in which they are residing while in school,=all of which makes U.S. higher education a solid U.S. exportitem.A   Peggy Blumenthal of the Institute for International EducationBsays courses in education, health science, social science and the@arts are growing in popularity among foreign students. But, she:says, by far the two most popular fields are business and?management and engineering.  She says as many as 20 percent of@the foreign students are coming to the United States these days=for the express purpose of attending a U.S. business school:;   "That field of study really was developed in the United;States.  Fairly recently there has been the development ofBbusiness curricula in Europe and in Asia, but the source is still@the United States in terms of where you have the largest number>of business schools and the widest curriculum development, so>people who are looking for business education would come herefirst."?   Indeed, Ms. Blumenthal says, U.S. business school graduates?are serving as finance officials today in countries around the>world.  The fact that the United States is such a major worldBtrader is another impetus for studying at a U.S. business school.7It's a good way to find out how the U.S. system works.<   Ms. Blumenthal says as many as two thirds of the foreignstudents come from Asia:>   "Then within Asia, the largest sending countries are China?first, which sends almost 45 thousand students (a year) to the?United States.  Japan is second, Taiwan, India, (South) Korea,;and so on, so Southeast Asia and South Asia are very largeAsenders of foreign students to the United States. Actually amongBthe top ten countries sending students to the United States, only;one of them is not in Asia and that is Canada, our nearestnorthern neighbor."?   Is the United States educating the world or depleting otherAcountries of their brain power?  Do foreign students return homeAafter graduation, or look for jobs in the United States instead?9   There are no good statistics available to answer that<question, Peggy Blumenthal says, because there is no way of@tracking students after they finish college or graduate school:=   "There is only anecdotal evidence, and what the anecdotalBevidence tells us is that where the home country has a strong and;growing economy and a good deal of opportunity for college?educated people, students go home.  Where it doesn't, students?may tend to stay on in the United States.  But where they stayAon, that doesn't mean they stay on for life. The case of (South)AKorea, and Taiwan, both of those are very telling. It used to be=that oh, maybe two thirds or three quarters of students fromATaiwan used to stay on in the United States after their training<here.  Now increasingly we see those students going back to?Taiwan for jobs in Taiwan because the economy there is robust,)and the political system has opened up."?   Indeed, Ms. Blumenthal says, the president of Taiwan and 12Amembers of his cabinet hold degrees from U.S. universities.  She>says the same trend has begun among students from China.  ForByears, she says, Chinese graduates of American colleges have beenBreluctant to go home after experiencing U.S. freedom and economic?opportunity.  But lately, she says, Chinese officials from the8entrepreneurial provinces have started wooing them with?well-paying jobs and promises of freedom to travel to and fromChina.   ---------------   ---------------A   SPACE SHUTTLE IMAGES MAY SHOW LOST ANCIENT ANGKOR SETTLEMENTS   JILL GATHMANN   WASHINGTON?   A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes.:In fact, scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space>Administration say radar images taken during a shuttle flight?last October are priceless. The images may help archaeologistsBfind previously lost settlements near the ancient city of Angkor,
in Cambodia.A   The radar images of Angkor were collected during the October,11994, flight of NASA's Space Shuttle, Endeavour.@   Angkor is a vast complex of more than 60 temples dating back?to the ninth century.  They served as the spiritual center for%the ethnic Khmer people in Cambodia.A   At its peak, the area housed an estimated one million people,@and was supported by a massive system of reservoirs and canals.?   Today, much of Angkor is hidden beneath a dense rain forest;canopy.  Its temples have been ravaged by weather, war andBlooters.  Its extensive irrigation system has fallen into disuse.@   Diane Evans is a project scientist for NASA's jet propulsionAlaboratory in the western U.S. state of California.  She and her>colleagues have studied the radar images of Angkor.  She says;that Angkor might have been bigger than most archeologists	believe:B   "It really looks like there might have been some habitation to>the north of the original Angkor site that hadn't really been@investigated too much by the archeologists in the past, becauseBof the difficulty of getting in there on the ground.  It could beAthat the site is actually much larger or was a bit larger at one>particular time in the past, or that maybe the site migrated,:that it actually changed locations sometime in the past.">   NASA collected the radar images using a pair of German and;Italian-built instruments that bounced radar waves off theearth's surface.B   Diane Evans says the shuttle's radar was able to penetrate theBdense rainforest around Angkor, and to generate artificial images=of hidden ruins.  The radar collects data at three different9wavelengths, each of which is sensitive to features of aparticular size:<   "The radar works in a way that's a little bit similar if;you've ever been in the desert or looked at a landscape atBsunset.  When you get low levels of sunlight, it tends to enhanceBtopography  and texture of the landscape.  And the radar provides?its own illumination, thereby making sort of a similar viewing:capability possible. So we're able to enhance topographic:variations of the surface, really subtle textures, subtletopographic changes."=   John Stubbs is the program director of the World MonumentAFund, a non-profit organization that supports efforts to protectAand study ancient sites such as Angkor.  He says the development@of Angkor's reservoir system proves that the original site grew)in size, and actually changed locations:@   "Angkor is a very large site, about twice the size of Paris,Bwithin which is this monumental city center, mostly in stone.  It>started as a vision of one king who built a great water works=that provided water for an agricultural system in his rather=small city.  And from that, the same formula multiplied many=times over a 500-year period to be the gigantic city that isthere today."=   John Stubbs says that by studying the water works system,Ascientists have learned more about how the Khmer people evolved:>   "It does seem that the vast reservoir and canal system was@indeed superimposed in certain areas, which suggests that there=were changes made over time.  We had thought to date that it=simply evolved and was expanded in a linear fashion.  But it@seems that the canal system was modified over time.  We're also?noting where some canals and reservoirs didn't seem to serve aAfunctional purpose, so maybe they only served a sacred purpose.">   John Stubbs says the new radar images will benefit the 150Aresearchers and scientists working at Angkor today.  He says theAinformation will be made available at a conference in Phnom PenhAin April.  The experts working to preserve the ancient site will-be able to learn from the latest technology.@   Mr. Stubbs says the preservation of Angkor will be difficultBbecause of its size.  In addition, natural decay, looting and theAcommunist Khmer Rouge guerrilla faction, occupying the territory?surrounding the historic site, pose a challenge.  However, Mr.@Stubbs says many Cambodians share the opinion that the historic>value of Angkor is tremendous, and therefore the site must besaved:A   "Angkor and Phnom Penh are the heart of the present CambodianAculture.  And the Cambodian people today so identify with AngkorAthat it would be saved and defended, at all costs, from any sort;of threat.  It really is a symbol of that country and that?civilization so it is of the greatest importance to secure andpreserve Angkor."B   Officials believe the radar images collected by NASA will helpthe preservation effort.   ---------------   --------------->   FBI RELEASES TRANSCRIPTS OF SHABAZZ TALKING WITH INFORMANT   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGOA   In the Midwest city of St. Paul Minnesota, lawyers for one of@the daughters of slain black activist and Muslim leader Malcolm>X, continue efforts to discredit a man allegedly hired by the@woman to murder a rival of her father's.  But recently released=transcripts of phone conversations between the woman and the8hired killer paint a mixed picture of the alleged plot.:   Pretrial hearings continue in Minnesota in the federalBgovernment's case against Quibilah Shabazz, a daughter of MalcolmAX who at the age of four saw her father killed by gunfire duringBa speech in New York.  That was 30 years ago.  This past January,BMs. Shabazz surrendered to federal authorities in Minnesota afterBbeing charged with plotting to kill the Reverend Louis Farrakhan,1the Chicago-based leader of the Nation of Islam.;   Mr. Farrakhan was recruited into the nation of Islam byAMalcolm X.  They subsequently became rivals.  Members of Malcolm9X's family have publicly stated their suspicion that Mr.9Farrakhan was involved in the killing of Malcolm X.  Mr.?Farrakhan consistently denies having had any involvement.  The>U.S. government is charging Ms. Shabazz with trying to hire a gunman to kill Louis Farrakhan.A   Transcripts of secretly-taped phone conversations between Ms.AShabazz and the alleged gunman, a former classmate of hers named?Michael Fitzpatrick, indicate Ms. Shabazz wanted Mr. FarrakhanAkilled because she feared he would try to kill her mother, Betty?Shabazz.  Ms Betty Shabazz has stated in television interviews>she believed Mr. Farrakhan was involved in the killing of her@husband.  Selected remarks from some 40 phone conversations theBBederal Bureau of Investigation taped between Mr. Fitzpatrick and@Ms. Shabazz underscore her hatred of Mr. Farrakhan and a desireAto see him killed.  But the conversations also show a reluctance;at times by Ms. Shabazz to carry out the crime, only to be4redirected by Mr. Fitzpatrick to continue the plot.<   Lawyers for Ms. Shabazz want to question Mr. FitzPatrick:before the trial and have subpoenaed him to appear at the>hearings. Federal prosecutors have argued his presence at the;hearings would be irrelevant.  A magistrate conducting the(hearings has yet to rule on the matter.:   Defense lawyers hope to discredit Mr. Fitzpatrick as a@government informant with a criminal record.  They also hope to;portray the murder plot as a government scheme designed toillegally entrap Ms. Shabazz.@   Federal prosecutors believe their evidence will convince theAcourt that Quibilah Shabazz fully intended to hire a man to kill@Louis Farrakhan.  If found guilty, she could be sentenced to up<to 90 years in prison.  The trial is scheduled to begin Mayfirst.   ---------------   ---------------=   INFORMANT SAYS RAHMAN ASKED HIM TO KILL PRESIDENT MUBARAK   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORKB   Testimony continued today Wednesday in the trial of Sheik Omar>Abdel Rahman and 10 Others accused of planning a war of urban%terrorism against the United States.B   Emad Salem, the U.S. Government's informant and most important>witness in this trial, testified that Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman@asked him in 1991 to kill Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.  InBhis second day of testimony, Mr. Salem told jurors he informed anAEgyptian military officer about the plan, saying the plan was in<retaliation for Egypt's policies towards the United States.>   Sheik Omar and 10 others are charged with plotting to bomb9several New York landmarks, including the United Nations>building. Prosecutors also say the bombing of the World Trade?Center two years ago was part of a plan to wage a war of urban?terror against the United States for its Middle East policies.>   Mr. Salem said sheik Omar also encouraged his followers to=conduct firearms training so they would be prepared to fight=against anyone who attempted to negotiate peace with Israel.@   Mr. Salem implicated another defendant in the trial, Ibrahim@El-Gabrowny. Mr. Salem testified that Mr. El-Gabrowny asked him?several times to help him build a high-powered bomb. Mr. SalemBindicated that Mr. El-Gabrowny also wanted to help his cousin, El?Sayyid Nosair, break out of jail. Nosair was in prison servingAtime for weapons charges in connection with the assassination of(militant Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York.?   Anthony Ricco, a defense attorney for Mr. El-Gabrowny, toldBreporters because Mr. Salem did not tape record the conversations,there is no proof they actually took place:B   "Mr. Salem made thousands of recordings and in those thousandsAof recordings there is not one conversation when Mr. El-Gabrowny>ever talks about a bomb or building a bomb. What you find Mr.AEl-Gabrowny talking about is something that relates to the other<parts of his testimony, which talks about letting the legal=process run its course and being concerned with Mr. Nosair's	appeal."B   Emad Salem, who was paid one million dollars by the governmentAfor his testimony, was able to infiltrate sheik omar's group and;secretly record hours of conversations with them. The tape<recordings could be introduced as evidence later this week.>   The government's case depends in large part on whether theBjury believes that he is telling the truth. Defense attorneys say:they plan to attack the credibility of Mr. Salem after he:admitted that he lied to federal authorities in the past.   ---------------   ---------------.   U.S. DEPENDENCE ON IMPORTED ENERGY GROWING   JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTON=   The volume of oil the United States imports has reached a?historic high and is expected to continue rising, warns Deputy#Secretary of Energy William White.@   Without further U.S. government actions to reduce this level5of dependence on foreign energy, White said, "futureAunpredictable episodes of supply disruption and price volatility1could cause economically damaging price shocks."B   In his prepared testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural@Resources Committee March 8, White also noted a recent Commerce<Department finding that oil imports threaten to impair U.S.national security.?   Although the U.S. economy has become more energy efficient,:low global oil prices -- currently $17 per barrel -- have?encouraged consumption and discouraged domestic production, heAsaid.  As a result, net oil imports (the United States exports a;small amount of oil) are near 50 percent of total U.S. oilconsumption, he said.A   White said that one administration proposal to encourage U.S.Adomestic production is removal of the export ban on Alaska North;Slope crude oil. This action alone would lift domestic oil8production by roughly 100,000 barrels per day, he said.A   He said the federal government is also working in partnership@with private industry to make more fuel-efficient vehicles; one?of the goals is a mid-size car with average fuel economy of 80Bmiles per gallon (34 kilometers per liter),triple that of today's	average.B   White said the government also has programs encouraging use of>natural gas and renewable-energy sources as an alternative to<oil.  He said that renewable-energy technology programs areAexpected to produce non-electric energy savings equivalent to 60@million barrels of imported oil per year by 2000 and twice thatamount by 2010.7   To address national-security concerns, he said, theAadministration is looking at ways to diversify its international?supplies.  White pointed out that Argentina has opened its oilBsector to international private investment and that Venezuela has<revised its oil-development laws and expanded contacts withAinternational oil companies in order to boost oil production and	exports.;   White mentioned also the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, aBgovernment-owned stockpile of crude oil available in the event of=an oil-supply disruption.  It currently contains 592 million:barrels of crude oil, which can be made available to U.S.Arefiners at a rate of 3.1 million barrels per day within 15 daysof notice, White said.:   He said the administration strongly opposes RepublicanBproposed cuts in oil and gas research funding -- reductions that,Bhe said, will directly affect the ability of the United States toreduce oil imports.?   "The impact of these programs is not theoretical," he said.:"The United States can ill afford to turn its back on oil?resources that, with advanced technology, could potentially beproduced."   ---------------   ---------------3   KEVIN COSTNER NOW UNDER ATTACK BY SIOUX INDIANS   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO<   It is a story almost worthy of Hollywood treatment, with;allegations of betrayal by Native American "Indian" tribes?against an Oscar-winning motion picture star.  The site is theAlegendary old mining town of "Deadwood," in the Midwest state of?South Dakota.  And the battle of words is over a casino-resortknown as "Dunbar.">   The 1990 film "Dances with Wolves" won that year's academy@award for best picture, and the film's star, Kevin Costner, won?an Oscar for directing it.  The film featured Mr. Costner as a@U.S. Cavalry lieutenant named John Dunbar who deserted the armyAto join the exploited Sioux Indians living in the Black Hills of<South dakota.  Today, Kevin Costner and his brother Dan are?developing another project in the Black Hills.  It is a resortAand casino.  And while the Sioux nation applauded the film, this'project has raised considerable anger.B   While he was filming "Dances with Wolves," Mr. Costner and his@crew spent leisure time in Deadwood, a town of about 18-hundredBpeople which a century ago swarmed with thousands of gold miners.>Deadwood has a history of being a lawless outpost of American?frontier violence.  It was home to such colorful characters asAMarshal "Wild" Bill Hickok and a woman known as "Calamity jAne,"Awho toured in what were called "wild west" shows around the turnof the last century.A   The Costners are building their luxurious "Dunbar" resort andBcasino a few kilometers outside Deadwood on land which some SiouxBconsider sacred.  Sioux member Phillip Underbaggage says the land<was disposed of by the U.S. forestry service.  He thinks itBshould have been given back to the Sioux.  Mr. Underbaggage wants<the Costners' Dunbar corporation to re-think their project.=   The Sioux tribal council member says he and several otherAnative Americans see both a Kevin Costner who showed sympathy to@the plight of American Indians and sensitivity to their cultureBin the film "Dances with Wolves," and now a movie star who made a9fortune off the film and wants to desecrate sacred land.:   Now when kevin Costner came and made that movie," saysAUnderbaggage, "it created a lot of awareness.  And we thought he=was a friend.  Then all of a sudden, using that notoriety to>start a big-time casino, over 100 million dollars, i guess wekind of felt betrayed."B   Gambling, or "gaming," was approved by a state-wide referendumBto help bolster the sagging economy of the old mining town, which;over time lost some of its luster as a tourist attraction.A   Deadwood, South Dakota's mayor, Bruce Oberlander, thinks some?of the Native American resentment is actually over competitionBcoming from gambling parlors located off the Indian reservations, such as in and around Deadwood:?   "The three reasons why gaming came to Deadwood by a vote of>the people of South Dakota was for historic preservation or aArather historic old mining community, which we are; for economic:revitalization, which we were desperate for;  and to make%Deadwood a destination resort town."=   That third goal, says Mayor Oberlander, is likely to come@about when Kevin and Dan Costner's "Dunbar" resort-casino opens?in 1997.  He thinks some tribe reservations, where gambling isAalso permitted, may suffer if forced to compete with redeveloped*Deadwood and its new tourist attractions.@   The sacred land argument, says Mayor Oberlander, is one overwhich he has doubts:<   "I think that to some extent, it's kind of a sour grapes>(bitter) attitude on their part, and yet they might have someBlegitimate thoughts about the religious aspects. Although I'm not;sure that Deadwood was ever considered a religious site by	itself.">   But Sioux tribal leader Phillip Underbaggage maintains theBBlack Hills are sacred to his people, saying, "I would  not build'a casino on top of a Catholic church."?   How the dispute will be resolved remains in doubt.  Neither side has talked with the other.<   Mr. Underbaggage says Dunbar should take the first step:A   "They never approached any one of us.  I wish they would come<down and we could sit down and we would have a face-to-face	(talk)."7   A representative for Dunbar, who did not wish to be>interviewed on tape, expressed surprise that there was strongBopposition to the project, but added that efforts are under study?on how to resolve the differences.  The company representative=also expressed doubts that all Sioux share opposition to the	project.=   Meanwhile, construction on Dunbar continues.  The town ofBDeadwood hopes to become an international tourist destination.  AAnew rail link with old steam trains and streamlined diesels will;bring in visitors.  And for the moment, the image includesAanother element from the historic wild west tableau, that of theBembittered American Indian watching over changes which he can not
overcome.   ---------------   ---------------    KING CENTER DISPUTE RESOLVED   JIM TEEPLE	   MIAMI?   A dispute between the family of civil rights leader, MartinALuther King Jr. And the National Park Service has been resolved,at least temporarily.>   At the center of the dispute was money.  The family of the?slain civil rights leader said it needed more money to operateBthe Martin luther king Jr. Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The center@which houses Mr. King's birthplace and crypt however is part of;the much larger King Historic District which is run by the)National Park sErvice, a federal agency.?   Last year the Park Service rejected a request from the King4Center to triple the annual budget of the center to@one-and-a-half million dollars.  The Park Service also rejected?plans by the king family to build an interactive theme park onAland selected for a visitors center.  The King family retaliated=by locking the Park Service out of Mr. King's birthplace and.forbidding it to conduct tours of the center.<   Now however the dispute appears to be resolved, at leastAtemporarily.  The king family now says it will reopen Dr. King'sAbirthplace.  Dexter Scott King the youngest son of Martin Luther=King Jr. Said the family took the action after seeing school<children turned away from visiting his father's birthplace.?   Press reports say the announcement marks the beginning of a>new arrangement between the Park Service and the King family,Aalthough neither side admits to changing its position.  The King8family says it will reevaluate the arrangement in July.ARepresentatives of the Park Service have reportedly told members=of the family they will now likely resume maintenance on the=center which costs more than five-hundred-thousand dollars ayear.B   The dispute opened a controversy in Atlanta's African-American9community with prominent members of the community takingAdifferent sides on the issue.  Many Atlantans accused the family?of blocking a potential source of revenue for the city and the<impoverished neighborhood which surrounds the king historic?district.  However others, most notably former U.N. Ambassador@Andrew Young said the family kept the memory of the slain civil;rights leader alive through promoting non-violent conflictresolution by the center.   ---------------   ---------------*   KILLER-VIRUS MOVIE BASED ON TRUE EVENT   ANDREW J. BAROCH   WASHINGTON7   A killer virus threatens to break out of a suburban?Washington, D.C., research lab. There is no  vaccine, no cure,:and there may be no escape ,  a real-life horror story as>recounted in the best-selling book, "The Hot Zone"  and a new9major motion picture scheduled to be released this week,%"Outbreak," starring Dustin Hoffman.B   On October 4th, 1989, an American company that sells imported,@wild animals to U-S scientists for research purposes received a9shipment of 600 monkeys from the Philippine rain forest.>   The animals appeared healthy when their cages arrived at a=storage building in the quiet, suburban city of Reston, Va.,@outside Washington, D.C., but they suddenly began dying, one byone.>   U-S military bio-hazard experts concluded that the monkeysAwere infected with the dreaded Ebola (ee-BOH-la) virus, which is@a rare, highly-contagious, tropical organism that liquefies its>victims' internal organs in a matter of days. In U-S military@slang, the virus was "hot," which means it was deadly, and  the8Reston monkey house,  located across  the street from a;McDonald's fastfood restaurant and a Montessori children's!school, had become a "hot zone."?   Richard Preston, the author of the best-selling non-fictionAbook entitled "The Hot Zone," says the building had to be sealed%off to spare the general population:;   "The United States Army identified Ebola virus in these>monkeys. The army medical people went into a full-scale panic@over this. They assembled bio-hazard teams. These were teams ofBsoldiers under the control of officers. They were out of uniform,@but they formed a column of unmarked vehicles, and they went toBthat building in Reston, and they sealed it off. They entered it,Bwearing their space suits, and then they sterilized the building.<The great fear, of course, was that Ebola virus, which is a@'species jumper', can jump out of an animal into a human being,Athe great fear was that it was going to get out into Washington,D.C., into North America."A   Author Richard Preston says bio-hazard teams at first cleanedthe building:A   "They sterilized the building. They killed all the monkeys by:giving them lethal injections of anesthetic, and then theAcarcasses were put inside special bio-hazard containers, removedBfrom the building, and then incinerated at very high temperature,>two-thousand degrees Fahrenheit. The building was then washed?with chemicals, and then finally filled with gas and kept that@way for three days, sealed up. At the end, scientists were able?to determine the building was completely free of all microbial>life. But meanwhile, human beings had been working inside the?building, and many, many people had been in contact with thoseAmonkeys, including some of the scientists. So the great fear wasAthat the Ebola virus was going to make the jump and was going toBappear in the human beings. Of course, the worry was that once it%got going, it might be unstoppable."@   Richard Preston says at least four people were infected with'the virus but amazingly they survived:A   "They definitely had Ebola virus. They were infected with it.=But they didn't die. So it turned out the strain inside that?building was apparently not lethal to human beings, but at the;same time, it was absolutely lethal to primates and it was?airborne. So you have a virus that was almost a deadly killer.>It was like a key being fitted into a lock, in which the last@tumbler [piece of metal inside lock] fails to turn. If the last;tumbler had not failed to turn, if the virus had been both=airborne and lethal to humans, there would have been a majorBproblem, and it's not all clear to me that anyone would have beenable to control it.";   The Ebola virus belongs to a family of viruses known asA"filovirus" (FEEL-oh-virus). Dr. Anthony Sanchez (SAN-chez) is a>research microbiologist at the Centers for Disease Control in'Atlanta, Ga. According to Dr. Sanchec:=   "There are two groups of filoviruses. There's the MarburgAgroup. Marburg virus was the first filovirus identified in 1967.<African green monkeys carrying the virus were exported from?Uganda to Europe and infected people using those monkey organs=for the production of vaccines. Then, there's another group,@Ebola virus, which contains more pathogenic [capable of causing@disease] variants than filoviruses. So they differ, these Ebola;viruses, in their pathogenicity: Zaire is very high. Sudan<subtype is medium, 53 percent mortality, whereas the Reston?subtype appears to show almost no pathogenicity at all in man.<The big question in terms of the molecular biology of theseviruses is, why is this?"?   Dr. Sanchez says scientists have made only limited progress,since the terrifying episode in Reston, Va:>   "We can at least stem the tide in terms of the virus beingBimported in infected animals. The diagnostics [medical tests] are@very sensitive and we can safeguard individuals in this countryBand elsewhere from infection due to this type of importation. But=the real problem is we don't know what the natural reservoir@[origin] is for filoviruses. So animals -- such as monkeys thatBare imported -- may not be where these viruses are normally found=in the environment. It could be imported in some other ways,?through some insect or some other type of animals that are not=checked at our borders. This is a problem in dealing with an5unknown factor, such as the ecology of filoviruses."<   Dr. Sanchez says there is evidence that early victims ofBfilovirus had come in contact with bats, but it's not conclusive.@   Richard Preston, author of the book "The Hot Zone," believesBdeadly viruses are nature's revenge for man's encroachment on theBonce-unspoiled rain forests. The lessons of the 1989 Reston, Va.,<virus scare are that in his words, "nature is fantasticallyBcomplicated, very, very powerful, almost impossible to understandand impossible to control."   ---------------   ---------------<   EMINENT AMERICAN ASTROGEOLOGIST TO LEAD SAUDI EXPEDITION   KARL NELSON   WASHINGTONB   American astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker, most recently in the@news when "his" comet, Levy-Shoemaker, crashed into Jupiter, isBon his way to the Empty Quarter in Saudi Arabia to study a famousmeteor crater site there.?   Describing the expedition as "the chance of a lifetime -- a@dream  come true," Dr. Shoemaker noted that the site he will be:visiting, the Wabar Crater region in the Empty Quarter in=southeastern Saudi Arabia, is one of the earliest recognizedAmeteor impact sites on earth.  The scientist has known about the>crater from the beginning of his career but has never had the@opportunity to visit it before.  Famed Arabist St. John Philby,<traveling in the remote and unpopulated region in the early@1930s, recognized the depressions on the desert floor as meteorAimpact craters and described them in his written accounts of his=travels.  A prominent geologist named Spencer at the British@Museum analyzed Philby's notes and wrote up the findings in theBfirst serious scientific study.  The site has rarely been visited?since then, until a preliminary expedition last year paved the9way for next week's "Shoemaker Wabar Crater Expedition."?   Dr. Shoemaker, a member of the National Academy of Sciences:and by many accounts the world's leading expert on meteor=impacts, says he hopes to address three questions during the@expedition:  What is the structure of the crater rims?  How old<are the craters?  How many meteorites struck the site?  The@answers to the first two questions will require collecting some>material from the crater beds and bringing it to the U.S. for@sophisticated testing.  He noted that the site has already beenAdated as 6,400 yea rs old, plus or minus 2,500 years.  It is the<plus or minus that he would like to refine, using a test heAdeveloped to measure the trace amounts of beryllium and aluminum>which have been extracted by the action of cosmic rays on the;quartz material exposed by the impact. Answering the thirdBquestion, how many meteorites struck, will require a more mundaneAeffort -- moving large quantities of drifted sand from the site.@The craters have been partially covered by sand dunes in the 606year s since St. John P hilby first visited the site.A   Retired from the U.S. Geological Survey, where he established>its astrogeology program, Dr. Shoemaker will be joined on theAexpedition by USGS geologist Dr. Jeff Winn, scientists from King@Abdul Aziz University and representatives of expedition sponsorAZahid Tractor Company, which markets the all-terrain vehicles to@be used in transporting the team members and their supplies and3equipment to the site for the one-week expedition.   ---------------   ---------------   SAN DIEGO: THE MEXICAN LINK   GREG FLAKUS
   SAN DIEGOA   San Diego, California, is known as a beautiful port city with<nice beaches and a year-round mild climate, but much of its<importance as a center of commerce has to do with its being>within 20 minutes of the Mexican border. The city's relations@with its neighbor to the south have provided both blessings and
problems.>   People in San Diego offer a variety of opinions when askedAabout their neighbor to the south.  For many business people and>political leaders, Mexico is an important trading partner and>tijuana is an important regional partner that helps San Diego<attract investment from elsewhere.  Many low-wage  assembly?plants have been set up on the Mexican side of the border withAsupport services and administrative matters being handled on theSan Diego side.B   But there are also problems along the border, with crime being;the number one concern.   Both Mexican authorities and law?enforcement officials in San Diego have recognized the need to=deal with crime as a transnational issue.   San Diego police:detective Manny Rodriguez says narcotics smuggling is thegreatest concern:9   "The main emphasis in the cooperation between the two?governments has to do with the drug activity and the violence.BFor awhile there, we had quite a few homicides that may be linkedto drugs."A   Drugs, guns, illegal immigration smuggling schemes, these are?all tough problems on the border and the flow of criminals and?criminal activity goes both ways. While drugs and undocumented?immigrants flow north, other problems flow south.  Mexico, for<example, has much stricter gun control laws than the United?States and many of the guns used in crimes there come from theAU.S. side.  Gangs from Los Angeles have also had an influence on@young people in tijuana.  Until recent years, tijuana had never>had a graffiti problem, but so-called "taggers" from Southern?California are now being emulated by gangs forming in Tijuana.@   Detective Rodriguez, who works as a special assistant to the?chief of police, says San Diego has developed good cooperative?relations with counterparts on the other side of the border to address all these crime issues:;   "We have specific officers assigned out of our criminalBintelligence unit.  They work closely with the law enforcement on>the other side.  The sheriff's department also has an ongoingAliaison with Mexican authorities. There are cases that they need<our help on or that we need their help on and there is that>cooperative base that is already established.  Certainly, ourBsouthern division captain is also involved in that because of the:border task force that we have that patrols the border to>alleviate some of the violence.  Then, Mexico's equivalent toAthat would be the beta (special unit of Mexican federal police).AThey patrol the border primarily to prevent homicides, robberies4and rapes that occur along the border every night.">   While business and community leaders in both San Diego and@Tijuana generally have an upbeat view of their relations, there<are some points of friction, including the issue of illegalBimmigration.  The recent economic crisis in Mexico sparked by the<free-fall of the peso currency has only made matters worse.A   Neil Whiteley-Ross is vice president of international affairsAfor the San Diego Economic Development Corporation.   He worriesBthat Mexico's economic turmoil could increase the numbers of poor7Mexicans seeking to enter the united states illegally:@   "I think you will find that the illegal immigration issue is@not by any means yesterday's news.   It is going to be a biggerAissue in the not too distant future if there is not a rebound in:the peso and if there is not a stable economy in Mexico."B   Mr. Whiteley-Ross says the problem of illegal immigration mars;what otherwise would be an ideal trans-border relationship=between San Diego and tijuana. He says the influx of so manyBundocumented people creates a stigma for all Hispanics in the San.Diego area, even those who are U.S. citizens:@   "Twenty-five percent of our community is Hispanic. Those are@(people who) live here, work here,  (have) kids in school here.@They are part of our community. They, I think,  are looked down>upon, I think at times by the 'other' groups because there isAillegal immigration and everyone then is cubby-holed (marked) asAan illegal immigrant.  There has been so much negative publicityBthat it has created animosity which is difficult sometimes to getover."B   Neil Whiteley-Ross says the flow of illegal immigrants throughBSan Diego has also had an economic impact on the city in terms of?higher costs for social programs that support the undocumentedworkers and their children:;   "Financially, the community has had a great impact fromAillegal immigration.   Our education system,  I do not know whatAthe percentages are, but there is a pretty substantial number ofBpeople in our education system who are here illegally.  They come?across the border to go to school because our school system is@better.   You could look at the state as a whole and this issueAis not just in San Diego.  It is probably exponentially worse in?Los Angeles and orange county.  This community probably spends=somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred-millionAdollars on health care, education and enforcement of immigration:(laws).  That is not federal money, that is local money."9   Mr. Whiteley-Ross says the problems caused by illegalBimmigration are very visible in San Diego and that is why so many<people here, including a majority of Hispanic voters in the<community, supported last year's state referendum, known as@proposition 187, that sought to deny social services to illegalBimmigrants.   Not everyone, of course, was in agreement with that@measure and most of its provisions have been blocked by federal(judges since it was passed in November.B   San diego community leaders have applauded recent steps by the?Mexican government to deal with illegal immigrant smugglers in:tijuana and to increase cooperation with U.S. immigrationAofficials, but as the economic and political situation in Mexico?grows more turbulent, the chances are that illegal immigration7will continue to be a source of irritation between twoAneighboring communities who, in most other areas of contact, areworking in close harmony.   ---------------   ---------------3   ACCOUNT OF MARINE SHOOTING AT MOGADISHU AIRPORT   ALEX BELIDA
   MOGADISHUB   There have been charges by some Somali militia commanders that@U.S. marines protecting the U.N. withdrawal from Mogadishu last=week unnecessarily opened fire on Somali gunmen, killing and0wounding several of them without justification.;   A young Somali man wearing a brightly colored shirt andBcarrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, or RPG, was walking?about Mogadishu airfield in plain sight of the Marines. Having@received three RPG shots over their position on a sand dune the>previous night, the Marines were watching him very carefully.?   The man was no more than 250 meters away, one of a group of@about a dozen or so armed Somalis who had been going in and out@of what was apparently a makeshift weapons storage bunker.  TheAMarines wanted the man with the RPG to go away, far away, out of=range of the nearby beach where U.S. Navy landing craft wereputting ashore.@   A U.S. military psychological operations loudspeaker vehicle@with a Somali speaking translator was first summoned to issue averbal warning.*   The translator explained what he said.@   "I was telling him, the guy who is armed with r-p-g, get outBof that bunker.  Get out of that bunker.  We told him that we not>accept this  kind of guns.  They are danger to us and we will3take him out (kill) if he won't get out of there."A   But the gunman would not listen.  He continued to move about.(The loudspeaker warnings were repeated.*   Suddenly shots ring out, lots of them.@   They were warning shots in the air and they were followed by5another Somali language warning. The translator say:B   "I was telling him you see what happened so if you ever try itagain we have deadly weapon."/   This was followed by a five minute warning.=   A Marine commander could be heard receiving commands in aradio exchange:;   Radio: Give 'em about five minutes to get out of there.:   Commander:  Roger, do you want me to give the bunker a@countdown every minute on the minute for five mikes. Break. And!then return fire on the bunker.??   Radio:  "That's affirmative.  Go ahead and give them a five?minute count starting now and tell them they can leave at thisApoint.  Give them a countdown, and then at the five minute pointAif they have not left, give them one more warning and we'll fire=a couple more warning shots not directed at the individuals.   Commander:  Roger oh-six<   Several armed men left the bunker during the five minuteAwindow, carrying heavy weapons.  But some went back.  And others7merely moved to a nearby hangar.  The threat remained.A   The threat was removed by Marine gunfire.  Later at least two%bodies were seen being dragged away.A   After the withdrawal operation was completed, Marine Lt. Gen.9Anthony Zinni, the commander of the force that landed at<Mogadishu, said the Somali deaths were his one main regret:?   "If I had one thing I would have liked to have been able to7say now is that there wasn't one Somali life lost. But@unfortunately there were incidents where we had to act and theywere few, they were rare."A   General Zinni said he believed his forces, most of them young@men, acted with great restraint, often with even more restraint@that he would have showed given the tense moments on the beach.   ---------------   ---------------   THE HEAD-HUNTING FLY
   BOB BOWEN   WASHINGTON=   United States agriculture researchers have found a fly in2Brazil that causes fire ants to lose their heads.?   Fire ants are a serious problem in eleven southern AmericanBstates. The insects feed on crops, destroy roads by digging under@them, and bite animals and humans.  The bites are very painful.B   Fire ants first came from South America.  They have no naturalAenemies in North America.  Researchers have tried many different@methods to control fire ant populations.  These methods involve@chemicals and poisons.  They often are effective.  However, theAchemicals also killed other insects that are helpful to farmers.@So, the researchers hope to bring a few of the creatures calledApseudacteon flies to their laboratory in Florida to study.  TheyAhope the flies will control fire ants naturally, without causing?harm to any other creatures.  The flies attack only fire ants.B   The female fly lays an egg on, or in, a fire ant's body.  WhenAthe egg develops into a small larva, or maggot, it moves throughAthe ant's neck, into its head. There, the creature begins eating"everything inside the ant's head.B   While this is happening, either the ant or the fly produces an?enzyme.  The enzyme destroys the tissue connecting the head to,the body and the fire ant's head falls off.   ---------------   ---------------(   BALKAN WAR REFUGEES TELL THEIR STORY   ANDREW J. BAROCH   WASHINGTON?   A CIA report on atrocities in the four-year-old Balkan war,Amade public by "The New York Times" newspaper, affixes blames onAthe Serbs for carrying out most of the war crimes, including the>killing, torture, and imprisonment of ethnic Muslim and Croatcivilians.=   The national organization for victim assistance, or nova,?responds to mass murders, plane crashes, hurricanes, and other=disasters worldwide to help local medical personnel care forBtrauma victims. A nova team of 11 volunteers was first invited to:Medjugorje (meh-joo-gor-ya), Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1993.=   At the request of the Croatian Psychiatric Association, a=similar Nova team visited split, Croatia, earlier this year,Atraining doctors and mental health workers in refugee camps thatAhouse approximately ten-thousand refugees and displaced persons.A   Nova volunteer Holly Hurst, a rape crisis counselor in Winter@Garden, Florida, says she met many victims of brutality, like aCroatian soldier named Dario:A   "The young man, he was 26 years old. He was a ranking officer9in the Croatian army.  He trained people to use a highly?technical weapon, and he trained Muslims to use the weapons in?combat against the Serbs.  But the Balkan War had many facets,Band the Muslims and the Croatians were also fighting one another.ADiario was captured by the Muslims, and because he was a ranking>officer, he was more brutally tortured than others, includingAsome brain damage: They hung him from his hair; they cut out hisAtongue; they slashed his feet and his stomach with a scalpel. It?just went on and on. The fact that he was alive was, I felt, a7miracle. He was extremely psychologically distressed."B   Ms. Hurst says that, as she put it, "we were a witness to whatBwar really costs, what war really means, the level of inhumanity,the sheer brutality.">   Tens of thousands of men have been tortured, and a similar?number of women have been raped since the war started in 1991;>and a staggering 85 percent of the war's casualties have beenAcivilians, according to the United States Helsinki Commission, ahuman rights organization.>   Jacqueline McCann-Cleland (jack-lynn muh-can-klee-lend), aAprogram specialist in the office of victims of crime at the U.S.@Department of justice, another Nova volunteer, says many of the<refugees she met felt compelled to tell her their harrowing>experiences, including one woman who was a victim of repeatedsexual assault:B   "This particular woman was a young woman, 19 years of age. SheAand her six-year-old sister had been captured by the Serbs. They>were held in what she described as small living quarters withBother women and children. She was raped repeatedly, sometimes six<times in a day. Her sister was also sexually assaulted. HerAtrauma went beyond the sexual assaults, and it was important forAher to tell me how she escaped. She told of having a moment whenBshe was near a window. She was able, by pinching her six-year-old>sister, to get her six-year old sister to start screaming and=crying to draw the attention of what she described as a U.N.Bsoldier out on the street, who heard her and was able to help her	escape."@   Ms. McCann-Cleland says she met victims of so-called "ethnic?cleansing", the systematic practice of killing, torturing, and%forcibly evicting ethnic minorities:9   "My understanding of ethnic cleansing is that it is a<deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy a culture of a>people. That's why the first things that were bombed were the@churches, the mosques, the temples, and cathedrals. They wantedAto destroy all traces of the culture of these people, everything@that mattered to them. I considered it a moral victory of sorts<as I sat in many of the rooms of Croatians, people who were@catholic, who would still have a picture of the Pope hanging on?the wall and their rosary beads, and they would tell us, 'theyBdidn't take away our faith,' although that was a goal: To destroy.these people's faith. They couldn't do that."A   Ms. McCann-Cleland says nova volunteers helped refugees think@about how to rebuild their lives, where they'll live, work, and#go to school once the war is over.>   The Nova team spent nearly a month on the dalmatian coast,?which was once a major resort area. The refugees are housed in@ramshackle buildings that used to be luxury hotels: Chandeliers@are broken, the carpet is torn; graffiti covers the walls. Some@families have been living in one small room for as many as four4years. Many of the refugees suffer from depression.@   Jacqueline McCann-Cleland says the dissonant images, victims:of war crowded into former five-star hotels with darkened>hallways spray-painted with graffiti, create a bizarre scene:?   "It was painfully ironic to walk out on the street and look;down a narrow cobblestone road and see beautiful mountains@sloping into the beautiful, clear Adriatic Sea and to then walk<into what was formally a resort hotel, which is now housing refugees and displaced people."@   Approximately three-point-seven million people living in the@former Yugoslavia are refugees or displaced persons as a result9of the Balkan war, according to the United Nation's HighCommissioner for Refugees.;   The war began in 1991 after the breakup of the YugsolavAfederation, when Serb nationalist forces first attacked Croatia,Band then Bosnia-Herzegovina. Last year's Christmas-time ceasefire?in the Bosnian conflict is due to expire next month. A similar?uneasy truce exists in Croatia, where President Franjo Tudjman@(fran-yo toodge-mahn) has threatened to expel U.N. peacekeepingBtroops that stand between Croatian and Serb forces by March 31st.;The approach of these two dates has aroused fears of a new*outbreak of fighting, and more suffering.   ---------------   ---------------A   FORMER U.N. BALKANS COMMANDER SAYS TO HONOR CROATIA'S REQUEST   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONS;   The former commander of the United Nations force in the:Balkans, General Bertrand De Lapresle of France, says the:Security Council should accommodate Croatia's request andBre-deploy international troops along its borders.  The diplomatic@community has been rushing against a March 31st deadline to try?to persuade Croatia to keep its 12-thousand peacekeepers where
they are.?   General De Lapresle says he hopes the Security Council willBdevise a different kind of peacekeeping mandate for Croatia. WhatAhe proposes, in effect, is breaking up the unitary nature of theAU.N. force, which has been regarded as a single mission deployed$in three separate Balkan countries.A   General De Lapresle believes the U.N. could save its presence;in Croatia.  But it would mean showing some creativity and>re-writing the orders for the contingents now deployed in theserb-held Krajina:?   "So, my hope and my expectation is that the current mandateAwill not be renewed, that UNPROFOR, as such, will disappear from:Croatia,  but that international forces which may well be?provided by forces belonging today to UNPROFOR in Croatia will?have some mission of monitoring the zone of separation between<the Croatian Serbs and Croatia proper, and will also have a1mission linked to the monitoring of the border."?   Croatia asked the U.N. troops to leave, on the grounds that?they are reinforcing the status quo and preventing Zagreb from>reasserting its authority in the territory the Croatian SerbsBseized in 1991.  Meanwhile, Croatia asked NATO to supply monitorsAfor its borders with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.  The request>was denied.  General de Lapresle feels the U.N. troops now in#Croatia could easily fill the job.B   At the same time, the French commander says it is important toAmaintain a single civilian head for the entire U.N. force.  That.position is currently held by Yasushi Akashi.@   General De Lapresle admits to the continuing strains betweenBthe United Nations and NATO, which clashed last year over the use?of air strikes in Bosnia.  NATO wanted more robust air action.BThe United Nations resisted and insisted on having the final say.;   General De Lapresle explained the friction as "cultural<differences".   He says NATO needs an enemy which it has toAdestroy to claim victory, while the U.N. force in the Balkans is?a mere peacekeeper with no enemies to fight.  He predicted the@intrinsic differences between the two organizations will not beresolved easily.   ---------------   ---------------C   UN MAY KEEP HEADQUARTER IN ZAGREB IF PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE CROATIA   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNA?   United Nations peacekeeping forces in the former YugoslaviaAare thinking about keeping their headquarters in Zagreb, even if5the peacekeeping operation in Croatia is terminated.>   U.N. officials say they are considering retaining the U.N.@protection force headquarters in Zagreb and a logistics base in*the Croatian Adriatic port city of Split.A   With these facilities remaining where they are, the officials@say it would be difficult, but not impossible, to continue U.N.:peacekeeping operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina even if the0peacekeeping mandate in Croatia is not renewed.;   This is a distinct change from the gloomy, initial U.N.:reaction to the announced termination of the current U.N.5peacekeeping mandate in Croatia at the end of march.:   A more optimistic assessment of the situation actuallyAreflects greater confidence that a new U.N. peacekeeping mandatein Croatia can be worked out.?   Nothing is certain yet, and a senior U.S. official, Richard;Holbrooke, is expected to return to Zagreb for more talks.<   But, there are indications that Croatia might agree to a?smaller U.N. peacekeeping force that could still, effectively,@separate the Croatian army and rebel Serbs who occupy one-thirdof the country.   ---------------   ---------------5   EU CANADA PREPARES TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST CANADA   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELS>   The European Union is preparing trade sanctions on Canada,Aafter Canada seized a Spanish fishing vessel. The EU acted afterBa Canadian gunboat fired three times at the Spanish boat and thencaptured it west of Greenland.B   The European Union says its vessels are perfectly justified in@fishing for halibut in the area to the west of Greenland, which)overlaps Canada's 200-mile fishing zone.A   The Canadians say EU vessels which catch more than a quota ofB34-hundred tons are acting illegally.  The European Union refuses@to accept this quota, which was set last month by the Northwest*Atlantic Fisheries Organization, or NAFO.:   The European Union has objected to the decision and EU>officials claims European fishermen are not bound by the NAFOBvote.  The union says it is illegal to claim sovereignty over the@high seas except against piracy, radio piracy, the slave trade,or drug trafficking.?   Europe's fisheries commissioner Emma Bonino has accused the?Canadians of piracy because of Canada's seizure of the Spanishfishing boat.A   An emergency meeting of EU Ambassadors was called in Brussels?to discuss the crisis.  The 15 Ambassadors have asked European?officials to draw up a list of sanctions against Canada, which<are expected to be imposed next week, if the dispute is not
resolved.=   Already, diplomatic protests have been lodged and routine@meetings between EU and Canadian officials have been cancelled.A   The European Union is also seeking an urgent meeting of NAFO.?There is even a risk of clashes between Canadian vessels and a>Spanish gunboat which was sent to the area to protect Spanishfishing vessels.;   EU officials claim they are furious at what they call a@blatant violation of international law by Canada.  They say the7European Union is showing solidarity with the Spanish.3   They say they had hoped to sort out the dispute=diplomatically. European commission President Jacques Santer;invited a Canadian representative to Brussels this week to2negotiate, but the Canadians cancelled the visit.A   Relations between the European Union and Canada have been not;been this tense since the early 1980's, when Europe bannedAsealskin imports from Canada because of concern about the annualkilling of baby seals.   ---------------   ---------------=   BOSNIA MUSLIM AND CROAT FEDERATION ANNOUNCES AN AGREEMENT   EVANS HAYS   BONN;   Leaders of the Bosnian Muslim and Croat Federation have?announced agreement on practical steps to improve cooperation.<These steps include a merger of their local governments and<police forces within Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The agreement was@announced in Bonn, where federation president Kresimir Zubak, a@Croat, and his deputy, Bosnian Muslim Vice President Ejup Ganichave been meeting.>   In a joint declaration issued after two days of talks, the<federation leaders said they would work to strengthen theirAcombined government and police forces.  They said they will also&work to improve military cooperation.A   Military cooperation may prove to be the most difficult task.<While Bosnian Muslims and Croats are united in their battle>against Bosnian and other Serbs, they have often been at odds=with each other.  Some of the worst fighting between Bosnian;Muslims and Croats has centered around the town of Mostar.?   A German emissary appointed by the European Union is now in9place there to help calm disputes between the two sides.B   Mr. Ganic says these differences between Muslims and Croats inBBosnia are over.  He said: We are now one for Bosnia.  He and Mr.BZubak said the expanded duties of the federation will take effectin the middle of april.>   The Bosnian federation was created one year ago, but until=recently it has been little more than a paperwork agreement.>Early last month the two parties involved agreed to a hastily@arranged plan for independent observers to supervise federation=activities and arbitrate when disputes arise.  That plan was;worked out with the help of U.S. and German officials at adefense conference in Munich.;   The talks in Bonn have been aimed at taking the Bosnian"federation several steps forward.B   German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, who has been hosting theAtalks, says the federation can now become the starting point forpeace in Bosnia.B   The Bonn talks were devoted largely to working out the details@of how former combatants can work together again on a daily and<very basic level.  The new agreement calls for joint policeApatrols to insure that humanitarian supplies can move along mainBhighways unhindered by militia groups. Eventually there will be aAjoint police force.  The  agreement also calls for merging Croat)and Muslim local governments and courts.@   The plan for a combined military structure announced earlierBin the week remains valid, but details have yet to be worked out.   ---------------   ---------------+   U.N. SUSPENDS HUMANITARIAN AID TO SERBS   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA8   U.N. officials say they had no choice but to suspend>humanitarian aid deliveries to the Serbs of Croatia and theirAallies in the northwest Bosnian enclave of Bihac.  Spokesmen for@the U.N. high commissioner for refugees say the suspension will@remain in effect until Croatian Serb forces lift their blockade4on aid shipments to thousands of Muslims trapped in government-held parts of Bihac.A   UNHCR officials have been warning for weeks that thousands of@people in Bihac are facing starvation because of the continuing"blockade by Croatian Serb forces.@   Spokeswoman Sylvana Foa says only four aid convoys have beenBallowed into the area in the past few weeks, delivering less than=twenty percent of the food required for civilians trapped in&government-held parts of the enclave.;   Humanitarian deliveries have been further restricted by@continued fighting at the northern end of Bihac between Bosnian>troops and Muslim rebels led by Fikret Abdic, allied with theCroatian Serbs.>   Miss Foa says the decision to curtail aid shipments to the@Croatian Serbs and Muslim rebels was not taken lightly.  "We do?not normally place conditions on humanitarian deliveries," she<says, "but adds that the situation had become intolerable":?   "We think maybe by using their own tactics on them, we will=send a very, very good message to the Croatian Serbs and the>Abdic forces that we can no longer simply give them food whenAthey break their promises every single time to say that the next!convoy is going to get through."@   Miss Foa says the UNHCR used the same tactic against Bosnian?Serb forces two years ago when they blockaded aid shipments toBbesieged Muslim enclaves in the eastern part of the country. That2problem, she recalls, was resolved within a week.=   Miss Foa says the latest aid suspension will affect about<110-thousand people in territory controlled by the Croatian<Serbs, as  well as about 30 thousand civilians loyal to theMuslim rebel force in Bosnia.@   The UNHCR decision was conveyed in a letter to Croatian Serb=leader Milan Martic on Wednesday.  So far, there has been no6response.  But U.N. officials say they hope to resume@negotiations with the Croatian Serb leadership early next week.   ---------------   ---------------$   ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN BOSNIA   DOUGLAS ROBERTS   SARAJEVO?   As the war in Bosnia nears the end of its third year, there?are clear signs that the country's Muslims are turning more toAtheir religion in search of strength and solace amid the horrors9of the conflict.  The trend has led some analysts to the=conclusion that Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise in the	country.A   When the call to prayer echoes from atop the minarets of this:besieged capital, more and more of Sarajevo's Muslims are=responding.  But in this cosmopolitan and multi-confessional@city, coffee shops, featuring loud rock music, are still likely%to be more crowded than the mosques.A   If a fundamentalist brand of Islam has taken root here, thereAis little sign of it in the streets of Sarajevo.  Few women wear?the veil.  Pork and alcohol are openly sold and consumed, even=among Muslims.  And even the most radical of Bosnia's Muslim<clergymen make no overt attempts to compel adherence to theprinciples of Islam.?   Bosnia's Muslim-dominated government continues to espouse a=unitary state, with equal treatment and equal rights for the5Muslims, the Catholic Croats and the orthodox Serbs.?   But Prime Minister Haris Siladzic readily acknowledges that@some Muslims here have been, as he puts it, radicalized, by the=suffering and the deprivation of this seemingly endless war:A   "If you let a country return to the stone age, you are liable8to see radicalism growing.  That is number one. That is?unavoidable.  If there is  no  help from any side, in order toBsurvive people find all mechanisms of integration to stay alive."?   Mr. Siladzic says the growth of Islamic sentiment here is a@predictable reaction to the war and what he terms the hypocrisyAof the west.  European dignitaries with nothing better to do, he@says with a bitter smile, have spent their time drawing up mapsAto partition Bosnia into separate Muslim, Croat and Serb states.?But what they failed to understand, he adds, is that Bosnia is6like a living tissue; and when you cut it, it bleeds:>   "In order to partition it, you have to move people or kill9people.  That is what the Serbs understood from the veryBbeginning, and that is what they did.  They moved people and theykilled people."B   Just over a month ago, controversy erupted here about the roleBof islam and the influence of Muslim clerics in the Bosnian armed<forces.  Five members of the collective presidency issued a?statement decrying what they termed the misuse of religion and'religious ideology in some army units.B   The protest came after Bosnian television broadcast a ceremony?honoring the army's seventh corps where soldiers waved IslamicAbanners and chanted "god is great".  Significantly, say analysts@here, the seventh corps is based in the central town of Zenica,Ban area where several hundred Muslim fundamentalists from outsideBosnia are known to operate.>   The high command here later issued a statement denying anyAattempt to promote an Islamic identify in the armed forces.  And?President Alija Izetbegovic said the army remains committed to'the principles of a pluralistic state.@   Many observers here believe the controversy was exaggerated.8Some say it was the result of jockeying for power among?hardliners in the ruling party.  Others point out that most ofAthose who signed the protest are former members of the communistparty.@   Emir Hadzimulic, a retired lawyer, acknowledges that IslamicAsentiment is growing here.  But he disputes those who suggest it@is solely the result of the war.  It was the fall of communism,.he says, that allowed Islam to flourish here.A   In the communist era, says Mr. Hadzimulic, we had to practice?our religion in secret.  And you could not get ahead, he adds,@without membership in the communist party, and that meant beingan atheist.?   Things are different now, says Mr. Hadzimulic.  But despite@the repression of the past and the suffering caused by the war,;he adds, Islamic fundamentalism will never take hold here.?   Mohammed Chailakovic, a young Muslim clergyman, agrees.  HeAspent more than two years in prison during the communist era for>his religious activities.  Now, at age 32, he is the imam, or;prayer leader, at the Ali Pashina mosque, an elegant stone7structure on what is still called Marshal Tito Street.9   Serb leaders describe Sarajevo as a hotbed of IslamicBfundamentalism.  But Mr. Chailakovic says the main characteristic=of the city's Muslims is their tolerence.  And I am sure, he=adds, that none of the Muslims here feel the kind of fanatic$hatred depicted in Serb propaganda.:   The young imam says he has had many conversations with;Catholic clergymen from the Croat community and even a fewBmeetings with Serb  religious leaders.  We may disagree, he says,Aon the causes of the war.  But I am convinced, he adds, that ourAreligion and our faith do not exist to foster hatred between us.   ---------------   ---------------   CZECH ECONOMY   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUEA   Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, who often boasts about hisBconservative, free market policies, appeared Thursday at a Prague>forum with Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker from the?University of Chicago. Mr. Klaus used the occasion to showcase,his libertarian, anti-big government views.>   It is no secret that Vaclav Klaus would like to be awarded;the Nobel Prize in economics. He believes that the special@contribution he has made to the economics profession and to the<post-communist transformation is the unique Czech method of%privatizing state-owned enterprises.B   But in the company of professor Gary Becker, who won the nobelAprize  for his work on social capital, Mr. Klaus spoke about the5need for a  diminished role of the state in society.@   Both Mr.  Klaus and Professor Becker said individuals shouldBpay the price of their higher  education. The state, they agreed,Bshould contribute little to the education of those who are likely>to be  enriched by that education. This issue is particularly?delicate in the Czech Republic now because the state is in the;process of withdrawing subsidies for university education.=   But it was on industrial policy that Mr. Klaus was at his@rhetorical  best.  Despite the fact that he is often accused of;presiding over an  economic policy that favors Czechs overAforeigners, Mr. Klaus said the state has no business determining.which companies should be winners and losers:A   "Industrial policy is impossible.  Not  only is it incorrect,:irrational, and not optimal, it is impossible. I know how:hopeless it is to sit down in my office and try to decide>anything  about any industry. It is a hopeless task, a debate4which has  no structure, no meaning, no substance."A   Mr. Klaus has favored domestic industries over multi-national?corporations. And he may soon have to decide whether the Czech@government should rescue some newly privatized enterprises thatare facing bankruptcy.9   The Czech Republic has by objective measures the mostAsuccessful of the transforming economies in the former communist<East Europe. The budget is in balance, trade is in surplus,?foreign reserves and the economy are growing, and inflation isunder control.A   Along with only the Austrian shilling, the Dutch guilder, andAthe Swiss franc, the Czech crown has this week risen in value in@tandem with the German mark, with which it is linked. ProfessorBBecker said the Czech economy will soon be resume its place among+the more prosperous of European economies.   ---------------   ---------------D   CZECH COURT UPHOLDS 1945 DECREE STRIPPING GERMANS OF CITIZENSHIP   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE>   The Czech constitutional court has upheld a decree of 1945Athat stripped ethnic Germans in the then Czechoslovakia of theircitizenship and property.A   The Czech high court  rejected a challenge by a Czech citizen;of German ancestry who has been trying to  regain property>confiscated after the end of the second world war.  The court>ruled that a decree issued by then President Edward Benes was<legal and permitted by the victorious war-time allies under0agreements struck in Potsdam and Paris in 1945.B   These accords, said the court, permitted German property to be:seized as reparations for crimes committed under the Nazi@occupation.  The ruling by the constitutional court  cannot  be
appealed.6   The Benes decrees are among the most sensitive and<controversial matters in modern Czech history.  The decreesAresulted in the deportation of two and and a half million ethnic@Germans.  Often they were given only hours to leave their homesBand then marched to the German border.  Entire towns, in what wasBSudetenland, were left empty.  In subsequent years, the towns and=the homes were given to Czech and Slovak citizens who retaintitle even today.:   Sudetenland is the crescent-shaped territory along the>Czech/German border.  Ethnic Germans inhabited the region for7centuries. During the hitler regime most Sudetens wereBenthusiastic Nazi supporters, who welcomed the German occupation.?   President Vaclav Havel has repeatedly said that Czechs have@nothing to be proud of concerning the mass expulsion.  But in aArecent speech he stated the view of the Czech government that itBwould be a great mistake to reopen this painful chapter.  He said@the Czech people are not prepared to let new storms wreak havocBin the area of property rights and thus open the door to the evilspirits of the past.>   Since the collapse of communism, Czech and Slovak citizens?have been given back property they owned in 1948, the year the?communists seized power in the country.  That cut-off date was6chosen, in part, so that the ethnic Germans could not;successfully make a claim for property they had lost.  The>Sudeten Germans remain a strong political force in the Germanstate of bavaria.   ---------------   ---------------"   HOLBROOKE TO RETURN TO CROATIA   DAVID GOLLUST   STATE DEPARTMENTB   A senior U.S. diplomat is returning to Croatia this weekend in;a continued effort to defuse the crisis posed by Croatia's@decision to expel U.N. peacekeeping forces. Assistant Secretary=of State Richard Holbrooke will be making his second trip toCroatia in less than a week.?   Mr. Holbrooke, who returned from Croatia Wednesday, will beBflying back this weekend at what he calls a decisive and criticalmoment in the Balkans crisis.A   The assistant secretary and other western diplomats have beenBtrying to persuade Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to back awayAfrom his demand that U.N. peacekeepers begin leaving his countryat the end of the month.A   Mr. Holbrooke was questioned Thursday by members of the House@International Relations Committee.  He declined to give details@of his latest talks in Zagreb.  But, his impending return wouldAseem to reinforce news reports that some some form of compromisemay be taking shape.@   Mr. Holbrooke made a point of expressing support for what he=called Croatia's legitimate grievance, that despite the U.N.>presence, ethnic Serbs who control about one-third of Croatia@carried out "ethnic cleansing" and forced hundreds of thousandsof Croats from their homes.>   However, he said that danger posed by the expulsion of theB12-thousand U.N. troops at this point in the conflict is immense:A   "The consequences of a U.N. withdrawal from the Krajina couldBbe extraordinarily dangerous and could trigger the most dangerous;situation Europe has seen since 1945. And we are currentlyBdiscussing ways to avoid that outcome. But I would like to stressAthat the concern that has led them to this action is legitimate.?It's simply that the course that they have chosen to follow to@deal with it is far too dangerous for the United States and our1western allies to sit idly by and watch unfold."B   The Clinton Administration has long held that the departure of<U.N. forces would be followed by a resumption of full-scaleBfighting in Croatia that could spill over into Bosnia and perhapsspread throughout the Balkans.@   In his Congressional appearance, Mr. Holbrooke confirmed the?existence of a comprehensive CIA report that attributes 90 per=cent of the ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia to the@serbs, and suggests that Serbian and ethnic-serb leaders almost'certainly were involved in the crimes.@   Mr. Holbrooke said the report, including aerial surveillanceBphotos, was so compelling that he called his entire staff to join7him as he was given a CIA briefing about the document:A   "For those people who have not been in the region first-hand,Athe report can be quite shocking.  Anyone who's travelled in theAarea will find nothing surprising in it.  The Serbs started this>war. The Serbs are the original cause of the war.  The reportApoints out that atrocities have been committed on both sides, orAall sides.  But that the burden of responsibility and guilt liesclearly with the Serbs."B   Mr. Holbrooke rejected a suggestion by the New York Times that9the report was made highly-classified for fear that wideBdissemination might cause Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to.cease cooperation with Balkans peace efforts.?   The findings of the report, he said, are facts that must beAdealt with as facts.  The Clinton Administration, he went on, is?not cooperating with Mr. Milosevic, but is trying to work with<all parties to try to end what he called this terrible war.   ---------------   ---------------   DISARMING NORTHERN IRELAND   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDONA   As the peace process in Northern Ireland gathers momentum oneAof the most difficult issues to resolve is how to make sure thatBparamilitary groups, such as the Irish Republican Army, surrendertheir weapons.?   The guns have been silent in Northern Ireland for more than>six months now.  Cease-fires by the Irish Republican Army andBprotestant paramilitary groups have held.  This has brought aboutBnot only a sense of relief to protestant and Catholic communities:in the British province but has also stimulated hopes the+cease-fires can lead to a permanent peace.A   The British and Irish governments have been moving ahead with8their plans for a lasting solution.  They have issued aBnegotiating paper, known as the framework document, to be used by@all of Northern Ireland's constitutional parties as a basis for-talks on the future of the British province.B   Politicians, academics and other experts agree the cease-firesBhave helped to move the peace process forward.  But they also say@in order for peace to be fully established, weapons held by all?paramilitary groups should be turned in, or as politicians putit:  Decommissioned.?   Both the Irish Republican Army and pro-British paramilitary>groups have a substantial amount of weaponry.  Colonel Andrew<Duncan, with London's International Institute for Strategic?Studies, says most of the IRA's arsenal is stashed away in theIrish republic:<   "The IRA have rather more sophisticated weapons than theBloyalist paramilitaries.  Both obviously have a number of rifles,?machine-guns, sub-machine guns, revolvers, that sort of thing,?small arms.  But the IRA are known to have some rather heavier<machine-guns. They have some surface to air missiles and of,course a large stock of semtex explosives.">   British civil servants are engaged in talks with political=parties representing protestant paramilitary groups and Sinn7Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican army.BInitially, the British government said cabinet ministers will notBtalk to Sinn Fein until the IRA hands in its weapons.  But just a=few days ago, the government indicated it is willing to hold9high-level talks with Sinn Fein officials before the IRA surrenders any of its weaponry.9   That move has infuriated politicians representing theBprotestant, or loyalist, viewpoint.  Ken Maginnis from the UlsterBUnionist Party believes this is another example of the governmentselling out to the IRA:A   "To actually have a member of the executive (cabinet) sittingBdown with the organization (Sinn Fein) suggests to the 90 percentBof the community who have always placed their faith in the ballotAbox that somehow a deal, a dirty deal is being done behind their-backs which rewards violence and terrorism."=   The British government says there has been no significant@change in its position.  Lawmaker Andrew Hunter, a conservativeAparty expert on Northern Ireland, wants to reassure the unionist
politicians:B   "Most conservative members of parliament are unionists. We areAon their side.  We understand their sensitivity. But they can beAreassured, the policy is the same: There will be  no  meaningful@talks with the IRA until we have advanced most significantly on;this question of what to do with the arms and explosives."?   Mr. Hunter says if the IRA is seriously committed to peace,;there is no reason it should keep its guns and ammunition.=   Martin McGuinness, senior member of Sinn Fein's executiveBcouncil, is involved in the ongoing talks with British officials.BHe says Sinn Fein is willing to talk about the decommissioning ofAweapons, but only in the context of an overall peace settlement:@   "I think most sensible people recognize and accept that whatAthis process has to be about is removing the causes of conflict,=taking away the reasons why people resort to armed force.  IBthink that when we achieve that, and that is achievable now, whenAwe achieve that, the issue of decommissioning of weapons will be?a very simple and straightforward one, and certainly Sinn Fein6will use whatever influence it has in that situation.
Absolutely."B   Despite all of the talk concerning decommissioning of weapons,<as of right now, there is no indication the IRA or loyalist3paramilitaries are prepared to abandon their arms.   ---------------   ---------------/   QUEEN ELIZABETH TRAVELS TO NORTHERN IRELAND   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON?   Britain's Queen Elizabeth has traveled to Northern Ireland,Banother sign peace is slowly taking hold in the British province.6The one-day visit was an important, symbolic gesture.=   Queen Elizabeth traveled to Armagh, a town considered the>ecclesiastical capital of Ireland despite its location in the&British province of Northern Ireland.B   During a brief speech in Armagh's chapel, Queen Elizabeth paid+tribute to the people of Northern Ireland:A   "For many difficult years the people of Northern Ireland haveAshown courage and compassion of an extraordinary kind.  Today as?they begin to look towards a more peaceful future, Armagh withBits two great cathedrals standing so close together, presents a a<powerful symbol of the strength, spirit and hopes of peopleBacross Northern Ireland.  I hope and pray that the future for the@city of Armagh and of Northern Ireland as a whole may be one of,peace and prosperity for all its citizens."A   The queen arrived in Armagh by helicopter from Belfast, where?she officially opened a road and railroad bridge.  Most of the;money for construction of the two structures came from theAEuropean Union and they are seen as  signs of Belfast's economicresurgence.B   Professor Kenneth Minogue is an expert on Irish affairs at theALondon School of Economics.  He says Queen Elizabeth's visit was>meant to persuade people in Northern Ireland that the British-province is slowly returning to normal life:?   "The main significance is that it is part of the process ofBnormalization of events in ulster (Northern Ireland) and the more<some sense of normalization is achieved in ulster, the moreBconvincing the peace process as it is called will be.  So I think:it (the visit) is a very important part of present life."@   Security during the queen's visits to Belfast and Armagh was9tight.  But the British monarch was able to greet people>attending the various functions in those two cities.  Despite@tight  security, there was  no  sign of British troops, another@indication things are slowly beginning to change as a result of@the paramilitary ceasefires in effect for more than six months.   ---------------   ---------------:   GERMANY SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO OSCE PRESENCE IN CHECNYA   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOWA   Moscow has accepted the idea of the Organization for Security@and Cooperation in Europe settIng up a mission in the breakawayBChechen Republic. Concern over Chechnya has prompted the European7Union to delay signing a major trade pact with Russia.=   Germany's foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel, says Moscow hasAagreed in principle to a permanent OSCE mission in Chechnya, but1adds no details of the plan have been discussed.A   Mr. Kinkel is in Moscow as part of a high-level delegation ofAEuropean officials that includes the foreign ministers of FranceBand Spain.  Before his arrival, Mr. Kinkel vowed he would not, as2he put it, mince words over the Chechen conflict.@   The delegation is the most senior group of western officials=to come to Moscow since Russian forces invaded the breakawayrepublic in December.<   The war prompted the European Union earlier this week to;postpone a major trade deal.  The pact is part of a largerBagreement on bettering economic and political ties between Russia;and the union and is expected to help Russia in its bid to2establish a market-oriented and democratic state.=   President Yeltsin promised the delegation he is seeking aBpolitical solution to the Chechen conflict and expects democratic<order will be restored and free elections held in Chechnya.:   Mr. Yeltsin also told the foreign ministers he remains;committed to democratic reform.  In remarks carried by the7president's news service, Mr. Yeltsin urged the speedy>implementation of all the agreements signed by Russian and EUleaders last year.=   Russia's foreign minister, Andrei Kozyrev, criticized the>delay on the trade deal.  After meeting with Foreign Minister=Kinkel, Mr. Kozyrev said the signing was being unjustifiably
dragged out.;   The European officials earlier pledged to ask Moscow to=guarantee greater access for humanitarian aid to the Chechen9region.  The delegation has also said it plans to open a)political dialogue with Chechen leaders.   ---------------   ---------------D   SLOVENIA DEFENSE MINISTER TO SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION WITH U.S.   PHIL KURATA   WASHINGTONB   The Slovenian Defense Minister Jelko Kacin is in Washington to>sign a military cooperation agreement with the United States.>   In Washington, Mr. Kacin said Slovenia's decision to split@from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 and become independent was a
correct one.@   He says although a ten-day war was needed for the breakaway,<Slovenia today is thriving under political pluralism, human#rights and a market-based economy.@   Slovenia has joined NATO's partnership for peace program and=is eager for full membership in the north atlantic alliance.@Friday, Mr. Kacin and U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry sign*an agreement to strengthen military ties.@   Mr. Kacin says if Slovenia had opted to remain in the former@Yugoslavia, it would today be embroiled in the Balkan wars.  He;says Slovenia's southern neighbor, Croatia, could erupt inAfighting if Croatian President Franjo Tudjman carries through on=his threat to evict the U.N. peacekeepers there after march.<   The United Nations has deployed peacekeepers as a buffer@between croatian government forces and rebel Croatian Serbs who<have declared the breakaway republic of Krajina.  PresidentBtudjman says the U.N. forces are preventing him from crushing the?rebellion.  Mr. Kacin says a face-saving way is needed for Mr.>Tudjman to reverse his decision and retain the U.N. presence.A   The Slovenian defense minister also has pleaded for a lifting@of the U.N. arms embargo against the former Yugoslav republics.@He says Slovenia needs weapons to improve its ability to defenditself.?   He says the Bosnian government also is unfairly deprived of;weapons in its fight with the Bosnian Serbs.  The European;community says the arms embargo is needed to encourage thewarring parties to negotiate.;   Mr. Kacin says the Bosnian Serbs favor the arms embargo8because they are supplied with weapons from the Serbian=government in belgrade.  The Serbian government denies this.;   Mr. Kacin says arming the Bosnian government would helpAequalize the fight and could encourage peace talks.  The Clinton:Administration is following the Western European lead and@refusing to ship arms to the Bosnian government.  But some U.S.>lawmakers from the Republican Party would like to change thatpolicy.   ---------------   ---------------3   SUICIDE OF BELGIAN GENERAL CONNECTED WITH CLAES   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELS?   The suicide of a Belgian air force general connected with a@corruption scandal is expected to increase the pressure on NATO)Secretary-General Willy Claes to resign.>   NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes was Belgium's economicsBminister in 1988 when the Italian Agusta Helicopter firm paid hisAFlemish socialist party a one-and-one-half-million-dollar bribe.<   At first, Mr. Claes denied all knowledge of the payment.ALater, he admitted he had heard it was being offered but said he$had advised against its acceptance.>   The latest twist in the saga came when retired Belgian air?force General Jacques Lefebvre committed suicide in a Brussels@hotel room.  The general had been involved in discussions aboutthe Agusta Helicopter order.<   The Agusta scandal has already led to the resignation of>several senior Belgian politicians and has been linked to the9assassination of a former Belgian deputy prime minister.@   There have been a number of calls for Mr. Claes' resignationBalthough he has been backed by U.S. Vice President Al Gore and by>British foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd.  However, news of theBsuicide of General Lefebvre can only intensify the seriousness of<the Agusta scandal and the pressure on Mr. Claes to resign.   ---------------   ---------------;   BOSNIAN GOVERNMENT TRIES TO REORGANIZE ITS ARMED FORCES   DOUGLAS ROBERTS   SOKOLJE, BOSNIA=   Bosnia's Muslim-dominated government is in the midst of a;major program to reorganize the country's armed forces, inAanticipation of another round of fighting against Serb forces in<a few weeks' time.  Bosnian government leaders say they are>trying to fashion a classical army from a collection of local>militia groups.  But despite the reorganization, the military$remains very much a citizens' army.?   They sit around a wooden table in a makeshift command post,=four men and a woman from the Bosnian army's second brigade,+assigned to defend this frontline village.>   One was a construction worker before the war.  Another wasAemployed at a food-processing factory in what is now a Serb-held@district of Sarajevo.  Mina is the youngest.  Barely out of her;teens, she works part-time in the brigade's kitchen, whileAcontinuing her university studies.  A burly man in his mid-50's,ASalko Kulovats, is the oldest.  A former village council leader,=he has seen both his parents, his sister, and his son killed$during the three years of war here.>   The construction worker, Nokto Ziad, has fought in Sokoljefrom the beginning.A   Twice, he has been wounded.  He lifts his shirt to reveal theBscar from a sniper's bullet that passed within centimeters of hisheart.>   He first went into combat, dressed in civilian clothes and@carrying a home-made rifle.  An exhibit at the second brigade's<small museum focuses on the artisanal nature of the BosnianBarmy's weaponry when the war began, shotguns fashioned from steel=pipes, molotov cocktails made from juice and olive oil cans.B   Nokto Ziad carries a machinegun now, captured, he says, from a<serb soldier.  He has recently been issued an army uniform.B   As the war moves into its fourth year, there is  no  doubt the=Bosnian army is better equipped.  Weapons and ammunition are;getting in, despite the U.N. arms embargo.  Second brigade>commanders are reluctant to discuss the issue.  But, says one'officer here, we have enough arms now.@   But other resources are still lacking.  Soldiers are paid in?cigarettes, 30 packs a month, along with irregular supplies of(flour, vegetable oil, and canned goods.?   Nokto Ziad's wife and two children are largely dependent on<humanitarian aid.  Sometimes they join him for meals at the@second  brigade's mess, with only beans, rice, pasta, and bread>among the items being offered.  The only meat we see, he says*with a wry grin, is in magazine pictures.;   Nokto Ziad mans an observation post on the edge of this>hilltop village, watching the movements of Serb forces dug inbarely 200 meters away.<   It is easy to understand the strategic importance of the@village, Sokolje.  It sits astride a road leading from Sarajevo;to Mount Zuc, one of the peaks that commands access to the	capital.>   The soldiers of the second brigade have fought off several@tank-led Serb offensives here.  The village has been dubbed theBsettlement of heroes.  Once the Serbs penetrated about 500 metersAinside Sokolje.  Every building bears the scars of battle.  Many#homes have been reduced to rubble.@   Although there have been no major battles here over the past@year, sniper fire is a constant threat.  And the villagers haveAdevised a novel use for the ubiquitous plastic sheeting supplied>by the U.N.'s refugee agency.  Instead of using it to replaceBshattered windows, here the strips of plastic are strung up along<the roadside facing Serb positions, to spoil the aim of the!snipers in their trenches below.B   The combatants here trade more than gunfire.  Says Nokto Ziad,Bsometimes we shout insults at each other, and sometimes the Serbs?even invite us for cigarettes and coffee.  The invitations arerarely, if ever, accepted.B   Before the war, Serbs made up about seven percent of Sokolje'sBpopulation.  And Nokto Ziad says most would be welcome to return,<as long as they played  no  part in the massacres and other;horrors that have been the grim hallmark of this conflict.A   Says Mr. Ziad, we want to make Bosnia as it was before.  That?is why we are fighting.  We never had any differences with theBSerbs before the war, he says, and we must learn to live togetheragain.   ---------------   ---------------;   BRITAIN LIFTS SOME NORTHERN IRELAND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDONA   The British government has taken another step in an effort toBconsolidate the peace process in Northern Ireland. The government@has lifted several exclusion orders preventing some people from9traveling to the British mainland from Northern Ireland.=   Fifty-six people have been barred from entering Scotland,>England or Wales under Britain's prevention of terrorism act.=Most of them are suspected terrorists and are connected with;paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland, such as the IrishRepublican army.<   During a speech to parliament, michael howard, Britain's=minister in charge of internal affairs, told lawmakers he is>lifting exclusion orders affecting 16 people.  He said such aBmove was possible because of the cease-fires in place in northernAIreland, cease-fires which he said have changed the situation inthe British province.=   Mr. Howard said the remaining 40 cases will be constantlyBunder review.  He explained to lawmakers the reasons why he could=not, at this time, lift all of the exclusion orders still ineffect:=   "First, it is clear that if the cease-fires were to break?down, we might receive very little if any warning, and without@doubt many of the key targets would, as before, be on this side@of the water.  Secondly, the police remain satisfied that among?those still excluded are some who would be likely to play some/part in mainland terrorism were it to resume.">   The British government official said he is not prepared toAtake unnecessary risks, and his current decision was taken after;consultations with police officials and security advisers.?   Experts here say this latest move by the British governmentBindicates London wants to keep the Northern Ireland peace process?moving forward.  Just several weeks ago, the British and IrishBgovernments published the so-called "framework document" intendedBas a discussion paper to be used in talks between all of northernBIreland's constitutional parties.  In addition, British officialsBhave been holding talks with Sinn Fein, the political wing of theAIrish Republican army, in an effort to bring them fully into thenegotiating process.A   Martin McGuinness is a senior member of Sinn Fein's executive;council and is involved in the talks.  He says the BritishAgovernment is dragging its feet on a number of issues, including?the one concerning those people jailed for terrorist acts, who(Sinn Fein says are political prisoners::   "Of course Dublin has given the example to the British:government on this in that they have now begun to release>political prisoners.  The British government has not yet done?this and so far their response to the process in its entirety,<including the issue of prisoners, has been in our opinion a>minimalist and a begrudging one.  The situation, it has to be9said, is quite unsatisfactory at the moment in regard to7Britain's response to the (IRA) cease-fire last year."<   Mr. McGuinness called on the British government to begin;full-scale talks with Sinn Fein, talks which would involve@ministers and not only civil servants as is the case right now.   ---------------   ---------------B   RED CROSS EXPECTS REFUGEE CRISIS AFTER U.N. CROATIA WITHDRAWAL   STEFAN BOS   BUDAPEST?   The International Red Cross has warned for an unprecedented@refugee crisis in the former Yugoslavia when U.N. peace keepersBplan to withdraw from Croatia on March 31st. The announcement was5made at a conference with delegations from Red Cross#organizations and donor countries.A   A spokesman for the International Red Cross Federation, Encho<Gospodinov, says an estimated 200-thousand new refugees areBexpected to cross into neighboring Slovenia if U.N. peace keepersleave Croatia.@   He also expects thousands of refugees will try to make their?way into Hungary where already more than seven-thousand mainly7women and children find shelter by hungarian families.B   Mr. Gospodinov says the withdrawal of U.N. peace keepers mightlead to all out war:B   "We still hope that a conflict can be avoided.  But I can tellByou that today, in the conference room where we had discussed the/situation, there were not too many optimists."=   Red Cross organizations across the region are looking for@sponsors to adopt new refugees. Mr. Gospodinov says so far, red?cross officials were not successful in convincing the Croatian'government to extend the U.N. mandate.   ---------------   ---------------+   EU SUSPENDS TRADE AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELSA   The European Union has suspended an important trade agreement@with Russia.  The move agreed to by the 15 EU foreign ministersAin Brussels on Monday is designed to step up the pressure on the>Russian leadership to find a speedy solution to the crisis in
Chechnya.@   The trade deal would have given the Russians improved access<to the European Union market, which is the world's largest.>However, the 15 European Union foreign ministers have decided?that until there are clear indications of a change in Moscow's>policy about Chechnya, the trade concessions cannot come intoforce.=   The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Spain are to>visit Moscow later this week on behalf of the European Union.@They will be seeking a promise that the Russians will end human?rights abuses in Chechnya and will seek a peaceful solution tothe crisis there.=   The decision represents a shift in policy by the European@foreign ministers.  When the crisis in Chechnya began, they, at@first, claimed that it was an internal matter for the Russians.@Now, the European Union has made it clear that the human rights.abuses there are a matter of concern for all.   ---------------   ---------------   BARINGS BANK TAKEOVER   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON?   A buyer has been found for Britain's Barings Merchant Bank,;which collapsed last week after massive losses in far eastAtrading. The buyer is one of Europe's largest financial servicesgroup.=   The Dutch financial group, ING, has acquired Barings Bank<after agreeing to immediately pump in more than one billion@dollars.  The money would pay off Barings' debts after the bank/collapsed due to huge far east trading losses.@   The agreement between Barings' administrators and i-n-g cameAafter five days of virtually round-the-clock negotiations. ING's7toughest competition came from another Dutch financialinstitution named ABN Amro.=   Senior ING officials say Barings will fit in perfectly in>their long-range plans.  London's "Financial Times" newspaper@says ING is expanding its operations in developing markets, and$Barings has expertise in that area.@   The acquisition by ING means the money held by depositors in=Barings is apparently safe, and that more than four thousand/Barings employees will continue in their jobs.?   The Dutch financial group has apparently also agreed to pay@staff members bonuses that they were to receive before the bank=collapsed last week.  That amount is estimated at around 160million dollars.B   Britain's main opposition Labour Party has strongly criticizedAthe bonus scheme, describing it as outrageous greed, coming at a1time when Barings needs all the help it can get.A   But during an interview with British radio, Britain's Finance?Minister Kenneth Clarke defended the decision to go ahead with
the bonuses:<   "The thing to remember is that most of the four thousandBpeople who work for Barings had nothing whatsoever to do with theBSingapore business, the overwhelming majority of them.  They wereBrunning a very successful bank which I am glad to say is going to@be back doing business as usual, I hope in the next few hours."A   Meanwhile, Nick Leeson, the Singapore-based trader blamed for8the bank's collapse, remains in a German jail, fighting@extradition to Singapore.  Legal experts say that process couldtake many months.?   In London, investigations are underway to determine exactly@how and why Barings collapsed.  Experts say the main reason was3that the bank's internal controls were inadequate.>   Gerard Lyons, chief economist with the Japanese bank, DKB,:says all financial institutions should now reassess theirinternal controls:8   "Obviously, people can point the finger at different;individuals and make comments.  But really, from a generalAperspective and in terms of financial markets, the key lesson isBto make sure it does not  happen again.  The way to do that is toAmake sure that internal controls within all organizations are aswatertight as possible.">   Mr. Lyons says it will always be difficult to fight fraud.<But he says if, in the future, cheating is exposed, then itBshould affect only a small part of the bank's capital, and not be(able to bring down a whole institution.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. EMPLOYMENT FIGURES   JOE SUMMERS   WASHINGTON=   The labor sector of the U.S. economy posted strong growth=during February.  The latest employment report could have an.impact on interest rates and the U.S. dollar.=   The U.S. Labor Department says 318-thousand new jobs were@created in February, reducing the nation's unemployment rate by?three-tenths of a percentage point to five-point-four percent.=   Analysts say job creation was stronger than expected last:month. The biggest gains were in the services sector, but7retailing and manufacturing employment also increased.>Construction companies laid off workers due to adverse winterweather conditions.@   President Clinton told reporters at the White House that the@latest statistics prove that his economic policies are working:?   "Our disciplined plan to reduce the (budget) deficit, lowerBtrade barriers to American products and services, and invest more<in the future of our people through education, training and?technology, is working.  Let me underscore this.  As of today,<the economy has produced six-point-one million jobs since Ibecame president."=   The president's chief economic adviser, Laura Tyson, told:reporters that the success in creating jobs will not haveinflationary implications.@   However, private economists are saying bond markets could be;affected because there is an increased likelihood that theBcentral bank will raise interest rates again to restrain economicBgrowth and control inflation.  The central bank has boosted rates?seven times in the past year, trying to reduce growth to aboutBtwo and one-half percent, a rate monetary authorities believe can-be sustained without inflationary pressures.@   The expectation of higher U.S. interest rates could help the?dollar recover from record lows set during the past week.  The@expectation that U.S. interest rates had leveled off was one ofBthe factors behind the dollar decline while higher interest rates=in Germany attracted investments and sent the German mark torecord highs.   ---------------   ---------------6   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUNDUP: THE FALLING DOLLAR   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTONB   U.S. treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says the United States isBworking closely with the other big industrialized democracies and>will intervene in currency markets to support the dollar whenAsuch action is justified.  In a speech to a newspaper group, Mr.>Rubin said a strong dollar is in the national interest of theAUnited States.  Meanwhile, editorial writers are considering the3dollar's problems, Thursdays' "Boston Globe" said:@   "Americans might feel vaguely uneasy because of the dollar'sAdive in international exchange markets.  Unless they are heavily=dependent on imports or are planning a trip to Japan or someAparts of Europe, the decline is apt to have little direct effect>on their lives. Germans and Japanese, on the other hand, haveAreason to view the strength of their currencies with some alarm.=It [the United States] remains the world's largest exporter,Aand its competitive position has been improved, not hurt, by the;dollar's decline.  That is what scares German and Japanesebusiness leaders."@   "New York Newsday" says the government's inaction may not besuch a bad policy:B   "While the dollar's slippage had several causes, Mexico's poorAhandling of the peso is a biggie [a key reason].  Washington had>little choice but to bail the peso out.  It did so awkwardly,=though, using funds meant to back the dollar, after CongressArejected President Bill Clinton's first plan.  Worse: The peso's@slide continues. The underlying reason for the dollar's fall is@screwy [strange] policy.  We save too little; uncle Sam borrowsAtoo much.  All borrowers rely too much on overseas loans.  Until8habits change, the dollar remains perpetually at risk."@   "The Christian science monitor" says just because the dollar@has fallen this is, as they write, "no time for panic," adding:<   "Whatever the causes of the drop, this is not a time for?panic.  The United States does run chronic trade deficits, and=this has implications in the currency market.  But the otherAfundamentals of the American economy remain sound: Strong growth?for a mature economy, low inflation, and low unemployment. TheBfederal budget deficit is politically troubling but is the lowest@deficit, as a share of gross domestic product, of all the majordeveloped nations."A   In the nation's financial capitol, "The New York Times" says:<   "The price of intervention is too steep.  There are manyBtheories why the dollar is falling, none convincing. Some say the?slide reflects large trade deficits, fiscal imbalance or other:structural problems.  But these long-term factors did notAsuddenly worsen last week....The key facts are that the American@economy is growing briskly and that current policies are sound.BThe Federal Reserve Board has steered the economy along a path of?growth and low inflation.  Over the past few years, WashingtonBhas cut the deficit, as a percentage of national income, in half.There is no crisis.">   "USA Today" wonders whether the dollar's fall is merely an<idiosyncrasy of the market place or whether it is a serious4warning to Americans to change their fiscal habits:@   "Eventually, if enough investors reject the dollar, the U.S.=risks not merely losing its preeminent economic position but;joining the line of high-risk beggars who pay double-digitBinterest rates a la Mexico.  Maybe this time the buck will bounceBback, so the economy can keep growing.  But if the nation doesn't:clean up its economic House, lenders eventually will lose8confidence. The price will be high interest rates, lostindependence and recession."!   In Baltimore, "The Sun" says:B   "...Over time, given more courageous policies than now obtain,;prudent management of the domestic economy will do more to>strengthen the dollar than a dozen ill-conceived central bank<interventions or interest rate adjustments.  So the ClintonBAdministration would be well-advised to hold aloof, let the world@financial markets find their equilibrium, take good care of ourBMexican and Canadian neighbors and keep focused not on day-to-day+speculation but on economic fundamentals."   ---------------   ---------------9   RUBIN SAYS STRONG DOLLAR IS IN U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST   WASHINGTON>   The Clinton administration is committed to maintaining the?dollar as the world's principal reserve currency, according to(Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin.@   Rubin, in prepared remarks March 9 to the National Newspaper@Association, said U.S. financial officials are in close contactBwith other industrial country finance ministries on the status of@the dollar. "Our policy is to intervene when it makes sense and(not to do so when it doesn't," he said.B   He emphasized two points: "One, this administration believes a<strong dollar is in America's national interest.  Two, this?administration from its beginning has been, and remains, fullyBcommitted to the sound monetary and fiscal policies necessary forAsustained growth, low inflation, a strong and stable dollar, and;maintenance of the dollar as the world's principal reservecurrency."9   He said the Clinton administration is resolute in its@commitment to continued progress in reducing the fiscal deficit@and it will "vigorously oppose" any tax-cut plan that increases:the deficit or is not fully paid for.  The new RepublicanAmajority in Congress currently is considering a $200,000 million8tax cut as part of its "Contract with America" package.<   "This is no time for this nation to sacrifice the fiscal>discipline we have worked so hard to regain over the last twoyears," Rubin said.9   The treasury secretary also expressed confidence thatBinvestors will move back into Mexico.  "At the heart of this, the:leadership in Mexico understands that it is they who will:determine Mexico's fate -- not the United States, not the@International Monetary Fund, not the central bankers," he said.   ---------------   ---------------2   ANALYSTS POINT TO REASON FOR THE DOLLAR'S FALL   LINDA CASHDAN   WASHINGTONA   The U.S. dollar has been battered on international markets byBa decline that began almost a month ago, but picked up speed this>week. U.S. monetary analysts point to several reasons for thefall.A   Analysts seem to agree several unrelated problems have causedAthe plunge.  One is Mexico's financial crisis, more specificallyAthe number of dollars the U.S. government is making available tosupport the Mexican peso.:   Another is growing global concern about U.S. budgetaryBproblems, the United State's low savings rate, and enormous tradeand budget deficits.A   Brookings Institute's monetary expert, Ralph Bryant, believes?the dollar's recent fall stems in part from global reaction toBthe U.S. Senate's rejection of the balanced budget amendment lastweek:>   "Do we have serious economic problems in the United States@about our budgetary policy?  Yes, we do.  The budget deficit is?much too big.  Perhaps some people abroad are interpreting the?vote on the balanced budget amendment as meaning there will be?less control over our deficits than there otherwise would have>been.  I think that's a mistake in judgment if people believe<that. It's not clear to me that the passage of the balancedAbudget amendment would have led to more short run control of the;budget deficit, but in any event, if people think that's a%problem, then it becomes a problem."8   Currency upheavals often come as a reaction to otherBupheavals, and, analysts agree, January and February of 1995 were7replete with upheavals:  Mexico's peso crisis, Japan'sAearthquake, the collapse last week of the British Merchant Bank,
Barings PLC.A   In the past, the dollar has been an investment haven in times9of upheaval, a symbol of strength.  Today, says American@University Professor Fred Graham, investors are moving to otherAcurrencies.  He says the end of the cold war has eliminated many@of the risks once associated with the German mark, and the rise9to economic power of so many nations in Asia has greatlystrengthened the Japanese yen:>   "The (Japanese) yen's been strong for a long time, and the@(German) mark has been relatively strong.  I would imagine thatBin the Pacific, the yen is already a widely used currency. In theAAsian trading nations, the yen is often the preferred currency."A   Are the dollar's days as the world's reserve currency drawing:to a close?  In his testimony before the U.S. Congress on=Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve (central bank) chairman Alan>Greenspan made it clear he is concerned about maintaining theAdollar's prestige. His statement caused some analysts to predict@Mr. Greenspan might raise U.S. interest rates again to make the%dollar more attractive to investors.B   Brookings Institute's Ralph Bryant says raising interest rates@to prop up the U.S. currency could prove a tricky maneuver.  To;do so, he says, the U.S. central bank will have to balance>national concerns with international ones, and, in his words,>"try to stay in the middle of the road and avoid the ditch oneither side":@   "'The ditch on either side' means a (U.S.) recession if they<raise rates too much, or inflation if they don't raise them?enough. Before this international turmoil came on the scene, IBthink they (the U.S. federal reserve) probably regarded the level>of short-term interest rates as about right, and if they feelAforced to raise short-term interest rates in order to defend theAdollar, the trade off there is that that may not be a good thingfor the domestic economy."?   It might not work, either. As American University Professor5Fred Graham points out, central bank interference in?international currency markets has at best short-term results:B   "The movements in the dollar are determined in the market with=sometimes substantial but often moderate intervention of the@central banks of the different countries, but the central banksAcan't cause the exchange rate to fall in value dramatically.  In<the short term, it can move the exchange rate, but if other@conditions are causing the exchange rate of the dollar to fall,@the value of the dollar to fall, short term policies by the fed/(Federal Reserve) are not going to change it."B   Both Fred Graham and Ralph Bryant caution, however, that it is<important not to blow the current fall of the dollar out of>proportion.  While insisting that it is impossible to predict>what will happen, both men say if they had to speculate, they:would assume the international currency markets have been/over-reacting and the dollar will bounce back.   ---------------   ---------------;   GREENSPAN CALLS DOLLAR DROP "UNWELCOME AND TROUBLESOME"   THOMAS EICHLER   WASHINGTONB   The decline of the U.S. dollar against the German mark and the@Japanese yen over the past week has elicited a strong statement?of concern from Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan.9   In prepared testimony March 8 before the House Budget>Committee, Greenspan said "the weakness of the dollar against;other major currencies is both unwelcome and troublesome.":Dollar weakness, he said, "while very likely overdone, isBunwelcome because it adds to potential inflation pressures in our
economy."B   The dollar has been declining broadly since early January, but@the drop against the mark and the yen has accelerated in recent?days.  On March 7 the dollar was down about 12 percent against?the mark and 10 percent against the yen from levels at yearend@1994.  The dollar rose somewhat March 8, following the comments9by Greenspan and other statements by German and Japaneseofficials.A   Under prodding from Republican party members, he acknowledged<that the dollar decline accelerated after the proposed U.S.?balanced budget amendment failed to win approval in the Senate	March 2.@   "The nature of the decline in the exchange rate at that time=suggested that it was for other than interest rate reasons,"Greenspan said.?   Greenspan said he was "surprised" at the market response to@the balanced budget amendment vote.  "I think it's not an issue>of the balanced budget amendment per se," he added.  "It's an>issue of a reflection that has emerged with concern about our(willingness to pare the basic deficit.">   Greenspan added that he senses strong support for bringing@budget deficits down even without the Constitutional amendment.:Based on his conversations with congressional leaders and=officials in the Clinton administration, he said he believes?"there is a very strong understanding of the need to bring theAdeficit down.  And I think there's very considerable support outBthere.  I've been in government on and off for over 20 years, and>I don't recall a degree of perseverance to come to grips withthis issue as I see today."<   Asked about the role of the Mexican peso crisis, and the:subsequent rescue effort led by the United States, in theBdollar's decline, Greenspan said this may be exerting pressure on8the dollar because of belief by some that the U.S. loan?commitments to Mexico have "somehow impaired the capability of:the United States to intervene in support of the dollar.">   "The facts of the matter are that we have got a very large7block of Deutsche mark and yen -- both in the Exchange>Stabilization Fund and at the Federal Reserve," he said.  TheAFederal Reserve and the Treasury Department are prepared to takeAsteps if needed to retain "full control of our existing reservesAof the key foreign currencies.  We do not intend, in any way, to/impair the capability that we currently have.">   Greenspan nevertheless emphasized that he takes the dollar@decline seriously.  He noted that on a trade-weighted basis the@drop in the dollar's value is less than the decline against the@mark and the yen, but pointed out that "we are involved -- very:importantly -- as a major international financial serviceBsupplier....And as a consequence of that, it's terribly importantBthat we maintain the importance of the American dollar as the key1international trading and financial instrument."@   While the effect of a broad trade-weighted dollar decline on>import prices "is not unimportant,...it is terribly important9that we maintain a degree of stability against the majorAcurrencies in the world, because, if we fail to do that, we will;have impacts in the United States which I think are whollyundesirable."   ---------------   ---------------@   U.S. PRODUCTIVITY ROSE IN 1994, DESPITE 4TH QUARTER SLOWDOWN   WASHINGTON>   U.S. nonfarm productivity rose 2.2 percent during 1994, anAimprovement over the 1.5-percent growth rate registered in 1993.=   The 1994 increase was achieved by a 5.2-percent growth inBoutput and a 2.9-percent increase in hours of all persons working:(which includes employees, proprietors, and unpaid family<workers), according to figures released March 8 by the U.S.8Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).A   Hourly compensation in the nonfarm sector rose 3.1 percent in;1994, the BLS said.  Although this was the smallest annual=increase in hourly compensation since 1949 (when it rose 3.0Apercent), it was just slightly less than the 3.3-percent rise in<1993.  Inflation-adjusted hourly compensation increased 0.5Apercent, up from a 0.2-percent rise in 1993. Unit labor costs in@the nonfarm sector grew only 0.9 percent in 1994, compared with1.7 percent in 1993.A   In the fourth quarter, nonfarm productivity rose 1.7 percent,?a lower rate than the 3.2-percent rate registered in the third>quarter.  In the fourth quarter, output rose 5.3 percent, and?hours of all persons worked increased 3.5 percent.  During the=third quarter, output grew 4.3 percent and hours were up 1.1	percent.@   Productivity in the manufacturing sector grew 4.9 percent in;1994, as output rose 6.1 percent and hours for all persons<working increased 1.2 percent.  The productivity and output9increases were the largest since 1987.  Both durable andBnondurable goods industries experienced productivity increases in:1994.  The increase in hours was due to increases in both;employment and average weekly hours.  Employment growth in>manufacturing increased for the first time since 1989, albeit@modestly.  Manufacturing work ers' average weekly hours in 1994"were at historically high levels.B   During 1993, manufacturing productivity increased 3.2 percent,:output rose 4.1 percent, and hours increased 0.8 percent.PRODUCTIVITY, OUTPUT AND HOURSBPercent change from preceding period; quarterly changes at annualrates, seasonally adjusted;                  1994    2nd qtr      3rd qtr     4th qtr,                                  PAGE# 124;                             1994         1994        1994
Business:;Productivity       2.3       -2.0          3.7         1.7;Output             5.3        3.7          4.5         5.4;Hours              2.9        5.9          0.8         3.6Nonfarm business:;Productivity       2.2       -2.1          3.2         1.7;Output             5.2        3.2          4.3         5.3;Hours              2.9        5.5          1.1         3.5Manufacturing:;Productivity       4.9        5.6          3.5         3.1;Output             6.1        7.2          5.6         7.7;Hours              1.2        1.5          2.0         4.5   ---------------   ---------------%   U.S. APPLY SANCTIONS ON GUATEMALA   GEORGE MEEK   WASHINGTON@   The United States has applied mild sanctions to Guatemala to?express displeasure with the central American nation's lack of:progress in resolving six human rights cases.  One widely=publicized case involves a guatemalan guerrilla leader whose7American wife has been on a hunger strike to press for#information about his whereabouts.?   The State Department has completed a review of human rights>policy in guatemala.  It  is concerned with what it calls the=lack of substantial progress in cases involving the death or>disappearance of four Americans and two guatemalans with U.S.
connections.@   To show its displeasure, the State Department has decided to>cancel training of guatemalan military officers in the UnitedBStates this year, scheduled to cost at least 30-thousand dollars.@There are reports that a U.S. military construction project for>guatemalan roads will not be renewed when it expires in June.@   One high-profile human rights case involves guatemalan rebel?commander Efrain Bamaca. The guatemalan government says he wasAkilled in combat, but has not been able to produce his body. The<State Department believes Commander Bamaca died in military>custody three years ago after a short period of detention and@interrogation.  The State Department says there are no credible'reports to contradict this assessment.>   Commander Bamaca's American wife, lawyer Jennifer Harbury,:staged a month-long hunger strike in front of Guatemala's=national palace last year to draw attention to her husband's<case.  She believes he is being secretly held by guatemalan
authorities.A   Ms. Harbury plans to resume her hunger strike in front of the>White House on Sunday, the third anniversary of her husband's@disappearance.  Her spokeswoman says she will go ahead with theAfast as planned, because she considers the measures announced by'the State Department are not adequate.A   In a related development, the State Department has criticizedBguatemala's rebels for sabotage and kidnapping. The United States?will deny visas for their senior leaders, except for travel in@connection with the peace process that is requested by the U.N.moderator.   ---------------   ---------------   ARGENTINE ECONOMY   ROGER WILKISON   RIO DE JANEIROA   Argentine finance minister Domingo Cavallo has, for the firstAtime, acknowledged that his country is in deep financial trouble?and said it urgently needs two billion dollars to ride out the;crisis.  Mr. Cavallo asked Congress for speedy approval of=legislation he said would help him deal effectively with thecountry's economic problems.A   Always graphic in his remarks, Mr. Cavallo told congress thatBArgentina runs the risk of falling into a deep hole from which itAcould take a long time to emerge.  A lack of investor confidence?in Latin America that was unleashed by Mexico's devaluation of>its currency in December, has led to an outflow of investment@funds from Argentina, a plunge by the Buenos Aires stock market;and a withdrawal of savings from banks.  The government of9President Carlos Menem has vowed it will not devalue theAArgentine peso, which is pegged one-to-one to the dollar, and it4has also promised it will not freeze bank accounts.?   Mr. Cavallo said Argentina will receive 400 million dollars<from the International Monetary Fund in April and will seek:another two billion dollars to shore up banks that are inBtrouble. Argentine press reports said he is also trying to secure?an additional two to two-point-five billion dollars in creditsfrom foreign commercial banks.;   Mr. Cavallo's main purpose in appearing before congress>Thursday was to push for the approval of government-sponsoredBlegislation to face the economic crisis.  The chamber of deputies@responded by approving a long-stymied bill that will cut socialAbenefits for workers at medium-sized and small firms.  The bill,>which must be voted on a second time, is opposed by the labor@unions and the political opposition, but the government says it6will help to reduce unemployment, which now stands atB12-point-two per cent, the highest such figure ever registered inArgentina.A   The major objective of the bill is to reduce the compensationBemployers must give workers when they are fired or laid off.  The<senate, meanwhile, approved legislation that will limit the>amount the courts grant to pensioners with claims against the?government.  Mr. Cavallo asked congress to also approve a bill@that would allow the government to use the stock it still holdsAin the now privatized YPF oil company as collateral for loans he'is seeking from foreign private banks.   ---------------   ---------------!   COSTA RICA/NICARAGUA TENSIONS   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSE;   Relations between Costa rIca and Nicaragua are becoming>strained, mainly because of continuing illegal immigration by;Nicaraguans into Costa Rican territory.  However, a border>incident earlier this week escalated tensions between the two<countries, despite attempts by both governments to play theincident down.@   Costa Rica and Nicaragua have always been distant neighbors,Bdespite sharing a common border and language.  Costa rica has  no;army, having abolished it in 1948.  Nicaragua once had the?largest army in Central America during the 1980's. Now, though@its size is much reduced, the army is still a powerful force inNicaragua.A   Costa rica is the most prosperous country in Central America,>while Nicaragua is the poorest.  About 50 percent of the work>force in Nicaragua is unemployed, while unemployment in Costa Rica is less than five percent.<   The economic disparity between the two countries has led?increasing numbers of Nicaraguans to slip across the border tolook for work in Costa Rica.@   They often find jobs in coffee farms, banana plantations, or?in the construction industry.  The Costa Rican government says;there are now an estimated 300-thousand Nicaraguans living@illegally in Costa Rica.  This represents about nine percent of;Costa Rica's population of three-point-two million people.:   In recent months, the Costa Rican government has begun8cracking down on illegal immigrants, expelling up to 30<undocumented Nicaraguans a day.  The mass deportations haveAstrained relations between the two nations, especially when some>of those expelled have accused the Costa Rican authorities of?mistreating them. While Costa Rica has denied the accusations,>Nicaraguan human rights groups contend illegal immigrants are=being abused, both by Costa Rican authorities and employers.@   Tensions between the two countries reached a new height last>Friday, when Nicaraguan police detained 13 Costa Rican borderBguards who allegedly had crossed into Nicaraguan territory. CostaArica denied the guards were inside Nicaragua, but the Nicaraguan?government said they were.  Nicaraguan authorities held the 13=through the weekend, despite pleas by Costa Rican to releasethem.A   On Sunday, Costa Rican police seized two Nicaraguan officialsAwho had crossed the border to get a drink of water.  Finally, on=Monday, the two governments exchanged their detainees at theborder.>   Both governments have tried to play down the incident.  On@Tuesday, Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres described itBas a minor problem that was successfully resolved diplomatically./He said what is important is to maintain calm.A   He said Costa Rica's best interests are served by maintaining#good relations with its neighbors.A   But the border incident has left some bitter feelings in bothBcountries.  Former Costa Rican foreign Minister Bernd Niehaus has>criticized the Figueres administration for not being forcefulBenough in demanding the return of the border guards.  Mr. Niehaus9also accused the Nicaraguan government of trying to turn@attention away from the country's internal problems by creatingincidents along the border.B   In Nicaragua, Foreign Minister Ernesto Leal told reporters the?incident did not contribute to maintaining good relations withBCosta Rica, though he said this is the goal of his government. On>call-in radio programs in Managua this week, some NicaraguansBcriticized their government, saying the 13 guards should not have:been freed but instead prosecuted for entering Nicaraguanterritory.A   While this incident does not appear to have seriously damaged;relations between the two countries, strains are likely to8continue, especially over the issue of human rights for8undocumented workers.  Rights groups are monitoring theBdeportation of Nicaraguans from Costa Rica, and are investigating@reports of serious abuses against illegal immigrants.  If these6turn out to be true, Costa Rica's image as one of the?hemisphere's strongest defenders of human rights would suffer,9and relations with Nicaragua would be seriously damaged.   ---------------   ---------------*   ECUADOR/PERU OBSERVERS ARRIVAL DELAYED   RODGER WILKISON   RIO DE JANEIROA   The international observers who are supposed to supervise theBcease-fire along the border between Ecuador and Peru have delayed@their arrival, which was scheduled Thursday, in both countries,Band no one is certain what the reasons for the delay are. EcuadorBand Peru are each hinting that the other side is to blame for the%failure of the observers to show up.@   Diplomatic sources in Brasilia implied that there has been aAlast-minute complication in the dispatch of the observers to the;border area because of proposed changes to the accord that=stipulates how they will carry out their functions.  But the?sources would  not say what those proposed changes are nor whohas made them.B   In Ecuador, the foreign ministry official who is his country's=liaison with an interim group of observers now on the scene,@Diego Rivadeneira, said he understands the delay in the arrival?of the military officers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and theAUnited States is due to logistical reasons.  The Brazilian planeBcarrying the observers was due to arrive Thursday in the Peruvian>city of Piura, where half of them were to disembark, and thenBcontinue to the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca, the destination of theother half.<   A Peruvian military source said he thinks the group willAarrive in his country on Friday but is not absolutely sure.  The9Peruvian source said he has heard that the four mediator?countries decided to postpone the trip after Ecuador failed toBgive what he called basic guarantees to the observer mission. ButAMr. Rivadeneira denied that insinuation, and said his country isAnot trying to hamper the mission's task.  An Ecuadorian military@source said that Peru is using dilatory tactics to hinder final4approval of the guarantees needed by the observers.@   Two weeks ago, the mediator countries asked Ecuador and PeruBto approve the document that gives the observers complete freedom=to operate throughout the disputed 340-square-kilometer area?where the fighting between Ecuadorian and Peruvian forces took>place for nearly five weeks earlier this year.  The observers>also want Ecuador and Peru to guarantee their security and to8provide them with logistical support.  Only under those7conditions, they say, will they be able to monitor theAcease-fire, supervise a troop pullback on both sides and oversee+the demilitarization of the conflict zone.   ---------------   ---------------/   MEXICO ANNOUNCES ECONOMIC AUSTERITY PACKAGE   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSE>   The Mexican government has announced an economic austerityBpackage aimed at stabilizing the country's troubled economy.  The<measures include tax hikes and reduced government spending.?   Mexican finance secretary Guillermo Ortiz announced the new=austerity program in a nationwide speech late Thursday.  Mr.?Ortiz said government spending will be cut by nine-point-eight?percent this year, while the country's value-added tax will beBincreased from 10 to 15-percent.  Taxes on gasoline, electricity,%and services also will rise sharply.>   The finance secretary said these measures are necessary toAstabilize the Mexican economy, which has been severely shaken byBthe continuing devaluation of the currency.  The Mexican peso hasBlost more than 50-percent of its value since December.  Mr. Ortiz>said the austerity program is aimed at curbing inflation, and?restoring investor confidence in Mexico.  But, he acknowledged+inflation this year will reach 42-percent.=   The finance secretary predicted hard times ahead for mostAMexicans, but said the austerity program is the only alternative@for the country.  He said by taking this action now Mexico will-avoid worse economic problems in the future.   ---------------   ---------------!   IMF APPROVES CREDIT FOR HAITI   WASHINGTON@   The International Monetary Fund has approved a loan to HaitiAto be disbursed over the next 12 months to support the country's'economic and financial reform program.<   The IMF said in a statement March 9 that the $31 million>credit will support Haiti's efforts to reduce inflation to an?annual average of 15 percent and to increase its international
reserves.=   Inflation in Haiti was 52 percent in the 12 months ending<September 1994, and the country's exports fell to under $60Amillion in 1994 from $266 million in 1990, reflecting closure of@Haiti's assembly industries and the effect of the trade embargo+on coffee shipments, according to the IMF.B   "Preliminary estimates suggest that real GDP may have declinedBby about 30 percent between 1990-94, leaving per capita income atBabout $260 in 1994 and confirming Haiti's position as the poorest=country in the Western Hemisphere," the statement said.  The?Haitian economy, after declining almost 11 percent in 1994, isBexpected to grow around 4.5 percent in 1995, mainly the result ofAa large increase in public investment to be financed by externalaid.B   The country's medium-term strategy aims to eliminate financialAimbalances, reduce the role of the public sector, liberalize the=trade regime and eliminate regulations and restrictions thatimpede private investment.A   "The measures already adopted and the policy commitments made?by the government should pave the way for sustainable economic>growth and a much-needed reduction in poverty," the IMF said.   ---------------   ---------------   ARGENTINE ECONOMY   ROGER WILKISON   RIO DE JANEIROB   The health of Argentina's economy, which has been badly shaken;in past weeks by lack of confidence on the part of foreignAinvestors, is the main concern of President Carlos Menem, who isArunning for re-election two months from now. Mr. Menem's lead in;the polls has been based on the success of a four-year-old@economic stabilization plan, but the country's current economic;troubles are beginning to raise doubts about the program'scontinued effectiveness.?   The stabilization plan designed by Finance Minister Domingo@Cavallo has reduced inflation to less than one percent, a month=following astronomically high levels at the beginning of thedecade.>   Mr. Menem knows that his continuation in office depends on@confidence in the program, and he is making every move to shore@up the plan as election day, May 14th, approaches.  Against theBadvice of his political counsellors, he has given Mr. Cavallo the>green light to implement new adjustment measures even if theyrisk alienating voters.A   Mr. Menem has ordered a cutback in public spending, includingAthe reduction of top officials' salaries,  and he has threatenedAcorporations and individuals with sanctions if they try to evade@taxes.  The president has asked Congress to approve legislation:reducing benefits that employers must currently pay their3workers, and he is also considering raising taxes.=   Ever since Mexico devalued its currency last December and@unleashed a crisis that has sorely affected investor confidence@in all of Latin America, the Buenos Aires stock market has been@reeling.  The value of leading stocks has declined more than 40?percent.  On Tuesday, the market plunged nearly eight percent.B   Unofficial reports that have not been denied by the government>indicate that three-point-eight billion dollars in investment:funds have left Argentina since the Mexican crisis began.AArgentina's foreign exchange reserves have also dropped.  Still,AMr. Menem and his finance minister have vowed that there will beBno  devaluation of the Argentine peso, which is pegged one-to-oneto the dollar.A   There are some positive signs despite the turmoil.  There was@zero inflation last month; and Argentina's trade deficit, whichBreached nearly six billion dollars in 1994, has begun to decline.>But the government has been unable to solve the nation's high9unemployment  rate.  More than 12 percent of working-age'Argentines are currently out of a job.A   To win re-election, Mr. Menem must defeat Horacio Massaccesi,Bof the centrist Radical Party, and Jose Octavio Bordon, who heads?an independent center-left coalition.  Although he is ahead in=all the polls, Mr. Menem's lead is expected to drop if he is@required to face whoever comes in second in a run-off election.BThe run-off would be held if Mr. Menem fails to win 45 percent ofAthe vote in the first round of ballotting or at least 40 percent7but with a ten-point lead over his closest competitor.   ---------------   ---------------   BRAZILIAN ECONOMY   ROGER WILKISON   RIO DE JANEIRO>   Brazilian economists say the government's mini devaluation>Monday of the real, the national currency, is a positive step=that is aimed at staving off an economic crisis like the one9affecting Mexico and the financial difficulties that are;currently besetting neighboring Argentina. The decision toBdevaluate came after four straight months of deficits in Brazil'strade balance.B   The opinion pages of Brazilian newspapers Tuesday were full of@comments by economists and business leaders on the significance?of the three-percent devaluation of the real.  Paulo NoguieiraABatista, of the respected Getulio Vargas Foundation, likened theBgovernment's decision to set up  a minimum and a maximum exchange@rate for the real in relation to the dollar to corrective heartBsurgery.  The real, which was introduced last July, was part of a?stabilization plan that has knocked Brazil's monthly inflation<down from 50 per cent to one percent.  But the currency was?overvalued at 84 cents to the dollar and was hampering exportswhile imports were surging.B   Brazil's automobile industry, which has traditionally been the?engine of the economy, has been losing sales to imports, which=entered the country in droves last year despite a 20 percent@tariff.  A few days ago, the government increased the tariff to:prevent a loss of jobs among auto workers.  The Brazilian?footwear industry, which is strongly dependent on exports, was@also affected by the overvalued real.  Its sales abroad fell 20percent last year.=   The government was also spurred into taking action by the9negative effects the Mexican crisis is having on foreign;investment all over Latin America.  Flight capital, mainlyBshort-term deposits, has left Brazil in search of higher interest@rates elsewhere.  Last month alone, Brazil was reported to have?lost more than a billion dollars in such funds.  The country'sBreserves have dropped from 43 billion dollars to 36 billion sinceAMexico devalued the peso in December.  But some economists, like>former Finance Minister Mario Henrique Simonsen are confident<that Brazil's decision to tackle the bull by the horns will>attract  investment and spur Brazilian exports.  Mr. Simonsen=said the new measures, which also include a sharp cutback inAgovernment spending to reduce an 11 billion dollar deficit, will>show investors that Brazil is different from other countries.@   Support for the Brazilian action came Tuesday from ArgentineAFinance Minister Domingo Cavallo, who was informed in advance of@the devaluation.  He said it would maintain stability in Brazil;and would not have any negative effects on Argentina.  But@Argentine news media quoted exporters in Buenos Aires as saying;it would give Brazil an advantage in the flourishing tradebetween the two countries.>   Even in Brazil, there is some pessimism.  The Folha de Sao?Paulo newspaper commented in an editorial that the devaluationBwould lead to a rise in the cost of living by making imports more@expensive.  It recalled that the government's policy of opening?up Brazilian markets to imports was one of its main weapons in/its successful drive to bring  down inflation.   ---------------   ---------------<   MEXICAN REBEL REPRESENTATIVE BLAMES CLINTON FOR UPRISING   KENT KLEIN   WASHINGTONB   A representative of Mexico's Zapatista rebels says the ClintonBAdministration is partly to blame for the rebel insurgency in the>southern state of Chiapas.  The representative, who is on the223rd day of a hunger strike, spoke in Washington.:   Cecilia Rodriguez is protesting what she calls Mexican>President Ernesto Zedillo's "dirty war" against the people ofBChiapas.  Ms. Rodriguez says the fighting has trapped 20-thousandAcivilians in the Lacandon jungle without food, water or shelter.?   Ms. Rodriguez, who is in Washington to seek support for the?Zapatistas, says the Clinton Administration is contributing to6the problems in Chiapas by not condemning the Zedillogovernment's policies:?   "In your silence and passivity about the gross violation of@every international standard of humanitarian law in Mexico, you8are accepting the responsibility for this decade's most?destructive foreign policy.  You are cultivating the very real'possibility of a civil war in Mexico."A   Responding to earlier criticism, Mexico's government has saidAit has repeatedly offered to negotiate with the Zapatistas.  The<government has also suspended arrest warrants against rebel@leaders to allow time for peace talks.  The rebels have been inBhiding since government troops were sent to Chiapas.  Since then,?President Zedillo has ordered the army to avoid confrontationsAwith civilians, and to provide food and water in remote areas ofthe state.<   The rebels want to be recognized as a legitimate Mexican5Indian movement and to have a demilitarized zone for<negotiations. Mexican congressional committees rejected theBZapatistas' peace demands Tuesday, calling them unconstitutional.=One day earlier, the rebels turned down a government bill tore-start stalled peace talks.A   Ms. Rodriguez also condemned the United States for supporting=the Mexican government through the North American free trade<agreement and the United States' 20-billion-dollar economic/stabilization fund to rescue the Mexican peso:A   "The appropriate question is, 'what good is it going to do to>add onto an already astounding and unmanageable national debt?that does not in any way improve the standard of living of the-Mexican people?'  That's the real question."B   President Clinton defended his policy toward Mexico last week,@saying the Zedillo government is heading in the right directionwith its economic policies.   ---------------   ---------------   CLINTON PLANS HAITI VISIT   WASHINGTON@   President Clinton on March 31 will visit Haiti where he will?confer with President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, meet U.S. troops:stationed there and participate in ceremonies marking the8transfer of security supervision to the United Nations.@   White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton will discuss;with Aristide and members of his government "the economic,=security and political progress that has been achieved underBOperation Uphold Democracy.  Obviously," he added, "the presidentBlooks forward to an opportunity to thank American forces who haveAdone a splendid job, not only in returning President Aristide toAhis rightful position as the democratically-elected president of:Haiti" but also in restoring "the democratic process and,@increasingly, the prospect of economic livelihood to the peopleof Haiti."A   "There will be a delegation that will accompany the president>on that trip to Haiti and that's still in formation," McCurryBsaid, when he was asked if Clinton would be accompanied by former3President Carter and the other members of Carter's?pre-restoration mission to Haiti, retired General Colin Powelland Senator Sam Nunn.?   McCurry said various public events are being considered and<Clinton will talk with some of the 3,000 Americans who will8remain in Haiti as part of the 6,000-member U.N. force.B   Prior to the Haiti visit, Clinton will travel to Atlanta MarchB29 for a regional economic meeting patterned on his post-electionBseminar in Little Rock in 1992. He will discuss his "Middle Class?Bill of Rights" with community leaders in Tallahassee March 30>and is scheduled to return to Washington from Haiti March 31.   ---------------   ---------------A   U.S. DISAPPOINTED WITH CUBA'S IMPLEMATION OF MIGRATION ACCORD   WASHINGTONA   Acting State Department spoekwoman Christine Shelly indicated<U.S. disappointment with Cuba's record in implementing last?September's bilateral migration accord.  At the same time, she>said, the United States has opened a new processing center inAHavana to take care of Cubans applying for permission to migratelegally to the United States.?   Since September 9, when the U.S.-Cuban migration accord wasAsigned in New York, more than 9,000 Cubans have been approved by@the U.S. Interests Section in Havana for legal migration to theAUnited States, Shelly said.  Under the accord, the United States>has pledged to approve 20,000 Cubans for legal migration thisyear.?   "On implementing the September 9 migration accord, the U.S.?continues to be on track in issuing the travel documents," she<said.  To help facilitate this activity, the U.S. Interests@Section in Havana opened a new U.S. migration processing center<on March 1 which is in an annex building near the main U.S.&Interests Section building in Havana.>   Shelly said there has been no change in the "excessive airAfares" being charged Cuban migrants.  They must pay about $1,000=each for one-way tickets provided by the Cuban travel agency
Havana Tour.A   "We have continued to make clear to the Cuban government that?we consider these fares inconsistent with the joint commitment?under the agreement to facilitate legal migration," the actingspokesman said.@   The pace at which Cubans have been allowed to return to CubaBfrom safe haven facilities at Guantanamo "has certainly slowed in>the last couple of months," Shelly said.  "The last voluntaryBreturn flight," which carried 45 Cubans, "was on January 24," shesaid.@   A total of 466 Cubans have returned voluntarily to Cuba from?Guantanamo through official channels.  At least 200 others are=still awaiting approval from the Cuban government, she said.BAnother 813 have scaled the fences at the U.S. naval facility and9returned to Cuba on their own in so-called "unauthorized
returns."B   At present there are 24,697 Cubans at Guantanamo.  That number=includes 7,291 who were transferred from safe haven camps in5Panama and 445 from the Cayman Islands, Shelly said.@   Another 6,100 Cuban migrants have been brought to the United:States under the humanitarian parole program or have been?medically evacuated to the United States, the acting spokesman?said.  Ten Cuban migrants from safe haven camps in Panama were?resettled in Venezuela and 110 Cuban migrants from Panama were-moved to Spain to join family members there.   ---------------   ---------------7   REPORT SAYS AMERICANS' HEALTH & SAFETY HAS IMPROVED   MARILYN SILVEY   WASHINGTON;   Every other year, the Coalition for Consumer Health and>Safety, a partnership of 41 U-S consumer health and insuranceBgroups, issues a report on the status of the health and safety of@the American people. The latest survey has plenty of good news.;   "A tremendous success story." That's what Coalition forBConsumer Health and Safety Chairman Stephen Brobeck calls resultsBof the latest survey, which shows many improvements in Americans'overall health and safety:8   "Over the past two decades, there have been strikingAimprovements in the nation's health and safety.  In this period,?deaths from motor vehicle crashes, drunk driving and householdBaccidents have declined significantly, and so has the consumptionof alcohol and cigarettes."A   Just 30 years ago, 42 percent of Americans smoked cigarettes,Band now the figure is down to 25 percent, says Mr. Brobeck, while6per capita alcohol consumption is down by 10 percent.B   Officials of the Coalition for Consumer Health and Safety cite?a number of reasons for the improved statistics.  Ron Compton,@chairman of the Aetna Life & Casualty (insurance) Company, saysAthat laws intended to decrease motor vehicle accidents have donejust that:9   "In the last ten years alone, car safety belts, child>restraints, motorcycle helmit laws, (and) 21-year-old minimum:drinking age laws have prevented by conservative estimate.73-thousand deaths and 1.4 million injuries."=   Mr. Compton says all the groups in the Coalition can take@credit for helping urge Congress to pass the stricter laws.  In;addition, Mr. Compton says that the insurance industry has@helped, by offering lower premiums to policy holders whose cars@have such safety features as air bags and anti-lock brakes, and"whose homes have smoke-detectors.@   Another Coalition official, Andrew McGuire, praises the work=of an agency of the federal government, the Consumer ProductASafety Commission, which enforces federal standards for clothing>and for products ranging from appliances to sports equipment::   "During the last 20 years, the Consumer Product Safety=Commission  has been responsible for first issuing, and then?making sure the various manufacturers lived up to the standard;for flammability for three different products:  children's?sleepware, mattresses, and carpets.  Those flammability safety:standards have saved thousands of lives.  There's been an;estimated close to 1000 injuries a year prevented by those2flammability standards for children's sleepware."A   Coalition chairman Stephen Brobeck credits overall health and=safety improvements to a joint effort by a number of groups:>   "(A) combination of cost-effective government programs and?consumer protections, non-profit organizations, businesses and;other groups working together, the media playing a role in?informing the public about the personal hazards of some of the>products that are out on the market, and as a result, we're amuch healthier society."@   However, Mr. Brobeck says the latest health and safety studyis not all good news:<   "There remain nearly one million preventable deaths, and@millions of preventable injuries and illnesses.  These cost ourBsociety not only unnecessary pain and suffering, but also several$hundred billion dollars each year."@   Forty-two percent of all fatal motor vehicle crashes involve>alcohol, according to the survey, and Coalition officials are;calling for even stricter penalties for drunk drivers. TheBofficials are also urging greater government regulation of sports?utility vehicles and minivans which roll over more easily thanmost cars.@   Safety in homes also remains a big challenge, especially for@older Americans, say Coalition officials. More than six millionApeople suffered disabling injuries as a result of home accidents>in 1993, the year of the study, and an additional 22-thousandApeople died. The largest number of deaths in the home are causedBby falls, according to the study.  Coalition officials are urging<home designers and builders to make safety changes, and are@suggesting that local building codes require more handrails andbetter-defined stairs.?   Leaders of the Coalition for Consumer Health and Safety are;also concerned about possible budget reductions to federal8government agencies related to health and safety, (OPT.@especially the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the NationalBHighway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Center for Disease?Control's Center for Injury Prevention and Control.  END OPT.)?Coalition officials say these agencies are very effective, and+are appealing to Congress not to cut them.   ---------------   ---------------0   SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME LINK TO SMOKING   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON@   A new U.S. medical study shows that tobacco smoke raises the@chances that newborns will die of sudden infant death syndrome,@or SIDS.  But two other studies dispute whether infant sleeping/position has anything to do with the syndrome.@   A study in "The Journal of the American Medical Association"=[March 8th issue] shows that exposing an infant to cigarette@smoke increases the risk it will die suddenly and unexpectedly.?Researchers at the University of California's San Diego branchBfound that SIDS risk correlates directly with the amount of smoke
exposure.<   They surveyed parents of 200 infants who died of SIDS in;Southern California between 1989 and 1992 and compared the@answers with those of parents of 200 healthy infants matched by.birth hospital, birth date, gender, and race.<   The results show that exposure to smoke from the mother,@father, or other caregivers increased the SIDS risk from two to<24 times, depending on how heavy the second-hand smoke was.A   Another aspect of the study examined the relationship betweenBbreast-feeding, smoking, and SIDS.  Nursing is usually protective@against sudden infant death syndrome.  But the lead researcher,@Hillary Klonoff-Cohen ['klawn-off 'ko-ehn], says that, contraryBto previous reports, she found smoking confounds that protection:?   "If a mother chose to breast feed, a baby had one-third the>chance of dying from sudden infant death syndrome. But if the>mother was smoking during that time period of breast feeding,*then that protective effect was negated."?   The research also confirms earlier studies showing that the@risk of this kind of mysterious death increases when the mother@smokes during pregnancy or when the fetus is exposed to tobacco(smoke from the father or other sources.?   SIDS is the leading cause of the death of infants under ageone in the industrial world.?   Another suspected cause is the face down sleeping position.BBut two other studies in the journal come to opposite conclusions?on this.  One by the same University of California researchersBshows that routine prone sleeping was not associated with SIDS inAthe 400 families they studied.  They say about two-thirds of the?babies who died unexpectedly normally slept on their stomachs.:But that was the same fraction for the infants who lived.:   However, another study by doctors at the University of;Tasmania in Australia finds a direct link between sleepingAposition and a sharp decline in SIDS deaths in that country.  By>1992, the Tasmanian SIDS rate was only about one-third of the@rate before 1990.  The Australian doctors attribute 70 per cent@of that reduction to a change in the common practice of puttingbabies to rest face down.9   A journal editorial accompanying the studies says the@contradictory results make it difficult to give advice.  But itAsays lives will be saved if parents follow the recommendation ofAa national pediatricians' group and lay infants to rest on their;backs, even if the risk of prone sleeping is not as bad aspreviously thought.   ---------------   ---------------9   MEDICAL CONFLICTS WITH RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL DIVERSITY   VALERIE GARTSEFF   WASHINGTON,D.C.>   In America's pluralistic society, health professionals areAincreasingly experiencing conflicts over medical treatments with?patients from different cultures or religious backgrounds. ButAmedical ethicists are working to resolve these moral dilemmas in the modern health care setting.@   Fifty years ago, western medical culture had achieved a near=monopoly over health care decisions in the U.S. But now that:balance is shifting as patients with various cultural andBreligious beliefs assert their rights to accept or reject medicaltreatment.B   These cross-cultural conflicts are becoming more common in theBU.S. Health care setting. Western physicians have certain ethical<standards that place great stress on saving life and curing;disease. But these values often collide with those held by$patients from non-western cultures.@   Dr. Joseph Carrese (pron: Cuh-reese), assistant professor of>internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University-Bayview Medical;Center, says that non-western patients may disagree with aAwestern physician's treatment recommendations in order to adhere(to their cultural or religious beliefs:?   "A woman who was bringing her child into a (U.S. community)<clinic to be seen by the pediatrician and she was from mien?culture that's from Laos, Southeast Asia, and the pediatricianAhad noted that there were burn marks on the child's abdomen. And@the mother went on to explain that the child had had a problem.?She was crying and constipated and agitated and had difficulty@eating and this was understood in traditional Mien culture as a<condition that needed a traditional remedy. And part of theBtraditional remedy involved (that) they dip some pulp from a reedBinto pork fat and light it, and then it's passed over the child's>abdomen, and then it results in these blisters and burns. The?idea is to remove the problem from the child. The pediatrician@felt conflicted because, on the one hand, she had felt bound to?protect the child from harm. On the other hand, this physician>felt compelled to respect the child and the mother's cultural
traditions."B   But Dr. Carrese thinks there are ways to resolve these ethical?dilemmas by reaching a compromise, especially when a patient'slife is in danger:=   "I think it's important, first of all, for physicians and>nurses to be aware that the values they have and hold dear toBthem may not be the same values and concepts of the patients they:are taking care of may identify as important for them. SoBawareness would be the first thing. Then recognizing that even if<you have a concept in common, such as beneficence, (medical?treatment) being of benefit to the patient,  that the meaningsAthat we attach to concepts may differ, depending on our culturaland traditional backgrounds."A   But in some cases consensus is still very difficult to reach.>Nowhere is this better illustrated than the stalemate between?Christian scientists and physicians, especially concerning the1medical treatment of Christian Science children.=   Christian scientists oppose western medical diagnosis and>treatment of disease, but instead believe that illness can beAhealed by prayer. Christian Scientists believe it is a violationBof their religious beliefs to be forced to subject their childrento medical treatment.8   Dr. Larry may, professor of philosophy at Washington*University in saint louis, Missouri says:>   "Christians Scientists have generally stayed away from theBmedical realm altogether. This works out fairly well when you are=only thinking about adults, but, in the case of children, it>becomes more complicated. The reason is that physicians claim=that it is a violation of their professional duties to allow8suffering that could be prevented by medical treament."@   For example, in 1986, a two-year old Christian Science childAate a normal dinner and started to experience pain and vomiting.=The Christian Science parents brought in a Christian Science>practitioner and nurse, and within three days the child died.?When an autopsy was performed it was determined that the childBhad a bowel obstruction that could have been readily corrected by6surgery, with almost a 100 percent chance of success.?   According to Washington University philosophy professor Dr.Larry May:@   "This is the kind of case that people really get upset aboutAbecause it's quite clear here that this child didn't have to die:and that with  only a little bit of medical attention, he>wouldn't have had to die. I guess I should say that Christian;Scientists also find these to be tragic cases because they0obviously don't want their kids to die either."=   The American Academy of Pediatrics has, in fact, recently>spearheaded an effort to change laws in all states that allow<people to deny children medical care for religious reasons.>   What's at stake, argues Dr. Larry May, is more than just a;matter of ethical conflicts between physician and patient.@Rather, Christian Scientists' refusal of medical treatment is a+question of challenging medical authority:@   "The Christian Scientists, in general, believe that, if they>let the medical authorities have control over their children,7that their religion simply will be eliminated within a?generation. Similarly, the physicians argue that if they can't>exercise the kind of judgment that they think is necessary to:save children whose lives can be saved, that this will so@undermine the morale of physicians in the United States that it/will seriously disrupt the medical community."?   But Dr. May thinks there is way out of this if both parties"agree to some kind of compromise:<   "If the physicians were to pull back a bit, and give the>Christian Scientists a bit more room, then I think that wouldAhelp a lot. In fact, within Christian science doctrine, there is?at least some acceptance of certain forms of medical diagnosis@and treatment as being legitimate. Mary baker eddy, the founder>of the church, argued that in cases of child birth and broken@limbs and in dentistry, that it was appropriate to seek medicalBhelp. So it wouldn't be much of a stretch to try to, at least, in9some life-saving matters, to extend this a bit further."B   Dr. Larry may of Washington University adds that the ChristianBscientist cases illustrate the critical need to think in terms of@compromise rather than consensus when medical ethical conflicts arise in a pluralistic society.   ---------------   ---------------   THE DYNAMICS OF HIV   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON@   U.S. and British scientists have found a reason why the aids<virus, HIV, may be so hard to tame.  They say different HIV:strains can co-exist in a person and can exchange genetic@material to create a new hybrid. This may complicate the searchfor an aids vaccine.A   HIV is an extremely genetically diverse organism. Although we@speak of the aids virus, there are two major kinds, HIV one andBHIV two.  HIV one, by far the more common of the two and the more=infectious, is itself made up of two distinct groups, one of>which has eight known sub-types.  These sub-types are furtherbroken down into strains.?   Researchers at the University of Nottingham in England, theAWalter Reed U.S. Army Institute of Research in Maryland, and the=University of Alabama have found that strains from different=sub-types can commingle in an infected person to create evengreater genetic diversity.<   The researchers determined this by examining the geneticBstructure of 114 different HIV one strains collected from regions?where many sub-types are known to circulate, including Central?Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.  They report in the?British journal "Nature" [March 9th issue] that their analysis=reveals a surprisingly large number of the strains, about 10percent, were hybrids.?   One of the University of Nottingham researchers, geneticist?Paul Sharp, says this means a substantial number of people can/become infected by more than one HIV sub-type:?   "Until a few months ago, that wasn't thought to be possibleBbecause nobody had been found who was infected with more than oneAsub-type of the virus.  But in order for these hybrids to arise,@you have to have a situation where a single individual has more>than one sub-type of the virus.  That's the only way that theBvirus can form a hybrid, if a single individual is simultaneously$infected by two different strains."B   The researchers say their work may underestimate the frequency9of recombination.  They detected hybrids of strains from?different HIV one sub-types, but note that hybrids from withinBthe same sub-type are much more difficult to distinguish. This isAbecause they are genetically more closely related to begin with.A   Recombining is one of two ways viruses change.  The other way?is by a series of small mutations.  Mutations are the means by?which the aids virus can survive an infected person's anti-HIV>treatments. Drugs like AZT and DDI, two of the most importantAtherapies, lose their effectiveness after several months because<subtle genetic changes in the virus allow it to become drugresistant.=   But Mr. Sharp says recombination results in a much bigger8genetic change than individual mutations do, creating a/completely new strain of HIV in one bold move.B   The question remains, however, whether the hybrids are more or;less vulnerable to the human immune system than the parent
strains are.B   "We don't yet know what the properties of these hybrid virusesBmight be," says Sharo, "but there is the potential for them to beArather different from the parental types of HIV one.  People are?already concerned that it evolves so fast that it may stay oneBjump ahead, and recombination is just another way in which it can
do that.":   The U.S. and British researchers say their finding has<immediate consequences for vaccine development.  ScientistsBbelieve that a vaccine formulated for one sub-type of HIV one may?not be effective against another sub-type.  Potential vaccinesBmight have to be mixed together to provide protection against the>various sub-types.  But Mr. Sharp says the discovery that the>sub-types can recombine in a person is even more troublesome:A   "Now that we're finding hybrid viruses, we don't know whether@a vaccine aimed against either of the sub-types involved in theBhybridization would actually work against the hybrid.  So it just6potentially makes it more difficult and complicated."@   The researchers say their work raises pressing questions not<only about the impact on vaccine design, but also about the@global frequency of HIV hybrids, their biological significance,Band the circumstances under which a person can be infected by twoor more HIV strains.   ---------------   ---------------#   TONSILLECTOMY: IS IT NECESSARY?   VALERIE GARTSEFF   WASHINGTON, D.C.;   For many adults over thirty, tonsillectomy, or surgical@removal of the tonsils, was almost as much a part of growing upBas losing your first tooth. But now doctors are more reluctant to'remove a child's tonsils and adenoids.A   Physicians now realize that tonsils play an important role in#helping children fight infections.@   The tonsils and adenoids are lymph tissue in the back of theAthroat and are part of a ring of tissue called waldeyer's (pron:@Wall-die-errz) ring which helps a child fight viral infections.A   So physicians, like ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Bruce?Feldman, president of the medical staff at National Children's?Medical Center in Washington, D.C., are reluctant to take themout.?   Many people believe infected tonsils and adenoids are often:the cause of sore throats. But the real culprit, says Dr.AFeldman, is often strep (bacterial) infections. Children usually=between six and ten-years of age are most at risk, but young=adults may battle these recurring throat infections as well:>   "But what happens is that the tonsils have indentations in5them, and I think the bacteria sort of settle in theAindentations. As long as the patient is healthy, the tonsils and@the bacteria get along just fine. When the patient's resistance?goes down with a cold or running around too much, or as in theAcollege students studying too late too many days in a row, their@resistance goes down, the bacteria gets the upper hand and theyhave acute tonsillitis."@   But Dr. Feldman says that there is no reason to believe thatBsurgical removal of tonsils, or tonsillectomy, is a sure cure for?sore throats. The best way to prevent strep or other recurring>bacterial throat infections, in fact, is to stay healthy. The;most effective treatment for children or adults with strepBinfection is antibiotic therapy and plenty of rest. They also may?gargle with salt water to reduce throat inflammation and drink%cold clear liquids to stay hydrated.>   Dr. Feldman notes that about forty years ago, U.S. Doctors8routinely removed tonsils to prevent acute tonsillitis:A   "If you go back in the history of tonsillectomy, tonsils were=probably first taken out to prevent streptococcal infections>before they had antibiotics. What happened after that is thatBpeople started taking tonsils out, almost routinely, not at seven9days old, but certainly in young children in the four toBfive-year-old range. Frequently, if one sibling was going to have>her tonsils taken out, everyone in the whole family had theirtonsils out."=   But today's physicians are not so quick with the surgical>knife. So when is tonsillectomy warranted? U.S. ear, nose andAthroat specialists like Dr. Feldman usually follow these generalguidelines:A   "If you have recurrent (throat) infections occurring three or>four times a year, that's two or three years in a row or more@often over a shorter period of time, tonsillectomy is indicated;and has been shown to be helpful in preventing disease andAkeeping children healthier. The other reason we take out tonsils@now a great deal is for obstructions. We're seeing children whoAactually stop breathing at night because their tonsils and theirAadenoids are so large. They get obstructed and this is treatment/for what is called 'obstructive sleep apnea.'";   Dr. Bruce Feldman and his colleagues perform successfulBtonsillectomies on patients at Children's National Medical CenterBusually on an outpatient basis. But tonsillectomies do have a tenApercent complication rate, usually bleeding. So Dr. Feldman says@all tonsillectomy patients must be monitored for at least eightBhours after surgery before they may be safely discharged from the
hospital.   ---------------   ---------------(   IRAQ HOSTS AN OIL AND GAS CONFERENCE   PEYMAN PEJMAN	   CAIROB   Iraq is hosting its first international oil and gas conferencesince Gulf War.>   About 250 western oil and energy experts are attending the:two-day conference, sponsored by the Iraqi government, in	Baghdad.@   Iraq hopes the oil conference will lure western companies to@invest in future oil and gas explorations.  Iraq's oil minister@Safa Jawad Al-Haboubi told the conference his country will needBabout 25-billion-dolalrs worth of investment during the next fiveto eight-years.?   At least two French firms have reportedly reached tentative2agreements with Baghdad to develop two oilfields.B   France, Italy, Australia, and Denmark have sent experts to the=conference.  International news agencies report at least one;American representing the British subsidiary of U.S. basedConoco.A   Conoco is the same company the U.S. administration criticized:last week for signing a deal with Iran for developing twooffshore oil fields.B   The conference comes before the expected U.N. Security Council<meeting Monday to decide whether economic sanctions imposed?against Iraq should be renewed.  The sanctions were applied toApunish Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990 and for having developed4nuclear, chemical ,and biological weapons programs.<   Baghdad says its has complied with terms of the Gulf War>ceasefire and wants all sanctions lifted.  China, Russia, and=France have signaled willingness to ease sanctions.  But the;United States and Britain are adamantly opposed.  They say;Baghdad is withholding information about programs to buildweapons of mass destruction.   ---------------   ---------------3   ISRAEL LIFTS NAVAL BLOCKADE OF SOUTHERN LEBANON
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEM=   Israel has lifted its naval blockade of southern Lebanon,Aimposed a month ago to retaliate for Lebanese government actions<against Israeli forces and their Lebanese militia allies in#Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon.@   Israeli government spokesman Uri Dromi says Israel wanted to=send a message to its opponents in Lebanon, that making life@difficult for Israeli forces and their allies has a price.  Mr.ADromi says it appears that message has gotten through, so Israellifted the blockade:A   "It seems like the message has been coming through and thanks?to improvements in the situation in southern Lebanon, we easedAthe closure.  But our navy is still around, so if things change,"then our policy will also change.@   Reports from Lebanon Friday say the blockade is indeed over.?For the last month, Israeli navy ships have prevented Lebanese9fishing boats and other vessels from leaving ports along:Lebanon's southern coast.  The Israeli spokesman says theAblockade was prompted by a series of hostile steps taken against;Israel and its allies, including tight security checks for<civilians entering and leaving the Israeli-controlled zone.   ---------------   ---------------;   LEBANESE FISHERMEN REACT TO LIFTING OF ISRAELI BLOCKADE   EDWARD YERANIAN
   BEIRUT@   After a 30-day blockade of Lebanese fisherman, Israeli Prime?Minister Yitzhak Rabin told visiting Secretary of State Warren7Christopher the blockade was being lifted immediately.>   The atmosphere was festive Friday on the docks of Tyre, asALebanese fishermen celebrated the lifting of a month-old IsraeliBblockade.  The news first broken by the Israeli daily Haaretz was=confirmed as Secretary of State Christopher met with Israeli#Prime Minister Rabin in Jerusalem.?   Israeli navy gunboats had been preventing nearly 18-hundred@Lebanese fisherman from taking their boats beyond one-kilometer9of the coast.  The fishermen claim the Israeli boats hadArepeatedly fired shots in their vicinity, damaging their fishingnets on several occasions.@   Lebanon's prime minister Rafik Al Haritri also confirmed theBnews Israel had lifted its blockade, thanking Mr. Christopher forBhis efforts.  One fisherman, quoted by Lebanese radio, said david$had finally triumphed over goliath.   ---------------   ---------------(   EXAMINING ARAB ISRAELI PEACE PROCESS   LISA MCADAMS   WASHINGTONA   Secretary of State Warren Christopher has resumed his shuttleBdiplomacy mission in the Middle East, amid what the United States>is calling an extraordinary time of promise.  But some Middle;East peace watchers are not as optimistic the process will	survive.A   Its been almost exactly a year and a half since Israeli Prime;Minister Yitzakh Rabin and the chairman of the Palestinian@Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat, reached across years of:violence and mistrust to shake hands and to pledge peace.;   David Satterfield, the U.S. national Security Council'sAdirector for Near East and South Asian Affairs, says the act wasAunthinkable at the time,  as he says are some of the events that<have followed.  Events like the succession of visits to the=region by Secretary Christopher, the treaty of peace betweenBIsrael and Jordan, and the substantive, but slow, progress on theIsraeli-Syrian front.@   Mr. Satterfield says all show the peace process is on track:@   "The goal President Clinton has pledged all possible effortsAto achieve, the realization of a comprehensive and lasting peace5in the Middle East, truly remains within our grasp."A   The National Security Council's Satterfield says in order for;the peace process to move forward, the Israeli-PalestinianAdeclaration of principles must be successfully implemented.  And<he says the United States will continue to do all it can toassist in that implementation.B   But Mr. Satterfield says working for a political resolution is:clearly not  enough.  He says the process must also offerAPalestinians real economic benefits, benefits he says the United States wholeheartedly supports:B   "The United States has pledged to provide five-hundred-millionBdollars in aid over the next five years.  Of our 94 and 95 fiscalAyear pledges of two-hundred-million dollars, 90 million has been>released and is now engaged in a variety of projects, ranging?from new housing, to rehabilitation of inadequate shelter, andAimprovements to the Palestinian infrastructure in key areas suchas health care."@   Mr. Satterfield says, sadly, the effort has been complicated@by the more immediate need to meet the current budget shortfallBof the Palestinian central administration.  He says, as a result,@the United States is now re-directing 40-million dollars in aidto help address this problem.B   Mr. Satterfield says overall, the international community mustBnot  minimize what has been accomplished thus far.  The future of)the Middle East, in his view, is bright.>   But James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute,Asays if the future is so bright, good fortune is only shining onBone party, the Israelis.  The Palestinians, like those in Gaza he$said, continue to live in darkness:A   "30 percent of the males of Gaza over the age of 18 have beenAin prison in the last five years for at least one to five years,Aunemployment is 52 percent on a good day and poverty is enormous>and widespread.  Israel on the other hand boasts a per-capitaAincome of 13-thousand-800 dollars.  For Arabs it's a little overAeight-thousand dollars.  In the West Bank, the per capita income?is one-thousand-600 dollars and in Gaza it's 800 and dropping.?In fact it's gone down 20 percent since the signing of peace."A   And if there is peace, Mr. Zogby says, no one told the people?at the checkpoints.  The daily experience there he says, be it5open or closed, is a circumstance ripe for violence:A   "I was in Gaza on a day the border was closed, same scene I'd<seen before during occupation, young men with guns, barking>orders at older men holding cards before their faces, seekingBentrance.  Some pulled aside for questioning and rough treatment,?others securing access.  The scene was one of pain and anger."?   Mr. Zogby says it was therefore no surprise to him when twoAdays later several Palestinians murdered a young Israeli soldierat the very same checkpoint.@   Mr. Zogby says one of the key mistakes made in the framework@document is that terrorism and security issues are discussed inAthe narrowest of terms.  He says all parties need to look at the:root conditions of violence and accept responsibility for$fostering some of those conditions.@   Mr. Zogby says the biggest problem is that both Israelis andBPalestinians are losing hope that a real and lasting peace in theAMiddle East can be achieved.  In his words, the peace process is;like a house of cards, destined to crumble.  But  the U.S.5national security official, Mr. Satterfield says theBIsraeli/Palestinian declaration of principles represents the very-best chance for the miracle of a quiet life.   ---------------   ---------------9   SIGNS OF TENSION REPORTED BETWEEN IRAQI TROOPS, KURDS   WASHINGTON>   The acting State Department spokeswoman, Christine Shelly,Aacknowledged the State Department has "seen signs of tension and?some evidence of some exchanges" between Iraqi military forcesAand Kurds in northern Iraq, but she said the reports are several
days old.A   "Most of what we know on that in specifics does not come fromAsource material that enables us to talk about it in detail," shetold reporters.?   In a written statement issued late March 8, Shelly said the<State Department has seen "conflicting reports from various=sources" regarding the situation in Iraq.  "The situation inAnorthern Iraq has been tense in recent days, and there have been>reports of clashes between Iraqi troops and Kurds," she said.B   While the United States is aware of reports of a possible coup9attempt against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, "we have no9independent confirmation of the claims asserted in these;reports," she said.  Nor is the United States aware of any>clashes between Iraqi forces and insurgents in the south, shesaid.   ---------------   ---------------;   U.S. CALLS IRAQI RESPONSE ON STOLEN WEAPONS 'AN INSULT'
   JUDY AITA   UNITED NATIONSA   Iraq's accounting of stolen Kuwaiti military equipment is "an@insult" and reflects Baghdad's continued reluctance to meet the>demands of the Gulf War cease-fire agreement, U.S. Ambassador!Madeleine Albright said March 9.A   After a private meeting of the U.N. Security Council AlbrightAtold journalists that Iraq's accounting of the Kuwaiti equipment@is "an insult to the council and to any intelligent person.  It@shows that Iraq is not yet ready to take the steps necessary to$see the sanctions regime modified.";   Albright said the action also "demonstrates that Iraq's<intentions are not only not peaceful but not even serious.":   In a recent letter to the council Iraq responded to an<inventory of military equipment that Kuwait wants returned.AClaiming that most of the items were left in Kuwait because theyBhad been destroyed or were unserviceable, Iraq contended that the;remaining items have not been handed over because they are$damaged and difficult to transport.B   "The clear meaning of this letter is that Iraq intends to takeBa fraction of the stolen military equipment, purposely damage it,:dump it on the Kuwaiti border, and then claim that it has.fulfilled its obligations," Albright charged.A   According to Security Council Resolution 686, passed in MarchA1991, Iraq must return all illegally-seized Kuwaiti property "inthe shortest possible period."@   On March 13 the Security Council will hold the next periodicAreview of Iraqi compliance with council resolutions to determine5whether the sanctions it imposed should be modified.?   "In response to this non-serious letter Iraq must receive a<clear and serious message: Damaging and returning the smallAamount of equipment on this list will in no way be sufficient to=satisfy its obligations regarding stolen property," Albrightsaid.@   Albright pointed out that the United States and the Security?Council have "abundant evidence" that many of the items on the;Kuwaiti list have actually "been integrated into the Iraqimilitary."=   "For example, Iraq claims to have only four Russian-builtBarmored personnel carriers....Only five months ago Iraq used more=than 200 of these vehicles, which were not previously in theBIraqi inventory," when it moved troops to the Kuwaiti border, shesaid.A   In January Albright presented to the council photographic andBother evidence that Iraq had used tanks and weapons stolen during@the occupation of Kuwait to equip Iraq's elite Republican GuardAunits during threatening troop movements near the Kuwaiti borderin October 1994.?   According to the U.S. information, items still held by IraqBinclude: 215 BMP-2 armored personnel carriers; 175 U.S.-made M113;armored personnel carriers; 55 U.S.-made M901 improved TOW<vehicles; over 4,000 TOW missiles; 50 Egyptian-made Al-FahdAarmored personnel carriers; 15 FROG-7 launchers; 3 Egyptian-made=Skyguard air defense systems; more than 1,750 jeeps and land>rovers; at least 2,000 military trucks as well as about 3,0007other items of mostly civilian-use equipment including5ambulances, fire fighting tankers, cranes and buses.;   Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has been at U.N.>headquarters trying to convince council members that Iraq has7fulfilled all the conditions for ending the four-and-aBhalf-year-old ban on oil sales by cooperating with the program to@destroy its chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic weapons?and by accepting long-term monitoring of its weapons programs.@He also said that Iraq has returned all stolen Kuwaiti property<and accounted for Kuwaitis missing since Iraq's invasion ofKuwait in 1990.;   Earlier this week Albright returned from a presidential?mission to the capitals of a number of Security Council member@nations to ensure that U.N. sanctions are maintained until Iraq@has complied with all of its obligations under Security CouncilResolutions 687 and 688.   ---------------   ---------------(   U.S. OIL COMPANY SIGN DEAL WITH IRAN   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSEB   Clinton Administration officials say they are not happy that aBU.S.-based oil company has signed a contract with Iran to develop<two oil fields in the Persian Gulf.  But they say the deal,>signed by the Conoco Oil company does not appear to break anyU.S. laws.B   White House spokesman Mike McCurry says while the deal betweenAIran and Conoco appears to be legal, it is, in his words, "not ahelpful development":>   "The agreement, at least what we know of it at this point,?does not appear to be illegal or prohibitive under U.S. law at6this time.  But this type of cooperation with Iran isBinconsistent with the policy we have maintained bringing pressureAto bear on Iran both politically and economically to get them toAchange many things we consider objectionable and contrary to the*interest of the international community."=   Conoco's agreement is the first such deal with Iran since<Washington severed relations with tehran in 1980.  It comesAdespite growing support in the Republican-dominated Congress for?legislation to ban financial and economic transactions betweenIran and the United States.=   U.S. officials say under U.S. law, American companies are@allowed to buy oil from Iran, but they may not resell it in theUnited States.   ---------------   ---------------F   ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS END MEETING ON 1967 WAR REFUGEES
   AL PESSIN	   AMMAN=   Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials came out of nine@hours of meetings in Amman Tuesday with sharply different views>of the issue they came to discuss, the future of PalestiniansBdisplaced by the 1967 Middle East War.  But they did agree, alongBwith the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, to pursue what,they call a "speedy solution" to the issue.B   Officials say the meeting was tense at times, with the Israeli<and Palestinian representatives clashing over a Palestinian>request for the immediate return of at least some people as aBgood will gesture.  Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says he;refused because this first meeting on the subject was only@designed to establish the mechanism for deciding on substantiveissues in the future.B   That mechanism is contained in a brief joint communique, which@calls for a committee of experts to work on the issue, starting?within one month, and for the foreign ministers to meet on theissue periodically.@   The Palestinian representative, Nabil Shaath, says there are@many good elements in the communique, but he complained that it@lacks any firm promises on when the displaced people will begin%to return to the West Bank and Gaza:A   "Somehow, our people have heard a lot of statements and a lot?of decisions and a lot of communiques, I think the test now is;implementation, the test now is the speedy solution of the=problem at hand, because that is what will enhance the peace
process."B   Foreign Minister Peres says the desire to move quickly on this<issue is complicated by a variety of other issues which areclosely related to it:A   "It's not just a problem of displaced persons, it's a problem=of security, it's a problem of absorption, it's a problem of@economy.  We don't know how many are they, where are they, what;are their wishes, what are their preferences, what are the@possibilities?  And you can not ask one question, when you havemany of them.";   The two men also did not agree on whether the displaced?Palestinians have a right to return to the West Bank and Gaza.?Mr. Shaath says the right is not questioned and is implicit inBseveral agreements Israel has signed.  Mr. Peres says rights have>not been agreed to or even discussed, but some people will be?allowed to return.  In spite of that disagreement, the two men=agree they need to work out the method for people to return.=   These talks cover only about one-third of all Palestinian<refugees, those who left the West Bank and Gaza when IsraelAcaptured them in 1967, and their families.  Estimates range from>600-thousand to one million people.  Israel is concerned that>such a large influx of people, if not managed properly, would>lead to disorder.  In any case, officials say any large-scale@return of refugees will come only after Palestinian autonomy is@expanded on the West Bank, and talks on that issue are stalled.   ---------------   --------------->   JORDAN ANGERED OVER U.S. CONGRESS MOVE AGAINST DEBT RELIEF   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTONA   Jordan's King Hussein is to visit Washington later this monthBfor talks with President Clinton. Jordanian officials are angered<by efforts in the Republican-controlled Congress to cut theBamount of debt forgiveness offered by the Clinton Administration.?   The king's visit to Washington follows this week's (leaving>Tuesday) trip to the Middle East by Secretary of State Warren?Christopher who is scheduled to stop in Jordan.  It also comes?just one month after a Congressional subcommittee voted to cut?the administration's debt forgiveness proposal for Jordan this=year.  It was reduced from 275-million dollars to 50-million	dollars.A   The president's action to phase out Jordan's 700-million debt?over three years is viewed as an inducement to make peace with@Israel which Jordan did last October.  Administration officialsAsay Mr. Clinton telephoned the king last week promising to block0the reduction if it was passed by the Congress.?   In Amman, a Jordanian official insists the issue will be onBthe agenda when Mr. Christopher visits Jordan next week.  He says@his government feels betrayed adding that the decision comes as>the peace process is at a crossroads.  The Jordanian official>says the action is contrary to what the peoples of the region=expect of U.S. credibility in the support and sponsorship ofpeace.?   King Hussein was last in Washington in July when he met for>the first time in public with Israel's prime Minister Yitzhak<Rabin. Both men signed the July 25th Washington declaration9ending a 46-year state of war between the two neighbors.   ---------------   ---------------9   CARNS WITHDRAWS HIMSELF AS A NOMINEE FOR CIA DIRECTOR   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE?   President Clinton's choice to head the Central Intelligence@Agency has withdrawn his nomination because of problems related>to a former household employee.  Mr. Clinton accepted said heAaccepted the decision by retired Air Force General Michael Carns?"with profound regret." The President nominated Deputy Defense6Secretary John Deutch to be the next head of the CIA.>   In a written statement, General Carns says he withdrew his;nomination because of what he called 'venomous and abusive$accusations' made about his family.>   Although he gave no details, the Washington Post newspaperBreports accusations about the family, which the newspaper did not>specify, were made to investigators by a Filipino citizen who?lived with the Carns family in the Philippines and then in theUnited States.@   But the controversy does not end there.  The federal !bureau=of investigation was also looking into whether General Carns?broke labor and immigration laws in bringing the Filipino man,$Elbino Runas, to the United States.A   General Carns, in his statement, admits he made what he callsA'innocent errors' in following those laws, but he says it is the?accusations made against his family that, in his words, 'kills3any willingness' to proceed with the confirmation.A   The controversy is the latest in a string of Clinton nominees@for administration positions who had legal or ethical problems.   ---------------   ---------------3   CARNS WITHDRAWAL SPARKS CRITICISM FROM CONGRESS   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON>   The decision by retired air force General Michael Carns to<withdraw from consideration as director of the U.S. Central;Intelligence Agency has sparked criticism within Congress.A   Retired General Michael Carns' decision to withdraw was not aBsurprise to Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Arlen Specter.=Senator Specter's committee would have held his confirmation
hearings.>   He says the potential immigration and labor law violations:involved in General Carn's dispute with a former Filipino,household worker have been known for weeks:@   "The investigative leads came to the attention of the Senate@Intelligence Committee some time ago and it is a little hard to@understand how the White House did not pick up on those matters@and it is yet another indication on the question of credibility9and competency of the United States on foreign policy.":A   President Clinton moved quickly to replace General Carns with@Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutsch, who turned down the post
once before.>   According to former CIA director William Webster Secretary@Deutsch's first task, once confirmed, will be to restore morale:at the agency undermined by the Aldrich Ames spy case and2December's resignation of director James Woolsey:@   "There is a concern brought on by uncertainty, by a sense ofAnot being appreciated, by where is the agency is going to go andwhat is expected of it."A   Last week President Clinton ordered a post-cold war review of2the priorities of all U.S. intelligence services.   ---------------   ---------------A   CLINTON NOMINATES DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY DEUTCH TO HEAD CIA   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSEA   President Clinton has nominated deputy defense secretary JohnBDeutch to head the Central Intelligence Agency, after retired AirAForce General Michael Carns withdrew his name from consideration?for the post.  General Carns stepped aside amid allegations he>illegally helped a Filipino man enter the United States.  Mr.?Deutch would succeed James Woolsey, who resigned last December>under Congressional criticism for his handling of the AldrichAmes spy case.=   In a written statement, President Clinton Praises his newAnominee, Deputy Defense Secretary Deutch, as 'a brilliant leader+with the necessary skills' to run the CIA.>   Mr. Deutch had been offered the post before, and turned it<down over concerns that he would have limited access to thepresident.B   In an effort to ease his concerns, Mr. Clinton is promising to;elevate the CIA position to cabinet level if Mr. Deutch isconfirmed by the Senate.;   The announcement of the nomination comes as Mr. ClintonBexpresses 'profound regret' at retired General Carns' decision to&withdraw his nomination for the post.>   Federal investigators had discovered evidence that General@Carns violated immigration and labor laws by helping a Filipinoman enter the United States.?   General Carns, in a statement, acknowldeges he made, in his/words, 'innocent errors' regarding those laws.>   He admits he falsely claimed the man worked for him in theBPhilippines as a way to allow the man to enter the United States.>   But General Carns says the real reason he stepped aside isAbecause of what he calls 'venomous and abusive accusations' made4against his family, reportedly by the Filipino man.;   Administration officials, while refusing to discuss the>accusations, say General Carns did not want to put his family9through uncomfortable Senate hearings on his nomination.>   The controversy comes amid calls for reform of the Central@Intelligence Agency following the arrest last year of CIA agent<Aldrich Ames, who is serving a life sentence for spying forMoscow.8   Last week, President Clinton signed a directive that>establishes new intelligence priorities for the post-cold war5era, and creates a panel to review those priorities.   ---------------   ---------------"   CLINTON SATURDAY RADIO ADDRESS   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE=   President Clinton says he will fight to save his domestic=social programs from Congressional efforts to cut governmentAspending.   Mr. Clinton used his Saturday radio address to focusAon one particular program that Republicans have proposed to wipeout.@   President Clinton is warning Republican lawmakers not to cut@his so-called 'Americorps' program that allows college students@to  earn stipends to help pay their tuition in return for doingcommunity service.A   Many Republicans believe the program is too !bureaucratic andcostly.A   But Mr. Clinton, who invited a group of Americorps volunteers?to the White House to watch him deliver his address,  defended@the program.  He said the Republican majority is seeking to cutBprograms that help average working people in order to pay for tax breaks for wealthier Americans::   "Americorps is not a bureaucracy.  It is a grass-rootsApartnership to  build strong communities through opportunity andBresponsibility.  The house (of representatives') Republicans want;to cut all this and more, including the safe and drug-freeBschools program, the summer jobs program to pay for huge tax cutsBcosting 700-billion dollars over ten years, and benefiting mostlyupper income Americans."B   Mr. Clinton says it is important to cut government spending to>reduce the deficit.  But he says it should not be done at the)expense of the middle class or the poor.>   In the Republican's weekly radio speech, Congressman Scott=Kluge of Wisconsin pledged that the Congress would soon pass*legislation to reform the welfare system:A   "Our Republican welfare reform plan shifts responsibility forBwelfare to the states.  We provide the money in block grants, andthe states set the rules.">   President Clinton, while supporting efforts to give states:more control over welfare programs, criticizes RepublicanAproposals as not  going far enough in putting welfare recipientsback to work.   ---------------   ----------------   PROFILE: CIA DIRECTOR NOMINEE JOHN DEUTCH   DAVID SWAN   PENTAGONA   President Clinton has selected the second-ranking official in<the Defense Department, John Deutch, as the new director of?central intelligence.  Mr. Clinton's original nominee, retired@Air Force General Michael Carns, was forced to withdraw becauseAof allegations he broke immigration laws in bringing a householdemployee to the United States.?   Like many of his colleagues in the Clinton Administration'sADefense Department, Mr. Deutch has an academic background.  BornBin Brussels in 1938, he spent much of his life at the prestigiousAMassachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, where he studied andlater taught chemistry.A   Mr. Deutch worked in the federal energy department during the>Carter Administration and returned to Washington in 1993.  He=became deputy secretary of defense last year.  Though deputy<secretaries often keep a low public profile, Mr. Deutch has<served as the Pentagon's spokesman on several major issues,:including last year's humanitarian aid mission to Rwanda.?   Mr. Deutch played a key role in drawing up strategy for the=intervention in Haiti and deciding which new fighter planes,Btanks, and missiles the department should buy.  Though he has  noBformal background in spying, Mr. Deutch is familiar with Pentagon9intelligence programs, including the fleet of top-secretBsatellites that take up much of the nation's intelligence budget.B   When first approached about the CIA job earlier this year, Mr.>Deutch said he would rather keep his current post.  But afterAGeneral Carns unexpectedly withdrew, the president called on Mr.(Deutch again and this time he accepted.B   Like General Carns, Mr. Deutch is known as a skilled, decisive@manager.  Observers say these abilities are badly needed at the=CIA, which is trying to adapt to a post-cold war world after>decades of covert wars with the Soviet bloc.  Mr. Deutch mustBalso repair the damage done by Aldrich Ames, the CIA turncoat who@spied for Moscow for years.  But in the wake of the controversy?surrounding General Carns, Mr. Deutch's first job is simply to'win confirmation from the U.S. Senate.   ---------------   ---------------"   U.S/CHINA IPR AGREEMENT SIGNED   GIL BUTLER   BEIJING?   U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor and Chinese foreign@trade minister Wu Yi have formally signed an agreement designed?to protect American copyrighted materials from Chinese piracy.>The agreement was hailed by both countries, but obvious tradedifferences remain unsettled.=   The ceremony at the Chinese ministry of foreign trade wasBattended by a large group of American businessmen who accompanied?Mr. Kantor on his first visit to China.  They represent audio,Bvisual, and computer software companies that hope to have greater<access to the Chinese market as a result of the anti-piracyagreement.9   The agreement calls for better Chinese enforcement of>anti-piracy laws and provides for U.S.-Chinese cooperation toBimprove Chinese customs procedures aimed at halting the export of2counterfeit movies, music, and computer software.<   Both Ms. Wu and Mr. Kantor praised the agreement, Ms. WuAcalled it "a turning point" in U.S.-Chinese relations, but there@are differing views of the importance of the market access part
of the deal.>   Ms. Wu told a news conference earlier Saturday that market@access should not be part of the anti piracy MOU, or memorandum?of understanding.  At the signing ceremony, Mr. Kantor said it!was a key part of the agreement:<   "In addition to enforcement and technical assistance and>technical cooperation, market access for our audio-visual and@computer software companies is a critical aspect of the success=of this agreement.  To that end and at the invitation of theBChinese government, which we appreciate, the companies travelling:with me, represented here today, spent the day discussing9commercial opportunities with their Chinese colleagues.";   A major Chinese concern also looms over the discussions:between Mr. Kantor and Ms. Wu.  That is continued ChineseBunhappiness with America's role in keeping China from joining theAnew world trade organization because China wanted the exemptions@of a developing country despite its large and growing export ofgoods.?   That U.S. position still irks China, as Wu Yi made clear ather news conference:8   "In Chinese,. we have a saying that courtesy demands:reciprocity,  nonetheless the U.S. side has not seriously@implemented its commitment in the MOU, thus the Chinese side is@entitled to its express its displeasure and the Chinese side is)entitled to take corresponding actions."<   Ms. Wu says the United States had agreed in 1992 to backBChinese admission to the World Trade Organizations, but failed to?do so. Mr. Kantor denied to reporters that such an arrangementhad been made.@   Market access, the World Trade Organization, and enforcementBof the intellectual property rights agreement will all apparently5be discussed when Mr. Kantor and Ms. Wu meet Sunday.   ---------------   ---------------$   SINN FEIN LEADER ARRIVES IN U.S.   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTONA   The leader of the political wing of the Irish Republican Army<is in the United States at the start of a 10-day trip which>includes the opening of a Sinn Fein office in Washington. TheAvisit of Gerry Adams also includes an unprecedented meeting with&President Clinton at the White House.;   Mr. Adams said on his arrival that  President Clinton's?engagement in the Northern Ireland peace process is a positiveBdevelopment.  He says Friday's scheduled meeting on St. Patrick'sBday will be politically important in advancing the peace process:@   "This St. Patrick's day will be one which will be celebrated?at the time of great hope and where there is a potential and a'possibility of building a real peace."@   Such a visit would have been unlikely before September's IRA@announcement of a unilateral cease-fire in its 25-year struggle;to rid Northern Ireland of British rule.  Both Ireland andABritain are seeking support for their proposed peace plan to end#the province's sectarian violence.=   Mr. Adams will also be allowed to speak at a fund-raisingAluncheon in New York.  That is an issue that has angered British>officials who are concerned the money raised will be used for>weapons.  However, the Sinn Fein leader denies such a motive.<   Mr. Adams says he also plans to open a Washington office>called "Friends of Sinn Fein" which aims to develop a supportnetwork in the United States.   ---------------   ---------------(   CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: HALFWAY HOME?   NEAL LAVON   WASHINGTON>   The Republican Party hoped to pass its legislative agenda,Aknown as the Contract with America, in the first 100 days of theBcurrent session of Congress. It is now a little more than halfway?through those 100 days.  The majority Republicans have enjoyedAsome early successes, but the minority party, the Democrats, say=the most difficult period for the Contract with America liesahead.A   The Contract with America was a campaign platform endorsed by8more than 300 Republicans during the 1994 elections. It;contained, among other things, provisions calling for term>limits, a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution,?welfare reform, regulatory relief and changes in tax policies.B   Republicans vowed to bring these matters to votes in the first?100 days of the 104th Congress. More than half of the Contract@with America has already been passed in the 435-member House of@Representatives, but the 100-member Senate has not matched thatpace.?   Despite their mixed results on Capitol Hill, Michael Frank,Apolitical analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation, says9that, by and large, the Republicans are fulfilling their
contract:=   "They've kept to their promise of bringing a lot of these>bills to the floor for a vote. There may be some trouble when@they get to the Senate, but we're well past the 50 percent markAin terms of legislative activity. The toughest proposals are yetBto come. Those are things relating to the American welfare state,?and to our legal system. Those are going to be some very majorBlegislative battles. We'll only find out how they turn out in thenext two or three weeks."A   One of those major legislative battles turned into a loss for@Congressional Republicans last week. In a closely-watched vote,>the Senate narrowly defeated a proposed amendment to the U.S.;Constitution that would mandate a balanced federal budget.=   Ed Kilgore is a policy analyst for the Progressive Policy?Institute, a research organization with ties to the Democratic<Party.  He says he thinks the defeat of the balanced budget<amendment was due to the public's belief that the amendmentAthreatened the government's popular entitlement program known associal security:9   "In our view, more important than any balanced budget?amendment is some sort of sense of how we're actually going to@balance the federal budget. There was nothing about that in the@Contract with America.  Furthermore, where there's overwhelming;public support for some sort of balanced budget amendment,@polling also shows that most Americans oppose a balanced budgetAamendment if it involves cuts in the social security system. So,>it's not even that clear that the form of the balanced budgetBamendment that went down last week was the form supported by mostAmericans."B   The Republicans believe their Contract with America should notAbe treated as mere campaign promises, notes michael franks. And,?he adds, they are inviting the American people to hold them tothe contract's terms:?   "First of all, the very word 'contract' is significant. TheARepublicans believe that Americans have become very dissatisfied?with politicians as a class of citizenry. They decided if they@used the word 'contract', it would imply something more binding>than a normal campaign promise.  So, what you're watching, inAeffect, is the media focusing on whether or not a large group ofBpoliticians, many with divergent points of view, can hold fast to?this complicated set of promises. They've actually invited theBAmerican people to hold them accountable in the event they do not!follow through on the promises."B   But the American public may not want the Republicans to follow=through with all the contract's terms, warns Ed Kilgore. The@Contract with America, he points out, was a political document,)with limited use as a legislative index.?   Mr. Kilgore says polls show that many Americans support the?broad goals of the document, but do not necessarily agree with;the legislation Republicans are proposing to implement thecontract's terms:>   "The contract was a very useful marketing device for House;candidates, and is a very useful legislative checklist for?legislation coming through the House of Representatives. But I9think the thing has been a little overplayed.  No Senate<Republican has signed the Contract with America.  Let's notAbehave as though it's suddenly become an organic document of theAAmerican political system. And in many cases, whereas the public>may support the broad headlines of the Contract with America,Bthey may not, and in many cases, do not, agree with the details."   ---------------   ---------------%   NEW CONCEALED WEAPONS LEGISLATION   ADAM PHILLIPS   WASHINGTON@   In recent months, lawmakers in 13 states have been trying to;create legislation that would make it easy for law-abiding>citizens to obtain and carry concealed weapons. Twenty states?have already relaxed the process whereby small firearms can be?purchased and carried. Proponents of these laws say they would:allow innocent people to defend themselves against randomAviolence and armed criminals. Opponents of the measures say thatAmore gun access will certainly mean more gun violence. They fear>that people will reach for their pistols to resolve conflicts%that could be settled in other ways.A   Among the 13 states currently seeking to make it dramatically@easier for citizens to purchase and carry concealed weapons areAVirginia, Oklahoma and Texas.  Suzanna Gratia (grah-see-ah), who<lives in Texas, is one woman whose personal experience with?violence has convinced her that current regulations need to be	changed.>   "I guess you could say I've been there," says Gratia, "andBthere's nobody who's going to tell me that I don't have the right"to protect myself and my family.";   One day in 1991, while Ms. Gratia was eating lunch in aBcafeteria with her parents, a man entered the eatery and began to>execute the diners one by one with his pistol. Ms. Gratia hadBleft her own pistol in her car, parked outside the establishment,>in compliance with Texas state law and was unable to save herBparents, who were among the 23 customers brutally murdered by thegunman.<   "So anyway, there was my gun a hundred yards away," said@Gratia, "and I can remember thinking: 'great. What do I do now?=Throw my purse at him?' the gunman had complete control over?everything. I am not angry at the guy who did it because we'reAnot talking about a career criminal in this case. We are talkingAabout someone who went insane. That would be like being angry at<a rabid dog. I am very angry at my legislators because theyBlegislated me out of the right to protect myself and my family. "<   Until recently, most states have severely restricted theBability of ordinary citizens to carry handguns freely. People whoAwanted concealable weapons had to prove to the police that their?personal safety was in danger.  Even when permits were issued,Athere were tight laws on where handguns could be carried.  Frank9Shurden is the state senator who sponsored the "Oklahoma=Self-Defense Act." It is one of many proposed state measuresAthroughout the nation that would dramatically ease most of these?concealed weapon restrictions. Senator Shurden explains why heBthinks his bill passed the state legislature with an overwhelming43 to four vote:B   "We live in a very violent society. The police do the best job@they can. I've always supported them. But they're almost alwaysBthere after the fact. After the crime has been committed and someBvictim is laying there dead or raped or whatever and we've got to?give our citizens the right to protect themselves on the firstAline of defense with the criminal element. These are responsibleBcitizens. The crazies are carrying guns now. They're not going toBget a license anyway. They're armed right now doing damage to the=public. So we just need to give the law-abiding citizen that	chance."=   One state senator who opposed the bill is Bernest Cain ofBOklahoma city, a dense urban area that contrasts sharply with the?rural frontier-spirited part of the state that Senator Shurden#represents. Senator Cain explains:B   "I represent the inner city of Oklahoma City. Our people don't?want more guns on the streets. We've had enough guns. We don't>have anything against someone having a gun, but carrying guns>concealed on the streets.  I just don't think that's going to>save any lives over time. I think it's going to be like crack=cocaine; legalizing that, it would kill a lot more people. I<think that a lot of kids get these guns and find themselvesBaccidentally hurting each other. You know, when I was growing up,?we fought a lot at school, but we fought and it was over with.@Nowadays, these kids come to school and they pull out a gun and>they shoot somebody. Well, that's a whole different culture."8   Gun control groups are afraid that the wave of eased<legislation stripping police of the power to deny concealed=weapons permits will only increase the estimated 38-thousandBfirearms deaths that occur in the United States annually. Critics@also claim that the 200-million firearms already in circulation in the 50 states is bad enough.>   Shawn Taylor-Zellman is the communications coordinator for>handgun control incorporated in Washington DC. She says it is@obvious that more guns on the streets will inevitably mean moretriggers get pulled:B   "If you increase the accessibility of guns, you're more apt toAuse that gun if you get into a disagreement instead of resolvingByour conflict peacefully. It's turning our country into the wild,@wild west, when everyone shoots first and then asks why. It's aAfalse sense of security.  When people are carrying that gun they>feel they are more powerful, and they are more likely to take?chances. So it may not do what you intend it to do and that issave your life."@   Twenty states have so far relaxed laws on carrying concealedAweapons. Have they actually lowered the crime rate?  David KopelB(cope-ell) is the research director of the Independence Institute@in Golden, Colorado, and the author of a recent study entitled,>"Shell Issue: The New Wave of Concealed Handgun Permit Laws."=   Mr. Kopel is cautiously optimistic, based on who it is he'believes will be carrying the weapons:?   "The evidence in all the states that have these laws is theBone-to-four percent of the population who actually gets a permit,=who goes through ten-point fingerprinting, pays a 150-dollar?application fee, goes through a 90-day background check, and a@15-hour safety class, these people are sort of the cream of the@crop of law abiding citizens in the first place. And they don'tBsuddenly turn into murderous psychopaths after going through thislicensing process."@   David Kopel represents the Independence Institute, which has?recently released a study about the wave of state legislation,@either enacted or pending, that makes it easier for normal U.S.-citizens to buy and carry concealed weapons.   ---------------   ---------------4   CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON BORDER CONTROL STRATEGY
   DON HENRY   WASHINGTON<   The Clinton Administration Friday has denied a charge by=several Republican congressmen that efforts to deter illegal5immigration from Mexico into California are failing.B   It was the first appearance for immigration commissioner Doris9Meissner before the House Immigration Subcommittee under/leadership of Republican Lamar Smith of Texas.@   Several weeks ago, Congressman Smith and five colleages from>Texas and California sent a letter to her, demanding that the@immigration service change its Mexican border control strategy.@Chairman Smith opened the hearing by reiterating what his group=thinks is an obvious need, to take a successful operation in&Texas and replicate it in California:<   "The strategy in El Paso, placing agents directly on theAborder, has been highly successful, but a different strategy has=been adopted in San Diego.  More aliens are allowed to enter?illegally and then the border patrol attempts to apprehend and2remove them.  The results have not been so good."B   Congressman Smith and other Republicans had high praise for el@paso border patrol sector chief Sylvestre Reyes, who decided in@1993 to station agents in thick concentrations along the border>to arrest people trying to enter the United States illegally.B   The strategy worked.  After a period of massive daily arrests,Bthe apprehension rate has gone down by 70 per cent and is holding@relatively steady.  A lower arrest rate is generally assumed to<mean fewer people are trying to sneak across well-patrolled	regions.>   Chief Reyes described his operation at the hearing, but he@also warned the lawmakers that what works in El Paso might  not%work anywhere else along the border:A   "Want to make sure that everybody understands that it's not a>situation where one size fits all. It's a situation where you>have to first go into a specific area, do an evaluation, do a4study, get a sense of what is unique to that area."9   At San Diego, the border patrol is using a three-tierBstrategy, with agents at the frontier but also in two other ringsCfarther back.   Congressman Duncan Hunter says this is inefficient@compared to the El Paso approach of stationing the entire force>on the actual border.  The San Diego arrest rate is down, but$only in the 25 to 30 percent range.A   However, Gus De La Pina, western border patrol director, said;the El Paso tactic will not work in California because the>circumstances are so different, including terrain and type of2immigrant trying to sneak into the United States.?   In Texas, where he worked for many years, the veteran agentAsaid most illegal immigrants merely go back and forth across the=Rio Grande (river) between the border towns of Juarez and El@Paso.  Those going into California come from far inside Mexico,?even from other nations, and are bound for the interior of the:United States by crossing the rugged San Diego foothills.>   immigration commissioner Doris Meissner told the committee>both the El Paso and San Diego strategies are cutting down on:illegal crossings as designed.  She also said the Clinton@Administration has made great strides over all in strengthening3an agency that she said was inherited in disarray:>   "Since 1993 we have added 800 new or redeployed agents and6we're seeking 700 more in 1996.  This means that thisAadministration in three years' time will have increased the size:of the border patrol by 40 percent over 1993.  And we areBcommitted to having more than five thousand agents on the line bythe end of fiscal year 1996."A   But Republican critics think more needs to be done.  Some are?calling for as many as 10-thousand agents.  Congressman HunterBsays you could station an agent every 200 meters along the entireBMexican border 24 hours a day with that kind of force, an idea heis in fact proposing.?   Chairman Smith intends to hold several more hearings before@starting to draw up a comprehensive immigration reform bill for@floor debate.  Whether the bill will include replication of theAel paso strategy in San Diego is unclear, but Congressman Hunter=and several others have threatened to legislate that kind of
approach.?   On another matter, the subcommittee heard an upbeat report.AAssistant Secretary of State Mary Ryan said the State Department>is on the verge of completing what she called the single most@important action it could take to enhance border security.  She;said 97 percent of visa-issuing consular post now can make@electronic name checks of visa applicants, and the rest will be?on line by September.  This could result in denial of visas to?many hundreds of unauthorized persons who have slipped throughthe system in the past.   ---------------   ---------------!   CIA BOSNIAN WAR CRIMES REPORT   PAMELA TAYLOR   WASHINGTONA   A report by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on war>crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, recently leaked to the New York?Times, has been greeted with both approval and alarm by Balkan7affairs specialists.  The report finds Serbian leadersBresponsible for 90 percent of so-called "ethnic cleansing" crimesBin Bosnia and comes on the heels of a United Nations Human Rights2Commission resolution condemning Serb atrocities.@   Human rights activists, lawyers and others familiar with warBcrimes activities in Bosnia can barely contain their delight that>the CIA report confirms what they have been saying for a longBtime.  Some officials in Washington, however, are questioning the=timing of the leak, which they fear was intended to push theBUnited States into a more active role in Bosnia.  They worry that=the report's revelations could compromise current diplomatic@overtures to Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.  The contactBgroup of nations (the United States, France, Britain, Germany and:Russia) have been holding a series of meetings to try and8persuade the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and@Montenegro) to recognize Croatia and Bosnia and thus avert what?many expect to be a renewed outbreak of fighting in the coming<months.  But in testimony before a Congressional hearing on@Thursday, assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke denied?the Clinton Administration had tried to keep the report secret@out of concern it might prejudice efforts to bring the Serbs tothe negotiating table.A   Mr. Holbrooke told the House International Committee that the>report contains nothing surprising to people who are familiarwith the area:B   "The Serbs started this war.  The Serbs are the original cause=of the war.  The report points out that atrocities have been=committed on both sides, or all sides but that the burden of7responsibility and guilt lies clearly with the Serbs."A   As for alienating President Milosevic, Mr. Holbrooke said theASerbian leader's objectives have not changed and even though Mr.@Milosevic withdrew from the war last year, the State Department@official told the committee the war originated with actions Mr.Milosevic started.<   Tom Warrick is the senior counsel to the U.N. war crimes<commission established by the Security Council in the Hague:(Holland) to investigate alleged war crimes in the former=Yugoslavia.  Waarick agrees with Mr. Holbrooke that there is?really nothing new in the CIA report, but says it supports anddocuments earlier findings:>   "The report is further confirmation that every independent?look that has been taken at war crimes in Bosnia has concluded9that the vast majority of the crimes and atrocities wereBcommitted by the Bosnian Serbs.  And I think it undermines anyoneAwho thinks there's any sort of balance or equality among who wasBresponsible for these atrocities. I think it adds to the pressureBto produce results in the form of pursuing all the investigations*up to the top if that's where they lead.";   The chief prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal, South?African jurist Richard Goldstone, has long made it clear he is=committed to indicting even top government leaders if that's(where the trail of hard evidence leads:A   "We will indict the most seriously guilty people against whom?we have that sort of evidence.  The people to go after are the@people who ordered those sorts of crimes to be committed and we?will do that regardless of who those people are, regardless ofthe positions they hold.":   While most critics do not question justice Goldstone's>commitment to seeing that justice is done, many are skeptical>about his ability to actually bring major indicted persons to?trial.  No trials will be conducted "in absentia" and the U.N.Atribunal does not have the authority to force a sovereign nation=to hand over suspects for indictment.  The tribunal recently@handed down indictments against several Bosnian Serb internment@camp commanders.  But when prosecutors went to the Bosnian Serb>headquarters in pale, outside Sarajevo, demanding that one of0them be handed over, they were just laughed at.A   Because of the danger the tribunal may not be able get lesserAfigures turned over to stand trial, let alone the more prominent<suspects, prosecutors came up with a mechanism known as theA"super indictment".  This is a public reading into the record of?the detailed charges against a person who fails to turn up for@trial.  An international arrest warrant is then issued which inBpractical terms means the indicted person would be safe in his or@her own country but would also be a prisoner there.  The minuteAthat person stepped outside the country, or as soon as there was?a change in government, he or she could face immediate arrest.BTom Warrick thinks the CIA report can only assist in this process#by adding to the body of evidence:=   "What justice Goldstone needs is hard evidence.  Now, the@satellite images that were used as part of the basis of the ciaAreport, those would be evidence, if the us government decides toAshare them with the tribunal and in effect make them public.  InAthe past the us has on a few occasions released satellite photosBwhenever its been in the interest of the us to do so.  I hope andAbelieve it would be in the interests of the United States to seeBthat those responsible for genocide or crimes against humanity be6punished severely.  So my hope is the us will release@de-classified versions of this images so we can see some of thethings the analysts saw."=   In his testimony before the U.S. Congress, U.S. assistant;Secretary of State Holbrooke indicated that may eventuallyAhappen.  He promised that members of the U.S. Congress at least, will get a look at the  report.   ---------------   ---------------1   CHENEY SAYS CHINA DOES POSE A MILITARY THREAT   DAN ROBINSON
   SINGAPOREA   A former U.S. defense secretary says China poses no immediate>military threat in the Asia-Pacific region.  Dick Cheney, whoAheaded the Pentagon in the Bush Administration, told a gathering@of business executives in Singapore China is interested most inAbuilding up its economy.  But, he said most countries still want;the United States to maintain a forward military presence:>   A key figure in U.S. planning for the Gulf War, Mr. Cheney?only recently declared he would not be a candidate in the 1996=U.S. presidential race.  He has continued to speak out aboutinternational security issues.=   Mr. Cheney used the final day of a business conference in?Singapore to outline his views about a number of post-cold war.foreign policy issues.  Among them was China.A   The former U.S. official first went to China in 1975, and has=visited twice in the past year, including talks this week in;Beijing with China's defense minister and other officials.B   On regional concerns China is testing its military muscle, Mr.ACheney says it is reasonable for Beijing to maintain and upgrade<its capabilities.  But he says throwing around its militaryAweight would be counter-productive to what he calls China's main@objective, improving its economy and standard of living for itspeople::   "I believe today, based on what I have seen, that this?government in China, under Deng Xiao Ping, and the one that is@likely to emerge in the years immediately ahead, is going to beBprimarily concerned with economic, not military matters.  And theBrest of the world needs to actively engage China in that pursuit.>There are great opportunities there economically, and I think@most of the rest of the world will benefit by encouraging those,trends and developments and participating."A   Mr. Cheney says Asia-Pacific countries want the United States<to maintain its security umbrella, and Praises Washington'sAdecision to maintain a force level of about 100-thousand troops.B   On other issues, Mr. Cheney said Saddam Hussein of Iraq shouldAcomply fully with all U.N. resolutions, and sanctions should notbe lifted until that happens.>   Mr. Cheney describes himself as very pessimistic about theAformer Soviet Union.  He says the situation in Chechnya has been:under-estimated in terms of its impact on boris Yeltsin'sleadership.;   Mr. Cheney makes no secret of his disdain for PresidentAClinton's handling of foreign policy, although on Bosnia he says6the Bush administration must share some of the blame.A   The former U.S. defense chief says U.S. military capabilitiesBare being dangerously weakened.  Among other things, he says NATO@(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) must be adapted to present?European realities and made more relevant so the alliance does)not lose support of the American people.   ---------------   ---------------?   CHRISTOPHER SAYS THERE IS NEW ENERGY IN MIDEAST PEACE TALKS
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEM>   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher says there is a@"new burst of energy" in the Middle East peace process and what@he calls a "sense of renewed commitment." Where Mr. ChristopherBmet with Israeli leaders Friday, before traveling to Gaza to meet,with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.A   After meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Mr.@Christopher praised Thursday's Israeli-Palestinian agreement toBmove more quickly toward expanding Palestinian autonomy.  He said:Israeli prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's visit to Jordan on@Thursday and other recent developments are signs that the peace?process has been revitalized.  Mr. Christopher will also visit?Syria on this trip to try to get that deadlocked aspect of thepeace process going again.A   Foreign Minister Peres said the peace process is "on the moveBagain," and he believes there is a chance of renewing peace talkswith Syria:>   "I think there is a fair possibility.  I  cannot  guess, IBreally don't know the mood in Damascus.  But it think the IsraeliBposition gives enough material to reopen the door of negotiationsbetween us and the Syrians."A   That will be the next big challenge of Mr. Christopher's trip#when he visits Damascus on Monday.<   His visit has already been credited with helping inspire@Israel's decision to end its naval blockade of southern Lebanon>Friday, and Thursday's Israeli-Palestinian agreement to set a?July first target date for the conclusion of their talks about expanding Palestinian autonomy.<   In addition, Israeli prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made aAsurprise visit to Jordan late Thursday to meet with King Hussein2in an effort to ease problems in implementing the?Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty regarding Palestinian refugees,BU.S. aid, and other issues.  Secretary Christopher will meet withthe king in Jordan on Monday.   ---------------   ---------------5   CHRISTOPHER MEETS WITH ARAFAT AT PLO HEADQUARTERS   RON PEMSTEIN   GAZAB   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher has met with Yasser9Arafat at the Palestinian leader's headquarters in Gaza.?   Secretary of state Christopher has pressed Yasser Arafat to<take stronger action against terrorism, especially starting<trials of accused terrorists and confiscating weapons.  Mr.7Christopher later made the same points at Mr. Arafat's,headquarters overlooking the Mediterranean:@   "One fact that I think must be demonstrated and that is that8Gaza cannot be a safe haven for the terrorists who have@undertaken vicious acts.  That can be accomplished, and this is:something the chairman and I discussed through the activeAprosecution here, bringing to trial of those who are responsible6for the violence. Another approach to it would be the>confiscation of weapons in this area and that is a subject wediscussed here."A   In response to the Secretary of State, Mr. Arafat promised toAbegin trials soon, but he told reporters he cannot perform magic=tricks.  He then asked the Israelis to stop acts such as theBcelebrations that followed the anniversary of the Israeli settler.killing of civilians at the mosque in Hebron.A   Mr. Arafat put his emphasis on pre-empting acts of terrorism.BHe says Palestinian authorities have stopped 10 acts of terror inrecent weeks:@   "For your information, we have succeeded to prevent recentlyA10 terrorist activities, 10 attempts of terrorist activities, we*have arrested them and they are in jail."A   U.S. officials say Mr. Arafat mentioned two or three of those>cases in the meeting with Mr. Christopher, but they could notconfirm his estimate of ten.?   The other topic of the one hour meeting was economics.  The@Secretary of State described the re-structuring of the AmericanAaid program for Gaza and Jericho to put the emphasis on building8storm sewers and other quick starting projects that put>Palestinians to work.  The United States is campaigning among9other western aid donors to fulfill their pledges to the@Palestinian authority. A U.S. official says Mr. Arafat requires4results to demonstrate that he can get things done.?   The Secretary of State says teams from the U.S. agriculture8and Defense Departments will be sent here to assist theAPalestinians in  agricultural production and to evaluate medical?and humanitarian needs.  The only new American aid will be 2009trucks and spare parts from the U.S. military to be made%available to the Palestinian police.   ---------------   ---------------9   CLINTON ORDERED REVIEW OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSEB   President Clinton recently authorized an administration review<of so-called affirmative action programs, programs aimed atAgiving economically disadvantaged Americans better opportunities:to move ahead in a wide variety of areas.  The concept of;providing such help to traditionally disadvantaged groups,@however, has created a backlash among some Americans, prompting@complaints that a new class of Americans is being discriminated>against to make up for past discrimination. The president has:entered the debate by authorizing a government review has>encouraged political conservatives, but discouraged political
liberals.@   Clinton senior adviser George Stephanopoulos has been put in5charge of the review, expected to be completed soon.@   It is not clear just what it will produce.  What is clear is?that it is a politically explosive issue for Bill Clinton, who;has supported affirmative action, long a key issue for the@liberal wing of the Democratic Party and a host of civil rightsgroups.B   Critics of the president's decision to review the issue say he@did so to appear more politically-conservative in the aftermath=of the 1994 congressional elections which produced the first+Republican-controlled Congress in decades.@   In fact, there is some public momentum for such a review.  AAproposal to end affirmative action is likely to be considered by+voters in 1996 in the state of California.A   President Clinton, at a recent news conference, explained whyAhe made the controversial decision to review affirmative action:B   "How does this work?  Is it fair?  Is it necessary Is there anAalternative way to achieve the objective? But in terms of taking<aggressive initiatives to develop the capacities of people,@should we keep doing that? You bet we should.  How should we do%it in the law? That's the question.">   Still, while supporting the general concept of affirmative@action, he appeared to be leaning toward those who endorse what>is called need-based action, rather than race or gender-basedAaction, that is, giving special opportunities to the poor rather<than singling out African Americans, for example, or women:@   "I want to continue to fight discrimination where it exists.<I want to continue to give people a chance to develop their9capacities where they need help.  I want us to emphasize>need-based programs where we can because they work better and?have a bigger impact and generate broader support.  But let me@finish what we're doing here, and then I will try to answer allthe details."A   Civil rights activists wasted little time trying to influence;the course of the presidential review.  The reverend Jesse@Jackson, who recently threatened to launch a third campaign for?president, was among a group that visited the White House thispast week.@   If affirmative action is rejected, Jackson said, hard-fought=opportunities for disadvantaged Americans would be reversed:*   "1996 could look amazingly like 1896."?   Kim Gandy of the National Organization for Women joined the6chorus, saying women's rights would be affected, too:=   "Without affirmative action, there won't be a foot in the>door, for many women, in jobs and professions, and in fact, IBthink we'll move backwards if we don't continue to insure that we?have diversity, both gender and race diversity, in our schoolsand in our corporations."=   countering pressure from civil rights and women's groups,@comments from the leader of the politically-moderate Democratic@Leadership Council, Senator Joseph Lieberman.   He indicated it;would be difficult to oppose a proposal to end affirmativeaction.A   So President Clinton finds himself caught in a political vise<as he  reviews this controversial issue.  Backing away from@affirmative  action will cause him political harm among liberalADemocrats, his long-time friends. But allowing it to continue as@it currently stands will cause problems among more moderate andAconservative Democrats, his newer friends, who are urging him to?reach out to their political supporters now, or risk defeat in1996.   ---------------   ---------------3   CLINTON ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE@   President Clinton is welcoming new unemployment figures that?show more than three hundred thousand new jobs were created in?February.  And he is challenging a proposed Republican tax cutBplan, describing it as help for the wealthy, not for the poor andmiddle class.?   "Today's employment report shows that the economic strategyBpursued by our administration has worked for the last two years,"@said Clinton. "The new unemployment rate of five point four per=cent is the lowest in almost five years.  We have the lowest<combined rates of unemployment and inflation in twenty-five?years.  The fundamentals of this economy overall are healthier&than they have been in a generation.">   The president's comments came one day after House Ways andAMeans Committee chairman Republican Bill Archer presented a plan<that includes a range of business and corporate tax breaks.=   It gave the president another political issue on which to&sharpen differences with Republicans:@   "Now we do see that there is a proposal for massive tax cutsAwhich will benefit largely upper income Americans, tax cuts thatBwill cost 188 billion dollars in the first five years, but if you<look at the ten year figure, will cost 700 billion dollars.=These are more than three times the aggregate amounts of theBproposals that I made in my budget which are heavily targetted to&the needs of middle-class Americans."A   Middle-class Americans, this is the segment of the populationBthe president and his aides have targetted for the 1996 political7campaign.  Many abandoned Democrats in last November's9Congressional elections.  The president wants them back.>   He has been highlighting differences with Republicans on a;variety of social policy issues lately.  With his comments9following release of this Labor Department report, he is>reminding voters social policy is one thing, what is in their@wallet and bank accounts,  that is something on which to base avote next year.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESS WEEK IN REVIEW   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   Majority Republicans and opposition Democrats are clashingover tax and spending cuts.=   Democrats charge that the poor will bear the brunt of theAproposed Republican spending cuts.  The House of Representatives:will take up the spending cut package next week and HouseBDemocratic leader Richard Gephardt says Republicans are targetingthe wrong programs:B   "I do not think it makes sense to cut the school lunch program?or cut education for homeless kids in order to pay for any tax9cut.  But, indeed, those are the kinds of cuts that they4(Republicans) are proposing and that you will see."<   Mr. Gephardt addressed a meeting of newspaper editors in?Washington Friday as did House Speaker Newt Gingrich.  Speaker:Gingrich dismissed the Democratic complaints and says the@Republican cuts are aimed at making the federal government moreefficient:A   "And I think the whole tone in this city has been to throw upBthe starving child that has got to be the reason we protect every@!bureaucrat, every program, every ounce of red tape. And it is,*frankly, dishonest demogoguery (untrue)."B   The House moved ahead on legal reform this past week while theASenate continued its much slower pace, struggling through a billBon supplemental defense spending.  The difference in pace betweenAthe two chambers was not lost on Senate majority leader Bob Dole*who also addressed the newspaper editors:B   "The House is cranking out this legislation just like sausage.@And then it comes to the Senate where it is like watching paint>dry or grass grow or ham cure, or whatever it is.  It takes along time."B   Senate Republicans did put a potentially divisive issue behind>them this week.  They decided to not take any punitive action;against Senator Mark Hatfield for his lone Republican vote?against the defeated balanced budget constitutional amendment.   ---------------   ---------------0   CATO INSTITUTE REPORT ON CORPORATE "WELFARE"   LINDA CASHDAN   WASHINGTONB   Growing concern over the U.S. budget deficit has made American?lawmakers desperate to curb government spending.  Every budget-item is under attack these days, and the new=Republican-controlled Congress is eying the nation's welfare:programs critically. A new study by the Cato Institute, aAWashington-based free market research organization, asserts U.S.?welfare payments to corporations greatly exceed those to needy
citizens.B   The study points out the U.S. Government is spending more thanA86 billion dollars a year in corporate aid, and losing even moreAthan that by doling out tax breaks to corporations.  Indeed, theBstudy concludes, the U.S. government could save about 265-billion?dollars a year if it removed private industry from the federaldole.<   Most of the subsidies the government gives companies are?designed to help U.S. corporations carve out overseas markets.BThe Campbell's soup company, for example, receives half a million@dollars a year to help advertise it's "V-8 Juice" in Argentina.BThe U.S. Rice Federation gets three-million dollars a year to try?to convince rice eaters in Turkey, Poland, and Saudi Arabia to=choose the "uncle ben's" brand.  The Pet Food Institute getsBone-million dollars to try to convince Japanese pet owners to buy8"Friskies" dog food.  In total, there are some 127 U.S.@Government programs providing subsidies to particular companiesor industries.>   David Keating of the National Taxpayers Union says most of>those expenditures are the result of old ideas, not new ones.?Once the government starts giving a company money, he says, itvery rarely stops:?   "Most government programs live on, whether they have a goodArationale or not. The fact is, most of these subsidies exist and=are maintained because of political clout, pure and simple."<   Jeffrey Joseph of the U.S. chamber of commerce disagrees?vehemently.  Mr. Joseph says the public money being given U.S.@corporations is being spent for the public good, namely on U.S.job creation:B   "Government programs designed to work with specific industries=were designed to make sure we have more jobs in America.  No?country wants to be the first to unilaterally disarm itself in;the global marketplace, and that's why those subsidies arethere.">   In fact, Mr. Joseph says, the United States pays less than@other industrial countries to help its industries carve out newforeign markets:A   "The reality is, all the other countries around the world are;doing the same thing in terms of exports promotion.  We're=talking about how we keep American jobs growing, how we keep=American companies growing, and the point is, all around the=world there's a shortage of high paying jobs, and so there's>global competition to attract companies, to attract the rightAkind of people who in fact will create wealth for the people who
live there."@   The campaign against corporate welfare appears to be unitingBusually divergent political forces, conservatives who want to cut>government spending and liberals who want to make sure people:fare as well as companies in terms of government support.   ---------------   ---------------8   STATE DEPT. THREATEN U.N. SANCTIONS AGAINST N. KOREA   DAVID GOLLUST   STATE DEPARTMENT>   A senior State Department official has revived a threat of?possible U.N. sanctions against North Korea, if Pyongyang does=not follow through with commitments under the nuclear accord?reached with the United States last October. Implementation ofAthe accord is stalled over North Korea's refusal to accept South7Korean nuclear reactors to replace its weapons-relatedfacilities.=   Assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord says the United@States will consider all options, including a move for punitiveAU.N. sanctions against North Korea, if Pyongyang follows through9with threats to back out of the landmark nuclear accord.=   North Korea has agreed to freeze and eventually dismantle?reactors the United States says were turning out weapons-grade9plutonium, in return for energy assistance including two.proliferation-resistant light water reactors.<   However implementation has become bogged down over NorthAKorea's adamant refusal to accept reactors built in South Korea,;as envisaged by the United States and other backers of theaccord.>   North Korea said this week it will resist the South KoreanAreactors even if it means the breakdown of the accord. Pyongyang>did not say what action it would take, but U.S. officials are;concerned it might resume its plutonium-separation effort.B   Briefing  reporters, Mr. Lord, just back from consultations in?South Korea and Japan, said he hopes Pyongyang will uphold its>commitments. But if it doesn't, he said all options including+U.N. sanctions will have to be considered:A   "The first thing we'd do is sit down, in particular, with ourASouth Korean and Japanese friends and decide our next steps. I'mAnot going to start previewing what we would do. But certainly weBwould consider all options. And one of those would be a return to?the United Nations Security Council. But as I say we very much!hope we won't reach that point."<   North Korea denies it ever agreed to accept South KoreanAreactors.  But Mr. Lord says there is no way Pyongyang could not;have understood what was expected of it when it signed the;agreement last October. While North Korea has talked aboutBacquiring Russian reactors instead, assistant Secretary Lord saidAfinancial, technical and political reasons make this impossible.=   An international consortium charged with raising the four8billion dollars needed for the replacement reactors and9implementing other parts of the agreement was officially%established in New York on Thursday.   ---------------   ---------------A   REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ADDRESS EDITORS CONFERENCE   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   Presidential politics was the focus of a newspaper editors>conference in Washington Friday. Four Republican Senators who>have either announced their candidacies for president, or are9expected to do so soon, addressed the National Newspaper
Association.@   Despite complaints that it is still too early to be thinking=about the 1996 presidential race, four Republican contendersBoutlined their basic campaign themes in brief speeches before thenewspaper editors.=   Leading off the group was frontrunner and Senate majority?leader Bob Dole who, according to a new public opinion poll by8the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, is now favored by<sixty-percent of Republicans.  Senator Dole is promising to=curtail the powers of the federal government and to reassert=American prestige abroad. He also says he will emphasize his@experience in explaining why he decided to make a third bid forthe White House:@   "That maybe America needed someone from this (world war two)Bgeneration.  Someone who sort of crossed all generations that areBout there now.  Somebody who understood hard times and good times?and being tested and being on your back and being on your feetAand facing whatever you might have to face in life as all of you.face, I think with a very positive attitude."B   Fellow Republican Senator Phil Gramm placed second in the WallBStreet Journal poll, though well back of Senator Dole at thirteen?percent.  He has staked out a position in the race as the only@true conservative willing to make the tough choices required tobalance the federal budget:A   "I believe that we need a candidate for president and we need<a president that is willing to tell the American people theBtruth.  The truth about the problems we face and the dangers that0we face if we do not deal with those problems.">   The only candidate who emphasizes foreign policy issues is?Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana.  He says the president's topApriority should be the security of the United States, especiallyAthe control of nuclear weapons.  He faults President Clinton for=not paying enough attention to the foreign policy challengesfacing the United States:@   "The president has intelligence, he has good instincts. When?he really concentrates on an issue, he does pretty well at it.<But with foreign  policy he has been spasmodic, episodic; a8little bit here, a little bit there. That will not do."A   A fourth Republican Senator, Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania,Ais also expected to join the race.  While he favors budget cuts,Ahe differs with most Republicans in being an ardent supporter ofAabortion rights.  And Senator Specter says he is willing to take?on the vocal and politically potent ultra-conservative wing of;his own party which insists that the party platform oppose
abortion:?   "And that is, independence and a willingness to take on the>tough issues.  And by that I refer specifically to the fringeB(Republican ultra-conservatives) which I think threatens not only1the Republican Party but threatens the country.">   Several other Republican contenders are either in the race<already or are expected to join soon.  These include former>Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, political commentator and?previous candidate pat buchanan and Congressman Robert Dornan.ACalifornia governor Pete Wilson is also considering a bid and isexpected to decide soon.   ---------------   ---------------?   U.S. OPINION EDITORIAL ROUNDUP: SANCTIONS ON SADDAM HUSSEIN   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTONA   The issue of economic sanctions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq>is back in the editorial pages of America's newspapers as the-United Nations once again debates the issue.B   Every two months since the Persian Gulf war the United Nations?Security Council reviews the economic sanctions placed againstBIraq.  Now, some members, especially France and Russia, feel Iraq<has done enough in dismantling its arms industry to warrant>lifting the restrictions.  But the U.S. forcefully disagreed,;suggesting that Saddam Hussein is continuing a hidden arms@buildup, and has failed to return thousands of Kuwaiti militaryAvehicles and other item stolen when Iraq ended its occupation ofKuwait./   Boston's "Christian Science Monitor": says:@   "...Saddam has yet to come forward with credible information<on key items such as biological weapons development and the9identity of various front companies he used to amass hisAhigh-tech armaments.  Those items, alone, are probably enough to=keep the sanctions in place.  The U.S. and its allies on the<security council are right to keep the pressure on.  If theBrestrictions were lifted today, there's little to indicate SaddamAwouldn't use renewed oil revenues to travel the same old road of
militarism."B   Just across town, "The Boston Globe" agrees Saddam Hussein has*not kept his part of the bargain, adding:8   "Last week, Rolf Ekeus, the head of the U.N. special=commission to monitor and dismantle Saddam's weapons of massBdestruction, told the Security Council that Baghdad had failed to>give a plausible accounting for as much as 30 tons of 'growth:media' that can be used to cultivate two to three tons of>bacteria for biological weapons. [Mr.] Ekeus said millions ofBdollars' worth of the growth media has been imported by Saddam in>1988 and 1989 but that the U.N. inspectors had been prevented;from seeing the material or locating documents about it to?complete the picture of Saddam's unregenerate criminality, the<U.N.'s special envoy for human rights, Max Van Der Stoel, a>former Dutch foreign minister, reported on Saddam's 'heinous'Apractice of mutilating Iraqis and doctors who refused to performamputations. "@   And in California, "The Los Angeles Times" agrees the United?States would be right in vetoing any move in the U.N. Security=Council to lift the sanctions against Iraq, for a variety of	reasons:B   "... Alarming new evidence has surfaced that Iraq continues toBhide biological weapons that would allow it to infect populations@with plague and cholera. Satellite photos are said to show that?Iraq has incorporated large amounts of seized Kuwaiti military@equipment into its own armed forces; that it has spent lavishly@on palaces for (Saddam) Hussein and other members of the elite,<even while proclaiming its poverty and the suffering of itsApeople to the world; and that it may even be trying to rebuild a@chemical warfare and missile capacity.  The sanctions should be<eased only when Iraq's actions show that it's serious aboutmeeting its responsibilities."A   "The Portland [Maine] Press Herald" also calls for the United#Nations not to lift the sanctions:@   "Some things will never change: Saddam Hussein will continueAto make weapons of death and destruction as long as he is alive.@The Iraqi people will continue to suffer as long as Saddam willAnot abide by international law.  Iraq's neighbors will always be<threatened as long as Saddam's regime is in place.  Nations>anxious to resume business with Iraq will always want to lift;U.N. sanctions against the regime. These things will never@change.   The only hope for bringing relief to the Iraqi people;and security to Iraq's neighbors is that the U.N. Security@Council's determination to maintain the sanctions imposed after.the Persian Gulf war also will never change."B   "The New York Times" is more reasoned it its stand, saying theAembargo, especially concerning the sale of Iraqi crude oil, willAnot and cannot last forever, and so some flexibility in the U.S.position may be necessary:>   "It is difficult to keep any embargo from springing leaks,Bespecially when Iraq is prepared to sell its oil for as little asAeight dollars a barrel, six dollars below market price.  Yet theBlimited amount of oil now being trucked through Turkey and Jordan;could soon grow. Already oil companies from France, Italy,>Russia, Britain, Canada and elsewhere are rushing to concludeBarrangements to obtain Iraqi oil once the embargo is lifted.  TheBClinton Administration will not succeed in holding back that tideAforever.  America, supported solely by Britain, wrongly wants toAprevent any relaxation of sanctions even if Iraq does come clean>on [provides details and admits] its arms-making.  That wouldAinvite international winking at the embargo, and more oil sales.>Iraq should be allowed to export oil, as the Security Council>stipulated, once it complies on disarmament, no sooner and nolater."B   With that contrary view from the influential "New York Times,"=we conclude this brief sampling of editorial comments on theAmerits of the current U.N. sanctions against Iraq as a result ofthe Gulf War.   ---------------   ---------------=   CLINTON ADMINISTRATION SETS-UP NEW PRIORITIES FOR THE CIA   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE;   The Clinton Administration is establishing a new set ofApost-cold war priorities for the Central Intelligence Agency andAother spy agencies. Officials say the move is in response to the?changing threats to U.S. national security.  But it also gives9the administration greater control over what informationintelligence agencies collect.9   White House spokesman Mike McCurry Friday confirmed a<Washington Post report that President Clinton has signed anBexecutive order setting administration priorities for subjects to8be targeted by the CIA and other intelligence agencies:;   "It is important in a time of limited resources for the@president and his policy-makers to give clear priorities to the7intelligence community, so they can gather the type of9information that will help them make the right decisions2protecting America's interests around the world."B   Mr. McCurry was reluctant to discuss the details of the secret%presidential order signed last week.<   But according to the Washington Post, the directive also;establishes a panel of senior White House, Pentagon, stateAdepartment, and other officials to review whether the objectives3are being met and whether they need to be changed.B   Such a move would allow consumers of intelligence information,;top administration policy makers, to have a direct role inBdeciding what information they want collected, and could curb the@independence of the CIA and other agencies in setting their ownpriorities.A   Mr. McCurry says the president signed the executive order not8because he is unhappy with the quality or nature of the?intelligence he is getting, but because of changing threats to1U.S. national security in the post cold war era:A   "There are certain threats that are now reduced, specifically5the nuclear threat, we do not have Russian strategicBintercontinental missiles aimed at the United States anymore.  We<have a range of security threats that are different in thisAworld, quite frankly, (nuclear) proliferation remains a concern,;terrorism remains a concern, international crime remains aBconcern, and how you structure the priorities of the intelligenceAcommunity to reflect the new threats that are more urgent in theApost-cold war is part of what this review and this directive areall about."=   A Congressional source quoted by the Washington Post says?those countries targeted by the new presidential order includeIraq, Iran and North Korea.@   The post quotes White House officials saying the list of newBpriorities was put together following an interagency study led by(national security advisor Anthony Lake.   ---------------   ---------------A   NANCY REAGAN SPEAKS TO CONGRESS ON ADMINISTRATION DRUG POLICY   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS?   About a decade ago, former (United States) first lady nancy;Reagan launched a personal crusade against drug abuse. Her>message to children was simple, "just say no."   Some criticsBsaid it was just a slogan, and one that oversimplified a nationalAdrug crisis.  But in recent years, drug use has risen. And NancyAReagan returned to Washington Thursday to urge others to take upher campaign.?   There was a hush in the Congressional hearing room as Nancy?Reagan walked through the door, a hush that was soon broken by the noise of dozens of cameras.A   The former first lady nodded and smiled at the photographers.@But there was a certain sadness in her face, a weariness showed
in her eyes.>   It was Mrs. Reagan's first public appearance in Washington=since her husband was diagnosed with altzheimer's disease, a<condition that clouds the brain, destroying the capacity to*remember and eroding the thought process:B   "I decided to speak today only after a lot of soul searching,"@said Reagan. "As you can imagine, I have very pressing concernsAkeeping me busy in California right now, and I do not like to be=away for long. So I have not come here lightly.  I have come:because my heart pulls me here and because my husband and3everything he stands for calls for me to be here.">   The former first lady made drug abuse her cause during her?years at  the White House.  And while critics said her efforts@were largely designed to promote her image, her campaign had anaffect.B   She gave the issue visibility, and prompted well-known figuresBfrom the sports and entertainment world to join her.  These days,Aalthough billions of tax dollars continue to be spent on the war>on drugs, public figures are turning their attention to other	matters.?   And it comes as no surprise to Nancy Reagan that drug abuse+among the young is once again on the rise:?   "It seems as though this country has lost its drive to keepAthe drug  issue, and especially drug prevention, in the nationalBspotlight.   Today, the anti-drug message just seems to be fading?away.  Children  need to hear it, and hear it often, just like#they need to hear they are loved."?   Mrs. Reagan did not assign blame to a specific person, or a<political party. But members of the House Government Reform(Committee were only too happy to do so.B   Republican Bill Zeliff of New Hampshire criticized the Clinton;administration, saying the White House is putting too much<emphasis on treatment and not enough on stopping drug abusebefore it starts:B   "When was the last time you heard the president say to a bunchAof kids: "Look, don't take drugs. Don't waste yourself on drugs!AWake up! Drugs will steal your opportunities, crush your dreams,and can ruin your life!"A   But Democrats countered that Republicans are posing a greater=threat to children by cutting government programs, includingBthose that fund drug education in schools.  Congresswoman Cardiss;Collins, who represents a poor, urban district in Chicago,;Illinois, said slogans from Washington have no meaning for#children from tough neighborhoods:?   "'Just say no' is not quite enough!  We in Congress have toBunderstand  that on this and other issues when they appear, "just-say no" just doesn't cut it! (Do anything!)"7   As the hearing went on, there were more charges and<countercharges. But there was consensus on one vital point.AEveryone agreed with Nancy Reagan that momentum has been lost in>the war on drugs, children are at risk, and something must bedone.   ---------------   ---------------4   LEGISLATION TO SEEK A BASE AGREEMENT WITH PANAMA   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS@   Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress calling@on President Clinton to negotiate a base agreement with Panama.<The agreement would go into effect once the transfer of thePanama canal is complete.?   Congressman Philip Crane says time is running out.  He says9work on a base agreement must begin as soon as possible:B   "As I speak, the turnover of our military bases near the canalAto Panama is well underway and nearing, in fact, the point of no	return."=   Mr. Crane envisions a lease deal, which would enable U.S.:military bases in Panama to remain in operation after the?transfer of the canal is complete in 1999.   The United States>would rent space from the Panamanians in much the same way it%operates bases in Germany and Japan.?   Congressman Crane, a Republican from the state of Illinois,>notes recent public opinion polls show most Panamanians would:like the United States bases to remain in operation.  TheAmilitary installations are major employers.  They also provide a=guarantee of security for the canal zone, which is likely to;become even more important as hemispheric trade increases.@   Mr. Crane's proposal is now under consideration by the House=International Relations Subcommittee on Hemispheric Affairs,Bwhere it has the support of both Subcommittee chairman Dan BurtonAof Illinois and the top Democrat on the panel, Robert Torricelliof New Jersey.?   Clinton Administration officials also seem receptive to theAnotion of a base agreement with Panama.  However, they stress it?must be consistent with provisions of the Panama canal treaty.   ---------------   ---------------*   ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT DEBATE UNDERWAY   SAM IKER   WASHINGTONB   The Endangered Species Act, perhaps the toughest environmental8statute ever enacted,  is under attack by Congressional?conservatives.  Meanwhile, environmentalists are gearing up todefend the law.?   A prime target for the new Republican majority in Congress,>especially in the House of Representatives, is the Endangered@Species Act.  Under this tough statute, the so-called "critical;habitat" of any animal or plant whose existence is legallyBconsidered "threatened" or "endangered" is strictly protected and=can't be altered. In practice,  this means that some private@landowners cannot develop or exploit their property.  Opponents<of the law maintain that in such cases landowners should becompensated by the government.=   According to John Shanahan, a legislative analyst for the+conservative-oriented Heritage Foundation:@   "What we need to do is re-align people's incentives. And the?way you do that is you pay property owners when you take their;land through regulatory taking for protecting habitat of aparticular species."?   The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives@has already pushed through legislation requiring the government<to compensate landowners for any decline in property values:resulting from endangered species act restrictions.   Mr.<Shanahan says conservatives also question the department of)interior's broad application of the law:?   "You want to have a situation where you're protecting truly>valuable species.  And that means that if  you have a species;which is abundant in one area and yet not very abundant in@another area,  but maybe was historically abundant in the area,8is it worth enormous expenditures to protect it in that3particular locality, -if it's abundant elsewhere?";   According to Heritage Foundation analyst John Shanahan,;conservatives also question whether sub-species of animalsAwarrant protection.  They favor giving the secretary of interior>more flexibility in deciding what species fall under the act,@decisions which would be tempered by requirements that affected>landowners must be compensated for losses in property values:=   "You're actually going to see increased protection of theBspecies that we put effort into.  And the idea that we should put?unlimited resources into every single species is, on its face,ludicrous."<   The House of Representatives has already voted by a wide=margin to temporarily suspend all new listings of endangeredBspecies.  Meanwhile, a coalition of environmental, scientific and?civic groups is mobilizing to slow the conservative onslaught.@   The so-called endangered species coalition is led by Cornell.University biologist Thomas Eisner, who says:?   "People are trying to make the Endangered Species Act sound>like an act that involves a bunch of amateurs looking for theAlast remnant of an obscure little organism, instead of making itAsound like a concerted national attempt to safeguard our wealth.BAnd, frankly,  it's the only legal proviso that we have to insureAthat this legacy,  which those of us who are chemical ecologists7view as extraordinarily valuable, is protected for ourdescendants.";   Mr. Eisner says the potential of nature has barely been>scratched.  He notes that an estimated half of today's modern<medicines and treatments are derived from plants, fungi andAanimals.  He cites the Pacific yew tree which produces taxol,  aApotent new cancer drug,  the periwinkle which yields a drug thatBeffectively fights childhood leukemia and a range of anti-bioticsAderived from various molds and microbes.  He himself is studying@the potential of a plant which is found only in a tiny patch ofsouthern Florida.=   "One of those obscure plants, the lake placid scrub mint,Anobody's ever heard of it,.  But you take two looks at it,  fromAthe point of view of somebody who's interested in the long rangeAvalue of species like this,  and what do we come up with?  A newAinsect repellent and a very promising anti-fungal agent. There's?a vast treasury out there which is going to take decades to beexplored."?   Given the conservative tide in Congress, Cornell UniversityBscientist Thomas Eisner and the endangered species coalition seem<prepared to bend, but not to yield on the essentials of theprotective legislation:?   "I'm quite sure that compromises will need to be made where@local economic forces are overwhelming.  But we have to, at the?same time,  point up what's significant about preserving these=disappearing habitats in order to safeguard these individual?species,  many of which can't be designated yet, but which mayharbor these secrets."A   The legislative showdown on efforts to rewrite the law is notexpected before early summer.   ---------------   --------------->   PERRY SEES LITTLE CHANCE OF A NEAR TERM SOLUTION IN BOSNIA   DAVID SWAN   PENTAGON<   U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry says he sees little7chance of a near-term political solution to the war inBBosnia-Herzegovina but any attempt to help the Muslims would onlyBmake things worse.  The administration is trying to keep Congress9from lifting the arms embargo on the Bosnian government.B   Speaking in the Midwestern state of kansas, Mr. Perry conceded=he is frustrated because the nation's current policy has notBstopped the bloodshed.  The secretary says he has no doubts aboutwho the victims are:?   "The Bosnian government and its supporters are the victims.@The atrocities that are perpetrated by the Serbs, in particular&the ethnic cleansing, are abhorrent."A   At the same time, Mr. Perry says trying to change the outcome>on the battlefield would invite disaster.  Bosnian government@officials and some American lawmakers have called for an end toAthe U.S. arms embargo on the former Yugoslav republic.  They say>this would give the outgunned Muslim soldiers a better chanceAagainst the Serbs.  The secretary warns it would send the United.States down what he calls "a slippery slope":?   "And at the bottom of that slope will be American troops inAground  combat, will be a humanitarian catastrophe, or will be a+wider war, or perhaps all three together."B   Mr Perry admits the present Bosnia policy has shortcomings but?he argues there are  no  easy or painless answers.  He says if=the embargo is lifted, the nation's allies must share in the=decision, or U.S. ships and planes with arms for the Bosnian?government would have to evade NATO ships and planes enforcingthe blockade.   ---------------   ---------------0   PERRY DEFENDS FUNDING OF RUSSIAN DISARMAMENT   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO@   A U.S. assistance program which helps Russia and three other:former Soviet republics, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan,Adismantle their cold war nuclear arsenals faces funding cutbacks<by the new budget-minded U.S. Congress. President Clinton's?defense secretary, William Perry, believes the threatened cutsBare misguided, and he's trying to rally public opinion to supportAthe program.  He brought that message to an influential group inChicago Wednesday.@   It's known as the "cooperative threat reduction program," or@more commonly by the names of the two senators who authored the=program in 1991, Democrat Sam Nunn of Georgia and RepublicanRichard Lugar of Indiana.>   The program helps the former Soviet republics with nuclear<weapons dismantle missiles and convert weapons factories tonon-military production.@   Defense Secretary Perry believes the Nunn-Lugar program is a?good defensive measure for the United States.  But he says theAprogram is in danger of having its funding slashed by perhaps 20@percent. To rally support for the program, Mr. Perry championed<its cause before some 700 members of the Chicago council onBforeign relations, a group whose members follow national securityAissues and voice their opinions to elected officials.  Mr. Perry?told reporters he thinks it is very important to rally what he%called an "informed public opinion":@   "So we think it's very important to rally strong support for:this program.  It is, dollar-for-dollar, some of the most,effective defense activities that we have."@   Secretary Perry believes there are some misconceptions among?those in Congress opposed to a fully-funded Nunn-Lugar plan to<help Russia and its nuclear neighbors dismantle and convertnuclear facilities:>   "I think the people who are voting in favor of reducing it5have thought of it more as foreign aid, and that's aAmisperception of what  the program's about.  Secondly, they have@looked at that part of it which reduces infrastructure and have:thought of that in terms of assisting the Russian defense@companies.  We're not assisting the  Russian defense companies.>We're trying to convert them from the  manufacture of nuclear9systems and subsystems over into commercial enterprise."?   Defense Secretary Perry told the Chicago council on foreign?relations that critics say the Nunn-Lugar program is a Russian?conspiracy to sustain their arms industry, and that in Russia,Bsome call it a U.S.  conspiracy to dismantle their arms industry.?Mr. Perry says both charges are wrong.  It is instead, what heAcalls, a program to carry out nuclear arms reductions agreements4while building a national and economic partnership.   ---------------   ---------------C   WORLD OPINION ROUNDUP: WASHINGTON WATCHES AS THE DOLLAR PLUNGES   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON@   In early trading Thursday, the dollar rebounded against both?the Japanese yen and the German mark as several world economic=leaders called the recent plunge unjustified.  U.S. treasuryASecretary Robert Rubin says the United States is working closelyAwith the other big industrialized democracies and will intervene>in currency markets to support the dollar when such action is+justified.  He did not give any specifics.?   Several commentators actually wondered if the dollar crisisBwas possibly a planned U.S. strategy.  One French daily contended>that, the way Washington sees it, it is far easier to let the<dollar slump against international currencies than to raiseBinterest rates again, a move that could slow the U.S. economy and:the American people would deplore.  Several other papers,=especially in Asia and Latin America, criticized the ClintonBAdministration's apparent 'hesitancy' to intervene to prop up thedollar.;   In Brazil, "Folha De Sao Paulo" was concerned about the$dollar's impact on other countries:B   "It seems unavoidable, in view of the global pressures against@the dollar, that the fed will raise interest rates again.  This<will represent an additional complication for the Brazilian,foreign trade and its balance of payments.";   In Asia, Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" in Tokyo commented:B   "We feel as though Japan always gets the worst of what expertsArefer to as the 'cheaper-dollar-higher-yen-higher mark deal.' toBbolster the weakening dollar, the United States has to reduce its<fiscal deficit by correcting excessive spending and savings
deficiency."9   Also in  Tokyo, the top circulation "Yomiuri Shinbun"
suggests:@   "The fundamental cause of the weak dollar is the U.S. fiscal?deficit.  President Clinton has declared at a press conference>that his government will make continued efforts to reduce the9deficit.  Japan, for its part, should decrease its trade
surplus."@   Elsewhere in the Pacific, "the "Australian Financial Review"in Sydney observed:>   "The continued slump of the U.S. dollar has reinforced the?view that a fundamental shift is occurring, as the role of the=greenback [dollars] as the sole anchor in the world monetary=system is eroded, to be gradually replaced by a 'multipolar'7system based around the dollar, the mark and the yen."A   Also subscribing to that view is one of South Korea's largest8dailies, the pro-business "Joong-Ang Ilbo", which says:<   "... The dollar has lost its leading status in the worldBfinance system, and the finance system will be led by a troika of;the yen, the mark, and the dollar.  The devaluation of the:Mexican peso, and the U.S. Congress's failure to pass the;balanced budget amendment certainly exacerbated the dollar	plunge."B   To gauge the European reaction, we check "The Financial Times"in London which commented:>   "The U.S. dollar catches a cold and the ERM [exchange rateAmechanism of the European Union] sneezes.  But this is neither a>crisis for the new, more flexible ERM, nor a grave defeat for@Spain and Portugal, nor even a salutary warning about prospects>for European monetary union.  It merely demonstrates that theBflexibility inherent in an adjustable-peg exchange rate mechanismsuch as the ERM will be used."A   In France, the economic daily "Les Echos" in Paris commented:?   "The Clinton Administration is still hesitant regarding its=goals on currency issues. But the risks that the dollar drop?represents for the U.S. economy, i.e., hikes in interest rates@and loss of credibility of the Clinton Administration, are much>more important than the benefits the United States could drawform it in the long run."8   Elsewhere, the leading French daily "Le Monde" said:?   "Today's turmoil mirrors a general crisis of confidence. It<marks a lack of leadership in each country as well as on an=international level, the consequences of persisting national@selfishness.  The seven industrialized countries have displayed<their inability to cooperate   each country defends its own?interests and refuses to take into account those of the globalcommunity.":   With a hint of contempt, the big Swedish daily "DagensNyheter" comments:A   "Like lemmings [small mouse-like Scandinavian creatures that,>according to folklore, every few years run in great packs andAplunge into the sea to drown for no apparent reason] the playersAin the markets are moving in flocks.  Collectively, they are not?rushing forward to death; rather it seems to be a belief in anBeternal life of gains and safe investments that drives them. Like?lemming migrations, the movements of the market are not alwayseasily explained."   ---------------   ---------------"   CONGRESS QUESTIONS AID TO ASIA   NICK SIMEONE   WASHINGTONA   A senior official of the Agency for International Development<has told a Congressional panel further cuts in aid to Asian=countries could set back social and economic progress in the>region.  There was tough questioning Wednesday about U.S. aid>given to Asian countries that spend significantly on defense.A   The subject for Wednesday's committee hearing was the ClintonAAdministration's request for 519 million dollars in aid for Asia<for next year.  But the topic quickly turned to debate over@whether the United States should be giving any aid to countries(that spend heavily on their militaries.B   Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher grilled an official of@the U.S. agency for international development about the ClintonBadministration's request for nearly 40 million dollars in aid forBCambodia.  In particular, he wondered why Cambodia needs to spend@so much on weapons that are not needed for fighting Khmer Rougeguerrillas:A   "I am disturbed when I read that they are spending 30 million?dollars on tanks and tanks are not what they need to fight the?Khmer Rouge.  Tanks are a way of exercising military authority<within their own country. I don't believe Cambodia needs 35?million dollars in aid from the United States if it's going toBspend 30 million dollars on tanks.   One thing that Cambodia does,need is most favored nation status perhaps.>   "Any country that receives aid from the United States that<turns around and buys weapons with other funds is basically@thumbing their nose in the face of the United States.  And thatAincludes India and that includes any other recipient of American-aid.  And we have got to send a message...."?   And with that comment, he was interrupted by his democratic?colleague, Howard Berman, on what U.S. aid policies should be:+   Mr. Berman:  Would the gentleman yield?'   Mr. Rohrabacher:  I certainly will.4   Mr. Berman:  Does this include Israel and Egypt?+   Mr. Rohrabacher:  Yes, I think it does.B   Mr. Berman:  To the extent that Israel receives aid, it should4quit spending any money on their military security?@   Mr. Rohrabacher:  I think it's about time that Israel starts>spending its own money on its military security and we can beAreducing our aid to Egypt and Israel. That's absolutely correct.?   With shrinking budgets and Republicans in Congress taking aBhard look at U.S. spending overseas,  assistant AID administratorBMargaret Carpenter predicted even more cuts in aid to Asia in theAcoming years.  That, she warned, could jeopardize the tremendous?economic gains made in the region over the past 20 years.  AndAthat could hurt the United States.  U.S. exports to Asia account(for nearly three million American jobs.   ---------------   ---------------/   CONGRESSIONAL REACTION TO PAKISTAN SHOOTING   NICK SIMEONE   WASHINGTON>   There has been strong reaction in Congress to the shooting<deaths of two U.S. consulate employees in Karachi Pakistan.9   Before a hearing on U.S. funding for Asia, Republican@Congressman Sherrod Brown called for an immediate investigation;by Pakistan into what he suggested was a terrorist attack:@   "This committee expresses its condolences to the families of:those two diplomats that obviously were innocent and were<probably killed by terrorists although no one quite knows."?   Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher was more irritated,Bnoting this is the second time in as many years that Pakistan has@been linked to an incident in which Americans have been killed:<   "We have not forgotten that the man who murdered our CIA>personnel right out here in Virginia is now somewhere in that9area and we will not put up long with having people kill1Americans and run to that region for sanctuary."=   U.S. law enforcement officials believe the man who killedBthose several Central Intelligence Agency employees two years ago7is still at large somewhere in Pakistan or neighboring
Afghanistan.   ---------------   ---------------C   MEASURE TO TIGHTEN CUBAN SANCTIONS WITHDRAWN FROM SENATE DEBATE   JIM MALONE
   SENATE;   The sponsor of a proposal in the U.S. Senate to tightenAeconomic sanctions against Cuba withdrew the measure from debate@on the Senate floor Wednesday but promised to bring it up again?at a later date.  The Senate debate over Cuba comes amid signsBthat the Clinton Administration may be considering easing some of the sanctions already in place.@   The Senate was debating a supplemental defense spending billBwhen Republican Senator Jesse Helms decided to try and attach his;measure which would intensify sanctions against the Castro>government in Cuba in hopes of speeding up its downfall. Late@Wednesday Senator Helms withdrew his amendment from the defense>bill but promised to hold hearings on the issue soon and will<bring it before the full Senate for a vote at a later date.=   The Helms measure would urge the president to seek UnitedBNations sanctions against Cuba and would punish foreign investorsAwho buy property in Cuba confiscated from American owners in the>early years of the Castro government.  The bill also sets out6conditions for American support and assistance once a7democratically-elected government is in place in Cuba.B   Senator Helms says he introduced the measure now because he isBupset with reports that the Clinton Administration is consideringAeasing some of the sanctions against Cuba already in place.  The?New York Times newspaper reports that administration officials@appear to be divided over whether to ease some of the sanctions:or to join with those seeking to intensify the sanctions.@   Republican Senator Connie Mack of Florida supports the Helms@proposal and says he thinks any attempt to liberalize relationswith Cuba now is a bad idea:B   "So the worst possible thing that we could do would be what is>being suggested by those in the administration that now it is@time to lift some of the embargo, that now is the time to begin4to open a dialogue.  A terrible, terrible mistake.">   But opponents of the Helms proposal to intensify sanctionsBagainst Cuba contend that it would do little to hasten the end ofthe Castro government.A   Many democrats, including Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin,Bargue that the United States should be expanding its dialogue and/links with Cuba, not restricting them further.>   "We cannot do much to push democracy and respect for human?rights if we will not even talk to the Cubans," said Feingold.="Indeed, I think we only hurt ourselves if we pretend that a=country, particularly if it is objectionable or threatening,>actually does not exist.  And that is what I am afraid is thedirection of this amendment."A   Senator Helms, along with Senate majority leader Bob Dole andAothers, argues that now is the time to intensify the pressure onBFidel Castro because he believes the Cuban government is close to
collapse.   ---------------   --------------->   SENATE REPUBLICANS DECLINE TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST HATFIELD   JIM MALONE
   SENATE:   Republicans in the U.S. Senate declined to take action=Wednesday against veteran Mark Hatfield for casting the lone6Republican vote last week against the balanced budgetBconstitutional amendment.  Majority Republicans are now trying to)pull together after a divisive few days.=   The fifty-four Senate Republicans did a lot of talking at<their private meeting but in the end took no action against=Senator Hatfield. Last week he cast the lone Republican vote@against the balanced budget amendment which went down to defeat?by a single vote, angering some younger Senate Republicans who?then wanted to punish Senator Hatfield by stripping him of his5chairmanship of the Senate appropriations committee.>   Among those pushing for disciplinary action was Republicanconnie Mack of Florida:@   "I think I made it pretty clear that my objective was to see4that Senator Hatfield step down as chairman (of the@appropriations committee). It ought to be equally clear at this(point that that is not going to occur."A   After the meeting, a clearly pleased Senator Hatfield said he=was grateful that his fellow Republicans made no formal move
against him:A   "I feel very happy that a vote of conscience did not cause meBto lose  my chairmanship or that would indicate that our party isA(becoming)  more narrow-based. I think it was a healthy meeting,BI think a lot of  people felt a necessity to get things off theirAchests, their feelings, and they exercised that very liberally.":   As for some of the younger Republicans who are growing=impatient with  the slow progress of the Senate on the House;Republican Contract with America, Senator Hatfield says he8understands, after all he was a young senator once too:@   "I think they (younger Republicans) see seniority as the old<bucks (veterans) or the old bulls trying to block action or@trying to keep things as they are, tradition and all of that. I)thought that when I came to the Senate.">   Senator Hatfield has been in the Senate since 1967 and has?broken with his party before, opposing both the war in Vietnam,and the use of military force against Iraq.?   Senate majority leader Bob Dole seemed relieved to have the@issue behind him and said Wednesday's Republican meeting helped@to clear the air following the bitterness of last week's narrow)defeat of the balanced budget amendment.=   "(We decided) that this would not be a meeting about mark=Hatfield. It  was a meeting about how we move the RepublicanBagenda and how we stick together and I thought it was a very good
meeting."A   Despite the lack of action against Senator Hatfield, younger,Amore aggressive Republicans in the Senate are vowing to keep the>pressure on Senator Dole to keep up with the fast pace set by:House Republicans as they pass elements of their electionContract with America.   ---------------   ----------------   NEW YORK GOVERNOR SIGNS DEATH PENALTY LAW   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORKB   New York became the 38th state in the United States since 1976Bto reinstitute the death penalty. The legislation was signed intoBlaw Tuesday by the state's governor after winning approval in thestate legislature.=   New York state governor George Pataki, using the pen of a@murdered New York City police officer, signed the death penaltyBbill into law. The capital punishment legislation was approved byANew York's state assembly early Tuesday after more than 11 hours>of heated debate. The bill had been vetoed 18 different timesBover 18 years by Democratic Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo.=   The death penalty issue helped lift Governor Pataki to an@upset victory over longtime Governor Mario Cuomo last November.?During the campaign, Mr. Pataki had promised to sign the death)penalty bill into law if he was elected.?   During the signing ceremony in the state capital of Albany,9Governor Pataki said the new law is for all New Yorkers:>   "The citizens of New York state have demanded justice. The=legislation I am signing today helps answer their legitimateAdemands. Our state traveled a long  road to arrive at this point:in history. For 18 years the legislature has overwhelming@supported capital punishment. For 18 years that public will was?thwarted by gubernatorial veto. That long road is now over andjustice will now be served."@   Under the new law, prosecutors could seek the death penalty,Bby lethal injection, for the murder of a police officer, contractBkillings, serial murders, and murders committed by torture. UnderAthe measure, pregnant women, the mentally incompetent, and those;who are mentally retarded could not be sentenced to death.?   The measure establishes an office of legal experts who willAoversee the selection of court-appointed defense lawyers for theBpoor. The law will also establish a fund to help pay for the huge?costs that are likely to be incurred by prosecutors because of,the complexity of capital punishment cases.A   Death penalty experts and legislative officials estimate thatB20 percent of New York state's 24-hundred murders each year would!be classified as capital crimes.A   The last execution in New York was in 1963. In 1972, the U.S.ASupreme Court ruled that capital punishment was unconstitutional9under old state laws.  New York is now the 38th state to<introduce the death penalty since 1976, when the high court+issued new guidelines allowing executions.?   However Arthur Eve, a New York state lawmaker from Buffalo,Bsays the death penalty measure will be strongly challenged in thestate's courts.A   Opponents of the death penalty law say their legal challenges@to the new law could delay restoration of capital punishment inNew York indefinitely.   ---------------   ---------------   THE SCHOOL LUNCH DEBATE   PETER H. KING   WASHINGTON?   A U.S. House of Representatives committee recently proposedBeliminating the current federal program that provides U.S. school<children with free or low-cost breakfasts and lunches.  TheBproposal, which would turn the program over to the states to run,7has led to a vigorous and, at times, rancorous debate.<   The national school meals program was established by the=Truman Administration in 1948. It was a response to shockingAevidence gathered during World War II that many of the young men>enlisting for military service were seriously undernourished.AToday, the school meals program provides nutritionally balanced,<low-cost or free meals to 25 million public school children<everyday, at an annual cost to taxpayers of about 6 billion	dollars.A   Now, as part of the Republican-led congressional drive to cut<federal spending and give more power to the states, a House@committee has adopted a proposal shifting control of the schoolBmeals and other food assistance and nutrition programs to each ofAthe fifty states, funding them with general, or block, grants offederal money.?   Not everyone thinks that is such a good idea. Ellen Haas, aAformer food policy activist who now runs federal food assistance?and nutrition programs as U.S. under secretary of agriculture,?says the school meals and other domestic feeding programs have@been an unqualified success, alleviating iron deficiencies, low<birth weights, infant mortality and other nutrition-related&health problems in the United States:8   "What we've really done is improved dramatically the<nutritional status of low-income Americans because of these?programs.  All of that will be jeopardized by this block grantproposal."@   Proponents of the block grant proposal agree that the schoolBmeals program has been successful, but they argue that turning it>over to the states and funding it through federal grants will2eliminate a costly layer of federal !bureaucracy.;   In Colorado, where more than 186 thousand public school@students now receive the federally subsidized meals, Republican?state treasurer bill Owens believes the states are in a betterBposition than the federal government to operate welfare programs:B   "The issue really is control, and who gets to control it.  One@side wants the Washington !bureaucrats to continue to write theAregulations to control these programs.  The other side, which is>the Republican side, wants to devolve these programs onto theBstate, where the state governors and the state legislatures [can]Awrite rules and regulations more appropriate for that particularstate."A   But according to White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, the9real issue is the welfare of America's children. He says<President Clinton strongly opposes the block grant proposalBbecause of its potentially adverse impact on the effectiveness ofAthe school meals program. And Mr. Panetta argues that Republican<lawmakers are overstepping the mandate they received in the>November elections that gave them majority power in Congress:>   "You know, there is some sense of decency that ought to beApart of the approach, whether it's Republicans or Democrats.  We>ought not to be stepping on children in order to move forward?with tax cuts to the wealthiest in this country. I don't think#people voted to have that happen."=   But Newt Gingrich, the Republican speaker of the House of@Representatives, says Mr. Panetta doesn't understand the issue:?   "It's not a question of whether or not you're pro-children.@It's a question of how do you get the money to help the child."?   But some state officials question whether the meals program<would fare better under their control. Dan McMillen directs?nutrition programs for the department of education in Colorado-and he disagrees with his state's treasurer.>   Mr. McMillen notes that under the current federal program,=there is no limit on spending. If the states were to run the.program, he warns, the funding could run out:?   "I'm worried the funding may end part-way through the year,>and not be adequate for the school districts to provide those+nutritious meals through the school year.">   But proponents of block grants insist that local and stateAofficials will not allow their school lunch programs to founder.BIf their grant money were to run out, they say, states would find0supplementary funds to keep the programs going.>   As Colorado state treasurer Bill Owens sees it, the peopleAresisting change to the school meals program are really fighting badly-needed government reform:A   "What I've noticed whenever you try to change government, you?always have the !bureaucracy and the people who don't want the=change to occur.  They start talking about massive cuts, and?layoffs, and 'starving children.' it isn't true in this case."?   That's something the U.S. Congress will have to decide. The@proposal to dismantle the federal school meals program and turn?it over to the states goes now for a vote in the full House of?Representatives and then in the U.S. Senate, where its fate isuncertain.   ---------------   ---------------?   ADMINISTRATION OPPOSES MORATORIUM ON ENDANGERED SPECIES LAW   JERRY STILKIND   WASHINGTONA   The Clinton administration said it opposes efforts by the newBRepublican-controlled Congress to place a six-month moratorium on?enforcement of the law that tries to prevent the extinction of/plant and animal species in the United States.A   Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt rejected the moratorium at a=Senate subcommittee hearing March 7, a day after he proposed>reforming the law, known as the Endangered Species Act, in anAeffort to take some of the steam out of the heated opposition tothe law in Congress.@   "This (the moratorium) is one of the more unusual ideas I've<seen," Babbitt told the wildlife subcommittee of the Senate?Environment Committee.  The effect of a moratorium would be tokill the law, he said.?   He acknowledged that the current law needed some reform andBurged Congress to work on changing it rather than first passing a!moratorium on enforcing the law.<   One of the principal aims of the 10-point reform programBBabbitt announced March 6 would be to exempt small landholders --<defined as owners of single homes and tracts of less than 2=hectares -- from some of the regulations that bar the use of:their land when it contains species whose preservation isthreatened.?   Congress, however, would have to pass legislation to exempt>them from regulations when a species is in imminent danger ofbecoming extinct.@   At present, an agency in Babbitt's department is consideringAwhether to add 188 plants and animals to the endangered list and>about another 150 to the threatened list.  The department can>halt private and public development of the habitat of species?declared to be in danger of becoming extinct and can take less=stringent measures to protect plants and animals found to bethreatened with extinction.@   Such measures have angered some landowners, timber companies>and local governments.  Republicans put radical reform of the=species act high on their list and have translated that into8action since taking control of Congress in the Novemberelections.@   The House has passed legislation for a moratorium that would:last through December 1996.  In addition, it has approvedAgenerous compensations for landowners who are adversely affectedby a listing of a species.B   But the Senate must approve before the legislation could go to@President Clinton for his consideration.  Sen. Dirk Kempthorne,Bchairman of the subcommittee, argued that the law had forced some?timber companies to reduce cuttings because of the presence of>endangered species and prevented small landholders from using@their land and, therefore, reduced the value of their holdings.;   He and other supporters of the moratorium in the Senate?modified their proposal to reduce the moratorium period to theAnext six months.  As they had hoped, they picked up support fromBmoderate, pro-environmental Republicans such as Sen. John Chafee,.chairman of the Senate Environment Committee.=   Chafee urged Babbitt to support the six-month moratorium,Aarguing that it would do less damage than the legislation passed;in the House. "Count your blessings," Chafee told Babbitt.?   Democrats on the subcommittee, however, indicated they were>not impressed by the new proposal with its shorter moratoriumBperiod. "Moratorium is a cover word for killing," Senator BarbaraBoxer charged.   ---------------   ----------------   CLINTON/CONGRESS: THEIR RHETORICAL BATTLE   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE<   Two months into 1995, and already it's clear:  President=Clinton and the Republican-controlled 104th Congress are  noBlonger under the illusion they can be bipartisan and are battling;over a wide variety of issues.  Although the president has:denounced what he believes is shrill, partisan Republican@rhetoric, he and his surrogates are not cowering.  In fact, the<Clinton strategy is to depict Republicans and their agenda,>called the "Contract for America," as extreme. The rhetoricalbattle is heating up.>   From the podium in the White House briefing room recently,>there has been an unmistakable drumbeat of criticism aimed at
Republicans.B   With a few exceptions, President Clinton has distanced himself?from the fray, appealing for calm with still many months to go@before the 1996 presidential campaign season begins in earnest.@   But that does not mean he is allowing Republicans to control<the tone of political debate on the many issues that divideDemocrats and Republicans.A   And there are many.  There is abortion, now framed around theAcontroversial Clinton surgeon general nomination of Doctor HenryBFoster.  There is disagreement over whether to approve a balancedAbudget amendment to the constitution and over how welfare reform@should be crafted.  What about funding for federal school lunch?programs or medical programs for military veterans?  There areAdeep divisions on these issues.  And more broadly, the two sides9are at odds over the U.S. role in a post-cold war world.=   On many of these issues, the administration is describingRepublicans as "extreme."@   For now, the man chosen to be the Democratic Party's loudest?advocate is the man who stands behind the White House briefing?room podium on a daily basis, President Clinton's often-quotedspokesman, Mike McCurry.@   "There have been instances where some very extreme points of9view have either prevailed,' says McCurry, "or have beenAreflected in the sentiments by those who are shaping legislation@within this Congress, and I think that is a source of very realconcern to this president."A   The former State Department spokesman is just getting used to=his new job, but already he is being criticized in some newsAaccounts as too partisan.  Critics says Mr. McCurry is using the@presidential forum more for political purposes, to re-elect the2president, than to clearly enunciate U.S. policy.+   He does not apologize for his advocacy:B   "Democrats and this president are going to be passionate about?defending those programs that help Americans most in need when>they are under assault by those in this Republican Congress."@   And what's more, he predicts, Republican efforts to cut backAon the role of government, to cut federal spending and give more:power to state and local governments, all embodied in theA"Contract for America", will be rejected by the American public:?   "Our prediction is that at the end of 100 days of the 104th9Congress that the consensus that develops on the role of>government and what the American people would like to see its@government properly do will look a lot more like Bill Clinton's9new covenant than Newt Gingrich's Contract for America.":   The president's answer to the Republican "Contract for9America," his "new covenant" with Americans, calls for a<partnership between government and Americans to address thenation's problems.A   So Democrats, with Clinton spokesman McCurry in the lead, areBhoping to keep the president engaged in the rhetorical battle for@the hearts and minds of voters, while at the same time, leaving;him free to lead the executive branch, and insulating from+criticism he is partisan not presidential.   ---------------   ---------------'   CLINTON SEEKS SUPPORT FROM VETERANS   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE>   President Clinton is taking new steps to find out why U.S.>veterans of the Gulf War are experiencing unexplained medicalBproblems.  And, in a Washington speech to the Veterans of Foreign>Wars, one of the nation's largest veteran's organizations, he:denounced Republican cuts in health services for military
veterans.9   President Clinton, who did not serve in the military,<continues to make the case that while he does not share the(military experience, he appreciates it.?   In a speech to the influential veterans group, he announcedBthe creation of a presidential advisory committee, to be composedAof veterans and medical and scientific experts, which will study=government action so far on the so-called Gulf War syndrome.>Four years after the U.S. led international contingent forced@Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, up to 45- thousand veterans still0suffer from a variety of unexplained illnesses.@   The president said his administration has done a lot so far,but will do more:>   "Just as we relied on these men and women to fight for ourAcountry, they must now be able to rely on us to try to determine@what happened  to them in the gulf, and to help restore them to/full health.  We will leave no stone unturned">   The president also denounced Congressional Republicans for@making cuts in health services for veterans, and vowed to do dowhat he can to reverse them:=   "I believe these cuts are unwise and unnecessary.    They@would harm  the veterans who need their nation's help the most.,And I pledge to you today that I will fight0   He was referring to cuts made last week by aARepublican-controlled committee in the House of Representatives.=Those proposed cuts, if approved by the full Congress, would/eliminate funding for veterans health clinics.@   The president also used his speech, received courteously, to>once again respond to international concern and some domestic@pressure to spend more time facing growing problems at home and#less intervening in world affairs:A   "Now we can not intervene everywhere, we can't be involved in>solving  all these problems, we shouldn't be.  But we must beAable to protect  our own vital interests, and we must be able toAwork with other countries through multinational organizations to=keep the world  moving in the right direction.  It is not an?automatic, it is not given, that 20, 30 and 50 years from now,@we'll have more democracy, more prosperity, more peace and lessAdanger.  It is not an accident. We have to keep working for it."7   The president began making this strong case against?isolationism during his state visit to Canada late last month,=and he followed it up with high-profile Washington speeches.   ---------------   --------------->   DOLE, GINGRICH OUTLINE VIEWS ON U.S. INTERESTS, LEADERSHIP   WASHINGTON@   Two of the Congress's most influential Republicans -- Senate?Majority Leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- in9foreign policy speeches March 1 disputed the notion that*Republicans in Congress are isolationist.A   In separate speeches at a conference on "Defining An American=Role in an Uncertain World," both Dole and Gingrich said the*United States must remain a world leader.@   The conference was sponsored by the Richard Nixon Center for@Peace and Freedom  and the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace:Foundation in Yorba Linda, California.  President Clinton-addressed the same meeting later in the day.A   "We are the world's only superpower," Dole said. He presentedBa foreign policy agenda dealing with five "global realities" that<he said affect fundamental U.S. interests: the supremacy ofAcapitalism, the need to protect energy sources, the need to halt?nuclear proliferation and defend against ballistic attack, the<danger of ethnic wars and a "new realism" in relations withRussia.@   Dole, who represents Kansas in the Senate and is expected toAseek the Republican Presidential nomination in 1996, accused the;administration of having a "Russia first" attitude, and he:questioned what he called the administration's "misguided.devotion" to Russian President Boris Yeltsin.A   Gingrich said there is no alternative to U.S. leadership.  "I@don't believe anybody else is going to replace us," the Georgia?Republican said.  "And I believe the alternative is a dark andbloody planet...."B   In answer to questions following his speech, Gingrich recalledBthat he led the fight for Republican votes for the North American>Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and7Trade and said, "I'm always curious when there is some?presumption we (the Republicans) are in any way isolationist."2   It is not a question of being "isolationist or?internationalist," he said. "It's a question of how can you beAintelligently committed to a single globe on which all of us are4going to live with 24-hour instantaneous, real-time=communications, a totally woven-together world market, and a@technological revolution which both beckons us with opportunityand threatens us with terror."1   Following are excerpts from the two speeches:   DOLE EXCERPTS   ==============   There are far too many gains to consolidate, far too many>uncertainties in the world to say that a final peace has been=won.  For example, there is a resurgent Russia asserting itsAposition around the globe.  China has international ambitions of@its own.  It is in the midst of a leadership transition.  There<are international tariffs often state supported.  There areglobal crime syndicates.=   There are extremist movements based on religion or ethnicorigin.@   While none of these compare to the challenge we had with the@Soviet Union, the Soviet empire, each of these can pose threats@to important American interests.  And it seems to me that these>multi-faceted threats should be viewed in the context of five:clear global realities which affect America's fundamentalAinterests.  And I think only by recognizing these realities, and<dealing with them with the same commitment which led to the@defeat of Soviet Communism, will America truly be able to claim	victory.@   Reality number one.  The first new reality is that the world8is plunging headlong into what David Hale of the Kemper8organization of Chicago has termed "a new golden age of
capitalism."@   And that change has been dramatic, and it hasn't taken long.BThere are now more than 30 stock markets in the developing world,<and capitalization of the four-year-old Shanghai Securities"Exchange has reached $30 billion.A   The bottom line is that everyone wants to trade, and everyoneAwants to create and use capital on a worldwide basis.  And whileAthis new golden age of capitalism offers a great opportunity forAAmerica, we must remember that many of the countries so eager toAenjoy the benefits of membership in the world trading system mayBnot fully understand or accept the rules and discipline that goes=with it.  A trade war was averted with China in the last few?days.  But other threats to U.S. commercial interests will sur<ely arise in the coming months and years, and our continued*vigilance in leadership will be required.>   Reality number two.  The second inescapable reality of theApost- 20th-century world is that the security of the world's oil>and gas supplies will remain a vital national interest to the.United States and of other industrial powers.>   The Persian Gulf, the heartland of world energy for half a@century, is still a region of many uncertainties.  Saudi ArabiaBhas been weakened financially.  Iran and Iraq continue to exhibitBgreat hostility to the West, and pose threats to their neighbors.>And the boundaries of the oil and gas heartland are now being@redrawn to the north, to include the great hydrocarbon deposits*in the Caucasus, Siberia, and Kazakhstan.:   In this "new energy order," many of the most important@geopolitical decisions, one on which a nation's sovereignty can?depend, will deal with the location and routes for oil and gas>pipelines.  In response, our strategy, our diplomacy, and our-forward military presence, need readjusting.;   Reality number three.  The third inevitable reality forAAmerica and for the world is the fact that while the Berlin WallAmay have crumbled, weapons of mass destruction have not.  Listen=to just a partial roll call of the countries and groups that@already possess nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.  NorthKorea, Iraq, Iran, Libya.A   Have any of these nations earned our trust?  And, given their>past behavior, is there any surprise that there are startling;signs that a worldwide black market in nuclear weapons has	emerged?A   All this is taking place as talks to review the global treatyBlimiting the spread of nuclear weapons will soon begin.  And evenBif the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is extended indefinitely,?we must avoid falling into a false sense of security.  We mustprepare now for the future.>   Iraq, Iran, and North Korea all illustrate the failures ofBtraditional non-proliferation efforts which depend largely on thecooperation of other states.A   Only after Desert Storm did the West learn just how far IraqiBnuclear ambitions had progressed.  And instead of announcing that<the United States will veto any efforts to ease or end U.N.=sanctions on Iraq, the administration dispatches an envoy to<plead with the Europeans for cooperation.  Where would such)timidity have gotten us in the Cold War?<   Iran also appears poised for a great leap forward in its@nuclear program, thanks to a cash hungry Russia, doing for Iran:what the Clinton administration has done for North Korea.A   And make no mistake about it, the Agreed Framework with North?Korea has little prospect of successfully addressing the North<Korean threat.  And apparently has already been violated byPyongyang.=   American leadership in addressing these non-proliferation?challenges is essential if additional states are not to chooseAthe nuclear option. It's worth asking what would we have done or9not done if Iraq had one or two nuclear weapons in 1990?>Preventive military action as a non-proliferation policy tool?cannot be ruled out -- like it or not, it cannot be ruled out.?   There are defensive options, however, that could provide to9the United States and our allies with protection against?accidental and limited ballistic missile strikes.  Pursuing an?effective ballistic missile defense capability should be a top>priority for U.S. defense policy now, and for the foreseeablefuture.>   Reality number four.  The fourth new global reality is the<increase in violence due to extremist, religious and ethnic@movements in many parts of the globe.  Some of these movements,Alike the tribal warfare in Rwanda, or conflicts in Burma or West9Africa, have little direct impact on American interests.?However, some of the instability and turmoil due to ethnic andBreligious violence is important for American interests, and could&lead to disintegration of key states.=   Serbian genocidal aggression in the Balkans, for example,:threatens to spill over to Macedonia, Albania and beyond.>American and European inaction in the face of that aggression@cannot help but embolden other radical "ethno-nationalists," by0giving them a green light for ethnic cleansing.:   The Indian rebellion in Mexico, coupled with financial>uncertainty, has resulted in genuine security concerns on our@southern border -- and make no mistake that illegal immigrationis a security threat.<   A key NATO ally in Turkey faces Islamic extremism, and a=separatist ethnic movement.  Violent Islamic fundamentalistsAthreaten the government in Algeria, and have launched an assault>on Egypt.  How long would the Camp David treaty be honored if%fundamentalists took power in Egypt??   Islamic terrorist seek to destroy the peace process between>Israel and the PLO, and may be having some success.  And with6support from Iran and others, Islamic terrorists also<demonstrated at the World Trade Center that even we are notimmune from attack.;   And ethnic turmoil in the former Soviet Union cannot be?ignored, as warfare has occurred in five former republics, andBthe Chechens may be just one of many ethnic groups willing to use@violence to alter boundaries that were originally set by JosephStalin.@   And, finally, the fifth reality.  We must face the fact that@geopolitical rivalry with Russia did not end with the demise ofSoviet Communism.=   On his last trip abroad, President Nixon spoke before the5Russian state Duma,  and he foreshadowed a change in>Russian-American relations, saying, and I quote, "Russia is a<great power, and Russia as a great power must chart its ownBcourse in foreign policy.  When we have differences we should not>assume they will be overcome by a good personal relationship,*even at the highest level," end of quote.@   And, as we have seen time and time again, the foreign policy@course that Russia is charting is one that often is in conflict&with American interests. For example:@   Russia stepped in the middle of the North Korea agreement byAoffering to provide nuclear reactors, which would have the clear*effect of killing the U.S.-brokered deal.@   Russia continues to threatened prospective NATO members over>an alliance expansion, thereby confirming the need to enlargeNATO sooner rather than later.=   In December 1994, Russia vetoed a sanctions resolution onBSerbia in the U.N. Security Council -- its first substantive veto*since the height of the Cold War in 1985.B   Russia persists in supplying weapons and nuclear technology tothe rogue regime in Iran.=   Russia continues to maintain an intelligence facility and7support personnel in Cuba, thereby prolonging Castro'soppression.B   Russian pressure, subversion and intimidation of the sovereign>states in the "Near Abroad" follows an historical pattern set/long before the Bolsheviks took power in 1917.<   As Dr. Kissinger said last month before the Senate ArmedAServices Committee, and I quote, "What we dealt with in the ColdAWar was both Communism and imperialism.  And while Communism was=defeated, the trend toward imperialism still exists," end ofquote.B   Let me be clear in saying that no one has been more supportive@of President Yeltsin, I think, than I am, as far as Congress is@concerned. I remember in 1991, I went to Andrews Air Force BaseBto meet President Yeltsin virtually alone since the United StatesAState Department believed Gorbachev was the "only game in town."A   But just as it was wrong to place too much focus on Gorbachev?in 1991, it is wrong in 1995 to ignore the fact that President6Yeltsin has made serious errors, and has moved toward:authoritarian rule, and has lost the political support of&virtually all reform-minded Russians.A   And it seems to me that -- again, I am not here to take issue6with the administration, but I don't agree with their;Russia-first policy, which has turned into a Yeltsin-firstBpolicy, which has resulted in a loss of tremendous opportunity to9state American concerns forcefully before thousands wereslaughtered in Chechnya.A   A "new realism" about Russia and its prospects for the futureAdoes not mean that we are going to return to the Cold War of the?past.  It does mean developing a more honest relationship, one>that does not paper over important policy differences with anappeal to personal ties.>   New realism means emphasizing the significance of Russia's91996 elections, and the pivotal importance of a peaceful democratic transition of power.>   And new realism means that developments like arms sales to9Iran, violence in Chechnya, and U.N. vetoes on behalf of>aggressors should not be excused, ignored, or minimized.  Our>differences with Russia should be identified, laid out on the>table. They should be negotiated when possible, and condemned=when necessary. Such an approach would ultimately serve both@Russian and American people better than defending, denying, and!rationalizing Russia's misdeeds.   END DOLE EXCERPTS   =================   =================   GINGRICH EXCERPTS;   One, the United States must lead.  Period.  I mean, the?objective lesson of the last five years is simple.  There's no?replacement.  It's not a question of, well, we'll back out andBsomebody else will emerge.  If we don't lead the planet, there isAno leader on the planet.  We are in the classic sense a hegemon.AWe're the only military power that matters -- if we decide to beBdecisive.  Now, that doesn't mean we can bully everybody.  I said=lead.  I didn't say dictate.  I didn't say dominate.  I said<lead. That means we have an active duty to routinely be theleader.7   Second, that means here at home we have three major:responsibilities: to be economically capable of being the>dominant economy in the world economy -- that is, the highestAvalue-added producer producing the highest-quality jobs with thehighest standard of living.>   Third, we have to be very tough-minded in being militarily@strong enough to defeat any plausible combination of opponents.>And we have to be blunt about it, that we are prepared -- theABritish had a rule that they were prepared to dominate the North@Sea against any two navies.  Our position has to be simple.  WeAintend to dominate air, space and sea against anybody and have a@mobilizable ground force capable of winning within a reasonable=length of time.  Period.  And we have the Roman rule that weBdon't come unless we're really pushed, and if we're really pushedBwe're unstoppable.  And there are profound historic reasons why a?hegemon goes overtime to never lose but is very careful not to
pick fights.@   In that framework, I think we want leadership within a team,=and the team has a very simple framework.  It's committed toBfreedom and opportunity for all humans.  It takes our DeclarationBof Independence seriously, believes all humans are endowed by our?creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life,@liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  And I think we'll find a5surprisingly broad coalition within that leadership.@   And I'm not here to argue about Poland in NATO, Russia in orAout of NATO.  I'm here to say that we ought to say to everybody,@"If you're prepared to meet a serious test of being in favor of?freedom and you're willing to seriously work with us to expand?freedom for the human race, then we want you to be part of our=time and now we're going to negotiate out the details of therelationship."@   That means a second model in addition to vision, strategies,Aprojects and tactics.  We try to teach a model of listen, learn,>help and lead. As  Eisenhower taught over and over, leading a@coalition involves listening to your allies more than lecturingBthem, it means learning from your allies more than teaching them.?And if you listen to them and learn from them, you can usually>help them.  And after you've done those three, they're prettyAwilling for you to lead.  But it takes inexhaustible patience to l ead this kind of a coalition.B   And I think it leads us to two kinds of commitments:  patient,Afirm commitments to large, positive growth-oriented projects.  I@met with (German) Chancellor Kohl a couple of weeks ago, and heBmade the comment that he's concerned that we may ultimately drift?apart.  And my answer was:  We will drift apart unless we haveAprojects large enough to hold us together.  We were faced with aBcompetitor for dominating the planet, the Soviet empire.  WesternBEurope was faced with being overrun.  Surviving that seemed a bigAenough project to keep us hanging together.  So, for 45 years we7said, "Why don't we stay on the same side?  Here's thealternative."9   That's gone.  We're not going to stay together out ofnostalgia.A   I mean, anybody who thinks that doing the 60th anniversary ofANormandy or the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall is going to,<in any significant way, hold us together misunderstands the=nature of humans, which is to be drawn into the future or toBcollapse into passions out of the past, which is what happened inthe former Yugoslavia.B   And my suggestion in part is that we want to start looking now8at a free trade zone that includes the U.S. and Europe,;negotiated in a very tough-minded way.  We want to look atBprojects in space and under the seas and in science.  But we wantAto do things that are large enough that they knit us together in=ways that are practical, where on a daily basis thousands ofBEuropeans and thousands of Americans wake up and go, "Oh, this is)really exciting being on the same team."B   Because, if we're not actively on the same team in a practical=way, we will inevitably, in the long run, not be on the sameteam.B   And that doesn't mean we don't want the same relationship with<Japan or the same relationship with other countries, and itAcertainly does not mean we don't want the same relationship with>Latin America, which is a natural part of the team we need to=build.  We also want on a much narrower and carefully chosen?basis very patient, firm commitment to solving tough, specific
problems.A   There are a handful of things around the planet that we can'tBget away from.  One of them is going to be frankly the pain levelAin Africa, which with AIDS and with social disorganization is, I?think, going to be horrendous by early in the next century and@which the entire human race is going to have some obligation toBhelp think through and help deal with it.... You're going to have?a catastrophe of enormous proportions, and we as a people, theAhuman race, should be actively engaged in thinking this throug h:much more aggressively than we are and with a much better.instrument than the current U.N. bureaucracy.A   All of which leads me to make the point that we need to buildBnew systems.  And the way I would describe this, if I can go backAto vision, you say to yourself the generation of the wise men -->who after all often made their share of mistakes, too -- it'sAeasier to be wise afterwards if you're on the winning team.  Andthis is not to denigrate them.?   But you go back to the period and you say, "All right, they<had to invent NATO, they had to invent the CIA, they had to?invent the Strategic Air Command, they had to invent the wholeBconcept of the Marshall Plan."  All right, if that was true, thenBwhat are our inventions?  Over the next four or five years, as we<grow into a mature acceptance of our obligation to lead the>planet, what are the systems and institutions that have to bethere?B   Now, we may find we can transform some.  Maybe NATO grows intoBone of these inventions.  But it is far smarter intellectually to?start with the needed system and then look around for what youAcan adapt than it is to start with the current system and try to=figure out how you can gradually jury-rig them.  And we needAserious thought about how do we lead the planet and what systems>does that require and how do they operate, and then see which'ones we can grow from the current one.?   Let me say one last thing about this.  The core of AmericanAsuccess is in a remarkably romantic way to combine idealism with?a very tough- minded pragmatism, and it's not either/or.  It's(not real politik or Wilsonian idealism.>   And so what I'm suggesting to you here is that it's a very?hard thing to do, but it's what adulthood's about:  to be both?idealistic and romantic and very tough-minded and pragmatic atAonce.  And unless we're prepared to say bluntly and without muchAdebate we will lead the human race, I don't believe anybody elseAis going to replace us.  And I believe the alternative is a dark>and bloody planet, and I believe in our absence you end up in@Bosnia and Rwanda and Chechnya and they are the harbingers of a=much worse 21st century than anything we've seen in the half century of American leadership.   =====================   END GINGRICH EXCERPTS   ---------------   ---------------   U.N. WEEK-IN-REVIEW   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONS@   The United Nations Security Council gives Angola notice thatAit might cancel a new peacekeeping mission;  U.N. diplomats call@for strengthening the judicial systems in Rwanda and Burundi to?help those nations keep a lid on ethnic tensions;  the U.N. isAconsidering changes in its mission in Croatia to avoid expulsion<from the country this year; and, the United States and Iraq=square off as pressure builds for the easing of sanctions on	Baghdad.A   The United Nations moved cautiously last month to establish a9new, larger force for Angola to monitor the latest peace?agreement.  It now appears the Security Council may cancel the?operation unless the warring parties demobilize faster and laydown their arms.?   A fragile ceasefire is reported holding, despite continuing;military activity in rebel-controlled areas.  The securityBcouncil expressed concern over rising tensions.  It warned Angola9that the deployment of some seven-thousand peacekeepers,=scheduled to begin May ninth, will not take place unless the1peace process is back on track later this month.A   It also called on the leader of the UNITA rebels and Angola's?president to  hold face-to-face talks without delay to confirmtheir commitment to peace.?   A 17-year war resumed in Angola after UNITA was defeated inAU.N.-monitored elections in September, 1992.  The parties signeda new peace treaty last year.?   After the bitter defeat of the U.N. mission in Somalia, the>Security Council is not eager to start new commitments unlessBwarring factions show enough good will to warrant the investment.   ===============>   Following a recent visit to Burundi,  the Security Council@called on all political parties to support their government and<work together to prevent an eruption of ethnic unrest.  The=country has a new prime minister, whose appointment narrowlyaverted a major crisis.>   The council also urged the international community to helpBBurundi strengthen its judicial system.  It said impunity, or the9failure to prosecute crimes, is a major security threat.;   Burundi has the same ethnic mix as Rwanda, with a Tutsi<minority and Hutu majority.  Tensions have not led, as once7feared, to the type of genocidal slaughter that RwandaBexperienced last year.  But council diplomats believe the country)is vulnerable and needs to be monitored.@   Meanwhile, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Jose6Ayala Lasso, has asked for help  in building judicial?institutions in Rwanda.  He issued an urgent appeal for funds,>saying the Rwandan people need an impartial justice system to2support their efforts at national reconciliation.=   Donor countries have pledged assistance.  But the RwandanBgovernment has complained that the money is coming in too slowly.   ==============>   U.N. officials have hinted that a compromise may be in the:making in Croatia that would allow the U.N. to maintain a;presence there. The Croatian government, locked in a tense@stand-off with rebel Serbs, has ordered  U.N. troops out of the;country after their mandate expires March 31st.  Croatia'sApresident says the troops are hindering a government takeover of'territory seized by the Serbs in 1991.A   U.N. officials say diplomats in the region are talking over aAdeal that could involve a reduction in the U.N. force, currentlyB12-thousand strong, a different name and possibly a re-deployment@to border areas that the Croatian government considers crucial.   ==============B   the diplomatic atmosphere is heating up between Washington and@Baghdad, as the Security Council prepares for another series of@critical reviews of  sanctions on Iraq.  American diplomats are@carrying intelligence photos into the council chamber trying to>demonstrate that Iraq's actions are not as good as its words.=   The American Ambassador accused Iraq of failing to return@military equipment it stole from Kuwait.  Other photographs are?said to show that Iraq is busily re-building its potential for@chemical weapons that it would be able to acquire within a year;or two if international surveillance should suddenly stop.>   Iraq's deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz met throughout theAweek with individual members of the Security Council.  He denied<the U.S. allegations and tried to win support for a gradual=easing of the sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in21990.  Nothing is expected to change immediately.   ---------------   ---------------5   IMF AND RUSSIA REACH AGREEMENT ON LOAN CONDITIONS   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE;   Russia and the International Monetary Fund have reached?agreement on a six-point-four billion dollar loan program. The>deal is significant not only because it is the biggest sum ofAmoney yet provided to support Russia's market-based reforms, but=because of the strict conditions the IMF has attached to theloan.<   This is the big loan that the Russians and IMF have been9negotiating for more than a year but could somehow never>conclude.  IMF managing director Michel Camdessus, making hisAthird trip to Moscow in 13 months, initialled the agreement with$Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.A   Believing the stakes in Russia to be enormous, Mr. Camdessus,:a former governor of the Bank of France, has taken a keen>interest in the Russian transformation.  On each visit he has=sought to gauge the determination of Russian policymakers toBpursue and strengthen the reforms, which were launched with greatBfanfare three years ago.  The results thus far are mixed at best.?   This is not the first time Russia has won financial support;from the IMF, a financial agency with more than 175 member,nations.  Russia joined only in June, 1992.?   Russia has drawn on IMF resources three times.  There was a;one-point-one billion dollar loan in 1992, a one-point-six@billion dollar loan in 1993, and a one-point-six billion dollar?loan in 1994.  But until now Russia had never been granted theBbig IMF stand-by loan of the type recently approved for Mexico. ABstand-by loan carries tough conditions and they appear to be even#tighter in this credit for Russia.;   The problem in Russia is inflation.  Jeffrey Sachs, theAHarvard professor who advised the Russians until last year, says>the Russian economy is still not stable.  During the past twoByears, prices typically rise by at least seven percent per month.:Often prices have risen by as much as 20 percent monthly,<perilously close to the 50 percent monthly rises defined as<hyper-inflation.  The ruble's exchange rate has declined as?inflation increased.  A ruble, once worth more than one dollar0today, trades at over 45-hundred to the dollar.:   Under the stand-by agreement, Russia commits itself to@bringing inflation down to low monthly single digits by the endAof the year.  Only then will the IMF consider the  release of an?additional six billion dollar loan to stabilize the ruble.  To@assure that monetary policy remains tight, the IMF will releaseBthe stand-by credit at monthly or bi-monthly intervals instead of=on the customary quarterly basis.  The IMF agrees with primeBminister Chernomyrdin's statement last week that 1995 is the yearBthat the Russian inflation must finally be brought under control.B   The IMF stand-by loan must be approved by the Washington-basedAagency's executive board, probably next month.  Once the deal isBdone, the IMF endorsement will open the way to expanded bilateral@assistance and a rescheduling of Russia's large debt to western
governments.   ---------------   ---------------4   MORE REPORTS OF CHECHNYA HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOWB   As Russia's war in Chechnya grinds on, reports of human rightsBviolations continue to surface. The local director of an AmericanAhuman rights group says the bulk of the abuse has been committed<by Russian forces, but both sides are guilty of violations.@   The human rights investigator says Chechen violations appear@to have come about recently, during the rebels retreat from thecapital Grozny.B   Jonas Bernstein, the Moscow director of the U.S. based Freedom;House, just returned from a week-long mission with several;Russian human rights observers to Chechnya and neighboringIngushetia.=   He says Russian prisoners of war were apparently severely.beaten as they were moved out of the capital:B   "My Russian colleagues told me that they began seeing evidenceAof the beating of Russian POWs in mid-February, when the Chechen@forces, along with their prisoners, fled the capital southward.BRussian POW mothers who were able to see their sons in towns like Shali reported signs of abuse."A   Mr. Bernstein met with a group of Russian prisoners of war inBshali, who appeared healthy and unharmed.  But he says he was not(given access to all the men held there.@   Mr. Bernstein says the abuse of Chechen prisoners by Russian8forces has been much more systematic, but appears to belessening:B   "In Ingushetia, I spoke with several men who had been detained=in Chechnya by Russian forces and transported to a so-called>filtration center at Mozdok, North Ossetia, Russia's military=headquarters for the Chechen campaign.  Each spoke of severeAbeatings by interior ministry soldiers in this detention center.?The worst of these incidents appear to have taken place during=the first half of January, which would suggest an element ofBrevenge for the Russian military's disastrous foray into Grozny."A   Mr. Bernstein says in addition to the beatings, the choice of=men Russian soldiers have detained appears highly arbitrary.;Few, if any of the fighters on the Chechen side are ethnic>Russians, but the mission reports one third of the 350 people)detained in Mozdok were ethnic Russians:A   "For example, two men from southern Russia who went to Grozny>to find their sister were detained and transported to Mozdok.?There were no charges leveled, no investigation, no attempt to@establish their identity or contact their relatives.  They wereBthen shifted to jails in southern Russia and held for longer then430 days, in violation of the Russian constitution."B   But according to Mr. Bernstein, the worst aspect of the war is?what he calls the blatant disregard by Moscow for the lives ofcivilians:B   "In Shali, it was clear to me that the town had been subjected7to indiscriminate bombardment.  There had been a heavyAmissile/artillery attack the day before we arrived.  A doctor at<the central hospital told they admitted 20 severely woundedBcivilians during one half hour.  Five died on the spot, including?two children and one woman.  He said that the wounds were from"fragmentation and cluster bombs."@   Mr. Bernstein notes Chechen fighters, or potential fighters,?are in villages and towns across southern and western Chechnya@and Russian forces appear determined to bomb and shell them out?of their positions.  This means, the human rights investigatorBsays, innocent men, women and children will continue to be killed1in staggering disproportion to Chechen fighters.   ---------------   ---------------F   ZHIRINOVSKY SAYS BANGLADESH & PAKISTAN SHOULD BE RETURNED TO INDIA,                                   PAGE# 41   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIA   The Russian ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has?stirred up a firestorm of controversy by suggesting BangladeshBand Pakistan should be reunited with India.  Mr. Zhirinovsky held>a news conference at the end of his three-day visit to India.?   Mr. Zhirinovsky has lashed out at the Russian Ambassador in?Bangladesh for having apologized for Mr. Zhirinovsky's remarks4about rejoining Bangladesh and Pakistan with India.<   The Russian Ambassador, Eduard Shevchenko, had expressed>Moscow's regrets when he was called to the Bangladesh foreign"office to receive a protest note.@   But Mr. Zhirinovsky scolded the Ambassador, saying he had no8business to apologize and should be recalled to Moscow.@   Mr. Zhirinovsky says the Ambassador should have defended the7views of an opposition leader who could come to power.?   Mr. Zhirinovsky also says he cannot understand Bangladesh's@reaction because, according to the ultra-nationalist, divisions-of countries lead to conflict and bloodshed.?   India was divided into two states, India and Pakistan, when?the British colonizers left in 1947.  In 1971, the former east5Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh.=   Mr. Zhirinovsky told reporters in New Delhi, earlier this?week, that, when he was born in 1946, there was only one India4and he would like to see that again before he dies.B   In other controversial remarks, Mr. Zhirinovsky said India and?Russia should have a common border.  They are now separated byfive countries.   ---------------   ---------------=   KENYA UPSET OVER UGANDAN HANDLING OF ACCUSED COUP PLOTTER   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBIB   Kenyan authorities are disappointed about Uganda's decision to@expel an alleged Kenyan guerrilla leader accused of plotting to%overthrow President Daniel Arap Moi.@   Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka says he is surprised9and deeply disappointed by Uganda's expulsion of alleged>guerrilla leader John Odongo.  Mr. Musyoka says the action is=against the spirit of East African cooperation.  But he says@Kenya will continue to pursue all diplomatic channels to ensureAthat Mr. Odongo is handed over to Kenyan authorities and broughtto justice.;   Uganda announced its decision to deport Mr. Odongo late<Tuesday. The government said he was sent to a third country?outside East Africa.  Ugandan officials and U.N. sources later!identified the country as Ghana.:   A statement by the foreign affairs ministry in Kampala@repeated Uganda's position that the Kenyan man was a legitimateArefugee. But the statement said when it became apparent that Mr.9Odongo's presence was causing a strain in Ugandan-Kenyan:relations, it was decided he should be relocated with the8cooperation of the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.<   The statement went on to say that the Kampala governmentBremains committed to a policy of good neighborliness and mutuallyBbeneficial ties with Kenya.  It said authorities would  not allow6Ugandan territory to be used for any actions aimed atdestabilizing Kenya.?   Kenyan officials earlier this year identified Mr. Odongo asBthe leader of a previously-unknown group called the February 18th?movement.  They claimed the group was out to destabilize Kenya;and overthrow the government of President Daniel Arap Moi.?Alleged members of the guerrilla movement have been accused of<carrying out a series of crimes in Kenya.  Several Kenyans,@including a 69-year-old man, have reportedly confessed to being+members of the group and have been jailed.A   Ugandan officials have said there is  no  evidence to suggestBthat Mr. Odongo is a guerrilla leader and have questioned Kenya's:claims about the existence of the February 18th movement.   ---------------   ---------------8   AMNESTY CALLS ON THE MALDIVES TO RELEASE JOURNALISTS   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIB   The human rights group Amnesty International has called on the@government of the Maldives to release journalists and political9activists who were jailed in connection with last year'sparliamentary elections.>   The Amnesty International report says the arrests may have?been political motivated in an attempt to silence criticism of>president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the long-serving ruler of theindian ocean archipelago.@   The six-page report says several candidates, dozens of theirBsupporters and two journalists were detained in the weeks leading4up to parliamentary elections last December second.A   Amnesty International says it believes many of those arrestedAare still detained and may be prisoners of conscience.  It calls>on the maldives government to release those still detained or3else formally charge them and bring them to trial.?   It also calls on the government to guarantee citizens theirArights of freedom of expression and peaceful political assembly.:   President Gayoom has been in power since 1978.  He wasBre-elected in 1993 and got almost 93 percent of the votes cast ina referendum.@   Amnesty International says at least 22 possible prisoners of/conscience were arrested before the 1993 vote.   ---------------   ---------------E   RIFT BETWEEN YELTSIN AND MOSCOW MAYOR OVER FIRING OF POLICE CHIEF   PETER COLLINS
   MOSCOW>   The firing of Moscow's police chief and top prosecutor has>sparked a rift between two former allies, the city's powerful@mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Their;conflict is over how to fight organized crime in the city.?   Mayor Luzhkov says he will quit unless Mr. Yeltsin reverses+the removal of Moscow's top law enforcers.;   Moscow's prosecutor Gennady Ponomaryov and police chiefAVladimir Pankratov were dismissed on the insistence of President7Yeltsin. The president demanded their firing after theAgangland-style killing last week of Vladislav Listyev, a popularTV personality.B   In an emotional speech the day after the murder, the presidentBsingled out Moscow as Russia's most crime-ridden city, and blamed@local officials for letting organized crime get out of control.A   Mr. Luzhkov soon fired back, saying the president had reacted@emotionally, and that his portrayal of Moscow was unethical and@immoral.  He said only criminals would approve of the firing of!the prosecutor and police chief.B   The mayor and the president are former political allies.  Now,:however, they are seen as potential rivals in next year'spresidential election.?   All this would seem to be a merely petty political dispute.@Underlying it, however, is a deep fear of brazen criminal gangsBand that they have grabbed control not only of typical crime, but?also of most businesses, the police and court systems, and thegovernment itself.@   Russia's national Security Council met Monday to discuss law?and order.  No immediate steps were announced, but a spokesmanAsaid President Yeltsin would soon sign an anti-crime decree.  It?apparently will re-equip law enforcement groups and strengthenAthe domestic role of the federal counter intelligence service, a!successor to the Soviet-era KGB.   ---------------   ---------------    SEX DISCRIMINATION IN RUSSIA   MIKE CREADON   NEW YORK>   A new study by an American human rights group charges thatBRussian women are discriminated against both in the workplace andin their homes.A   Human Rights Watch, a New York-based organization, criticizes?the Russian government's treatment of women.  The organization?charges that Russian government employers discriminate against@women workers by firing them in disproportionate numbers and by/refusing to employ women because of their sex.A   Human rights watch also finds that the Russian government has=failed to investigate and prosecute domestic violence cases,<instead dismissing women's complaints as a "family affair."<   Regan (ree'gan) Ralph is acting director of Human Rights;Watch's women's rights project.  She traveled to Russia toBcompile the report on discrimination against women.  She says the=disintegration of the Soviet Union did little to improve thestatus of women in Russia:=   "Two out of every three unemployed Russians right now areAwomen, and in some areas of Russia, 85 percent of the unemployed@are female.  In addition, when women try to find new jobs, they?are often told that those jobs are being reserved for men.  So?even if they are qualified, they don't have a shot (chance) atit."A   Not only are Russian women being deprived of opportunities in>the work place, according to the report, they are also facing=increased levels of violence in the homes, contributing to a=situation, according to the report, that has left many womenbitter about their condition.@   Human Rights Watch believes that change can only result from=increased efforts by Russian political leaders serious about@tackling the problems of discrimination against women in Russiatoday:@   "What we would like the Russian government to do, what Human9Rights Watch would like the Russian government to do, is?recognize its own role in perpetuating sex discrimination, and@end it.  In other words, let government employers know that sex>discrimination will not be tolerated, and let women know thatBwhere they are treated unfairly in the work place on the basis ofAsex, they have a remedy.  And then to enforce the remedy, and to9enforce sanctions against the employers that continue todiscriminate."B   Ms. Ralph says the issue of women's rights deserves a place in;official discussions between the United States and Russia.   ---------------   ---------------=   DUMA LEADER CITES HIGH PRIORITY FOR START II RATIFICATION   ACQUELYN S. PORTH   WASHINGTONB   The deputy chairman of the Russian Duma Defense Committee saysBthe second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is "one of the?highest priority" arms control agreements to be considered for ratification by the parliament.B   Speaking through an interpreter at a March 6 press conference,9Alexander Piskunov said there should not be "any serious9objections" to ratification, although he alluded to some>"technical and economic problems" associated with the Russian@ratification process, noting that the timing of U.S. efforts toAdevelop Ballistic Missile Defenses (BMD) could create "some veryserious problems."A   Following three hours of consultations between members of the=Russian Defense Committee and the American National Security>Committee, Piskunov said new BMD development "would have some?serious consequences and negatives overlaying" of the upcoming>Duma ratification, given the fact that both sides are talkingabout "partnership.":   But Representative Floyd Spence, chairman of the HouseBNational Security Committee, told the visiting delegation that "aBglobal defense initiative" is needed to protect the United StatesAfrom "new world realities."  Committee member Duncan Hunter told@the Russians that the United States experienced casualties from>an Iraqi Scud ballistic missile attack in Saudi Arabia duringOperation Desert Storm.A   "We are somewhat unique in that sense," he explained, "and weAintend to protect our troops in theater, and we are developing a?number of systems to do that."  At the same time, Hunter noted9that the United States does "not wish to build a new ABM8(Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty that will constrain the'development of those theater systems."B   Piskunov noted that there is a sentiment in his committee that@the level of weapons remaining after START II implementation is<still "very high" and that ratification would be "immensely@helped" if the two sides express their intention "to go down toBeven lower levels."  By the year 2003, both the United States and;Russia are expected to retain no more than 3,500 strategicnuclear warheads.@   Piskunov said a statement issued by the Russian and American@presidents pledging to seek even lower levels of strategic arms?"would also help bring in other members of the nuclear club toBget them to freeze and reduce the levels of their own armaments.";Such an expression of intent, he suggested, would be "very9timely" as the deadline approaches to extend the Nuclear@Non-Proliferation Treaty this spring.  In the absence of such aBpublic statement, the Russian official suggested that the concept>to further reduce arms levels  could be captured in a writtenAdocument to accompany START II through the ratification process.A   Spence said the meeting with Duma members covered a number of>subjects including NATO expansion and nettlesome conflicts in8Bosnia and Chechnya.  There was also discussion of U.S.Aobjections to Russian plans to sell civilian nuclear reactors toIran.A   Russian Defense Committee member Vladimir Avercheve suggested<that the United States and Russia could revise the 1972 ABM@Treaty and develop a strategic ballistic missile defense system<"jointly."  This would not involve either side's taking any>unilateral steps or abrogating the treaty, he said, but wouldArequire both sides to "jointly revise" the ABM Treaty if it were7in their national security interests to do so. Such an?undertaking, however, would require the two sides to have evenAcloser military ties, the official added, embracing an "alliancerelationship."9   Spence noted that the Russians, unlike their AmericanBcounterparts, already have a small ABM system in place.  In termsAof providing limited defense of territory, he said, Russia is in'"better shape" than the United States.@   Piskunov said members of the American and Russian committeesArecognized that there is an existing dichotomy between trying to>manage the ABM Treaty and dealing with the subject of theater@ballistic missile system. There is "nothing that guides us," he9said, on the dividing line between theater and strategic;defenses.  While acknowledging the need to develop ways to?protect populations and troops from ballistic missile attacks,>the official also called for the two sides to discard "mutual
suspicions."   ---------------   ---------------!   NEXT GENERATION SPACE SHUTTLE   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON=   Although the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet was designed in theB1970s, they are still the most advanced vehicles ever built. They?can do almost anything in orbit, from ferrying astronauts to a7space station to picking up stranded satellites. But a?partnership between the U.S. space agency NASA and industry isAexamining ways to improve round-trip space transportation in the21st century.B   Nasa calls it the X-33.  It would be a reusable launch vehicleBlike the Space Shuttle, but one that would be simpler and cheaperBto operate.  The head of NASA's office of space access, Jack Lee,0says saving money is a fundamental requirement:A   "If you look at the cost of access to space today, that means8transportation from earth to low earth orbit, it's veryBexpensive.  It's expensive because of the way we developed launchAvehicles in the past.  In order to be able to continue exploring9space as we'd like and plan to, especially with level or=declining budgets, we have to find a cheaper way to get intospace."=   With that in mind,  NASA recently selected three big U.S.;aerospace companies to enter the competition to design the;shuttle's successor, Lockheed, Rockwell International, andBMcDonnell Douglas.  McDonnell Douglas is developing its design in>partnership with the U.S. company Boeing, the world's biggest"producer of commercial jetliners.@   The firms have two basic X-33 concepts.  Both call for it toBlift off vertically like a rocket, but one of the ideas calls for=a vertical return while the other proposes a landing like anairliner, as the shuttle does.A   Whichever concept wins, the reusable launch vehicle is likelyAto be very different from shuttle in other ways.  For one thing,Ait will not have a pilot, at least not at first.   It is cheaperAnot to carry people, and the technology exists to make the craftfully automatic.>   Furthermore, the X-33 would reach orbit in a single stage.?This means all of its parts would stay attached during ascent.ANasa official Jack Lee notes that this is different from the way<the shuttle leaves the ground, on the back of a huge rocket=together with other expensive components that are discarded:A   "If you look at the shuttle today, we have four major pieces,?the two solid rocket motors, we have the shuttle, the orbiter,@and then we have the external tank.  All those are end items in=themselves.  They have to be put together, integrated into aAsystem.  That takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of<people.  Here's a case where we don't have that integration>responsibility.  It's one single stage.  The only thing you'd'integrate in it would be the payload."=   To save costs, the next generation shuttle is expected toAeliminate the massive ground crews and facilities needed for the?current shuttle fleet by operating more like airliners that do"not need all the support systems.@   "The concept is pretty much the same," says Lee.  "You don't>have to rebuild every airplane before you take it off [launch@it].  They've developed over the years the maintenance process.AYou can check the wings, the hydraulic system, the engine system@without ever having to take it apart and fly again.  That's theAconcept we want to get with this single stage to orbit [craft]."@   NASA envisions that the new U.S. launch vehicle could return9to space in a little as four days after a previous trip.=   The deputy manager of the McDonnell Douglas-Boeing designBteam, Livingston Holder, says quick preparation time is important?if the new shuttle is to spark growth in the commercial use ofspace:@   "If an aircraft spent most of its time in turnaround (on the@ground), the airline wouldn't have a chance to make money.  The>key is to turn vehicles around as quickly, as reliably as you>can.  So you can get it flying again because when if flies it makes money or provides value."?   As recently as five years ago, many of the new technologies@that will make the successor to the Space Shuttle possible were?not around.  Now, the X-33 can take advantage of lighter metal>alloys, advanced propulsion systems, reusable fuel tanks, andimproved thermal protection.?   If all goes according to plan, an experimental X-33 vehicleAwill begin flight tests by the end of the decade and possibly bein service by the year 2004.   ---------------   ---------------4   SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRESS DISPLAYED ON THE INTERNET   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON>   The U.S. Space Shuttle "Endeavour's" astronomy mission has;gained a wide audience around the world on the informationBsuperhighway.  Tens of thousands of people in scores of countriesAare keeping up with the progress of the mission by linking theirAcomputers to the international computer network called internet.=The response has almost overwhelmed the NASA computer systemserving the information.?   NASA has been feeding text and visual information about itsBSpace Shuttle flights on the Internet for more than one year. ButBnever before has the selection been as comprehensive as it is for?this mission, on which three telescopes aboard "Endeavour" are@observing the universe in ultraviolet light wavelengths that donot reach earth.=   Anyone, anywhere with the proper computer program to gain=access to the Internet can be well informed about the flightBwithout leaving the comfort of home or work.  A person simply can;log on to the world-wide web, a system linking information;through the internet's global computer network, and type aspecific electronic address.B   Nasa spokesman Brian welch says that with sophisticated enough=software, the browser can obtain news releases about missionBprogress, follow astronomy observations as they happen, determineBthe shuttle's location, view pre-recorded segments of the shuttle?crew, and even take an animated tour around the outside of the-shuttle in a process called virtual reality:?   "The virtual reality tour that they're talking about allows?the user to go in and you can take a look at the Space ShuttleBand you can maneuver it in various ways so that you're looking atBit from the back and you're looking down on it from above or from'below.  It's manipulated by the user."@   The service has been immensely popular with users around theAworld.  As of Tuesday morning, the information had been accessed@about 600,000 times by computers in 49 countries.  The responsealmost overloaded the system.=   By the fifth day of the shuttle flight on Monday, mission;manager Robert Jayroe said the heavy demand had slowed the1operation of the serving computer significantly:@   "It is truly amazing to me the amount of response that we're@getting on the [world-wide] web.   In fact, I guess the rest of8the world has brought the system to its knees and we're7scrambling around trying to find some more computers."B   NASA spokesman Brian Welch says technicians at the NASA center;in Alabama controlling the shuttle flight added three more;computers to get the system working again at proper speed.>   What is the most popular entry?  One of the private sector?contract technicians who helps operate the computers for nasa,=John Piner ['pine-er], says it is the listing entitled "come	aboard":@   "That's where you can find out where the shuttle is over theBearth, and you can also find out what the crew is doing.  If they?are looking at a science target, you can get information about>what the science target is.  You can find out just some basic=astronomical facts and you get a little sky chart there that=shows where in the sky you can find the object that they areBlooking at.  Then it also has a ground based image that was taken@from a ground based telescope of the target, so they'll be able(to see what the telescopes are seeing."@   For the first time, says Mr. Piner, the system allows peopleAto leave questions and comments for NASA.  He points out that as:soon as the shuttle crew has time, it will respond on theAinternet to a selected question of the day chosen from among the	entries:@   "We've tried to make it more interactive and try to give the?people the feel that they're really sort of taking part in the
mission.">   If you wish to gain access to the NASA computer server for@this shuttle astronomy mission, thee world-wide web address is:Http://astro-2.msfc.nasa.Gov   ---------------   --------------->   SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ANTI-PIRACY CAMPAIGN TARGETS SINGAPORE   ROBERT F. HOLDEN   WASHINGTON?   In an effort to combat the high level of software piracy in?Asia, the Software Publishers Association (SPA) has launched a5series of education programs, starting in Singapore.A   In an announcement made by its Washington office March 6, theBSPA, which bills itself as the principal trade association of the7PC software industry, said Singapore was chosen as the@centerpiece for its Asian anti-piracy activities because of its@tough copyright laws and strong enforcement, which has resulted,in the lowest software piracy rate in Asia.B   "Although the Singapore government has taken significant steps;to protect intellectual property rights, the U.S. software;industry stills suffers greatly from piracy in Singapore,";according to SPA Executive Director Ken Wasch.  "Singapore>contributes $7 million in losses to an estimated $8.1 billion-software piracy problem worldwide," he said.A   "While Singapore has the lowest piracy rate in Asia, business>owners and employees need to be educated on structuring their9software management systems to ensure protection against#copyright violations," Wasch said.A   The four-part program, which will be the first of its kind in;Asia, is geared to educate Singaporeans about the problemsAassociated with software piracy how to become what the SPA calls"software legal.";   The core of the campaign is a new print ad reminding PCBsoftware users in Singapore that unauthorized copying of softwareis illegal.9   "The goal of the ad campaign is to raise the public'sBawareness of software piracy in Singapore through education, with7enforcement only as the last resort, and to build upon?Singapore's excellent record of reducing piracy," according toASandra Sellers, director of litigation for the SPA.  "Hopefully,>the ad will challenge companies to operate within Singapore's?intellectual property rights laws and to utilize the tools theSPA is providing them."@   As part of this campaign, Sellers said, the SPA will provide?the necessary tools for Singapore companies to become software9legal.  Among those tools are an Anti-Piracy Helpline inBSingapore for persons who need information on legal software use,Bbrochures and videotapes, and complimentary copies of PC auditing
software.:   In addition, the SPA has said it will team up with the@Singapore Computer Society to offer a course on the fundamentalBissues of software licensing and compliance, and optimizing legaluses of software.   ---------------   ---------------    HONG KONG INTERNET CRACKDOWN   MAX RUSTON
   HONG KONG>   Authorities in Hong Kong have shut down all but one of the?territory's commercial providers of the international computer;network, Internet.  The move has left thousands of private7customers and businesses without their usual access to2international E-mail and other Internet services.>   According to Internet providers targeted in the crackdown,>government security officers came to their businesses Friday,:presented warrants, searched their files, and confiscatedequipment.A   Monday, a police spokesman provided the first explanation forBthe raids, saying they were carried out because the services were@not properly licensed, and in some cases may have been involved<in hacking offenses.  The spokesman did not provide details@   Hacking refers to the practice of using computer networks toAgain unauthorized access to others' computers.  It is most often9used to steal confidential information or sabotage othercomputers.;   The crackdown leaves only one known commercial Internet>service in the territory.  Officials at that service say theyBhave received hundreds of new applications, but would like to see<their competitors resume services as soon as possible.  The7crackdown did not affect Internet services provided by1universities and other educational institutions.@   According to some industry experts, the closure of the seven@internet providers has left about 10-thousand customers withoutAaccess to the international computer system.  Some of the raided7services held a news conference Monday, criticized theAgovernment's actions, and called for immediate measures to allowthem to resume business.<   They also expressed concern about the confidentiality of>customers' E-mail messages stored on computers confiscated by@police.  A police spokesman later said no attempt would be madeto read or examine E-mail.A   Some of the providers said they have been trying for weeks to?secure licenses from the government, but have not been able to;obtain the necessary forms.  They say they were assured by@telecommunications authorities their lack of licenses would notBpose any threat to their operations.  They were unable to explain@why the only remaining provider succeeded in securing a licensefive-months ago.   ---------------;   International News E-Wire Service (INEWS) is an English<language daily, covering news of the world.  INEWS provides;up-to-date and accurate world news.  It also includes many?features covering such topics as economics, science, medicine,$technology, agriculture, and music.<   Every day, INEWS gathers reports filed by correspondentsBstationed at 26 news bureaus throughout the world.  INEWS relates=first-hand coverage of stories from news bureaus in Abidjan,=Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Bonn, Cairo, Chicago, Geneva, Hong?Kong, Islamabad, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles,@Miami, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Prague, Rio:de Janeiro, San Jose, Tokyo, Vienna, and Washington, D.C.A   Daily INEWS service is available for less than $4.00 a month.B   Delivered through E-mail in one of two versions, plain text or?a DOS VGA version.  The DOS VGA version is sent either throughBE-mail, encoded, or through file transfer on America Online.  The3encoded version is not available through FIDO Net.@   What is an encoded file?  Most electronic mail systems can't:handle binary files.  Binary files are word processor andAspreadsheet data files, and files with a .EXE or .COM extension.AUUENCODE is a file conversion standard.  It will change a binary@file into an ASCII file, that can be sent through E-mail.  OnceByou receive the encoded file(s) through E-mail, you can decode it,to return the file back to its binary form.;   UUXFER20 is the program we recommend for decoding INEWSAencoded files.  UUXFER20 is shareware, if you continue to use it<after the 30-day trial period you must register it with its?author.  Public domain and freeware UUENCODE encoding decodingsoftware are available.6UUXFER20.ZIP can be found at the following ftp sites:address: plaza.aarnet.edu.aupath:  micros pc oak decodeaddress: ftp.cc.mcgill.ca path:  pub ftp_inc dos fileutiladdress: ftp.clarkson.edu&path: pub simtel20-cdrom msdos filutladdress: pc.usl.edupath: pub msdos usenet>   INEWS Daily can be mailed to almost any E-mail address on:?Internet, AppleLink, America Online, AT&T Mail, AT&T EasyLink,7BITNET, CompuServe, DELPHI, FIDO Net, GEnie, MCI Mail,)SprintMail, and many local BBS services.;   A free two week trial can be received by sending E-mail0containing E-mail address, name and address to:   INTERNET: INEWS@AOL.COM   AOL: INEWS@   Specification should be made as to which version, plain textBor encoded DOS VGA version, should be sent.  The preferred methodAof delivery for PC users is through America Online.  SubscribersBwho do not have an AOL account can receive a free AOL sign up kit*with software and 10 hours of free usage.<   HOW TO SEND E-MAIL TO I-NEWS FROM VARIOUS ONLINE SERVICE?   Below are the addresses to use to send E-mail to INEWS from>various on-line services.  If you are unsuccessful in getting@E-mail to us, or your service is not listed below, contact your/service's E-mail administrator for assistance.!    From Internet: inews@aol.com-    From CompuServe: >INTERNET:inews@aol.com$    From GEnie: inews@aol.com@inet#,    From AppleLink: inews@aol.com@internet#+    From AT&T Mail: internet!aol.com!inews&    From BITNET: inews%aol.com@cunyvm     From CONNECT: inews@aol.com)    From DELPHI: internet"inews@aol.com"<    Remember to put quotes around the address inews@aol.com     From PRODIGY: inews@aol.com?    From SprintMail: (s:internet, "rfc-822":<inews(a)aol.com>)A    Remember to put the parentheses around the full address, and;    the angle brackets around the inews(a)aol.com address.;      HOW TO CONVERT ENCODED FILES INTO SELF-RUNNING FILES=   We recommend that you use the shareware program UUXFER20.,If you receive the following encoded files:   INWS1231.1   INWS1231.2   INWS1231.3   INWS1231.4   INWS1231.5>   At the command line of the directory containing the encode$files and UUXFER20 you should type:    UUXFER20 -M -D<FILENAME>8   The file name is always the encoded file with the .1)extension. In this case you would enter:    UUXFER20 -M -DINWS1231.16   This would convert the encoded files into the file>INWS1231.EXE, the self-running December 31st edition of INEWSDaily.SUBSCRIPTION RATE1 month   $7.503 months  $17.506 months  $27.0012 months $39.00END