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214┘215{216T217}218£#SUBINFO¡*>INTERNATIONAL NEWS E-WIRE SERVICE WEEKLY WEEK ENDING  2/18/959                INTERNATIONAL NEWS E-WIRE SERVICE WEEKLY-                              ISSN 1080-3149.                            DISTRIBUTE FREELY-                             WEEK OF 2/18/951INFO/GENERAL INFO ON INEWS DAILY - INEWS@AOL.COM5TO REACH EDITOR ------------------ INEWSEDIT@AOL.COM$CLICK THE INDEX BUTTON FOR THE MENU.FY '96 FEDERAL BUDGET,BUDGET.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,SUBINFOFY '96 FEDERAL BUDGET   \CLINTON'S 1996 BUDGET\216\:   \STATE DEPARTMENT'S SHARE OF PROPOSED 1996 BUDGET\210\7   \CLINTON'S PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS FOREIGN AID 5%\195\3   \CONGRESSIONAL REACTION TO PROPOSED BUDGET\194\%   \CLINTON SUBMITS 1996 BUDGET\192\=   \BUDGET PROPOSES SMALL INCREASE FOR SCIENCE RESEARCH\186\$   \A GUIDE TO THE BUDGET MAZE\185\+   \THE CLINTON BUDGET IN PERSPECTIVE\184\.   \CLINTON BUDGET MEETS HOUSE COMMITTEE\155\/   \CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DEFENDS BUDGET\154\>   \TRADE PROMOTION GETS HIGH PRIORITY IN CLINTON BUDGET\148\?   \BUDGET DEBATE FOCUS: DEFICIT REDUCTION VERSUS TAX CUT\147\   \U.S. BUDGET OVERVIEW\140\9   \BUDGET CRITICS SAY DEFENSE SPENDING IS TOO SMALL\82\D   \WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR DEFENDS BUDGET AT HOUSE HEARING\80\UNITED STATES        \BOOKS\BOOKS\+        \FEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS\FEATURES\/        \FINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS\FINANCIAL\        \MEDICINE\MEDICINE\        \POLITICS\POLITICS\%        \SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY\SCIENCE\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUBOOKS9   \"FIVE DEGREES", POET NICK CHRISTOPHER'S ICY CITY\52\'   \"GOOD BENITO" BY ALAN LIGHTMAN\92\J   \"IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS", A GUIDE TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE SITES\189\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFEATURES-CURRENT EVENTS<   \MOUNT VERNON ARCHAEOLOGY: GEORGE WASHINGTON'S TRASH\31\   \WHITE HOUSE SECURITY\37\J   \WORLD EDITORIAL OPINION ON THE THE U.S. WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT\43\J   \MAN ARRESTED, HELD WITHOUT BAIL FOR THREATENING INTERNET MESSAGES\51\(   \BILLY GRAHAM'S "GLOBAL MISSION"\54\,   \BRONX ZOO BIRDS FLY THE COOP UPDATE\56\-   \THE EVOLUTION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH\64\   \FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS\66\-   \U.S. ADVANCE TROOPS LAND IN SOMALIA\134\:   \INTERNATIONAL ARMS SALES IN A POST COLD WAR WORLD\93\2   \INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AIDS & WOMEN\106\4   \DAVID FROST SPEAKS ABOUT PUBLIC TELEVISION\110\&   \LOS ANGELES CRIME STATISTICS\120\+   \NEW YORK BOMBING CONSPIRACY TRIAL\135\(   \U.S. MILITARY CURRENT PROBLEMS\141\7   \U.S. OFFICIALLY OPENS LIAISON OFFICE IN HANOI\142\#   \AMERICA'S CUP FEMALE CREW\151\'   \CONTROVERSY OVER SAUDI SCHOOL\160\;   \IN THE SHADOW OF NUREMBERG: NEW WAR CRIMES TRIALS\165\   \REAGAN BIRTHDAY\171\F   \CONVENTION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TO TAKE EFFECT IN MARCH\183\B   \FULBRIGHT, CREATOR OF WORLDWIDE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, DIES\98\1   \2,000 YEAR OLD CHINESE TREASURE SALVAGED\81\@   \N.Y. BOMBING CONSPIRACY DEPENDENT ENTERS PLEA BARGAINS\211\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUFINANCIAL-ECONOMY-BUSINESS%   \PERFORMANCE OF STOCK ANALYSTS\9\   \AUTOMOTIVE OUTLOOK\18\   \BROADWAY ECONOMICS\19\%   \CAPITAL MARKET GLOBALIZATION\57\-   \FORD REVEALS NEW TAURUS AT AUTO SHOW\65\7   \U.S. SOFTWARE INDUSTRY COMMENTS CHINESE PIRACY\90\$   \HIGH TECH IN WEST VIRGINIA\164\%   \WAL-MART VERSUS MAIN STREET\181\1   \POSSIBLE TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST CANADA\188\4   \BUSINESS REACTION TO CHINA TRADE SANCTIONS\218\=   \SOME ASPECTS OF U.S./CHINA TRADE GOES ON UNAFFECTED\137\6   \REPLACING CENTRAL BANKS WITH CURRENCY BOARDS\152\@   \PROPOSED BUDGET HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON FINANCIAL MARKETS\191\J   \LISTING OF CHINA TARIFFS SCHEDULED TO GO INTO EFFECT FEBRUARY 26\187\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	MEDICINE   \SOY A MIRACLE FOOD?\42\L   \FINNISH REPORT THEIR FINDING OF BEST TREATMENT FOR LOWER BACK PAIN\121\4   \NEW TOOL IN REASEARCH TO FIGHT ALZHEIMER'S\122\,   \RESEARCH ON A NEW BLOOD SUBSTITUTE\202\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU	POLITICSN   \CLINTON SAYS HE WILL VETO LEGISLATION TO CUT KEY PORTION OF CRIME BILL\2\K   \BIDEN BACKS AWAY FROM COMMENT THAT HE WON'T VOTE TO CONFIRM FOSTER\11\0   \HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES TO CUT AID RUSSIA\12\6   \CLINTON'S AMERICORPS CAUGHT IN THE CROSS-FIRE\22\,   \DOCTOR FOSTER MAKES HIS CASE PUBLIC\24\*   \END OF QUAYLE '96 CAMPAIGN IMPACT\35\7   \TERRORISM LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE\38\;   \SENATORS DIVIDED ON CLINTON'S PROPOSED DRUG POLICY\39\K   \U.S. URGES MEXICO TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS DURING CHIAPAS OPERATION\47\H   \ALBRIGHT TO CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF U.S. ROLE IN UN PEACEKEEPING\48\I   \REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS AND REPRESENTATIVES AGREE ON WELFARE REFORM\49\<   \CLINTON SAYS HE WILL NOT BACK OFF FOSTER NOMINATION\59\    \CONGRESS/CUBA SANCTIONS\61\'   \PROFILE: GENERAL MICHAEL CARNS\94\B   \SOME REPUBLICAN CALL ON CLINTON TO WITHDRAW DOCTOR FOSTER\83\G   \THE SO-CALLED "LINE-ITEM VETO", WHAT IT WILL AND WILL NOT MEAN\85\>   \WHOSE INTERESTS DOES U.S. CUBAN FOREIGN POLICY SERVE?\88\,   \U.S. MILITARY POST COLD WAR OPTIONS\89\8   \U.S. SEEKS CHANGE IN IRAN'S BEHAVIOR WASHINGTON\95\=   \CLINTON, KOHL REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY\96\B   \NATO EXPANSION TALKS "MOVING AT RIGHT PACE," CLINTON SAYS\97\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M2\8   \REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE MAJOR WELFARE REFORM PLAN\102\5   \RUBIN SETS CONDITIONS ON U.S. AID TO MEXICO\104\A   \TALBOTT URGES CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN REFORM\105\4   \CLINTON NOMINATE GENERAL CARNS TO HEAD CIA\108\6   \MEXICO CRITICIZES CLINTON'S IMMIGRATION PLAN\109\9   \HISPANICS LAWMAKERS ON WELFARE REFORM PROPOSALS\115\D   \BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT WINS SMALL VICTORY IN THE SENATE\132\K   \DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS ASKING FOR 20 MORE "STEALTH" BOMBERS\138\8   \CLINTON STRATEGY TO REDUCE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION\144\?   \U.S. VIEWS ON EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE DETAILED\145\>   \CHEMICAL ARMS TREATY RATIFICATION A CLINTON PRIORITY\146\   \'96 PRESIDENTIAL RACE\149\>   \U.S. TO GRANT PALESTINIAN AUTONOMY LOW TARIFF STATUS\153\9   \HOUSE VOTES ON REPUBLICAN RE-WRITTEN CRIME BILL\156\H   \SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE CLINTON TO CANCEL YELTSIN SUMMIT\157\,   \CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS FUNDS SLASHED\158\    \CONGRESSIONAL LEGACIES\159\   \FIRST-TIME LOBBYISTS\162\A   \U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUND-UP ON THE DR. FOSTER FIGHT\176\"   \U.S. MILITARY REDUCTIONS\180\C   \REPRESENTATIVE PELOSI RESPONDS TO CHINESE TRADE SANCTIONS\193\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M3\1   \AUTHOR ADVOCATES PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH\206\J   \DOLE SAYS HE WILL ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY ON ANNIVERSARY OF WAR WOUND\212\(   \SENATE REACTION TO CIA NOMINEE\133\@   \THE CASE FOR MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY BY JOHN B. ANDERSON\182\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUSCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY@   \FOSSILIZED JAW MAY BE OLDEST EVER FOUND OUTSIDE AFRICA\103\    \SHUTTLE/MIR RENDEZVOUS\174\#   \SHUTTLE DEPLOYS SATELLITE\175\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENULATIN AMERICAE   \ECUADOR/PERU PRESIDENTS CAN'T POLITICALLY AFFORD TO BACK DOWN\3\$   \ECUADOR/PERU INFORMATION WAR\4\,   \ZAPATISTA LEADER MARCOS PREDICTS WAR\7\I   \CARTER SAYS HE IS PREPARED TO INTERVENE IN PERU/ECUADOR CONFLICT\13\C   \MEXICO BAILOUT STILL SUBJECT OF CONTENTION ON CAPITOL HILL\28\K   \CHIAPAS REBEL LEADER "SUB-COMMANDER MARCOS" TRUE IDENTITY REVEALED\29\9   \U.S. SUSPENDS MILITARY SALES TO ECUADOR AND PERU\46\&   \COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH\63\    \MEXICO/JALISCO ELECTION\74\;   \ECUADOR-PERU FIGHT SAID TO ENDANGER REGION'S PEACE\99\$   \FUTURE OF THE PANAMA CANAL\126\H   \PANAMANIAN AUTHORITIES INTERCEPT LARGE ARMS SHIPMENT TO REBELS\170\M   \ECUADOR SENDS REPRESENTATIVE TO WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS BORDER CRISIS\179\K   \7 MEN ARRESTED FOR PLANNING TO KILL PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT RELEASED\205\K   \MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALLS ON PRI TO KEEP ITS PLEDGE DURING ELECTION\167\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUEUROPE+   \BOMB KILLS FOUR GYPSIES IN AUSTRIA\17\    \CENTRAL EUROPEAN STOCKS\20\4   \SERBS BLOCK AID CONVOY HEADING TO SARAJEVO\36B\0   \YOUNG BOSNIAN REMEMBERS INTERNMENT CAMP\53\5   \SERB FORCES LAUNCH MORTAR ATTACK IN SARAJEVO\55\   \CZECH ECONOMY\62\/   \GERMANY'S TURKISH IMMIGRANTS AND ISLAM\67\-   \NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE TALKS DELAYED\76\B   \MAN SELECTED TO BE POLISH PRIME MINISTER MAY NOT TAKE JOB\79\E   \ALBANIAN COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF GREEKS CONVICTED OF SPYING\107\J   \EU SEEKS TO TAX MOVIE GOERS EVERY TIME THEY SEE AN AMERICAN FILM\111\   \GERMANY LABOR PROBLEM\114\+   \WALESA ACCEPTS NEW PRIME MINISTER\129\5   \FRANCE SORTS OUT ITS POLICY TOWARDS ALGERIA\163\(   \GROWING FOOD SHORTAGE IN BIHAC\178\=   \FRENCH SOCIALIST PARTY NAMES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE\197\+   \"CARLOS, THE JACKAL" BAIL REQUEST\196\8   \TENSION BETWEEN ALGERIA AND FRANCE INTENSIFIES\213\0   \CONTACT GROUP PRODUCES NEW BOSNIA PLAN\215\?   \BRITAIN'S "NIGHTMARE ON CROMWELL STREET" MURDER TRIAL\190\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENURUSSIA/FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS<   \RUSSIA DISPLAYS ART TREASURE TAKN FROM NAZI GERMANY\16\   \GEORGIA/ABKHAZIA TALKS\45\   \YALTA ANNIVERSARY\50\M   \RUSSIAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER WANTS WEST TO PRESSURE RUSSIAN ON CHECHNYA\68\%   \RUSSIAN MINERS GO ON STRIKE\130\<   \RUSSIA COMPLAINS ABOUT STIFFER IMF LOAN CONDITIONS\131\=   \ALEXANDER RUTSKOI: FROM VICE PRESIDENT TO DISSIDENT\150\   \MOSCOW MUSLIMS\168\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUASIA*   \AFGHANISTAN POWER TRANSFER COUNCIL\1\D   \INDONESIA SAYS SOLDIERS MAY BE TRIED FOR EAST TIMOR KILLINGS\5\B   \PAKISTAN MAY EXTRADITE SIX DRUG LORDS TO THE UNITED STATES\8\   \CHINA'S SURPLUS OF MEN\21\-   \KASHMIR LEADER KILLED BY RIVAL GROUP\25\,   \MAIDAN SHAHR FALLS TO AFGHAN REBELS\26\D   \14-YEAR-OLD BOY SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMOUS WRITINGS\32\5   \ACCOUNT OF WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBER CAPTURE\33\>   \PHILIPPINES/CHINA SPRATLY ISLANDS DISPUTE INTENSIFIES\34\D   \CHINA TO ORGANIZE PRO-CHINA PARTIES FOR HONG KONG ELECTIONS\58\#   \HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA\60\3   \INDIAN PRIME MINISTER APPOINTS NEW CABINET\69\A   \SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT BEGINS NORTHERN RECONSTRUCTION PLAN\73\C   \MURAYAMA PROMISES TO REHABILITATE KOBE QUAKE DAMAGED AREAS\75\?   \PAKISTAN'S ROLE IN CAPTURING WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBER\77\G   \SON OF FORMER PRESIDENT MARCOS SEEKS SEAT IN PHILIPPINE SENATE\78\L   \NUMBER TWO MAN IN S. KOREAN RULING PARTY SPLITS AND FORMS NEW PARTY\84\7   \CHINA SAYS U.S. TRADE DEMANDS ARE UNREASONABLE\87\3   \JOINT INDIAN/U.S. SPACE SATELLITE VENTURE\116\B   \INDIAN PRIME MINISTER THROWS RIVAL OUT OF CONGRESS PARTY\117\&   \JAPANESE DISASTER MANAGEMENT\119\C   \SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PERRY COMMENTS ON INDIA AND PAKISTAN\128\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M4\8   \ASIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH CAUSES TROUBLE FOR U.S.\139\+   \U.S./N. KOREA NUCLEAR TALKS STALL\166\7   \HONG KONG TO LOSE OUT IN U.S./CHINA TRADE WAR\198\D   \VIOLENCE BETWEEN SUNNI AND SHIA GROUPS CONTINUE IN KARACHI\200\(   \SRI LANKA: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK\201\8   \VIETNAM AND PHILIPPINES SIGN REFUGEE AGREEMENT\207\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUAFRICAK   \AID WORKERS HELD HOSTAGE IN SUDAN RELEASED AFTER PAYMENT OF RANSOM\10\0   \UNITA SKEPTICAL OF ANGOLAN PEACE ACCORD\15\E   \EGYPT COMPLAINS ABOUT U.S. REPORT ON ITS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD\23\H   \MANDELA COMMEMORATES 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON\27\>   \U.N. ALTERNATE PLAN TO SENDING PEACEKEEPERS TO RWANDA\36\!   \SIERRA LEONE PEACE TALKS\40\J   \UN OFFICER TALKS ON FUTURE OF SOMALIA AFTER PEACEKEEPERS WITHDRAW\41\'   \KENYA MAGAZINE MAKES COME-BACK\71\=   \LIBERIAN TRADITIONAL CHIEF SAYS HE CAN LEAD LIBERIA\73B\I   \ALGERIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS PLANNED ELECTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE\86\@   \UNESCO HEAD CONDEMNS WORLD REACTION TO CRISES IN AFRICA\91\D   \U.S. URGES ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT, UNITA TO FULFILL PEACE PACT\100\:   \U.N. PEACEKEEPING MISSION FOR ANGOLA ESTABLISHED\101\"   \FOREIGNERS FLEEING GABON\112\7   \NIGER'S PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW PRIME MINISTER\124\*   \NIGERIAN RULER DISSOLVES CABINET\125\   \ZIMBABWE DROUGHT\143\   \ETHIOPIAN PEACE TALKS\161\F   \S. AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND TRIBAL CHEIFS CLASH OVER ELECTIONS\173\:   \EGYPTIAN FILMMAKER FIGHTS CENSORSHIP OF HIS FILM\199\:   \ALGERIAN REBELS CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOMBING\214\@   \GROWING NUMBERS OF RWANDAN REFUGEES ARE RETURNING HOME\177\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU1             \CLICK HERE FOR MORE SELECTIONS\M5\;   \WORLD BANK ANNOUNCES 50 MILLION CREDIT FOR RWANDA\172\E   \NIGER PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW GOVERNMENT\204\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUMIDDLE EAST;   \IRAN SAYS IRAQ HAS VIOLATED ITS CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT\6\5   \ARAB LEADERS URGE ISRAEL TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE\14\    \MIDEAST PEACE STALEMATE\30\7   \IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS TALKS WITH TURKEY\44\6   \ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN PEACE TALKS HIGHLIGHT RIFT\70\8   \PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY CRACKS DOWN ON MILITANTS\113\3   \ISRAEL/PLO FAIL TO SET DATE FOR ELECTIONS\118\E   \PERES WELCOMES PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MOVE AGAINST TERRORISM\127\I   \ISRAEL ASKS CHRISTOPHER TO INTERVENE IN PEACE EFFORT WITH SYRIA\136\H   \ISRAEL'S OPPOSITION LIKUD PARTY CALL FOR HALT OF LAND TRANSFER\169\@   \ISRAEL CABINET VOTE TO EASE WEST BANK AND GAZA CLOSURE\217\<   \JEWISH LEADERS ASKS POPE TO DENOUNCE ANTI-SEMITISM\208\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENUPAFICIC STATESJ   \MAORI ACTIVISTS INTERRUPT NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION\203\8   \TWO WESTERN SAMOA CHIEFS CHARGED WITH SEDITION\209\.           CLICK TRACK TO RETURN TO THIS MENU   ---------------&   AFGHANISTAN POWER TRANSFER COUNCIL   JENNIFER GRIFFIN
   ISLAMABADB   U.N. officials say a multi-party ruling council is set to meet@February 20th in the Afghan capital, Kabul.  The council, whichAwould serve as an interim government, could mean the end of more>than 16-years of Afghan fighting. Several remaining obstacles-could prevent the council from taking power.A   The U.N. announcement is being described as a breakthrough inAthe effort to bring peace to Afghanistan.  It could mean the end:to the civil war, which has wracked the country since the1Soviet-backed communist government fell in 1992.;   U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, Mehmood Mestiri, hasAproposed a transfer of power mechanism be created in the form of@a multi-party ruling council.  The council would have more than@30 members, less than a third of whom will represent the Afghan"parties involved in the fighting.@   U.N. officials said Saturday in Islamabad the warring Afghan?leaders have agreed in principal to U.N. peace proposals.  TheBofficials said a country-wide ceasefire will go into effect afterthe council is given power.A   Mr. Mestiri's aide, Charles Santos, said all sides are asking0the United Nations to move quickly on the plan.B   The council is to meet for the first time February 20th.  But,?it will have to wait for President Burhanuddin Rabbani to stepaside before taking power.>   There is no guarantee President Rabbani will step down and>transfer power to the council.  The President was supposed to9step down several times last year, but refused to do so.A   A spokesman for the president's principal opponent, Gulbuddin9Hekmatyar, said people are suspicious and do not believe,President Rabbani's promises to step aside.A   But President Rabbani's Islamabad spokesman, Massoud Khalili,Asaid President Rabbani is committed to the U.N. plan to transfer/power, though he has not set a date to resign.@   But several obstacles remain, including the warring parties'Bapproval of representatives to serve on the council. Negotiations$are expected to continue this week.@   Meanwhile, analysts are unsure how the Afghan student force,Bknown as the Taliban, will affect the peace process.  The TalibanBhas not indicated whether it will participate in the council, butBhas called the present Afghan leaders morally bankrupt. Following?recent military victories, the Taliban says its next target isKabul.   ---------------   ---------------J   CLINTON SAYS HE WILL VETO LEGISLATION TO CUT KEY PORTION OF CRIME BILL   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSEB   President Clinton says he will veto any legislation that would>dismantle a key provision of anti-crime legislation passed by?congress last year Mr. Clinton is concerned that a proposal in=the House of Representatives would gut a program designed to3provide American cities with more police officers.B   President Clinton is expressing his opposition to a Republican=proposal that would give states money in the form of a block9grant to be spent in the way local authorities decide is
appropriate.?   Mr. Clinton is worried the plan could undermine last year's?anti-crime legislation that calls for putting 100-thousand new:police officers on the streets.  The proposal would allow=communities to use the money for something other than hiringpolicemen.B   In a stern warning to lawmakers, President Clinton said in hisASaturday radio speech that he would veto the Republican proposalif it is approved by Congress:?   "Anyone on Capitol Hill who wants to play partisan politicsAwith police officers for America should listen carefully: I will<veto any effort to repeal or undermine the hundred-thousandpolice commitment. Period."9   In the Republican response to the president's speech,ACongressman Charles Canady defended the block-grant plan, saying2it would give local communities more flexibility::   "It will allow local officials, those with the primary@responsibility for fighting crime, to decide how crime fightingAfunds can be used most effectively in the communities throughoutthe country.":   The House of Representatives passed several anti-crimeBmeasures in recent days, including bills that would boost federal=funds for state prisons and that would speed the deportation0process for illegal aliens convicted of crimes.   ---------------   ---------------A   ECUADOR/PERU PRESIDENTS CAN'T POLITICALLY AFFORD TO BACK DOWN   ROGER WILKISON	   QUITO?   The border conflict between Ecuador and Peru has united the@people of the two countries around their respective presidents,@but the outcome of the fighting could have serious consequences6for the political future of both men. President Sixto?Duran-Ballen of Ecuador nor President Alberto Fujimori of PeruBcan afford to back down from the positions that they have adoptedregarding the conflict.?   Here in Ecuador, president Duran-Ballen was considered weak=and indecisive before fighting broke out along the country'sBborder with Peru.  His popularity ratings were low and he was not@able to get much of his government's legislation passed through?an opposition-controlled congress.  Students protested against@his austerity policies and frequently clashed with police.  But9all that has changed as a result of the border conflict.@   The opposition has declared a political truce.  No  one evenBprotested when the government levied new war taxes.  And the same<students who used to criticize the government now hold mass?rallies to declare their support for the aging president.  Mr.ADuran-Ballen, once seen as a benign and ineffective grandfather,;is now viewed as a strong-willed national patriarch who isAdetermined not to give away a centimeter of Ecuador's territory.?The mild-mannered president even took to haranguing the crowdsinto a nationalist frenzy.?   How long Ecuador's honeymoon with its president can last isAanybody's guess.  Will Mr. Duran-Ballen be able in the future to8translate his new-found popularity into support for hislegislative program?@   The director of privately-owned Radio Quito, Xavier Almeida,1says the answer to that question is not certain:<   "The unity that we have now is sort of behind the strong>grandfather image that he projects.  Will that project to the/political arena down the line?  I don't know.">   The answer depends on how Ecuador emerges from the current@conflict.  And that is also true for Peruvian President Alberto3Fujimori, who is running for re-election in April.=   In Lima, campaigning has virtually ceased, and opposition@candidates have rallied behind the government in support of the?war effort.  The president's main rival, former United Nations@Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, has at times sounded@even more bellicose than Mr. Fujimori, urging the government toAmop up what he called the last pockets of Ecuadorian resistance.@   Mr. Fujimori has a clear two-to-one advantage over Mr. PerezAde Cuellar in the polls.  But public opinion researchers in lima>say the delay in resolving the conflict, either militarily orBthrough negotiations, could hurt his re-election effort.  Another@focus of criticism is the lack of government information on the
fighting.A   Still, most analysts say that Mr. Fujimori will win easily if>Peru manages to expel the Ecuadorians from what Peru, but not-Ecuador, considers to be Peruvian territory.?   But, after 17 days of fighting, Ecuadorian troops are stillBfiercely resisting Peru's attacks and the outcome of the conflictis uncertain at best.   ---------------   ---------------    ECUADOR/PERU INFORMATION WAR   ROGER WILKISON   QUITO, ECUADORA   It has always been said that the first casualty of war is the@truth, and the current border conflict between Ecuador and Peru>is no exception. The Ecuadorian and Peruvian governments have<adopted totally different approaches to informing their own>people and the world about the conflict and how they view it.:   Almost as soon as the shooting started, the Ecuadorian@government of President Sixto Duran-Ballen began bombarding theBdomestic and foreign news media with communiques.  It facilitated?trips by reporters to the front or as close to it as possible.AImages of mass rallies of Ecuadorians seized by patriotic fervorBwere broadcast around the world.  The effect of all this has been?that Ecuador has been able to portray itself as a modern south?American version of David standing up to the Peruvian goliath.=   Peru, on the other hand, adopted a low profile.  When itsBforeign and defense ministries deigned to release a statement, it;was always to defend the 1942 Rio de Janeiro protocol that?delineated most of the border between the two countries as the@final word on the matter.  Ecuador never hesitated to criticize?the accord saying it had been imposed by force.  Although Peru7took a more sober approach compared to the nationalist;outpourings of Ecuador, it is now paying the price for its@failure to take the initiative in the information war.  After aAweek of this imbalance, critics in Peru began to demand that theAgovernment be more open about events at the front.  The Peruvian>government's answer was to blame Ecuador for what it called acampaign of misinformation.A   How did Ecuador manage to portray itself as the victim in the<conflict?  Quito broadcasting executive Xavier Almeida says=groups of newspaper editors and broadcasters got together toAadvise the government on how to conduct the information war both;inside the country and abroad.  The key, Almedia said, was
openness:A   "A well-informed world will be able to give us a hand becauseAwe have nothing to hide.  We hold the position that we have beenAattacked.  We want to solve the problem.  We don't want to go onBfighting, and the best way to get around it, to get to that table>where the final treaty will be signed will be on the basis of?public pressure because we don't have the military might to be$able to overcome the other forces."=   Mr. Almeida, who is the director of privately-owned Radio@Quito, said part of the effort is to make sure reporters get asAclose as they can to where military operations are taking place.@Peru, on the other hand has only allowed a handful of reporters?to get as far as its staging base at Bagua, which is about 200*kilometers from the front, but no closer.:   The two sides have never been able to agree on what is@happening in the combat zone nor on how many soldiers have been?killed. The latest example of that is that Peru has maintainedAfor days now that it has captured two Ecuadorian border posts it?says are inside Peru and is about to overrun a third.  EcuadorBsays its troops are holding firm in all three positions, which it"says are on Ecuadorian territory.A   Peruvian government officials have decided to open themselves:up to the news media a little more than they did when the?conflict began on January 26th,  but the Ecuadorian government/still held back the information about the war.>   In an effort to boost the Ecuadorian cause,  new war taxes<were approved this week and nobody opposed them for fear ofAappearing to undermine the little country's effort to defend its	borders.   ---------------   ---------------@   INDONESIA SAYS SOLDIERS MAY BE TRIED FOR EAST TIMOR KILLINGS   DAVID BUTLER   BANGKOK=   Authorities in Indonesia have raised the possibility thatBsoldiers involved in the killing of six people in East Timor lastmonth may be court-martialed.@   Until Saturday, the official explanation for the deaths in aBraid a month ago on a group of men in western East Timor was thatBthey were fighters for the Fretilin Resistance Group, which seeksindependence for East Timor.B   On Saturday, Indonesian state secretary Murdiono said a report;from the armed forces chief to President Suharto said some*soldiers violated established procedures.@   The state secretary did not elaborate on the violations.  HeAsaid appropriate action would be taken against the offenders andthey might be court-martialed.B   Earlier, the Indonesian military commander on East Timor, Kiki;Syanakri, said four of the six men killed in the raid were;civilians, not guerrillas.  However, he said the four were%informants for the resistance group.;   On Thursday, East Timor's Roman Catholic bishop, Carlos>Ximenes Bolo, said he would complain to the United Nations ifApresident Suharto failed to respond to his letter protesting the
killings.=   The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all"expressed concern about the raid.@   Meanwhile, there have been several reports in recent days of?gangs of hooded men raiding the homes of local aid workers and5pro-independence East Timorese.  Residents told news?correspondents this week the Indonesian armed forces are doing%nothing to stop the nighttime raids.9   Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 after the abrupt?withdrawal of Portuguese colonial authorities.  It annexed theterritory in 1976.9   Tension on the island is between the largely Catholic=indigenous population on the one hand and, on the other, theAsecurity forces and Muslim settlers from elsewhere in Indonesia.@   Some diplomats in Jakarta say the army is showing the strain=of months of political demonstrations and religious tension.   ---------------   ---------------7   IRAN SAYS IRAQ HAS VIOLATED ITS CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT   PEYMAN PEJMAN	   CAIRO?   Relations between Iran and Iraq may be getting tense again.>   The Iranian news agency, IRNA, said in a dispatch Saturday=that Iran's government has filed a complaint with the United;Nations, charging Iraq has violated terms of the ceasefirebetween the two countries.A   Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war between 1980 and 1988.<The war ended when Iran accepted ceasefire terms set by theUnited Nations.?   In its dispatch Saturday, the Iranian news agency said Iraq?violated the ceasefire terms 35 times between October 23rd and=November 15th of last year.  There has been no reaction fromIraq.>   The Iranian complaint to the U.N. said Iraqi troops openedBfire with light weapons towards Iranian territory, built military:complexes in the no-man's land along the border, and flew!reconnaissance flights overhead.A   Iran recently charged that Iraq's government still is holding@UN unknown number of Iranian prisoners of war.  Iraq denied thecharge.   ---------------   ---------------(   ZAPATISTA LEADER MARCOS PREDICTS WAR   CINDY LAVANDEROS   MEXICO CITYB   An estimated 25-hundred Mexican troops, accompanied by armored3vehicles, planes, and helicopters, are moving into=Zapatista-controlled areas in the southern state of Chiapas.@Cindy Lavanderos in Mexico city reports the government has says;there have been no confrontations.  But on Friday, an army?colonel was killed by an unidentified man in the town of Nuevo-Momon.  The shooting left 10 others wounded.>   Fears of renewed violence in Chiapas spread as the MexicanBarmy continues to deploy troops throughout Zapatista strongholds.BThe rebels have reportedly retreated to the jungle, and there are,no indications they are about to surrender.>   In fact, the Zapatista leader, Comandante Marcos predicted;that if the army continues in its efforts to take over the@region, a prolonged guerrilla war would follow.  In a newspaper@interview published Saturday, the Zapatista leader said, in his?words, they are trying to threaten us, but we have no plans tosurrender.B   A recent survey indicated that 63 percent of the people polledAbelieved that even if the Zapatista leaders were arrested, there,would still be  no  peace in Chiapas state.=   Meanwhile, the Mexican attorney general's office reportedBauthorities have captured two of the five Zapatista leaders whose>arrest was ordered Thursday by President Ernesto Zedillo.  In>all, 25 people with alleged ties to the Zapatistas are now in@jail.  Subcomandante Eliza, who was arrested Wednesday, claimed<she had been tortured and forced to sign a false statement.B   In a news conference Friday, Roman Catholic Bishop Samuel Ruiz=called on the government to stop its military escalation and9return to the negotiating table.  He said peace is still
possible.   ---------------   --------------->   PAKISTAN MAY EXTRADITE SIX DRUG LORDS TO THE UNITED STATES   JENNIFER GRIFFIN
   ISLAMABAD@   Officials in Islamabad confirm six alleged drug barons could>be extradited to the United States within the next two weeks.:Pakistani officials Wednesday informed the accused heroin?traffickers they could be extradited, unless they make a court@appeal.  The move is part of Pakistan's recent attempt to crackdown on drug offenders.7   Six of Pakistan's most notorious heroin and hashish@traffickers were told this week they could be extradited to theAUnited States and forced to stand trial on drug-related charges.4The six drug offenders are behind bars in Pakistan.<   Officials said the six men had the right to appeal their@extradition notices in Pakistani courts.  But if they do not doAso in the next 12 days, they will be flown to the United States.@   The man alleged to run Pakistan's largest heroin traffickingAsyndicate, Iqbal Baig, is on the extradition list.  Mr. Baig has9been in jail since 1990 serving a seven-year sentence in@connection with a 17-ton hashish shipment found in Balochistan.ALast year, the government froze nearly 22-million dollars of Mr.BBaig's assets, including several textile mills, shopping centers,and movie theaters.?   U.N. drug experts say the Pakistan drug trade is worth more@than two-and-one-quarter-billion dollars, equaling five-percent=of the country's economy.  Most poppies from which opium and:heroin are produced are grown in neighboring Afghanistan.6Pakistan serves as a refining and trafficking center.A   Since 1993 Pakistan has extradited six of its citizens to theAUnited States for trial on drug charges.  Two were acquitted and;returned to Pakistan, where they are alleged to be back in<business.  Interior minister Naseerullah Babar said, in his=words, if the Americans cannot convict them, then you cannotblame Pakistan.>   The possible extradition of the six Pakistanis follows the<dramatic operation Tuesday which snared alleged World Trade9Center bomber, Ramzi Yousef.  Mr. Yousef was captured by@Pakistani and U.S. agents in Islamabad and flown to New York to"stand trial for the 1993 bombing.   ---------------   ---------------!   PERFORMANCE OF STOCK ANALYSTS   BRECK ARDERY   NEW YORK@   American investment firms pay financial analysts millions of;dollars to give the firms and their clients an informationadvantage.<   But, not all analysts are equal and some may actually be	useless.@   With the exception of most so-called "discount" firms, which=charge low commissions, virtually all full service financial<investment firms in the United States offer information andBrecommendations provided by their analysts.  Some analysts follow@overall stock or bond market activity. Most, however, are knownBas "industry analysts" and are supposed to be knowledgeable aboutBstocks in specific industries, such as automotive, pharmaceuticalor computers.@   Douglas McIntyre is the editor of "Financial World" magazineBwhich has just published a report on the role of analysts on wall/street. He says their primary job is research:@   "They make recommendations for their firms which are used byAindividual and institutional investors to buy stocks, or in someAcases bonds. It is their job to examine the companies' financial@statements, go out and meet with the companies' managements andBput together regular reports on the companies and how they shoulddo in the market."A   Analysts have considerable influence on individual stocks. It<is not uncommon for the price of a stock to move up or down5solely because of one analyst's positive or negativerecommendation.<   Mr. McIntyre says, for the most part, stock analysts are!highly educated and highly paid:@   "Typically these people are very well educated. Many of them>are MBA's. Typically, at the big firms, these people make sixAfigures (more than 100 thousand dollars per year) and sometimes,=if they are really good, they make into the high six figures?(close to one million dollars per year). These are some of the%highest paid people in the country."A   Wall Street firms often point proudly to the records of their>most successful analysts whose advice about buying or sellingBspecific stocks, if followed, would have reaped great profits for@investors.  But "Financial World" magazine has identified those?who it calls the 100 worst stock analysts. The article created4much talk on Wall Street.  The magazine tracked allBrecommendations from those analysts for last year and found that,Bhad their advice been followed, investor losses would have ranged/from about seven percent to almost 60 percent.@   Perhaps even more interesting, editor Douglas McIntyre says,@"Financial World" magazine's survey of all analysts at 25 largeAAmerican firms shows most of them do not perform much better, onBan annual basis, than the stock market's leading indexes, such as-the Standard and Poor's index of 500 stocks:B   "Many, many of these firms had a tiny number of their analystsBwho actually beat the S&P (Standard and Poor's 500 index of stockBvalues). So if you look at 32 analysts in a firm and only nine of:them beat the broad market average that is not too good."@   Editor Douglas McIntyre does not believe stock analysts haveBno value. But he says the value of a specific piece of investment=advice should be related to the record of the analyst who isgiving that advice:@   "There are analysts who did very well. I think the important>thing is that everybody who looks at a recommendation from an:analyst has to consider the source of it and it is alwaysAworthwhile to do a little of your own research because it is notAa bad thing. These people are not always right and, based on our&study, some of them are often wrong."A   Mr. McIntyre hopes his magazine's report on poorly performingBstock analysts will cause investment firms to scrutinize the workAof their analysts more closely to ensure that both the firms and4their clients are getting what they are paying for.   ---------------   ---------------F   AID WORKERS HELD HOSTAGE IN SUDAN RELEASED AFTER PAYMENT OF RANSOM   SONYA LAURENCE GREEN   NAIROBIA   Five aid workers who had been held hostage by renegade troops>in southern Sudan have been released and flown to neighboring8Kenya. A U.N. official says the aid workers are in good;condition, and happy to be free again after their four-dayordeal.<   The five aid workers were among a group of 11 expatriateArelief staff captured Wednesday morning during an attack againstBthe southern Sudanese village of Waat, where they were living and@working.  The aid workers were held hostage by Commander GordonAKoang Banypiny, a former rebel leader who now appears to run his(own independent militia in south Sudan.A   Four of the kidnapped aid workers were released Thursday, andAanother two were let go Friday.  But the last group of five were>marched north toward the government-held town of Malakal by a;group of 130 armed men travelling by foot and in vehicles.?   Saturday, a U.N. airplane resumed its aerial search for the?five missing aid workers, and located them near Doleib Hill inUpper Nile province.B   A spokeswoman for the U.N.'s "Operation Lifeline Sudan," Sally?Burnheim, said that the twin otter airplane landed nearby, andAthe five aid workers were released without further ado and flownout to Kenya.A   Ms. Burnheim conceded that Operation Lifeline Sudan did pay aBransom to Commander Banypiny's militia, saying it was "necessary">for the aid workers' release.  She said an aircraft on FridayBdelivered 16 bags of maize, 20 pairs of sandals, and two tires to(the militiamen at the town of Pulturuk.A   Ms. Burnheim was asked if she thought that paying this ransom>would set a dangerous precedent and lead to more kidnappings:B   "No, not really.  I think its very much an aberration. This isAthe first time that its happened that we're aware of and I thinkAit's much more an indication of deteriorating security situationBin the area of upper nile.  In fact, this afternoon, we have been<advised to relocate all our U.N. and NGO staff from several?locations in Upper Nile, including Nasir and Akobo and anotherplace called Chotbura.A   Ms. Burnheim said Sudan's northern Islamic government appears;to be pressing a dry-season offensive against the southern5rebels, as the 14-year-old civil war heats up again.A   In Eastern Equatoria province, gunshots and shelling near theBvillage of Labone caused 50-thousand Sudanese living at displaced@camps there to flee into northern Uganda, although some of themmoved back to Labone Saturday.   ---------------   ---------------F   BIDEN BACKS AWAY FROM COMMENT THAT HE WON'T VOTE TO CONFIRM FOSTER   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSEB   Controversy continues to build over President Clinton's choiceBto be surgeon general, and the White House is taking a great deal?of criticism for how it is handling the affair.  In the latestBsign of trouble for the nominee, Tennessee doctor Henry foster, a>key senator from the president's own democratic party said he=would vote against the nomination.  But later in the day, hebacked away from his comments.B   Democratic senator Joe Biden told reporters after meeting with@President Clinton at the White House that he would vote against4the nomination of Henry foster for surgeon general.@   But later in a sudden public reversal, the senator said in a=statement that his earlier comments were a reflection of his=anger and frustration at how the White House has handled thenomination.=   Mr. Biden said he would withhold final judgment until the@nomination comes up for a vote in the Senate.  He said he would5do this, as he put it, in fairness to Doctor Foster.A   Mr. Biden joins other lawmakers who have criticized the white:house handling of the nomination.  Some senators note theBadministration and Dr. Foster have given differing accounts about>the number of abortions the nominee has performed, and adding/that Dr. Foster's credibility is now at stake.>   In addition, conservative Republican lawmakers have joinedBanti-abortion groups in opposing the nomination.  Abortion, while$legal, is a highly emotional issue.=   For his part, Dr. Foster, speaking in Washington, said he2believes abortion should be safe, legal and rare.=   White House spokesman Mike McCurry says President Clinton#continues to stand by his nominee.   ---------------   ---------------+   HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTES TO CUT AID RUSSIA   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON>   A Congressional committee has voted to cut most of the aid?promised Russia to help house troops withdrawn from the Baltic?region.  Republicans say the cut is necessary to help the U.S.>Defense Department pay for peacekeeping and refugee programs.=   The House appropriations committee Friday cut 110-million9dollars of the Clinton Administration's proposal to give@160-million dollars to Russia to relocate troops withdrawn fromthe Baltic states.B   The committee cut a total of one-point-four-billion dollars in>previously-approved Defense Department funding, including the;Russian aid.  The cuts were made to help pay for more thanAthree-billion dollars spent for peacekeeping missions in  Haiti,ASomalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and South Korea as well as Cuban andHaitian refugee programs.?   Democrats protested the committee's cuts, saying the unitedAstates was reneging on a promise to help withdraw Russian troopsfrom the Baltic region.=   During a 1993 summit with Russian leader boris Yeltsin in6vancouver, Canada, President Clinton promised aid for)constructing housing for Russian troops.>   Republicans say the defense cuts, which also affected someAdomestic spending, represented programs believed to be the least4effective and would least harm military operations.9   There has been no official White House reaction.  The<committee's cuts must clear both the full house and senate.   ---------------   ---------------D   CARTER SAYS HE IS PREPARED TO INTERVENE IN PERU/ECUADOR CONFLICT   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON?   Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says he and former CostaARican leader Oscar Arias say they are prepared to mediate an end<to the border conflict between Ecuador and Peru. The latestAstatement issued by the Atlanta-based Carter Center follows last5week's joint appeal by both men for a cease-fire andinternational mediation:A   Former President Carter,  who has been involved in monitoring@elections and mediating international crises including the most@recent in Haiti last September, says he is prepared to consider@involvement in the nearly three-week old Ecuador-Peru conflict.BMr. Arias, a 1987 nobel peace prize laureate, spoke to the formerAU.S. leader by telephone Saturday to discuss their earlier joint?appeal for mediation by the organization of American states orthe United Nations.>   Both men belong to the 24-member council of freely-electedBheads of government, a group of current and former heads of state<from the western hemisphere.  They have monitored electionsthroughout Latin America.?   As the two men spoke, representatives of Argentina, Brazil,?Chile and the United States held talks in Brasilia in a bid to;implement a cease-fire.  An Ecuadorian participant says noprogress was made.A   Ecuadorian president Sixto Duran-Ballen has indicated the two9statesmen might attempt to end the fighting sparked by a@decades-old dispute over an unmarked stretch of border believedto be rich in gold.   ---------------   ---------------0   ARAB LEADERS URGE ISRAEL TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON?   As Middle East officials gather in Washington for a one-dayAmeeting Sunday, Palestinians and Egypt have urged Israel to show1more flexibility in advancing the peace process.A   Palestinian leaders warn Israel's reluctance to implement the?next phase of their peace accord could result in a collapse ofthe peace process:=   Palestinian cabinet ministers say the peace process is in:jeopardy over Israel's delay in allowing the expansion of@Palestinian authority in the West Bank.  They say they will useBtoday's meeting in Washington to pressure Israel to implement the'next phase of the self-rule agreement.>   Israel has delayed its troop withdrawal from the West Bank@because of persistent terrorist attacks launched from self-rule?areas against Israeli targets.  Israel sealed its borders with?the West Bank and Gaza after the January 22nd terrorist attack'near Tel Aviv that killed 21 Israelis.9   Egypt has also urged Israel to show more flexibility.?President Hosni Mubarak told reporters in Cairo Saturday he is@concerned about the deadlock in the peace process which he says1threatens to reverse the progress made thus far.=   The foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and a high=Palestinian official will be joined by President Clinton and>secretary of state Warren Christopher at today's talks.  U.S.@officials, aware the peace process is in a difficult phase, are=downplaying the results.  They are not expected to offer any;specific proposals on how to remove the current obstacles.   ---------------   ---------------+   UNITA SKEPTICAL OF ANGOLAN PEACE ACCORD   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTONA   In the Angolan town of Bailundo [bye-loon-doe] members of the?National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, or UNITA,=are reviewing the peace accord signed last November with the@Angolan government.  A UNITA spokesman in Washington says their:is a critical need for mutual trust between UNITA and the@government headed by Eduardo Dos Santos of the popular Movement'for the liberation of Angola, or MPLA.8   At present there is a cease-fire between the Angolan?government and UNITA forces and this past week (Wednesday) the@U.N. Security Council authorized more than seven thousand peacekeeping troops for Angola.>   But UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi remains skeptical about the;accord reached in Lusaka, Zambia, that called for military<disengagement and the end to weapons imports and the use offoreign mercenaries.A   Jardo Muekalia [jar'-doe moo-kahl'-yah] a spokesman for UNITA?in Washington, D.C. Says the government side has not complied:A   "After the signing of the Lusaka accords, the government went8on taking over territory.  They continue having foreign>mercenaries in their ranks.  They continue to import weapons.>Our questions is:  Can we implement the Lusaka protocol under>those conditions.  Who does have the moral authority over theAgovernment to fulfill some of those provisions?  How fast can we do it?  How well can we do it?"@   Mr. Muekalia sees the need for a swift and firm U.N. role inAngola:@   "If the Lusaka protocol does not give moral authority to the=U.N. or to anybody to tell the government to stop what it is>doing, then we have a problem.  We would like to see the U.N.Bdeployment done as quickly as possible because that will serve as9a deterrent.  The U.N. has a mission not only to oversee@demobilization and disarmament but to oversee the withdrawal ofthe mercenaries."A   Mr. Muekalia also speaks of concern for Mr. Savimbi's safety.AHe says the UNITA leader is ready to meet with Angolan President@Jose Eduardo Dos Santos but that he fears he will be the targetof an assassination attempt:@   "But we'd like to have those guarantees from the government,Bthat they do want Dr. Savimbi's participation and cooperation and:not his head.  We'd also like to see some movement on theBmercenaries issue, on stopping the importation of weapons.  So we@are moving toward peace and not preparation of another round of?war.  Those are conditions we'd like to see before the meetingtakes place."B   The Angolan government denies any attempt to harm Mr. Savimbi.@In Washington, Armando Francisco is a spokesman for the Angolan	embassy:@   "I don't know why they say that because nobody wants to kill>Mr. Savimbi.  We need Mr. Savimbi to work in this process, to@rebuild Angola.  You know, President Dos Santos has invited Mr.BSavimbi for a meeting and I can assure you there is no danger for?Mr. Savimbi.  The summit is possible.  If both chiefs of staffBhave met two times,  why can't the two leaders meet?  There is noBdanger because before the meeting I think the U.N. observers will>arrange everything to guarantee the security of Mr. Savimbi.">   At the United Nations, Angola Foreign Minister Venancio DeBMoura acknowledged what he called minor violations of the accords?but he said these should not be used as a pretext to delay the(steps set forth in the Lusaka protocol.8   He said a joint commission of representatives of the?government and UNITA is working out differences.  Mr. De moura;said disengagement between UNITA and government forces had@started in some areas and free movement of people and goods hasbegun.B   Angolan government spokesman Armando Francisco says the Lusaka>accords are the best way to end nearly 20 years of warfare inAngola.   ---------------   ---------------7   RUSSIA DISPLAYS ART TREASURE TAKN FROM NAZI GERMANY   MARTIN BUSH   NEW YORK@   Art treasures the Soviet Union took as war plunder from Nazi:Germany at the end of World War II were unveiled in Saint>Peterburg, Russia this week).  An American publisher plans to$print a catalogue of the paintings.=   Seventy-four French impressionist paintings go on view inAmarch at the hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  ThatAannouncement was made simultaneously in Saint Petersburg and newyork this week.?   The works have been hidden in Russia for more than 50 years<after the Soviet army captured them from Germany during theBsecond world war.  Among the masterpieces are Edgar Degas' "Place?de la Concorde" and "Two Sisters From tahiti" by Paul Gauguin.B   Paul Gottlieb is president of the Harry Abrams publishing firm>in New York. Which will publish a catalogue of the paintings:B   "These artists are among the best loved in the world.  I wouldAwager that in the United States Monet and Van Gogh are the starsBin the artistic firmament, and anything new that is discovered of8theirs or anything that's old that's disappeared and is(re-discovered is of inestimable value."=   Fifty-six of the 74 impressionist paintings were once the9property of Otto Krebs, a German industrialist who died,=reportedly without any descendants.  Russia contends the art=treasures are war booty.   Germany argues that they must, by@international law, be returned.  Russia refuses, insisting thatAthe paintings are just compensation for Germany's destruction ofRussia during World War II.A   Since the ownership of the art masterpieces is in dispute, it=is not clear whether they will ever be exhibited here in the?United States.  Should that happen, the works will probably be0shown at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.   ---------------   ---------------&   BOMB KILLS FOUR GYPSIES IN AUSTRIA   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNA9   The Austrian government has offered a huge reward for>information leading to the arrest of people responsible for a/bombing last weekend that killed four gypsies.=   The bombing incident is believed to have been the work of>neo-Nazis.  It has deeply embarrassed the Austrian government@which has been accused of not doing enough to combat right-wingextremism.B   An official minute of silence was held to honor the four gypsy=men, murdered last weekend in the town of Oberwart about 120kilometers south of Vienna.=   The Austrian interior ministry has posted a reward, worth>about 320-thousand dollars, for information that leads to the@arrest of those responsible for the bombing.  It is the biggest1reward of its kind ever offered in this country.@   Austrian President Thomas Klestil heads a list of governmentAofficials who will attend funeral services for the slain gypsies:on Saturday.  The services will be broadcast on Austria'sstate-run television.   ---------------   ---------------   AUTOMOTIVE OUTLOOK   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGOB   The nation's biggest auto show is underway in the Midwest city@of Chicago, and prior to its opening, top executives from major?auto companies briefed news reporters about their products andBthe state of their industry. Despite mixed economic signals about<the economy's strength in general, the auto company leaders$project another good year for 1995.B   Last year just over 15 million cars and small trucks were sold:here in the United States.  For two years in a row, sales<increases  grew at a healthy rate.  This year, however, top?executives see additional growth, but at a more moderate rate,Aperhaps only three or four percent.  The total sales projections1range from 15-and-a-half to 16 million vehicles.@   Part of the slower growth is due to signs of some slowing of:the economy, although those signs are mixed.  The cost ofBborrowing money to buy a new car has gone up substantially in the@past year, with the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank,Braising interest rates seven times since last February. Detroit's<auto executives say the higher rates have not hurt them toobadly.;   Ford's chief executive, Alex Trotman, says it's hard to,predict if more rate hikes are forthcoming:?   "The Federal Reserve is feeling its way along, and no doubtAthey'll be looking at all of the indicators they can find to seeAwhat the reaction has been to the last one in deciding.   ShouldAthere be another one and how big should it be?  But I don't knowBthe answer to that question.  I'm sure they don't know at the fed?either. We have to be very sensitive though to the impact that@interest rate increases have.  It's trial and hopefully not too(much error.  But it's mostly by trial.";   General Motors, the world's largest automobile company,@reported a profit in its North American division last year, the>first since 1989.  Division President Richard Wagoner says he>would not be surprised if the Federal Reserve raised interest>rates again this year.  He hopes the increases will not be asfrequent as in the past year.?   But generally speaking, Mr. Wagoner sees a good year ahead:?   "At this point I think the market looks good, not uniformly>strong.  Sports utilities (vehicles) are going just great, at>least from our  side, and the lower end of the market is very;strong.  At the luxury market, it's not as strong, so it'sAdefinitely not uniform.  But right now, we feel pretty good.  As@far as the fed, we've had a chance to take pot shots (taunt) atBthem periodically over the last year, but they've managed it verywell, so far.@   Chrysler President Robert Lutz told reporters at the Chicago@auto show that new cars are still affordable to most Americans.@He criticized a recent U.S. Commerce Department study which put:the average price for a new car in America at 20-thousand	dollars.@   Mr. Lutz says the average was driven up recently because the?economy has been strong and many buyers bought premium models:B   "Since one vehicle is not like another, and in a strong market?the market demand is for larger, better, more heavily-equipped=vehicles, which, by the way, don't carry rebates because who=wants to offer  rebates when you're sold out.  That Commerce>Department index is just hopelessly flawed, because what they>never show you is that in times of recession, the transactionBprices come way down.  That's because people buy a leaner mix and5they get a lot of rebates.  So the thing is a joke."B   While top U.S. auto executives see a better sales year in 1995Bthan 1994, there are already signs the market is softening.  Some>new models that were in great demand months ago are now being?discounted by dealers, with special rebate ncentives for those
who buy now.   ---------------   ---------------   BROADWAY ECONOMICS   ROBIN RUPLI   WASHINGTONA   For more than a century, New York's Broadway theater district;has been a magnet for people all over the world looking to=experience the highest quality in theater entertainment.  In9recent years however, Broadway has been in trouble.  TheAskyrocketing costs of putting on a new show has turned it into a>street of "safe bets", that is, entertainment for the masses:AMusical revivals, imports from England, with fewer and fewer new=American comedies and dramas being offered with each passing@year.  Negotiations between theater owners, producers and union@representatives have been slow to make any real changes to helprestore it to solvency.;   The late Broadway impresario Joesph Papp may have had aBpremonition when he sang this song that there was change in store@for his beloved street. The glamour, the energy, what many have?called "the magic" of Broadway has not been enough to stop its<downward spiral of presenting fewer new plays, leaving more@historic theaters sitting vacant, and driving away audiences by;charging astronomical ticket prices.  The problem has been@attributed to a combination of factors:  The tremendous rent of?mid-town manhattan real estate; steep television and newspaperBadvertising costs; star salaries; and, most notably, strict laborAunion contracts that may include hiring more backstage help thanBis needed for a production.  Frank rich is an editorial columnist@for the New York Times and was their principal drama critic formore than two decades.A   Rich says the critically acclaimed two-part drama, "angels in@America" is a perfect example of how Broadway is pricing itself2out of existence, whether or not a show is a hit:B   "This came to a real crisis over the past year when 'Angels inBAmerica' won the pulitzer prize, won the tony award for best playAtwo years in a row for each of its two halves, got great reviews@and it did great business and ran almost as long as 'death of a@salesman.' but in spite of that, it never returned its money to<investors because even with a sixty-five dollar top (ticket@price) and big houses, it could not make back those huge costs.BSo, if you can't have an economic return on a show that is a hit,Bwho's going to take a chance on another play? No one.  And that's what's basically happened now."A   Mr. Rich adds that since the cost for even modest productionsAis so high, there's not much difference in ticket prices betweenAa big blockbuster musical and a play with only a few characters.?For the consumer, he says, it's dramatic productions that loseout:@   "Because if people are spending that kind of money they wantBto see the money on stage.  They want falling chandeliers or setsAmoving up or down and what's happening is it's driving the drama4or the so-called straight play right off Broadway."A   And off-Broadway is exactly where straight dramas are moving.>Off-Broadway, which isn't a street but a term that represents>smaller, less mainstream works, is nonetheless a professional@venue, but lacks the cache of the name "Broadway." Off-BroadwayBtheaters use non-union stagehands, ushers and box-office workers.AA play costs approximately one third as much to produce there asit does on Broadway.=   Columnist Frank Rich says that when playwright Neil Simon:announced he was abandoning Broadway to open his new play<off-Broadway, industry executives had to admit that changesneeded to be made::   "Neil Simon is synonymous with commercially successful?Broadway playwrighting.  He's had a play on Broadway virtuallyAevery season since the mid 1960's for almost thirty years.  When?he made the decision that his shows could no longer return theAmoney to investors by appearing on Broadway, that was it really.>That was the final writing on the wall because the feeling is>that if Neil Simon cannot make money from a play on Broadway,then who can?">   It doesn't help producers to keep costs down when they are<required to hire more musicians and backstage help than areBneeded.  But labor unions have their own concerns.  The musicians8union, for example, has fought the ever-widening use ofBsynthesizers in the orchestra pit, digitally controlled equipmentBthat can simulate the sound of many instruments, thus eliminating!the need to hire more musicians.<   Harriet Slaughter is director of labor relations for the@League of Broadway Theaters and Producers, the Broadway theater@trade association. She says negotiations among labor unions aremaking positive strides:?   "We recently negotiated in the last contract what we call a8'special situation' so if it is a production that has a?particular artistic concept then that can be considered ratherAthan the minimums required in the theater. we just had a meetingAwhere (the new play)  'Smokey Joe's Cafe' was considered to be a@special situation where a rock 'n roll band is being created on:the stage and so the minimum number of musicians for that>production was allowed to go forward rather than the required(number) under the contract."B   Harriet Slaughter says she is optimistic about change but thatBit "won't happen overnight."  New York Times columnist Frank RichBsays while Broadway may be teetering on the edge of doom, he seessome cause for hope:B   "Gone, it seems are the sort of 'ostrich in the sand' attitudeAthat prevailed as recently as a year ago, that 'oh, this is just@a period the theater is going through,' the theater always goes?through cycles.' I think there's now a large scale recognitionAthat there's a crisis.  Their problems are enormous.  But if you@have intelligent people and some of these people are very smart@and very committed and want to solve them, maybe something will	happen.";   Earlier this month ) something did happen in a historicBunion-producer negotiation.  The new musical "Smokey Joe's Cafe,";scheduled to open next month, will be the first to come toBBroadway under a new rule eliminating payments to union musicianswho are not expected to play.   ---------------   ---------------   CENTRAL EUROPEAN STOCKS   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUEB   There were modest rebounds from record low levels this week in>East European stock markets. An improved political climate in8Hungary and Poland helped exchanges in those countries.A   The emerging markets in Eastern Europe were swamped with sell>orders during the past eight weeks as institutional investors:acted to protect their capital in the wake of the MexicanAfinancial crisis.  The small, fragile East European markets were@hit especially hard since institutional money from New York and@London accounts for a majority of trading volume. The exchanges;in Budapest, Warsaw, and Prague all fell to 12-month lows.=   But there were slight improvements this week as investors:cautiously returned to the markets in search of bargains.>   In Warsaw, the market liked the apparent resolution to theAPolish political deadlock and the likely naming of a more reform<minded politician to take over from Prime Minister Waldemar?Pawlak.  The warsaw market index gained 672 points to close at>65-hundred 99. But the Polish market still is down 68 percentfrom its 1994-1995 high.B   In Budapest, the market registered only a mild response to the?naming of reform minded bankers to the vacant posts of central@bank chief and finance minister.  The market is still unsettledBfrom Prime Minister Gyula Horn last month undoing a privatization?deal for the Hungar Hotel Chain.  The Budapest exchange gainedAfour points on the week to close at 11-hundred-88.  But it still,is down 50 percent from its 1994-1995 high.>   In Prague, the stock exchange index of 50 shares gained 13@points to 499.  The Prague market also still is down 50 percentfrom its 1994/95 high.A   Other smaller post-communist markets were mixed.  In Slovenia:the Ljubljana exchange registered a 27 point decline.  InBBratislava, Slovak stocks were mostly unchanged.  Share prices inABulgaria were slightly higher.  There is still no stock exchangein Romania.   ---------------   ---------------   CHINA'S SURPLUS OF MEN   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON?   U.S. and Chinese population experts say China will have farAmore men of marriage age than women in 25 years as the result of@the country's cultural values and official social policies. TheBmale overload could have significant social consequences, such asan increase in prostitution.@   Births of males normally outnumber those of females by about?105 to 100.  But this ratio has been higher in China in recentAyears, about 114 newborn boys for every 100 girls.  The trend isexpected to continue.A   As a result, men of marriage age, roughly 20 to 30 years old,:are expected to outnumber marriageable women by about one)million, or eight per cent, in 25 years.>   According to Stanford University population biologist Marc	Feldman:>   "By the year 2020, there will be a million unmarried malesunable to find partners."B   He issued the warning in the U.S. journal "Science" [Feb. 10th=issue] with demographers from Xi'an Jiaotong [shee-ahn jyao-#tohng] University in Xi'an, China.A   Mr. Feldman says the gender imbalance is partly the result of>the traditional Chinese cultural preference for boys, who are9considered better able to support elderly parents.  This@preference is exaggerated by the government's one birth policy:>   "If one is given only the option of having one child, thenBthat preference would be manifest in trying to make sure that the@only child one has is a male.  You have to remember that in theBmajor cities of China now, the total fertility rate has come down<to among the lowest in the world.  This is one of the great?successes of the population program in China.  But, of course,<the other side of that is that the cultural preferences for?having male children haven't changed as fast as the technology6for being able to restrict one's number of children."A   Technologies to determine the sex of a fetus are available in=china and are used to help parents decide whether to have an<abortion.  The killing of unwanted baby girls may also be a?factor in China's demographic trend, but Mr. Feldman could notsay how much one it is.8   China is not alone.  The Stanford and Xi'an JiaotongAUniversity researchers say that, for the same reasons, India and9other Asian countries also have a steady increase in the4percentage of their male populations. Says Feldman:?   "I predict that there will be a very large number of excess9males of marriageable age in most countries of south andBSoutheast Asia at that time.  That suggests that internally there:are likely to be difficulties by the social disruptions."A   Because men will have trouble finding wives, Mr. Feldman says?they will live with their parents longer and marry later.  TheAaverage difference in age between husbands and wives will widen.=Richer men will have an easier time than poorer ones findingAbrides, an advantage that is likely to become more pronounced as%the market economy expands in China:@   "There will probably be large scale migrations.  Those malesAwill be looking for outlets and one might predict an increase in=prostitution.  One might predict an increase in kidnapping."A   The Stanford University population biologist says the Chinese=government is worried about these prospects and is trying to>alter the pattern.  To do so, he points out, it is seeking toBovercome the preference for sons.  State social welfare programs,Afor example, target people without sons.  Other policies seek to:increase the status of women.  Factories and agricultural9enterprises have been established to employ rural women.<   By increasing women's economic value, says Marc Feldman,7Beijing is hoping to boost their social value as well.   ---------------   ---------------1   CLINTON'S AMERICORPS CAUGHT IN THE CROSS-FIRE
   NINA KECK   WASHINGTON DCA   In cities and towns across the country, twenty-thousand young=Americans from all walks of life are working in a variety ofBpublic service jobs: tutoring children, serving as police cadets,Bcleaning up public parks, and preserving natural wetlands.  These<young people are members of Americorps, President Clinton's@highly publicized national service program.  For their efforts,Aparticipants receive a small stipend, and they are also eligible8for health and childcare benefits, as well as financialBassistance in continuing their education.  In his proposed budget;for 1996, President Clinton is asking for over 812 millionAdollars  to finance and expand the Americorps project.  Critics,Ahowever, say the five-month-old program wastes federal money and@will undermine unpaid volunteerism.  The debate over AmericorpsBis intensifying as U.S. lawmakers struggle to balance the federalbudget.2   Surrounded by dust, plaster and peeling walls,Atwenty-three-year-old Amy Jordan and twenty-two-year-old Antonio@Tutt rips out decaying floorboards in a run-down public housing?unit in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.  AsAmembers of President Clinton's new Americorps, they and eighteenAother recruits in Alexandria work full- time to rehabilitate and+repair apartments for low-income families.@   "This is my neighborhood, and it helps me to clean it up and&help it to look better," says Jordan"A   Amy Jordan and her Alexandria co-workers are all residents of=public housing and are between the ages of 18 and 24.  TheirByear-long tour of service began last fall with a month-and-a-half4of training in basic carpentry and plumbing skills.@   Project coordinator Tasa [tay'-sah] Hardaway says Americorps8participants must also attend seminars on goal setting,?leadership building, parenting, and developing aids awareness:<   "We do college tours; we expose them to college life; weBexpose them to cultural events; we do seminars and workshops, and@just do anything we can to expose them to opportunities outside9of the public housing communities that they're used to."?   That broad exposure has had a definite impact on Americorpsmember Antonio Tutt.=   "It's showing me, a person like me, responsibility," says@Tutt, "how to be responsible for other things that would affectBme in my life, as far as financial, family, health and stuff like<that; so it's affecting me in a lot of areas which I really;wasn't used to as far as responsibility. I always had goodBintentions, but this is, like, enhancing my intentions and makingme actually do it."7   In payment for their work as plumbers, painters andAcarpenters, Antonio Tutt and Amy Jordan receive four dollars and?forty-five cents an hour.  Some health insurance and childcare=are provided, and if they complete seventeen-hundred service=hours, members of Americorps are also eligible for a collegeBgrant of nearly five thousand dollars.  While many people applaudAthe benefits of community service, some are beginning to ask why%taxpayers should have to pay for it.?   According to John Walters, president of the New Citizenship<Project, a nonprofit organization which opposes Americorps:=   "Why I think Americorps is a battle worth fighting is notAbecause I want to be cheap toward young people or the poor; it's<because I think it's an important principled fight that the?president has chosen to fight on what's the proper role of thefederal government."=   John Walters says there are roughly eighty million unpaidAvolunteers already active in the United States, three million of?whom are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four.  He andBother critics of Americorps say the President's paid program willAdiscourage true volunteerism.  In addition, Mr. Walters says the?influx of federal tax dollars will encourage community service>organizations to become dependent on the federal government."A   "The general political trend now, I think, is healthy in that;it says: 'let's get the federal government out of parts of?American life where it doesn't need to be in, if there's not a<compelling reason: Let's not regulate it, and let's not tax=citizens to get involved; and let's return responsibility to?citizens and to local communities and to state governments, soAthat the ones who have the best knowledge of the problems can be:the ones to deal with it and have a free hand to do so.'"A   In addition to creating a whole new bureaucracy, John Walters=says Americorps is simply too expensive.  He says statistics@indicate that with salary, worker's benefits and administrative=costs, each Americorps participant will cost taxpayers up to thirty thousand dollars a year.A   However, Rick Allen, President Clinton's deputy assistant for>national service, says the actual cost per volunteer averages:less than nineteen-thousand dollars a year.  He and other>proponents of Americorps say critics are also failing to take=into account the long-term economic benefits of the program.@   In the east coast city of Baltimore, Maryland, for instance,AAmericorps member Bonnie Blake helps coordinate health care at a+community medical clinic for the homeless.>   "I myself have brought in over seven new volunteers," says=Blake "and I will bring in over forty physicians in the next:three months, which saves the government a lot of money."?   By providing the homeless with effective preventative care,BMs. Blake says the government avoids costly emergency room visitsBand hospital paperwork. Volunteers recruited by Bonnie Blake work=to find jobs as well as housing for the homeless, which, she9says, helps to lower the local crime rate and encourages:self-sufficiency.  Americorps participant Kathleen O'Neil;coordinates Baltimore's college bound program, which helps?inner-city high school students continue their education.  Ms.=O'Neil points out that all of her students who graduate from@college will earn higher salaries, contribute more tax dollars,?and hopefully encourage their children to get college degrees,Athus perpetuating the long-term benefits of the national service	program.?   Despite these benefits, John Walters and other opponents ofBamericcorps say the main issue remains clear: How much government.is too much, and where do you draw the line?:@   "We're talking about competing priorities between AmericorpsAand head start, Americorps and AFDC and Americorps and educationAprograms. Yes, it's a small amount of money, but there are a lot/of small programs, and they add up over time."8   Americorps member Bonnie Blake says she realizes the@government can't do everything.  But to members of Congress who6may want to cancel funding for the program, she says:=   "I'd just tell them exactly what I've done, how much I've?saved them money-wise, people-wise, life-wise. There's just so?much going on with Americorps that it's hard for me to realize*that they don't see the good it's doing."B   With many Americans pressuring Congress to balance the federalBbudget, House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and others9say the President's national service corps is simply onegovernment program too many.   ---------------   ---------------@   EGYPT COMPLAINS ABOUT U.S. REPORT ON ITS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD   AURIE KASSMAN	   CAIRO<   Egypt's top security official is angry with a U.S. State;Department report about his country's human rights record,Bcalling it biased and filled with errors.  The government rejects9the criticism, saying it is succeeding in its three-year;crackdown on islamic extremists who want to topple Egypt'sgovernment.A   Interior Minister Hassan Al-Alfy told the Arab-language daily>Al-Hayat the U.S. human rights report on Egypt, in his words,Alacks objectivity and neutrality and relies on the worst storiesof the opposition press.=   He said it is not in the interest of the United States todistort the image of Egypt.;   Relations between Egypt and the United States have been=strained lately over the faltering peace process and Egypt'sBinsistence that Israel sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.@   The State Department's annual report blames Islamic radicalsAfor widespread abuses.  But it also criticizes Egyptian securityAforces for arbitrary arrests, torture of detainees, intimidation@of reporters, and the detention of lawyers who defend suspectedterrorists.B   The report also complains about Egypt's use of military courts@to try suspected Islamic militants, which denies the defendantsthe right of appeal.   ---------------   --------------'   DOCTOR FOSTER MAKES HIS CASE PUBLIC   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSEA   President Clinton's nominee for surgeon general is making his>public case for Senate confirmation amid increasing signs his@nomination is in serious trouble. The Clinton Administration is;strongly backing Doctor Henry foster's nomination, but the4question being asked now is, can it still be saved?<   His tone was firm, not strident, his message clear. In a<speech Friday at the George Washington University School of;Public Health, Doctor Foster, until now a little-known but=well-respected obstetrician-gynecologist, said he shares the?president's view that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.?   Anti-abortion forces have seized upon his admission that he<performed dozens of legal abortions during his decades-long?medical career. That has angered political conservatives.  But@other lawmakers now question his credibility, because they were@originally told the number of abortions he performed was closerto one dozen.?   Doctor foster did his best Friday to demonstrate he is much+more than just his abortion record saying:A   "And the irony, after the debate is,  my life's work has beenBdedicated to making sure that young people don't have to face thechoice of abortions."*   Doctor foster was nominated last week.A   Since then, he said Friday, he has been in what he called theAfight of his life.  In the face of this, he said, he is standingstrong:@   "In his announcement of my nomination, the president thankedAme for  taking on the difficult task of public service at a timeBwhen public service sometimes has a high price.  I thought I knewBwhat he meant at the time. But after the past week, I really knowwhat he means now.";   Doctor Foster was selected to replace the outspoken and@controversial Doctor Jocelyn Elders, dismissed by the president>for suggesting students be taught about masturbation.  In hisAremarks Friday, Doctor Foster said that in recent days he hardly+recognizes media references to his career:?   "The descriptions of myself and my work that I have read in?the newspapers, seen on television have cast an unrecognizable%shadow of the man that I really am."?   Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry says he hopes Senate opinion@will shift in doctor foster's favor after he gets the chance toAmeet lawmakers next week.  Still, his future as the nation's top*public health official remains uncertain.>   In an editorial, the New York Times opposes him.  Democrat<Senator Joe Biden, following a White House meeting with theApresident, said the media ought to pay more attention to pending?anti-crime legislation in Congress than on the surgeon general@nomination.  The job of surgeon general could be eliminated, he0said, and it would have no impact on Americans.?   That's a view this White House clearly does not share as it@hopes the foster speech and a slow news weekend quiet the storm:of controversy surrounding yet another of the president'sexecutive branch nominees.   ---------------   ---------------(   KASHMIR LEADER KILLED BY RIVAL GROUP   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIA   Indian police say a prominent leader of a Kashmiri separatist=group has been shot to death by rival anti-indian militants.@Gunbattles erupted between Indian security forces and militantsafter the shooting.A   Police identify the dead activist as Idris Khan, of the JammuBand Kashmir Liberation Front, which favors Kashmiri independence.@   Police say he was shot to death Friday by militants from theAHizbul Mujahideen organization, which advocates unifying Kashmirwith Pakistan.@   Police say mister Khan was shot outside the Hazratbal shrine6complex in Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.A   Mister Khan gained worldwide attention in October, 1993, when@he acted as chief negotiator for Kashmiri militants holed up inBthe Hazratbal shrine during a month-long standoff with the Indianarmy.?   As news of mister khan's death spread, gunfights erupted in9downtown Srinagar between security forces and militants.A   Muslim militants are fighting to Indian rule in Kashmir. More.than 12 thousand people have died since 1989.   ---------------   ---------------'   MAIDAN SHAHR FALLS TO AFGHAN REBELS   TIM JOHNSTON	   KABULB   The town of Maidan Shahr, 30 kilometers south of Afghanistan's@capital, Kabul, has fallen to fighters of the Taliban Movement.BThis is just the latest in a series of victories for the Taliban.>But it could bring them in direct conflict with the forces of)Afghan president of Burhanuddin Rabbani.@   According to Taliban fighters in Maidan Shahr, they took the@town at three o'clock Friday morning.  They said they had takenBan undisclosed number of prisoners and some tanks in the process.A   The town was quiet Friday.  An exhausted Taliban was sleeping6in the former courthouse that is now serving as theirheadquarters.=   Maidan Shahr had been held by forces of ex-prime minister@Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-E-Islami that formed the western end9of their front line with President Burhanuddin Rabbani's
alliance.?   The loss of Maidan Shahr is a big blow to Mr. Hekmatyar and9will weaken his bargaining position in the on-going U.N.sponsored peace talks.A   The victorious Taliban commander refused to be drawn on their8next objective.  They could either move east to try and>neutralize the rest of the Hezb-E-Islami forces or they could0could decide to continue north to Kabul itself.A   Their is little doubt they intend to move on to Kabul at some<point.  The Taliban commander said Friday afternoon, in his?words, when we get to Kabul, we will implement Islamic law and<remove the communists from the positions of power they havemanaged to cling to.>   A spokesman for President Rabbani said last week, that theBTaliban would be welcomed in peace, but they would be resisted ifthey tried force of arms.<   The Taliban are a new force in the complicated sphere ofAAfghan politics.  They emerged late last year when they took the@southern city of Kandahar.  Since then, they have moved rapidlyAnorth, making short work of the little resistance they have met.>   They formed around a core of Islamic theology students and;their teachers.  Their stated aim is to wipe out what they@consider the corrupt and irresponsible commanders who had splitAAfghanistan into fiefdoms after the fall of the communist regime	in 1992.A   They have strong popular support in the countryside they have@captured.  But it remains to be seen how welcome their strongly=islamic politics will be in the more cosmopolitan society ofKabul.   ---------------   ---------------C   MANDELA COMMEMORATES 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON   MALLORY SALESON   JOHANNESBURG@   South African President Nelson Mandela went Friday to Robben?Island off the Cape coast where he spent 18 of his 27-years in:prison at hard labor.  He met with other former political?prisoners and business leaders to decide the future use of theBisland.  The visit also marks the fifth anniversary (on Saturday)of his release from prison.=   It has been almost a year since African National Congress;President Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black7president.  His inauguration May 10th, 1994 marked the<realization of a dream for himself and South Africa's black;majority living under white domination for more than threeBcenturies since the Dutch first landed at cape town.  Mr. MandelaBpledged to lead South Africa's first government of National UnityBinto a new post-apartheid era where all South Africans, white and*black, could be proud and free from fear.A   Born July 18th, 1918 in Qunu, in the Transkei, he was groomedBto become a chief.  He wrote in his autobiography his early years>under the guardianship of the chief of the Thembu Royal House>were some of the best of his life.  He later became active inApolitics and became a lawyer.  In his early years he was also an?amateur heavy-weight boxer and today Mr. Mandela still appears3mostly fit, though at times he also appears tired.A   He still engages in physical exercise, but says he has little@time for personal enjoyment as he meets his responsibilities ashead of state:A   "In many respects I sometimes feel like going back to prison,>because there I had enough time to read what I like, and more=important, as I have said before, I had time to sit down and>think and plan.  Something which I miss now because I have to&move from one engagement to another."A   Mr. Mandela spent more than one-third of his life in jail forAconspiring to overthrow the white-minority government.  For most>of that time his picture could not be published and his wordsAcould not be quoted.  His stature rose to mythic proportions and@his life became the stuff of legends, especially to millions ofdisenfranchised blacks.>   Close friends speak of his warmth and loyalty.  SupportersAadore him as everything from a sex-symbol, even at his advanced,?graying age, to a prophet leading them into the promised land.BAides speak of his steely determination to get the job done. But,>political analysts express concern he is not forceful enough.@They say he needs to be ruthless toward friend and foe alike if=he is to succeed in meeting the huge goals set for the yearsahead.<   Mr. Mandela has gained in popularity since his election.;While the black majority has always revered him, the white=minority has shown increasing admiration for the man who has=extended every effort to allay their fears.  Mr. Mandela has4sought to heal South Africa's wounds and to achieve=reconciliation after decades of racial division, even at the8expense of criticism from some in his own constituency.@   His close friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu says Nelson Mandelahas met the challenge:B   "He has been superb.  He has been quite extraordinary. Now and@again he shows that he his a mortal and you know that is also aBgood thing.  But what has been extraordinary is how many of those;who have been his erstwhile critics, and most ascorbic and<hostile critics, virtually all are eating out of his hand."B   In the face of political transition, violent crime and generalBconcern about the future, Mr. Mandela has pulled together support=from a broad range of people from all racial groups.  He won>international recognition for his efforts in 1993 when he and=former President F.W. De Klerk shared the Nobel Peace prize.A   The transition from white-minority rule to the post-apartheid;black-led democracy seems to rest on his shoulders and his>ability to persuade, negotiate and win people over as his new;government settles in to the tough tasks ahead.  Political@analysts forecast even bigger challenges when Mr. Mandela is nolonger at the helm.=   Mr. Mandela likely faced one of his most painful personal<trials during the breakdown of his marriage to ANC activist=Winnie Mandela, his wife of more than 30 years.  Mr. Mandela;eventually had to distance himself from his wife after her;conviction on kidnap charges.  Mrs. Mandela's overwhelming@popularity and standing among the militant township youth still?give her an important role to play within the party and in thegovernment.:   Mr. Mandela has had to balance the demands of his many?supporters with the concerns of business leaders and investors<seeking a stable South Africa before they commit resources.BPolitical analysts say it is imperative for Mr. Mandela to remain?focussed on the internal agenda and develop a strategic visionfor the future of the country.   ---------------   --------------->   MEXICO BAILOUT STILL SUBJECT OF CONTENTION ON CAPITOL HILL   ART CHIMES   WASHINGTON8   President Clinton last week headed off CongressionalAopposition to a bailout package for the troubled Mexican economy=by announcing a program that would not require CongressionalAsupport.  But the issue is still being examined on Capitol Hill.;   When a Clinton Administration proposal to stabilize the?Mexican economy got bogged down in Congress, the president put=together a restructured plan to by-passed the Congress.  The@revised plan brought in greater international participation and?tapped a special account designed to support the dollar called#the "Exchange Stabilization Fund."<   The Clinton Administration's action left many members of=Congress concerned that they would have no say in the Mexicorescue process.A   Congressman Bernard Sanders, the only independent legislator,@says most Americans are opposed to the bailout, even though theAClinton Administration says Mexico has pledged its oil resources*as collateral in case there is a default.=   Congressman Sanders has introduced legislation that wouldAprevent the president from using the exchange stabilization fundto prop up a foreign currency:>   " We can disagree about this bailout.  Fair enough.  But I?think we should not disagree that that issues should have been<debated on the floor of the house and the Senate and a voteshould have been taken."A   Some economists say the crisis is the perfect opportunity for&major changes in the Mexican economy.<   An economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of?Technology, Rudi Dornbusch, says a good place to start is withthe state oil company, Pemex:B   "Pemex is worth more than 50-billion dollars.  The company has;stolen for 60-years from all Mexicans.  It's a monument to@expropriation of U.S. property.  I don't really see why we have?to put the money up if Pemex is allowed to stay, and everybodyBagrees it's not an efficient company.  It has absolutely no meritas a state enterprise.">   The Clinton Administration, meanwhile,  is standing by its<rescue plan.  Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin told Congress?Thursday that Mexico was within days of "some sort of default"=when the president decided to go it alone and put together abailout without the Congress.<   U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor also praised theClinton plan::   "The situation with the peso we believe is a short-run>problem.  As difficult as it was, first of all, I believe theApresident acted decisively, well and correctly in what he did inBputting together a 50-billion dollar package, 30-billion of which;was international, 60-percent of that. Twenty billion fromavailable U.S. funds."<   And the head of the U.S. central bank also weighed in to@support the deal.  Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told:Congress this week the president's plan should succeed in=avoiding a financial disaster in Mexico.  He said the rescue@package will solidify the economic improvements that have taken#place in Mexico over recent years.   ---------------   ---------------F   CHIAPAS REBEL LEADER "SUB-COMMANDER MARCOS" TRUE IDENTITY REVEALED   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEA   The hooded Mexican guerrilla leader, who captured the world's;attention thirteen months ago, has now been un-masked, andAidentified by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo himself. The man?who calls himself Sub-commander Marcos apparently comes from a>middle class family in the northeastern port city of Tampico.@   In a nationwide speech late Thursday calling for the arrest,@President Ernesto Zedillo identified Marcos as Rafael Sebastian@Guillen Vicente, thus ending a mystery that has captivated many in Mexico and around the world.=   Marcos burst on the international scene on January first,;1994, as one of the hooded commanders leading armed Indian>peasants calling themselves the Zapatista National Liberation?Army. Marcos, who always covered his face in public with a skiAmask, soon caught the attention of reporters in those early days=of the revolt because of his eloquence in explaining why the?Indian peasants had no choice but to fight for their rights in?what is Mexico's poorest state.  His passion and eloquence and>his hooded image created a sense of mystery that captured theimagination of many Mexicans.A   Following Mr. Zedillo's speech, Mexican authorities displayedApictures of Mr. Guillen Vicente without his mask.  They showed aBbearded, broad-faced man of about 35 years old.  Authorities said=the guerrilla leader comes from a middle class family in theAnortheastern city of Tampico, in Tamaupilas State.  They said he9is one of eight children, and his father runs a chain ofAfurniture stores.  When he was young, he studied at a school runBby Jesuit priests, and later pursued university studies. Teachers&remember him as being a good student.;   Mexican officials said they obtained the information onAMarcos' identity from a woman rebel leader captured earlier this9week when authorities discovered a Zapatista arms cache.?   Marcos' mother, Socorro Vicente Guillen, was interviewed on<Mexican television shortly after President Zedillo made his@announcement identifying the rebel leader.  She expressed shock?at the news, and said she had not seen her son in three years.@She could not recall his birthday, but said he is 39 years old.!She described him as a good son.B   The Mexican news agency Notimex reports Marcos went to Chiapas@more than a decade ago to do social work.  It was there that heAbecame involved with the Indian peasants in the state, and later@helped form the Zapatista National Liberation Front.  He is now;believed to be somewhere in the Lacandon Jungle in Eastern5Chiapas, where the guerrillas have their stronghold.   ---------------   ---------------   MIDEAST PEACE STALEMATE   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIROA   The stalemate in talks between PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and@Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has sounded alarm bells in@the rest of the Middle East.  Egyptian officials are warning ofAdisaster if the two sides don't find a way to bridge the gap and9narrow their differences.  So are European Union foreign@ministers from France, Spain and Germany who have been visiting=the region to strengthen the EU's role in the peace process.?   Egyptian foreign Minister Amr Moussa took time out from his?visit to Tokyo to issue a warning that the Israeli-PalestinianBpeace talks are at a make-or-break (critical) stage.  Stagnation,8he told reporters, will only play into the hands of the,terrorists and extremists who oppose peace.A   European Union foreign ministers, on a week-long visit to the$region, have echoed the same fears.?   Egyptian officials privately warn that there can be no real7security, a key Israeli concern, without resolving the(Palestinian track of the peace process.>   Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty withBIsrael 16 years ago and has actively mediated Arab-Israeli talks.BLast week, President Hosni Mubarak set up an unprecedented summit@between Israel and its Arab neighbors to jump-start the stalled?peace talks.  After the five hour session in Cairo, Mr. Moussa4announced the Israeli-PLO talks were back on track.?   Trade ministers from the four delegations then met in Taba,7Egypt to map out a framework for trade and development
cooperation.;   But they and others looked to Thursday's summit between=Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser?Arafat for a much-needed signal that talks would go forward on2expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.=   The signal did not come, only a promise to try again in aweek.?   Later on Thursday, PLO chairman Arafat issued a plea to theBsponsors of the peace process to intervene before it is too late.@He met with U.S., Russian, Norwegian and Egyptian envoys at his>Gaza headquarters and sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-GeneralBBoutros Boutros Ghali, complaining that Israel is not adhering tothe 1993 peace accords.9   Deep differences remain over several security issues,@including Israeli demands for a Palestinian crackdown on Muslim;extremists and Palestinian demands for the redeployment of=Israeli troops and the release of Palestinian prisoners fromIsraeli jails.?   Palestinians also wonder how peace talks can continue while>Israel keeps the West Bank and Gaza sealed off and allows the2expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.=   Even the European Union foreign ministers have complainedAabout the negative impact of the Israeli closure on the region'seconomy and stability.B   But, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also acknowledged theBneed to address Israeli security concerns.  The EU ministers haveBbeen visiting the region to see what the European Union can do toAhelp revitalize the peace process.  A Russian envoy, on the same)mission, met with King Hussein in amman.>   But the Palestinians are looking to Washington for help inAfinding a way out of the current impasse.  The foreign ministersBof Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian authority are due to>meet in Washington Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State WarrenAChristopher, and probably with U.S. President Bill Clinton, too.   ---------------   ---------------7   MOUNT VERNON ARCHAEOLOGY: GEORGE WASHINGTON'S TRASH   SAM IKER   WASHINGTONB   While George Washington's public career has been documented in9great detail, there's less known about his private life.;Archaeologists at Washington's Mount Vernon home have been?working for years to learn more about Washington, the Virginia	planter.?   George Washington's home at Mount Vernon was the impressive?residence of a wealthy 18th century Virginia plantation owner,>surrounded by green lawns and elaborate landscaping.  Nearby,9only a stone's throw from the gracious mansion,  was theBhousehold's garbage dump, a site that's being excavated by modernday archaeologists.B   Mount Vernon's chief archaeologist, Dennis Pogue, says the aim@is to learn more about the daily life of the Washington family:?   "We're finding the garbage that the Washingtons threw away.>By studying that,  hopefully we'll learn more about the daily?lives of the Washingtons, just as we've learned more about the>daily lives of the slaves by examining their trash.  One realAinteresting thing is that the trash midden (pit) is only locatedBabout 80 feet (24.4 meters) from the mansion.  And this was a big@thing.  It was about 20 feet (6.1 meters) in diameter. It was a>couple of feet (one meter) deep.  And it was literally filledwith garbage."8   Among other things, Mr. Pogue says he and his fellow8researchers hope to get a better idea of how WashingtonAentertained frequent visitors and what the family ate on a dailybasis:A   "Frankly, we have only a couple of detailed descriptions of a@dinner with the Washingtons.  So by looking at the bones of the=animals that were found there,  we can tell more about their;actual diet,  their menu and those kinds of things.  We're<finding broken bottles and plates,  animal bones and oysterAshells, tobacco pipes, the whole bit, anything that needed to be.thrown away, that's where they deposited it.">   The archaeologists have already excavated and analyzed the<contents of a trash pit which was located beneath the slaveAquarters where the mansion's house servants lived.  According toDennis Pogue:<   "The animal bones were particularly interesting.  Almost825,000 fragments of bones came out of the quarters.  By>identifying them,  we have a better idea what they're eating,;and there was a wide diversity of species represented.  58Bdifferent species,  I believe, we found bones from.  And a lot ofthem are wild."B   Mr. Pogue says that analysis provides a picture how slaves who:were plantation house servants lived in the 18th century:B   "What this indicates to us, number one, is that probably their>diet is more healthy than we had thought, because it was very?diverse.  Number two,  it's clear they were actually going out8and gathering a lot of this themselves;  that they were7augmenting the rations that they were getting from the>Washingtons.  So that's why we're finding deer and turtle and?raccoon and possum and wild Turkey bones in this cellar.  WhatAthat may suggest is that the slaves had more time and were freer:to do those kinds of things than, again,  we'd previously
thought."B   Currently,  Mr. Pogue and his colleagues are investigating andBresurrecting a site which points up General Washington's vocation%as a skilled and progressive farmer:?   "We're excavating the site of an outbuilding that no longerAexists in hopes that we'll be able to reconstruct that building.BThis is an unusual one.  This is a dung repository,  specifically@for composting animal manure to use as fertilizer.  So if we're?successful in reconstructing this,  when visitors come back to9Mt. Vernon in a couple of years,  they'll see and smell,@hopefully,  a very different experience than maybe what they'reexpecting."?   Despite the fact that George Washington is one of America's5most famed and revered public figures,  Mount VernonAarchaeologist Dennis Pogue says there's still much to be learned:about the private life of George Washington, the Virginia	planter.   ---------------   ---------------?   14-YEAR-OLD BOY SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMOUS WRITINGS   JENNIFER GRIFFEN
   ISLAMABAD?   A Pakistani court has given a 14-year-old Christian boy andBhis uncle the death penalty for writing blasphemous words against?Islam's holy prophet Mohammad.  In Pakistan the punishment forAblasphemy is life imprisonment or death. Human rights groups say<Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws are often abused to settlepersonal vendettas.B   Lawyers for 14-year-old Salamat Masih and his uncle Rehmat say<they were shocked Thursday when the judge handed down theirBsentence, the death penalty for allegedly blaspheming the prophet@Mohammad.  The Lahore judge also gave them two-years hard labor;and fined them more than 810-dollars each for their crime.>   Both Christians were accused by a village prayer leader of=writing blasphemous phrases against the prophet Mohammad and1leaving the pieces of paper at a village mosque.@   But human rights lawyers say the two were falsely accused asGthe result of a personal vendetta.      Lawyers for the Masih's say itBwould be impossible for their clients to have committed the crimeAfor which they are accused, since both are illiterate and cannot<write.  They plan to appeal the judgment in a higher court.<   Rights lawyers blame the court's decision on a religious9frenzy they say has gripped the country in recent years.APakistan's parliament amended the Islamic country's laws in July31992, introducing the death penalty for blasphemy.8   Pakistani rights groups say animosity exists betweenAPakistan's minority groups and the majority Muslims.  Christians<make up only four-percent of Pakistan's 120-million people.?   The 14-year-old and his uncle were arrested in May 1993.  ABthird defendant, Manzoor Masih, was also accused in the case, but?last April three gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed him as@the three accused left the Lahore courthouse with their lawyer.A   In a similar case decided last month, two Shia Muslims in the?northwest city of Peshawar were given a death penalty sentenceAfor trying to photocopy a pencil sketch of the prophet Mohammad.B   Lawyers for the two men, who are both Afghan refugees, say the@sketch was a copy of a drawing which hangs in the Cairo museum.<According to a strict interpretation of Islam, possessing a3picture or image of the holy prophet is blasphemy.=   But Shia Muslims often interpret the law differently fromBSunnis, and it is common for them to have pictures of the prophet*and his followers hanging in their homes.   ---------------   ---------------0   ACCOUNT OF WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBER CAPTURE   JENNIFER GRIFFIN
   ISLAMABAD=   More details are emerging in Islamabad about the Pakistan@sting operation which led to the capture of alleged World TradeACenter bomber Ramzi Yousef. A South African religious student isAsaid to have been arrested for helping Mr. Yousef, and renting a1room for him at Islamabad's Su-Casa guest house.@   Witnesses said Ramzi Yousef was blindfolded and his arms and@legs were tied with rope when Pakistani and U.S. agents dragged7him from the Su-Casa guest house Tuesday in Islamabad.B   Khaled Sheikh, who was staying at the Su Casa when the allegedAWorld Trade Center bomber was caught, said, in his words, it wasAlike a hurricane, a big panic.  Guest house manager Musawar Qazi<said Mr. Yousef was barefooted when he was dragged from thehotel.A   At least nine U.S. and Pakistani plain clothes agents enteredBthe modest five-room guest house early Tuesday morning.  Mr. Qazi>said the agents knocked on Mr. Yousef's door before entering.?   Officials in Washington quoted Islamabad's chief diplomaticBsecurity officer as saying Ramzi Yousef was pretty confident whenAagents went through the door, but when he saw the Americans, the=blood ran out of his face and he knew he was in big trouble.A   Pakistan's Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar said suitcasesAcontaining two toy cars packed with explosives were found in Mr.Yousef's room.B   U.S. officials said they captured Mr. Yousef just hours before6he planned to take a bus out of Pakistan, possibly to
Afghanistan.9   Mr. Yousef was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list and a@two-million dollar award was offered for information leading to?his arrest.  U.S. officials say they acted on a tip given by a$confidential informant in Pakistan.A   Local newspaper reports Friday said a South African religious@student, Istiaque Parker, was arrested nearby shortly after Mr.?Yousef's capture.  But, Pakistani police could not confirm theAarrest.  Mr. Parker was alleged to be a friend of Mr. Yousef and5brought the bomb suspect to the Su-Casa guest house.   ---------------   ---------------9   PHILIPPINES/CHINA SPRATLY ISLANDS DISPUTE INTENSIFIES   MARIE ORARA
   MANILA<   An armed Philippine patrol ship is heading to the waters=around the Spratly Islands in response to a possible Chinese=military presence in the disputed island chain.  Despite theAmove, Philippine officials say military action is not an option.@   A navy spokesman said the patrol ship was deployed in waters>west of the Philippines after reconnaissance photos this week.showed eight Chinese ships near the Spratlys.A   The government says the photos indicate the Chinese ships may8be armed naval vessels and that four steel and concreteBstructures flying Chinese flags had been built on the part of the%Spratlys claimed by the Philippines.<   Philippine foreign affairs Secretary Roberto Romulo saidBdespite the move, the government intends to resolve the situationpeacefully.B   Defense Secretary Renato De Villa earlier said the Philippines@does not have a strong enough military presence in the Spratlys;to defend the country's claim on part of the island group.@   The Chinese foreign ministry denied yesterday that China wasAbuilding military installations or that it had warships near the%island chain in the South China Sea.?   The Philippines and China are among six countries who claim$all or part of the Spratly Islands.   ---------------   ---------------%   END OF QUAYLE '96 CAMPAIGN IMPACT   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   Former U.S. vice President Dan Quayle has joined a growing;list of Republicans who have decided against a run for thepresidency in 1996.A   Dan Quayle's decision not to run for president caught many of>his Republican rivals by surprise.  But at least one, Senator?Phil Gramm of Texas, was quick to boast that he is in the best6position to win over the former vice president's core>constituency of conservative Republicans concerned with moralissues and family values:A   "I think if any candidate benefitted by the decision that DanBQuayle made not to run, that I am that candidate. And I hope overAthe coming campaign to earn the support of people who might have"supported Dan Quayle had he run."9   Senator Gramm is positioning himself as the only true=Republican conservative in the very early stages of the 1996BPresidential race.  Several Republican political operatives agree@that Dan Quayle's withdrawal initially will help Senator Gramm.AHis message has emphasized cutting the budget and fiscal matters=rather than social issues like abortion and prayer in public9schools which are seen as more important to conservative"Christian activists in the party.@   Eddie Mahe is a Republican political consultant who believes?Mr. Quayle's supporters in the Republican Party will gravitate;toward Senator Gramm instead of the generally acknowledged?frontrunner in the Republican race, Senate Majority leader BobDole:?   "At least at this time, the one most directly benefitted isAPhil Gramm because, I am sure, the kinds of people you describedA(Christian conservative activists) who truly would have been Dan>Quayle's constituency would not be naturally attracted to BobDole."@   Senator Quayle's withdrawal comes on the heels of a decision<by another Republican not to seek the presidency next year.>Former HUD) cabinet secretary Jack Kemp had been considered a>strong contender for the Republican nomination, as had former?defense Secretary Dick Cheney before he pulled out.  All threeAexpressed concern about the demands that a Presidential campaign=would place on their families and the constant need to raisemoney for their campaigns.>   In many ways the 1996 Presidential race has already gottenBunderway. Political experts predict that a serious candidate will<have to raise 20-million dollars by the end of this year toAcompete in the 1996 primaries, many of which are stacked between=mid-February and the end of march.  Those best positioned to?raise money at the moment appear to be Senators Dole and Gramm/and former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander.:   But not everyone agrees that you can only be a seriousAcontender if you raise a lot of money.  Senator Richard Lugar ofAIndiana, a respected Republican voice on foreign policy for many;years in the Senate, is actively considering a run for thepresidency.@   Lugar says the American people are sick of the money-raising&demands of the Presidential campaign:<   "And I think as a matter of fact, (that) if the American@people are going to demand that somebody put 20-million dollars<up for it (run for the presidency) whether they have a good>program, a good  personality, a good anything, then I suspectBthat the people will revolt against that idea, they will not like+it all.  I do not think they like it now."@   While the early pressure to enter the 1996 Presidential race<has forced some top contenders to withdraw their names from?consideration, it may also provide a window of opportunity for:some lesser known Republican governors who are reportedly;considering a run.  These include California Governor Pete<Wilson, Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and MassachusettsGovernor William Weld.   ---------------   ---------------9   U.N. ALTERNATE PLAN TO SENDING PEACEKEEPERS TO RWANDA   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONSA   With no troops to send to Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire, the>United Nations Security Council Friday endorsed a plan to useB15-hundred Zairean soldiers to restore order among over a millionARwandans who fled last year's violence in their country.  At theBsame time, the council stressed the camps can only be a temporary
solution.B   The Security Council, describing the camps as dangerous, urged?quick action to address the security problems.  It welcomed an<arrangement between the U.N. refugee office and the Zairean#government to deploy local troops.;   The first units are expected in the camps by the end of@February. The U.N. says it will provide about 40 to 50 militaryand police advisors.A   The use of Zaire's largely undisciplined army is considered a@precarious option.  But U.N. officials say they have no choice.>Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had devised a plan to>send five-thousand U.N. soldiers to the camps.  There were novolunteers.>   The U.N. has accused former Rwandan troops and exiled HutuBmilitias of intimidating camp residents, who are mostly Hutu, andBdiscouraging them from going back home.  The U.N. force in RwandaBis setting up its own radio station for regular broadcasts to the?camps.  The aim is to persuade the refugees that it is safe toreturn.8   Many of the refugees are said to fear retribution or@persecution by the Tutsi minority which fought its way to power?in Rwanda last July.  The former Hutu government is blamed for<the massacre of over 500-thousand Tutsis and moderate HutusBduring three months of turmoil triggered by the fatal plane crash>of Rwanda's president in April.  The president of neighboring:Burundi, which has a similar ethnic mix, was also killed.>   The Organization of African Unity plans to host a regional=conference in the capital of Burundi starting next Wednesday=(15th) to explore ways to assist the refugees.  The Security)Council said it would welcome new ideas.A   Rwanda's government has bitterly criticized the international?community for not moving decisively enough to stop last year's?genocide and now for leaving the country, more or less, on itsown to recover.   ---------------   ---------------.   SERBS BLOCK AID CONVOY HEADING TO SARAJEVO   DAN YOVICH   SARAJEVO=   Bosnian Serb officials are blocking aid convoys bound for<Sarajevo after Bosnian government forces arrested an ethnic3Bosnian Serb who works for the U.N. relief agency.B   Bosnian Serbs are refusing permission for overland aid convoys@to Sarajevo in reaction to the arrest of an ethnic Bosnian Serb5employee of the U.N. High Commissioner for refugees.A   The Bosnian Serb employee, Svetlana Boskovic, was arrested byABosnian government troops at a checkpoint just west of Sarajevo.AHer arrest is an apparent response to the continued detention of<Bosnian journalist Namik Barberovic who was snatched from a@United Nations military vehicle by Bosnian Serb forces near the Sarajevo airport two weeks ago.<   UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski says the latest arrest may?trigger a wave of retaliatory moves by the warring sides.  Mr.BJanowski says the Bosnian Serbs cancelled permission for four aid"convoys shortly after the arrest.A   Humanitarian aid flights operating out of the city airport so=far have not been affected by the dispute but because of the<shortage of space at U.N. warehouses, Mr. Janowski says aid0flights may cease operations after the weekend.   ---------------   ---------------   WHITE HOUSE SECURITY   TED LANDPHAIR   WASHINGTONA   Within the past five months, a A small plane has crashed into:the White House, two different times, gunshots fired from<Pennsylvania avenue struck the executive mansion, U.S. park?police shot and killed a man brandishing a large hunting knife?just outside the White House gate, and the U.S. Secret Service5grabbed a man who jumped over the White House fence.@   The president and his family were never directly at risk any?of these times, but the incidents prompted an urgent review ofPresidential security.<   The only changes in White House security apparent to theApublic since the string of incidents is a noticeable increase inAthe number of uniformed officers patrolling Pennsylvania Avenue.AThe Secret Service renewed earlier requests to close the section<of that great ceremonial boulevard directly in front of the@executive mansion, but White House officials have refused. They@say President Clinton, who is famous for his early-morning jogs?on the Washington mall and his impromptu dashes into crowds to3shake hands, does not want to be further isolated.9   Military and aviation experts agree nothing, short of?anti-aircraft-gun emplacements and closing the busy Washington?national airport a kilometer or so from the White House, could#stop a deranged or suicidal pilot.:   Allan Lichtman [licked-man] is a historian at AmericanBUniversity in Washington.  He says the struggle between those who@would further open the presidency, and those who would pull the:executive farther from public view, has been raging sinceAPresident Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while watching a playat Ford's theatre in 1865:9   "Lemme give you one quotation from a Congressman from?Massachusetts, talking about Presidential protection. He said,@'we might go to the extent of saying that the president, during=his term of office, should live in a fortress, surrounded byAsoldiers. To my mind, the whole idea is un-American and uncalled:for.'  you might think that's from the modern debate overAPresidential security.  In fact, that was said in 1902, when for?the first time, Congress was considering formal legislation toBprotect the president.  There was no formal system until the 20th
century."=   There have been as many known assassination attempts on a>sitting president since 1950, including one against PresidentBJohn F. Kennedy in 1963 that was successful, as there were in the>entire previous 160-year history of the presidency.  Yet even>security-conscious observers like Larry Schaefe [pron: Sheef];recognize that a popularly elected president, especially a?gregarious one like Bill Clinton, will not allow himself to beAinsulated and isolated.  Mr. Schaefe [sheef] spent 22 years as aAU.S. Secret Service agent, rising to the rank of deputy directorBunder President Reagan.  He is now senior vice-president of VanceBInternational, a company that trains security agents in more than50 countries.?   Schaefe says the advent of television and other mass media,?which instantly spread news of assassination attempts all over=the world, has led copy-cats to seek their twisted moment offame:B   "A lot of these assassinations, and there are many, many, manyBcases in which the Secret Service investigates potential threats,>are truly not against the man.  They're against the job.  For?instance, when President Clinton took over, a lot of the folks=who are upset, and upset to the point that they perhaps make@threats, threats that they can be arrested for, were making the&same threats to previous presidents."?   Professor Lichtman [licked-man] agrees, and he says part of7the reason is the nation's increasing frustration withgovernment:B   "When we polled Americans 30 years ago, we asked the question,B'do you think government all the time, or most of the time, works@in favor of the ordinary American?' 75 per cent said yes.  That;same polling in 1994:  20 percent said yes.  So there is a>30-year trend of plummeting faith in the American government.?It's one of the most significant trends of modern times in the:United States, and obviously very much spills over to thepresident."@   Because of the increasing complexity of protecting a mobile,>publicly accessible president, the president's family, formerApresidents, and visiting diplomats, the Secret Service has grownBfrom 325 agents at the time President Kennedy was assassinated 321years ago, to more than 2-thousand agents today.A   No longer does a president open the doors and invite everyone?on Pennsylvania avenue in to celebrate his election, as Andrew?Jackson did, or shake the hands of visitors on the daily WhiteAHouse tours, as calvin coolidge was fond of doing.  So blanketed9by security is the chief executive today, says professorALichtman, that President Clinton once joked that he's the "crown&jewel in the federal prison program."=   "We have this very ambiguous view of the president", says9Lichtman. "On  the one hand, he is this kind of austere,;dignified figure.  On the other hand, in a democracy, he'sBsupposed to be 'just plain folks.'  and just as there's a tension=between the security of a president and the open presidency,9there's a tension between the imperial president and thedemocratic president."A   One of democracy's showcases is the American election system.7Yet campaigns now last many months, and ever since the@assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, the Secret Service hasAbeen charged with protecting announced candidates as well as thesitting president.B   Larry Schaefe [pron: Sheef] says as other nations democratize,Bthey too are experiencing the security headaches that come with afree and open system:A   "I think a perfect example of that might be the former SovietBUnion.  I mean, look at President Yeltsin.  He is out amongst the9people.  We all have seen the pictures of him completely?surrounded by citizens, but you also see a security force with>him.  With the former leaders of the Soviet Union, they neverBwere ever in public. And I do know that the security of President?Yeltsin, in pure numbers, is much, much, much more than it was'the before the communist regime fell."=   There's an axiom [an old saying] that American University;historian Lichtman is fond of citing as a lesson for other	nations:>   "The funny thing about safety, of course, is that you only?notice it when you lose it.  So you don't notice, perhaps, all?the hundreds and thousands of possible breaches of safety thatare nipped in the bud."=   But the public, and the Secret Service, do take note whenAthreatening incidents come so close to the White House.  And the2debate between openness and security stirs again.   ---------------   ---------------2   TERRORISM LEGISLATION INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE   JIM MALONE
   SENATE?   Members of the U.S. Senate introduced legislation Friday to:help protect the United States from acts of international;terrorism. Lawmakers are trying to strengthen laws against=terrorism while at the same time protecting civil liberties.>   The legislation being offered expands the circumstances inBwhich the United States could prosecute crimes committed overseas?which affect U.S. interests. It prohibits anyone in the United=States from conspiring to commit terrorism overseas and from3raising funds for foreign terrorist organizations.B   The bill was put together by the Clinton Administration and is>being sponsored by several senators including Democrat JosephBBiden who says the proposed law is in part a response to the 19939terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center in New York:A   "Indeed, the revelation that terror networks are operating in=our midst undeniably has its intended effect on our national>psyche.  It undermines the sense of security of all Americans?both at home and  abroad. And equally important, the continued@operation of numerous  terrorist organizations around the globeBundermines the stability of key U.S. allies and important foreign;policy objectives in the Middle East and in other places."=   The bill would also implement an international convention@making it  easier to track the source of plastic explosives and@would expand  existing laws to prohibit the transfer of nuclear(materials from the former Soviet Union.6   Republican Senator Arlen Specter also supports theanti-terrorism bill.@   He is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and says@many lawmakers are concerned that individual civil rights under?the  U.S. constitution are not trampled in the rush to protect+the United States from a terrorist threat:B   "So what we are dealing with here is a major, major problem as;to how  to deal with terrorism. And it is not easy to haveAeffective laws and  still respect the traditional constitutional@rights (protections) and that is the task which we are going to>have in the terrorist subcommittee of the Senate IntelligenceCommittee."@   The proposed bill also includes a new federal anti-terrorismBoffense with stiff penalties which includes the death penalty for'anyone convicted of terrorist murders.?   However, even supporters of the bill like Senator Biden say=they may contest a part of the bill which would allow secret@evidence to be  used in deportation proceedings against someone"who is alleged to be a terrorist.   ---------------   ---------------6   SENATORS DIVIDED ON CLINTON'S PROPOSED DRUG POLICY
   DON HENRY   WASHINGTONB   The Clinton administration presented its 1995 drug strategy toBthe Senate Friday and ran into a bipartisan barrage of criticism.?The senators were divided along party lines on the contents ofAthe policy, but were united in criticizing President Clinton for,not giving the drug war greater prominence.@   It was expected that the hearing might start with Republican;criticism of the Democratic president's drug strategy, and2Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch obliged.A   Hatch declared at the outset that the nation is losing groundBin the war against drugs because of an ineffective drug strategy:B   "Shifting interdiction efforts away from the transit zones has<been a dismal failure.  Similarly, I question the wisdom of>focusing needed treatment and prevention efforts on hard coreAusers.  I believe our limited resources would be better targetedAat preventing casual use that progresses to hard core addiction,0so that new hard core users are never created."<   Then the Republican Senator sounded what was to become a=frequent theme at the hearing.  He said a major share of theBblame for what he sees as deterioration in the war on drugs couldAbe attributed to what he terms a lack of Presidential leadershipon the issue.<   Democrat Joseph Biden, who had chaired the committee for@years, disagreed with Senator hatch on drug policy content, but@agreed with him on the need for more Presidential leadership in$order to win the war against drugs:=   "I hope the president understands and starts to talk more@about it.  The strategy is a correct strategy, but the strategy@alone isn't going to do this.  It's going to take every cabinet>official, everyone in the government understanding that 'it's@drugs, stupid; it's drugs.' It's drugs economically, it's drugs<politically, it's drugs in teenage pregnancy, it's drugs in!crime, it's drugs in all of it.">   Senator Biden's view was echoed by several other senators,+including fellow Democrat Diane Feinstein:@   "You know, this has to start at the White House.  We have to>get a president that's willing to come forward and talk about=what's happening in this nation.  As long as we're anonymous.about it, it's going to flourish and fester.">   In response, drug control policy office director Lee Brown?came to the president's defense, saying Mr. Clinton and he hadBtalked at length about the drug war before Mr. Brown accepted thetop drug policy job:A   "One of the compelling reasons for taking the job was because=of his clear understanding and dedication to doing something:about the problem of drugs in this country.  That has not
changed.";   Mr. Brown told the committee the president has recentlyAwritten to state governors and mayors asking for help in the war7on drugs.  The president also called heads of news and<entertainment industries to the White House to urge greateranti-drug efforts.=   Aside from the Presidential role, much of the hearing was@devoted to whether Republican plans to change last year's crime@bill would harm the anti-drug effort.  Republicans want to takeAcrime bill money dedicated to drug courts, more community policeBand other crime prevention programs and lump it into block grants?to communities.  The total would drop from about 14-billion to10-billion dollars.=   Mr. Brown and Democrats called that a step backward.  Mr.9Brown, a former big city police commissioner, said localBgovernments would take the block grant money and use it for other:purposes, such as buying new police cars, rather than forspecific anti-drug programs.>   Another witness, former drug office chief William bennett,?praised the block grant concept and also proposed Congress putAthe U.S. military completely in charge of drug interdiction.  He?said trade, aid, and diplomatic sanctions should be applied to=drug source countries.  Mr. Bennett also denounced President<Clinton for what he called an indifference to the drug war.=   Drug issues are expected to be a prominent feature of the?crime bill debate in both chambers of Congress in the next fewweeks.   ---------------   ---------------   SIERRA LEONE PEACE TALKS   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJANA   A United Nations envoy to Sierra Leone says both the military=government and rebels of the Revolutionary United Front have>assured him of their cooperation in setting up peace talks inSierra Leone.B   Speaking to reporters in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown,<United Nations special envoy Berhanu Dinka said he was very>encouraged after talks with military leader captain Valentine=Strasser.  He promised to do his best to help find a lasting(solution to the crisis in Sierra Leone.A   The Ethiopian diplomat said that although communication links9with Revolutionary United Front leader Foday Sankoh wereBdifficult, he has several channels with which to communicate withhim.@   Earlier, Captain Strasser told organization of African unity>assistant Secretary-General Abdullah Sahid Osman Sierra LeoneBwelcomes any help the pan-African organization can give to broker"peace in the West African nation.<   But Captain Strasser also called on the OAU to speak out?against acts of violence by rebels of the Revolutionary UnitedFront.<   Mr. Osman, who is leading a two-man delegation to Sierra@Leone, said the organization will try to help the peace processin the country.@   Captain Strasser and Revolutionary United Front leader FodayASankoh have both sought help from the international community toBhelp restore peace in the country and the International CommitteeBof the Red Cross has offered to help set up a meeting between thetwo warring sides.B   The Revolutionary United Front launched its revolt against the<Sierra Leonean government in March, 1991.  Observers in the<country say it has since splintered into groups of renegadeAsoldiers and bandits, who regularly attack convoys on main roads%and raid villages in search of food.?   Tentative efforts toward a negotiated settlement began late=last year, but were followed by an upsurge in fighting and a>series of kidnappings.  A total of 17 foreigners and at least;seven Sierra Leoneans are currently believed to be held bysuspected rebels.   ---------------   ---------------E   UN OFFICER TALKS ON FUTURE OF SOMALIA AFTER PEACEKEEPERS WITHDRAW   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBI>   The head of U.N. peacekeeping operations says he hopes theBcoming withdrawal of U.N. troops from Somalia will send a wake-up?call to Somali leaders and prompt them to finally bridge their?differences and bring peace to the country. The U.N. official,@Kofi Annan, spoke to reporters in  Nairobi after making a briefvisit to Mogadishu.A   Mr. Annan says the U.N. mission in Somalia did save lives and=stop famine.  But the U.N. peacekeeping official fears thoseAachievements could be jeopardized if renewed inter-clan fighting@erupts when the last U.N. troops withdraw, a move which he says;could come ahead of schedule and as soon as march sixth or	seventh.6   He hopes if there is fighting, it will be limited:?   "People are tired, they want peace, they wish their leaders@would  show some responsibility and concern for the people theyclaim to lead."?   Mr. Annan says Somalia represents the first time the UnitedBNations has effectively decided to give up on a country.  He says?the message for the future is that the international communityBwill do what it can to help protagonists bridge their differencesBpeacefully.  But he says if after a reasonable effort it does not:sense seriousness on the part of those concerned, it will
withdraw.   ---------------   ---------------   SOY A MIRACLE FOOD?   VALERIE GARTSEFF   WASHINGTON,D.C.9   Accumulating scientific research indicates that dailyBconsumption of just small amounts of soy protein May help protectagainst a host of diseases.>   The ancient Chinese considered soy the "miracle bean," and:they just might have been right. Now, research shows thisAoft-neglected humble soybean may be emerging as a "magic bullet"Awith  widespread preventive value against many serious diseases:@   Dr. Earl Mindell (pron: Min-dell), professor of nutrition at@Pacific Western University in Los Angeles, California, believes-that soy is one of today's natural miracles:A   "I feel that soy will be the miracle food of the 21st century?because we know that, in Japan, for instance, they eat betweenBtwo to three ounces (56 to 85 grams) a day and their incidence of<breast cancer, of prostate cancer, of lung cancer, of colon'cancer is minuscule compared to ours."A   Soy products include soybeans, tofu, soy protein concentrate,<miso, (a fermented bean paste), tempeh (a fermented soybean>patty) and soy flour. Mounting research findings now show soy>protein contains components that can block the development ofcancer and heart disease.>   "Soy contains antioxidant compounds", says Mindell, "whichBprotects cells from damage caused by unstable oxygen molecules we?call free radicals. And these free radicals are believed to be;responsible for initiating many forms of cancer as well asBpremature aging. And when the bad cholesterol, the so-called ldl,Aor I call it the lousy cholesterol, is oxidized, it promotes the>formation of plaque, and soy, having an antioxidant, preventsAthis from occurring. We know that soy contains these isoflavonesA(pron: I-suh-flav-vones), one of them is called genisteine (pro:AGen-is-teen) that seems to prevent the blood flow to the tumors.>So it's not that the Asians, they (don't) have the chances of<getting the cancer that we do, but that it doesn't manifest)itself into a full-blown disease state."B   Dr. Mindell says that soy protein May be a potent destroyer ofBcholesterol, the artery-clogging fatty substance that can lead to<heart attacks or strokes. In fact, recent studies show that<eating only 25 grams of soy protein can significantly lowercholesterol levels in men.B   Dr. Mindell adds that preliminary studies indicate that soy is>also a weapon against osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease=that occurs with aging, especially in post-menopausal women::   "Let's talk about the phytoestrogens - these are plant;estrogen-like substances that help to overcome problems of;menopause, and we think actually help to retain bone mass.?Osteoporosis is a major problem in the U.S. The second leading?cause of death in elderly women is due to the complications of?osteoporosis, and soy, of course, is a source of calcium which@helps strengthen the bones, but having this phytoestrogen helpsCretain the bone mass.   Hip fractures which are a major problem in@the U.S. (Are) not the same problem in Japan. And also, there's?no word for 'hot flashes' because soy contains a phytoestrogen@which pretty well eradicates most of the problems going throughmenopause."@   Next to skin cancer, prostate cancer is the deadliest cancer@among U.S. Males. But Earl Mindell thinks soy may actually help"protect men from prostate cancer:@   "Prostate cancer is almost unknown in Japan compared to thisAcountry. I was in Japan three times in 1994 and I did interviews>with magazine and newspapers and they asked me, 'what are theAhealth problems in the U.S.?' and I mentioned prostate problems,@and they had to look up the word - they didn't even know what I>was talking about! It's been shown that when Japanese men who@move to hawaii, their consumption of tofu drops, and their rateof prostate cancer increases."<   Although soy is a regular part of many Asians' diet, Dr.@Mindell thinks everyone should eat soy for its health benefits.B   Do what the Japanese do, he says, and eat about 50 to 80 grams-of soy per day which is not that hard to do:A   "If you're in an Asian country, look at what people eat thereBand you'll see that in Thailand and Japan and China, they call it?bean curd (tofu) in Thailand and China, and they use it in all?kinds of ways, they stir-fry it, they add it to a lot of their8dishes. There are thirty thousand tofu shops in Japan."<   Pacific Western University's Dr. Earl Mindell notes thatBAmerica, ironically, is the world's largest producer of soybeans.@Yet it uses soy mostly as animal feed, and sells the bulk of it>overseas to Asian countries that use it for food. But as more=Americans discover the health benefits of the lowly bean, heApredicts soy will eventually be as popular in the U.S. As yogurt
is today.   ---------------   ---------------E   WORLD EDITORIAL OPINION ON THE THE U.S. WORLD HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTON<   Nations in every corner of the world are reacting to the:release of the 1994 State Department human rights report.=   Every year, the U.S. State Department compiles a detailed;report on the human rights situation around the world. TheAsubjects investigated include how prisoners are treated, whether?the court systems treat people fairly, and the status of womenAand minorities in the various nations.  In releasing the report,Awhich is required by law,  Secretary of State Warren Christopher?said it is a demonstration of the continued U.S. commitment to6human rights as a fundamental part of foreign policy.>   Many commentators and editorial writers, most from nationsAthat received critical assessments, called the report an example;of U.S. "hypocrisy" and heavy handed interference in their@internal affairs. Others however, including some from countries<that received harsh assessments, took a more positive view,Barguing that the report can serve as a reminder to governments to$inculcate respect for human rights.>   In Beijing several papers, including the communist Party'sA"Peoples's Daily" and the official "Guangming Daily" all ran the1same story quoting the Chinese foreign ministry:?   "It is clear to the people of the world that China has made>efforts and progress in protecting and promoting its people's@legitimate rights and interests.  The 'human rights report' for81994...ignores this fact and makes improper comments onthe...situation in China."A   In Hong Kong, the English-language "South China morning Post"has this to say:>   "The idea that the United States can bring about any quickAchange in Chinese policy [publishing such a report each year] is;a misconception, born of naivete, impatience, or electoralambition."A   The Australian newspaper, "The Age" in Melbourne, commented::>   "The U.S. State Department apparently sees no hypocrisy in7criticizing Australia for the disproportionate rate of>imprisonment among our aboriginal population while the United@States continues not only to imprison blacks disproportionately0to whites but execute them disproportionately."=   Writing in the Philippines' leading business journal, in,:"Business World" columnist Ninez Cacho-Olivarez expressed:surprise at the negative reaction to some of the report'scomments about his country:B   "Why get so hepped up [excited] over the  report? What is says;is nothing that the Filipinos do not know. Every electoralAexercise sees candidates murdered and the electorate intimidated@by the politicians' guns and goons.  Public money flows freely,?ballots are faked, flying voters come in droves and oppositionvotes are hardly counted..."9   In Thailand, the liberal daily "Matichon" in Bangkok,?commented on the State Department's allegations of Thai police>involvement in prostitution, corruption and abuse of suspects
this way:>   It will be difficult to deny the content of the U.S. State=Department report because such misdeeds do exist. The report8picked up points the police department should consider:Athat...certain police officers who are incessantly repeating the;offenses because punitive measures are either not strictly2enforced or too light to effectively deter them."A   Turning to Europe, there was this reaction in Athens, in this<commentary by Antonis Karakyiannis in the independent daily"Kathimerini"::   "The first question is who gave the right to the StateBDepartment, which is well-known for its hypocrisy and, sometimes,9cynicism, to judge and criticize peoples and governmentsregarding human rights.":   However just across the Bosporus, the English-language&"Turkish Daily" in Ankara, suggested:B   "Improving our human rights image is crucial, not only becauseAwe want to take our rightful place in the community of civilizedBnations, but because our people deserve to live in an environment<where they can talk and act freely within the framework and&limitations of a democratic society."<   Many papers in the Middle East took positions similar to;Egypt's pro-government mass circulation daily "Al-Akhbar:"A   "The credibility of speaking about human rights and democracy<in U.S. foreign policy needs to be checked.   Where are the@Palestinian human rights against continued Israeli persecution?7Where are Muslim human rights in Bosnia and Chechnya?"?   In Africa, Angola's "Jornal De Angola" published in Luanda,&ran this column from Carlos Ferreira:B   "If only the less astute American politicians would resolve to>straighten their own house and look at the total and absolute=failure of the American dream. Instead they interfere in the>internal matters of a sovereign and independent country. They4really have the notion that they command humanity.":   Finally i n the Americas,  in Georgetown, Guyana, "The:Stabroek News," commenting on the report's allegations of)brutality by Guyana's police, suggested:B   "The U.S. report...is a useful marker in a continuum where the'police force has come under scrutiny."   ---------------   ---------------2   IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER HOLDS TALKS WITH TURKEY   AMBERIN ZAMAN
   ANKARAB   Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Sahaf is holding talks withBsenior Turkish officials on regional issues including the lifting=of the trade embargo against his country and ongoing clashes;between the two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq. MrAAl-Sahaf is the most senior Iraqi official to visit Turkey sincethe end of the 1990 Gulf War.B   Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Turkish President6Suleyman Demirel, Mr. Al-Sahaf described the talks aswide-ranging and practical.A   Among the subjects raised during his meeting with the TurkishApresident, was the lifting of the UN trade embargo against Iraq.;Turkey, one of the most strategic partners in the U.S. led?coalition against Iraq, has since become one of the most vocal<proponents of lifting trade sanctions against that country.@   Ankara claims it has lost over 20 billion dollars in revenue?because of the freeze on Iraqi trade and the closure of an oil&pipeline running from Iraq to Turkey.B   The issue of northern Iraq is also being taken up by the sides>who both want to see the self-declared Kurdish administration"resume its dialogue with Baghdad.?   Turkey, fighting a costly ten year Kurdish rebellion of its>own, is firmly opposed to the establishment of an independent!Kurdish state along its borders.9   Continued clashes between Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan9Democratic Party and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of>Kurdistan, observers say, have seriously undermined the Iraqi?Kurds' first attempt at self rule. Iraqi Kurdish officials now8fear that Iraq will take advantage of their disunity to2re-establish control over the areas they control.   ---------------   ---------------   GEORGIA/ABKHAZIA TALKS   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVAA   Representatives of the Georgian government and leaders of the?breakaway province of Abkhazia have concluded another round of>U.N. sponsored negotiations in Geneva.  U.N. mediator Edouard?Brunner reported some progress in efforts to define Abkhazia's<future political status.  But, there was no movement on the@question of the refugees who fled the Black Sea province duringthe warfare of 1992 and 1993.?   From the outset of these negotiations more than a year ago,AMr. Brunner has sought to persuade the Abkhaz leadership to giveAup its demand for independence.  And, as a result of this latest>round of talks, the U.N. mediator contends that that goal hasbeen achieved.?   Mr. Brunner, a Swiss diplomat, told reporters the two sidesAhave agreed to continue negotiations aimed at establishment of a?single state.  And that implies, he added, that Abkhaz leaders$are no longer seeking independence.?   Mr. Brunner said a committee of experts has already reachedAagreement on some of the powers and authority of the prospective9central government.  But he acknowledged that the Abkhaz<delegates have not yet agreed to a unified army or a single7currency, considered prerequisites for a final accord.B   Last November, the rebel leadership enacted a new constitutionAthat proclaims Abkhazia a sovereign state.  And Mr. Brunner said=the Abkhaz negotiators are not likely to agree to amend that:document until they see the final shape of an accord with	Georgia.@   U.N. officials and diplomats here say the conflict in nearbyBChechnya loomed over this round of the negotiations.  In a report>to the Security Council earlier this month, Secretary-General>Boutros Boutros-Ghali said the proximity and intensity of the>Chechen conflict was bound to have an impact on the Abkhazian	dispute.6   Mr. Brunner said that while Russia has faced sharpBinternational criticism for the way it has attempted to crush the>Chechen separatist movement, no state has questioned Russia's<right to restore order on Russian territory.  And that sameBprinciple of respect for territorial integrity, he added, appliesto the Abkhazian question:A   "So, the lesson of the one is the lesson of the other and theBAbkhaz people must understand that the international community is?not ready to recognize them as an independent state.  It is assimple as that.";   While Mr. Brunner was able to announce some progress onApolitical aspects of the dispute, he reported no progress on the?question of the refugees, with Abkhaz leaders refusing even to-consider a timetable for their repatriation.@   The bulk of those who fled are ethnic Georgians.  And AbkhazAleaders have allowed only a handful to return.  Mr. Brunner said=Abkhaz intransigence on this issue threatens not only a U.N.:sponsored repatriation program, but also the peacekeeping8operations of both the U.N. and the Russian government.B   Russia has deployed about two-thousand troops along the Inguri=River that separates Abkhazia from the rest of Georgia.  TheARussian forces are backed by a small contingent of U.N. militaryobservers.@   Mr. Brunner suggested that both groups of peacekeepers couldAbe withdrawn within the next few months unless there is progresson the refugee question.;   Talks on the issue are scheduled to resume next week in;Moscow. Mr. Brunner said that meeting could prove crucial.   ---------------   ---------------4   U.S. SUSPENDS MILITARY SALES TO ECUADOR AND PERU   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENTA   The United States has suspended all military sales and aid to>Peru and Ecuador because of their continuing border conflict.?   The announcement represents more symbol than substance. TheAUnited States has not given Peru any military deliveries for the;past two years.  Peru has received 300 thousand dollars in/training funds for Peruvian military officers.@   The United States also has helicopters in Peru for narcotics>enforcement but officials say they are located 600 kilometers1away from the disputed border area with Ecuador.?   As for Ecuador, the United States has sent two cargo planes@worth more than five million dollars for the only military sale?to that country.  The State Department's announcement says theBUnited States has suspended deliveries of defense articles to the7two countries through foreign military sales or in newAassignments to the international military education and training	program.A   The United States has also suspended all licenses for defense<articles and services to Peru and Ecuador and will deny anyapplications for new licenses.B   The announcement says the other countries mediating the border@dispute, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile are taking similar action?against Peru and Ecuador.  Clashes on the border continue withpeace talks deadlocked.   ---------------   ---------------F   U.S. URGES MEXICO TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS DURING CHIAPAS OPERATION   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENTA   The United States has urged Mexico to respect human rights in.its battle with rebels in the Chiapas region.A   The State Department issued its call after Secretary of State?Warren Christopher was informed of President Ernesto Zedillo's9crackdown on leaders of the so-called Zapatista NationalLIberation Army.B   State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelley says the United>States has no other choice but to rely on President Zedillo's>assurances that evidence has been found linking the rebels to.planned attacks in Mexico city and elsewhere:9   "We, of course, are very mindful of the commitment by@President Zedillo to introduce very important reform aspects to>their justice system, electoral process, all of those things.@He's had a very strong record so far this year in areas that we@think represent his determination and his courageous leadership&on a wide-range of political issues."?   The Clinton Administration is organizing a financial rescue@package for Mexico and officials say there is no linkage of the1aid with President Zedillo's security crackdown.   ---------------   ---------------C   ALBRIGHT TO CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF U.S. ROLE IN UN PEACEKEEPING   ELAINE JOHANSON   UNITED NATIONS=   United States ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine;Albright, begins a speaking campaign next week to head off;efforts in the U.S. Congress to severely restrict AmericanAparticipation in U.N. peacekeeping.  Pro-U.N. personalities have7started marshalling their energies to help the Clinton?Administration rebut arguments that the United States would be6better served if it disengages to a large extent frommultilateral action.@   Ambassador Albright has taken the lead in public engagements:to counter a largely Republican move on Capitol Hill thatAessentially would reduce U.S. payments for U.N. peacekeeping andAbar American military from serving under foreign command. Though<herself a critic of some aspects of the United Nations, ms.?Albright calls herself a believer in using the organization toserve American foreign policy.?   Collective action, she argues, is sometimes the best way to?accomplish this and it should be the president's decision, notCapitol Hill's:B   "What it's making or would like to do is to force the American;commander-in-chief to make a choice between unilateral and?multilateral tools in dealing with our national interests.  We@have always seen those tools as complementary to each other and6necessary in terms of what we would like to see in anincreasingly turbulent world."?   Former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance,  who has served as a@United Nations envoy, most recently in the Balkans, can be evenAmore emphatic in what the proposed legislation would mean in theBreal world.  He says U.S. participation was key to the success of=a coalition that drove the Iraqi army out of Kuwait in 1991:A   "Such legislation would in my judgment severely restrict U.S.@participation in U.N. forces, invoking fears of foreign command=that our long experience in NATO should have put to rest.  IBsuggest that if all these restrictions had been put in place five@years ago, we would have been woefully impaired in fighting thePersian Gulf War."?   Mr. Vance suggests U.N. critics may not have thought deeply9enough about security in the post cold war world and howBexpensive it would be if the United States tried to do everything?by itself.  The former U.S. official calls U.N. peacekeeping a@bargain, but beyond that the only rational way to cope with allthe emerging conflicts.A   The Clinton Administration and the Congress agree at least on>one issue.  The United States intends to cut its peacekeeping@contribution from approximately 31 percent to 25 percent by theAend of the year.  It feels other countries, Japan and in Western>Europe, have grown strong enough economically to pay a largershare.A   But the Clinton Administration has signalled that it will not>give up easily on the other points of the Congressional bill,3which could come to a vote shortly in the House of;Representatives.  Its fate in the Senate is not yet clear.=   U.N. officials can sometimes be heard grumbling about the<United States asserting itself too strongly in the Security@Council.  At the same time, no one doubts that American supportBfor the organization is key to its success, as it begins its next50 years of existence.   ---------------   ---------------D   REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS AND REPRESENTATIVES AGREE ON WELFARE REFORM   ANDREW BAIRD   WASHINGTON8   Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives andARepublican governors throughout the United States have agreed onBa landmark legislative proposal that would drastically reform thenation's welfare system.A   The Republican governors and their party's legislators in the@Republican-controlled House of Representatives have agreed to a?proposal that would alter the premise that certain individualsBare entitled to welfare payments without regard to total costs orthe number of recipients.B   Clay Shaw, a Republican from Florida and a member of the House8Ways and Means Committee that writes tax laws, said theBlegislation would alter the nation's 20 billion dollar basic cash@assistance program.  That law requires states to offer benefits@to all low-income children and others in their households basedBon state-defined eligibility requirements.  The program, known as>aid to families with dependent children, requires the federalBgovernment to contribute 50 to 80 percent of each state's program,costs depending on the wealth of the state.=   Mr. Shaw's legislation would replace more than 70 federal=programs, including aid to families with dependent children,Achild care and child welfare, with billions of dollars of direct>cash payments to the states.  States would not be required toAcontinue spending at present levels and would have wide latitude:in setting up programs for the poor.  The states would be?required to terminate cash assistance to unmarried mothers whoAare under the age of 18 and to deny benefits to legal immigrantswho have not become citizens.8   Sheila Dacy works on welfare reform for the National=Governor's Association.  She says many lawmakers are seekingBalternatives to the present welfare laws because of uncertaintiesabout costs and effectiveness:@   "Right now, all three programs I mentioned, welfare, aid forBdependent children, food stamps, are all individual entitlements,@which means if you meet the income guideline set by the federal=or state government, and you walk in off the street you will@qualify for the programs.  And the funding at the federal levelBis hence open, since they can't predict how many people come in."B   Ms. Dacy says a key issue, whether welfare expenditure remains@an entitlement or becomes part of a block grant, is what degree?of flexibility the states will have in granting payments.  She@says that if the block grant proposal is adopted, formulas will@be needed to account for economic fluctuations.  The Republican>legislation would establish what is called a "rainy day fund"=from which states could borrow to cover increased demand for-welfare during periods of economic downturn.;   Another issue, says Ms. Dacy, is uneven distribution ofpopulations of the poor:A   "If the block grant was set up, based on what current funding?levels are, there should be some compensation for the relative?poverty of states.  Because many of the states which have more@poor people in them now get relatively more dollars as compared0to the state dollars that they are putting in."B   Under the Republican proposal, welfare spending by the federal?government would be set at 1994 levels and held there for fiveByears.  The plan anticipates during that period nearly 40 billion>dollars in savings which will be used to reduce taxes and thenational deficit.@   The Democrats, meanwhile, are offering their own versions of>welfare reform.  A group of conservative Democrats has a plan?that would retain welfare programs as an entitlement and would>continue to provide benefits to teenage mothers if they lived>with a parent or guardian.  The democratic leadership is also=expected to issue a version which would focus more on movingwelfare recipients into jobs.@   There also has been some discussion of altering the nation'sA20 billion dollars food stamps programs, again to be replaced byAfood and nutrition block grants to the states.  Experts say thatAbecause welfare reform affects the nation's most needy citizens,Bdebate leading to legislation that the president can sign or vetois expected to be fierce.   ---------------   ---------------   YALTA ANNIVERSARY   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON@   This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Yalta conference?(Held Feb. 4-11 1945) that brought together the leaders of the8United States, Britain and the Soviet Union. Conference>participants discussed bringing the Soviet Union into the war;against Japan, but also tacitly recognized the division ofEastern Europe.=   U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister?Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met for eight=days in February, 1945, at the Crimean resort of Yalta.  TheBleaders of the main powers allied against the axis nations met to?discuss how to coordinate the campaign in the closing phase of?the second world war, and how to get the Soviet Union into the Pacific conflict against Japan.B   World War II historian Norman Gelb says the three leaders came>to the Yalta conference with differing abilities to maneuver:@   "Roosevelt was terminally ill  and visibly so.  He would die@within a few weeks and so his full powers of concentration wereAnot there.  Churchill, the great defender of the British empire,Bwas aware at the time that the British empire was slipping out of@Britain's grasp and he was kind of sour, and tried to save what=he could of British influence by negotiating with the SovietBleader.  Stalin, whose country had taken the worst beating of theBmajor allies and whose army had inflicted the worst damage on the@German enemy, was in a position to ask for concessions and both(Churchill and Roosevelt realized that."@   During the conference, Roosevelt and Churchill got Stalin to8agree to enter the war in the Pacific and to join a new@organization known as the United Nations.  Western leaders felt@the conference was a success, having achieved both those goals.@   However some historians have associated the Yalta conference9with a sell-out by the west.  These historians argue the@conference was a disaster because it placed Eastern and Central3Europe squarely in the Soviet sphere of influence.@   Historian Gelb says that would have happened anyway, because.the Soviet army was already entrenched there:@   "It is easy enough to say Yalta was a disaster.  At the time<it did not seem so.  And in fact, it really did not matter,Bstalin was going to do what he wanted to do.  He had the Red Army>situated where it was and he wasn't going to be driven out of?Poland or Hungary or Czechoslovakia or any of the countries of:Eastern Europe.  And it was unlikely, impossible, totallyBunthinkable that the western powers would go to war against their@great Soviet ally to drive the Red Army out of there.  Besides,>there was no thought, or very little thought, at the time, of/what the real consequences of Yalta would be."B   That view is shared by Donald Cameron Watt, emeritus professor<of international history at the London School of Economics.?   Professor Cameron Watt says stalin told Yugoslav politicianBMilovan Djilas, whoever occupied central and Eastern Europe would<set up the economic and political system there, and that isexactly what happened:A   "The main problem was that the Red Army was occupying Eastern?Europe.  Roosevelt and Churchill wanted to extract from stalin=some kind of reassurance that democratic regimes as the west;understood them would be set up in Eastern Europe.  Stalin@managed to evade this, particularly over Poland.  Instead there@was a general declaration on democracy and so on, which did notAamount to very much because it is a very different definition of?democracy held in the west and in Stalin's Russia.  Nothing at<Yalta could have avoided the Red Army sweeping into Central>Europe because there wasn't anything to stop them, except theBGermans and they were our enemies.  And to that extent, Yalta was>an attempt to gloss over what was clearly a possible conflict@between east and west of the kind that existed before the war."B   History shows that stalin reneged on many of his promises made>at Yalta, such as free elections in Poland and some degree of@self-determination for Eastern Europe.  Shortly after the YaltaAconference, stalin staged a coup in Romania, placing a much moreApro-communist government there.  Professor Cameron Watt says the?smiles on western leaders after Yalta were quickly erased, andArelations between the western leaders and the Soviet Union beganto deteriorate.   ---------------   ---------------E   MAN ARRESTED, HELD WITHOUT BAIL FOR THREATENING INTERNET MESSAGES   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO8   In what may be the first case of its kind, a federalAmagistrate in the Midwest state of Michigan ordered a university=student be held without bail for using the the international?computer network, the "Internet," to threaten murder against a>specific person. The case will require the application of law7against a threat made over technology which is largely
unregulated.@   The case involves 20-year-old University of Michigan studentAJake Baker, who used electronic mail notes to submit his threats/to a file about "sex stories" on the internet.?   In his note, Mr. Baker names a female classmate whom he hasAreportedly never personally met, targeting her for torture, rape@and murder as part of a sexual fantasy.  Mr. Baker posted threeAnotes to the sex stories file last year.  Mr. Baker is also said@to have communicated via Internet with an ontario Canada man in<which they discussed ways of carrying out such sex attacks.>   Discovery of the messages reveals much about the worldwide?reach of this new technology.  The daughter of a University of>Michigan alumni living in Moscow Russia made the discovery by@searching internet files, or to use the popular phase, "surfing9the net." University of Michigan security officials were6notified, who in turn called in the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation to help.A   Mr. Baker was suspended from the university and then arrested@this past Thursday in the office of Ann Arbor Michigan attorney@David Cahill, who later told reporters Mr. Baker was exercisinghis right to free speech:@   "This is a fictional story that he had post on the Internet.?And the government, which includes the University of Michigan,Awhich is part of the government, is not allowed to punish anyonefor pure speech."B   But U.S. federal magistrate Thomas Carlson on Friday said free<speech rights were not an issue, noting that Mr. Baker madeAspecific threats against a person and discussed where and how to>commit the crime.  The magistrate called Mr. Baker "a tickingAbomb ready to go off," and ordered him held in jail until trial.>He was specifically charged with interstate transmission of aAthreat.  Conviction on the charge could bring a five-year prison
sentence.9   But the case also brings up new legal questions aboutAregulation of such messages on the free-wheeling internet.  Gary?Gassman is an attorney and is assistant director of the CenterBfor "Informatics Law" at Chicago's John Marshall Law School.  The>center addresses legal problems of how new technology affects#personal privacy and other issues.A   Mr. Gassman says laws preventing stalking persons with intent?to murder may be applicable, even when that stalking occurs inso-called "cyberspace":B   "Clearly, I think that this is going to have to be analogized.BI don't think that we can specifically pin-point where this fallsAwithin the law.  First of all, we have it on the Internet, which?we all know doesn't really have regulation.  Second, we're not>really sure where we stand on threatening, but stalking seems?like, yeah, that's a pretty good analogy, that when somebody'sBstalking you, what they're basically doing is, one, invading your@privacy to some extent and two, kind of threatening you because>when somebody starts  stalking you, you do feel.  Even if the?person doesn't actually intend on ever doing you any harm. You:start feeling the negative effects of having your privacy=violated, and so that becomes threatening in and of itself.";   The attorney for student Jake Baker plans to appeal the;magistrate's ruling.  Mr. Baker says his message about the:planned torture, rape and murder was a "fantasy" and even>contained a warning message.  Mr. Baker has also appealed his=suspension at the University of Michigan.  His attorney saidApsychiatrists examined Mr. Baker but found no evidence of mental	illness.   ---------------   ---------------4   "FIVE DEGREES", POET NICK CHRISTOPHER'S ICY CITY   CAROLYN WEAVER   WASHINGTON<   Winter weather is gripping the middle and eastern United@States, and even the most populous cities look abandoned in the?numbing cold and dark of winter nights.  It was one such night:that inspired poet nicholas Christopher's new book, "FiveBDegrees", that's five degrees fahrenheit, not celsius (it's minus"15 celsius), well below freezing.A   Cold has turned everything to iron or marble in the fantastic?city of Nicholas Christopher's "5 Degrees." The pretzel vendorArakes his coals with brittle fingers and sucks on a chip of ice.>The grass of the cemetery has crystallized into glass, and an<obelisk is covered with the names of children who died in aBhospital fire.  At the public library, gutter water has frozen in"the iron jaws of stone gargoyles.:   Mr. Christopher explains how he came to write the poem
sequence:<   "Two winters ago in New York, on a particularly freezing=night, the streets were just completely empty, it was like a?ghost town.  And I got the idea of writing a poem, and I wrote;the first few poems with the notion of memories and dreams@emanating from one sleeper in an enormous city, which is hugely@populated, yet which feels completely deserted.  And then as itBwent on, I've always been intrigued by history, and wanted to use'history as much as possible in poems."=   Mr. Christopher's work describes one endless night in hisAimmense, imaginary city.  The 35 linked poems feature magicians,Bexplorers,  and mystics,  from both history and myth, who held or>probed the mysteries of death and eternity.  They include theBdog-headed ancient Egyptian god Anubis [uh-noo-bis] who led souls@to the underworld, and the 16th century mathematician John Dee,Awho claimed to have decoded the language of angels.  A recurring@character is harry houdini, the master magician of the American0mid-century, who cheated death again and again.@   One of the chilliest poems in "Five Degrees" is about a fireBat a public home or hospital for "Foundlings", children abandonedas infants by their parents.A   "I'd heard of a fire at a foundling hospital years ago, maybe?ten, fifteen years ago.  And this poem was merged with another=story i'd heard about a hospital fire.  But the story of the?foundling hospital, I had never heard anything sadder, because@these were people who'd all been found, who'd had no place, and>the one place they had burned to the ground.  And it's one ofBthose subjects that's hard to use in poetry, because all you haveAto do is explain the poem and it will have an effect on people."   From "Five Degrees":   It raged all night.6   Jets of water from the fire hoses froze in midair.*   Blinded by the vapors of their breath,1   The firemen inched up ladders into the smoke.-   A nurse with a child clinging to her back$   Crept along a ledge on all fours&   And disappeared in a gust of snow.*   All of the foundlings were lost again,3   This time with no one to find them but the dogs4   Who were led sniffing through the ashes at dawn,'   Whose howls echoed beyond the river)   Where chunks of ice rolled downstream+   Under the stars that are always burning/   In the sky, but can only be found at night.?   Besides his own poetry, Mr. Christopher has also edited twoBanthologies, one of urban poetry and the other of poets under 35.B   Christopher says that experience gave him a view of how varied-and rich the American poetry scene is today:>   "If I were to characterize it, I would say poets of my ownBgeneration were influenced a lot by popular music, even more than?our predecessors.  I think the rhythms of music are one commonAdenominator, but otherwise, you know, the country's so huge, andAthe subject matter is so huge...When I edited this urban book, I@was doing some research on cities, and I found that there was aAone-square-block area of queens in New York where there were 118<different nationalities.  So the fact that poetry and poets@bubble up out of those communities, you're going to have things(going in a hundred directions at once."A   Soon after finishing college, Mr. Christopher moved to GreeceBand Italy, where he completed his first book.  He had a chance to?see how much more popular poetry is in those countries than inthe United States.;   "If you go to Italy, they have readings that fill huge,Asometimes soccer stadiums, which is mind-boggling to an American<poet.  Here if you get several hundred people at a reading,7you're really doing well. But even then, you feel likeByou're operating from a little island, because we're soaked in so?much other media. If you turn on the radio and hear music, you?know a lot more people are hearing it than will ever hear your8poems.  And I don't know if it's so much frustrating orAconfining, as much as you just have to keep 'writing out' to getAmore people.  I'm always most gratified when I get a letter from?someone who says, 'i never read poetry, but I love this poem.'@or someone at a reading comes up to you and seems flabbergasted"that a poem moved them directly."A   Nicholas Christopher, who is 43, grew up in New York city and>lives there today.  He's one of the rare poets who is able to<make a living writing, but he says that's because he writesAfiction as well as poetry.  His second novel, "Veronica," is due7out soon.  Besides "Five degrees and Other poems," Mr.BChristopher has published four books of poetry.  His last, titled>"in the year of the comet," was awarded the Poetry Society of;America's prize for the best book of poems published by anAmerican in 1993.   ---------------   ---------------+   YOUNG BOSNIAN REMEMBERS INTERNMENT CAMP   PAMELA TAYLOR   WASHINGTON@   The first international tribunal to try war crimes since the7nuremberg trials 50 years ago is expected to issue newBindictments next March in The Hague.  But the long-term future of@the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the former Yugoslavia<is very much in doubt because of uncertainties about future@funding. Despite the financial concerns, officials in The Hague=say they plan to go forward with 14 cases involving multiple=suspects charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, and@systematic rape.  Among the many who will be carefully watching<the work of the tribunal are the survivors of the many Serb'detention camps in Bosnia-Herzegovina.6   Almin Hadzic [all-meen hadj-itch] was at TrnopoljeA[turn-oh-pole-yeh], the camp filmed by a British television crew=in 1992 which sparked international outrage.  The now famous?images of skeletal prisoners behind barbed wire, uncomfortable?reminders of world war two concentration camps, were filmed atATrnopolje. Almin was 15 years old when Serb fighters came to his>house in the northwestern town of Prijedor [pree-yeh-door] in:1992.  Several members of his family had assembled there,&thinking there was safety in numbers.A   Among the Serbs soldiers who came that day was one of Almin's@former karate instructors, a man Almin now calls a "good serb":?   "One day he came to my house and one guy wanted to kill us.AThere were like 30 people in my house, my neighbors and my uncleBand one of the soldiers came and he wanted to kill us.  We had to@sing the Serbian anthem and he was saying 'louder, louder!' and?we had to sing like crazy people.  And then my coach said 'no,Bno, no! Go ahead, I'll take care of them.'  but he had a mask andAactually I didn't recognize him.  And then he took the mask from?his face and he said, "Almin, listen, you take your family and?your relatives and go to the concentration camp. That's reallyAthe best way to save your life."  Trnopolje was one of the camps@where you had a pretty good chance of staying alive; only about400 people were killed there."A   Almin's father was taken earlier that year to the nearby camp>of Kereterm, which was later called a 'death camp' because so;many are reported to have died there.   But Almin says his45-year-old father was lucky:@   "The Serbs, they, you know, beat him. He lost his teeth; hisAribs are in bad condition now.  They had baseball bats, they had@many kinds of different tools to beat people.  It was horrible.<In that situation, you think they're just going to come andAthey're going to kill you.  My mom, she wasn't raped, thank god.@She was very lucky. But two of my relatives, they were raped at.the concentration camp, very badly actually."@   In fact, Almin thinks his whole family was lucky despite the>fact three uncles were killed, as well as other relatives andBmany of the neighbors on his street. He says it is thanks to thatB"good serb" that his family was released and eventually reunited.=But there was also a "bad Serb" at Trnopolje, another karate;coach whom Almin remembers well.  His name was Dusan TadicB[doo-shan tah-ditch], the man indicted by the war crimes tribunal=late last year for his actions at Trnopolje. He is currentlyAbeing held in a German jail and is expected to be handed over to2stand trial sometime in march [watch for update]:B   "I saw him once at the concentration camp when I was there.  I@am not sure if he was drunk or not but he came to Trnopolje and:he was looking for someone.  He wanted to kill him but he@couldn't find him.  What usually happened, they came, took someAguys, asked some questions, you know, like, 'where did you leaveAyour guns?'. You know, stupid questions.  And if you didn't haveBanswers, they beat you.  If you start to cry, they start to swear@and they beat you more.  Sometimes they came and took a guy and=he never came back. During the night, they came and took the@people away; you heard later, 'bang!' and they never came back.AThat's how I know they killed them.  Because you know during theBnight they would usually get drunk or if they were not happy with@what was going on at the front, in another part of Bosnia whereBthey are losing.  And if they are not happy with that, they would*get angry and just come and kill people."@   Almin says he hid behind a group of men, fearing Dusan TadicBwould recognize him.  He remembers his former karate coach before8the war as a good athlete and instructor, but recalls a>conversation he overheard several months before the war brokeout:>   "He was an excellent, excellent athlete.   He was the bestBkarate (instructor) in my town, in my country.  He was strong, heAwas a great athlete.  The first time I noticed something, was at@my karate club, there were a couple of more Serbs and they were>talking together and when I really started to think about him=(was) when he said ' you know, we should destroy Sarajevo'.">   Almin was in Washington, DC, recently, where he attended a=conference on Bosnia at which a lawyer involved with the war?crimes tribunal spoke.   In response to a question from Almin,Bthe attorney said European governments had objected to imposing aAdeath penalty for war criminals, so the most severe sentence the2tribunal could impose would be life imprisonment:=   "I remember I asked the question if the death penalty was4possible and they said 'no, they will only get life@imprisonment'.  It's not fair.  It's not fair.  You know, those>people killed so many people, they deserve the death penalty,?those people like Dusan Tadic.  I know that my neighbor across>the street, he lost four sons.  Do you think even if they put>Dusan Tadic in jail and he's going to be happy with that?  No?way.  I don't think he (Tadic) is going to walk on the streets>actually.  I'm pretty sure there are some people are going to#kill him somewhere on the street."7   It is to concern about such acts of retaliation and=retribution that makes the work of the tribunal all the more?important.  Chief prosecutor, judge Richard Goldstone of South>Africa is acutely aware that no one is watching his work moreBclosely than the victims of brutality themselves, whether they beBfrom Bosnia, like Almin Hadzic, or from other infamous war zones,
like Rwanda.   ---------------   ---------------#   BILLY GRAHAM'S "GLOBAL MISSION"   MONIQUE HARRIS   NEW YORK=   Evangelist Billy Graham has addressed more people in live<audiences than any other speaker in history. But his latestBproject, announced in New York Tuesday, will allow him to addressthe world at once.@   Billy Graham calls his latest undertaking a "Global Mission";and expects it to simultaneously reach over 175 countries.<Beginning March 16th in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Mr. Graham's<evangelical message and other Christian programming will beBbroadcast by satellite to over 22 hundred local Christian mission<sites around the world. The missions will vary in size from:churches and community centers to large outdoor stadiums.@Interpreters will be on hand to translate the program into over>100 different languages.  By tuning into the proper satelliteAchannel, local organizers will be able to select the appropriateeditions for their audience.A   The 300 hours of transmission will use 30 satellites and will!be projected into 29 time zones.@   The theme of the global mission, according to Mr. Graham, is="the time is now".  The evangelist believes that a window of9opportunity has presented itself for this huge religious
outreach:B   "This is a very strategic moment to get before people and tell>them that god loves them, that god has a plan and that god isBinterested in them.  Our homes are confused, mixed-up and broken.?Then there is the poverty problem, the homeless problem, thereBare wars going on all over the world and in other places they are@seemingly about to break out. There has never been a time in my>life that I have seen people so hungry and so anxious to find<something that brings peace, satisfaction, and joy to their	hearts."?   The Global Mission broadcast will be carried in most of theAworld's major cities.  Four missions are also planned inside theBRwandan refugee camps in Zaire.  In Kobe, Japan,  local officialsBplan to use bulldozers to clear earthquake rubble so that a largeBoutdoor screen can be set-up to view the broadcast.  In all, more=than one billion people throughout the world are expected to&watch the "Global Mission" broadcast.   ---------------   ---------------0   SERB FORCES LAUNCH MORTAR ATTACK IN SARAJEVO   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNAB   Serb forces have launched a mortar attack in Sarajevo and have>attacked a United Nations  declared safe area in NorthwesternBosnia-Herzegovina.B   The Bosnian Serbs fired mortar rounds at a Bosnian army bunker;near the Jewish cemetery in Sarajevo.  The Serbs evidently<thought government troops there were violating the official?ceasefire, but no government troops were believed in the area.>   In northwestern Bosnia, Serb forces launched what a UnitedANations spokesman calls a calculated and deliberate infantry and;artillery attack on the U.N./ declared safe area of Bihac.A   U.N. forces are supposed to protect the safe area.  But, U.N.?commanders refused to call for NATO air strikes late last year@when Serb forces advanced into the Bihac enclave and threatenedthe main town there.@   Despite the new Serb attack, a U.N. relief convoy managed to@reach the Bihac enclave.  But, U.N. aid officials say much more;aid is needed there because the food situation is becoming
critical.A   Bosnian officials say babies are dying in the Bihac hospital.9The officials say there is not enough baby food, medicalequipment or medical supplies.   ---------------   ---------------'   BRONX ZOO BIRDS FLY THE COOP UPDATE   SAM IKER   WASHINGTON@   Dozens of exotic South American sea birds escaped (2/5) from;New York's Bronx Zoo after their aviary collapsed during a@snowstorm.  And zoo officials fear the birds are having a tough,time adjusting to life in the urban jungle.B   The elegant turn-of-the-century aviary at New York's Bronx Zoo?was a landmark and thing of beauty until heavy snow and strong=winds caused the graceful structure to collapse.  As if thatBweren't bad enough,  33 exotic seabirds, South American gulls and>terns, flew the coop, so to speak.  And at the moment,  1 areBstill at large.   Zoo curator Christine Shepherd says New Yorkers0are joining in the search for the errant birds:A   "There are a number of what seem to be reliable sightings but=nothing yet that we've been able to get back.  The sightingsBwe've had have not been of exhausted or injured birds that people@would be able to pick up.  They've largely been birds that wereAflying around or are out in large bodies of water where we can'tget to them very well."?   Ms. Shepherd says widespread publicity about the mishap has?made local city dwellers more aware that they're surrounded byurban wildlife:@   "I think a lot of people are not aware of how many birds are<out there normally,  how much wildlife there is here in the@winter.  And as they have become alerted to the fact that we've?lost birds,  they're starting to see birds that they never sawBbefore.  And they're calling us up and reporting those,  which is>great.  I'm glad that people are interested and are out there&watching and they're trying to help."@   Indeed,  Ms. Shepherd says people are reporting sightings ofany bird which looks unusual:;   "we've been getting thousands of calls, everything fromparrots to sandpipers.@   What worries zoo officials is that the exotic South American@gulls and terns have always lived within the secure confines ofAtheir aviary, fed daily with tasty morsels of fish and protected@from predators.  They fear that the sheltered birds will have a<difficult time surviving in the urban jungle.  According tocurator Christine Shepherd:@   "If you imagine yourself transported to the Gobi Desert, forBinstance,  and asked to fend for yourself,  you have some idea ofBwhat these birds are facing.  They're birds that have all hatched@in New York and are used to being fed by our staff.  So they'veAreally never had to forage for food.  They're healthy.  They canAtake the cold weather.  They live outdoors all year around.  ButBthey literally have no idea how to find food in the wild. And ourAhope really is that they may hook up with local gulls and followthem to food sources."=   The hardy, aggressive, city-bred seagulls like to feed at1garbage dumps and along debris-laden shorelines.B   Ms. Shepherd says one hope is that the bronx zoo refugees will@adapt to life in the big city and stay around long enough to be=trapped.  On the other hand,  the escaped birds that fail to adapt may be easier to recover:B   "We're also hoping that because people have become so aware ofBwhat's happening that if our birds are becoming exhausted becauseBthey haven't been able to find food that people will pick them up.and we'll be able to get them back that way."?   Meanwhile,  volunteer bird-watchers in New York City, armed@with binoculars,  are keeping vigil at local parks, reservoirs,Alakes and landfills to watch for the feathered refugees from the2bronx zoo and rescue as many of them as possible.   ---------------   ---------------    CAPITAL MARKET GLOBALIZATION   BRECK ARDERY   NEW YORKA   Just as markets for goods have become global, capital markets<have also become internationalized. Three leading financial?experts agreed in New York today Thursday, those international&capital markets can be very volatile.B   The three main speakers at a conference on capital markets allAagreed that investors, especially those in the United States andBWestern Europe, are increasingly looking beyond their own borders>for investment opportunities. However, as the recent economic@crisis in Mexico illustrates, international investors can be asAquick, or quicker, to withdraw their capital as they had been tocommit it in the first place.:   Robert Hormats, the vice chairman of the Goldman Sachs=investment company, said the investor panic over problems inBMexico rapidly spread to other emerging markets in Asia and latin	America:?   "There has been a contagion (spreading) effect. As AmericanBinvestors and mutual funds redeem their mutual funds they do  not?just redeem their Mexican funds, they pull out of all emerging@market mutual funds. That means that even if Chile or Singapore>or other countries have reasonably good performance, the fact>that the funds themselves lose money means that there is lessmoney to put in all around."=   Mr. Hormats said there needs to be better research on the@economies and specific companies in emerging markets to prevent"panic by international investors.6   Paul Ford, an American attorney who specializes inAinternational securities law, observed that excessive volatility>in emerging markets could lead to investment restrictions. He>said some governments may decide that extensive international=investment is not worth the risks of extremely volatility intheir capital markets.9   Winthrop Smith, a vice president of the Merrill LynchAinvestment firm, said that, despite recent upheavals, he expectsAAmerican investors will continue to be involved in international	markets.8   However, Mr. Smith said that, just as with any other3investment decision, the risks must be made clear:B   "We think it is terribly important that people understand  notAonly the opportunities but the risks. People must understand the<lack of liquidity (lack of sufficient investment capital to>prevent wild swings in a market) in some of these markets andBthat people analyze very carefully some of the underlying factors"in some of the emerging markets."A   The conference on global capital markets was sponsored by the6Foreign Policy Association, a private American group.   ---------------   ---------------?   CHINA TO ORGANIZE PRO-CHINA PARTIES FOR HONG KONG ELECTIONS   MAX RUSTON
   HONG KONG@   A Chinese official says Beijing plans to help coordinate the:activities of pro-China political parties in Hong Kong in@preparation for the territory's upcoming legislative elections.AThe comments mark the first time China has publicly acknowledged*involvement in the territory's elections.=   The official provided few details about what sort of role:china might play in the September elections.  Speaking to?reporters in Hong Kong, he said the local branch of the Xinhua@News Agency, China's de-facto consulate in the territory, would>liaise with candidates and offer some support for inter-party1coordination.  He did not name specific parties.>   Analysts say the comments could be a signal China plans to@play a more-active role in Hong Kong politics during the period>to mid-1997, when sovereignty over the territory reverts fromLondon to Beijing.<   Hong Kong's political groups are divided into three main@categories; pro-business, pro-Beijing and pro-democracy.  ChinaBis reported to have significant influence in the pro-business and?pro-Beijing parties.  It has accused some of the pro-democracy;parties of not looking out for Hong Kong's best interests,?raising concerns those parties might have difficulty survivingafter 1997.>   The September legislative elections are the last scheduled?polls before the handover.  The latest Chinese statements have;led to some confusion about Beijing's attitude towards the
legislature.B   Last year, Beijing announced it would dissolve the legislature?immediately after the handover, in response to the territory's@passage of political reforms.  The reforms lower the voting age8and expand the voting rights of Hong Kong's six millionAresidents.  Analysts say it is not clear why Beijing has decidedBto work with parties involved in the elections, if it still plansto disregard its results.>   British officials say they hope, as 1997 approaches, ChinaBwill back away from its threat to dissolve the legislature.  They9say a stable political system, based on a high degree ofAcontinuity between British and Chinese rule is essential for the/territory's stability and economic prosperity.   ---------------   ---------------7   CLINTON SAYS HE WILL NOT BACK OFF FOSTER NOMINATION   DAVID BORGIDA   WHITE HOUSE@   President Clinton says he will not back away from supporting>his surgeon general nominee, Doctor Henry Foster, a Tennessee8obstetrician-gynecologist under increasing scrutiny for<performing abortions during his lengthy medical career. The=Clinton White House has decided it's time to let the nomineedefend his nomination.1   Late Wednesday, Doctor Foster appeared on one;nationally-televised broadcast to make his case for Senate@confirmation.  Friday, he's back in the spotlight again.  White@House officials say Dr. Foster is to deliver a public speech at>the George Washington University in Washington, where he will?continue to make his case that performing abortions, which are<legal, does not mean he is unfit to become the nation's toppublic health official.:   Doctor Foster, under attack from anti-abortion forces,=acknowledged he first told White House officials he recalled@performing about a dozen abortions.  But in his first interview@since being nominated, he amended that, saying he had performed=thirty-nine.  Now there are those who say the abortion issue?isn't his only problem. They say he has a credibility problem,too.A   But Thursday President Clinton rose to his nominee's defense:@   "I support him.  I want him to have his hearings.  I believeBthe Senate will support him.  And I think we should not back awayfrom this."?   Doctor Foster was nominated to replace the outspoken Doctor:Jocelyn Elders, dismissed by the president for suggesting.students should be taught about masturbation.   ---------------   ---------------   HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESSB   The shift in power in the United States Congress has brought a:big change in the House Committee that deals with foreignAaffairs.  Interest has grown considerably in the subcommittee on>Asia with large numbers of members showing up for hearings inBpacked meeting rooms. There were more lawmakers than seats at the@table when senior State Department officials came to deliver an.overview of the administration's Asia policy.@   The nation's top diplomats for Asia were summoned before theAsubcommittee to review events in the region and American foreign?policy goals.  When they finished their prepared remarks, they>faced several hours of questioning.  Almost all the questionswere about Taiwan.A   One after another, Democrats and Republicans demanded to know?why the president of Taiwan, Lee Teng-Hui (deng-weigh), is notBbeing permitted to enter the United States to visit the school he<attended decades ago, Cornell University in New York state.A   Congressman Sam Gejdenson (gay'-den-sun), a Democrat from the@state of Connecticut, was the first member to pose the question.to assistant Secretary of State Winston Lord:;   "It seems to me illogical not to let president lee on a@private basis to go back to his alma mater, not just because it>is the right  thing to do because of all the process that hasAgone on with Taiwan, but I think it is also an excellent messageto China."<   Republican Dana Rohrabacher, a staunch conservative from=California, joined the chorus of complaints. He talked about+sending a message to the State Department:9   "Mr. Ambassador, what you have heard today is a clear8statement from both sides of the aisle (Republicans and<Democrats) that we expect  this administration to seriously@consider a change in policy towards Taiwan. Have you gotten the
message?"9   The first few times he was asked about President Lee,;ambassador Lord seemed to talk around the issue.  When Mr.ARohrabacher posed his question, Mr. Lord asked for extra time to	respond.B   He said foreign policy has many goals... And the United StatesBhas to consider the ramifications of its actions on both sides ofthe Taiwan straits:?   "We want to promote our friendship and unofficial ties with@Taiwan. We  are doing that and we've strengthened that.  But weAcannot do it at the expense of our equities on the other side ofthe straits."?   Mr. Lord said the United States has taken some actions thatBhave been roundly criticized by Beijing. But he made clear a "two,china" policy would not be worth the price:B   "So we have a balancing act.  We don't apologize for it. It isBdifficult. We understand your visceral reaction. We are trying to>pursue our equities as Republicans and Democrats have on bothsides of the strait."@   The United States broke formal ties with Taiwan in 1979.  In>1992, a ban was lifted on ministerial level visits.  And last@year, the  Clinton Administration conducted a policy review and*said it would widen contacts with Taiwan.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESS/CUBA SANCTIONS   JIM MALONE
   SENATE?   Several members of the U.S. Congress are looking to tighten@the economic embargo against Cuba.  The new Republican chairman@of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jesse Helms,9unveiled what he calls a Cuban liberty and Democracy ActA   Senator Helms says tightening the economic screws (pressures)Bon the Castro government in Cuba is one of his top foreign policy@priorities.  He was joined by several Republicans and Democrats=in introducing legislation that would intensify the economicembargo against Cuba.>   Senator Helms told reporters that it matters little to himAwhether Fidel Castro, in his words, leaves Cuba in a vertical or<horizontal position (erect or carried out) as long as he isforced to leave at some point.B   He also dismissed those calling for an end to the embargo in a?bid to engage the Castro government with expanded economic andcommercial ties:A   "There must be no retreat in that policy today.  If anything,<with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of Soviet?subsidies to Cuba, the embargo is finally having the effect onBCastro that has been intended all along.  Why should the U.S. let=up that pressure now?  It is time to tighten the screws, not@loosen them. We have an obligation to our own principles and toAthe Cuban people to elevate the pressure on Mr. Castro until the#Cuban people once again are free.";   The proposed legislation urges the President to seek an>international embargo against Cuba through the United Nations@Security Council.  It would also reduce funding to institutions?like the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank if?they approve any loans to Cuba.  The measure would also punish?executives of foreign companies that have purchased properties@that Cuba confiscated from Americans.  Such executives would beBprevented from entering the United States. The bill also seeks to2strengthen television Marti broadcasting to Cuba.B   The Cuba legislation would build on moves taken under the 1991ACuban democracy act which was authored by Democratic CongressmanRobert Torricelli:B   "Make no mistake.  This legislation will pass the Congress, itBwill be signed by the President of the United States. And it will?begin the final chapter of Castro's Cuba.  None  of us want to6contribute to the suffering of the Cuban people.  And@strengthening the embargo  undoubtedly will cause pain to many.@But to do nothing and to stand idle means another generation of:Cubans are going to lose their freedom and their economic=opportunity for countless years to the Castro dictatorship."B   The Cuba bill also looks ahead to a Cuba without Fidel Castro.BIt would direct the President to provide Cuba with food, medicineBand other forms of assistance once the President certifies that a;transition government is in place.  It also authorizes theBPresident to provide loans and other financial assistance as wellAand directs the President to end the trade embargo once Cuba has!elected a democratic government.   ---------------   ---------------   CZECH ECONOMY   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUEB   A leading economic forecaster in Prague is suggesting that the=Czech economy will grow even faster than officially forecast
during 1995.@   Most forecasts suggest that the Czech economy will expand by9about four percent in 1995.  That is a relatively strong>performance for a transforming economy, but is below the fiveApercent growth achieved by Poland in each of the past two years.>   But where the Czech Republic has been more successful thanBPoland is on inflation.  Prices have been rising twice as fast in/Poland and Hungary than in the Czech Republic.=   Josef Kotrba is the deputy director of Prague's Economics@Institute.  He believes the Czech economy will grow by at leastfive percent this year.9   But Mr. Kotrba says it will be very difficult for the@government to meet its objective of only five percent inflation8for 1995 because low Czech wages are beginning to rise:B   "I think it is impossible in such conditions to stop inflation;or to reduce it to West European core levels of below fiveApercent.  And if it would be possible, it would be too costly interms of reduction of growth.">   But while Czech inflation is likely to remain near the tenApercent level, there is better news when it comes to holding the9currency steady against the dollar and mark. Alone amongBtransforming economies, the Czech currency is under steady upward;pressure.  The Czech crown has been fixed in a tight range>against the mark for the past four years.  Against the dollar?over the past four years the crown has risen from nearly 30 to"the dollar to just over 27 today.;   Mr. Kotrba believes the Czech authorities will resist a?revaluation of the crown because this would raise the price of=Czech exports and make imports cheaper.  The Czech economy's=growth is export led and higher export prices would slow thegrowth of foreign sales.   ---------------   ---------------!   COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE AFTERMATH   PAMELA MERCER   PEREIRAB   At least 24 people are dead in the city of Pereira as a result@of Wednesday's earthquake in Colombia, which measured six point;four on the richter scale. Although the tremors center wasBlocated in south western Colombia, Perera, a city of about half a*million people suffered the worst damage.A   The earthquake which shook Colombia last Wednesday appears to@have struck a populated area of about four by 12 blocks to ventAmost of its wrath.  On Thursday, rescue teams and members of the?Red Cross continued to dig away at the rubble left from a five>story building that crumbled to the ground as a result of theearthquake.B   One woman, Mercedes Coronado, was rescued alive after spendingAalmost 24 hours under the rubble.  But others trapped inside theBbuilding were less lucky.  Ms. Coronado's maid, who had withstoodAmuch of the night under debris with her employer did not survivethe ordeal.A   Despite the tragedy of the earthquake, which was the worst to?strike this tremor prone city since 1979, the general sense of9panic and shock gave way to resignation Thursday,  while?residents, now calm, vividly recounted there own experience ofBthe earthquake.  One man described how his car began to sway backBand forth like, a palm tree.  A 22 year old woman was less lucky,Bwhile the tremor struck, and as she put it, she took  no  notice,?a wall came tumbling down on her.  As a result, she has had tohave one foot amputated.8   Police cornered off most hard-hit areas of the city,8government buildings suffered damage, but their generalAstructures were left intact.  Colombian President Ernesto SemperBand several of his cabinet ministers, visited Perera and promised@aid for the reconstruction.  About 120 structures were effected:by the damage, although authorities say they can  not yet/estimate the cost of the material destruction.9   The earthquake also hit several parts of southwestern=Colombia. Damage there had not yet been assessed by Thursday;night. However, in the town of El Cairo, 90 percent of the?buildings suffered damage and an unidentified number of peoplewere left homeless.A   No new casualty toll for the country at large was reported byAauthorities, but on Wednesday night, death had been estimated at	over 30.   ---------------   ---------------(   THE EVOLUTION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH   TED LANDPHAIR   WASHINGTON>   It's been 19 years since President Jimmy Carter proclaimed<February "Black History Month" in the United States.  Today<nearly every school in America sets aside classroom time toBdiscuss the contributions of black scientists, doctors, and civil;rights leaders.  And several corporations target marketing;campaigns to African-American customers during this month.?   But the history of American blacks, other than slaves, onceAgot scant attention, and achieving a special month to mark their-accomplishments was a long, difficult fight.@   When Marilyn Kern was 10 years old, growing up in the little?town of Kosciusko [koss-ee-ess-ko], Mississippi, in the 1960s,3she wrote a poem that she called "I want to know."B   "I don't want to know only about how blacks were treated yearsago*   "Of how they were hated and beaten so.,   "My fellow friends, I want to know more.<   "I want to know about the black man who was the first tooperate on a human heart.?   "I want to know of the negro who gave blood plasma a start.>   "Sure, there are blacks in our books, but usually in whitecotton fields.A   "Our books never tell of the black man's accomplishments, norof his many skills.=   At the time she read her poem in class, black schools and?churches had been marking a week in February as "negro history;week" for almost 40 years.  But newspapers, magazines, andAtextbooks, even in segregated schools like the one she attended,@devoted little space to the accomplishments of American blacks.=   Marilyn Kern is now marilyn Kern-Foxworth, a professor ofBpublic relations at Texas A&M University.  She has researched theAone-man campaign that led to negro history week, and the 50-yearAeffort to turn it into the more extensive black history month oftoday.B   That lone champion of black history was Carter G. Woodson, the8first child of American slaves to graduate from HarvardAUniversity.  That was in 1908, when he was 35 years old.  He hadBspent his young adulthood reading and studying while he worked as?a coal miner and share-cropping farmer.  Later, in Washington,>DC, as he pored over old family letters and church records toBsystematically record negro history for the first time, he worked?nights as a janitor to pay his rent and read to illiterates in>return for meals.  Before Woodson, only oral storytellers had<kept alive most of the history of slaves and free blacks inBAmerica.  As author gene smith wrote in this month's [February's]?legacy, a new American heritage magazine supplement devoted to?African-American history and culture, "after all, people askedAfor years, what was the negro whose history Woodson professed to?study but a creature from the jungle without ancestry, withoutBachievement, without background, a nameless and monolothic mass?";But Carter Woodson wrote a book about blacks as individualachievers.=   Dr. Kern-Foxworth says Woodson first called for a special<negro history week in 1926, and appealed to prominent black/leaders for support.  But many were skeptical:=   "They thought that members at large in the general public6would be so against a week set aside in observance ofBAfrican-American achievements and contributions that it would not8go very far. There were people who were ignorant of theBcontributions that African-Americans had made, and therefore they>were reluctant to even think that there was a week's worth of6information that could be in-putted [found] about the%contributions of African-Americans."9   Whites were even less supportive.  "Noboby celebrates@caucasian history week," they said with a laugh. Carter Woodson?replied that white history was taught every week, and in every
textbook.?   But over time, as the body of knowledge about the lives and>accomplishments of blacks in America grew, and as schools and@some churches began to integrate, negro history week caught on.AThe second full week in February was chosen because the FebruaryB12th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves,:and black editor and orator Frederick Douglass's presumedAbirthday on February 14th usually fall within that week.  During>the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, when many blacks<began to wear dashikis and afro hairstyles, chant "black isAbeautiful," and sing "say it out loud: I'm black and I'm proud,"@the name of the observance was changed to "black history week."<It became a full month's observance with President Carter'sproclamation in 1976.:   Dr. Cordell Wynn, president of the predominantly blackBStillman College in Alabama, also remembers his school days, when3few blacks besides slaves got a mention in school.>   Wynn says black history month has helped change attitudes,even in the deep south:A   "Prejudice and bigotry come about as the result of ignorance,:not knowing [about other cultures].  So certainly here inAAlabama, where, years ago, the governor stood in the schoolhouse?door to bar blacks, attitudes have been changed about laws and=policies. And I can see an appreciation for what blacks havedone."<   Since 1990 presidents Bush and Clinton have proclaimed aBnumber of observances to mark the heritage of other ethnic groupsAand of women.  For instance, march is now women's history month,?may is Asian/Pacific American heritage month, mid-September toAmid-October is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and November is'native American Indian Heritage Month.=   Spreading the message of America's diversity is fine withMarilyn Kern-Foxworth.@   "The reason that we're doing this is because we need to have=self-pride. We need to have pride in our race. I go from oneAcelebration into another celebration, because being a female, ofAcourse, I observe women's month as well, which is in March.  And<I celebrate with others. You know, we had National Hispanic?Heritage Month from September to October.  I celebrate that aswell."@   But Stillman College's Cordell Wynn is not so sure all these>celebrations are a good idea. He says the need for a time set?aside to lift the memory of black achievers remains especiallyacute:A   "I don't think women have suffered the insults and atrocitiesAin this world that black folks have. I don't think the Hispanics@have. I think we're talking about two sets of principles. There?have always been females who have excelled in history and havebeen noted for it."A   Soon after Marilyn Kern-Foxworth read us her "I Want to Know"Apoem, she was off to speak to a group of retired Texas teachers.>   Kern-Foxworth said she planned to read the poem to them as@well, and to pose a challenge to teachers and business leaders,=to recognize the accomplishments of women, blacks, and other>ethnic minorities not just in one special month, but also allyear long:;   "And once that occurs, it will not be necessary to have8women's history month. It will not be necessary to haveBAfrican-American or black history month.  But I don't think we'veAgotten to that point yet.  People are not that indoctrinated yet.within our schools, within our corporations."@   By the time young Marilyn Kern graduated from high school in?Mississippi in 1971, schools had been integrated.  But because?officials were uneasy about having blacks and whites under one=roof, for a time her school had both a black principal and aAwhite principal, separate homecoming queens and dances. She saysAthere's been great progress since then, even in Mississippi, butBit could not have happened had Carter Woodson, the son of slaves,Bnot worked tirelessly 70 years ago to elevate, and celebrate, the"contributions of black Americans.A   The theme of black history month this year is "reflections on)1895, Douglass, Dubois, and Washington."?   Frederick Douglass died a century ago, in 1895. Sociologist7and historian W.E.B. Dubois, a founder of the National;Association for the Advancement of Colored People, got his>doctorate degree from Harvard in 1895.  And in 1895, educator?Booker T. Washington delivered his famous "alantic compromise"Bspeech in which he advocated technical and self-help programs forthe American negro.   ---------------   ---------------(   FORD REVEALS NEW TAURUS AT AUTO SHOW   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO>   The Ford Motor Company unveiled a new style of its popular>"Taurus" model at the Chicago auto show Thursday.  And Ford's?chief executive told reporters he thinks vehicle sales here in>the United States in 1995 will be even better than last year.A   Ford's popular "Taurus" and comparable mercury car line model<the "Sable" are being redesigned for 1996 and are now being?displayed at U.S. auto shows.  Ford introduced its "Estate" or/"station wagon" version of the car in Chicago.@   The "Taurus" is a full-sized car which Ford first put on theBmarket in 1985.  Since then it's grown in popularity and has been?the top-selling vehicle here in the United States for the past?three years. Now Ford plans to take its successful car abroad.>   Ford vice-president Ross Roberts says his company plans to<export U.S. made Tauruses in both left and right-hand drive)versions to Australia, Japan and Europe:?   "We're looking right now at Europe to find out exactly what@the demand (for the car) is, and great Britain, they're totallyBwilling to look at the car to find out what the demand is.  So we@have the capability of exporting to any of those markets, where,the demand is and where we chose to do so."@   Ford also has joint ventures in China, and the recent threat@of trade sanctions by the United States against the Chinese for?failing to crack-down on the piracy of U.S. software and otherB"intellectual property" has U.S. automakers concerned, because ofAthreats they may be caught in the middle of retaliatory actions.BFord's chief executive, Alex Trotman, said a few days ago that he8fully supports the U.S. Government's efforts to win the
protections.<   Trotman told reporters in Chicago Thursday that, for the9moment, Ford operations in China are not being affected:A   "None at all, so far.  We have very good relationships with a@number of automotive entities and government agencies in China.AAnd we have detected no change whatsoever in their view of us inthe last couple of weeks."A   Mr. Trotman added that he will be going to China next week to#discuss further business ventures:@   "And we're communicating almost daily with our colleagues in?China, and we detect no change in their attitude to Ford MotorCompany at all."B   The Ford chairman adds that he's encouraged that the two sides3quickly agreed to return to the negotiating table.<   Back here in the United States, Ford's Alex Trotman sees@another good year for his company, and for the auto industry inAgeneral, perhaps reaching sales of close to 16 million vehicles:=   "Anyone who kids you that he can forecast the industry to<one-tenth is really kidding you, because none of us is thatBsmart.  I think the number is somewhere between 15-point-five and?15-point-nine (million vehicles).  I'm personally still in the?15-point-eight, 15-point-nine area, notwithstanding the latestinterest rate increase."=   In 1994, Ford led Detroit's "Big Three" automakers with a7record net income of five-point-three billion dollars.   ---------------   ---------------   FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS   GARY THOMAS   WASHINGTONA   Former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright died Thursday at the=age of 89.  Mr. Fulbright was widely known for his outspoken@criticism of U.S. foreign policy, particularly the Vietnam war.However, Mr. Fulbright leaves6behind an legacy far more enduring than his politicalaccomplishments.=   Young scholars, both in the United States and abroad, owe?their first glimpse of a foreign land to J. William Fulbright.>   In 1946, Mr. Fulbright introduced the original legislationBestablishing a program to give American students opportunities to@study abroad and to bring foreign students to the United StatesBfor study.  It was a bold concept in the post World War II world,:to promote international understanding, by exposing youngBAmerican students to other cultures and giving foreign students a$firsthand glimpse of American life.=   Since that beginning, more than 200-thousand students and@teachers have participated in the program.  About 135 countries3participate in the program in one form or another.@   The program is now run by the "Council for the International=Exchange of sCholars."  But everywhere, the participants are&simply known as "Fulbright Scholars."B   The participants come from a wide variety of backgrounds  most<of those in the student programs are working for a graduateAdegree, and an opportunity to study in another land gives them a+broader perspective on their chosen field.B   More students come to the United States than American studentsBgo abroad.  In the 1993-1994 school year, more than five thousandBforeign students came to the United States, and some two-thousandU.S. students went abroad.<   There is also an exchange program of teachers, primarily athlete secondary school level.<   Most of the funding, nearly three fourths, comes from an?appropriation by Congress.  The funding is administered by the?U.S. Information Agency through its posts abroad.  The rest ofAthe money comes from foreign governments, private donations, andother sources.?   One program official said the Exchange Council is extremelyAsaddened by news of Senator Fulbright's death, but there remains@a strong commitment to carry out the legacy of the program thatbears his name.   ---------------   ---------------*   GERMANY'S TURKISH IMMIGRANTS AND ISLAM   DAGMAR BREITENBACH   BONN@   Migrants from all over the world have for decades flocked to>Germany to work.  Many have settled and raised families.  The@largest group of immigrants are those from Turkey.  They number<almost two million, and many have been in Germany for threeAgenerations.  For the Turks, integration into German society has(its problems.  Religion is one of them.@   Turks came to Germany by the thousands to work and earn goodBmoney, planning to return home to their families later as wealthy;men.  Most of them stayed.  They brought their families to;Germany, their food, their traditions, and their religion.@Germany's turks are settled, but that does not necessarily mean integrated into German society.B   Researchers find turks are increasingly turning back to Islam,@reading the Koran and spending more time at mosques and Turkish<cultural centers, which today offer a variety of activities#geared especially to young people.B   The Muslim communities offer a feeling of solidarity for those=who have not integrated into German society.  Many turks mix@Islam and Turkish tradition into a protective wall against whatAthey perceive to be the cold and uncaring ways of Germans.  Many@younger people, too, born and raised in Germany, are turning to<their roots, and discovering Islam and its traditions as an"important part of their identity.=   Yasimin Karakasoglu, researcher at the Center for Turkish@Studies in Essen, says that while in established German-TurkishAneighborhoods and at the workplace, there are no problems, Islam?is a potential for conflict between the turks and the Germans:@   "This is all because lots of Germans don't know very much inBdetail about Islam, and don't consider Islam as a religion as the9Christian religion, but they regard Islam as a political?movement, and this causes, of course, problems between Germans;and turks....Not  only Germans.  I think the whole westernAsociety very often mixes up the political fundamentalist Islamic>movement with the Islam as a religion, and we have in Germany=two-point-five million Muslims.  Only a minority of these is7fundamentalist.  This is not recognized by the westernsocieties."?   Miss Karakasoglu says German politicians should support the=introduction of Islamic religious courses in German schools,;among other reasons as a means to counter the influence ofradical Koran classes.>   Muslims currently are observing the holy month of Ramadan,Bwhich goes largely unnoticed by Germans.  But Yasimin Karakasoglu;says most Turks living in Germany regard Ramadan as a very"important part of their heritage.>   Especially elder people, Karakasoglu says, view the Muslim3holy month as a tradition they want to hold on to:@   "But, of course, it is not as easy to observe the Ramadan in=Germany as it is in the home country, in Turkey, because the8whole society life outside the house doesn't take under>consideration that this is the holy month of Ramadan.  If you?were in Turkey at this time you would see that everything goes>more in slow motion, and that people try not to be too active;during the day.  Activities are more in the nights and, of<course, the German neighbors sometimes feel uncomfortable."@   Despite these differences, members of the Turkish community,9as Muslims, retain a strong sense of their own identity.   ---------------   ---------------H   RUSSIAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER WANTS WEST TO PRESSURE RUSSIAN ON CHECHNYA   EVANS HAYS   BONN?   A leading Russian human rights campaigner, Sergei Kovalyov,Bhas urged western countries to put more pressure on Moscow to end@the fighting in Chechnya.  Mr. Kovalyov was speaking in Bonn at;the end of a visit to Germany that included a meeting withForeign Minister Klaus Kinkel.@   Mr. Kovalyov, the human rights commissioner for Russia, said8after his meeting with the German foreign minister that9democratic reform is not compatible with the violence in
Chechnya.A   He told reporters that the crisis can not leave the political@and democratic changes in Russian untouched.  Mr. Kovalyov said?it is impossible to wage a war with large casualties and still.pursue reforms in other parts of the country.B   Mr. Kovalyov, who visited Chechnya to get a first-hand look atBthe war, said western countries should consider possible economic?sanctions against Russia.  He said he was not urging immediate>sanctions, because just the threat of them can be sufficient.>   Foreign Minister Kinkel, a vocal critic of Russia's war in;Chechnya, said Germany has made its views clear to Moscow.A   Mr. Kinkel and Chancellor Helmut Kohl have spoken out againstAthe Chechnya violence and Mr. Kohl has used a personal telephone>line to Russian President Boris Yeltsin to urge an end to the
conflict.@   German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe suggested recently that@Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev would  not be welcome at;security  conference held in Munich last weekend.  General'grachev did not attend the conference.9   But Germany has stopped short of threatening economic<sanctions against Russia.  Mr. Kohl has said that while the@Chechnya conflict  may be a Russian mistake, it is important to.support the long-term goal of Russian reform.   ---------------   ---------------.   INDIAN PRIME MINISTER APPOINTS NEW CABINET   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHI>   Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao has replenished his>depleted cabinet, as his embattled and divided Congress Party+faces the voters in India's richest state.=   In a long-awaited move, Mr. Rao has appointed several new=cabinet officers in a bid to shore up his authority over theAruling Congress Party,  rocked by elections losses, scandals and
in-fighting.@   In a ceremony in New Delhi Thursday, President Shanker Dayal<Sharma swore in five new cabinet ministers and three juniorministers.@   Mr. Rao needed fresh faces for his cabinet after a string of6ministers resigned or were forced out since December.B   The new appointments come just two days after Mr. Rao expelled@his chief Congress Party rival, former human resources minister;Arjun Singh, for what were called "anti-party activities.";   Mr. Singh had criticized Mr. Rao's leadership after theACongress Party lost three of four state elections held late lastyear.A   The reshuffle came as millions of voters went to the polls inAMaharashstra State, India's industrial powerhouse and a CongressAParty Bastion.  The voting is the first in a series of six stateelections over the next month.<   Pre-election polls showed the Congress Party trailing in5Maharashstra behind a Hindu fundamentalist alliance.@   A loss there could renew challenges to Mr. Rao's leadership,Aas the Congress Party looks ahead to general elections for a newparliament next year.   ---------------   ---------------1   ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN PEACE TALKS HIGHLIGHT RIFT
   AL PESSIN   EREZ CHECKPOINT=   A meeting between the top Israeli and Palestinian leaders=broke up with the peace process apparently in something of aAcrisis Thursday.  Both sides admit they have serious differencesover several key issues.8   The meeting ended without the traditional joint news;conference.  The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, walked@quickly to his car without comment but his information minister=Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters there are serious problems:A   "I think it is a crisis, but the only thing that we hope will:enable us to overcome it is that each side will study and?re-evaluate the situation and the position of the other side."@   Mr. Abed Rabbo said the differences center on what he calledB"major issues" including plans to expand Palestinian autonomy and>withdraw Israeli troops from more of the West Bank.  Security;arrangements, Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and theAcurrent Israeli closure of the Palestinian territories were alsoin dispute.B   The closure was imposed three weeks ago after a double suicide;bombing near Tel Aviv killed 21 Israelis.  The Palestinian@information minister said there is also disagreement on what he.called the continuation of the peace process.A   But speaking later Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin deniedAthe peace process is in crisis.  He described the problem as oneof differing priorities:A   "Israel sees the terror as the most dangerous obstacle on theBroad for implementation of the declaration of principles.  On the:Palestinian side, of course, the major issue is what theyBconsider the lack of progress in the negotiations for the purposeBof the implementation of the declaration beyond Gaza and Jericho.BI am not trying to say that there were  no differences but by  no<means will I describe it as a crisis or a stop in the talks
between us."B   A member of Mr. Rabin's negotiating team, Yosi Sarid, said theBclosure cannot be lifted now because Israel has information aboutBmore planned terrorist attacks.  Officials say the two sides will?review their positions, hold consultations during the next few=days and Mr. Rabin and Mr. Arafat will meet again next week.   ---------------   ---------------"   KENYA MAGAZINE MAKES COME-BACK   SONYA LAURENCE-GREEN   NAIROBI?   One of Kenya's best-known opposition magazines, the Nairobi=Law Monthly, is back on the streets again after a nine-month;absence.  After years of political and economic harassment>crippled the operation it suspended publication but now it isBback in business, re-vamped and reformed as a non-profit venture.@   With Kenyan and international funds, the Nairobi Law Monthly@is making a comeback and the renewal was celebrated at a socialevent.A   The gala dinner at a Nairobi restaurant was hosted by Nairobi;Law Monthly editor Gitobu Imanyara and attended by several@dignitaries and opposition members of parliament, as well as by?Kenya's secret police, the "special branch," who were there to keep an eye on the proceedings.9   The magazine's supporters gave speeches peppered with@criticism of the ruling party and government, and displayed the;same defiance which has embroiled them in controversy, and&brought official censure in the past.:   The chairman of the Nairobi Law Monthly trust, Pheroze>Nowrojee, a human rights lawyer, told the audience the Kenyan5government was slowly eroding multi-party democracy:?   "We are at a dangerous time in the republic's history, when@the gains of 1990-1992 stand to be reversed, and the attempt isAbeing made to bring back and entrench again a de facto one party1state governed by an undemocratic organization.">   Mr. Nowrojee condemned the Kenyan government's monopoly of@radio and television news.  He said the absence of other points@of view leads to an absence of democracy, but that the  Nairobi@Law Monthly will continue to provide a broad spectrum of Kenyan
opinions:B   "It is the dangers to democracy in Kenya that the  Nairobi LawBMonthly will continue to point out.  It will continue to question9arbitrary actions.  It will remain a forum for differing>viewpoints and it will not, as it has never, shut out opinionfrom any sector."A   The Nairobi Law Monthly is not just a legal journal, but also@focuses on human rights, Kenyan politics, the constitution, andAthe pace of democratization.  Its latest issue includes articles?on corruption and the judicial system, and an editorial saying'Kenyan leaders have disobeyed the law.=   The founder and editor of the Nairobi Law Monthly, Gitobu@Imanyara, said that while his magazine in the past had survived;government confiscations and bannings, ultimately economicApressure by the authorities forced the magazine to shut down for
nine months.>   But Imanyara said now that it is a non-profit organzation,<funded by donors inside and outside of Kenya, his staff can?concentrate solely on publishing the  Nairobi Law Monthly, thesame as it always has been:B   "If anything, now we have more time to devote to the magazine.APreviously we spent half the time looking for money.  Now we can@spend all our time continuing with the democratization process,@to open up the institutions.  So if anything, the conversion of>the Nairobi Law Monthly into a non-profit-making organizationAwill enable us to concentrate and do what we really what we also"have been doing all these years."A   Mr. Imanyara said he expects official harassment to continue:A   "Well we expect this to happen.  As I talk to you we have gotBa couple of special branch people out there.  They have warned me>against speaking politics.  But these are the hazards that we)have to face.  We must really continue.">   Despite the odds, Mr. Imanyara and his staff say they will-continue to publish the Nairobi Law Monthly.   ---------------   ---------------<   SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT BEGINS NORTHERN RECONSTRUCTION PLAN   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIB   Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga says her government>will begin reconstruction work in the war-ravaged north as it=puts final touches on a political package to end 11 years ofethnic conflict.@   President Kumaratunga says government experts will travel to=battled-scarred northern Sri Lanka within two weeks to beginArestoring electricity and other basic services as part of an 800'million dollar reconstruction package.B   Northern and eastern Sri Lanka have been ravaged by an 11-year:war between Tamil separatist guerrillas and the military.B   Mrs. Kumaratunga's government was elected in August on a peaceBplatform and began negotiations with the Tamil rebels in October./A truce has been in effect for the past month.;   Mrs. Kumaratunga told foreign correspondents in ColomboAThursday she is putting the final touches on a political packageto settle the war.?   It is expected to offer the tamils substantial autonomy butBnot a separate state.  The rebels say they want normalcy restored;to their areas before the start of political negotiations.   ---------------   ---------------7   LIBERIAN TRADITIONAL CHIEF SAYS HE CAN LEAD LIBERIA   CLAUDIA MCELROY   MONROVIAB   In Liberia faction leaders still have not agreed on who shouldBsit on the ruling council established in a peace plan drawn up inAGhana.  The council was expected to have started functioning one>month ago.  The chairman of the proposed council, 90-year-old@Chief Tamba Taylor, says he is able to help break the deadlock.<   Traditional Chief Tamba Taylor says he has the necessary=skills and experience to lead the Liberian nation.  SpeakingAthrough an interpreter, the chief said although it was never his>ambition to be head of state, the parties to the recent peaceBaccord saw him as the only compromise candidate and so he had  no$alternative but to accept the post.A   Chief Taylor served as paramount chief for more than 50 yearsBin northwestern Liberia and what was described by his interpreter@as one of the best developed and most peaceful districts in the	country.A   The chief said this earned him nationwide respect and as suchBhe is well placed to unify the parties to the conflict.  The mainBobstacle remains the inability of all the parties to agree on who2should sit on the six seat of the ruling council.>   Some critics have express serious doubts about Chief Tamba<Taylor's ability to lead the county.  Particular causes forAconcern are the chiefs age, his lack of experience in modern day?government and his need to speak through interpreters, who maynot  always be objective.A   So far Chief Taylor has not be able to give any indication of0when the new ruling council might be installed.   ---------------   ---------------   MEXICO/JALISCO ELECTION   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEB   This Sunday, Mexican voters in the central state of Jalisco go@to the polls in the first of several gubernatorial elections to=be held in Mexico this year. Sunday's vote will be the first@since Mexico was plunged into an economic crisis following last!December's currency devaluation.?   Sunday's election in Jalisco state is being watched closelyBbecause it is the first time voters will have a chance to express=their views at the ballot box since Mexico's economic crisis=began. However, if the opinion polls prove correct, Mexico'sAgoverning Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is in for a=defeat.  The surveys show the PRI's gubernatorial candidate,>Eugenio Ruiz Orozco, trailing his main opposition rival by asmuch as 10 points.<   A victory Sunday by Alberto Cardenas of the conservativeANational Action Party, or PAN, would be unprecedented in a stateAthat traditionally has been controlled by the PRI.  Analysts say?a PRI defeat also could be interpreted as a sign of discontent0with the policies of President Ernesto Zedillo.;   The Zedillo administration devalued the Mexican peso on@December 20th, a move that caused panic among foreign investors@and plunged the country into an economic crisis.  With the peso@having lost more than  40 percent of its value, Mr. Zedillo has=imposed an economic austerity program that cuts spending and>keeps wages down in an effort to prevent inflation.  However,?these measures have not been popular, and have led to mounting?criticism of both Mr. Zedillo and the PR1i, the party that hasgoverned Mexico since 1929.A   Political analyst Raymundo Riva Palacio believes the economicAcrisis has damaged the PRI, and eroded its support.  He says the@mood of the electorate is angry because most Mexicans have beenhurt by the devaluation:B   "The society is very mad, it is angry, prices are going up butAsalaries are  not, with an economy that expanded so fast so that5we depend so much on imports of food, appliances, on=entertainment, so this situation affects the majority of the
population."A   Sunday's election also will be a test of the PRI's commitmentBto refrain from tampering with the vote.  Opposition parties have<long accused the governing party of rigging elections, most=recently in the southern states of Chiapas and Tabasco.  The?opposition has refused to recognize the victories of the PRI's.gubernatorial candidates in those two states.A   However, Mexico's interior secretary, Esteban Moctezuma, said@Wednesday he believes Sunday's vote in Jalisco will be free and?fair.  He told reporters the election will serve as an example@for the rest of the country. But the head of a civic group that@plans to monitor the election, Sergio Aguayo, is more cautious,?saying previous pledges by the PRI for holding clean electionshave not been honored.6   Sunday's vote in Jalisco will be the first of fourBgubernatorial elections in Mexico this year.  Aside from Jalisco,?analysts say the opposition pan has a good chance of defeatingBthe PRI in all of them, a development that would be unprecedented%in modern Mexican political history.   ---------------   --------------->   MURAYAMA PROMISES TO REHABILITATE KOBE QUAKE DAMAGED AREAS   JACK RUSSELL	   TOKYO@   Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama has promised his government@will help rehabilitate the areas damaged by the quake near KobeBand correct the mistakes of crisis management. The prime minister7did not make clear how his government will finance therebuilding.>   Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama Thursday pledged that his=government will make the maximum effort to provide relief to@victims and reconstruct Kobe and other cities devastated by theearthquake.A   At a news conference, he said his government is setting up an@earthquake reconstruction committee to support local government=in their efforts to rebuild.  The damage is now estimated atabout 100-billion dollars.B   Mr. Murayama did not spell out any policies to cover the cost.AHe said that his cabinet is now studying ways to raise money for>reconstruction.  Mr. Murayama side-stepped the question aboutAraising taxes by saying any measures taken must have the supportof the Japanese people.=   The prime minister said he is aware of criticism that his=government responded too slowly to the earthquake on January@17th.  But he refused to comment on proposals that he resign to=take responsibility for any mistakes.  Mr. Murayama said his;government plans to revamp crisis management.  He said the@government must respond quickly and properly to a disaster.  He.mentioned the need for better communications.B   The prime minister said the priority now is to provide housing;for the homeless and to clear rubble caused when roads and<buildings collapsed.  Mr. Murayama said that the first step?toward reconstruction is the restoration of the transportation<system.  And he said key to reconstruction is to help small;businesses in Kobe with low interest loans and subsides toprotect jobs.<   The prime minister told the people who suffered from theBearthquake that they will emerge from their difficulties and havea bright future.   ---------------   ---------------(   NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE TALKS DELAYED   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON<   Talks between Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish@Republican Army, and low-level British civil servants have been+postponed following bizarre circumstances.A   Talks between Sinn Fein and British officials were to be held=as usual at Stormont Castle outside Belfast.  As in previousAoccasions, Sinn Fein delegates used scanning equipment to detectBpossible listening devices, or bugs. And on Thursday, Sinn Fein'sBscanning device reacted positively to a piece of office equipment4placed in a room set aside for their deliberations.;   Sinn Fein delegates called in British officials, and an<investigation is underway.  In a statement, the head of the>British delegation said any implications the rooms were being4monitored by the government was without foundation.@   Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams told reporters each side has2the right to expect privacy during deliberations:9   "I think that the entire process needs to at least be?conducted in a climate that each side feels that they can holdAtheir deliberations in a secure environment. And today, both the@British and the Sinn Fein delegations agreed, if they agreed on@nothing else, agreed today that stormont today was not a secure=environment. Now we are trying to make sure we have a secureenvironment."A   Both sides agreed to suspend Thursday's talks and resume themat a later date.   ---------------   ---------------:   PAKISTAN'S ROLE IN CAPTURING WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBER   JENNIFER GRIFFIN
   ISLAMABAD@   Pakistani intelligence agents trailed the alleged mastermindBbehind the World Trade Center bombing, Ramzy Yousef, for two daysBbefore handing him over to U.S. Authorities for extradition.  Mr.=Yousef may be one of many Arab nationals who were trained to2fight in Afghanistan during the Afghan civil war.?   The U.S. Government first asked Pakistan to extradite Ramzy8Yousef in May, 1993.  But the Iraqi national accused of8masterminding the World Trade Center bombing had eluded@authorities for several years, until he arrived in the Pakistancapital Sunday.;   After two days of trailing Mr. Yousef, Pakistani agents9pounced Tuesday, apprehending the accused man in a small@Islamabad hotel. Pakistan's interior minister, Nasrullah Babar,?said, in his words, "we carried out the due process of law andBturned him over to the Americans and told them to take him out ofhere."?   During testimony in last March's World Trade Center bombingAtrial in New York City, the 27-year-old Iraqi, was alleged to be7the brains behind the bombing, which left six dead andone-thousand injured.;   Prosecutors accused Mr. Yousef of receiving bomb-making>training in the northwest Pakistan city of Peshawar, near the<Afghan border.  Mr. Yousef is said to have fought alongside:Muslim rebels in Afghanistan during the Afghan civil war.?   Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman, Munir Akram, said heBhad no information about Mr. Yousef's training.  But he confirmedBthat Pakistan had once served as a transit point for people being!trained to fight in Afghanistan:@   "During the Afghan Jihad there were a lot of people who came;here to fight the Jihad.  And they were trained by various@agencies from various countries and we do not have any specific@information about who this gentleman is, whether he was trained4here, or in Afghanistan, or in some other country."<   Western diplomatic sources confirmed that several Afghan@groups involved in the present civil war still operate training?camps inside Afghanistan for money and that some foreigners go@there to learn how to fight.  The U.S. Government has long said8there are camps for training extremists in Afghanistan.A   At the end of 1993 Pakistani officials say they deported moreAthan 600 Arab nationals in an effort to crack down on terrorism.=Most were Egyptian, Algerian, Syrian and Saudi Arabian.  But=officials said nearly all of those deported refused to go toBtheir country of origin, and opted instead to go to Libya, Yemen,
and Iran.<   Many of these Arab militants reportedly took part in the?Afghan war, and helped to force the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.:Pakistani officials say these militants were training new0recruits and were involved in the sale of arms.>   Since the government's crackdown in 1993, most of the Arab?militants have reportedly gone underground and are said to nowBoperate in Pakistan's tribal areas, on the border of Afghanistan,>where Pakistani laws do not apply.  Pakistani officials claimBthese mercenaries are financing their operations with the sale ofdrugs.;   Mr. Yousef reportedly arrived in the United States from>Pakistan in September, 1992.  He escaped on a flight from New@York on the night of the blast, February 26, 1993, traveling toIraq via Pakistan.   ---------------   ---------------B   SON OF FORMER PRESIDENT MARCOS SEEKS SEAT IN PHILIPPINE SENATE   MARIE ORARA
   MANILA;   The son of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos@rallied with supporters in the capital Thursday, as he launched?his campaign for the Senate. Mr. Marcos is just one of several>famous and infamous political celebrities running in national#Congressional elections this year.A   Thousands of Filipinos cheered as they gathered in support of3Ferdinand Marcos junior in his run for the Senate.?   As he began his campaign, thousands of devoted followers ofAthe Marcos family greeted the younger Marcos as he drove throughAthe northern home province of former president Ferdinand Marcos.:   The junior Marcos, called "Bongbong", has attracted anAemotional following since he entered national politics and won a%congressional seat, three years ago.A   Last week when Mr. Marcos filed his candidacy for the Senate,Ba group of frantic female supporters screamed and mobbed him likehe was a movie star.8   Some of Mr. Marcos' backers have suggested the young@congressman may follow in the footsteps of his father, who rose?from a congressional representative to a Senator to president.A   Some analysts say he is riding on the name of his father, who/was first known to Filipinos as a deft leader.A   Former president Marcos ruled the country for 14 years, under=martial law.  His wife, Imelda was found guilty of graft andAcorruption charges and was sentenced to jail for 18 to 24 years.>   Mr. Marcos is not the only "celebrity" among 85 candidates#vying for the 12 senatorial seats.8   Running with Mr. Marcos on the main opposition partyAsenatorial slate is Rosemarie "Baby" Arenas.  She was the former=fundraiser for President Fidel Ramos during his campaign forpresident.@   Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, one of the leading figures in the@military coup that led to the ouster of former president Marcosis also running for a seat.B   Gringo's military coup against Marcos sparked the people power?movement in 1986 that brought Corazon Aquino to power.  But in(1989, he led a coup against Mrs Aquino.>   Mr Honasan is currently running independent of a political@party, but is rumored to be considering a link-up with the main@opposition to Mr. Ramos, who was also involved in the overthrowof former president Marcos.@   Running under the Lakas-Laban party is another former Marcos@lieutenant-turned-opponent.  Juan Ponce Enrile was a top MarcosBminister, before he became a leader of the people power revolt in1986.B   Mr. Enrile was jailed briefly for suspected involvement in the>bloody 1989 coup against Mrs Aquino, put down by then-defenseSecretary Ramos.>   Mr. Enrile was jailed by former justice Secretary FranklinADrilon. Mr. Drilon, who also served in the Ramos administration,9is now running on the same party ticket with Mr. Enrile.<   Some analysts say the many diverse personalities in this<electoral line-up show Filipinos are willing to forgive andforget.?   They also say since it is typical for personalities, ratherBthan ideologies, to dominate a Philippine election, it is not new=to see candidates either associated with corrupt families or3military coups or even the entertainment industry.   ---------------   ---------------=   MAN SELECTED TO BE POLISH PRIME MINISTER MAY NOT TAKE JOB   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNAB   The man expected to become Poland's new prime minister says he-has not yet decided whether to take the job.>   The ruling coalition's candidate for prime minister, Jozef@Oleksy, says he will not decide until next week whether he willhead a new Polish government.A   After meeting with President Lech Walesa, Mr. Oleksy says theBpresident must sign a new budget.  A dispute about the budget was?a factor in the political crisis that forced the current prime)minister, Waldemar Pawlak, to step down.=   Mr. Oleksy also warned that a new government could not be;formed quickly.  He says he wants to be sure his two-party=left-wing coalition could agree on the allocation of cabinetseats and on its policies.B   His democratic left alliance and the outgoing prime minister's=Polish peasants party both want to be in control of economicpolicy.>   The democratic left alliance has more seats in parliament.;And, although it is made up of former communists, it backs=economic reforms more strongly than the peasants party does.   ---------------   ---------------?   WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR DEFENDS BUDGET AT HOUSE HEARING   ART CHIMES   WASHINGTON4   Congress is continuing its review of the ClintonBadministration's proposed budget, which was released earlier thisAweek.  The administration is continuing to fight for its budget,@but Republican members of Congress say the White House proposal*does not do enough to balance the budget.@   White House budget director Alice Rivlin says that under the>President's proposed spending plan projects, the deficit will<average about 200-billion dollars a year over the next fiveyears.:   At the powerful House of Representative Ways and Means?Committee, Ms. Rivlin points out deficits that had been rising are now projected to be stable:@   "We have gotten the deficits under control, and the out-year:deficits are declining as a percent of the gross domestic@product, which is the way one ought to look at this.  A deficitBhas significance in relation to the size of the economy.  We have9brought it down from about five percent in 1992 to about(two-point-seven percent at the moment."A   Ms. Rivlin says the annual budget deficit will hold steady at>about 200-billion dollars a year for the next five years, but8that as the American economy grows, the deficit becomesAproportionately smaller.  She makes the point with this analogy:<   "The impact of the deficit or the debt has to be seen in@relation to the size of the economy, just as the debt owed by a@company.  I mean, if you knew that it was 100-thousand dollars,?it makes a difference whether it's the corner grocery store orwhether it's General Motors."B   That explanation does not win much approval among Republicans,>who have led the drive for a constitutional amendment forcing Congress to balance the budget.@   Many of them, such as ways and means committee chairman Bill1Archer, say the voters do not accept it, either:A   "I just don't think the American people buy that.  We will beAadding according to what you just said a trillion dollars to theBnational debt in the next five years. That's 70-billion dollars aByear of annual debt service that must be maintained, paid for, inevery year thereafter."B   Budget director Rivlin admits the budget has its shortcomings.AThere is no attempt to restrain the growth of health and welfare>programs, which are among the government's biggest. PresidentBClinton failed last year to get health reform legislation through?Congress, and Ms. Rivlin said the White House and the Congress3should work together to control health care costs.B   President Clinton's proposed budget includes some big savings,;but not enough to satisfy many Republicans.  Although many>economists agree that government debt is not in and of itself:harmful, some Republicans think the goal should be budget;surpluses that will ultimately buy down the national debt.(   Nevada Congressman John Ensign said:A   "Maybe as we're growing it may be looking pretty good.  But I>think that what we need to do is, we need to make the tougherAcuts.  We've got to not only get to a balanced budget, but we've=got to get to surplus budgets so we can start working on the@debt, eventually pay off the debt, have a rainy-day (emergency)Bfund type-of-thing, so when you are in trouble in a country, when>you have a healthy economy, you can prepare for those times."<   That's what the American voters who elected a RepublicanBmajority in congress last November seemed to be signaling.  Polls;show support for a constitutional amendment to balance the@budget. But balancing of the budget would likely require either?big tax increases or big cuts in government spending, possiblyBincluding some of the most popular programs, and  no  one is sure?how the American people would react to a call for that kind ofsacrifice.   ---------------   ---------------,   2,000 YEAR OLD CHINESE TREASURE SALVAGED   BRYN OLAFSDOTTIR   NEW YORK@   After 10 years of stubborn research and difficult underwater?exploration near Malaysia, a determined adventurer is about to?have his hard work rewarded. A cargo of Chinese porcelain thatAwas buried in a shipwrecked vessel for almost two centuries willbe auctioned next month.?   Dorian Ball refused to give up. Year after year, he and his<wife searched for the sunken treasure of the English vessel?"Diana" that was wrecked off the Malaysian coast in 1817. Then=one night, only two weeks before his anticipated bankruptcy,Dorian Ball's dream came true.>   "Three o'clock in the morning we pick up the signal on theAinstruments," said Doarian. "There is something under the water.?Right. Down we go to the bottom. Right. Get down to the bottom@and swimming into the current. It's dirty water so you are kind@of feeling ahead of you for what's on the bottom. You feel down>for the bottom. Because you bump into these things more oftenAbefore you see them. Swam along and bump right into the concreteAblock that we dropped earlier and then right next to it were allAthese rows of porcelain just like they had been stacked in boxesBa year before. Wow. It could only be the 'Diana'. I mean how manyBships sink with plates of porcelain on the deck. The moment I got@the plates I was too determined, obsessed with getting them (to?celebrate). But when I got back on board the boat I go: 'Wow','fantastic. And then your heart sings."?   Dorian Ball had discovered 24 thousand pieces of early 19th@century Chinese porcelain valued at over one point five million?dollars. The porcelain, beautiful blue and white cups, plates,@bowls and jars,  was found in excellent condition, unbroken, inBthe ship's tightly packed hold. Some of the porcelain pieces were@even covered with corals, which officials at Christie's Auction0House say will increase their rarity and value.B   Dorian Ball, who was born in Britain, says he and his wife are:enthusiastic, amateur treasure hunters with an obsession:>   "This is essentially an everyman's adventure. In the senseAthat my wife and I are just a kind of a regular couple, ordinary>couple. No special amounts of money. No special equipment. No;special training. Just had the dream, or should we say the=obsession more than a dream, to go and salvage a shipwreck."A   Recovering the porcelain treasure proved a difficult task forAMr. Ball and his search team. The shipwreck lies 30 meters below.the sea in muddy waters with poor visibility.B   But despite the difficulties he encountered, Mr. Ball is ready
to go again:<   "Two ships a day sink somewhere in the world, every day.>Right. And that's been happening for hundreds and hundreds of@years and there are millions of wrecks under the ocean. Not all?of them valuable, right, but all of them unique for something.@These last couple of days speaking to porcelain connoisseurs in@New York City, several have said to me, well it's beautiful the9Chinese porcelain but we really like a cargo of JapaneseBporcelain, please can you go out and find one for us. So we might?just go back out to salvage and hunt down a Japanese porcelaincargo.">   The "Diana" porcelain will be sold at christie's branch inBamsterdam on march sixth and seventh, exactly 178 years after theBvessel was wrecked as it sailed from China to India. Dorian Ball,Bthe discoverer of the treasure, and the Malaysian government willshare the sale's profits.   ---------------   ---------------4   BUDGET CRITICS SAY DEFENSE SPENDING IS TOO SMALL   DAVID SWAN   PENTAGON@   Senior U.S. defense officials are spending much of this week:defending next year's military budget, which is getting a;skeptical reception from the new, Republican-led Congress.>Critics say the 258-billion-dollar spending plan is not largeenough.=   In a Senate hearing Thursday, Pentagon leaders argued the>budget will keep the nation prepared for any crisis, with the1right kind of forces for an unpredictable world.A   The chairman of the joint chiefs, General John Shalikashvili,Bsays U.S. troops proved their abilities last year, when thousandsAwere hastily sent to the Persian Gulf in response to Iraqi troopmovements near Kuwait:=   "What stood between Iraq's divisions and our ally was the:readiness of  our forces to deploy over extended periods,0extended distances, and to do so very rapidly."6   Republicans say the military is worse off than theBadministration admits, due to the shrinking budget and the strainBof foreign missions in  Haiti, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and elsewhere.>Some lawmakers argue the nation is not buying enough advanced?weapons and will soon be left with a run down, obsolete force.B   The Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator Strom Thurmond,>says U.S. troops can still beat any aggressor, but are not as"ready to fight as they should be:?   "When readiness goes down, the risk of accidents, injuries,@and  casualties goes up.  We measure budgets in dollars, but wemeasure readiness in lives."@   The administration says this budget will almost complete the?long, post-cold war drawdown in the armed forces.  RepublicansBsay the cutbacks have already gone too far and the Pentagon needs?at least another few billion dollars for the next fiscal year.   ---------------   ---------------=   SOME REPUBLICAN CALL ON CLINTON TO WITHDRAW DOCTOR FOSTER   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   A tough fight is brewing in the U.S. Senate over President?Clinton's nominee to be the next surgeon general of the United>States, Dr. Henry Foster. Some Republicans are calling on the9President to withdraw Dr. Foster's nomination while some&Democrats are leaping to his defense.?   Republicans are upset because there has been confusion over>the number of abortions which Dr. Foster performed during his038-year career as an obstetrician-gynecologist.B   Dr. Foster told a television interviewer late Wednesday he had=performed 39 abortions during his career, up from an earlier>estimate of less than 12 which had been released by the WhiteHouse previously.A   The abortion issue continues to be a divisive one in congress=and abortion opponents like Republican Senator Phil Gramm ofBTexas are vowing to block the Foster nomination any way they can::   "I believe we need a surgeon general who can work withAeverybody in America.  And I do not believe that a physician who<has, as a matter of routine practice, performed abortion inBAmerica can bring together  all elements of our country when thatAissue is so divisive and when that issue would make it difficult!for them to perform their task."A   Even some moderate Republicans are concerned about the Foster>nomination and have questions as to why Doctor Foster and the@White House released contradictory information as to the numberof abortions.5   Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana says:?   "All I am saying is that what we ask of the President is to@appoint the best. I do not think this is the best doctor in the<United States  of America. And I am certain that seeing the=controversy now that he was  not the best choice for surgeon
general."A   Several senators who have not made up their minds say the key9question for them will be whether or not Dr. Foster ever9knowingly misled anyone about the number of abortions heperformed.<   Several Democrats rose to Dr. Foster's defense Thursday,Bcontending that he is the victim of a witch-hunt by anti-abortiongroups.>   Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey, urged hisAcolleagues to reserve judgment on the Foster nomination until he@has a chance to defend himself in Senate confirmation hearings:@   "And he should not be dismissed because in the course of his@long and  distinguished career he has provided medical servicesAto women faced by problem pregnancies. As far as we know, he has>acted totally  within the confines of the law. And we ask ourAcolleagues in the Senate to keep an open mind on this nomination>and permit him to  participate in impartial and fair hearingsBwhich will take place before the Senate Labor and Human ResourcesCommittee."@   At the White House, President Clinton reaffirmed his support>for Dr. Foster as surgeon general and vowed he would not backdown on his nomination.   ---------------   ---------------G   NUMBER TWO MAN IN S. KOREAN RULING PARTY SPLITS AND FORMS NEW PARTY   MONICA SOHN	   SEOUL@   The number-two man in South Korean President Kim Jong Song'sAgoverning party broke away Thursday to form his own conservative@party.  The split deals a serious blow to the government, whosepopularity has been declining.@   The new party led by Kim Jong Pil, the former number-two man=in the ruling party, is expected to be backed by at least 10@members of parliament.  In a press conference Thursday, Mr. Kim;said he would inaugurate a new party devoted to creating a@country where young and middle-aged figures of ability, wisdom,&and ambition will open a new century.=   Mr. Kim quit as chairman of the ruling democratic liberalAparty last week after reformists within the party called for his;resignation.  President Kim Yong Sam, who heads the party,Areplaced him with a former army general in a national convention	Tuesday.>   Kim Jong Pil tentatively named his new political group the>Liberal Democratic Union and said he would work to change the:country's constitution to create a system where the prime"minister wielded political power.B   About 50 politicians, including 10 parliamentary members, wereBat Thursday's press meeting to show support.  The 69-year-old Kim;Jong Pil, widely known as JP, is a former army general whoAentered politics in the early 1960's by joining a military coup.>After an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1987, Mr. Kim@joined a three-party merger in 1990 to create the powerful DLP.A   Kim Jong Pil's revolt comes as public support for the present8government had been sharply declining.  President kim's@two-year-old government has been plagued with a series of major;infrastructure disasters and corruption scandals involvinggovernment officials.   ---------------   ---------------B   THE SO-CALLED "LINE-ITEM VETO", WHAT IT WILL AND WILL NOT MEAN   MARILYN SILVEY   WASHINGTON?   Several U.S. presidents have sought the authority to strikeBout specific  sections of spending bills passed by congress.  Now=the House of Representatives has approved a bill giving thatAauthority to the President, and the Senate is expected to debatethe measure soon.=   It's called the "line-item veto" by the press and by most<citizens, because it allows a President to veto, or reject,Aindividual lines or items in the budget sent to him each year bythe congress.<   But political analyst Louis Fisher, of the Congressional7Research Service, says the bill passed by the House of>Representatives actually gives the President even more power:>The ability to rescind funds, after they are approved by bothCongress and the president:A   "What the House (of Representatives) passed is that, after he<signs the appropriations bill into law, he can then, later,@submit to congress proposals to rescind, (or) terminate, money,Aand his proposals will become law, unless congress stops them in@a bill that has to go to the President, and he can veto it.  SoAtechnically, what it's called is 'enhanced rescission,' it's the<procedure after he signs the bill, not before he signs it."<   One reason the distinction is important is that the U.S.@constitution states that bills approved by Congress and sent toAthe President are either to be signed - or returned to Congress.?To change that would require an amendment to the constitution.9Sponsors of the current legislation think that passing a?constitutional amendment would take too long - and they're notBsure they could get the needed votes.   Amending the constitution=is difficult, and amendments are very rare only 27 have been>passed since the constitution went into effect 206 years ago.>   Whatever it's being called, analysts agree that giving theBpower to the president to strike specific parts of spending bills=would fundamentally change the way the government works:  It;would shift dominant control of the nation's spending from@Congress to the president. And it might have some other effects	as well.<   The theory is that the president would carefully examine@spending bills, and would remove any items that he didn't thinkBwere in the public interest.  Currently, congressmen often add toAthe massive general spending bills specific projects to be built?in their home districts for the benefit of their constituents.A   Some analysts believe that presidents would use the line itemAveto authority responsibly, and only rescind or strike genuinelywasteful spending.8   But others, such as Norman Ornstein, of the AmericanBEnterprise Institute, are skeptical, pointing out that presidents5could use it to put pressure on members of Congress:>   "The problem is that you could take very small programs, a@building in a district here, or a dam somewhere else, that in a9one-point-six trillion dollar budget might amount to one@one-thousandth of one percent.  They don't mean much in deficit>terms, but they're big to individual members of Congress, andApresidents can use the threat of vetoing those items as leverageAto influence the votes of members of Congress on other things toBfit their own priorities.  And chances are, presidents would, for?example, say to members of Congress, 'I'll veto your bridge inAyour district, that you care about so much, unless you vote with<me for more MX missiles.'  and the result would be not lessBspending, but you'd get all the bridges, and you'd get more votes1for m-x missiles, and you'd have more spending."@   If that type of situation did occur, and Congress decided itBwanted to repeal some of the power it had given to the president,Ait might have a hard time doing it, because a president can veto>any bill passed by Congress.  To override a presidential veto6requires a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress.@   Everyone agrees that giving the president new power over theAfederal budget would not lead to a balanced budget, or even saveBmuch money.  That's because less than one-third of the budget has:any discretionary spending. More than half of all federal@spending goes for social welfare programs that provide payments>to eligible Americans, which are automatic and do not involve<annual appropriations by Congress.  And a great deal of theBbudget is applied to interest on the national debt. Supporters ofBthe line item veto bill say it is a symbol of their wish to see asmaller federal budget.?   With all the things that the new bill would not do, and the?fact that it clearly takes power from Congress and gives it to;the president, why, then, did the House of RepresentativesAapprove it?  The answer seems to be that the idea of giving moreApower to the president became popular with Republicans when they=seemed to have permanent control of the White House, and the:Democrats control of Congress.  Now that the situation isAreversed, Republicans, having pushed the idea for so many years,+had little choice but to go ahead with it.?   As for the chances that the Senate will pass the bill, or a0similar one, most analysts refuse to speculate.=   Louis Fisher, of the Congressional Research Service, saysAthere has been a trend in recent years for Congress to give someof its power to the president:@   "It's very strange, the other branches (of government) don't?do that, the judiciary doesn't give power away to Congress and?the president, the president doesn't give power away, and it'sAbeen a problem with Congress for a long time.  It's not just the@spending area, it's the war power area, treaty area, many areas@where Congress seems to be shoveling over legislative authorityto the executive branch."A   Mr. Fisher says many members of Congress are not as concerned?as they should be about preserving Congress as an institution.   ---------------   ---------------D   ALGERIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS PLANNED ELECTIONS WILL TAKE PLACE   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA?   Algeria's foreign minister, Mohammed Salah Dembri, says his9government is determined to put an end to what he calledBterrorist violence in the North African country, and to install a9democratic regime through presidential and parliamentaryAelections.  Mr. Dembri's comments came in a speech and at a news>conference Thursday in Geneva, where he is attending the U.N.Bdisarmament conference and the annual meeting of the world body'shuman rights commission.?   Mr. Dembri said the planned presidential election will take@place during the second half of this year, and will be followedBby parliamentary elections, probably in 1996, or soon thereafter.>He predicted that the voting will lead to a resolution of theAlgerian crisis.=   Mr. Dembri said the transitional government in Algiers isAdetermined to establish constitutional legitimacy in the country9and will not be thwarted by what he called the forces ofregression.>   At least 30,000 people are believed to have been killed in@Algeria over the past three years in the bloody underground war/between security forces and Islamic militants.;   The clashes began after the former government cancelledAplanned elections amid widespread predictions of victory for the8now-outlawed Islamic Salvation Front, known as the FIS.?   Mr. Dembri confirmed that detained FIS leader abbasi Madani=was recently admitted to the hospital at his own request for@treatment of an unspecified ailment,  while his top deputy, Ali@Belhaj, has been transferred to what he called another place ofresidence.A   Both men were initially detained in a military prison outside@Algiers,  but were transferred to house arrest last autumn amid>reports of secret talks with government officials in a bid toresolve the crisis.B   But Mr. Dembri appeared to rule out dialogue with the militantAleadership which has splintered since the crisis began, with the@emergence of hardline groups dedicated to the violent overthrow<of the government and establishment of an Islamic republic.<   Mr. Dembri called them terrorists who are perverting theBsublime values of Islam.  But he said moderate Islamic groups are4playing a role in the political process in Algeria.@   He said any party or individual that rejects violence and isAcommitted to democratic pluralism will be able to participate in=the planned elections.  He said candidates will also have toAmeet the  requirements of the country's 1989 constitution and an-electoral law that has not yet been drafted.A   Mr. Dembri indicated that members of FIS will not be eligible>since the party was dissolved by court order, and the ban was3subsequently upheld by the Algerian supreme court.A   The foreign minister repeated his government's rejection of a9suggestion by French President Francois Mitterand for anBinternational conference on the Algerian crisis.  Mr. Dembri said?Algeria will not allow any sort of foreign interference in itsinternal affairs.?   He also rejected charges by Amnesty International and other>groups of widespread human rights abuses by Algerian security<forces in their campaign against the militants.  Mr. DembriBasserted that there is  no  repression in Algeria, declaring that9the government is using legal means in its fight againstterrorism.@   He called on private human rights groups to go to Algeria to;investigate the situation.  And he also said international>observers will be invited to monitor the planned presidential
election.   ---------------   ---------------2   CHINA SAYS U.S. TRADE DEMANDS ARE UNREASONABLE   GIL BUTLER   BEIJING7   In advance of resuming talks on protecting American@copyrighted material from Chinese piracy, Chinese officials and<the news media say the United States is making unreasonableAdemands.  The latest to join the dispute is the spokesman of theChinese foreign ministry.6   At his regular weekly news conference with foreign:journalists, foreign ministry spokesman Chen Jian said itAunreasonable to expect China, a developing country, to achieve a>level of intellectual property rights protection that exceedswestern, developed countries?"=   The United States says hundreds of millions of dollars in=music, movie and computer discs are counterfeited in Chinese@factories every  year.  U.S. trade representative Mickey Kantor<wants stronger enforcement of existing Chinese laws.  If noBagreement is reached in the dispute by February 26th, a trade war=could break out.  The United States says it will enforce 100Apercent tariffs on more than a billion dollars in Chinese goods.:China says it will retaliate with its own high tariffs on=American goods and will suspend importation of some Americanmusic and films outright.A   For days the Chinese side has been honing a sharp, combative,approach to the dispute.<   Wednesday, a foreign trade ministry spokesman called the%United States position-"irrational."=   Foreign ministry spokesman Chen preferred to describe the?American stand as "unreasonable and unrealistic."  He says the?U.S. demands far exceed bilateral agreements and internationaltreaties on property rights:B   "Some of the demands go so far that they have already exceeded8the current state of affairs of some developed, western;countries,  including the United States, which is a highlyBdeveloped western country.  U.S. officials complain that China is=not vigorously enforcing its own copyright laws and that theBlocations of 29 factories churning out  millions of pirated discs@are well-known to Chinese authorities.  The U.S. side says even;some Chinese ministries knowingly use counterfeit Americancomputer programs."@   One interesting news media comment on the dispute was in the@"China Youth News."  It says the United States actually reduced:the list of Chinese products to be targeted with punitiveAsanctions from a list made public last year.  It says the United7States, by delaying the sanctions until February 26th,5"skillfully left room for both sides to hold furtherconsultations."A   The talks are expected to begin in Beijing late next Tuesday.   ---------------   ---------------9   WHOSE INTERESTS DOES U.S. CUBAN FOREIGN POLICY SERVE?   BARBARA SCHOETZAU   NEW YORK@   People have been predicting Fidel Castro's downfall since he@launched his Cuban revolution in 1959. But as he marks his 36thAyear in power this month, Mr. Castro continues his hold on Cuba,>though his grip may be slipping. Many factors come into play,7among them, once unheard-of political unrest, economic?deterioration, and a new generation of Cubans without links to<his revolution. Also, the 68-year-old Cuban leader's age is@conspiring against him.  Given these facts, many Cuba observers?in the United States are increasingly questioning whether U.S.Bpolicy toward Cuba represents the best long-term interests of theAmerican people.B   Fidel Castro has always defied the odds. And he may hang on to@power for years to come. Still, many Cuba observers believe theAUnited States should modify its Cuba policy in order to pave theBway for a smooth transition of power when Mr. Castro is no longer=in control. Critics of U.S. policy fall into several groups,@ranging from those who want to completely do away with the U.S.Btrade embargo against Cuba to those who seek a gradual opening ofcommunications.<   Historian Arthur Schlesinger (shlay-zinger) served as an=adviser to President John Kennedy when, in 1962, the Kennedy>Administration strengthened a 1960 embargo against the Castro4regime. Professor Schlesinger says when the Kennedy?Administration imposed the trade sanctions, Cuba represented a@real threat to the United States by providing the former Soviet=Union with a base in the western hemisphere and by fomenting%revolution throughout Latin America.B   But professor Schlesinger says these threats died with the end
of cold war:;   "Why does Cuba remain the last outcast of the cold war?<Vietnam and North Korea and Cuba area all communist states.?Fifty-thousand Americans died fighting in Vietnam. Thirty-five>thousand died fighting in Korea. No American soldier has been8killed in Cuba since 1898, and then they were killed by@spaniards, not Cubans. Why do we forgive Vietnam, forgive NorthKorea and hound Cuba?"?   According to Arthur Schlesinger, the political clout of the@powerful Cuban American community, led by businessman Jorge Mas?Canosa and the miami-based Cuban American National Foundation,4has overridden long-term foreign policy objectives.?   Businessman Jose Sorzano is a former president of the Cuban>American National Foundation. He says domestic considerations)influence most foreign policy decisions::   "The fact is that the role of lobbies in U.S. domesticBpolitics as it reflects on foreign policy is as American as apple?pie. I would say that the Cuban-American community has as much>right to organize and exercise its constitutionally protectedArights, the right to petition, the right to associate, the rightBto try to influence the policies of the United States government,>as the Jewish community, as the black community, as the IrishBcommunity and endless other communities who organize for the same
purpose.">   Robert White, who has served as U.S. ambassador to severalALatin American countries, now heads the Center for International;Policy in Washington, DC. Ambassador White says the UnitedBStates' Cuba policy is unique because it is based almost entirelyAon domestic politics, with little consideration of the long-term2interests of the majority of Americans or Cubans:B   "I think that Jorge Mas Canosa and the Cuban American NationalAFoundation want to restore democracy to Cuba. But the problem is@that they do not want a peaceful transfer of power. The logical?result of the present policy is blood in the streets, Castro's@head on a spike, and a tremendous outpouring of refugees, chaos:inside Cuba and probably the intervention, in one form or?another, of the Miami Cubans in the internal affairs of Cuba.";   Ambassador White says Cuba offers President Clinton the/opportunity to take a bold and historic stand:@   "I believe that our task, the task of government, of foreignBpolicy, is to ease Castro out. And I believe that it can be done.@Now it used to be thought that Cuba was not important enough to?merit a kind of Nixon-china approach. I think that has changed@dramatically. I think the success in  Haiti, the success in the@(Persian) Gulf, has increased President Clinton's confidence in=his ability to handle foreign policy and I think the naturalBinstinct of every one of his chief advisors is to solve the Cuban>problem diplomatically and not continue this harsh, punishing	policy."B   But Jorge Sorzano suggests political realities make any changein policy unlikely:B   "I do not see any good reasons to move. Changing any policy in<Washington, since the system has a built-in bias toward the@status quo, is always very difficult. The Cuban policy has been9in place for over  three decades so it is built into theApermanent bureaucracy's mind. I don't think that, given the fact<that the administration has a number of other fights on itsBhands, that it would be looking for another fight. I believe thatApolitical prudence would dictate that they are not going to pickthis particular one."A   There is one aspect of the Cuba debate all agree on: So great?is the electoral power of Cuban American voters, especially in7the states of Florida and New Jersey, there will be no>substantive change in U.S. policy toward Cuba until after the1996 Presidential elections.   ---------------   ---------------'   U.S. MILITARY POST COLD WAR OPTIONS   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON=   With the end of the cold war and the demise of the Soviet9Union, the U.S. military establishment is facing crucialBquestions about its size, strategy and future role.  U.S. defense>analyst Harlan Ullman has written a book entitled, "In Irons:>U.S. Military Might in the New Century" published by London's=Royal United Services Institute.  Mr. Ullman's remarks about<possible options for the American armed forces now that the:Soviet threat is gone and domestic pressures continue for0reducing the size of the defense establishment.@   The end of the Soviet threat is posing serious challenges to9American defense strategists as they try to cope with an;international environment no longer dominated by east-westrivalries.B   Harlan Ullman, senior defense analyst with the Center of Naval?analyses in Washington, DC, says the Clinton Administration is?not devoting enough time to forge a new strategic and militarypolicy.B   Mr. Ullman says the purpose of the military is very simple, to8defeat other armed forces whether they be irregulars or:front-line troops.  But he says with a lack of a specific@military strategy, the United States is likely to use, more and<more, its armed forces in non-military roles,  such as drugAinterdiction, in  Haiti for peace-keeping or peace-imposition asin Somalia.;   Such avenues, says Mr. Ullman, are fraught with danger:;   "Some of those missions may not be solvable.  There are=problems that do not have solutions.  Bosnia may  not have a8solution.  We may be forced however to use the military>instrument because there is  nothing  else left.  In  Haiti I?would argue our national interests were not involved.  We went<into  Haiti strictly for reasons of domestic policies.  Now@supposing the military did not work in that area, as it did notAwork in Somalia.  What we would be doing is making less credible=the military instrument.  We would be wasting it in ways forwhich it was never designed."?   Mr. Ullman argues the United States must continue to play a<leading role internationally.  He says it does not make any?difference how many U.S. troops are deployed overseas, what is?important is to have the military structures in place, such asNATO:A   "I think what we have to do is rejuvenate NATO, do it perhapsBwith lower forces, American forces, so we take that issue off theBpolitical front-burner.  It becomes a non-issue.  Then, we have a>means of increasing our planning and training and contingency?operations so that in the future, NATO can be most useful as aBmeans of projecting force, either as an alliance or as individual@states.  That is exactly what happened in the Gulf War. Were itBnot for NATO we could not have deployed our forces to the PersianBGulf.  We took seven corps out of Europe and moved it lock, stock?and barrel (in its entirety) to the Persian Gulf and we did soAusing NATO infrastructure, NATO communications, NATO command and0control, the war would not have been possible.">   The American defense specialist takes the NATO example one@step further.  He says new alliances and new relationships mustBbe established, such as in the Pacific region, in the Middle Eastand in Africa:7   "So when you have American engagement, you have the9involvement of local powers in which we are shifting the@responsibility for regional problems to regional actors, but we@are really committing ourselves strategically and providing the9strategic sinews in the ways of knitting this together."@   However Mr. Ullman comes back to his central theme, and that?is the Clinton Administration must redefine the military goalsAand assess the forces needed in a changed international setting.@He says such a review must be done at the highest level, by the=National Security Council's staff at the White House, and itshould be done quickly.>   Mr. Ullman points out President Clinton must take a strongAstand on defense in his capacity as commander in chief.  He says:there is no alternative to this, no matter how strong the)magnetism of the domestic agenda may be.   ---------------   ---------------2   U.S. SOFTWARE INDUSTRY COMMENTS CHINESE PIRACY   GENE REICH   WASHINGTONB   Personal computers are quickly becoming more common around the;world.  And where personal computers go, software is closeBbehind.  Such U.S. software companies as Microsoft, Claris, AdobeBand Maxis have found markets in many countries outside the UnitedAStates.  But American software companies say that China does not=purchase U.S. made software, but rather their is evidence of>product piracy on a grand scale.  This illegal duplication of>computer software, as well as entertainment products as video;tapes and compact discs of music, has led to the threat of=punitive trade sanctions in U.S./China trade relations.  TheAU.S. computer software industry is firm in its demand that China<put an end to the illegal copying of intellectual property.B   The executive director of the Software Publishers Association,>Kenneth Wasch, uses a single phrase to describe the way China;handles foreign-made software.  He calls China a "one copy
country":<   "Apparently only one copy goes into the country and it'sBduplicated for virtually every machine in the country. There's anBinteresting statistic that will illustrate that.  In the last two@years, nearly one million personal computers were sold in ChinaAand over that same period of time, less than one million dollars@worth of software was sold in China.  That translates to little9more than one dollar of software for every P1c [personalBcomputer] that was sold.  Clearly, the the Chinese are using more6than one dollar worth of software on their machines."A   By contrast, in the United States many hundreds of dollars ofBsoftware is sold for every personal computer.  But Mr. Wasch saysAlost sales in China's domestic market is only the beginning.  HeAsays China's duplication of pirated computer programs hurts U.S.'software companies all over the world.9   Mr. Wasch says the California-based software company,%Broderbund, provides a good example:?   "Broderbund software has a division called Living Books and>they produce these products and they're children's stories onACD-ROM.  They do not have a subsidiary in China and they are not:trying to sell their products in China.  But there are 29<factories in southern and central China, some of which have@counterfeited Broderbund's Living Books Series and selling themAin other parts of the world.  So what Broderbund is experiencing@is they're finding that legitimate product produced here in the@United States is competing against counterfeit product produced?in China in markets in South America, the United States and in	Europe.";   The Software Publishers Association estimates that U.S.?software companies lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year6due to china's illegal duplication of their products.B   The executive director of the Software Publishers Association,@Kenneth Wasch, says he believes the situation is serious enough=to warrant punitive tariffs on Chinese exports to the United=States.  Both sides plan trade sanctions if the issue is notsettled by February 26th.A   Mr. Wasch says the Chinese leaders know exactly what's needed in order to reach an agreement:@   "With respect to the software industry, what they need to do@is close down those 29 illegal CD manufacturing facilities, getAthe ministries using legal software, and clean up the streets of>the major cities in China to remove pirated products that are@being sold on the streets.  If they do those three things we'llhave a deal."9   Mr. Wasch says he is optimistic that U.S. and Chinesenegotiators will reach a deal.>   Trade talks between the two countries are set to resume onFebruary 13th.<   In 1992 China signed a memorandum of understanding which:commits the country to  protecting intellectual property.?Kenneth Wasch says China has excellent laws on the books, it's!just a matter of enforcing them.?   But Mr. Wasch says China's own computer industry would reapAthe greatest benefit of putting an end to illegal duplication of
software:?   "The Chinese today are turning out hundreds of thousands of?very highly-qualified software engineers every year, but theseBChinese software engineers don't become gainfully employed in theAsoftware industry because any work they do gets stolen.  So onceAthey respect intellectual property you'll find they'll be a veryBstrong local software industry develop in China, as we've seen in@other countries like Poland, Romania and even in Russia today.";   Kenneth Wasch is the executive director of the SoftwareBPublishers Association.  He says that when China begins enforcingAits laws to protect intellectual property, it will truly move in=the direction of creating strong domestic software industry.   ---------------   ---------------;   UNESCO HEAD CONDEMNS WORLD REACTION TO CRISES IN AFRICA   SONJA PACE	   PARIS=   The head of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural?Organization says the world risks becoming a mere spectator to@human tragedies, if it does not move early enough to stop them.<Speaking to journalists in Paris at a conference on African:social development, UNESCO chief Federico Mayor cited the1particular cases of Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia.;   Federico Mayor did not mince words.  He said he is very@concerned by world reaction to crises in Africa.  He said there@is typically an outpouring of emotion once crises erupt, but noAone moves quickly enough to prevent them.  Once the crises pass,:Mr. Mayor said, everyone seems to forget all too quickly:?   "We cannot simply be spectators to what is happening in the0world.  We must be actors, responsible actors."B   Mr. Mayor cited the genocide, the ensuing conflict and refugee=crisis in Rwanda as a prime example.  He said for a time theAworld was presented daily with the horrors of what was happeningin Rwanda.A   But, he said, now everyone seems to have forgotten that thereBis still an enormous problem in the existing refugee camps.  In aAsimilar vein, the UNESCO chief said the world seems oblivious toAthe fragile situation in neighboring Burundi, which has the same/ethnic mix and same ethnic tensions as Rwanda:B   "We know that now is the time to help Burundi.  Burundi cannot?afford to be so heavily indebted....Not  with the fragility of;the situation.  We have to act now, to help now, before aneventual conflict breaks out.">   Mr. Mayor also spoke with disbelief that U.N. peacekeepers%will soon be withdrawn from Somalia:?   "When I think of all the operations that were undertaken inASomalia to try to help the people there.  And now after a period<of assistance and physical presence, we are really going toleave?"?   Mr. Mayor warned of tragic consequences that could follow aU.N. pullout.?   The UNESCO chief has been hosting a week-long conference onBsocial development in Africa.  One of the issues under discussion@has been security and how to create the right climate for peaceBand democracy.  Mr. Mayor said international security is not only<under threat from military conflict, but also from poverty,6overpopulation and intolerance of social and cultural
differences.   ---------------   ---------------"   "GOOD BENITO" BY ALAN LIGHTMAN   NANCY BEARDSLEY   WASHINGTON@   With the world becoming ever more specialized, it might seem>that scientists and creative artists speak mutually exclusiveBlanguages. But Alan Lightman is living proof that science and the>arts have more in common than many people might think. Mister:Lightman teaches both physics and creative writing at the;Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has drawn on his>scientific background to produce two works of fiction, a 1993@best seller entitled "Einstein's Dreams" and a new novel called"Good Benito.">   Few physicists are producing best selling works of fiction<these days, nor are many novelists teaching college physicsAcourses. But while Alan Lightman's achievements may seem unique,=he believes there's a natural link between the two worlds he>inhabits. And he says he's just one of a number of physicists.who've been drawn to the arts over the years:?   "I think in areas of theoretical physics, and this may hold9for theoretical biology too, that one confronts the deepBphilosophical questions. For example, what is the ultimate natureBof matter? What is the fate of the universe? Was there a universe;before there was nothing?  There are points in theoreticalBphysics that are on the edge of theology, philosophy and science,?and many of the great physicists have had philosophical bents,@because I think that behind all creative disciplines, includingAwriting, there is a sense of the mysterious, and a questioning."A   But despite the underlying link between physics and the arts,@Alan Lightman believes scientists can become too devoted to the=rational and provable, at the expense of the spontaneous and>emotional. His new novel, "Good Benito," tells the story of a9physicist named Bennett Lang who gradually discovers theBlimitations of his discipline. Bennett's fascination with how the$world works begins at an early age:   From "Good Benito":B   "He lies on his bed in the late afternoon. Why must a focusing<mirror be parabolic in shape? Why won't a spherical or flatBmirror work? Why? There is a logical reason. He must know what it?is. Closing his eyes, he imagines various shapes, pictures theAtrajectories of light rays. Silvered glass curving. Angles. RowsAof imaginary lines, perpendicular to the surface as it undulatesBthrough space. Out of all possible shapes, one shape. A parabola.=The hypothetical light rays fly in and emerge, converge to aApoint, converge to a focus. Glass gently sweeping through space.He has to know why."?   Alan LIghtman follows his hero from childhood daydreams andBexperiments through college, graduate school and the launching of>an academic career. He describes the excitement of tackling a:scientific problem and the exhilaration of a long-awaited@breakthrough. But he also shows bennett struggling to deal withBthe challenges of friendship, romance and family life, challenges:that can't be so neatly resolved by scientific equations.?   In writing his story, Alan Lightman says he drew on his own=experience, as well as on that of his scientific colleagues:B   "I have certainly seen many of these issues, the struggle with9emotions, the desire for order and also the passion that=scientists feel about their subject. Almost all professional<scientists I know were passionate at a very young age about=science, just were curious about how things worked, both forBintrinsic curiosity's sake and also as a way of understanding and?combatting the world. We all combat the world in our own ways,:whatever abilities we have, and this is the way a buddingscientist does it."<   Alan Lightman himself has long viewed the world from two>vantage points. As a boy in memphis, Tennessee, he passed theAtime launching home-made rockets and writing poetry. Although he<chose a career in science, he indulged his other passion by@writing non-fiction essays. Then in 1993, he achieved overnight=success with his first work of fiction, "Einstein's Dreams."?   Alan Lightman says his new life as a novelist forced him to?come to terms with some of the same conflicts he writes about:A   "You have to give up a lot of control when you write fiction,Bmuch more than for writing non-fiction. You have to be willing to?create characters and let them live on their own, and that's a@frightening feeling for someone who likes to have total control?of the material. So in a way I resisted my natural impulses inturning to fiction."<   Alan Lightman also notes that a scientific theory can beBproven right or wrong through experiments, while a work of art is@judged on subjective grounds. But for all their differences, he4believes science and writing yield a common kind ofgratification:=   "On a very small number of occasions in my own scientific>career I've had the privilege of doing something creative, ofBarriving at a conclusion in an unexpected way. And I get the sameAsoaring feeling as I do when I'm writing and something comes outAunexpectedly. It's magic, and it's the most thrilling experienceyou can have.";   While not everyone can combine different disciplines as@successfully as he has, Alan Lightman believes the best scienceBalways leaves room for creative intuition. And he says even those?convinced their talents lie in the humanities should strive to@understand history's great scientific achievements. He believes>the laws of thermodynamics are as much a part of our cultural:heritage as the paintings of picasso or the symphonies of6beethoven.  As for his own future, Alan Lightman says=he can't imagine giving up either physics or fiction. And heBbelieves his love of science will continue to shape everything hewrites.   ---------------   ---------------5   INTERNATIONAL ARMS SALES IN A POST COLD WAR WORLD   MERCEDES SPROUSE   WASHINGTONB   Political and economic changes have reshaped the international=arms market in the post-cold war period. In the words of one6defense analyst, it's purely a money-driven industry:@   A global recession has caused economics to overtake national<security interests as a chief concern in both developed and@developing countries. Former cold war foes find themselves withAstruggling economies and forced reductions in military spending.9The global demand for arms has declined accordingly, and'political alliances have become fluid.@   In this time of change, the United States has emerged as theBworld's only superpower, and the leading supplier of conventional;weapons to the world. The business of one weapons company,@Inter-Arms, raises a number of questions and concerns about theinternational arms tradeB   Inter-arms, based in Washington and London, is in the business=of importing and exporting light weapons. The company brings>hundreds of thousands of light weapons into the United States9every year from Brazil, Spain, Germany, Egypt and Japan.?Inter-Arms also exports a wide range of small arms, except for@assault weapons, to countries approved by the State Department.=   Light weapons are a small facet of the international arms>trade, but their cheap price and easy availability complicate=efforts to impose more rigid controls on the larger military
hardware.B   Samuel Cummings is president of Inter-Arms.  While the company;does not deal in assault rifles, he cites the Russian-madeBkalashnikov as an example of the economical, high quality assault,weapon available on the world market today:A   "You can buy a brand new kalashnikov in any caliber you want,?including the American caliber, which will operate under everyAconceivable military condition, for 130 dollars.  Your brand newAM-16 from Colt (Industries), which is now a reliable rifle, now;=it wasn't during Vietnam, it's been de-bugged at the cost of:millions, it's still today in the region of 600 dollars."<   Sometimes, foreign governments have a surplus of weapons@purchased under contract with Inter-Arms, and is free to resell@the surplus to whomever they choose. How the United States sell@weapons, and to whom, is a subject of debate and concern in theState Department.?   Much has changed since the end of the cold war. Former foesBand allies alike continually look for new ways to maintain strong(defenses in times of economic hardship.>   Russia was a major international supplier of high tech and:light weaponry during the cold war, but its arms industry:virtually collapsed with the breakup of the Soviet Union.8Reductions in domestic military spending forced Russian)weapons-makers to seek contracts abroad.>   At the same time, defense specialist Richard Grimmett saysAMoscow had to cut off lucrative arms exports to cold war clients%who could no longer pay their bills:;   "so you find Cuba basically being cut loose. Libya, who<wouldn't pay its bills even though it had oil. Afghanistan,@Vietnam, clients that were getting highly subsidized deals from<the Russians if not outright functional military assistanceprograms."=   Mr. Grimmett says Russia then sought to attract buyers byBoffering Moscow's advanced weapons systems at competitive prices:A   "The Russians are now saying, hey, who's got money? Who's gotBcash? Or who's got a commodity like oil that i can barter and get=hard currency? And what have I got that they want? High tech?weapons that are a lot better than, and I don't mean this as apun, Chinese junk.>   In the past decade, Russia has been able to secure weaponsAcontracts with Iran and China, and traditional western customers/such as the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.?   Once a major arms supplier, China fell through the ranks ofAthe world's top arms exporters because Russia displaced China as;Iran's preferred weapons supplier. Iraq, another important>Chinese client, was barred from arms purchases by a U.N. arms/embargo at the outset of the Persian Gulf war.;   A global recession at the beginning of 1990 forced someAweapons suppliers to pool their resources in order to compete in?the international market. For example, Britain, Germany, Italy>and Spain combined their finances and manpower to develop the=multi-billion dollar eurofighter, both for their own use andhopefully for export.B   The end of the cold war also led traditional arms suppliers to<move away from selling only to countries whose strength wasBconsidered essential to the exporting country's national securityinterests.9   Now, according to arms control specialist Art Atkins,Atraditional arms suppliers are courting those countries that canafford to buy:?   "Southeast Asia is one region that has become a very active8market in the post cold war era, because a lot of theseBnewly-industrialized countries have a lot of capital to invest in@higher technology weapons whose prices have gone down after thecold war."B   Weapons contracts are not always as lucrative to the seller as:they might seem, and may include hidden costs to both theAsupplier and the buyer. Arms specialist William Hartung contends;U.S. arms sales are not always a boon to the U.S. economy.=   Hartung says the United States spends about seven billion;dollars each year on developing and processing arms sales:A   "But what I think, even more to the point, there are what are?called offset arrangements, where the United States sells to aBcountry like Korea, for example... U.S. companies will say, "yes,=it will cost you three-billion dollars for our aircraft, but;we're going to steer at least that much money back to your<country in the form of either U.S. investments in Korea, or+Korean companies building the components."A   In effect, the United States may offer the weapons at a lowerBcost but also give some countries the money with which to buy the@weapons.  Israel, for example, purchased two and a half billion?dollars worth of U.S.-made weapons last year, but much of that?was offset by one-point-eight billion dollars in U.S. militaryaid.A   International arms competition has grown in the post-cold war;period as East and Central European countries seek out new;markets.  A number of former Soviet bloc nations have been?upgrading their old Soviet-designed weapons with sophisticated@technology, then offering them to buyers at competitive prices.1   Richard Grimmett says the trend is spreading:@   "And you get a combination of four or five countries, all of?whom have got various skill levels in various areas, packaging=and repackaging and refurbishing old systems.. And then thatBstuff resold yet again to somebody further down the tier level of sophistication and capability."?   Mr. Grimmett says that most developing countries don't have@the cash reserves to buy many of today's high tech weaponry, soAthey are more likely to purchase used military equipment or will%refurbish weapons they already have.@   Clandestine sales, or transfers, of these older, refurbished:conventional arms is seen as contributing to the internal;conflicts that have torn apart many third world countries.B   Arms control specialist Art Atkins says the increasing ability>of warring factions to cause devastation does not necessarily7come in the form of tanks or other such heavy weapons:6   "Especially Africa, which during the 1980s was the@second-largest arms-buying region.  Most of those were not high?tech weapons, but more small arms. That caused a great deal ofAdamage, a lot of instability within Africa, and we still see theremains of that today.">   Caleb Rossiter is with the Project on Demilitarization andBDemocracy, a Washington-based group which advocates democracy and>military downsizing.  He argues that international arms salesAhave contributed directly to the destruction of some third worldeconomies:B   "Anyone living in Africa can see the way money disappears into>the maw of armed forces. But more importantly, when there's aBconflict, all economic growth is stopped. Africa has been plagued/with conflict throughout the 1980s and 1990s."@   Nations such as Gambia, Guyana and Sierra Leone are reported;to have spent millions of dollars on defense, though theirBoverall government budgets were relatively small.  In Washington,<a group of arms control activists, called world priorities,Arecently did a study that suggests if third world countries used>just half their military expenditures to pay for basic health8care services, they could save 10 million lives a year.<   Many arms control activists argue that U.S.-made weapons?continue to be a factor in the armed conflicts that persist inmuch of the developing world.1   According to arms specialist William Hartung:>   "By the middle of 1993, there were 48 different ethnic andAterritorial conflicts going on on five different continents. And>if you took a list of those ongoing wars and compared them to?U.S. arms sales over the last 10 years, it ended up that 39 ofAthose 48 conflicts have received some U.S. weaponry for a period$leading up to the outbreak of war."=   Ironically, Mr. Hartung notes that U.S. troops landing in>Haiti last September to secure the return of ousted PresidentAJean-Bertrand Aristide had to confront Haitian forces armed withU.S.-made weapons.?   Hartung points out this was also the case in numerous other2military interventions involving American forces:@   "The armed fores of Panama had been trained and equipped for8many years by the United States. So U.S. troops faced a<Panamanian military force that was in many ways made in the?U.S.A..  Iraq got access to very sophisticated technology from?the United States that they used to help build various weapons?systems, including howitzers, cluster bombs, even some work in=ballistic missiles, and a lot of that was subsidized by U.S.BGovernment loans. Similarly in Somalia. Prior to the breakdown of>the governmental system there in the 1980s, through the Barre;regime, the United States was a principal arms supplier to=Somalis, selling them light weapons, recoilless rifles, landmines."=   Arms control activists say half of the developing world's>populations currently live under military dictatorships. That>raises the question of whether leading arms exporting nations?like the United States have a moral obligation to help controlthe arms trade.?   Jim O'Dea, of the Amnesty International Human Rights Group,=says the United States should set an example to the world by>cutting off arms or military assistance to countries that areAeither documented human rights abusers or that use U.S. suppliedweapons to quell insurgences:A   "In Colombia, the U.S. gives security assistance to fight the=drug wars. But there is evidence suggested by the governmentBitself, and raised by several Congressional committees, about theBfact that this money, this assistance ends up being used to fightAinsurgences in Colombia.  Questions of a similar nature arise in@Turkey.  Reports have come to amnesty of the use of helicopters;and airplanes to make attacks on villages where there is aKurdish population."B   State Department arms export control director James Lewis says<transfers of conventional arms are not like weapons of mass>destruction, where all nations can agree that certain weaponsmust be controlled:>   "In the case of Saudi Arabia, one question we might ask isBwhat is the alternative if we were not to support the Saudis, for=example, most of whose arms purchases are to meet legitimateBneeds against Iran and Iraq.  Iraq is still heavily armed despiteBtheir losses in the Persian Gulf War. And if Iran or Iraq were to<take over, would the human rights situation in Saudi ArabiaAimprove or would it get worse? And would the chances of movementBtoward a democratic government improve, or would they get worse?">   But most activists agree the United States should lead the>world in re-evaluating and re-defining current arms controls.>Measures such as the U.N. arms register, which keeps track of@conventional weapons transfer agreements, is criticized for not=listing potential regional sales or documenting movements of@small arms.   In the past, the U.S. Defense Department has been9criticized for not asking American embassies overseas toscrutinize foreign buyers.@   And, despite the efforts of U.S. customs to monitor all arms=exports, thousands of U.S. made guns are smuggled out of the9country annually, and reportedly wind up in the hands ofBColombian drug lords, Japanese crime bosses, Irish gunrunners and,forces waging war in the former Yugoslavia.@   However, Caleb Rossiter contends that western suppliers haveAno incentive to tighten restrictions on arms sales if the United$States chooses not to lead the way:A   "When we sell to our favorite friends, say Saudi Arabia or in?Africa during the 1980s, to Zaire, Somalia and Angola, then we@have very little leverage to tell the other suppliers that they?should join us in limiting supplies to their favorite friends.AWe have not sold for the last few years to Rwanda, but we had noAleverage and no plans to pressure the French and belgians not tosell to Rwanda."B   Up to one million people were estimated to have been killed inRwanda's civil war.=   Defense specialist Richard Grimmett believes leading armsAexporting nations are now focusing their arms control efforts on?stopping the stockpiling of weapons in unstable regions of the5world. But he sees that as only part of the problem:;   "But what happens if we're dealing with people who have<stinger missiles, or people that can take something that is>relatively easy to hide, like bombs you put in a truck at theAWorld Trade Center in New York City and blow it up.  That is theBarea that is going to give us the more difficulty in the long runin terms of arms control."A   However, arms suppliers seem unable to do much to control the)factors that might facilitate terrorism.>   In Brazil, for example, thousands of cars cross the bridge?that connects Foz Do Iguacu with the Paraguayan city of CiudadBDel Este each day without being searched. The lax security allows@arms and ammunition smugglers and drug money launderers to move@freely. Explosives are reported to be widely available, as wellAas stolen cars. International intelligence agencies concentrated>on Foz in their search for the trail of terrorists accused ofAblowing up a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994 andthe Israeli embassy in 1992.@   The town of Foz, in an obscure corner of the world, typifiesBthe challenge facing international efforts to control the illegalflow of light weapons.;   Terrorism expert Yonah Alexander, a professor at George?Washington University in Washington, DC, says terrorists oftenBbuy weapons-making materials through states where export controlsare more lax:>   "Historically, you find that the IRA receives support, for>example, from Czechoslovakia, this syntax explosive, and theymanufacture their own arms."A   The State Department has proposed replacing the International@Coordinating Committee on Export Controls, or COCOM, with a new?regime to scrutinize all weapons transfers.  The United States@also supports a proposal developed by the Netherlands to impose?strict controls on  the transfers of small arms.   SwitzerlandBhas already tightened controls on its arms exports, and Japan has@considered restricting the sale of materials that could be used@in the manufacture of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.@   But the small arms trade grows more complex.  The U.S. State=Department is reviewing policy which restricts the import of>firearms from Russia and other former Soviet countries.  U.S.Bofficials say the probe was initiated because American firms wantBto import one billion dollars worth of firearms, including rifles@and pistols, from former Soviet states.  Any easing of controls>on such imports could flood the U.S. market with foreign-madelight weapons.>   Inter-arms President Sam Cummings predicts U.S. small armsAexports will decline in the coming years because governments can;get better and cheaper weapons from the former Soviet bloccountries or from China:?   "They're one-third the price for the equivalent American or@equivalent Japanese products, where the Europeans were going to2Japan after failing to be competitive in Europe."B   For light weapons companies like Inter-Arms, the changing face@of international arms trade in the post cold war era comes down>to a matter of meeting demand and the most competitive price.   ---------------   ---------------"   PROFILE: GENERAL MICHAEL CARNS   DAVID SWAN   PENTAGONB   President Clinton has chosen retired Air Force General Michael<Carns as the new chief of the troubled Central IntelligenceAgency.A   The president has been trying to fill the job since December,@when former CIA director James Woolsey resigned under pressure.?   However, Mr. Carns was not known to be in the running until8this week, and as the nominee himself acknowledged, his)appointment was something of a surprise:?   "Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity to serve our@nation again.  Its certainly an opportunity I didn't expect and>quite frankly, my wife victoria and I were looking forward to?spending more time together after retirement in the air force.?But Mr. President, there is something about the opportunity to9serve and the chance to make a difference that is simplyirresistible."B   if the Senate confirms him, the retired four-star general will;be the first military man to head the CIA since the CarterBAdministration, and this will be his first intelligence post. But?together with a long list of medals and decorations, Mr. Carns@holds a graduate business degree from Harvard University and isAknown as a talented administrator.  Officials say his managementAskills and command experience make him the right choice for this>job, at a time when the CIA is widely perceived as in need of
overhaul.@   Mr. Carns says he is open to change but will not neglect theAagency's primary mission of informing the nation's policymakers:=   "The cold war may have passed into history.  But regional8instability, terrorism, drug trafficking, crime and theBproliferation of nuclear weapons all loom large as threats to ourinterests and to our people."B   Mr. Carns, who is 57 years old, has spent nearly all his adultAlife in the service.  He attended the air force academy, trained=as a fighter pilot, and logged more than six-thousand flying@hours, including 200 combat missions in the Vietnam war.  AmongBother things, he served as deputy commander of U.S. forces in the@Pacific, and was a high-level aide to the joint chiefs of staff5during the Gulf War.  The general rose to become theAsecond-most-senior officer in the air force before retiring lastyear.@   Mr. Carns inherits an agency with an uncertain future in the<post-cold war world and a reputation badly tarnished by the>lingering cold war scandal of Aldrich Ames.  The renegade CIA?officer spied for Moscow for years, wrecking secret operations0and sending at least 10 agents to their deaths.>   Most of this occurred before President Clinton's first CIA?director, Mr. Woolsey, took office. But he angered Congress by>refusing to fire or even demote some of those who should haveBuncovered Ames' treachery.  The agency also recently went through>a politically damaging sex-discrimination lawsuit by a female	officer.9   Mr. Carns now faces the same task as his predecessor,Aovercoming the Ames affair and redefining the CIA to cope with a@changing world.  He must also do this while serving a president>who shows relatively little interest in intelligence matters.   ---------------   ---------------3   U.S. SEEKS CHANGE IN IRAN'S BEHAVIOR WASHINGTON    WASHINGTONB   The United States wants Iran to change its behavior to conform>with international standards, the acting spokesman emphasized?when asked about House Speaker Newt Gingrich's February 8 call6for the eventual forced replacement of Iran's regime.B   "This administration has consistently condemned and vigorously=opposed specific aspects of Iranian policy, including Iran'sAsupport for violent groups seeking to destroy the peace process,BTehran's continuing support for terrorism, Iran's ongoing pursuit=of weapons of mass destruction, its efforts to subvert other@governments, and its dismal human rights record at home," State.Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly said.8   "The objective of our policy is to bring focused andAcoordinated international pressure, both economic and political,;on Iran to change its behavior to conform to international?standards.  The administration has focused on areas we believeBwill have a maximum impact in influencing Iran's behavior such as<arms transfers, dual-use technology, and credit," she said.?   Asked if the United States was seeking the overthrow of theBcurrent Iranian regime, Shelly replied: "Not as such, no.  Iran's=government is for the Iranian people to decide.  As I statedAbefore, our interest is in getting Iran to change its behavior."B   Speaking to a conference of military and intelligence officers=February 8, Gingrich said "the only long-range solution that?makes any sense" is for the United States to pursue an overallBstrategy that "ultimately is designed to force the replacement ofthe current regime in Iran."   ---------------   ---------------8   CLINTON, KOHL REAFFIRM SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN DEMOCRACY   ALEXANDER M. SULLIVAN   WASHINGTONA   Russia's drive for democratic reform overshadows the possibly9"corrosive effect" of its campaign to squelch Chechnya's>independence movement, President Clinton asserted February 9.?   The president and his guest, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl,Adelivered broad endorsements of Russian President Boris Yeltsin,@both tied to a continuation of political and economic reform inAMoscow.  But a senior administration official made it plain thatBwhile Washington and its allies "are not pulling the plug at this?point," the Russian president does not have unlimited scope to#carry on the fighting in Chechnya.=   Clinton said he and Kohl discussed the bloody fighting in?Chechnya, and the president called for negotiations to end theAconflict.  Moscow calls Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region,Ban integral part of the Russian federation.  Chechnyan rebels say?their region seeks to reverse campaigns of conquest by Russianczars and Soviet commissars.;   "Every day the fighting continues," Clinton said, "more=innocent civilians fall victim," and he said Washington willBcontribute $20 million "in response to international appeals" for=humanitarian and refugee assistance funds to alleviate their
distress.B   He said both he and Kohl, in their separate conversations with?Yeltsin, "have made clear our fears about the corrosive effect@the conflict in Chechnya can have on democratic market-oriented<reform in the Russian republic."  Nonetheless, he said, theBconflict had not "changed the nature of our interest, namely that;Russia's efforts to become a stable democratic nation must@succeed.  Today the chancellor and I remain determined to stick:to our course of patient, responsible support for Russian	reform.";   A senior administration official later denied that that@comment amounted to a "blank check" for Yeltsin in his handling@of Chechnya, which has been widely criticized for its brutalityBand its violation of the human rights of non-combatant civilians.A"I would categorically protest," the official told a questioner.A"We're not giving him a blank check.  He knows that his image in;the West has been seriously damaged and that the basis forAcontinued support for Russian reform has been shaken and that heAdoesn't have unlimited time.  But we are not pulling the plug at
this point."6   Clinton and Kohl, the official said, "agreed, most>importantly, that it was too soon to write off Yeltsin and toAwrite off reform in Russia." He said they agreed to "press for a<political solution and an immediate end to the violence" inBChechnya while stressing, at the same time, that "it is very muchAin our interest to back Yeltsin and to try to keep Russia on thereform track."@   The official told a questioner that Kohl and Clinton believe>it would be wrong to pressure Yeltsin on Chechnya and that it?would be "wrong at this point to start imposing punishments or@sanctions on Yeltsin."  He argued that Yeltsin is "trying to be!responsive to Western concerns."?   Questioned about Yeltsin's ability to lead Russia after the@Chechnya fighting is concluded, both Clinton and Kohl cited the=Russian president's trustworthiness in dealings with them on@troop withdrawals from the Baltic States and from East Germany,and on nuclear issues.=   Clinton recalled predicting in 1993 that events in RussiaBwould not go smoothly as Yeltsin presided over reform efforts; heAsaid he had warned that the United States "wouldn't always agreeAwith every decision that was made and everything that happened."ABut he argued that Washington should "say honestly where we have@concerns and disagreements" but should support Moscow's path ofBreform.  "I think that's what mature countries do," the presidentsaid.   ---------------   ---------------=   NATO EXPANSION TALKS "MOVING AT RIGHT PACE," CLINTON SAYS   ALEXANDER M. SULLIVAN   WASHINGTON4   Expansion no threat to Russia, he and Kohl agreeA   Current deliberations on expansion of NATO "are moving at theBright pace," President Clinton says, and he and German ChancellorAHelmut Kohl agree "that the inevitable process of NATO expansion<will be gradual and open, that there will be no surprises."9   The "conditions, timing and military implications" of:expansion "must be well and widely known in advance," the>president says, and, as expansion proceeds, the alliance must-develop "close and strong ties" with Russia.>   At the conclusion of their White House meeting February 9,>Clinton said he and Kohl "share a vision of European security;that embraces a democratic Russia, and we will continue to>reassure President Yeltsin that an expanded NATO will pose no threat to a democratic Russia."=   A senior administration official said the visit served to?squelch speculation that the United States and Germany, in the8wake of Yeltsin's speech to the Budapest meeting of theBOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe opposing NATO)expansion, had grown apart on the issue.9   "These meetings confirmed that there is absolutely no:daylight" between Washington and Bonn, the official said.@   They agreed, the official added, that the pace determined at?the December NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels "is just the@right one; focus should be first on the why and the how of NATO?expansion and that we should not at this stage set a timetable?for expansion or define a list of preferred candidates."  Both>Kohl and Clinton stressed any European security system should+"not draw a line between NATO and Russia."<   The official estimated it will be "toward the end of theAcentury at the earliest" before NATO accepts new members, and he;noted that the U.S. Senate will then be asked to ratify an:amendment to the Washington Treaty, which established the>alliance.  He explained that expansion "has to be done...in a=serious, deliberate way so that we don't simply extend paper?security guarantees....Congress will want to know exactly what4are the implications, politically and financially."@   Clinton said he and Kohl think it is "essential...to support;the Muslim-Croatian federation" in Bosnia, saying a strong>federation would "provide a concrete, positive step toward aneventual peace settlement.";   The official told a questioner that what was termed theB"paralysis" of the United Nations, and therefore of NATO, was notAdiscussed, nor was the "nitty-gritty" of the diplomatic strategyto isolate Bosnian Serbs.B   Earlier, Clinton welcomed Kohl to Washington at a chilly South@Lawn arrival ceremony, noting their two countries have begun to@"enjoy the fruits of our perseverance" through the Cold War and>the reconstruction period following World War II.  Because of;that long record of cooperation and steadiness against the<communist threat, Clinton declared, he and Kohl last summer?"could walk through the Brandenburg Gate" -- that once divided<East and West Berlin -- "without checkpoints, without armedsentries."<   He said the two nations now should work cooperatively in>supporting reform in Russia, in considering extension of NATO:membership "to Europe's new democracies," and in adapting@"international institutions to serve us for the next 50 years."@   Kohl, recalling Clinton's promise at the Brandenburg Gate to=stand beside Germany "now and forever," pledged that Germans@"will do everything in order to shape this future together with?you as close friends and proven partners," both in Germany andthroughout Europe.B   The official said Kohl briefed Clinton on the message he would>take to the U.S. Congress and his meetings there with the new>Republican majority, including "the importance of strong U.S.Bleadership, the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship and?NATO to European and world security, and how NATO and EuropeanBintegration were not alternatives, but for Germany they were both/essential components for stability in Europe."   ---------------   ---------------=   FULBRIGHT, CREATOR OF WORLDWIDE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, DIES   WENDY S. ROSS   WASHINGTON?   The memory of former Senator J. William Fulbright, who diedBFebruary 9, lives on through the thousands of scholars around theBworld who have participated in the international exchange program+he initiated and Congress enacted in 1946.B   "We have lost a caring prophet, a leader, a patriot and a good<man who worked for a better world," said Dr. Joseph Duffey,8director of the United States Information Agency, which,administers the Fulbright exchange program.B   Fulbright, who was 89 years old, died after suffering a strokeBat his Washington home.  He had been hospitalized three weeks agofor pneumonia.?   Fulbright, a Democrat from Arkansas, is also remembered for>chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 16 years,@longer than anyone before or since, during the turbulent 1960'sBand early 1970's, when the nation's attention and that of much of0the world was riveted on the Vietnam situation.B   Fulbright was a fierce opponent of U.S. involvement in the war?in Vietnam and  used the committee as an anti-war pulpit after?angrily accusing President Lyndon Johnson of having misled himBabout the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident that brought the U.S. intoa combat role in Vietnam.<   President Clinton told reporters at the White House that;Fulbright "made an amazing contribution to the life of ourAcountry and, of course, to our home state (of Arkansas).  And heBwas a great inspiration to thousands and thousands of us who were<young when he was a senator....The country is in his debt."B   At a joint news conference with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl,<Clinton added: "I am just profoundly grateful today for theAconviction that he (Fulbright) imparted to me when I was a young?man: that we could make peace with the world if we seek better?understanding, if we promote the exchanges among people, if we(advance the cause of global education."@   In 1993, Clinton awarded Fulbright the Presidential Medal of.Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award.8   Fulbright was elected to Congress in 1942 and served>continuously there for more than 30 years until he retired in?1974.  After retiring, he was associated with a Washington lawfirm.@   Before being elected to Congress, Fulbright served two years,as president of the University of Arkansas.B   Clinton worked part-time as a clerk for then Senator Fulbright7while studying at Georgetown University in the 1960's.B   Clinton's roommate at the time, Tom Campbell, said in a recent:interview that Clinton modeled himself after the senator.>"Fulbright came from a small town in Arkansas, got an Eastern@education, was a Rhodes scholar, and then came back to Arkansas;and made a success in Arkansas" before becoming a national"figure, just as Clinton has done.@   More than anything he did during his lifetime, Fulbright was;proud of the program that to date has brought over 120,000Bforeign visitors to the United States to teach or study -- from a<few months to an academic year or more --  and sent another>90,000 Americans overseas on similar missions.  The master ofAPembroke College, Oxford, once called this "the largest and most>significant movement of scholars across the face of the earthsince the 15th century."@   Many of the Fulbrighters have become intellectual leaders inAtheir nations and important members of their governments.  Some,Blike United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, have0gone from national to international prominence.=   American Fulbrighters have included university presidents?Derek Bok and Hanna Gray, economist Milton Friedman, historian=Henry Steele Commager, authors John Updike and Eudora Welty,@musician Aaron Copland, and politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan,among others.@   And there is no way to know how many millions of students inAother countries have taken courses from U.S. professors teaching+in their universities on Fulbright grants.>   Fulbright said that when he established the program in theBimmediate aftermath of World War II, "I wanted to start something@that would be an antidote to the violence that breaks out among&nations like a continuing infection.":   In his book, "The Price of Empire," published in 1987,AFulbright wrote: "It is a modest program with an immodest aim --:the achievement in international affairs of a regime moreAcivilized, rational and humane....I believed in that possibilitywhen I began.  I still do."=   Fulbright was born in 1905.  He lived on a farm until his@father purchased a small town bank.  The bank prospered and his@father purchased a newspaper as well.  Fulbright attributed his6inquiring mind to his mother, who  ran the newspaper.B   He graduated in 1925 from the University of Arkansas, where heBwas a football star and president of the student body.  Following@that he was chosen through a highly competitive process to be a=Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, where he studied modernAhistory at Oxford's Pembroke college for three years.  Following@that he spent a year in Austria and Switzerland learning Germanand French.A   He continued his studies upon returning to the United States,@getting a law degree in 1934 from George Washington University.>He married his first wife, who died in the 1960s, during this>time and the couple had two daughters.  He remarried in 1991.   ---------------   ---------------6   ECUADOR-PERU FIGHT SAID TO ENDANGER REGION'S PEACE   WASHINGTON>   Peru and Ecuador in conflict risk the peace of the Western;Hemisphere, says Organization of American States SecretaryGeneral Cesar Gaviria.@   The impasse "puts at risk in a sense the preservation of the;Americas as a land of peace, a peace which has fortunatelyAprevailed for so many decades," Gaviria said at OAS headquartersFebruary 9.?   He commented on remarks made earlier by the first permanent8observer to the OAS from Russia, Ambassador Vladimir I.
Tchernyshev.:   "Russia is considering Latin America as its partner in>perspective, is objectively interested in the preservation of;stability and security in the countries of the region.  WeBsupport the peace efforts to resolve the conflict and we considerAthe steps taken by the guarantor countries of the Rio de JaneiroBProtocol to be appropriate," the Russian envoy said in ceremonies2at which he presented his credentials to Gaviria.=   "We propose likewise that it is vital that other existing?channels of dialogue remain open and that the search continues@for mutually acceptable solutions to the conflict," Tchernyshevsaid.<   "We welcome positively the decision of the OAS Permanent<Council to convene a consultive meeting of the ministers ofAforeign affairs of the member states of the Organization and, in@the capacity of permanent observer, we intend to participate inthis meeting."B   Tchernyshev added that "at the same time Russia is prepared to<take part in the search of formulas to relieve the tension"Bthrough bilaterally based cooperation, the 1942 Rio Protocol, theOAS, "or through other forms."   ---------------   ---------------->   U.S. URGES ANGOLAN GOVERNMENT, UNITA TO FULFILL PEACE PACT   UNITED NATIONS<   U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright February 8 warned the8Angolan government and the National Union for the Total>Independence of Angola (UNITA) that, in order to receive U.N.@assistance, they must demonstrate by concrete actions that they#are fulfilling their peace accord.@   In a speech to the U.N. Security Council, Albright said that@the key to U.S. support for the new U.N. peacekeeping operation7in Angola is "the actions of the Angolans themselves."=   "If Angola's leaders are prepared to make peace by takingAconcrete steps towards disarmament and demobilization of troops,Bif they are prepared to help offset the significant costs of thisAoperation, we will continue to support it," the ambassador said.B   The United States -- one of five states that has veto power in@the council -- currently pays 30.4 percent of the costs of U.N.peacekeeping operations.@   The council authorized the establishment of the U.N. AngolanBVerification Mission III (UNAVEM III), which will have some 7,500?infantry, military observers, civilian police, and other staffBand cost about $383 million annually.  Its mission is to help the8two sides with their agreement to disarm and demobilizeBcombatants, integrate personnel from both sides into military andApolice forces and incorporate UNITA into the Angolan government.?The initial mandate is for six months and is to last no longerthan two years.@   The council stipulated, however, that before the bulk of theAforce can be deployed, the secretary general must determine that3the peace accord is being effectively implemented.?   Albright said that the council's message "is very clear: do?not make a serious mistake at this crucial time.  Do the right@thing for your people and for the future of your country.  ThisBresolution represents the international community's confidence in?the Angolan people.  We hope that in the coming days it is not%undermined by any of their leaders."0   Following is the text of Albright's remarks:   ---------------   ---------------4   U.N. PEACEKEEPING MISSION FOR ANGOLA ESTABLISHED   UNITED NATIONS>   The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution?February 8 establishing a new peacekeeping mission to help the8Angolan government and the National Union for the Total=Independence of Angola (UNITA) implement their peace accord.A   Council resolution 976 authorizes the dispatch of up to 7,000>infantry troops along with 350 military observers, 260 police?observers and other support staff for an initial period of six@months.  The operation -- known as the U.N. Angola VerificationBMission III (UNAVEM III) -- is scheduled to end by February 1997.;   The council stipulated, however, that after the initial@deployment of planning staff and military and police observers,@the main bulk of the infantry troops will not be sent until the@U.N. secretary general determines that the two sides are living?up to their agreement.  The council also reserved the right to>overrule the secretary general if it is dissatisfied with the)cooperation of the government and UNITA.=   The council also endorsed plans for a U.N. radio station,7human rights specialists and a mine-clearance program.>   Welcoming the offer by the Angolan government of more than=$1,000 million in in-kind and cash contributions to the U.N.Boperation, the council encouraged the secretary general to accept9the offer and explore with both the government and UNITA$possibilities for other assistance.   ---------------   ---------------2   REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE MAJOR WELFARE REFORM PLAN   JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTONA   Republicans in the House of Representatives have introduced a@package of proposals that would completely overhaul the current6system for providing welfare to the poor, elderly and$disadvantaged in the United States.@   The plan, which would repeal a myriad of laws developed over@the last 50 years, was outlined February 9 by Representative E.;Clay Shaw of Florida, chairman of the House Ways and MeansBsubcommittee responsible for welfare reform.  It would change the?basis of the system from one that has provided benefits to all?qualified recipients based on national criteria, regardless of=cost, to one where individual states would determine who wasdeserving.7   Shaw said that he planned to have a bill out of his7subcommittee within a few weeks and legislation on the)president's desk by the end of the year.B   "Our bill faces welfare's most difficult problems directly andAsends a powerful signal that the government can not and will not7solve everyone's problems," Shaw said.  "Welfare as it;stands...has destroyed responsibility, diminished personalAdignity, and created economic disincentives that bar people from
success."<   Though both Republicans and Democrats favor some form of=welfare reform, some of Shaw's proposals, particularly those:affecting children and legal aliens, are expected to face=opposition by more moderate Republicans and Democrats.  Some@state governors also fear that costs to state governments couldAballoon under the plan.  President Clinton has said he will work@with Republicans to shape legislation, but offered no proposalsAof his own in the fiscal-year 1996 budget he introduced February6.?   Shaw, who acknowledged that he has had a number of meetings@with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to discuss the issue ofBlegal aliens, said he favors cutting off welfare programs to mostAnon-citizens.  The only exceptions, he said, would be for legal,.long-term residents over age 75 and refugees.?   "Republicans continue to believe that immigrants should not>come to this country to receive welfare," Shaw said.  "In theAcase of some legal immigrants, they themselves are hard at work,Bbut they take advantage of our system by sending for their familyBto legally come to America, and then the family winds up going onpublic assistance."B   The key welfare entitlement programs are AFDC (Aid to Families?With Dependent Children), food stamps, and Supplement Security+Income (SSI) for the elderly and disabled.>   Shaw said that six current AFDC programs would be replaced@with a single block grant to states.  States would have greater>latitude in how they provide welfare payments but, in return,;spending would be capped at the 1994 level for five years,=resulting in a savings of $7,600 million. The proposal would@require 2 percent of all recipients to work in 1996, increasing>to a maximum of 20 percent by 2003 and thereafter.  After two7years on welfare, all recipients would be obligated toparticipate in a work program.<   Shaw also said that cash payments would be prohibited to=mothers under age 18 who have children out-of-wedlock and to>families that are on welfare for more than five years.  Extra>payments to families that have more children while on welfarealso would be prohibited.?   "We will continue to provide the mothers and their families>with food stamps and medical care, but we will stop providing?cash inducements to teenagers who have children they know they"cannot afford to raise," he said.?   Reform of the food stamps program, which currently providesBsome 27 million needy Americans with "stamp" vouchers that may be@used to purchase food at grocery stores, is being considered by-the House and Senate Agriculture committees.A   Shaw proposes to save $3,600 million by merging more than tenBcurrent federal childcare programs into a single block grant, and@$4,000 million over five years by combining 24 current programs>into another block grant to help states protect neglected andabused children.8   The plan would deny SSI payments to drug addicts andalcoholics.   ---------------   ---------------:   FOSSILIZED JAW MAY BE OLDEST EVER FOUND OUTSIDE AFRICA   JIM FULLER   WASHINGTON5   Human ancestor fossil found in Georgian republic.>   Researchers report that a fossilized jaw discovered in the@former Soviet republic of Georgia may be from one of the oldestBspecimens of modern man's closest ancestors ever found outside ofAfrica.B   Georgian researchers report in the latest issue of the journal:Nature that the lower jaw and teeth of an ancestor called=Homoerectus that was found in 1991 in the Georgian republic,?northeast of Turkey, appears to be between 1.6 and 1.8 million?years old.  The age of the fossil was estimated by determining7the age of nearby animal fossils using advanced datingtechniques.=   Researchers Leo Gabunia and Absolon Vekua of the Georgian?Academy of Sciences in Tbilisi said that the fossil is about a?million years older than any widely accepted pre-human remainsfound in Europe.?   If the jaw is about 1.8 million years old, it would provideAnew evidence that Homo erectus migrated out of Africa almost one0million years earlier than previously believed.4   Based on some widely accepted fossil dates, mostAanthropologists had believed that Homo erectus evolved in Africa@about two million years ago and spread out to Asia and southern@Europe about one million years later.  It is generally believed<that Africa is the evolutionary home of humanity, with Homo>erectus developing from proto-human species that arose there.B   Anthropologist Henry McHenry, a professor at the University of;California at Davis, said in a phone interview that animal>fossils found along with the jaw convince him that the jaw isabout 1.8 million years old.>   "In the strata of sedimentary rock where the jaw was foundBwere found lots of other kinds of animals...and those animals are:well known in ancient European sediments to date into the@Pliocene and early Pleistocene, which would make the fossils atleast 1.8 million years old."B   McHenry said it was "a wonderful discovery" if it turns out to
be that old.A   "It's great," he said.  "It turns a lot of things around.  It@means that Homo erectus moved out of Africa much sooner than we@thought, and was more adept at different kinds of habitats that*go up into the temperate climatic zones."=   He said it also means that the Homo erectus species first@found in Java in the 19th Century and in China in the 1930s may>have actually originated in Asia rather than Africa, and thenmigrated to Africa.@   "That's not to say that Africa wasn't the ultimate origin of@the ancestors of Homo erectus," he added, "but that the kind ofBHomo erectus that we find in Asia might be fairly endemic to thatcontinent."A   A report published in the journal Science last year said thatAadvanced dating techniques revealed that a fossilized piece of a>child's skull, discovered on the Indonesian island of Java in>1936 and belonging to the Homo erectus group, was 1.8 million8years old.  But that date has been questioned recently.B   "The Java finding may not be as old as thought," McHenry said.?"The worry is that the rocks that they dated may be from older?deposits than the fossils themselves.  Even though some of the@material they dated was rock adhering to the fossils, even that?could have been washed in.  So the concern is that the fossils(aren't as old as the rocks they dated."<   Researchers also have questioned the age of the GeorgianAfossil.  Some anthropologists have said it might be only 900,000<to one million years old.  McHenry said part of the problem<arises from trying to use animal fossils to date the site.";   "Some think it might not be as old as estimated becauseAthere's ambiguity in comparing animals for dates," McHenry said.B"You have to find the right animals -- the ones that went extinct@at the right times...and there's just a lot of ambiguity.  It's?not as good as finding a datable strata surrounding the fossilsite."?   "Also, the fact that the fossil represents such an isolated@discovery of an early human ancestor outside of Africa makes us<all nervous that it may be misdated," he added.  "There areplenty of cases of misdating."   ---------------   ---------------/   RUBIN SETS CONDITIONS ON U.S. AID TO MEXICO   WASHINGTON9   U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin says that?assurances of Mexican central bank independence will be one of<the conditions attached to U.S. aid to the Mexican economy.=   A proposed U.S. loan-guarantee package also "will require@timely transparency and reporting on the part of Mexico," RubinAsaid in February 9 testimony before the House of Representatives?Committee on Banking and Financial Services.  "It will include@strict conditions on the use of funds on the basis of an agreedfinancial plan."<   Rubin said that Mexico must meet these requirements as aBprecondition for utilizing the $20,000 million in U.S. assistance?provided as part of a broader $50,000 million multilateral aid=package to help the country through its short-term liquidity
problems.B   The U.S. treasury secretary said there are signs that economic$conditions in Mexico are improving.>   But he stressed that the United States has "the unilateral:right to withdraw" from its financial support for Mexico.@   "We will see the data we need to evaluate Mexico's progress,Aand continued U.S. support will be dependent on Mexico's meeting0the requisite targets and conditions," he said.9   Rubin added that just as under a prior loan-guarantee=proposal, withdrawn because of congressional opposition, theBUnited States will have an assured means of repayment in the form,of revenues from the export of Mexican oil.?   He said that the economic conditions required by the United@States parallel those of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),;which has offered Mexico up to $17,800 million in credits.8   "IMF programs are sometimes criticized for being too9stringent, but in our view, the stringent conditions are>appropriate in this situation to protect the integrity of our)support program for Mexico," Rubin said.   ---------------   ---------------;   TALBOTT URGES CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR RUSSIAN REFORM   WASHINGTON@   The struggle in Russia between reformers and their opponents@provides a strong reason for continued U.S. economic assistance?to the country, a top Clinton administration official has toldthe U.S. Senate.;   Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott discussed U.S.>economic assistance to Russia and the other Newly Independent@States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union in testimony February 9-before a Senate appropriations subcommittee.@   Talbott responded to subcommittee chairman Mitch McConnell's@criticism of the administration's continued support for RussianBpresident Yeltsin by saying the administration supports reformers3both within the Yeltsin government and outside it.:   The United States, Talbott said, has "a vital national@interest" in the outcome of the struggle between the "forces of!reform and those of regression."?   Talbott deplored Russian actions in Chechnya, but said thatB"while Chechnya has exposed shortcomings and excesses on the partAof the Russian government, it has also provided reminders of howBmuch Russia on the whole has changed for the better."  He pointed>out that the Russian press has freely and critically reported>what is happening in Chechnya, and the Russian parliament has/openly debated what to do about the situation.@   While the administration is calling for continued assistance=to Russia, Talbott said that U.S. economic aid to the formerASoviet Union was shifting to the non-Russian NIS, which receivedBone-third of such aid in fiscal year 1994, one-half in 1995 and aproposed two-thirds in 1996.   ---------------   ---------------,   INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AIDS & WOMEN   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA@   Policy-makers from more than 40 countries met in Geneva this=week to discuss the alarming spread of AIDS among women. The>conferees want governments worldwide to adopt more aggressive4policies to protect women from the growing epidemic@   When AIDS first appeared in the west in the early 1980's, it7was confined largely to homosexual men and intravenous<drug-users.  But the pattern of the epidemic has changed in@recent years.  And now, worldwide, growing numbers of women are3becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.7   The World Health Organization estimates that aroundBeight-million women are now infected with HIV, and that figure is;expected to rise to 13-million by the turn of the century.=   At a news conference Wednesday in Geneva, a member of the?Indonesian parliament, Nafsiah Mboi, presented an even grimmerset of statistics:>   "Every minute of the day, every day of the year, two women?become infected with HIV.  And every two minutes, a woman dies8from AIDS. The world  cannot afford such loss of life."A   Ms. Mboi added that women now account for half of all new HIV>infections around the world.  And the ratio is even higher in>Africa, with women accounting for six out of every ten cases.A   Not surprisingly, prostitutes have been hardest hit.  In some;urban  centers in Africa and Asia, 40 to 80 percent of allprostitutes are HIV positive.?   Participants at the Geneva meeting blamed the sharp rise inBAIDS among women on their subordinate position in many societies.3They decried the economic and social inequalities.6   But Ms. Mboi said those are not the only problems:B   "And sexual subordination, of course.  In a lot of situations,>women cannot say no to their husbands, even if they know that@their husbands have little wives outside, and even if they know@that their husbands are infected, and the more the epidemic has+spread in the country, the wider the net.";   The Geneva meeting called for a top level commitment by@governments around the world to reduce women's vulnerability toBAIDS by improving their economic and social status and increasing0their access to education and legal protection.@   The meeting called for more research into methods that women1can use to protect themselves against infection.A   The conferees also called on women to work together, to build@networks and alliances to enhance their status and defend their;rights.  But a senior WHO adviser on women's health, AleyaBEl-Bindari Hammad, said men must not be left out of the campaign.3   Men must be educated to take their share of the=responsibility, she said, adding that there must be an equal'partnership in the fight against AIDS.B   The conclusions of the meeting here are to be presented at the?fourth International Conference on Women, due to take place inBeijing next September.   ---------------   ---------------?   ALBANIAN COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF GREEKS CONVICTED OF SPYING   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNAA   In Albania, the supreme court has ordered four ethnic Greeks,>convicted by a lower court of spying for Greece, to be freed.BThe move will help further improve strained relations between the"two neighboring Balkan countries.?   The supreme court upheld the ethnic Greeks' convictions and;prison terms of up to eight years.  But, it ruled that the>sentences should be suspended and that the four men should befreed without delay.>   A fifth ethnic Greek, who was convicted with the others of;spying for Greece, was pardoned by Albanian President SaliBerisha in December.A   The trial, conviction and imprisoning of the ethnic Greeks in@Albania last year badly strained relations between the Albanianand Greek governments.;   Greece denied the men were spies and accused Albania of<mistreating its large ethnic Greek minority.  As Greece and:Albania traded angry accusations, Greece expelled tens ofthousands of Albanian workers.B   Ties between Albania and Greece slowly began to improve monthsBbefore the Albanian supreme court ordered the ethnic Greeks to be
released.A   A Greek military attache was allowed to return to Tirana, and@Greece stopped blocking European Union aid to Albania, Europe'spoorest country.   ---------------   ---------------.   CLINTON NOMINATE GENERAL CARNS TO HEAD CIA   DEBORAH TATE   WHITE HOUSE?   President Clinton, as expected, has named retired Air Force?General Michael Carns to head the Central Intelligence Agency.?General Carns, if confirmed by the Senate, would succeed James:Woolsey, who resigned in December following Congressional>criticism over his handling of the Aldrich Ames spy case, theBworst security breach in U.S. history.  At a White House ceremonyBWednesday, President Clinton said General Carns is well-qualified2to lead the CIA into a new post-cold war mission.@   President Clinton's nominee to lead the Central Intelligence>Agency is a four-star General who has served as vice chief ofstaff for the air force.@   Although General Carns has had no direct ties to the CIA, he=has a proven record in both military and management that hasBbrought him the respect of military and civilian leaders, and the attention of President Clinton.A   "He is a proven innovator," says Clinton "open to new ways of9doing business and skeptical of conventional wisdom.  He?understands the critical importance of intelligence because he:has had to rely on it when the lives of Americans and the+security of our country were on the line."=   General Carns' nomination comes at a time when the CIA is?embroioled in a number of controversies, including the case of?former agency employee Aldrich Ames, convicted of handing over0U.S. secrets to Moscow over a nine year period.>   The CIA is also dealing with a series of sexual harassmentBlawsuits from female employees and Congressional criticism over aAmultimillion dollar satellite complex under construction outsideWashington.@   General Carns says he is ready to deal with such challenges.8In addition, Carns says he is prepared to work with the?administration to redefine the CIA's mission now that the cold
war is over:7   "I want to work with you to build on the remarkable=capabilities we  have, and to improve and adapt them to meet$these new challenges we must face."6   President Clinton last week appointed members of a?Presidential commission that will conduct a thorough review of@the intelligence community to reassess its goals in a post-coldwar world.   ---------------   ---------------0   MEXICO CRITICIZES CLINTON'S IMMIGRATION PLAN   CINDY LAVANDEROS   MEXICO CITY<   Mexico has criticized a U.S. plan that attempts to limit;illegal immigration into that country.  A statement issued?Tuesday by the Mexican foreign relations secretary stated that<such a plan goes against the idea of "facilitating free and0respectful exchange" between the two countries.B   The Mexican government criticized President Clinton's proposalAto curb illegal immigration, saying it would hurt people on bothsides of the border.A   The plan imposes a fee on everyone entering the United States9by land.  A vehicle would be charged three dollars and a>pedestrian a dollar fifty for crossing the border.  The moneyAraised from the entrance fee would help pay for increased border	control.;   But Mexico claims that it would adversely affect border@businesses, tourism, and the daily life of those living on bothsides of the border.8   Mexico said it was willing to help strengthen border<cooperation with the United States if efforts were aimed at?advancing the spirit of understanding between the two nations.A   President Clinton's plan announced Monday is considered to be:"the most aggressive" immigration plan to date.  It wouldBincrease next year's spending on immigration control to more than;two and a half billion dollars: A 27-percent increase overcurrent spending.7   The border area has already been hard hit since the;devaluation of the Mexican peso last December.  Sales haveBdropped on the U.S. side of the border because items are now more@expensive for Mexican consumers.  Mexicans say that an entranceAfee would make an already difficult situation for area residentseven worse.   ---------------   ---------------.   DAVID FROST SPEAKS ABOUT PUBLIC TELEVISION   SARAH WILLIAMS   WASHINGTON, D.C.@   For more than 30 years, British television personality David?Frost has both entertained and informed viewers through lively@satire and insightful interviews.  Today, he regularly conducts>interviews with politicians and entertainers on "Talking WithADavid Frost," a show broadcast by public television.  But publicBtelevision in the United States is threatened with budget cuts by?the new Republican-led Congress.  David Frost spoke about bothAhis television career and the future of public television duringa recent speech in Washington.B   On his show "talking With David Frost,"  Frost has interviewed;a variety of personalities, including American presidents,8British prime ministers, heads of state such as Mikhail?Gorbachev, and entertainers like Robin Williams.  He built hisAtelevision career on the popular series, "that was the week thatBwas," a program that delighted audiences in the early 1960's withits satiric comedy.B   David Frost says the show touched a nerve with an increasinglyBcynical British audience that had witnessed the suez canal crisis<and were enjoying a new type of theatre that questioned thestatus quo:?   "'That was the week that was', I mean, in England first andAthen America here, had an enormous impact.  Because particularly?in England, it was verbalizing something that from 1956, 'look>back in anger,' and suez to 1962, young people in Britain hadBbeen begging for a voice that said 'our elders and betters may be?elder but they're not necessarily better.  Our leaders are not@pure, and all that, and not doing everything for self-sacrifice<and to help others.'  and that's what came through in '62."B   David Frost says "that was the week that was," which satirizedBthe news of the previous week, quickly emerged as one of the most;popular television shows of its time because it questioned@authority.  The British television personality has continued toBquestion authority literally in a series of one-on-one interviews.with leading figures throughout the world.  SA   ir David Frost, who was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth=the second two years ago, says, among current leaders, he is3impressed by President Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan:?   "We did an interview by satellite, and I always remember it@because at the end, I was talking about her father, and how her>father had fallen to an army overthrow, and the army had then?killed him.  And did she with this fragile civilian democracy,>fear the same thing. And she said, 'david, you cannot live on2your fears, you can only survive on your hopes.'"@   David Frost says the most charismatic politician he has everBinterviewed was the late Senator Robert Kennedy, whom he spoke to'shortly before his 1968 assassination.?   But he says South African President Nelson Mandela is among?the most impressive people he has ever met, because the formerBpolitical prisoner emerged from 27 years of incarceration to lead
his country:@   "I said to him, what is it, why is it you're not bitter, did<you find religion, what was it, why aren't you bitter?  And@instead of saying 'well it's very generous of you to say that,'@he went the other way, he just said 'i would like to be bitter,;but there is no time to be bitter.  There is work to do.'"A   The interview program "talking With David Frost" is broadcast@on public television in the United States. Public television isBthreatened with losing government funding, because some lawmakers?believe the federal government should not subsidize the publicbroadcasting system.@   But from his perspective, David Frost says public television)plays a vital role in the United States:=   "I think in general that the role in the future of public@television, I mean I think in fact people sometimes confuse theAmultitude of channels with thinking that people have a multitude@of choice, but there are certain choices that PBS supplies that(80 sports channels would never supply."B   David Frost sees U.S. public broadcasting offering programming9that otherwise would not be shown on commercial or cable>channels.  And he says the importance of what the PBS offers,(outweighs the amount of money it costs:=   "But I think this represents an investment for America, I@think it represents a bit of false economy, and there are otherthings to cut before this."A   David Frost contends that public broadcasting, whether in the:United States, Britain, or Australia, makes a significant(contribution that should be maintained.   ---------------   ---------------D   EU SEEKS TO TAX MOVIE GOERS EVERY TIME THEY SEE AN AMERICAN FILM   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELS<   European Union officials are discussing proposals to tax?European cinema-goers every time they watch a Hollywood movie.@This French-led campaign seeks to protect Europe's own film andAtelevision industry from what is seen as the Hollywood invasion.B   It is obvious from the figures that the European film industry?is not doing well.  Eighty percent of the films seen in EuropeBcome from hollywood while just one percent of the movies shown in3the United States were made by European producers.=   The European Union's audio-visual commissioner, Marcelino9Oreja, a spaniard, is looking at a series of options for!encouraging European filmmaking.?   He says that imposing fines or taxes, as he chooses to call=them, is one of the options being considered by the Brusselscommission.>   He is under pressure from the French, belgian, and Spanish;governments to counter the so-called hollywood invasion ofEurope.@   The French, in particular, say that Europe is being pollutedAby American films and television programs, and that young people;now identify more with hollywood heroes than with Europeancultural figures.A   Mr. Oreja says he refuses to treat films and television showsBas ordinary products.  He says they represent the cultural wealth9of Europe and there is a need to safeguard this cultural
heritage.@   The commissioner has announced that the European Union is to<double its spending on promoting production of EU films and>programs with a budget of 480-million dollars during the nextfive years.>   However, more radical ideas are also being discussed.  OneAplan is to tighten and strictly enforce the existing law that TV?channels must program at least half of their schedules with EUmade material.@   Yet another idea is to fine people going to hollywood movies@and to use that money to fund the EU film industry.  France andBsome other European Union countries already impose such a levy on9movie-goers, which is used to fund national film-making.   ---------------   ---------------   FOREIGNERS FLEEING GABON
   KIRK TROY   ABIDJAN9   African immigrants are taking every form of transport=available in order to get out of Gabon and avoid deportation:before a government deadline on February 15th. Threats ofBviolence by Gabonese youths have already sent many foreigners outAof the Central African nation while thousands of other are stillsearching for a route home.>   Immigrants from several African nations have been crowding<into their embassies and Gabonese transit centers since theBmiddle of January.  Special flights and ships have been chartered5as foreigners look for the easiest way out of Gabon.>   Ivory Coast has so far received hundreds of people fleeing>Gabon, granting many of them passage through its territory to@their landlocked states.  Ships packed with West Africans beganAarriving in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city, January 25th asthe deadline approached.;   Last week the Ivorian government sent a ship to provide<transportation for Ivorians and other West Africans leavingBgabon.  The Ivorian vessel "Agboville" arrived in Abidjan 's port>February 4th with 572 people on board, most of them women and
children.=   According a passenger, Sanogo Kanualy of the Ivory Coast:=   "It's difficult for us to get something there because theApeople don't like the strangers.  They don't like the strangers,@we don't get the same justice.  The justice for the stranger is@different for the citizens of the country.  You know, a country@without justice is not a country, so we decided to come back to<our country to not be attacked by the population of Gabon."B   last fall the Gabonese government passed a new law raising the=price of work permits for African immigrants.  Prices varied?according to nationality, with increases of up to 500 percent.BThe highest was for mauritanian nationals for whom the price rose!to more than 15-hundred dollars.@   Under pressure from angry unemployed youth and an economy in@recession, the Gabonese government said it will enforce the new%ruling to the best of its abilities.A   Accroding to Tamarou Dawada who stopped in Ivory Coast on hisway back Tomali from Gabon:>   The Gabonese are racists.  They don't like other Africans.=The work permit for Malians was 11-hundred dollars, but onlyBone-hundred dollars for the French. Gabon is very close to FranceBnow, and the French are there only to profit, but they don't have@businesses that employ a lot of people.  There are no rights in1Gabon and there are no jobs.  What could we do."@   a statement circulating in the Gabonese capital, Libreville,Aand published in local newspapers has threatened attacks againstAforeign workers.  The "Association of Unemployed Gabonese Youth">released the tract, which they say was signed by thousands in@libreville.  It included a threat that they would join together=in an independent security force of their own to enforce theAdeadline if the government does not.  The group also stated that?any illegal immigrants left after the deadline will be "killed
and burned."9   Says Sankanome DJibou another Ivorian national on the
"Agboville":B   "I've been in gabon and I've been suffering very much.  I wantBthe international community to take into consideration these ways?of the Gabonese.  Because many people have been dying in gabon7and nothing has been done.  I want them now to react."B   A Gabonese government spokesman said in a statement that gabon=has never been a xenophobic country but it wants to make the&immigration procedure more selective.<   West and Central African nations have been hit hard by aA50-percent devaluation of the regional currency.  Gabon, an OPEC4member nation, has been suffering from a recession.9   Observers say difficult financial times have fueled aAresurgence of anti-immigrant sentiment in gabon, and many fear a>repeat of attacks that occurred in the early 1990's.  Some 75=thousand of Gabon's one-point-two million people are foreign	workers.   ---------------   ---------------2   PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY CRACKS DOWN ON MILITANTS
   AL PESSIN
   JERUSALEM@   The Palestinian Autonomy Authority has widened its crackdown>on militant groups which oppose its peace accord with Israel,?arresting more than 100 alleged members of organizations whichBhave attacked Israelis in recent months. Israeli police also have@arrested Palestinian militants in several towns in the occupiedWest Bank.;   Palestinian police arrested more alleged members of the@Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which claimed?responsibility for the killing of an Israeli security guard in=Gaza this week.  But this time, the police also added people=allegedly connected to Islamic Jihad, one of the most activegroups in attacking Israelis.A   Israel has insisted on a crackdown on the violent groups as aAcondition for further implementing the peace accord, which calls<for the expansion of Palestinian autonomy.  The Palestinian>authority has arrested militants before, but usually releasesthem after questioning.;   These latest arrests come ahead of a summit between the>Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister@Yitzhak Rabin scheduled for Thursday.  Last week, those two men@joined the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in condemning terrorism.=   Israeli forces also rounded up militants early Wednesday.@News reports say at least 21 alleged activists of Islamic Jihad=and another group, Hamas, were apprehended in five West Bank6towns Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, and Nablus.B   But a senior Hamas leader says such arrests will not deter his?group.  In an interview in Gaza, Raja Sorani said Hamas is not?interested in protecting the peace process because the process$will not achieve the group's goals:?   The peace process can't give us our land, can't give us our@life as the  people, the peace process can't give us our state,@can't give us our economy.  And because the peace process can't(give us all these, what's left for us?"=   Mr. Sorani says Hamas wants all of the occupied territoryBturned over to a Palestinian state, including east Jerusalem, and?without any Israeli settlers.  He says the Israeli-Palestinian@accord reached in Oslo, Norway a year-and-a-half ago will never=deliver that, and also will never deliver what Israel wants:>   "Israel wants security, security.  And (the) security (of)BIsrael is in our hand.  Security (of) Israel is in our hand.  And>(the) Oslo agreement doesn't give Israel security because the>Oslo agreement (does) not give us the minimum of our rights."<   But moderate Palestinians, including Yasser Arafat, haveAdecided to accept less than what the extremists demand.  And Mr.AArafat has vowed strong action to prevent those he now refers to9as "fanatics" from bringing the peace process to a halt.   ---------------   ---------------   GERMANY LABOR PROBLEM   EVANS HAYS   BONN9   Germany is caught up in an industrial dispute, as theAcountry's powerful engineering union conducts warning strikes to-back pay and other demands by union members.:   Germany's IG Metall Union is one of the country's mostApowerful labor organizations.  Its members include engineers and?metal workers whose jobs are critical in Germany's main export-industries, including automobile production.A   IG Metall has told industry management it wants a six percentBpay increase for its members and, if necessary, will go on striketo get it.@   The warning strikes have already begun.  The number of union>members going off the job rose from about 26-thousand earlier;this week to nearly 50-thousand.  The union has an overall#membership of about three million.>   Wage negotiations are being carried out in separate German>states.  Traditionally, negotiators in one state will reach aAdeal that becomes a pattern for industry and the union elsewherein Germany.A   The warning strikes began when IG Metall demanded, and failed=to get, what it views as a suitable response from management?about the pay demand.  The union also refuses to go along with?industry's request to delay a planned one hour cut in the workweek.A   Industry says pay increases are not feasible unless the unionBnegotiates some cost-cutting measures.  It says these include the"delay in reducing the work hours.;   The labor negotiations are expected to be influenced byAGermany's high unemployment rate, which rose to about 10 percent<in January, up from the previous month.  The government andBindustry argue that Germany cannot recover from the recession andBput the economy back on track unless union members accept smallerpay increases.B   Wages, benefits, work hours and the jobless rate are a complex?web of issues that both the government and the unions say they6want to deal with despite their different approaches.=   The government announced late last month a new program toAsolve the problem of long-term unemployment.  This plan involves;a reduction in work hours with a corresponding cut in pay.?Unions have generally agreed to the shorter hours, but not the@pay cut, although they have now signalled a willingness to meet"the government at least part way.   ---------------   ---------------3   HISPANICS LAWMAKERS ON WELFARE REFORM PROPOSALS   MERCEDES SPROUSE   WASHINGTONA   Welfare reform and immigration laws are coming under scrutiny@in the Republican-led Congress.  Hispanic lawmakers say currentAproposals to overhaul the system are unfair to America's fastestgrowing minority.@   Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are mulling:over the possibility of cutting welfare benefits to legal>immigrants.  There is also talk of easing the federal welfare?role and giving states more right to decide what they do aboutwelfare benefits.?   Democrat Nydia Velasquez, a congresswoman from New York, isagainst such proposals:B   "It is very fashionable for conservative forces in this nationBto take an emotional issue like welfare or immigration-bashing to@score political points.  This is not about numbers, and this is2not about statistics. This is about human lives."B   She believes the American welfare system has failed poor womenAand children because programs have not provided the training and/education necessary for women to sustain jobs.A   California Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard adds that many*myths surround the welfare reform debate:?   "The perception, for example, is that welfare is one of the?main problems that contributes to our deficit.  The reality isBthat probably one penny out of every dollar goes into the budget.BThe reality is that it is not a minority issue, that the majority;of people on welfare are white women, not minority women."B   Tommy Thompson, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, says his<state has had enormous success in reducing welfare roles byBdemanding more from welfare recipients, and less from the federalgovernment:?   "We laid down the simple premise that if you accept a check;from the state then you accept certain responsibilities in	return."B   But many Hispanic Americans say the federal government has the:responsibility to reform welfare in such a way that their?community can thrive in the next decade, not  face the loss ofBsocial measures necessary for them to survive.  They want welfare@reform to allow flexibility, include health care and child care5and provide more training for women to sustain jobs.   ---------------   ----------------   JOINT INDIAN/U.S. SPACE SATELLITE VENTURE   DAVID GOLLUST   WASHINGTON@   The Indian government and an American company have announced@an unusual joint venture for the sale of data from Indian spaceAsatellites.  The two sides say the deal could be worth more than$one-billion-dollars over ten years.B   The Indian government and the American aerospace company EosatBhave signed what is termed an unprecedented agreement under whichBthe U.S. company will market earth-sensing data from Indian spacesatellites.=   India currently has three earth-observation satellites in=orbit and plans to have an array of ten in place by the year<2005. Under the agreement with Eosat, photographic and land>survey data from the satellites will be sent down to the U.S.Acompany's ground station in Oklahoma, then processed and sold toBa variety of governmental and private customers around the world.?A government-organized Indian company and Eosat will share the	revenue.>   Photo-imaging and other data from the Indian satellites is8said to be identical in quality to that provided by the*pioneering American "landsat" satellites.A   Only two "landsats" are currently in operation, creating what@Eosat officials say is a market starved for earth-sensing data.;Given that scarcity, they say their ten-year estimate of a@billion dollars worth of business from  the deal with India maybe conservative.>   India's deputy chief of mission in Washington Kanwal Sibal=says the agreement gives a global dimension to India's space@program, and will help allay what he calls a misconception thatit is military-oriented:;   "I think these developments have an extremely important6political significance for us, because there are some=misapprehensions about India's space program.  India's space@program, I think it needs to be underlined, began as a peaceful>program, for peaceful uses of outer space and continues to besuch."=   India has been barred by anti-proliferation controls fromBdeveloping large booster rockets capable of putting satellites inBhigh geo-stationary orbits.  Its remote-sensing satellites are in;low orbits of about 500 kilometers above the earth.  Eosat>officials say the Indian satellites are able to map any given-area of the planet about once every 22 days.   ---------------   ---------------<   INDIAN PRIME MINISTER THROWS RIVAL OUT OF CONGRESS PARTY   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   NEW DELHIA   Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao has expelled his chiefBrival from the ruling Congress Party.  But bickering and division=could intensify, if the party loses key state elections thatbegin Thursday.B   An angry Prime Minister Rao has banished his main critic Arjun>Singh, from the Congress Party hierarchy.  But Mr. Singh, whoAresigned in December as the second-ranking cabinet officer, sayshe will not go quietly.A   The bitter power struggle is being played out in full view of<the voting public, which seems to be growing impatient withruling party in-fighting.>   Mr. Singh has been expelled for what are called anti-party@activities.  He had criticized Mr. Rao's leadership, saying hisBpolicies have alienated Muslim and low-caste Hindu voters. MisterBsingh also accuses mister Rao of being lax in handling corruption	charges.=   Mr. Singh has shrugged off his expulsion.  He promises to;continue a nationwide tour to try to drum up support among?Congress Party workers.  He denies he wants to split the party=that led India to independence.  Still, many observers say asplit is possible.<   Mr. Rao has been publicly silent since the expulsion was=announced late Tuesday.  But the prime minister did spend 40Aminutes explaining the situation to Sonia Gandhi, heiress of theBNehru-Gandhi political dynasty.  Mrs. Gandhi, the widow of former?Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is considered close to Mr. Singh.=   The squabble has been played out as voters in NaharashtraBstate India's industrial engine, prepare to go the polls Thursdayto chose a new state assembly.@   Public opinion surveys show the Congress Party heading for a?big defeat.  Five other states are voting, over the next monthAand half.  If Congress does poorly, it could turn up pressure onAMr. Rao as his party prepares for national elections, next year.<   The "Hindustan Times" newspaper says, in the words of an;editorial, "Mr. Rao will be committing a major folly if he@assumes that, with the expulsion of his key rival, his troublesare over."   ---------------   ----------------   ISRAEL/PLO FAIL TO SET DATE FOR ELECTIONS   PAYMEN PEJMAN	   CAIRO>   Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have ended two days ofAtalks but apparently failed to set a date for local elections in/the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.>   The head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Saeb Erekat,@told news reports that he could report no progress on elections<in advance of a meeting Thursday between Palestinian leader8Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.?   Mr. Erekat's pessimistic remarks contradicted statements by>the head of the Israeli negotiating team, who, without giving=details, said constant progress on elections was being made.@   Palestinian and Israeli officials are mandated by their 1993?peace agreement to choose the timing and mechanism for holding1local elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.B   But the talks were suspended January 22nd, after a bomb placed@by militant Palestinians opposed to the peace talks with Israel2blew up in central Tel Aviv, killing 21 Israelis.@   Palestinian and Israeli leaders decided to restart the talksAafter they met in Cairo last week with Jordan's King Hussein and!Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak.   ---------------   ---------------    JAPANESE DISASTER MANAGEMENT   KYOKO KANEKO	   TOKYOA   The Japanese government is in a hurry to review the country's@crisis-management system. The study is the result of widespread=dissatisfaction with government response to the catastrophic'earthquake that struck Kobe Jan. 17th.@   Japan's worst earthquake since 1923 has revealed the country;is not well prepared to deal with large-scale emergencies.?   The inadequacy of the nation's crisis-management system has?sparked debates in Japan's parliament, while the government is8scrambling to work out measures to deal with the quake.B   Observers say the government's main mistake was that it failed@to grasp the full extent of the quake damage in the early hoursBof the disaster.  They say a lack of information-gathering caused*delay and confusion in relief activities.A   Japan's prime minister learned of the temblor from television=and had to rely on television updates for information in the initial stages of the disaster.8   Lawmakers say there is no system to enable the prime>minister's office to get an accurate assessment of disasters.B   Prime Minister Murayama admits the government  was slow in its;response to the quake.  He has pledged to work to set up a:round-the-clock disaster information network at the prime7minister's office and to review basic law for disastermanagement.A   Experts say, currently, information on disasters collected byAlocal authorities, police, firefighters and Japan's self-defense8forces is not directly reported to the prime minister'sresidence.>   Instead, it is expected to go to the National Land Agency,=which is tasked with supervising and coordinating government(rescue operations in natural disasters.9   However, plans and actions can be different.  Japan's=respective ministries and agencies have their own network to>gather information.  But there is no tradition of sharing the@information among ministries.  Accordingly, it is difficult forBthe land agency to grasp the accurate situation of the disasters.9In fact, the agency does not have the authority to issue>instructions to other organizations, including police and theself-defense forces.B   Japanese officials say it is vital for the office of the prime>minister to be part of a network that receives information on
emergencies.B   Also, the defense agency has decided to upgrade a self-defense8forces satellite telecommunications system so photos of@disaster-hit areas can be sent directly to the prime minister's?residence.  Currently, pictures are sent via satellite only tothe agency.   ---------------   ---------------    LOS ANGELES CRIME STATISTICS   ALAN SILVERMAN   LOS ANGELES?   Los Angeles police report a significant drop in murders andother crimes during 1994.@   The so-called "murder trial of the century" (O.J. Simpson's)Ais attracting global attention to America's second largest city,Bbut the city's annual crime report shows a 21 percent decrease in=murders, according to Los Angeles police information officerLaurie Taylor:B   "We had 836 homicides for the year 1994 and 1,057 homicides inA1993.  We consider that a fairly significant drop in homicides."A   The other three violent crime categories, robbery, aggravated@assault, and rape, also declined.  Overall, violent crimes were@down almost 13 percent.  The LAPD figures show across-the-board@decreases in property crimes, especially auto thefts, down morethan 15 percent in 1994.=   During 1994, LA police hired hundreds of new officers and8instituted "community-based" policing strategies, steps?recommended by official inquiries after the city's 1992 riots.9However, the year was also marked by region-wide natural9disasters, earthquake, fire, and flood, that brought the@community together and created thousands of new jobs for people=who, officials say, otherwise, might have resorted to crime.   ---------------   ---------------F   FINNISH REPORT THEIR FINDING OF BEST TREATMENT FOR LOWER BACK PAIN   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTONB   Doctors in Finland say the best treatment for low back pain is@to go about your normal routine.  They say bed rest and specialexercises do not work as well.@   Acute low back pain is one of the most common reasons people9in the industrial world go to doctors.  Physicians often;prescribe bed rest or exercise, but doctors at the Finnish;Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki question that
practice.A   In a study published in "The New England Journal of Medicine"@[Feb. 9th issue], they report that 67 people who pursued normalBactivity when their back hurt recovered more quickly than similar@sized groups assigned either two days of bed rest or stretchingexercises several times a day.>   Those who moved about had less pain, less absenteeism, and?more ability to work than the other two groups.  Their averageBnumber of sick days in 12 weeks was four compared to five for the0bed rest group and six for those who exercised.B   The Finnish researchers say the cost to society from back pain>is huge in terms of medical care and days lost to work.  They9write that maintaining ordinary activity would result insubstantial savings.   ---------------   ---------------.   NEW TOOL IN REASEARCH TO FIGHT ALZHEIMER'S   JIM RANDLE   WASHINGTON@   Researchers in the United States say they have taken a majorAstep toward understanding alzheimer's disease. This is the first@time scientists have been able to give the disease to an animal/so they can do research on the brain disorder.@   Scientists say, until now, only humans could get alzheimer's?disease and that made it difficult and expensive to test drugs:and other possible therapies for the disabling and deadly	disease.B   This week's edition of the scientific journal "Nature" reportsBresearch by the California company Athena Neurosciences that used7genetic engineering to transfer a human gene linked toalzheimer's into a mouse.;   Doctor Ivan Lieberburg is vice president of research atAthena:?   "The gene was literally injected into mouse embryonic cells9and then the mouse embryonic cells were implanted into a?receptive (mouse) mother, potential mother, much like in-vitro@fertilization in people.  When the mouse grew up, we checked toAsee that it had incorporated this gene into its body and that it!was passed on to its offspring."?   Doctor Liberberg says the mouse brains look remarkably like>human brains with alzheimer's.  He says other scientists will@soon test the alzheimer's mice to see if they suffer the mental)impairments that afflict human patients.B   Researcher John hardy is the person who found the gene used in?this work.  He did not take part in this study, but did reviewthe results for "nature."A   Doctor hardy says creating a mouse-model of alzheimer's gives>scientists a valuable tool for testing drugs.  And he says it6also gives researchers a much better idea what causes
alzheimer's:A   "We want to know what is going on during the disease process,>we want to understand the science of what is happening as the?disease progresses.  We can't do that in humans because all we=can do is examine the brains at the end stage of the disease<(death).  With mice like these we'll be able to examine the;disease progression to try and understand the disease more>thoroughly and that will help us in thinking of new treatmentstrategies as well.";   Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading killer in the8developed world after heart disease, cancer and stroke.<   Alzheimer's is a brain disorder characterized by loss ofAmemory and judgment.  It rarely occurs before age 40 but affects,more than 20 percent of people over age 85.;   In the early stages of the disease people forget recent:events, but can recall the past clearly.  As the disorder@progresses, memory loss increases, and other abilities are lostBincluding judgment, speech and muscle coordination.  Outbursts of3rage or tears often occur, for no apparent reason.;   In severe cases, victims become incapable of caring for?themselves.  The disease gradually weakens the body, making it<vulnerable to infections.  Most victims die of pneumonia orsimilar infections.B   The researchers say because alzheimer's progresses over years,Bit takes an unparalleled financial and emotional toll on victim's
families.<   Lucille Donovan knows the toll first-hand.  She has been=taking care of the frail, elderly victims of alzheimer's for<years.  She says it is really devastating for families when'mothers no longer know their children:B   "And suddenly she's looking at you like 'I think I should know@you but I'm not sure'  and so you have to constantly remind herAthat this is your daughter, but she does not understand the word>daughter any more  so its just a friend.  But she is not surewhat the word friend is."7   Ms. Donovan says the victims lose more than memory:>   "In the very advanced cases of alzheimer's they don't turnAtheir head, they forget how to.  So many simple little things we=take for granted.  When I'm giving them something to eat, orBdrink, I have to tell them 'chew' and make the motions of chewingor swallow, and I go 'gulp'".?   Researcher John Hardy says alzheimer's disease is a serious9problem in the developed world and will grow more common3elsewhere as modern medicine increases life spans.   ---------------   ---------------A   NATO TAKES TOUGHER STAND AGAINST RUSSIAN INVASION OF CHECHNYA   JOHN FRASER   BRUSSELS?   The NATO Secretary General, Willy Claes, has signaled a new,tougher line against Moscow about Chechnya.@   Until now the official line at NATO has been that the crisis>in Chechnya was an internal Russian matter and did not affect9Moscow's relations with its neighbours or with the west.>   Officials say this point of view was convenient.  It meant@that NATO could worry about what was happening but did not haveto do much about it.A   Now however, the alliance secretary general, Willy Claes, hasAtaken a tougher line.  He has told a belgian newspaper that NATOAcannot now accept that Russia sees the Chechnya crisis purely asAan internal matter.  And he has warned that Russia could isolate8itself if it maintains its hardline stance in Chechnya.9   Mr. Claes's remarks are being interpreted inside NATO@headquarters as a sign of growing frustration at the failure of7Russia to respond to international calls for an end tohostilities in Chechnya.>   The American defense secretary, William Perry, called last=weekend for a new standing consultative commission to open a?permanent dialogue between NATO and Russia.  However Mr. Claes@has responded that this should wait until Moscow has signed two important agreements with NATO.A   The Russian foreign minister, Andrei Kozyrev, refused to signAthe documents in December.  He claimed he was worried about NATO0plans to admit new members from Eastern Europe.?   NATO officials responded that the process to enlarge nato'sBmembership is not being rushed, although they emphasize there can;be no Russian veto on central and Eastern European nationsjoining the alliance.>   In another development Mr. Claes has identified two issues@challenging NATO.  These are the rise of Islamic fundamentalism@in North Africa and security arrangements for the former Warsaw pact nations in Eastern Europe.   ---------------   ---------------1   NIGER'S PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW PRIME MINISTER   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJANA   Niger's president, Mahamane Ousmane, has named a former World@Bank official as the nation's new prime minister, following the:installation Monday of a new national assembly in which a?coalition of opposition parties holds a slim majority. The newBprime minister comes from the main opposition party, but there is/still controversy surrounding his appointment.?   The installation of a new, opposition-led national assembly?and the selection of a prime minister from the main opposition@party comes after months of political crisis in which President-Mahamane Ousmane lost control of parliament.>   But observers in Niger say the appointment of former World;Bank official Amadou Cisse has angered President Ousmane's>opponents in the new parliament, who wanted another member of%their party named as prime minister.A   Leaders of the MNSD opposition party have threatened to expelBMr. Cisse for accepting the new post.  Mr. Cisse says although heBis being called an outcast by his party, he will try to work withthe party and parliament.<   Political observers say the current standoff between theBpresident and the opposition-led parliament will be a test of theBstrength of democracy in niger.  The West African nation held its<first democratic elections in 1993 after almost 20 years ofmilitary rule.@   President Ousmane called for national elections last October:after being forced to dissolve parliament when then Prime@Minister Mahamadou Issoufou resigned, taking his party, and the,president's legislative majority, with him.B   A coalition of opposition parties holds a slim majority in the@new national assembly, gaining 43 of the parliament's 83 seats,8while supporters of President Ousmane control 40 seats.   ---------------   ---------------$   NIGERIAN RULER DISSOLVES CABINET   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJAN=   Nigerian military ruler General Sani Abacha dissolved his<cabinet of ministers Wednesday after some members said they9wanted to leave government to pursue their own political
aspirations.=   Speaking to reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the<military government's second-in-command, Lieutenant-General=Oladipo Diya, said the government was dissolved because someAcivilian ministers wanted to leave government and go into active
politics.A   He said the ministers are seeking to run for office under the>military government's transition to democratic rule.  He said8those ministers who did not become politicians could be4considered for re-appointment into the new council.;   A national conference on the return to civilian rule in>Nigeria has recommended national elections be held by JanuaryBfirst 1996. General Abacha came into power in November 1993 afterBthe previous military government annulled a presidential electionBthat was proclaimed to be held fairly by international observers.@The annulment triggered pro-democracy protests and a paralyzing3strike by the nation's oil and gas workers unions.   ---------------   ---------------   FUTURE OF THE PANAMA CANAL   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEB   The future of the Panama Canal continues to create controversy:with U.S. officials voicing concern over the slow pace in8transferring canal lands and U.S. military bases to the@Panamanian government.  Some Panamanians are suggesting one way@to avoid future problems is to establish an international board>of trustees to run the canal after the United States turns it)over to Panama in the year two-thousand.@   Under the 1977 Panama canal treaties, the United States willBhand the waterway over to Panama on December 31st, 1999.  As that@date approaches, the U.S. Government is transferring the lands,=buildings and military bases in the former Canal Zone to the>Panamanian government.  But the pace of the transfer has goneAslowly, and U.S. officials have expressed concern that with time8running out, Panama has accepted only a fraction of theproperties.?   The latest warning comes from the head of the U.S. southern>command, General Barry McCaffrey.  In a recent article in the;Washington Post newspaper, General McCaffrey was quoted as;describing the slow pace of the transfers as an "emergency@situation", adding that the process is at a "crisis point".  He=said five-thousand buildings and almost 31-thousand hectares;remain to be handed over to Panama in the next five years.@   However, the Panamanian government appears to be in no hurryBto receive the properties, in part because it does not yet have a?plan for developing the area.  The government wants to attractAinvestors to develop the properties for commercial use.  In this>way, it can obtain some of the revenues necessary to fund theAcanal's operating budget of 500 million dollars a year.  But  noAbusinesses will make an investment until the government comes up?with a development plan, which is likely to take another year.@U.S. officials say maintaining the properties is key to running;the canal.  If they are not well administered, the canal'soperation will be hampered.;   Panama's foreign ministry has not responded directly toBGeneral McCaffrey's comments.  However, the official in charge of;canal affairs, Augusto Zambrano, told reporters Monday his=government is well aware of its responsibilities in assumingcontrol over the waterway.@   He expressed hope the transition will continue and intensify5so that Panama will be ready to take over the canal.9   This latest controversy over the canal has raised new>questions over the waterway's future.  No one doubts Panama's?ability to operate the canal, especially since Panamanians now>have most of the jobs once held by U.S. Government employees.<But some Panamanians wonder whether the country is ready toadminister the waterway.:   Panamanian political scientist, Miguel Antonio Bernal,-believes the record so far is not promising:@   "I am very worried because for us this is our most important;responsibility to continue to be part of the international5system, and we are not doing anything to show to theBinternational community and to the Panama canal users that we theBPanamanians, not the government, not the opposition, that we as aAwhole nation, as a society, as a republic, that we are ready forAthat.  And if we are not ready for that, then we are going to bein big trouble.">   Mr. Bernal believes Panama and the international community:would be better served if the canal is administered by an>international board of trustees.  He said this board could be9made up by representatives from all nations and shippingcompanies:B   "All the countries in this world have interests in this canal,9and I think we Panamanians we need to show the world our@responsibilities telling them let's go to the United Nations to?create a board of trustees, where Panama would be represented,Athe United States, Japan, the European community, Latin America,@Asian countries, the ship-owners.  Then we can establish a real>administration so that all the world will be sure that things!will be done that is necessary."A   According to Mr. Bernal, there would be less controversy over<matters such as toll increases if decisions were made by an:international commission, instead of Panama acting alone.@However, he acknowledged his proposal is not likely to get much=immediate support in Panama because the canal is a sensitiveissue.>   Yet the question of Panama's readiness to run the canal is=likely to be raised more frequently in coming years, and the@debate may become heated as the year two-thousand draws closer.=However, U.S. officials say one thing is certain, the United@States will turn over the canal and its properties to Panama onDecember 31st, 1999.   ---------------   ---------------?   PERES WELCOMES PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY MOVE AGAINST TERRORISM   DAVID GOLLUST   WASHINGTON?   Israel's foreign minister, Shimon Peres, who conferred with?Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Washington Wednesday,=has welcomed moves by the Palestinian self-rule authority toBcontrol terrorism. Mr. Peres says terror attacks staged from Gaza@jeopardize a second phase of Israeli territorial concessions inthe West Bank.A   Mr. Peres says Israel has seen, in the last few days, what heAcalls "the beginning of an attempt" by the Palestinian authority<to curb the terrorist attacks that have killed more than 50"Israelis in the last four months.@   Addressing a business group after meeting Secretary of StateAWarren Christopher, Mr. Peres said the peace process has at long:last given Yasser Arafat and the PLO real authority and aAterritorial foothold.  If he were a Palestinian, Mr. Peres said,>he would  not allow a violent minority to as he put it: "Killthis opportunity."@   Recent polls in Israel indicate that the attacks, especially?the January 22nd roadside bombing that killed 21 Israelis, areBturning public opinion in Israel decisively against new transfers%of territory to Palestinian control.=   Mr. Peres made clear a second phase of Israeli withdrawal:depends on, at the very least, a convincing effort by the5Palestinian self-rule authority to stop the attacks:>   "Please, show an effort to bring an end to the terror thatBcomes from Gaza.  We shall not judge you by the results. We shall<judge you by your efforts.  If you will do so, then we will@continue the second phase and go ahead with the autonomy on the8West Bank. If you demonstrate that you are incapable of<controlling the situation in Gaza, how can you expect us to/continue and hand over more responsibilities?"=   The Israeli foreign minister is due back in Washington on@Sunday for a joint meeting with Secretary of State Christopher,:the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, and senior PLOofficial Nabil Shaath.B   They will try to negotiate details of commitments made at last@week's four-way summit in Cairo to curb violence and expand the;peace process to include Syria and Lebanon.  Mr. Peres has?invited Mr. Christopher to resume his shuttle diplomacy in theBMiddle East.  The Secretary of State says he expects to return to;the region soon, when the parties think the time is right.   ---------------   ---------------=   SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PERRY COMMENTS ON INDIA AND PAKISTAN   DONALD LANDERS   WASHINGTON>   In an address before the Foreign Policy Association in NewAYork City, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry described his9recent trip to the  Indian subcontinent as an attempt toBestablish strong security ties with India and Pakistan.  He beganBhis report by asking two questions. First, why the United States,9as the world's only superpower, should be concerned with@relations between two countries on the other side of the world?BSecond, is there anything substantial Washington can do to reduce?the strain between the two South Asian nuclear powers?  At the;end of Secretary Perry's speech, the program was opened to@general questions from the audience on matters of internationalsecurity and defense.@   Defense Secretary Perry began his remarks by explaining in aBsimple but graphic fashion the importance of avoiding conflict onthe Indian subcontinent:>   "Let's start out by observing that India and Pakistan have<long-standing ethnic, religious and territorial differences?dating back to their partition in 1947.  And these differences>have caused them to fight three wars since partition.  Today,?each of them has the capability to build nuclear weapons.  And?because of this nuclear capability, a forth India-Pakistan warAwould be not just a tragedy.  It could be a catastrophe.  And so)we care a lot about what happens there."@   The secretary of defense noted that U.S.-Pakistani relationsBhave become dormant and he expressed hope they can be restored to@the cordial level enjoyed in the past.  With India, however, heBsaid that it was a case of building a defense relationship almostfrom scratch.?   Mr. Perry also said that increased cooperation on issues of>general security and defense would provide a better basis forBworking out policy differences, such as the attitude of all three&parties toward nuclear proliferation:B   "Let me be very clear.  We are sticking to our position on theBnuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and are working hard to get that>treaty extended indefinitely. Therefore, we continue to pressBIndia and Pakistan to work with us on a goal of capping, reducing@and eventually eliminating the nuclear weapon programs.  And we=are urging both countries to avoid further destabilizing theBsituation by acquiring new capability in missile technology.  But9as I approached this trip, i recognized that the nuclear@ambitions of India and Pakistan flow from a dynamic that we are@unlikely to be able to influence in the near term.  We might be:able to influence over the long haul, but only if, in the;meantime, we can prevent tension from flaring into another<conflict.  So it's a matter of putting first things first."?   What makes the situation more difficult is that while India;remains wary of Pakistan, it is also concerned with China.?Indian leaders shun suggestions they should cap or even reduce@their nuclear and conventional arms production when they face a@Chinese force which is superior in both kinds of weapons.  What7becomes clearer, Secretary Perry declared, is that theBIndia-Pakistan tension is tied to other larger regional problems.?He emphasized the difficulty in getting any nation to agree to:limit its arms production when neighbors, or even distant?countries with whom they have conflicting interests, refuse tocooperate.5   Baker Spring is a senior defense analyst with the9Washington-based Heritage Foundation and a specialist in
disarmament.A   Mr. Spring thinks the United States might be overreaching andBmaking commitments in the subcontinent it might find difficult tomeet:B   "it's certainly an ambitious agenda.  I would say that we haveAto be very cautious about what sort of commitments we would make@in order to advance that agenda.  In other words, we may end by@assuming burdens and risks that we would not want because we do>not know what the long-term intentions of the two antagonistsare."A   In the question period that followed William Perry's address,?he was asked how the collapse of the Soviet Union had affected"plans for the United States' next8   "We have made major reductions in our weapons systemBdevelopment and production program," said Perry.  "In our nuclearAprogram, for example, we are spending this year about a third of?what we spent on a yearly basis ten years ago. At this time we=are not developing or producing any ICBM's (intercontinentalAballistic missiles).  In the conventional area, there has been aAmajor reduction, not only in the size of our production program,Bbut we also have an R&D developing weapons systems pointed ten to=15 years in the future because we do not see a threat from a#major power any sooner than that."9   Secretary Perry was also asked how he viewed Russia's,interests in the Indian subcontinent today:A   "I think Russia's interests in the subcontinent at this pointBin history are defensive in nature; that is concerned with drugs,?and arms, and guerrillas flowing from Afghanistan into Central;Asian republics and possibly into Russia as well.  They're?concerned with countries in South Asia, in particular Iran and@perhaps Afghanistan, destabilizing the Central Asian republics,>Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, and that that destabilization would@eventually effect them in Russia. I do not think that they have=any aggressive interests in the subcontinent.  And certainly4nothing they are doing manifests such an interest."   ---------------   ---------------%   WALESA ACCEPTS NEW PRIME MINISTER   WAYNE COREY
   VIENNA:   The political crisis in Poland has eased.  It has been?announced in Warsaw that Polish President Lech Walesa does notBoppose the ruling coalition's candidate to replace Prime MinisterValdemar Pawlak.?   A presidential spokesman says Mr. Walesa does not object to:the speaker of parliament, former communist Jozef Oleksy, becoming Polish prime minister.B   The ruling Two-Party coalition in Warsaw dumped Prime Minister>Waldemar Pawlak after Mr. Walesa demanded that he be replaced%because he was weak and ineffective.@   The president had threatened to dissolve parliament to clearAthe way for new elections.  Members of parliament had said there?was no constitutional basis to dissolve the legislature.  They+warned that Mr. Walesa might be impeached.<   With no reason for a confrontation now, the president is;expected to meet soon with the prime minister-designate to6discuss the government to be formed and its policies.8   Jozef Oleksy was a member of Poland's last communist=government. He will be the first member of the former Polish6United Workers Party to lead a democratic government.9   But, he occupies a position on the reform wing of the@democratic left alliance.  All indications are that, unlike the?outgoing prime minister, he genuinely favors a market economy.A   Meanwhile, President Walesa could find his popularity growing>if the new government can put Poland on a more consistent and!dynamic path of economic growth.B   A higher standing in the public opinion polls will, obviously,Bbenefit Mr. Walesa if, as expected, he seeks re-election when his?first term as Polish president expires at the end of the year.   ---------------   ---------------   RUSSIAN MINERS GO ON STRIKE   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOW=   Half a million Russian coal miners have gone on strike toBprotest months of unpaid back wages.  The miners threaten further&strikes if their demands are not met.=   About 80 percent of Russia's coal miners took part in the<one-day work stoppage, the first nationwide strike in post-Soviet Russia.B   Many miners have not been paid since October.  Union officialsBsay the government has until march first to pay the equivalent of-more than 600-million dollars in back wages.A   The workers threaten  to go on a longer strike if the Kremlin@fails to meet the deadline.  Some union officials say they alsoBwill picket the Russian government building, or White House, here+in Moscow and demand the government resign=   first deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais has indicated?Russia will pay half the sum.  An aide to Mr. Chubais said the=government simply does not have enough money to pay the full:amount, and accused the miners of refusing to compromise.@   Lack of funds also is the government argument for balking at?another key demand of the coal miners.  An economic adviser to?Russia's president says subsidies to the mining industry wouldAundermine attempts to pass a budget for 1995.  In remarks to the@Interfax News Agency, Alexander Livshytz says if the governmentAgave the two-and-half-billion dollars worth of subsidies miners'@are asking for, it would open the floodgates to similar demandsfrom other state sectors.@   The ailing coal mining industry has been under pressure from@foreign creditors to reform.  The World Bank has offered a cash?incentive if the government closes more than 25 percent of themines.?   Russia has been increasingly caught between reforming state=sectors and trying to stem the growing tide of unemployment.?   The result has been, in numerous cases, what is called hereAthe non-payment crisis, state workers keep their jobs, they justdo not  get paid.>   In areas where there is only one industry, the non-payment=crisis is particularly hard felt.  In some mining towns, for;example, virtually everyone goes without salaries, so even*neighbors and friends are unable to help.B   But miners have been able to rally together and bring pressure@on the government before.  Nationwide strikes at the end of the?Soviet era helped hasten the political demise of Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev.   ---------------   ---------------6   RUSSIA COMPLAINS ABOUT STIFFER IMF LOAN CONDITIONS   ELIZABETH ARROTT
   MOSCOW;   A top finance official in Russia says the InternationalBMonetary Fund has stiffened loan conditions for Russia. The IMF's@proposed radical plan comes as Russia is increasingly less ableto meet those demands.A   The finance official said the IMF wants to bring inflation in@Russia down to one percent a month, a radical goal in a country=where monthly inflation now runs at an estimated 17 percent.B   First Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Vavilov told reporters inAMoscow, Russia has already signed three agreements with the IMF,>and each time, conditions grew tougher.   Mr. Vavilov did not:give a time frame for the drastic reduction in inflation.@   At stake in this round of negotiations is a stand-by loan of?more than six billion dollars.  Loan talks between Russian and>IMF officials ended without agreement earlier this week.  TheAhead of the fund, Michel Camdessus, said he is not yet reassuredBMoscow can meet IMF conditions, but expressed hope an accord willeventually be reached.A   The agency has indicated it wants Russian lawmakers to pass a<budget for 1995 that is capable of bringing inflation underBcontrol.  Moscow's draft budget relies heavily on the IMF loan to:curb deficit spending. Mr. Vavilov downplayed this week'sBinconclusive talks, saying the sides simply decided to take a twoBweek break, the IMF to work out technical details, Moscow to make:final decisions on the proposals.  He said he expected to>complete negotiations by the end of the month or early march.A   The deputy finance minister pointed to several IMF conditionsAthat Moscow has already met, including the liberalization of theBoil trade.  But he said the basic economic performance indicatorsAmeaning inflation now the highest in a year and the ruble at its@lowest point ever, have made meeting conditions more difficult.B   Mr. Vavilov acknowledged the two sides also discussed the costAof Russia's military campaign in the breakaway Chechen Republic.?The IMF had expressed concern about the war and its effects onBclosing Russia's budget gap.  Rebuilding Chechnya is estimated at9more than one billion dollars.  Officials have given  no4indication how much the campaign itself is costing.A   Russian critics of the war have asked the IMF to withhold theAloan, fearing it would in effect subsidize the bloody offensive.   ---------------   --------------->   BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT WINS SMALL VICTORY IN THE SENATE   JIM MALONE
   SENATEB   Supporters of a constitutional amendment to require a balancedAfederal budget won a small victory in the U.S. Senate Wednesday.@   Democrats were insisting that before they vote on a balanced:budget amendment Republicans first specify the government@programs they would cut in order to balance the budget in sevenyears.:   Democrat John Breaux says it is unfair for the federal:government to mandate spending cuts without telling state(governments where those cuts will come:<   "If it (the balanced budget amendment) is good enough to@balance the budget in the year 2002, let the states see it. Let@them have an opportunity to vote (ratify the amendment) knowing?how we are going to balance that budget.  How can we send thisBamendment to the states (for approval) and not let them know what1the plan is and how we are going to achieve it."@   But Republicans fought off the attempt by Democrats to forceAthem to come up with a seven-year budget plan by a vote of 56 to44.:   Republican Orin Hatch says democratic opponents of theBbalanced budget amendment in the Senate are doing everything they>can to defeat the amendment which must pass with a two-thirds majority, or sixty-seven votes:=   "We are killing the American dream and we are killing our@children's future. We have got to cut the waste, we have got to>cut the fat and we have go to do it through a discipline that@only the balanced budget amendment will bring to us.  And if we;do not do that, I just worry about the country and so doeseverybody else."@   Democrats are now pushing for a vote on another amendment in:the balanced budget debate which would protect the socialAsecurity retirement fund from any cuts resulting from passage ofBa balanced budget amendment. Democrats are hoping fear of cuts in@social security will help defeat the balanced budget amendment.>Republicans oppose the amendment (on social security), saying+they have no plans to cut social security.B   Senator Hatch says supporters of the balanced budget amendment;are still two votes short of the sixty-seven they need for:passage, and that both those votes will have to come fromdemocrats.   ---------------   ---------------"   SENATE REACTION TO CIA NOMINEE   JIM MALONE
   SENATE?   President Clinton's choice to head the Central Intelligence@Agency, retired air force General Michael Carns, is receiving a%qualified endorsement from Congress.@   Most lawmakers seem impressed with General Carns' resume but9are withholding final judgment until Senate confirmation
hearings.6   Republican Arlen Specter is chairman of the Senate=Intelligence Committee which will conduct the hearings SAYS:>   "At first blush (look), General Carns looks to be a man of?character and qualification.  I would not want to say anythingBdefinitive until we go through the confirmation process.  We have@to put him under a  microscope because the position of director9of Central Intelligence Agency is very, very important.":   Senator Specter says General Carns can expect a lot of>questions on how he sees the role of the Central Intelligence#Agency in the post cold-war world:B   "I think there is going to be some probing questioning (in the=hearings) in terms of his interest in and capability to makeAsignificant changes in the Central Intelligence Agency.  I think@we will be very interested in what his sense of mission is, how@strong he is going to be, how much presidential backing he has,what he is prepared to do."?   lawmakers are most interested to find out how General CarnsAwill seek to improve the CIA in the wake of the Aldrich Ames spy>case in which a veteran intelligence officer was convicted of@selling secrets to Moscow.  According to Intelligence Committeechairman Arlen Specter:?   "How can your major spy agency function with a spy in their>midst that they could not detect? And what is it that General:Carns is going to do to address that?  How is he going toAfunction going into that agency which has its unique culture and"how is he going to deal with it?"B   Senator Specter says he also wants General Carns' views on his@(Specter's) plans for consolidating U.S. intelligence services,7including the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency.B   Former CIA director Robert Gates says General Carns is, in his:words, a terrific appointment.  The chairman of the House?Intelligence Committee, Republican Larry Combest, says he willAnot quibble with the Carns appointment while the top Democrat onBthe committee, Congressman Norm Dicks, predicts he will be easilyconfirmed by the Senate.   ---------------   ---------------'   U.S. ADVANCE TROOPS LAND IN SOMALIA   ALEX BELIDA   NAIROBI=   Two hovercraft carrying an advance party of U.S. military?personnel arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Wednesday.?The arrival signals the start of the final phase of the United Nations' pull-out from Somalia.B   U.N. spokesman George bennett says the two hovercraft carryingAa small American military advance contingent landed on the beach%at Mogadishu airport in the morning.A   Mr. Bennett says the advance party carried communications and<other equipment from the U.S. naval task force assembled toAsafeguard the U.N. withdrawal from Somalia.  He says the command:ship of the fleet was visible offshore for the first timeWednesday.@   The arrival of the two hovercraft appears to have taken someBU.N. officials by surprise, although spokesman bennett says smallBgroups of other American military personnel have been flying into7Mogadishu in recent days by both plane and helicopter.?   Somali leaders have promised to cooperate with the U.S. and=other foreign governments in ensuring the U.N. pull-out fromAMogadishu is a peaceful one.  But Mr. Bennett says a top aide toAfaction leader Mohamed Farah Aideed Wednesday denounced the U.S.%amphibious landing as a provocation.A   A Somali reporter says loudspeaker mounted vehicles driven by?supporters of General Aideed were heard in the capital, urging=Somalis to oppose what were termed the new colonialists from7America who, it was charged, are invading the country.A   Despite this, the U.N. spokesman says Mogadishu remains quiet:and there has been no new fighting between rival clans or@factions. Mr. Bennett says the withdrawal of U.N. personnel andBassets is going smoothly and at a pace that is either on or ahead
of schedule.B   All but a handful of international relief workers have alreadyBleft Mogadishu and most U.N. civilian employees expect to be gone@within the next two weeks.  All U.N. forces are to be withdrawnbefore the end of next month.@   The spokesman says the only current problem involves efforts?by Somali gangs to steal U.N. property.  Looters ransacked theBmain U.N. headquarters compound just hours after it was abandoned>recently by peacekeeping forces.  All U.N. personnel have now;withdrawn to airports and seaports. But the spokesman says8thieves are still managing to find their way into thesefacilities.B   Many U.N. and foreign officials expect major fighting to break?out when U.N. troops finally depart as rival Somali groups vie%for control of the air and seaports.<   However, in what diplomatic sources call a hopeful sign,;General Aideed and his archrival, faction leader Ali MadhiAMohamed, have each agreed to send representatives to a so-calledBjoint port operations negotiating committee.  The sources say theAaim of the committee is to make possible an orderly and peaceful>transfer of the air and seaports from U.N. to Somali control.<   In addition to the U.S. forces that arrived in Mogadishu;Wednesday, the top U.N. official in charge of peacekeepingBoperations also flew in to the Somali capital.  According to U.N.=spokesman bennett, Kofi Annan is paying a final, brief visit&before the U.N. operation shuts down.   ---------------   ---------------%   NEW YORK BOMBING CONSPIRACY TRIAL   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORK<   The trial of sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian Muslim>cleric, and 10 others accused of plotting to bomb several NewBYork city landmarks, continued Wednesday as prosecutors presented?witnesses to prove Sheik Omar and his followers waged a war of(urban terror against the United States.:   The court session began with sheik Omar Abdel Rahman's@attorney again asking Judge Michael Mukasey (moo-casey) to ruleBon her request for a mistrial.  She made her request after one of<the defendants, Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali pleaded guilty on?Monday to all the conspiracy charges against him and agreed toAcooperate with the government.  Judge Mukasey again did not rule(on the request and the trial continued.B   Ari Gottesmann, a college student, testified in graphic detailBhow he saw one of the defendants, El Sayyid Nosair, shoot radical.Jewish Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York in 1990.?   Nosair was acquitted of Rabbi Kahane's murder but was foundAguilty on related weapons charges.  He was sentenced to 22 yearsBin prison.  Prosecutors are trying to show that the assassinationAof Rabbi Kahane was part of a larger terrorism conspiracy scheme>designed to force the United States to change its Middle East
policies.5   There was also testimony from a Bederal Bureau of?Investigation agent who said he took photographs of Nosair andAthree of the World Trade Center bombers firing assault rifles at?a shooting range in 1989.  The photos were taken as part of an:FBI surveillance of the leaders of a Muslim relief agencyBsuspected of funneling arms and money to Muslims fighting against(the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan.B   The U.S. Government is trying to prove that sheik Omar was the?spiritual leader of the "Jihad Organization," a radical Muslim9terrorist group responsible for planning assassinations,kidnapings and bombings.A   Government prosecutors say Siddig Ali was the mastermind of a;plot to bomb several New York landmarks including the U.N.?building.  They also say he helped to plan the 1993 bombing ofthe World Trade Center.=   If Sheik Omar and his 10 followers are convicted on these?conspiracy charges they could spend the rest of their lives inprison.   -------------   ---------------C   ISRAEL ASKS CHRISTOPHER TO INTERVENE IN PEACE EFFORT WITH SYRIA   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENT=   Israel has asked Secretary of State Warren Christopher to?return to the Middle East soon to try to revive the deadlockedpeace process with Syria.@   Secretary of State Christopher has not visited Jerusalem andBDamascus since early December and the talks he has been mediating=between Israel and Syria appear to have declined into mutualrecriminations.<   Visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres urged the1Secretary of State to return to the region soon.@   Mr. Peres spoke with reporters before meeting with Secretary%Christopher at the State Department:A   "I think his contributions are outstanding. Recently, we miss1you a little bit. We hope you will return soon."?   For his part, Secretary Christopher says January was one ofAthe few months he has not visited the Middle East and he expects9to return soon when the parties think the time is right.@   The Secretary of State will be the host for a meeting Sunday@with Mr. Peres and the foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan asBwell as Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Yasser Arafat.  They will tryBto negotiate details of the commitments made at last week's Cairosummit meeting.   ---------------   ---------------7   SOME ASPECTS OF U.S./CHINA TRADE GOES ON UNAFFECTED   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON<   Despite the prospects of a trade war with China over the9piracy of intellectual property rights the United StatesBcontinues doing business with Beijing on other fronts. China willAnot only be able to buy more U.S. wheat but an American businessAdelegation heads to Beijing later this month (Feb.15) is looking3for deals that could be worth billions of dollars:@   The U.S. Agriculture Department says under an export subsidyAprogram China can purchase an additional one million metric tons=of wheat.  China, with a burgeoning population and a boomingAeconomy, has to turn increasingly to imports to meet its growing
food demand.>   Beijing has already purchased its original allocation this<market year of three million metric tons of U.S. subsidized<wheat. However, it faces a shortage of available wheat fromdrought-stricken Australia.@   The announcement by the Agriculture Department came just one7day after China and the United States agreed to resume@negotiations in Beijing next Monday (2/13) to avert a potential=trade war. Their disagreement stems from U.S. allegations ofBwidespread pirating of U.S. intellectual property rights in ChinaAon such products as computer programs, movies and compact discs.9   A Clinton Administration official insists there is noBinconsistency of policy saying tariffs cover only a small portion:of the 50-billion dollars in annual trade between the twocountries.<   At the same time, U.S. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary is=planning to head a delegation of U.S. business executives toAChina later this month hoping to sign energy-related deals worthup to eight billion dollars.   ---------------   ---------------E   DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS ASKING FOR 20 MORE "STEALTH" BOMBERS   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTONA   The U.S. Defense Department says it has undertaken a study to>consider whether to ask Congress to fund an additional 20 B-2@radar-evading "stealth" bombers. A senior defense official says?the 20 B-2's could cost as much as 30 billion dollars to build"and maintain over their lifetime.>   Some Congressional critics say the ultra-sophisticated B-29program is unnecessary in the post-cold war era.  Still,=Undersecretary of Defense Paul Kaminski says the Pentagon isBstudying the need for another 20 of the bat-wing, shaped bombers.4The air force currently plans to purchase 20 of the'Northrop-Grumman aircraft corporation.A   Mr. Kaminski says the study, to be completed in mid-April, isBtimely because the B-2 production line is close to completing the?first 20 B-2's and could soon shut down for lack of work. At a@cost of 125-million dollars, the study will review the AmericanAheavy bomber force including B-2's, B-1's and aging B-52's.  TheAmoney, appropriated by Congress last year, is also to be used to;keep the B-2 production line open and suppliers available.A   Mr. Kaminski says the study will determine whether more B-2's@are needed to help U.S. forces meet their goal of being capable;of fighting two major regional conflicts at the same time.   ---------------   ---------------2   ASIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH CAUSES TROUBLE FOR U.S.   ART CHIMES   WASHINGTONA   Economic growth in Asia has been dramatic in recent years andBmany U.S. companies have looked east for suppliers and customers.9The expanding economies in Japan, China, India and other7countries have brought problems as well as prosperity.>   As China has industrialized, it has increasingly come into@conflict with the west, and the United States in particular.  A?few years ago the key issue was human rights.  That remains an:issue, but lately the focus has been on Chinese piracy of=computer software, music recordings, videos and other items.=   Deputy U.S. trade representative Charlene Barshefsky says?Washington views the intellectual property rights situation in@China very seriously.  She says the problem is not with China'sAlaws, which she described as "world class." But she says Beijing<is not enforcing those laws.  Some of the biggest copyright@violators in China, she says, are producing counterfeit compact(music) discs:B   "There are 29 CD factories operating in the south of China, 15=in Guangdong alone, that produce 75-million pirated CDs, LDs?[laser discs], and CD-Roms every year, 70-million of which areAexported annually.  Large shipments have been confiscated as faraway as Canada."=   Speaking to a business group, the National Association ofBManufacturers, in Washington, Ms. Barshefsky says China must take<decisive action against the factories producing the pirated/products, and not just punish small retailers.?   The United States is set to impose sanctions on China later@this month [feb. 26], and China is responding with sanctions of	its own.9   The dispute with China will be the subject of further>negotiations, but a senior Asian diplomat in Washington warns9that unilateral actions, such as the imposition of tradeAsanctions, are not appreciated on the other side of the Pacific.?   Hiroshi Hashimoto, a minister at the Japanese embassy here,'calls for a more cooperative approach:B   "The United States should think seriously on how to skillfullyAreplace unilateralism with multilateral cooperation.  Free trade@is like a moving bicycle: Unless it is continuously pedaled, itwill fall over.":   That view has support in Congress.  This is Republican@Congressman Douglas Bereuter (pron. Bee-rye-ter) who chairs the:key Asia-Pacific panel in the House International AffairsCommittee:;   "I think we have to resist the impulse to isolate those=countries with which we disagree.  And certainly we must not?follow the tendency, perhaps of some, to create a new enemy in%the region by demonizing a country."@   Asia has become a problem because of its spectacular growth.AChina, India and other countries want to follow in the footstepsBof South Korea, Taiwan and other emerging economies that have, inAturn, followed Japan.  As perhaps the most successful economy inAthe region, Japan has been something of a model, rising from the?ashes of World War II and prospering despite the oil crisis of2the 1970s and a doubling of the value of the yen.A   Prospects for Asia seem limitless.  But Washington journalistAand veteran Asia-watcher James Fallows warns that the conditionsAthat paved the way for Asia's economic growth in the past couple%of decades may not continue forever:9   "That growth, in my view, has depended on two crucialBcontributions from the United States.  One is the U.S. serving as;ultimate market. ... Second is depended on the [U.S. navy]:seventh fleet to keep the Koreans from worrying about theAJapanese from worrying about the Chinese from worrying about the@Vietnamese.  And there's been this buffer of the seventh fleet.@Those conditions, which have greatly facilitated growth in East9Asia, become harder and harder to maintain as the growthcontinues."@   For the moment, however, policy-makers are focused on issues@such as piracy and human rights that stand in the way of trade.:Business leaders see huge markets and low-cost production<facilities.  But as James Fallows suggests, Asia's dramatic<economic growth in recent years may not go on indefinitely.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. BUDGET OVERVIEW   ANDREW BAIRD   WASHINGTONB   President Clinton's 1996 government  budget calls for spendingAalmost one-point six-trillion dollars ($1,600,000,000,000).  Now?the President's plan for raising money and spending it will beBsubjected to the competing goals of a Republican-led Congress.  A<lively debate is anticipated since so many Republicans have7committed themselves to dramatically lowering, or even>eliminating the nation's budget deficit during the next sevenyears.A   President Clinton's one-point-six trillion dollar 1996 budget9is certain to be altered in negotiations with lawmakers.A   The President calls for 63 billion dollars in tax cuts over a>five year period, but he projects deficits in the 200 billion>dollar range through the year 2000.  Analysts say that in the>current political environment, President Clinton will have to>battle with Republican leaders in Congress who want to reduce?taxes even further, even while making stringent cuts to shrink!the budget deficit dramatically.>   David Wessel is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who>covers the budget process.  He says that the President may beApositioning himself to avoid blame for cutting popular programs:>   "I think that the president has decided that the political=rewards of cutting the deficit much further aren't worth the=political risk.  So he has taken a budget and said that he's?basically going to let the deficit be what it is.  He's hopingAthe Republicans will be forced to come forward and say they wantBto cut medicare, they want to cut farm programs.  They want to do3the unpopular thing, so he can blame them for it."@   The U.S. Government spends most of the nation's tax revenues>on a few big programs.  In Mr. Clinton's 1996 budget, defense>spending drops slightly, but stays at about 16 percent of theAtotal, or 262 billion dollars.  Social security, the old age andBsurvivors benefit programs, remains at 22 percent, or 351 billionAdollars. Healthcare spending for the elderly and poor, which has:been growing rapidly during the last decade, remains at aArelatively high 16 percent of the total, or 257 billion dollars.B   Annual interest on the four-and-a-half trillion dollar federal>debt rises from 15 percent to 16 percent of the total, or 257;billion dollars.  Everything else the government does, law<enforcement, scientific research, welfare, construction and:environmental projects, and other programs, shares in theAremaining 28 percent of the budget, or approximately 450 billion	dollars.A   The U.S. budget was last balanced in 1969.  Big problems withBbudget deficits had their root in the late 1970s, but exploded in=the 1980s when the government cut income taxes while greatly>increasing defense spending.  In addition, a recession in theBearly 1980s reduced revenues, raising the deficit and forcing the6government to pay more interest on the national debt.?   The President's budget, which he sends to Congress in early?February, is only a proposal.  Only after the Congress passes,?and the President signs, new spending bills has the government)legislated its budget plan for the year.B   Analysts say that even if lawmakers are successful in amending;the U.S. constitution to require the federal government to@balance its books by the year 2002, they will find it extremely=difficult to put the nation's financial house in order afterdecades of deficit-spending.;   Reporter David Wessel says it is still an open question<whether Congress can engage in a bi-partisan effort to curb;costly entitlements such as medicare which are driving the
deficits:B   "The Republicans clearly will have to cut medicare in order to>come any where close to balancing the budget. The President'sAline on this is that he is in favor of saving money on medicare,:but only in the context of overall reform of the AmericanBhealthcare system.  That gives him a little maneuvering room, but>I think that for now, people are positioning themselves for a@political argument than for the kind of bi-partisan cooperation8that is required to do something as unpopular as that.";   The budget process is already contentious.  On Tuesday,?Senator Hank Brown, a Republican from Colorado and a member of@the Senate Budget Committee, accused the Clinton Administration:of producing phony numbers on its 1996 budget proposal by8overstating economic growth and understating inflation.@   Laura Tyson, chairman of the President's Council of Economic;Advisors, angrily defended the budget saying it provided a?balanced approach of deficit reduction, tax relief for averageAAmericans, and necessary investment in training and education to@make the United States competitive in the future.  Analysts say?that with the two sides so suspicious of each other's motives,;the argument between Mr. Brown and Ms. Tyson could come to4symbolize budget deliberations in the months ahead.   ---------------   ---------------"   U.S. MILITARY CURRENT PROBLEMS   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON=   With the end of the cold war and the demise of the SovietAUnion, the U.S. military establishment is facing questions aboutAits size, strategy and future role.  U.S. defense analyst Harlan>Ullman has written a book entitled, "In Irons:  U.S. Military=Might in the New Century" published by London's Royal UnitedServivces Institute.@   Mr. Ullman's has specific views about the strategic problems8facing the defense establishment as it reduces in size.;   The U.S. defense establishment has undergone four major@military reductions since the end of World War II.  The current@one began under the Bush Administration and is continuing underPresident Bill Clinton.B   Harlan Ullman, senior defense analyst with the center of naval?analyses in Washington, DC, says this downsizing is unlike any?other in American post-war history.  He says the reason is the=demise of the Soviet Union has eliminated the major militarythreat to the United States.:   Mr. Ullman says this lack of a unifying threat poses a+fundamental problem for the United States:>   "In many ways, the Americans need a villain about which toBrally, about which to be disciplined.  We had that in hitler.  We?had that in World War II.  We saw the same thing in the SovietAUnion.  We like the evil person, Saddam Hussein became that evilAperson.  There are lots of evil people but none of the magnitudeA(of the Soviet Union), so, we have nothing about which to centerour (defense) planning."<   Mr. Ullman says without a palpable and plausible threat,?maintaining a sizable and consistent level of defense spending;will remain among the most elusive of national objectives:@   "The threat, in a massive way, is gone.  We can talk about a?future Korean war.  We can talk about Iraq and Iran, but these?are really not seen by the American public as threats that are@going to do great harm or injury to the United States.  As longAas we do not have that threat, maintaining the rationale and the:legitimacy for a large measure of defense spending, in myjudgment, will be impossible."<   With the Soviet threat non-existent, Mr. Ullman says the;Clinton Administration must review its overall defense and5strategic thinking in the light of a changing world.9   But Mr. Ullman says the Defense Department is getting-absolutely no guidance from the White House:@   "When you take a look, internationally, it is very difficult>to come up with a strategy because strategy needs objectives.AObjectives like "ensuring stability" or "peace" or "rule of law">are so open-ended that nobody is going to disagree with those?objectives, but how do you put them into practice?  How do youBsay maintaining stability equates to this level of military force8or this budget?  And I think we have to spend more timeBintellectualizing and conceptualizing what our objectives are and>what our strategies are so that we can better define what our!forces and budgets ought to be."@   Last November, the Republican Party swept to victory in U.S.9Congressional elections, gaining control of the House ofARepresentatives as well as the Senate.  The Republican viewpoint9expressed in a pamphlet entitled "Contract for America",?promised, among other things, an increase in defense spending.9   But Mr. Ullman says apparently, that will not happen:@   "The House Armed Services Committee, which is now called the9House National Security Committee, came forward with its>authorization bill.  Defense spending was not increased.  The@reason it was not increased is very simple:  What's the threat?=What do you need a million and a half people in uniform for?AThere is  no threat.  You cannot go back to your constituents at<home and say: 'I have got to take money out of your pockets>because we are afraid of', what are you afraid of? What's the	threat?"?   The defense analyst says the U.S. military establishment is@facing a White House and a Congress focusing their attention on?domestic issues, and they see no political gain in re-thinkingAthe strategic role of the American armed forces.  But Mr. Ullman?says such a reassessment must take place, otherwise over time,@the U.S. armed forces will lose their morale, their credibilityand their fighting power.   ---------------   ---------------1   U.S. OFFICIALLY OPENS LIAISON OFFICE IN HANOI   DAVID BUTLER   BANGKOKA   The United States formally opened its liaison office in Hanoi@Wednesday.  A low-key flag-raising ceremony marked the officialAstart of normal relations between the United States and Vietnam.<   The small group of American officials stationed in HanoiBwatched from inside their offices as the American flag was raised@on the terrace of their third-floor suite in a nine-story Hanoioffice building.=   The simple ceremony marked the first time a U.S. flag has?flown officially in Vietnam since the end of the war, 20 yearsago.@   It also marked the first time a U.S. flag has flown in Hanoi:since communist forces took over from the French in 1955.>   President Clinton said the United States and Vietnam would@open liaison offices in each other's capitals when he ended the;U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam, a year ago this month.?   U.S. officials announced the establishment of the office in=Hanoi late last month.  The formal opening was delayed until?Wednesday, so as not to conflict with the Vietnamese lunar newyear holidays.?   A small U.S. delegation charged with helping to resolve the<fates of American servicemen listed as missing in action in?Vietnam has occupied part of the same office suite since 1992.:Under the terms of the agreement opening that office, the!American flag was not displayed.B   President Clinton has said that full diplomatic relations with:Vietnam will not be established until the Vietnamese have=supplied the fullest possible accounting of the missing men.=   The fates of more than 2,200 American servicemen who went?missing in Southeast Asia during the war are still unresolved.AMore than 1,700 of the men are missing in Vietnam or its waters.   ---------------   ---------------   ZIMBABWE DROUGHT   LAWRENCE BARTLETT
   HARARE?   Several countries in Southern Africa are facing a crippling9drought this year, just three years after the region was@devastated by the worst drought in living memory.  Food experts=warn that harvests will fall far short of national needs and.large-scale cereal imports will be necessary.?   The crop failures forecast by the early warning unit of theB11-nation Southern African development community, or SADC are badAnews for a region where some economies are still recovering from+the last drought in the 1991 to 92 season.;   Mr. John Rook, the chief technical adviser to the early@warning unit, says that among the worst hit countries this time3around are Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.@   Ms. Nicole menage, country director of the U.N.'s world food?programme in Zimbabwe, says a decision has been made to make a?special early appeal for funds to assist these four countries.?   Lesotho, which expects to harvest just nine percent of last=year's staple maize crop, already has declared an emergency.:   Mr. Rook said that South Africa, the region's economic?powerhouse, was predicting a drop of up to 50 percent in maize<production compared to last year, which saw a good harvest.@   Zimbabwe's normal crop of around two million tonnes of maize;could also be cut by about half unless there is a dramatic@improvement in the rains, which have so far been patchy, before the end of the season in April.A   Zimbabwe's social welfare minister, Mr. John Nkomo, predicted=last week that nearly half of the country's population of 10=million people would need drought relief food aid this year.A   He said Zimbabwe had adequate reserves of maize to feed those>in need, but as in many other countries in the region, a poor;agricultural season will have a knock-on effect throughoutAZimbabwe's agriculture-based economy.  The last drought is often9cited as having been a major setback to Zimbabwe's worldAbank-backed economic structural adjustment programme, which aimsto establish a market economy.>   Mr. Rook said the region as a whole would probably need to?import around four million tonnes of maize, most of it sourcedBfrom abroad as previous exporters such as South Africa,Malawi and&Zimbabwe would have nothing to spare.A   While the drought will certainly cause hardships, experts say?widespread starvation can be avoided through early action in aAregion which, with the end of the wars in Mozambique and Angola,8is at peace for the first time in around three decades.   ---------------   ---------------2   CLINTON STRATEGY TO REDUCE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION   JIM FULLER   WASHINGTONB   President Clinton has outlined an immigration control strategyBthat includes use of state-of-the-art technology to crack down on=illegal border crossers and measures that make it harder for1illegal aliens to get jobs in the United States.@   Clinton, joined by several Cabinet officials, told reporters<February 7 that his budget for fiscal year 1996 adds $1,000:million in new resources to control U.S. borders, enforce>workplace rules, deport more criminal aliens and provide moreAmoney for border states burdened with the costs of incarcerating/illegal aliens and providing medical services.B   Also as part of the new initiative, the president will shortlyAsubmit to Congress an immigration bill that, among other things,9authorizes a national employment verification system and:substantially increases penalties for alien smuggling andimmigration document fraud.B   The president also signed an executive order directing federal7agencies to give priority to efforts to reduce illegal
immigration.<   "We need help from the Congress to implement this plan,"BClinton said. "I want Congress to move quickly on this issue just0as we have move quickly on a number of fronts."A   Attorney General Janet Reno called the budget and legislative=packages "vital resources...that will help us to continue to=reverse the failed immigration policies and practices of thepast."A   The 1996 budget would allocate $93 million in new spending to?hire additional workplace investigators to focus on industries@that have historically attracted illegal workers, and to expandAefforts to identify illegal workers by making existing documents1and Social Security cards counterfeit resistant.@   "With this budget and legislation...we will be able to crackBdown on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants," ClintonBsaid.  "If we turn off the employment stream for illegal workers,>far, far fewer of them will risk the difficult journey here."?   Labor Secretary Robert Reich said that the garment industry@hires the greatest number of illegal immigrants.  He said large>numbers also work in agriculture and construction, as well as
restaurants.?   Reich said that many illegal aliens are employed in what heBcalled "sweat shops" reminiscent of work conditions in the 1890s.<He said these workers often put in 12-hour days doing "back?breaking" work for meager wages, with no safety or ventilationequipment.A   "These sweat shops are the magnet for many illegal immigrants<in major metropolitan areas," he said.  "We are developing,Bunfortunately, in this country Third World worksites populated by7Third World workers. And we have to crack down on it."A   The proposed budget calls for $369 million in new spending to>hire 1,700 additional border guards and customs inspectors toBcurtail illegal crossings in critical areas, especially along the@Southwest border of the United States.  The money would also be=used to install automated equipment to crack down on illegalborder crossers.>   The president said he has directed the attorney general toBmaximize the use of border patrol strategies that are proving the?most effective, including the use of helicopters, night scopesand all-terrain vehicles.@   Clinton also pointed to the accomplishments made in the last=two years through the strengthening of border controls at El:Paso, Texas; San Diego, California; and Nogales, Arizona.?   "By the end of 1996, our administration will have increased=overall border personnel by 51 percent since 1993," he said.A"These initiatives are making a substantial difference.  Illegal?immigration is down. Crime is down.  My budget and immigration"strategy builds on that success.";   The budget also recommends the introduction of a borderAservices fee for people entering the country by land from Mexico?or Canada.  Officials said that the fee, which would go towardAinstalling new technology to ease traffic congestion at ports ofAentry, would be similar to tolls paid by commuters using bridgesor toll roads.@   Clinton said that the 1996 budget would ask for $178 million?in new funds to double the deportation of criminal aliens next?year and triple the number of deportations through 1996.  This?would mean deporting an estimated 111,280 aliens by the end of)next year as compared to 37,041 in 1993.A   The budget allocates $300 million to reimburse several statesBfor the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens convicted of crimesA-- an increase of $170 million over last year.  It also earmarks=$150 million to help states pay for medical costs of illegal'aliens and $100 million for education.<   The states having the worst illegal immigration problemsBinclude California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, New Yorkand Illinois.   ---------------   ---------------9   U.S. VIEWS ON EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE DETAILED   DAVID PITTS   WASHINGTON:   The U.S. strategy for building a new European securityAarchitecture was launched "to make sure the countries of Central@Europe, in particular, but also throughout Europe, have a sense@that there is a structure, there is cooperation, and there is a>certain predictability in your relationships, so that you can=count on peace and stability in the future," Ambassador JohnBKornblum, senior deputy assistant secretary of state for European'and Canadian affairs, said February 7.7   Kornblum said the strategy is based on the eventualAenlargement of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and theAEuropean Union (EU), and an "enhanced role" for the OrganizationAfor Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  The relationship:with Russia is a fourth element, Kornblum explained.  "WeBcontinue to make sure that the large country of Russia, which has@always been an important part of the European security balance,Ais included in an open and cooperative structure," he said.  "We>wish to include everybody in the area of security, the commonBsecurity space in Europe, rather than exclude anybody," he added.>   Kornblum said that while helping to build the new security:architecture in Europe, the United States will not ignoreBbilateral relations with each of the countries in the region.  HeBstressed the U.S. desire to build "very close bilateral ties withall of the countries" there.<   Asked whether countries would have to join the EU before?becoming a NATO member, Kornblum said, "It is not our position@that you first have to integrate into the European Union beforeAyou can be a member of NATO." He said there are similar, as well6as different criteria, to meet for membership in each@organization.  Both require a commitment to democracy, a marketAeconomy, and civilian control of the military.  But the EU is an@organization aiming for political and economic integration "and>there are important criteria in the economic field, which are"not criteria for NATO," he noted.>   Kornblum made it clear that eventual NATO expansion is not=aimed against any country in Europe.  "NATO is not expanding<because of a fear of any country, or an effort to block any;country.  In fact, exactly the opposite; NATO expansion isAsupposed to be a cooperative effort, and cooperative with Russia$as with anybody else," he remarked.=   Asked if the Budapest summit last December was a failure,@Kornblum labeled the summit a success, particularly with regardBto strengthening the Organization for Security and Cooperation in?Europe (OSCE), the other important element of the new European;security architecture.  OSCE has been given "the political<credibility to play an even more important role in building$security in Europe," Kornblum said.6   The senior U.S. official cited the changing of theAorganization's name (from Conference on Security and CooperationAin Europe or CSCE), the setting up of new permanent consultative<bodies, and "a much stronger mandate" to deal with conflict?prevention and crisis management as examples of steps taken in;Budapest to give OSCE a more important role in the future.=   Kornblum also addressed a question often asked by CentralAEuropeans, one that was asked today a number of times -- are the=U.S. government and the American public committed to helpingACentral Europe develop? Kornblum stressed that the United StatesBis committed to such a role and will remain engaged.  But he said<the U.S. role is inevitably different now than in the yearsBimmediately after World War II.  Then, the United States "was the>only country in the world which had both the strength and the@resources to help defeated and destroyed countries to develop,"+he said; now, others can participate also.;   Asked if major foreign policy disagreements are loomingAbetween the Clinton administration and the Republican-controlledACongress, Kornblum said he sees "no conflict brewing between the=president and the Republican leadership on the priorities offoreign policy."   ---------------   ---------------8   CHEMICAL ARMS TREATY RATIFICATION A CLINTON PRIORITY   JACQUELYN S. PORTH   WASHINGTON5   The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) the ClintonBadministration is now urging the U.S. Senate to ratify, "the mostAfar-reaching and ambitious arms control regime ever negotiated,"4could enter into force by the end of this year, the<administration's top arms control executive told a group ofWashington lawyers February 7.@   Describing the importance of CWC, Director John Holum of the@U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) explained that,>unlike most previous arms treaties, which have merely limitedBpermissible numbers of systems, it "aims at outright elimination"of weapons systems.:   And it "breaks new ground not only in the sweep of its@prohibitions against chemical weapons, but also in the scope ofits verification," he added.B   The convention, Holum said, "seeks to eradicate a scourge thatBhas hung over the world for most of this century" by putting "the@chemical weapons genie back in the bottle" and incinerating thecontainer.<   Under the terms of the convention, which has been signed<already by 159 nations, parties must destroy their chemical=weapons stockpiles and production facilities within 10 yearsBafter the treaty enters into force.  Once all existing stockpiles>have been eliminated, Holum said, "relevant chemical industryBsites must be monitored to ensure that chemical weapons are neveragain produced or acquired.";   Some 25 countries are suspected of stockpiling chemical6weapons or possessing the capability to produce them.>"Significantly," Holum pointed out, "nearly three-quarters of&these countries have signed the CWC."A   President Clinton urged Senate ratification of the CWC in hisAJanuary State of the Union address and has also sent a letter to?senators promoting ratification as "a central element" of U.S.non-proliferation policy.6   Negotiated and concluded under the Reagan and Bush?administrations and now being endorsed for ratification by the5Clinton administration, CWC is "an apt symbol of theAbipartisanship that has characterized American national security-and foreign policy at its best," Holum said.@   So far, 22 nations have ratified the treaty, which was firstBopened for signature in January 1993.  Once the convention enters;into force it prohibits parties from transferring chemical6weapons to other parties or assisting in any chemical;weapons-related activities which are banned under the CWC.B   As an inducement to joining the convention, trade in specified6chemicals -- many of which have legitimate commercial>applications -- with countries that do not join the treaty isBbanned.  In addition, parties in good standing will not only haveAfull access to trade in treaty-controlled chemicals, but will be>eligible "for protective assistance if threatened by chemicalweapons," Holum noted.9   The treaty is supported by what Holum calls "the most?extensive verification regime ever negotiated."  While no arms@control treaty is completely verifiable, he said, the CWC "will<substantially increase the risks of detection" for chemicalBweapons proliferators and will help build "a web of detection and@deterrence and provide grounds to seek sanctions that will makeBchemical weapons substantially less attractive to rogue regimes."=   The convention will make chemical weapons illegal, which,>Holum pointed out, "they are not today" under the 1925 Geneva>Protocol.  The CWC, he said, "will increase the financial andApolitical costs of acquiring or retaining chemical weapons."  It8also contains a mechanism for recommending multilateral>sanctions, he added, "including recourse to the U.N. Security:Council."  And it will increase the odds that clandestine;chemical weapons activity will be detected because it will?increase "significantly our access to information about hiddenchemical weapons programs."A   Treaty ratification is the best way to resolve concerns aboutAthe status of Russia's chemical weapons activities, according to@Holum.  He said the Russian government told him this month that@ratifying the treaty is its "highest arms control priority with?its legislature."  Russia must decide to comply with a legallyBbinding, global regime with sanctions, he said, or risk isolationthrough "worldwide consensus.";   In addition to ratification, every CWC party must enact@implementing legislation.  The Clinton administration submittedAits proposed legislation last year to Congress, where it must be<passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.>   While 22 nations have already ratified the CWC, Holum saidBsome 40 others are actively involved in the ratification process,=and 20 or more are expected to complete that process by May.A   "When we move ahead, we expect the necessary 65 ratifications@to accumulate rapidly, perhaps in as little as 90 days after we@ratify," he said, "so entry into force by the end of this year,Bthe goal set recently by the United Nations secretary general, iswell within reach."   ---------------   ---------------9   BUDGET DEBATE FOCUS: DEFICIT REDUCTION VERSUS TAX CUT"   WARNER ROSE AND THOMAS EICHLER   WASHINGTON>   President Clinton's $1,612,000 million budget proposal hasBprovoked a debate between members of Congress who want to cut the?deficit more and administration officials championing a middle<class tax cut and arguing that successful deficit reduction-requires a broad health care reform program.B   While much of the debate is along partisan lines, with members5of the new Republican majority claiming that ClintonAadministration has given up on deficit reduction, some DemocratsAalso expressed concern that the budget does not seem to continue9the apparently successful efforts of the last two years.<   In defense of the budget proposal, Secretary of Treasury@Robert E. Rubin argued that the Clinton budget maintains fiscal<discipline while providing a tax cut for the large group of:Americans who did not see their incomes rising during theeconomic expansion.@   The middle class tax cut, said Rubin, speaking to the Senate@Budget Committee February 7, would also be the fulfillment of aAClinton campaign promise that was postponed as deficit reduction?took priority in the administration's first budget voted on inJuly 1993.A   The middle class tax cut would cost $63,000 million over five?years and would be "paid for" by spending cuts proposed in theClinton budget.A   The federal budget deficit, which became a serious problem in<the early 1980s, has been declining since a peak in 1992 of:$290,403 million, swelled by a recession that had reduced8revenues and by demands for deposit insurance payments.:   The proposed Clinton budget projects a 1996 deficit ofB$196,671 million, up slightly from the estimated 1995 fiscal year@deficit, and projects continuing deficits in that range throughthe rest of the decade.5   Ruben said the deficit had been reduced as far as@"economically feasible" without health care cost reform.  RubinAand Council of the Economic Adviser Chair Laura Tyson -- also at:the hearing -- both said the administration wants to workB"cooperatively" with the Congress to devise a program to slow the@rise in health care costs.  They noted the failure of Clinton'sBbid last year to get a comprehensive health care plan approved by
Congress.<   Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete V. Dominici of New=Mexico criticized the administration for not making a biggerBeffort to address entitlements.  If the growth in entitlements is?not slowed, "how are we ever going to legitimately address the@budget," he asked.  The administration's budget, he said, "is a"white flag on deficit reduction."=   The various entitlement programs account for more than 609percent of the budget.  The fastest growing programs are7Medicare, health care for the elderly; and Medicaid, a?state/federal program for poorer Americans. During 1994, these;programs grew by 8.6 percent and 8.7 percent respectively,Baccording to a Senate Budget Committee analysis.  While this rate>was slower than the growth the year before, it is nonetheless?faster than the advance of other items in the budget, and much#faster than the economy's g rowth.9   Senator Jim Exon of Nebraska, the committee's rankingADemocrat, criticized Clinton's proposed tax cut, arguing that it=was inconsistent with the administration's deficit reductionAstrategy.  He expressed concern over the posturing on both sidesAover the budget and the deficit, each side waiting for the otherBto make the first move.  He compared the bickering to "the mating:dance of the whooping crane; a lot of movement but no onetouching.">   In the House of Representatives, Budget Committee Chairman;John Kasich also sounded a note of disappointment over theAabsence of entitlement cuts or further deficit reductions in theAClinton budget, and expressed regret that the issue was becoming
politicized.>   "I'm hoping, as disappointed as I am with this budget, I'm@hoping as we get down the road maybe...we can figure out how toAput the darn politics aside and do the right policy, take on the@big issues, stare the special interest groups square in the eye&and do the right thing," Kasich said.>   Martin Sabo, ranking Democrat on the committee, along with@other Democrats suggested that the Republicans were looking forAentitlement cuts primarily to offset the $200,000 million in taxBcuts they are hoping to enact in accord with their "Contract with
America."B   "I totally agree with the president that Medicare and MedicaidBcuts should not be used to pay for tax cuts for the most affluent?and most powerful in this country," Sabo said.  The Republican?tax cut complicates the task of reducing the deficit, he said.A"I think we need to put the wealthy and the powerful aside for a?while and decide how we deal with real fiscal problems in this
country.":   Democrat Charles Stenholm said he does not believe the@government can afford tax cuts at this time, either those being;considered by the Republicans or the middle class tax cutsproposed by the president.A   Responding to the Republican comments, Director of the OfficeBof Management and Budget Alice Rivlin told the House committee it7is "preposterous" to say the president has ignored theBentitlement spending issue, when his major initiative in 1994 was>health care reform.  While Medicare cuts do not appear in the>proposed new budget, the administration is ready to work withBCongress on the issue, she assured the members, provided the cuts>are considered in the context of a health care reform package<that both controls costs and ensures wider health insurance
coverage.=   White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, interviewed on aAtelevision news program earlier February 7, complained that when@the administration proposed a deficit-reduction program in 1993>"we didn't get one Republican vote for that package."  If theBRepublicans have ideas about additional deficit reduction, "we'reAhappy to work with them to try to achieve more," he said, "but I>don't think this president has to make any excuses to anybodyBabout his effort to try to achieve deficit reduction.  We've done7a damn good job in terms of getting the deficit down."   ---------------   ---------------8   TRADE PROMOTION GETS HIGH PRIORITY IN CLINTON BUDGET   JON SCHAFFER   WASHINGTON9  In a period when few discretionary programs escape the@budget-cutting knives, President Clinton has proposed increased@spending for nearly every government-supported program aimed atboosting U.S. exports.A   Overall, the president's budget for the fiscal year beginning<October 1, 1995, (FY '96) proposes to increase spending for>trade-promotion activities by $269 million to $3,240 million.>   These efforts, if supported by congressional appropriation=bills, will be primarily concentrated in three areas: $1,324?million for combating foreign export subsidies, $1,208 million?for financing and insuring U.S. trade and investment, and $276Amillion for supporting U.S. exporters with information and tradepromotion activities.B   The only area where less money is budgeted for FY 1996 than inAthe current fiscal year is for trade negotiations, and then only8$600,000 less than the $147.8 million in FY 1995 budgetAauthority.  The Clinton budget says the money is needed not onlyBto complete global negotiations in trade in services, but also to?build upon free-trade initiatives in the Asia-Pacific Economic.Cooperation (APEC) forum and in the Americas.A   The Clinton budget proposes raising spending to fight foreign?export subsidies by $200 million to a total of $1,324 million.=This includes $246 million for the Export-Import Bank of theBUnited States (Eximbank) and $1,078 million for the Department of
Agriculture.B   The Department of Agriculture administers four separate export;subsidy programs, the biggest being the Export Enhancement=Program (EEP), which provides bonus payments to exporters to@allow them to lower their export prices to counter unfair trade@practices.  The administration proposes to increase EEP from an>estimated $800 million in FY 1995 to $959 million in FY 1994.?   The Clinton budget proposes a 5-percent rise in funding for?Eximbank to $870 million.  Eximbank estimates that through its?direct loan, guarantee and insurance programs, its funds could0generate as much as $20,000 million in exports.B   One of Eximbank's key tools is its Tied-Aid Fund, whose aim isAto preempt and counter foreign tied-aid offers.  Tied aid is aid@provided by a country under the condition that a portion of the)aid be used to buy the donor's products.>   The next-largest portion of the federal government's trade=promotion budget is dedicated to providing trade finance andAinsurance.  The FY '96 budget allocates $1,208 million for these:purposes -- a 1.4-percent increase over the FY '95 level.?   More than half of these funds are directed to the Eximbank,@but the Department of Agriculture also provides a large program'of guarantees -- $512 million in 1996.=   The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which@insures and finances U.S. investors abroad, expects to increase@by 25 percent its insurance coverage in fiscal year 1996.  OPIC&requires no budgetary appropriations.<   A third major area, trade promotion, is financed largely=through the Department of Commerce.  The department provides=exporters up-to-date information on opportunities in foreignAmarkets and hopes to expand the number of U.S. Export-AssistanceACenters that provide exporters a central source for information.A   Clinton is proposing a 5.1-percent increase, to $279 million,Bfor the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration.>ITA's trade-promotion activities will get an almost 8-percent:boost to $197 million.  Part of these funds will focus onAexpanding efforts to promote exports to the Big Emerging Markets+(BEMs), Commerce Secretary Ron Brown said.9   The department has budgeted $7.9 million to open U.S.<commercial centers in the BEMs -- Argentina, Brazil, China,@India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, South Korea andTurkey.=   "Global competition is fierce and the playing field often@uneven, making it even more critical for the federal government=to work hard to advance opportunities for American firms and@workers abroad," Brown said in a statement released February 5.<   The Trade and Development Agency, which finances project=feasibility studies in developing countries, is scheduled to?receive $67 million in appropriations, of which $20 million isAallocated for funding projects in countries of the former SovietUnion.)TRADE PROMOTION EXPENDITURES BY ACTIVITYIn thousands of dollars8                                Actual         Proposed;                                  1994      1995      1996=Negotiating open markets       149,910    147,835    147,207=  Dept. of Commerce             43,443     42,386     38,905=  Dept. of State                74,312     72,906     74,687=  Dept. of Agriculture           6,585      6,673      7,530=  U.S. Trade Representative     21,150     20,949     20,949=  Dept. of Treasury              2,000      2,000      1,400=  Dept. of Energy                  704      1,116      1,868=  Dept. of Labor                 1,716      1,805      1,868Combating foreign= export subsidies            1,423,072  1,123,740  1,323,829=  Trade and Development Agency   1,307      1,350         --=  Export-Import Bank           212,300    208,286    245,903=  Dept. of Agriculture       1,209,465    914,104  1,077,926Financing and insuring= U.S. trade                  1,489,418  1,190,066  1,207,701=  Export-Import Bank           766,845    563,142    664,848=  OPIC                         -98,000   -115,000    -96,500=  Small Business Admin.          8,385     11,508      9,300=  Dept. of Agriculture         696,302    592,532    511,675=  Transportation Dept.          16,000     21,000     20,000=  Dept. of Energy                1,886      1,884      1,878Providing export= information/counseling        228,937    248,173    275,951=  Dept. of Commerce            165,613    182,866    197,195=  Export-Import Bank             2,450      2,450      2,450=  Small Business Admin.             --      3,200      3,200=  U.S. Information Agency       28,618     28,432     28,069=  Dept. of Agriculture          29,905     30,619     36,398=  Dept. of Energy                2,351        606      8,639Providing government-to government advocacy on= behalf of U.S. business        34,108     36,471     37,958=  Dept. of Commerce             15,780     17,969     18,950=  Dept. of State                18,328     18,502     19,008Funding feasibility studies=  Trade and Development Agency  40,717     33,750     41,000Developing foreign= markets                       233,928    190,714    206,570=  Dept. of Commerce              8,533      9,282     10,200=  Trade and Development Agency  11,990      9,900      9,000=  Dept. of Agriculture         210,255    163,144    165,467=  Dept. of Energy                3,150      8,388     21,903=Total                        3,600,090  2,970,749  3,240,216   ---------------   ---------------   '96 PRESIDENTIAL RACE   JIM MALONE
   SENATE>   The first U.S. Presidential primary election is still moreAthan one year away but already several Republican contenders are>hard at work preparing for a 1996 Presidential campaign.  The@Republican field of candidates could range from five to as manyas ten or more.B   It may be hard to believe but the race for the 1996 Republican;Presidential nomination is already under way.  Most of theBcandidates will make their official announcements during the next:few months but Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and fellow>Republican, Senator Phil Gramm of Texas. Have already made itclear they are in the race.?   Other expected contenders include former Vice President Dan?Quayle, who enjoys strong support among conservative ChristianAactivists in the Republican Party, and former Tennessee governorAand education secretary Lamar Alexander, who is raising a lot ofmoney for his campaign.B   Larry Sabato is a professor of government at the University of<Virgina in Charlottesville.  He says Senator Dole has to be;considered the Republican frontrunner at the moment but he<cautions that much could change during the next year and he,predicts the field of candidates will grow:@   "But right now the top of the field is obviously Senator Bob?Dole, Senator Phil Gramm, former Vice President Dan Quayle and?former Tennessee governor and (U.S.) education secretary Lamar?Alexander.  Those are the four frontrunners, (with) Dole being?number one, Gramm  being a very close second and some think he?has got the organization to be the frontrunner.  But there areBstill lots of other possibilities and we still do not know who isgoing to run."<   Other possible contenders include conservative politicalAcommentator Pat Buchanan, who ran well against President Bush in;the 1992 New Hampshire primary.  Others who are reportedlyBconsidering a run for the nomination are Senator Arlen Specter of=Pennsylvania, Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana and outspoken6conservative Congressman Robert Dornan of California.?   A few Republican governors may be considering a run for the<White House as well.  They include Wisconsin Governor Tommy=Thompson, Massachusetts Governor William Weld and CaliforniaAGovernor Pete Wilson, who professor (of government Larry) Sabato?says could become a formidable candidate with strong financial=backing and a good organization in California.  In addition,?former Secretary of State Jim Baker is considering a run along@with former labor secretary Lynn Martin and Alan Keyes, who ran<for the Senate in Maryland and is the only African-American%likely to join the Republican field.A   Many Republicans believe Senator Dole will be the man to beat>in 1996, despite the fact that he has run for president twice#before, in 1980 and again in 1988.@   Senator Dole is 71-years old but says he has the stamina andAenergy of someone much younger and says he is ready to head downthe campaign trail:;   "I think the overriding issue should be where will this@person, this nominee take us, take America.  And does he or she@have any ideas?  It is going to be a difficult race.  We have aBnumber of outstanding Republicans who are going to be involved in=the primary process.  So anybody who is thinking about it isAgoing to have to give up about a year and a half of their life."=   A few prominent Republicans have already bowed out of the?campaign, perhaps put off by the incessant demands on time and;money.  Former defense Secretary Richard Cheney and formerAHousing and Urban Development secretary Jack Kemp have opted notBto run for president in 1996.  Some experts estimate that serious;contenders will have to raise 20-million dollars for their@campaigns by the end of this year.  Senators Dole and Gramm andBformer Governor Lamar Alexander appear to be in the best positionat the moment to raise money.A   Several states, including California and New York, are trying?to move up their primary dates in 1996 in order to play a moreBimportant role in the nominating process.  But the most important@primary remains New Hampshire's, with most contenders hoping toBget a big boost from a good showing in the nation's first primarynext February.>   Cutting the size of the federal government will be a majorBchallenge for the next president, whether it is Bill Clinton, Bob@Dole or someone else.  Some Republicans are suggesting that the>Republican nominee commit to serving only one term in office,:someone willing to take on the tough decisions on cutting7government programs and willing to sacrifice a run for
re-election.?   Veteran Republican Senator Orin Hatch says only a president?can provide the kind of leadership to take on the tough budget>decisions and deal with the negative reaction from voters andspecial interest groups:B   "I think we have got to find a president who wants to be there@(in the White House) eight years and is willing to work hard toBtry and be there eight years, but who is willing to be there only'four years by doing the right things."?   On the democratic side, most Democrats believe Bill Clinton>will be nominated for re-election in 1996.  But University of<Virginia government professor Larry Sabato is among several@observers who predicts that the President will face a challengein the Democratic primaries.?   Possible challenges could come from the liberal wing of the?party from either civil rights activist Jesse Jackson or House>Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.  Some moderates are pushing@Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska to challenge the President whileBsome conservative Democrats would like to see former Pennsylvania9Governor Bob Casey, an opponent of abortion, run for the?nomination.  Both Congressman Gephardt and Senator Kerrey have;repeatedly denied speculation that they will challenge thePresident next year.   ---------------   ---------------7   ALEXANDER RUTSKOI: FROM VICE PRESIDENT TO DISSIDENT   MAXIM KNIAZKOV   WASHINGTON=   It's been all downhill for Russia's former vice PresidentAAlexander Rutskoi since President Boris Yeltsin removed him from9his post in the last half of 1993.  Since that time, the?independent-minded politician has briefly been under artillery;fire, in prison, and, as he now claims, under tight police>surveillance.  Most recently, the highly-decorated former air>force general carries the unlikely label of dissident, who is*being denied permission to travel abroad.A   This week Walter Boek, president of the College of Democracy,7a Virginia-based educational organization that teaches=representative government, is diligently working the phones.A   Boek is calling public organizations and media outlets in the8Washington, DC, metropolitan area, cancelling scheduled?appearances and interviews arranged for Alexander Rutskoi, who/had been scheduled to visit the United States:<   "We invited Mr. Rutskoi here for two reasons.  The first=reason was to provide him with a better understanding of the@American type of democracy.  And the second purpose was to have?him give his ideas to a number of people and let them questionBhim about what he is thinking about the future of Russia.  He was?going to speak at the National Press Club, the Foreign Affairs8Council, the Capitol Hill Club, the International Trade9Association of Northern Virginia, The Council on Foreign@Relations. He was also meeting with a group of retired army andair force officers."?   Everything seemed to be arranged for what promised to be an?interesting  series of engagements for the former Russian vice>president.  But suddenly, says Mr. Boek, events took quite anunexpected turn:?   "We kept having assurances that his passport was issued and<that he would be here.  And then, we received a copy of the?letter to him from the Interior Department, informing him that>his application to make this trip here, visit Washington, wasbeing denied."A   The letter,  argues Mr. Rutskoi cannot be given permission to;travel abroad because he was "privy to state secrets whileBserving as vice president from 1991 to 1993."  But Walter Boek is+not fully satisfied with this explanation.9   He suspects the politics of Russia's approaching 1996<presidential campaign to be behind the decision to deny Mr.Rutskoi a passport:@   "I have a feeling that some of the leaders there [in Russia]Awere concerned that this [a visit to the U.S.] would improve hisBpossibilities of competing for the presidency.  I think it is theBcompetition between people who want to be president after Yeltsinand Mr. Rutskoi."A   To be sure, there is little love lost between Mr. Rutskoi andBPresident Boris Yeltsin, who picked the mustached Afghan war hero?in 1991 as his running mate with the obvious goal of improving=his standing with the Russian military.  Soon, however, this>political marriage of convenience began to unravel.  Frequent@run-ins had eroded whatever understanding that remained between?the two and resulted in Mr. Rutskoi's eventual banishment from
the Kremlin.A   When President Yeltsin ordered Russia's hard-line legislature;dissolved  in September, 1993, Mr. Rutskoi holed up in the8parliament building along with a few hundred opposition?lawmakers, a standoff that resulted in a violent Moscow revoltAagainst President Yeltsin. The former vice president remained inAthe building throughout the spectacular armed assault ordered by7President Yeltsin and he ended up in prison with other
hard-liners.@   Since early 1994, after the newly-elected Russian parliamentBgranted amnesty to imprisoned rebel leaders, Mr. Rutskoi has been?trying to rally a patchwork of opposition groups into a viable@coalition to challenge President Yeltsin in the next elections.9   James Carey, president of the Conservative Network, a>Virginia-based political discussion forum that also was to be9addressed by Mr. Rutskoi, finds the passport denial both(ill-thought-out and damaging to Russia:>   "It seemed a little silly and ridiculous to me.  Does this?mean no one from the Russian government is going to be able toBtravel in the future because they know state secrets?  It changesBmy impression of the new Russia, which we thought had changed and?was now going to allow a fair, free and open communication andBdialogue with the rest of the world.  And that doesn't seem to bewhat's happening."@   The Russian Interior Department letter says Mr. Rutskoi will;be able to re-apply for permission to travel abroad in six=months.  But human rights monitors say they see no reason toBbelieve Kremlin authorities will become more accommodating to the@opposition if it appears the Yeltsin government is losing stillmore of its political base.   ---------------   ---------------   AMERICA'S CUP FEMALE CREW
   ROY CLARK   WASHINGTON:   The first all-female crew in the America's Cup sailing;competition is struggling in the standings after defeating?four-time champion Dennis Connor in its first race.  The women?sailors still have a chance to advance from their division and'capture yachting's most prized trophy.;   Back injuries and eventual surgery put an end to Alison>Townley's hopes of sailing the high seas in the America's Cupyachting trials.>   She was initially recruited by the America-Cubed team as aAgrinder, the crew members who raise and lower, and apply tensionBto the sails.  Townley is still with the team, only now she worksfulltime as a spokesperson.7   One of her responsibilities is developing corporate>sponsorships for her team, a job that can be challenging whenByou're trying to enter female athletes in a male-dominated sport.>   "I think that question can be applied to a lot of things,"?says Townly, "not just sports, but life in general, attitudes,Astereotypes.  I think that a lot of people finally realize given>proper opportunity, technology, equipment, funding, etcetera,:that women can compete in all levels of sports, whatever,business."B   Townley says strength, and of course, experience, are the only?areas in which male sailors have an advantage in the America'sCup.B   To gain on their male counterparts in strength, the members of<America-Cubed devote two hours each day to lifting weights.?Strength is essential in raising and lowering sails along with9changing the direction of the boat to best use the wind.@   Alison Townley says the best female sailors in the world are?aboard America-Cubed, so there should be no surprises at their	success:9   "We have olympic-level sailors, sailors with a lot of<international experience.  For this boat in particular, theAchallenge is that it is a 16-woman crew.  Women have not had theBopportunity to compete in this race, so the biggest hurdle for us@is really working as a team in a big-boat situation like this."=   As you can probably imagine, the female sailors have been@criticized by some for taking part in the male-dominated sport.@Alison Townley says male sailors now see them not as women, but#as opponents dedicated to winning"?   "There is a rumor that one of the New Zealand boats said if?they win the Challenger Series and would have to race us, theyAare going home (laughs).  So I don't know, maybe they are afraid=their egos will get bruised.  I think definitely the men aretaking us seriously."A   The men took America-Cubed more seriously when the all-female>crew won the first race of the yachting trials against Dennis-Conner and his "Stars and Stripes '95" team.A   Alison Townley says she and teammates are most proud of doing>so well in such a short period.  They have been together less9than one year, and regardless if you are male or female,0challenging the top sailors is an amazing feat:=   "I think a lot of people are losing sight of what we haveAalready accomplished.  People say "well, you have not won a raceBlately.  What is going on?"  That's a good point, any newcomer to@this event will struggle.  Raul Gardini, who raced against billBKoch in '92 for the Cup, spent 250-million dollars on an all-male"crew of Italians and still lost."6   So what's after the America's Cup for the women of;America-Cubed? Alison Townley says after her team wins the?America's Cup, they will continue sailing and hopefully in the9next America's Cup, there will be women representing allcompeting nations.   ---------------   ---------------0   REPLACING CENTRAL BANKS WITH CURRENCY BOARDS   BARRY WOOD
   PRAGUE8   After the Mexican financial crisis, triggered by the?devaluation of the currency, the old idea of replacing central<banks with something called a currency board is gaining new@acceptability.  Two Baltic states, plus Hong Kong and Argentina:use currency boards and are pleased with their operation.@   The most respected advocate for the currency board system isASteve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at America's Johns;Hopkins University.  Mr. Hanke has written two books aboutAcurrency boards, one entitled a currency board for Russia, a way.to stabilize the ruble and control inflation.?   There are four tenets to a currency board system.  One, theAcentral bank is prohibited from printing money that is not fully>backed by hard currency reserves.  Two, the government is not@permitted to have a budget deficit that is financed by printing@money.  Three, the local currency is fixed in value against the@money of a major trading partner.  And four, the local currency5is made fully convertible into the reserve currency.B   The currency board essentially replaces the central bank.  Its;advantage is that the central bank is freed from political?pressure.  In another sense, power is removed from the centralbank.B   Mr. Hanke attracted considerable attention at the recent Davos:world economic forum.  During one session, flanked by the@Argentine finance minister and the prime ministers of Lithuania=and Estonia, Mr. Hanke spoke of currency boards as the ideal9solution to the problems of high inflation and devaluing@currencies.  The Mexican problem, he declared, simply could nothappen in Argentina.B   Mr. Hanke says the currency board system has brought stability%and growth to estonia and Lithuania:A   "As you know, we put a currency board into estonia in June ofA1992 and April of 1994 in Lithuania.  And both of them are doing:beautifully.  We have to put that in a relative position,@relative to the other republics of the former Soviet Union they:are doing an excellent job. Their inflation is more under@control, their budgets are more under control and their reforms"are moving along at a good pace."B   Hong Kong has had a currency board since 1982.  Argentina went;to a currency board system in 1991.  Both the Estonian and?Lithuanian prime ministers credit their currency board systemswith breaking hyper-inflation.A   The Lithuanian prime minister says creating the board was the@best decision his two year old government ever made.  LithuaniaAhad inflation of 11 thousand percent in 1992.  In 1994 inflationwas 45 percent.A   Several more countries are now debating whether to shift to acurrency board system.   ---------------   ---------------8   U.S. TO GRANT PALESTINIAN AUTONOMY LOW TARIFF STATUS
   AL PESSIN
   GAZA CITYB   The U.S. commerce secretary says the U.S. Government will soon>grant the Palestinian autonomy authority a special low-tariffAtrade status to ease the flow of its exports into the the UnitedStates.?   Commerce Secretary Ron Brown spent an hour meeting with theAPalestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, at his sea-side headquarters.=Mr. Brown later told reporters the U.S. Government is in theBfinal administrative stages of granting the special status to thePalestinian authority.@   The program is called the generalized system of preferences,?and it allows goods produced in designated developing areas to.enter the United States with minimal tariffs.B   Mr. Brown said the move will help create jobs in Gaza and will#help it develop export industries.A   The commerce secretary came to Gaza with a delegation of U.S.8business executives, who had a meeting with Palestiniancounterparts on Tuesday.=   Mr. Brown says Americans are "ready, willing and able" to>invest in Gaza, if they can be sure their investments will be?safe and profitable.  All of the leaders involved in the peace?process say they must deliver economic development in order to?convince people to accept the compromises necessary for peace.   ---------------   ---------------)   CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DEFENDS BUDGET   ANDREW BAIRD   WASHINGTON@   President Clinton's one-point-six trillion dollar budget forAfiscal year 1996 is running into stiff political opposition from@Republican lawmakers, and even some democratic legislators, who4say it does not go far enough in deficit reduction.9   Two of President Clinton's top economic policymakers,;Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin and Council of Economic>Advisers chair Laura Tyson, appeared before the Senate Budget:Committee Tuesday to defend the President's budget, whichBincludes 63 billion dollars in tax cuts over the next five years.9But the two ran into heated opposition among Republicans>committee members who criticized the Clinton proposal for not#bringing the deficit down further.B   They also said the Clinton budget failed to address burgeoningAspending on entitlements, especially healthcare programs such as<medicare for the elderly and and medicaid for the indigent.BSenate Budget Committee chairman Pete Domenici, a Republican fromBNew Mexico, said that the Clinton budget means that annual budget@deficits will be in the two hundred billion dollar range for atleast the next five years.=   Domenici said that more than one trillion dollars will be>added to the current four-and-a-half trillion dollar nationaldebt during that period:=   "Secretary Rubin, by virtue of your position, you are the>managing trustee of social security and the medicare board of?trustees.  Last year, the board of trustees made it clear thatAthe medicare trust fund would go broke in the year 2001, and yetBthis budget takes a walk (ignores) on any reform in medicare.  SoAfor these reasons it seems we in Congress have our work cut out,5maybe the President is saying, 'you go first.' Maybe@that's the President's thought on this budget. I'm  not against7that.  We will try our very best to (do) much better."@   Even some Democrats questioned the thrust of the President'sAbudget plan.  Ranking democratic committee member James Exxon of9Nebraska applauded the Clinton Administration's economic?performance to date.  Still, he wondered why the President, as;evidenced by his budget, appeared to have departed from an?economic policy which has lowered the deficit, induced healthy>growth in the four percent range,  boosted employment by more>than five-point-seven million jobs, and kept inflation aroundthree percent.;   But Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin defended theBbudget, saying that it would allow the deficit as a percentage of>gross domestic product to continue to glide downward, withoutchoking off economic growth:<   "This budget emphasizes a three-part strategy to promote=growth and improve the incomes of working Americans. One, it>maintains fiscal discipline and continuing deficit reduction.@Two, providing tax relief for the middle class that is targeted=to promote individual activity to increase productivity, andAthree, increasing public investment in workers through educationand training."?   Mr. Rubin stressed that in Mr. Clinton's first two years in@office, he felt it necessary to focus more on deficit reduction;in order to bring down interest rates, and hence boost theAeconomy.  Mr. Clinton, he says, now wants to emphasize the other>two objectives, tax relief and productivity growth.  He added4that if the Republican-led Congress worked with the?administration in crafting a workable healthcare proposal, the>budget could come extremely close to balance by year 2002, as<called for a balanced budget amendment now being debated in
Congress.>   Republicans countered, however, by questioning the Clinton8administration's budget numbers.  Senator Hank Brown, a9Republican from Colorado, says that the administration'sBassumptions on growth and inflation are much too rosy compared toBthose of the Congressional budget office and a key private sector
forecast:B   "I must tell you that the first budget forecast that President>Clinton came up to us with, I thought were very sound and did?more than simply forecast numbers. They leant some credibilityBand added some confidence to people that we were going to face upAto the (deficit) problem.  I tell you this as straight forwardly@as I can.  These forecasts are phony. They don't hang together.@And they destroy the credibility that the President gained whenhe first came to the hill."B   But Laura Tyson, chairman of the council of economic advisors,(said Mr. Brown's charge was dead wrong:>   "My reaction to that since I am the person responsible for>these numbers is to first to register a strong protest to the:notion that these are phony numbers. They may prove to beAincorrect.  Forecasting is an inexact science. But these numbersAwere put together with the best possible information to make theAmost sensible forecast we could come up with about the economy."?   Some analysts say the heated exchange between Mr. Brown andAMs. Tyson may indicates how difficult a compromise on the budgetBwill be as Congressional Budget Committee begin to craft spending;legislation.  They say Republicans are suspicious that Mr.;Clinton sees  no  more to be gained politically in deficitBreduction, and is prepared to let the Congress authorize spending9reductions and, as the 1996 elections approach, take thepolitical heat for doing so.   ---------------  ---------------(   CLINTON BUDGET MEETS HOUSE COMMITTEE   ART CHIMES   WASHINGTONB   President Clinton submitted his budget to Congress Monday, andAnow the administration and Congress are beginning the process of?reconciling their differences on the government spending plan.4One of the first clashes took place at the House of<Representatives Budget Committee Tuesday, where White House:budget director Alice Rivlin faced off against Republican	critics.B   Committee chairman John Kasich (pron. Kay-sik) said he is very>disappointed in the Clinton budget, which he says does not do&enough to reduce government spending:?   "Mandatory spending, including net interest, will grow fromB64-percent [of the budget] in 1995, think about this, folks, fromA64-percent in 1995 to 71.2-percent in the year 2000.  We're just1out of control.  I mean, we are out of control."B   But budget director Alice Rivlin does not agree.  She says the1deficit was spiraling upwards, but not any more:@   "The reason we put so much emphasis in our first two budgetsAon deficit reduction, was at the time the Clinton administration@came into office the deficit was out of control, it was rising,<and it was the biggest impediment to the increase of futureAliving standards. It simply had to be gotten under control.  Andwe did that."@   Republicans, and even some Democrats, are saying the Clinton?budget does not reduce the deficit enough.  The administrationAbudget projects deficits of less than 200-billion dollars a year<for four of the next five years.  That's much less than theBdeficit was when President Clinton took office two years ago. But-it is not exactly a balanced budget, either.A   One reason the budget remains out of balance is the growth of@so-called entitlement programs such as health care for the poor
and elderly.=   Republican Congressman Christopher Shays says the Clinton>budget includes big increases for those programs which, along=with interest on the national debt, constitute a majority of:federal spending that the Clinton budget does not reduce:?   "Basically, two-thirds of the budget is on automatic pilot,Aand the administration ignores two-thirds of the budget.  How do<we expect to get our financial house in order if we totally"ignore two-thirds of the budget?"8   Republicans are not alone in criticizing the budget.BDemocratic Congressman Charles Stenholm says all federal spending?should be reviewed, including programs that are so politically5sensitive that they remain untouched in this budget.B   Mr. Stenholm even criticized tax reduction proposals that have>come both from the Republicans in Congress and the DemocraticPresident:A   "When I say everything is on the table, I guess I almost have@to correct myself in saying, I don't believe that we can affordtax cuts at this time."?   A review of President Clinton's proposed budget prepared by?the Republican-controlled House Budget Committee described the=administration spending plan as "running in place", in otherAwords, not increasing the deficit, but not decreasing it either.@But budget director Alice Rivlin points out that as the economyBgrows, the same size deficit becomes a smaller share of the total5economy, and that, she says, is what really matters.   ---------------   ---------------3   HOUSE VOTES ON REPUBLICAN RE-WRITTEN CRIME BILL   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS@   The U.S. House of Representatives is voting on a new package9of anti-crime legislation. Republicans are rewriting the"wide-ranging bill passed in 1994.>   Last year, Democrats produced a crime bill.  Now it is theRepublicans' turn.;   The two parties have distinctly different approaches toAfighting crime.  The 1994 crime bill provided money for prisons,;police and crime prevention programs, such as after school>activities for teenagers in troubled neighborhoods.  The 1995;anti-crime package focuses on tougher penalties, limits on3criminal appeals, and grants to local governments.B   The biggest supporters of the new legislation seem to be about@70 conservative Republicans elected to the House last November,/lawmakers like Rick White of Washington state:B   "I've said many times the crime bill that passed last year was>an example of everything that is wrong with Congress.  It was?directed at an important national problem, but it didn't solvethat problem."?   To the Democrats who helped craft the 1994 bill, words like<that amount to a declaration of political war.  CongressmanACharles Schumer of New York says Republicans should try to build?on the existing legislation, rather than simply tear it apart:>   "I am virtually certain, I've seen polling data and I haveBtalked to people in law enforcement and everywhere else, that the=American people don't want to rip up that bill and start allover.":   But that is exactly what the Republicans have in mind.=Instead of one wide-ranging bill, they have introduced seven>separate pieces of legislation, each dealing with a differentBaspect of the war on crime.  The first part of the package passedBeasily, a provision that makes it easier for the victims of crime@to seek compensation.  Other elements of the Republican package<are far more controversial, including measures dealing with@police searches and deportation procedures for criminal aliens.   ---------------   ---------------B   SOME MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE CLINTON TO CANCEL YELTSIN SUMMIT   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS:   Some members of the United States Congress are puttingApressure on President Clinton to avoid a may summit with Russian=President Boris Yeltsin. More than 20 lawmakers have already8signed a letter urging Mr. Clinton not to go to Moscow.?   The letter was drafted by Republican Frank Wolf of Virginia$and Democrat Tim Roemer of Indiana.?   Their opposition to a may summit is tied to the conflict inBChechnya.  Mr. Roemer says President Clinton should not meet with?Boris Yeltsin until the Russian leader takes action to end thewar:A   "We are saying symbolically that the President should not sitAdown at this point with Mr. Yeltsin at this very precarious time>as the Russians are fighting a very, very bad war in terms of;diverting their resources away from economic and political	reform."@   Mr. Roemer says the financial cost of the war is endangering@the already fragile Russian economy.  And he warns Moscow there?is another price to pay for continuing the conflict, a loss of@American confidence in promises made by the Yeltsin government.   ---------------   ---------------&   CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS FUNDS SLASHED   SARAH WILLIAMS   WASHINGTON, D.C.=   Twenty-eight Congressional caucuses recently closed theirAoffices  following a vote by the Republican-led Congress to halt@their funding.  Some members of Congress believe this move will@hurt certain segments of society, such as women and minorities,Bthat were helped by individual caucuses.  But others believe that3the decision to stop the funding was long overdue.;   Congressional Republicans voted late last year to cease:funding 28 Congressional caucuses, or legislative serviceBorganizations.  Although there are about 140 member caucuses, theA28 that lost funding had been entitled to separate office space,Astaffing and equipment.  Funds for the caucuses were contributed;by individual members of Congress.  The caucuses that lost<funding include the Congressional Black Caucus, the Women's@Caucus, The Hispanic Caucus, and The Arts Caucus, among others.@   Congressman Donald Payne of New Jersey, who chairs the Black@Caucus, says his panel will continue to exist even though it nolonger has allocated funding:?   "We will continue to be the conscience of this Congress. We=will continue to bring the truth forth, as we've done in the6past, and we will continue to fight for those who areBdowntrodden, and have no voice.  And so we intend to continue the)fine work that's been done in the past."?   Congressman Payne says a task force made up of Black Caucus@members and staff is currently exploring ways to address issuesBthat concern African-Americans.  Pyane believes the financial cut(will slow down the legislative process:@   "It simply will mean that each individual member will simply<have to do more on his own, without having the benefit of a?unified staff.  We think that certainly taxpayers' monies were?better spent when funds could be pooled, and out of one officeAcould come a report that would satisfy most of the 41 members of?the caucus. This way, we will have to individually work on the&issues that impact on our districts."A   Congressman Ed Pastore (pas-store) of Arizona, who chairs the@Hispanic Caucus, says efforts are underway to try to reclassify?some of the caucuses and allow them to raise outside funds andhire staff.?   Mr. Pastore says his caucus can effectively assist HispanicAmericans:<   "Right now, there's debate in funding the welfare reform>program by not allowing legal immigrants to get services that?they have earned or extending the time in which they can.  AndBthat goes throughout this country and it effects Cuban-Americans,?and Mexican-Americans.  So it's an interest we have because ofBour constituents.  So there are issues that have a greater impact7on the Hispanic community than on society as a whole."A   Congressman Pat Roberts of Kansas doesn't see it the same wayBas his colleague Ed Pastore (pas-store) of Arizona.  Mr. Roberts,?who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, says Congress does2not need what he calls special interest caucuses.@   Roberts has tried to stop their funding for the last decade:>   "Well, I think obviously, it was a reform that had to take@place.  We had 28 special interest caucuses that over 10 years,Awe had an audit that showed them spending 35 million dollars andAseven-point-five million was unaccounted for.  And if you looked>at the spread sheets as to what they spent the money on, it's@things that staff and obviously members of Congress can't spendAit on.  We're talking about trips and social events and a lot of?gifts and things of this nature.  In addition, they occupied a:lot of office space and they used taxpayer money for veryquestionable activities."B   Congressman Roberts says under the reorganization, without the@caucuses, members of Congress direct their own staff members to;handle issues from their own offices, rather than allocateBspecial funds for a joint office.  He says caucuses have grown inBrecent years to include issues that he believes should be managed1by associations and institutes outside Congress:;   "And we're talking about a Textile Caucus, a Travel and>Tourism Caucus, a Territorial Caucus, a Sunbelt Caucus, Steel?Caucus, Space Caucus.  I mean, this goes on and on and on.  ItBseemed to me that they could operate either as an employee of the>institute or as a Congressional member organization.  I don'tBthink there's any question that all of the caucuses will continueAto have impact and they will have influence, the difference will<be they will not use the taxpayers' money and they will not$occupy Congressional office space."?   Although the U.S. Congress no longer funds the 28 caucuses,?their work is expected to continue through the efforts of some/members who want the caucuses to remain vital.   ---------------   ---------------   CONGRESSIONAL LEGACIES   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESS=   For about one dozen members of the United States House of@Representatives, politics is the family business.  They are the@sons and daughters of former Congressmen.  For these lawmakers, public service is in the blood.?   When he was a little boy, Charlie Bass would dive under hisAfather's desk in one of the cavernous concrete and marble office:buildings on Capitol Hill.  Charlie was a pilot, or so he:dreamed, as he played with the model airplanes his father?received as a member of the science and aeronautics committee.A   "Of course, at that age I was never very much involved in any=issues," said Bass.  "But I was aware of the sort of general>concerns he had as a member of Congress because he would come?home every evening, we lived here in Washington, and talk themover with my mother."A   The boy named Charlie listened and learned.  In 1962, when he=was 10 years old,  his father left Congress and went back to@practice law in the state of New Hampshire.   But the images of4the capitol dome were ingrained in Charlie's brain.A   "My father now is 82 years old.  I am 42, going on 43. And he=is much the same as he was in 1962.  I have changed an awfullot."<   Today, Charles Bass sees the dome through the eyes of an>adult. He is Congressman Bass now, one of the new RepublicansBelected last November.  When he took the oath of office, with hisAfather at his side, he joined a special group of congressmen andAwomen who remember the first time they stood with their lawmaker?parents and glimpsed the white dome lit against the night sky.?   Democrat Nancy Pelosi was a toddler when her father, ThomasAd'Alessandro, was elected to the House of Representatives by thepeople of Baltimore, Maryland.A   She still remembers the tiny white dress she wore when he wasAsworn in, and she will never forget the way he joked years later;when she decided to run for Congress in San Francisco, heradopted hometown:>   "I had a very difficult race but he kept telling me not to@worry about getting him a ticket for the swearing in because he<could go on the floor as a former member.  And ever time we>talked, he would tell me don't worry about the ticket...and I?would say, daddy, I am worried about winning the race, not how>many tickets I get to the swearing in.  But, anyway, he neverdoubted that would happen."B   Thomas d'Alessandro was there for her swearing in.  He died 10:weeks later, leaving behind some advice for his daughter.A   "Don't fight every fight as if it is the last fight, be aware=of what power you do have but recognize its limitations, andrespect people."A   Nancy Pelosi says being in a political family is like growing=up on a farm, you see the hard work first hand, you know the?sacrifices,  and you know it is possible to overcome adversity>and reap a good harvest.  That is a theme stressed by all the>political offspring now serving in Congress. They all seem to@remember those talks around the dinner table, the excitement ofAearly campaigns, the defeats, and the victories.  Is politics in
their blood?@   Republican Susan Molinari occupies a Congressional seat from'New York City once held by her father.@   "There is a little bit in the blood," says Molinari, "but itBis also growing up in an environment where politics is discussed,Awhere political activity is encouraged, where there is a comfortBlevel of dealing and interacting with voters.  And frankly, I wasAraised in a household where to serve the public was looked at as&a good thing and a noble profession.">   Unlike Nancy Pelosi and Charles Bass, Susan Molinari was aByoung adult when her father served in Congress.  They are perhaps>the only father-daughter team in Congressional history to, inBessence, swap jobs.  Guy Molinari left Congress to run for a highAoffice in New York City (Staten Island Borough President). Susan=Molinari left a city post (New York City Council) to run forACongress.  And what do they talk about when they see each other??She advises him on city affairs, he advises her on life in theHouse of Representatives.   ---------------   ---------------!   CONTROVERSY OVER SAUDI SCHOOL
   ED WARNER   WASHINGTON@   Tensions have risen in a pleasant, placid community about 50?kilometers outside Washington where construction of an Islamicschool is proposed.:   Beyond the bustle of Washington lies the quiet town ofBPoolesville, Maryland, and its citizens want to keep it that way.BSo some of them took alarm when Saudi Arabia announced it planned;to buy a horse farm and polo ground a few miles from town.A   There the Saudis would construct a school for Muslim children?to replace the one they have outgrown in Virginia.  The SaudisAoffered the town five million dollars for various purposes if it8would annex the area and speed up the approval process.A   The town commission (political leaders) voted for annexation,Abut opponents gathered enough signatures to have a referendum onthe issue February 11th.B   John Stringer, a former spokesman for the national oceanic and>atmospheric administration, says the Saudi complex will spoil
Poolesville:B   "For that matter, the school itself would  not be that much of@a problem, but we're afraid that the school is going to be much<larger than anticipated.  We are not sure whether they will@continue building.  In the meantime, they say there will be 100>or so buses bringing these students in and out every day.  It?would be too much traffic to have out here.  We don't have the4infrastructure (roads, police, traffic equipment)."@   Mr. Stringer, along with other residents, has a second fear:<   "A lot of these terrorists are using as fronts for theirBorganizations such places as mom and pop grocery stores, gasoline?stations and educational facilities. Therefore, how do we know9that this project out here also will not harbor, or be aBcommunication center for, such terrorist people?  I mean they canAinfiltrate those things, and we have no idea what is going on inthere."A   Edward Kuhlman, who used to be a farmer, lost his seat on the<town commission because of his support of the Saudi school.;Interviewed at his home in Poolesville, he insists he willAcontinue to push for it.  It's good for the Saudis, he says, andgood for the town.A   Kuhlman is amazed at some of the questions he has been asked:@   "Are they going to have an AK 47 (automatic weapon) shootingArange?  Is the compound going to be enclosed with barbed wire orArazor wire?  It's a religious, educational facility.  It's going=to be a nice campus equivalent to any of the colleges in the9state of Maryland.  I don't see any terrorist tactics orBinvolvement.  I think it's an emotional thing that the oppositionBhas thrown out trying to win their case because they have no realleg to stand on."?   Mr. Kuhlman acknowledges that with the trial of the MuslimsAaccused of bombing the New York world trade center, terrorism ison people's minds:=   "The people that are touting this terrorist stuff need to?remember that during desert storm Saudi Arabia was our biggest@and best ally.  These people were created by god the same way IAwas. Their culture has shown that they're people of honor, and I)think they will live up to their words."@   A no vote in the referendum will stop the annexation but not@necessarily construction of the school.  John Stringer says theBSaudis seem determined to go ahead.  So perhaps they will sweeten9the pot and offer the town more money.  In that case. He3suggests, the town might accept, terrorism or not.   ---------------   ---------------   ETHIOPIAN PEACE TALKS   HILLETEWORK MATHIAS   WASHINGTON@   The transitional government of Ethiopia and major opposition:groups are meeting in Washington for two days of talks on?political reconciliation Tuesday and Wednesday.  The talks are@sponsored by the U.S. Congressional Task Force on Ethiopia. The?talks are aimed at persuading the opposition to participate inthe may general elections.?   The government and opposition groups are at odds on several9points.  The key argument is over the composition of theAtransitional government.  Opposition groups feel it is dominated>by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, the=main rebel group that toppled the marxist regime of Mengistu>Haile Mariam in May, 1991.  They say the group should abandonBwhat they call the politics of exclusion and share power with all@political forces.  The front dismisses the complaint as "futile
propaganda.";   Another standing demand of the opposition groups is the@formation of a new national defense force comprising all ethnic=groups. They say such a force would help create a climate of;confidence, trust and balance.  The government says it has@already started reconstructing the army and police to make themnational in character.@   Opposition groups also complain that their offices have been=closed and their members have been harassed, intimidated and;jailed by the government.  The human rights group, Amnesty>International, supports such allegations.  But the government?denies them and, instead, charges the opposition with incitingethnic violence.?   The major opposition groups participating in the WashingtonBtalks are the coalition of Ethiopian democratic forces, the jointBforum (a coalition of three smaller groups), the Oromo LIberation@Front, and the all Amhara People's Organization.  The EthiopianAMedhin Democratic Party (Medhin) was excluded from the talks for:advocating what the task force described as an "extremist	agenda."?   Observers say the opposition appears to be divided and thatAsome of the parties lack clear and credible agendas.  Instead ofAbuilding a strong coalition force, observers say, the opposition?groups spend most of their time criticizing the government and<appealing to foreign capitals.  Such a tactic is said to bediscrediting their cause.@   Under Ethiopia's new constitution, the nation is to hold itsBfirst multi-party election ever on may seventh of this year.  The?government says those who renounce violence can participate inBthe elections under the current political structure.  But so far,?the major opposition groups have refused, saying free and fair;elections cannot be held in a political climate which theyAdescribe as "undemocratic."  Despite mediation efforts by former>U.S. President Jimmy carter, the two sides have not yet found5sufficient common ground to solve their differences.=   Members of the task force say they realize that promoting?dialogue between the government and the opposition groups willAnot  be easy.  But they say progress can only be made if partiesBbegin to engage in a constructive dialogue without preconditions.   ---------------   ---------------   FIRST-TIME LOBBYISTS   MARILYN SILVEY   WASHINGTON;   A "lobbyist" can be a professional representative of an=organization or cause, who is paid to represent that group's?interests to elected officials.  But the majority of lobbyists9are volunteers, private citizens who write letters, makeAtelephone calls, and occasionally visit the legislators who make>laws to try to influence how they vote. Two women who live in;Northern Virginia recently made their first visit to their:elected representatives in the state capital of Richmond.:   The sun was not yet up when the women met to begin theAtwo-hour drive to Richmond, aiming to be at the state capital by9 A.M.:   Sharon Babb, an engineer, explained why she was going:@   "I think the issues there are very important for my support,.the women's issues and the education issues."<   Mary Stack-Dunne, a nurse, had another reason for going:9   "To learn more about how the state government works.">   The occasion for the women's first trip to see their state;legislators in action was an annual "pro-choice lobby day"?sponsored by some 20 women's organizations which are trying to4influence various bills now before the legislature.<   One of the bills would increase penalties for anyone whoAobstructs access to any Virginia health care facility, including@abortion clinics.  Another bill, opposed by the women's groups,<would allow local communities to decide whether family life>education - which includes sex education - would be taught in:schools.  Currently, it is required throughout the state.>   Arriving at the state capital in Richmond, Sharon Babb andAMary Stack-Dunne picked up two free publications: A guide to theBlegislature, explaining how a bill becomes a law and the rules byAwhich the legislature operates, and a directory with photographs of all the current legislators.A   Then it was off to a briefing on the status of various bills,Aconducted by the sponsoring women's groups and attended by about&200 women from all parts of Virginia.=   Judy Castleman, of the National Abortion and Reproductive:Rights Action League, advised them how to talk with their
legislators:>   "Be brief, be polite and be prepared.  Focus on one or two?issues.  Don't try to talk with them about everything you care?about.  Pick the ones more important And we would urge you, at?this point, to pick family life education and clinic access as@probably the two hottest issues that we can make an impact on."<   Another speaker, Karen Rashke, of the Planned Parenthood<organization, passed out blue-and-white badges proclaiming,A'pro-child, pro-family, pro-choice' which she asked the women toAwear.  She also asked them to use the building's elevators, as a)way of being visible to the legislators:B   "If they see people on the elevator all day long wearing theseBlittle buttons, and they won't recognize you necessarily, they'llthink we have thousands!"A   Armed with the titles of specific bills, Sharon Babb and MaryAStack-Dunne set out to find the office of the state senator fromtheir district, Janet Howell.;   They thanked her for consistently supporting pro-choice:legislation and Howell, in turn, thanked them for coming:;   "We are very receptive to hearing from any constituent.ASurprisingly few come, and surprisingly few write us letters, soeach one has a lot of impact."?   Next, the two women went to see their representative in the;house of delegates, Ken Plum.  Mr. Plum was in a committee>meeting, so his aide, Barbara Schearer, asked the visitors to?leave him a note.  Ms. Shearer also invited them to use a new,;toll-free telephone 'hot line' to register their opinions.0   Shearer assured them Mr. Plum would respond:=   "My boss is the type of person who sends a letter back to>every single person who writes or calls or leaves word on the;'hot line' because he wants them to know that 'yes, I have;received your message, and this is what I think about your6message, and thank you for sending me that message.'"@   As the day went on, the capital offices and corridors became@more  crowded.  There were lots of other volunteer lobbyists in9Richmond supporting different causes.  Some held a large@outdoor rally just outside the capital to protest a proposal tointroduce riverboat gambling.8   Pastor Milton Reid left no doubt about his position:@   "Is riverboat gambling a part of a new contract with America=or with Virginia?  It seems that some of our legislators areAunder some kind of a contract to gamble our citizens' futures onBsome get-rich-quick scheme, when the scripture tells us that work$is one of the first orders of god."B   Following lunch, Sharon Babb and Mary Stack-Dunne observed the>session of the house of delegates from the visitors' gallery,Amade more individual visits to lawmakers, and filled out reports?on their lobbying efforts for "Pro-Choice Lobby Day" sponsors.<Finally, after taking a free tour of the capital building -:offered year-round to all visitors, they headed for home.>   Pro-Choice Lobby day organizer Tania Blagrove says she was#happy with the results of the day:B   "I think it's gone very well, we are very pleased.  Of course,@the results are, will the legislators really listen, and that'shard to say."?   As for Sharon Babb and Mary Stack-Dunne, they said they had%learned a lot about their lawmakers:7   "Understanding the pressures they have," says Babb,6"understanding also how important it is to visit your>representative; call them, write them, whatever; express your%opinion, it's very, very important.">   "I didn't know how the legislative process operated in the@state," said Dunne, "and I think it was very helpful to be ableBto see the delegate and the senator and be able to talk about theBissues, so that in the future I'll feel more at home with writingto them and calling them."B   Actually seeing the government in action, the women agreed, is=much more informative than reading about it in newspapers orwatching it on television.   ---------------   ---------------/   FRANCE SORTS OUT ITS POLICY TOWARDS ALGERIA   SONJA PACE	   PARISA   The French government is trying to sort out its policy toward>Algeria.  Socialist President Francois Mitterrand defends his>recent call for a European-sponsored peace conference for the8North African country, but his conservative partners in>government appear to disagree.  A presidential spokesman saidATuesday Mr. Mitterrand's proposal was in line with French policyBsupporting dialogue in Algeria although France's foreign minister#earlier Tuesday rejected the plan.@   Foreign Minister Alain Juppe was the latest to weigh-in with?(introduce)  a virtual rejection of the Mitterrand idea.  In aAradio interview Tuesday, Mr. Juppe said France was ill-suited toApush for such a peace conference because of historical ties with	Algeria.?   France ruled Algeria for 132 years and fought an eight-year>war against Algerian nationalists to try to prevent the NorthBAfrican country's independence, which did come about in 1962.  It=has been a love-hate relationship ever since, and any FrenchAmoves regarding Algeria are quickly viewed with suspicion in theformer colony.;   President Mitterrand's proposal that the European Union?sponsor talks between Algeria's military-backed government andAits opponents, including Islamic fundamentalists, drew a hostile@response from Algiers.  The government there denounced the ideaas interference.B   It soon became clear that Mr. Mitterrand had not consulted theBconservative partners in his own government about the initiative.?France's powerful interior minister, Charles Pasqua, expressed>some annoyance about that fact and gave the proposal the cold@shoulder.  The foreign ministry at first refused to comment andAnow Mr. Juppe has taken a more firm stand against the Mitterrandidea.;   Mr. Juppe said he thinks it best to stick with France's<current policy on Algeria, that is, to condemn the violence=taking place there and to appeal for a dialogue, but withoutBinterfering in the country's internal affairs.  That has been theBforeign ministry's line of approach for some time.  Mr. Juppe hasArepeatedly called for dialogue, but has been careful to leave it@for the Algerian government to decide who should be included insuch talks.?   Differences about how to handle the Algeria crisis have not:been limited to President Mitterrand and his conservativeAgovernment partners.  The foreign ministry has also been at oddsAwith the interior ministry about what to do.  While Mr. Juppe is=seen as more flexible on the issue of including some IslamicBfundamentalists in a possible dialogue, Mr. Pasqua has followed a@tougher line in support of Algeria's generals who firmly reject2any dealings with their fundamentalist opponents.@   There has been much handwringing (or concern) in Paris about=how to handle the  deteriorating situation in Algeria, whereAabout 30,000 people are estimated to have died in three years of?clashes between security forces and Islamic militants.  France:wants to prevent a fundamentalist takeover and fears that<continued violence in Algeria will ignite unrest in its own:sizable Islamic community.  France has pushed for greater>economic aid to the Algerian government and has also providedAsome covert military assistance.  But, France also wants to keep?a certain amount of distance and Mr. Mitterrand's proposal was$not in keeping with that objective.   ---------------   ---------------   HIGH TECH IN WEST VIRGINIA
   DAN NOBLE   WASHINGTON>   High-technology is a growth industry in the United States.<And many areas of the country are making special efforts to=attract companies and the employment opportunities that theybring with them.@   Throughout America there are regions which have become known@as "islands of technology."  For example, there's the so-called=Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, which is the home of7Apple Computer, Borland and Intel. And there's eastern;Massachusetts where Lotus and other software companies andAhigh-tech laboratories are located.  Utah is another state whichAsaw its economic opportunities improve with the growth of NovellBand Wordperfect.  Now, West Virginia, a state which long dependedAon coal mining for its industry is turning to high technology aswell.=   In 1990, the West Virginia high technology consortium was<established.  The non-profit organization now has more than70-corporate members.;   David Walker is the chief operating officer of the West>Virginia high technology consortium.  He says the cooperative@effort is helping to change traditional attitudes in his state:>   "Our industry there, and economy for so many centuries hasBbeen extraction dependent and we need something to revitalize ourBeconomy and by golly we are doing it with information technology.BThere is a lot of help and a lot of intertwinement there with theAfederal government.  NASA (the us space agency) recently erected@and constructed an IV&V facility, an independent validation andBverification facility in Fairmont, Virginia which, by the way, is?the home of the West Virginia high technology consortium.  TheBFBI put an automated fingerprint identification system system and?we are capitalizing on the synergy of West Virginia complex in>West Virginia, in Clarksburg. University, which is located inAMorgantown. We are capitalizing on the synergy of Fairmont State@College, of Wheeling Jesuit College in Wheeling, West Virginia,Band also Carnegie Mellon University (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)=with their software engineering institute has been extremely?helpful and is available to assist us in growing technology inthe mountain state."?   A problem in the past was the lack of job opportunities forAhighly trained West Virginians.  According to David Walker, that,concern has been addressed and is changing:;   "What we are finding now that we are able to offer someAattractive jobs, we are finding that a lot of people are wanting;to come back home to West Virginia.  After graduating from=in-state colleges and universities they had to leave home inAorder to find jobs in the information technology and engineering?fields.  Now there are opportunities and many folks are cominghome to the mountain state."@   Mr. Walker says that the infrastructure is in place as well.<More than 350,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable link West>Virginia to the rest of the world.  And he is very optimisticabout his state's future.B   "Our ultimate vision is to be the software mecca of the entire?country and possibly even of the entire world. We want to grow?information technology businesses and be recognized as a world6class leader in the information technology industry."   ---------------   ---------------5   IN THE SHADOW OF NUREMBERG: NEW WAR CRIMES TRIALS   PAMELA TAYLOR   WASHINGTON@   The first international tribunal to try war crimes since the7Nuremberg trials 50 years ago is expected to issue new?indictments next month (March) in The Hague, Netherlands.  ButBthe long term future of the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal inAthe former Yugoslavia is very much in doubt as uncertain funding;is made available in piecemeal fashion.  In December, U.N.@budgetary authorities only approved about seven-million dollars:of a 28-million dollar annual budget required to keep thetribunal in operation.?   Despite the financial uncertainties, officials in the hague=say they plan to go forward with 14 cases involving multiple=suspects charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, and<systematic rape.  The tribunal's prosecutors, notably chiefBprosecutor Richard Goldstone of South Africa, are determined thatAjustice will be done.  But questions remains about the political>will of U.N. member governments to prosecute some of the very>people they are trying to persuade to sign a peace agreement.A   The first indication that massive, systematic abuses of human=rights were being practiced in the former Yugoslavia came in=March 1992 when reporters discovered the existence of a SerbAdetention camp in the village of Omarska in Northwestern Bosnia.:The haunting pictures of emaciated men taken by a British?television crew inside the camp shocked the world. Many of theBimages were a stark reminder of World War II concentration camps.?The initial report which tipped off the television crew was by@Roy Gutman of the New York newspaper 'Newsday', who later won a=pulitzer prize for his reporting on the crisis in the formerYugoslavia.?   Mr. Gutman says that first report was based on testimony by7credible eye-witnesses following months of digging and2questioning of officials and people on all sides:A   "One (eye-witness) was a city official who witnessed hundredsBbeing slaughtered like animals, having their throats cut.  He wasBtold to take the corpses, put them on trucks and take them to the@animal feed factory.   So these were very strong witnesses.  My?story was based on two, whose pictures I showed.  It was about@Omarska and Brcko.  ITN (independent television news) got thereBabout three days later.  The Serb authorities closed down OmarskaBwithin 24 hours of the story, started moving prisoners out.  Many?were taken to Manjaca, hundreds to Trnopole and quite a numberBdisappeared. Hundreds, and at least dozens, were killed.  At that=point they allowed ITN in to take the very haunting and very?memorable film and then allowed them to go to Trnopolje, where<they got the pictures of those men behind barbed wire, very$emaciated, really at death's door."B   Mr. Gutman says the pictures had a far greater impact than hisBwords, even though they raised more questions than they answered.?Who, for instance, authorized the camp's activities?  Were theAcamps part of a systematic government policy?  Had internationalconventions been violated??   In October of 1992, Lawrence Eagleburger, then secretary of<state under President Bush, pushed a resolution through the9United Nations Security Council creating a commission to=investigate alleged war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.  In@December, Mr.Eagleburger, a former U.S. ambassador to Belgrade,;called for a "second nuremberg" and identified nine men he?considered war criminals, including Serbian President Slobodan@Milosevic, Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and the Bosnian/Serb military commander, General Ratko Mladic.@   The investigating commission has since handed over thousands?of pages of evidence, hours of video recordings and a computer@database to the prosecutors in The Hague.  But money to supportAthe investigations dried up, and there are indications some U.N.@officials may want to halt the inquiry. The chief investigator,?appointed by U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, was=Egyptian-born Cherif Bassiouni, a professor of law at DePaulUniversity in Chicago.>   Mr. Bassiouni says despite unanimous U.N. approval for his?work, the organization threw stumbling blocks in his path fromthe very beginning:8   "The commission, during its entire history, had many;difficulties with the (U.N.) office of legal affairs, many@bureaucratic difficulties and delays.  Some can be explained asBthe nature of the beast, being the U.N., but someone else can see@in them different motives by individuals who simply didn't want<the commission to do what it was supposed to do.  When (the@commission was) established in Oct. '92, the Vance-Owen (peace)=plan was on the table, everybody was hoping there would be a>peace agreement, (then U.S.) Secretary (of State) Eagleburger>made his statement in Geneva accusing people.  Owen and Vance?were very dismayed by it and the word was out that this is the@type of thing that is likely to affect the peace process and so@anything viewed as potentially affecting negotiations had to beslowed or clamped down."?   And things did slow down.  Three proposed chief prosecutors@were vetoed by the British, the French and then the Russians inA1993.  Finally in July 1994, the Security Council members agreed;to the appointment of Richard Goldstone, the eminent South>African jurist known for his impartial work on South Africa's>constitutional court.  Judge Goldstone insists he will not beinfluenced by politics.B   Goldstone says all that matters to him are facts and evidence,?and the mandate given him by the Security Council to prosecute=those responsible for inspiring, ordering or committing mass>"ethnic cleansing", rape, executions, torture or other crimesagainst humanity:;   "We're not concerned with the politics on the ground in?Yugoslavia or in the  U.N. or any of the chanceries or foreignAoffices of any of the parties.  Our work is to collect evidence,@find witnesses, find documents which will enable the prosecutor@to establish guilt with respect to the crimes dealt with in theAtribunal which can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  We willBindict the most seriously guilty people against whom we have that<sort of evidence. The people to go after are the people whoBordered those sorts of crimes to be committed and we will do thatAregardless of who those people, regardless of the positions they?hold, and regardless of any political consequences that may or
may not be.":   While most critics do not question justice Goldstone's?commitment to indicting suspected war criminals, no matter how=high their standing, many are skeptical about his ability toAactually bring them to justice.  No trials will be conducted "in?absentia" and the U.N. tribunal does not have the authority to?force a sovereign nation to hand over suspects for indictment.AThe governments of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have agreed to?cooperate fully with the tribunal, but the Federal Republic of@Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) has refused to recognize theBtribunal's jurisdiction to try defendants.  Yugoslav authorities,=seeking to demonstrate their ability to try war criminals at>home, brought two Serbian brothers before a Belgrade court in@November on war crimes charges, including murder and rape.  And:President Milosevic briefly detained accused war criminal;Vojislav Seselj, the leader of an ultranationalist Serbian@opposition party.  The charges, however, sparked a brawl in the;federal parliament, and Mr. Seselj was released last month
[1/28/95]<   Branislav Andjelic, a spokesman for the Serbian-American>community in the United States, says all Serbs agree that war?criminals should be punished, but not by a tribunal which they$consider to be biased against them:@   "Although we in no way condone the government of Yugoslavia,@we feel that in this they are right not to cooperate fully with?the tribunal because they feel, as we do, that the tribunal isBpolitically motivated, and is concentrating on the prosecution of<war crimes allegedly by Serbs and not by those committed by?Croats and Muslims.  The whole process, the way it is financed?and guided by those who finance it and supply staff, and it is:concentrated almost solely on the Serbian war criminals."A   Mr. Andjelic says the Belgrade government has provided plenty@of evidence to the United Nations about war crimes committed by=the other parties in the Balkan conflict.  Cherif Bassiouni,?however, says his 18-month investigation provided overwhelming?evidence that the bulk of crimes were committed by Serbs.  The@commission documented 700 concentration camps, 150 mass graves,A200-thousand people killed, 50-thousand tortured and 20-thousand=raped.  The report concluded that while there is evidence of>crimes committed by all sides, "there is no factual basis for>arguing that there is a moral equivalence between the warringfactions."?   Adam Roberts, a professor of international law at Britain'sBOxford University, says however questionable the original motives@which established the tribunal, it is on strong legal and moralground:<   "In no way is this court confined to trying Serbs.  It's9commonly portrayed as such but where there's evidence of>violations of the laws of war by Croats or Muslims or others,Athey will be more than willing to look, and where necessary draw@up indictments.  (While) it is undoubtedly true that war crimes?have been committed by Croats and Muslims as well as by Serbs,?one could argue about the extent and gravity of the particularoffenses."@   Another spokesman for Serbs in the United States is Daniella>Sremac [srey-mahts], the Bosnian Serb representative in North=America.  She makes the point that lots of bad things happenduring war:B   "Its one thing to say the Serbs have done bad things but don'tBprovide evidence to back that up, and you repeat that many times,=it becomes the truth.  War is a horrendous phenomenon. AwfulBthings happen in war. These things happen, do happen in wars, and>that's why we should prevent war and do things to find a fastBpolitical settlement.  Their (the Serb's) policy is that this was:not a policy at all and that all they want is a political
settlement."<   Ms. Sremac's comment points up a real dilemma facing theAinternational community, the difficulty in trying to negotiate aApeace settlement with people accused of being war criminals.  In>fact, a reporter asked that very question of State Department:spokesman  Mike McCurry recently.  This was his response:A   "They are the people in control of the parties who are wagingBthe war and we are trying to get the people who are waging war toAstop it, to stop the killing.  It makes it no less important forBeventual justice that those (who are) guilty of these crimes mustAface it at the hands of the tribunal and the international court
of justice."A   Besides, Mr. McCurry said, crimes like "ethnic cleansing" are-still going on in serb-held areas of Bosnia::   "The latest round in this campaign of ethnic cleansingAaccelerated in recent months, especially in the Bijelina area inBNortheast Bosnia and Banja Luka in Northwest Bosnia and Rogatica,;south of Gorazde enclave.  Within the last 10 days we have@received reports that Bosnian Serbs have expelled more than 100AMuslims from Bijelina. The refugees claim that before they left,?the Bosnian Serbs locked them in an unlit room and abused them@and that brutal and heinous methods have been employed to force@the Muslim population from their homes.  There've been numerousBincidents of Bosnian Serbs bursting into Muslim homes at night to&evict, rob and rape the inhabitants.";   Bringing to justice people who ordered or condoned such@activities  is the biggest challenge faced by the international@tribunal.  Some lower level indictments were issued in November>against a Bosnian Serb camp commander at Omarska, Dusan Tadic>(doo-shan tah-ditch), and another camp commander in Northeast3Bosnia (near Vlasenica), Dragan Nikolic (drah-gahn=nee-koh-litch). Tadic, who is currently in a German jail, is@expected to be handed over to stand trial in The Hague sometime
in march.B   One young Bosnian who remembers Dusan Tadic well is one of hisBformer karate students.  Almin Hadzic [all-meen haj-itch] studiedAkarate in the town of Prijedor before the war.  Now a refugee in@the United States, Mr. Hadzic was only 15 years old when he was@taken to a Serb detention camp shortly after the war broke out.AThe camp was Trnopolje, the one filmed by the British television'crew.  It's commander was Dusan Tadic.>   Mr. Hadzic remembers the day he saw commander Tadic at theBcamp and hid among a group of men, fearing he would be recognizedby his former instructor:?   "I am not sure if he was drunk, but I think so.  He came to@the camp at Trnopolje, looking for someone.  Probably he wanted>to kill him but couldn't find him.  He was angry and asked us>where the guy was.  There were a lot of women in this camp. I>don't know if Tadic was one of them, but these soldiers raped.them at a restaurant they had near the camp.";   Mr. Hadzic never saw Dusan Tadic again and was released@shortly afterwards, thanks to another former karate instructor,Bsomeone Mr. Hadzic calls a "good Serb".  Mr. Hadzic's 45-year-oldAfather had been taken to the nearby camp of Keraterm, which many<called a "death camp" because so many detainees died there.AHadzic senior was severely beaten and all his teeth were knockedBout.  But he survived and came to the United States with his son.@   Dragan Nikolic, the other indicted commander, is believed to?be in the Bosnian Serb headquarters at pale, outside Sarajevo.A   Tom Warrick, who served as legal counsel to Cherif Bassiouni,4describes the tribunal's attempt to arrest Nikolic:@   "Some officials of the tribunal went to pale with the arrestBwarrant and were, I won't say laughed at, but it wasn't much more@than that.  Certainly there was no effort to turn Nikolic over,@even though he's believed by reliable sources to be in pale.  I@think at this point a number of people who are committing these=atrocities still feel that they have the protection of their0government or whatever faction they belong to."<   Mr. Warrick says that if the tribunal can not get lesserBfigures like Dragan Nikolic handed over for trial, it is doubtful>the more prominent suspects will be either. That, he says, is>where the mechanism known as the "super indictment" comes in.@The super indictment is a public reading into the record of theBdetailed charges against a person who fails to turn up for trial.1   Justice Goldstone explains what happens next:?   "An international arrest warrant will be issued, relayed to>Interpol; the effect of that warrant would have the effect ofAmaking (the suspect) an international vagabond, an internationalBprisoner really.  The person would be in prison in his or her own<country. The minute the person stepped outside there'd be aBwarrant for arrest awaiting to be executed.  I don't think anyone=would envy a person in that position. They would be publicly>branded as a potential war criminal. They wouldn't be able to?leave their own country and they would also know if there is a?change of government one day sooner or later, they may well be%handed over for trial in The Hague."A   Many legal experts worry, however, that the trail of evidenceAis growing colder as witnesses become more and more reluctant to-re-live their horror by providing testimony.@   Tom Warrick says continued U.N. funding is imperative to get%this testimony before it's too late:A   "Its outrageous that things have been allowed to fade. You'veBgot scars of torture victims which have begun to fade; that would?make very graphic evidence but the scars have healed!  You can>see a defendant coming in and saying, that was just a farmingincident."B   A colleague of Mr. Warrick's, Diane Orenlicker, a professor of<law at American University in Washington, DC, has a similar;concern.  She was one of the experts who advised Madeleine<Albright, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and is@considered by many to be the guiding force behind the tribunal.>   Professor Orenlicker says it has been difficult enough for?investigators to find women willing to testify about rapes and4that money is needed to provide witness protection:B   "Fear is a very real factor on the part of women who have beenBraped.  Testifying itself presents special concerns.  For someone<who's been traumatized, having to recount the source of the@trauma is always problematic. In many cases witnesses have very7real concerns about retaliation against them for theirtestimony."?   But jUdge Goldstone says in even when there is insufficient?eyewitness evidence, the court could prove what is known as  a;"prima facie" case, whereby there is enough circumstantial=information to establish an assumption of guilt or innocenceunless it is refuted.A   In any case, Goldstone says a lot of evidence can be gathered(without the cooperation of governments:A   "There are hundreds of thousands of refugees all over Europe,?in many countries, Australia, Canada. And the evidence we have?from the witnesses we have will make it possible I hope, and I3believe, to prosecute regardless of cooperation or8non-cooperation of any of the governments in the former
Yugoslavia."A   Justice Goldstone makes it clear that while some indicted warAcriminals may never come to trial, an unrefuted indictment, read=into a public record, will make him an international pariah.AThis is what happened to many World War II criminals who thought>they had escaped the justice of nuremberg, only to be tracked@down 50 years later by vigilanti Nazi hunters.  Judge GoldstoneBis acutely aware that  people all over the world are watching theAoutcome of this first post-nuremberg tribunal, not least of whomBare the people of Rwanda, the scene of another more recent ethniccleansing war.   ---------------   ---------------%   U.S./N. KOREA NUCLEAR TALKS STALL   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENTA   The United States and North Korea are stalled on arrangements.for North Korea's alternative energy program.A   During the negotiations for last October's nuclear agreement,6American negotiators made clear to their North Korean<counterparts that South Korea must have a major role in the@American project to supply North Korea with alternative energy.?If South Korea is going to finance the two light water nuclearAreactors for North Korea, it was explained, South Korea also had;to have a major role in supplying the reactors themselves.=   This understanding was never spelled out in the framework?agreement at North Korea's request. When the United States and>North Korea met last week in Berlin to fill in details, North;Korea repeated its opposition to any role for South Korea.<   This appears to be a setback for the American efforts toAconvince the American Congress to endorse the agreement that has;frozen the North Korean nuclear program, thereby relieving>immediate fears that North Korea is building nuclear weapons.?   The United States has told North Korea there is  no  viable;alternative to South Korea's central role in supplying the
reactors.B   State Department Spokeswoman Christine Shelley tells reportersBthe talks will continue next month, but the American position has
not changed::   "It's an issue that is still under discussion, but ourAposition remains what I articulated before, which is simply that=the South Korean model is the only option for this project.">   The spokeswoman says the talks with North Korea are not in>jeopardy and, despite the statements from North Korea, she is&confident the issue will be resolved.>   However, former state and Defense Department official Paul?Wolfowitz contends North Korea started its nuclear program notBfor energy, but instead for weapons. The reason they entered thisAagreement, according to Mr. Wolfowitz, is for economic relations"with the United States and Japan.7   Wolfiwtz tells the Senate Armed Services Committee,<uncertainty about North Korea's intentions is going to grow<because the north does not  ant closer relations with SouthKorea:9   "It is absolutely essential to defuse the north-southAconflict. And so far from defusing it, the North Korean position?is actually hardened in the course of these negotiations and I=think you see it in today's headlines that suggest they will=refuse to accept South Korean reactors.  The real problem in=Korea, and the nuclear problem is subsidiary to this, is the@refusal of North Korea to accept the existence of South Korea."=   The nuclear agreement requires North Korea to engage in a@dialogue with South Korea, but there is  no  sign of that.  TheBagreement also requires the United States to make best efforts to<complete the reactor contract by April 21st. Because of theBdisagreement over South Korea's role, next month's meeting may becrucial to accomplish that.   ---------------   ---------------E   MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALLS ON PRI TO KEEP ITS PLEDGE DURING ELECTION   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEA   Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo has called on his governing8Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, to honor its@commitment to ensure that upcoming elections in Mexico are free?and fair.  the Mexican leader also urged the party to maintain;what he a called a "healthy" distance from the government.<   The PRI can best win the confidence of the electorate by@keeping a healthy distance from government.  This was PresidentAZedillo's message delivered in a speech late Monday to top partyBofficials.  Mr. Zedillo said maintaining this distance means that;the party and the government each manages its own affairs.AHowever, he was quick to add that such a practice would not mean$a rupture between the two entities.<   The Mexican leader also called on his party to honor its@commitment to ensure upcoming gubernatorial, Congressional, andBlocal elections are free and fair.  He said the PRI should chooseBits candidates through an internal, democratic selection process,2adding such a practice will strengthen the party.@   Mr. Zedillo's appeal to the pri comes as criticism continues>to mount over the party's long hold on power.  Discontent hasBrisen in Mexico in recent weeks because of the economic crisis, a>situation for which many in Mexico blame the PRI.  On JanuaryB17th, the PRI and the country's major opposition parties signed a?political accord pledging wide-ranging political and electoralBreforms.  The opposition parties view the accord as a way to open>up the system and end the PRI's monopoly on power.  President@zedillo, who was inaugurated last December, was the prime moverof the accord.<   But in his speech Monday the Mexican leader rejected any=notion that strengthening democracy means an end to the PRI,#which has ruled Mexico since 1929.A   Mr. Zedillo vowed he will be a member of the pri for the rest
of his life.9   President Zedillo, who won last August's presidentialBelection, campaigned on the pledge to reform the PRI and separate=it from government.  But critics say it is Mexico's economic?crisis that has forced the Mexican leader to move more rapidly=than he anticipated to carry out these promises of politicalreform.   ---------------   ---------------   MOSCOW MUSLIMS   JENNIFER GLASSE
   MOSCOW:   Moscow is a city of spires and golden onion domes, not>minarets and mosques.  The majority of Russians belong to theARussian orthodox church, practically the national religion.  But=there is a modest resurgence of the islamic faith in Moscow.B   Rukiya Aminov is 83 years old.   Speaking through a translator9she says she has practiced Islam in Russia all her life:=   "I have been a Muslim a long time.  When I was little, myAmother taught me.  I know a lot about it, and I come here to themosque every day.";   The mosque Rukiya Aminov is talking about is in centralAMoscow, a few hundred meters from the stadium built for the 1980>winter Olympics.  Miss Aminov says the prayers here have beenheard for many decades.?   She says that even through the years of communism her daily@pilgrimages to the mosque were never interrupted.  That has not+been the case for other Muslims in Moscow.;   Rifat Osmanov heads the foreign relations department ofAcentral Russia's religious board of Muslims.  He says that Islam>in Russia is only now regaining its natural level after beingsuppressed under communism:<   "Before the revolution there were four mosques in MoscowBoperating, and people were practicing, performing their religiousAduties.  But during the communist era you had to understand veryBclearly what had happened to our people, to our religion.  If the@Russian orthodox church was oppressed, Islam was oppressed even9more.  They were killing our servants, our imans, by thethousands."B   Now, Mr. Osmanov says, there are nearly one million practicing<Muslims in the Moscow area.  He says most are muscovites by>birth, but are ethnic Muslims with ancestors from such former9Soviet republics as Tatarstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan.@   He says about 150,OOO Muslims have returned to Moscow in the@last five years from those republics.  Mr. Osmanov says many of>them fled the Russian capital during World War II, fearing it)would fall to the advancing German army.;   To cope with the growing Muslim population in Moscow, a:training and administrative center is being built next toAMoscow's main mosque.  The center houses a college where a dozenAstudents are being educated about Islam and other religions.  As=the building progresses, 15 more places for students will beBcreated each year, until finally 65 students can be accommodated.%There is also a school for children.?   Two mosques are functioning in Moscow today, in contrast toAthe four that were here before the revolution.  Mr. Osmanov says?the aim of Muslim leaders is to completely rebuild the Islamic9community to what it was before 70 years of suppression.>   He says that while there is no longer overt discrimination?against Muslims, Islam still does not receive the preferentialAtreatment given to the Russian orthodox church.  Even though theAorthodox church is  no  longer the state religion in Russia, Mr.AOsmanov says it gets government assistance for land and credits,Band that most of its confiscated church buildings have been givenback.7   Islamic leaders in Moscow are helping to organize a>multi-religious committee, representing Buddhism, Judaism andBother minority groupings, to pressure for more government help in*getting re-established in the new Russia.   ---------------   ---------------B   ISRAEL'S OPPOSITION LIKUD PARTY CALL FOR HALT OF LAND TRANSFER   DAVID GOLLUST   WASHINGTONB   The leader of Israel's opposition Likud Party is calling for a@halt to further transfers of territory to Palestinian authority>in light of mounting terrorist attacks against Israelis.  The?Israeli politician, Benjamin Netanyahu, is in Washington for aAround of meetings with U.S. officials and Congressional leaders.A   Mr. Netanyahu says the experiment of Palestinian rule in Gaza*and Jericho has been an "abject failure."=   He is calling on the government of prime Minister Yitzhak:Rabin to prevent any further transfer of  Israel-occupiedBterritory to Palestinian control, and to take back responsibility7for security in areas already administered by the PLO.A   Mr. Netanyahu, considered the Likud Party's likely choice for>prime minister in a new Israeli election, spoke in Washington>following meetings with House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other5leaders of the newly Republican-controlled Congress.=   The Likud Party leader said the roadside bomb attack thatAkilled 19 Israelis two weeks ago and other recent terrorist acts@are causing a major shift in Israeli public opinion against any/second stage of the Israeli/PLO peace process.B   The Gaza-based administration of PLO leader Yasser Arafat, Mr.:Netanyahu said, is collapsing under the weight of its own@corruption, and is incapable of halting terrorist operations inareas it controls:?   "The idea that Yasser Arafat would fight Islamic terroristsAfor Israel, or fight any terrorist for Israel, was ludicrous. So=Israel must seize control of security and it must say to theAIsraeli armed forces and the Israeli security services, you haveAthe freedom of action to act against terrorists. And we must say@to the terrorists, including to those in Gaza, including to the@PLO that shelters them, there are no safe-havens for terrorism.You will not be able to hide."B   Mr. Netanyahu, whose party enjoys a wide lead over Mr. Rabin's@Labor Party in opinon polls, said that rather than ceding other=parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control, Israel shouldBoffer only local autonomy.  He flatly ruled out any pullback from;the Golan Heights in a deal with Syria, saying it has beenBIsrael's control of the strategic heights that has kept the peacewith Damascus over the years.9   He also urged the United States to take the lead in aAconcerted effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.?He said Iran may be only five to ten years away from acquiring=such a capability, which he said would reshape the strategicsituation in the Middle East.   ---------------   ---------------B   PANAMANIAN AUTHORITIES INTERCEPT LARGE ARMS SHIPMENT TO REBELS   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSE<   Panamanian authorities say they have discovered two armsAcaches containing weapons destined for guerrilla groups in South;America. The arsenals contained assault rifles and plasticexplosives.>   Panamanian authorities say the weapons appear to have come;from Central America, and were destined for South American>guerrilla groups.  Interior Minister Raul Montenegro told the?Reuter News Agency guerrillas in colombia may have ordered theBweapons.  Other officials mentioned the Peruvian guerrilla group,
Tupac Amaru.B   Panamanian authorities Monday found two arms caches containing>more than one-hundred AK-47 assault rifles, two dozen grenade<launchers and large quantities of plastic explosives.  TheyAaccidentally discovered one of the caches Monday while searching;for drugs believed to be hidden inside a bull dozer in theAeastern port of Cristobal.  Three people were killed when one ofAthe dozer's cylinders exploded after agents tried to cut it open>with an acytelene torch.  The bull dozer was being shipped toBEcuador, and authorities have arrested an Ecuadorian citizen. TheBsecond arsenal was found hidden in a store Monday in Panama city.BPolice are searching for the store's owner, who is reported to becolombian.?   The discoveries have raised new concerns in Panama that the:country is being used as a transit point for illegal armsshipments.   ---------------   ---------------   REAGAN BIRTHDAY   ALAN SILVERMAN   LOS ANGELESA   Ronald Reagan turned 84 years old on Monday.  The former U.S.<president marked the occasion quietly with family and close	friends:A   The celebration was low-key and very private, tempered by theArevelation last year that Mr. Reagan is suffering from the early?stages of alzheimer's disease.  Monday, several members of his?staff treated the former president to a birthday lunch of meat@loaf and mashed potatoes, said to be one his of favorite menus,Bat a private club.  They presented him with a saltwater aquarium,set up in his office complex.@   Meanwhile, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi>[see'-me] Valley, several hundred visitors lined up to sign aBfour-meter-long birthday card.  Over the weekend,  family membersAgathered for, what daughter Maureen Reagan described as, "a kind@of quiet celebration."Mr. Reagan, who left office in 1989 afterBtwo terms as president, is said to be in good physical shape; but>a spokeswoman confirms that his mental condition is worsening:from the steady brain deterioration of alzheimer's and he-sometimes cannot recognize longtime friends.   ---------------   ---------------5   WORLD BANK ANNOUNCES 50 MILLION CREDIT FOR RWANDA   WILLIAM EAGLE   WASHINGTON<   The World Bank bank announced last week that its primary=lending affiliate had approved a 50 million dollar credit toARwanda to help finance its recovery from civil war.  Last year's>fighting between Rwanda's ethnic Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groupsAdecimated an estimated 15 percent of the country's eight million>people and left the country's economy in shambles.  Observers:hope financial support from the International Development?Association, or IDA (pron. Eye-dah) and other donors will help"get the country back on its feet.@   With the announcement of the 50 million dollar credit, totalAaid for Rwanda's emergency recovery program comes to 200 million;dollars.  IDA has already agreed to restructure 25 million@dollars worth of credits, and other foreign donors have pledged125 million dollars.:   Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa [ah-geer'-eh sah-kah'-sah] isAresponsible for the World Bank's programs in the Central African@nation.  He says the main thrust of the credit is to strengthen,private agriculture and commerce in Rwanda:A   "More than half of the credit will be used to finance imports=for the [revival of the] private sector in Rwanda [including>farmers, small industries and the commercial sector].  [Next]:there will also be money provided to the government.  The9priority will be given to the restoration of health care5facilities, health care services, and to education."<   Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa says the World Bank is trying to help=Rwanda re-establish the basic infra-structure of government:@   "This does not mean we are trying to reconstruct a large andBunwieldy bureaucracy in Rwanda.  Far from it. We and the RwandansAwant a much leaner and more effective government in the country.;What it does mean is that we will try to endow that leaner3government with the [tools] to get its work done."@   Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa says the World Bank and other donors were?reluctant to lend money to Rwanda's rebuilding effort until atAleast two conditions had been met:  A broad-based government wasAin place, and the country moved to clear up its debt.  The world7bank official says those two conditions have been met:B   "When I visited Rwanda in September, it had just begun to pull;together, and we saw the beginning of coalition government<representing not only the Rwandese Popular Front, but otherAopposition groups representing Tutsis and Hutus.  So the genesisAof the broad-based coalition government now in place is really a=recent one.  We ourselves were unable to do anything earlierAbecause of Rwandan arrears to the World Bank, which were settledBonly around the early part of January thanks to the generosity ofBsix donors who agreed to provide those arrears.  They include the<United States, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway andSwitzerland."B   Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa says he believes Rwanda's economic recovery<ultimately lies with free market policies.  He says the new#Rwandan government seems to agree:@   "It is impossible to tell for sure, but on the basis of the,Aby now quite extensive, discussions I've had with senior Rwandan>officials including the president, I do have the feeling that?this government has a much more modern [if I may call it that]Bview of economic development.  Instead of favoring state-centered:development with a ponderous bureaucracy and all kinds of:regimentation up and down the ladder of development, this@government is much more interested in setting in place the kindBof policies which would allow a better integration of Rwanda into:the world scene, more export-generated growth, more labor@intensive growth. Growth that is fueled by the private sector."A   Mr. Aguierre-Sacasa says all of the IDA credits will be spent=on economic and administrative rebuilding.  None will go for>resettlement.   He says last year, the World Bank approved 20<million dollars to help resettle Rwandan refugees living in@neighboring Zaire and tanzania.  The funds also helped resettle$displaced persons living in Rwanda.@   Mr. Aguierre-Sacasa predicts that if all goes well, Rwanda's?economy should grow by about ten percent this year. This is in=comparison to 1994, during the war, when Rwanda's industrial?output dropped by up to 80 percent; its gross domestic productBshrank by 50 percent, and per capita income fell to about 50 U.S.Cents per person.<   Part of the growth will be in coffee and tea production.<Coffee exports dropped from about 30 thousand tons per year@before 1994 to just 700 tons last year.  There were  no exports@of tea last year, due to the destruction of tea plantations andprocessing plants in the war.>   Mr. Aguierre-Sacasa says IDA's 50 million dollar credit toARwanda is for forty years, including a grace period of 10 years.BHe expects regular IDA lending to Rwanda to resume within five orAsix months.  Those loans, he says, are linked to improvements infree market policies.   ---------------   ---------------@   S. AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND TRIBAL CHEIFS CLASH OVER ELECTIONS   MALLORY SALESON   JOHANNESBURG8   Confrontation is looming in South Africa between the;Government of National Unity and the country's traditionalleaders, or tribal chiefs.?   Millions of South Africans living in rural areas throughout9the country could be denied the vote in local government6elections later this year unless the African NationalBCongress-led government and the country's traditional leaders, or,chiefs, reach some sort of compromise soon.?   The confrontation turned into open animosity when President;Nelson Mandela called on chiefs to allow the elections and<campaigning to go ahead in their areas.  He told a group of@chiefs they cannot rule their subjects as if democracy does not@exist.  The chiefs later criticized Mr. Mandela, and complainedabout feeling insulted.=   Political analysts describe the confrontation as entirely>predictable.  University of natal anthropologist Mary De Haas>says many traditional leaders across the country have created1positions of absolute autocracy and fear change.B   The issues for some chiefs may be different from one region to>another, but Ms. De Haas says the bottom line is losing theirposition of influence:A   "If you have democratic elections people are going to vote in?their representatives to deal with local issues like water and@roads and all the sorts of things that chiefs have been able to<get themselves involved in and dispense patronage.  Now the=minute you take that out of their hands and give it to other9people the chiefs are going to lose their influence.  So,obviously they're feeling very threatened."<   The problem transcends party politics.  Even traditionalAleaders who support the African National Congress have expressedBconcern over their position and authority.  They have not allowed?political parties to set up branches in their areas or conduct;voter education.  The situation is the same whether in the>eastern cape, Kwazulul-Natal, or Northern Transvaal and other>provinces.  The problem prompted Mr. Mandela to call on these3leaders not to hamper progress, but facilitate it.<   Mr. Mandela also accused many chiefs of working with theAenemy, the former apartheid regime, during the years of struggle=and urged them now to work with grassroots organizations andallow the vote to take place.A   Ms. De haas says most of the country's chiefs did tow (submitAto) the government line during the colonial and apartheid era or=risked being replaced.  Under apartheid, she says, the white<minority government exercised full control over rural areas9through the chiefs, so that the leaders were  no  longer=answerable to the people, but the politicians who paid their)salaries, gave them cars and telephones.?   Now, she says, the government will have to be quite firm inAensuring the local elections go ahead in rural areas so that allAresidents have their constitutional right to vote.  De Hass says;the real issue is allowing democracy and development to go	forward:A   "I mean it's a truism that if you want successful development@in urban or rural areas you've got to have participation at the@grassroots level.  That will never happen as long as the chiefs@remain the conduit for funds and for projects.  People have got4to participate; it empowers them.  It's part of theAdemocratization process.  Now, if you as a chief or a politician=oppose this process, you are actually trapping people into aAfeudal system.  I mean it's like keeping them in the dark ages."B   Ms. De Haas says there must be a compromise, and meetings have?been taking place between government ministers and traditional@leaders.  But she says at the end of the day the elections will@have to take place, adding most South Africans, including those@in rural areas, want to be able to vote.  She says the concerns>of chiefs are understandable, but feels they can retain their@role overseeing customary law and traditions.  And she believes7some sort of compromise can be found for the chiefs to;participate in local government in an unofficial capacity.=   Ms. De Haas says even though the system is  no  longer of?great importance for most rural South Africans, the governmentAwould find itself facing a rebellion if it decided to get rid ofAthe chiefs.  Other African countries, including Angola, tried to@do away with traditional leaders, only to bring them back later>when opposition parties willing to honor the system won rural=support. President Mandela and other government leaders have;shown sensitivity to the issue and have warned against any)attempt to abolish the system of chiefs.   ---------------   ---------------   SHUTTLE/MIR RENDEZVOUS   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTON?   The U.S. Space Shuttle "Discovery" became the Russian space@station "Mir's" first visitor Monday.  It made a close approachAin the first joint orbital maneuver between the two countries in
20 years.B   A three-day chase of "Mir" finally ended high over the Pacific=Ocean.  After an initial approach to 120 meters, "Discovery"<crept slowly nearer and stopped, hovering between 11 and 13meters away for ten minutes.@   Then, "Discovery" backed off and slowly flew around "Mir" toBconduct an inspection of its condition after nine years in orbit.9   During the approach, the two crews, including Russian=cosmonaut Vladimir Titov aboard the shuttle,  waved back and?forth to each other.  "Discovery" commander Jim Wetherbee, whoBoperated the craft, described the encounter as the most beautiful9thing he had ever seen in space.  His "Mir" counterpart,=Alexander Viktorenko, said the event was almost like a fairytale, too good to be true.?   The rendezvous was a practice session for an actual dockingAbetween the shuttle "Atlantis" and "Mir" in June and six more to>follow in the next two years.  The cooperation is part of the>U.S.-Russian effort to learn to work together in space before@they begin building the international space station in orbit inA1997 with the help of the European, Japanese, and Canadian Space
Agencies.;   In a congratulatory telephone call to the shuttle crew,4President Clinton called the rendezvous impressive:A   "This really proves, I think, that Russians and Americans can<work together and that we can make this international space<station project successful, and I can't tell you how much I@appreciate all the work that all of you have done to that end."@   The close encounter almost did not take place.  A persistent;leak in a rear shuttle jet thruster worried Russian flight?engineers.  They feared that propellant might damage "Mir" and@the attached "Soyuz" capsule which will ferry the space stationcrew back to earth.A   After all night talks, the Russians gave their permission forBthe close approach just hours before the rendezvous was to occur.BBut their condition was that propellant flow to the jet be cut to>stop the leak and that "discovery" back off if other criticalAsteering jets failed.  Otherwise, the approach would have had tostop at 120 meters.;   In the end, the maneuver went well, so well that a NASA@official involved in the joint U.S.-Russian space effort, Tommy@Holloway, said only the lack of the right equipment prevented a(physical link-up between the two craft:9   "You know, interestingly enough, had we had a dockingBmechanism on board, it would have been easy to go ahead and dock.#It would have been a perfect day."?   With the U.S. and Russian orbiters now going their separateAways, the shuttle crew faces a busy four days of work before its@scheduled landing Saturday.  Its next objective is to deploy anBastronomical satellite Tuesday.   The satellite will collect dataAon the dust and gas that fills the space between stars until the"crew retrieves it two days later.   ---------------   ---------------   SHUTTLE DEPLOYS SATELLITE   DAVID MCALARY   WASHINGTONB   The crew of the U.S. Space Shuttle "Discovery" has deployed an@astronomical satellite. The satellite's instruments are peering6between the stars to help provide scientists a better3understanding of the processes that form galaxies.:   Cosmonaut Vladimir Titov hoisted a 12-hundred kilogram8satellite named "Spartan" from the end of the shuttle's<mechanical arm and released it for 40 hours of astronomicalobservations.?   Releasing science satellites has become routine for shuttle@missions.  This maneuver was an undramatic episode far from the>focus of international attention of the type that accompanied<Monday's historic shuttle rendezvous with the Russian spacestation "Mir."?   But the "Spartan" satellite is important to scientists like;George Carruthers of the U.S. naval Research lAboratory inWashington.B   Mr. Carruthers says the satellite holds an instrument designed:to study ultraviolet radiation emitted from the so-called?interstellar medium, the dust and gas that fills space betweenstars:=   :It's important to astronomers, in fact, to scientists in<general, because it's the material from which new stars and8planets form.  We need to have better and more complete@information on the composition, temperature, density, and otherAproperties of the interstellar medium in order to understand theBhistory of star formation in our galaxy and better understand the'process of star formation in general."?   The "Spartan" satellite is recording its data on film to be=analyzed by scientists and engineers after the Space Shuttlereturns it to earth.<   "Discovery" is now trailing the satellite, and astronautBJanice Voss [vawss] is to retrieve it Thursday by using the robotarm to pluck it from orbit.A   After the retrieval, two other shuttle crew members will takeBa walk in space.  Astronauts Bernard Harris and Mike Foale [fole]/are to begin preparing for it early Wednesday.;   The two are to spend five hours outside the orbiter theAfollowing day to test spacesuit modifications designed to better@protect against the extreme cold.  The U.S. space agency, NASA,Awants to ensure that future astronauts are comfortable when they<spend a lot of time outside the shuttle later in the decade,assembling the international space station.?   As additional preparation for station construction, the two8crewmen will also practice maneuvering large objects inweightlessness.   ---------------   ---------------;   U.S. EDITORIAL OPINION ROUND-UP ON THE DR. FOSTER FIGHT   ANDREW N. GUTHRIE   WASHINGTONA   The American public is gearing up for another emotional fightBover the subject of abortion, which looms as the central issue inAthe Senate confirmation hearings for President Clinton's nominee;to be the new surgeon general, Doctor Henry Foster Junior.5During a distinguished career as an obstetrician and>gynecologist, Dr. Foster has performed a number of abortions.?That fact has set the powerful anti-abortion lobby in Congress*and the country against his confirmation.<   However, many newspapers are rallying around the doctor,5suggesting that he at least be given a fair hearing.A   Part of the criticism revolves around the way the White House>handled the information concerning abortions performed by Dr.?Foster during his long medical practice.  At a news conferenceBannouncing the appointment, President Clinton said Dr. Foster had@performed only one abortion.  But the next day, Dr. Foster said<he had probably done approximately a dozen abortions in his@30-year career, during which he delivered more than 10-thousand>babies.  Then later news reports quoted him in a 1978 meeting<with federal health officials as saying he had done severalhundred abortions.?   Few subjects elicits as much emotion or anger in the United?States as abortion.  Although the procedure is legal in all 50>states, increasing pressure and violence by anti-abortion, orApro-life, forces have led to a diminishing number of doctors who@will terminate a woman's pregnancy. The anti-abortion lobby hasBseveral powerful Congressmen who agree with it, and doctor fosterBnow faces a more hostile environment in his confirmation hearingsbecause of the abortion issue.@   However, many newspapers are urging the Congress to give theAdoctor a fair hearing, and noting his exemplary career in public1health, especially in curbing teenage pregnancy.A   "The Miami  Herald", admonishes the lawmakers: "Don't rush to
judgment.@   "As soon as President Clinton nominated him to succeeded Dr.>Joycelyn Elders as surgeon general, obstetrician Dr. Henry W.@Foster Junior was under attack for having performed therapeutic>abortions.  35-years of practicing medicine seem to count for;naught among the Senate's new 45-member, narrowly focused,>anti-abortion bloc.  That is a chilling message.  It says, in@effect, that the national interest in women's health begins and>ends with their wombs and that the value of women's lives andBhealth is subordinate to the value of fetal life and health.  Dr.<Foster deserves to be judged on the totality of his medicalAexperience and the strength of his commitment to public health.">   Meanwhile, "The Washington Times," says the abortion issue=should squelch the appointment, and it also chides the White%House for its handling of the issue:=   "... [President] Clinton spokesman  Mike McCurry tried to?bolster Dr. Foster by apologizing for the initial one-abortion>claim, saying it was an honest mistake. Well, maybe.  But the>Clintons and their team do have a lengthy record of carefullyBcrafting statements so as to hide, obfuscate and mislead.  If Mr.AClinton thought Dr. Foster's qualifications were so overwhelming@that he could overlook the fact that the doctor had performed a?large number of abortions, fair enough.  But he and the doctor?should be willing to make that case forthrightly.  Legalese inAthe service of creating a false impression just won't cut it [is8not acceptable]. This nomination shouldn't go forward."@   In the American south, Georgia's "Atlanta Constitution" says/that the President "must stand by his choice."A   "The White House ought to be ashamed for fumbling yet another@high-profile appointment.  Just the same, President Clinton has=no reason to be ashamed of his selection of Dr. Henry foster?junior to be surgeon general.  Any connection with abortion is;bound to attract controversy these days.  Ultimately, what=matters is the totality of foster's medical practice and his<service to his community.  From all accounts, he has been aAconscientious physician, a respected educator and the originator@of an admired program to reduce teen pregnancies in nashville."B   Another southern daily, "The Orlando Sentinel" in Florida, has=a different reason for its support of the foster nomination:=   "Critics of President Clinton's choice of physician HenryBFoster junior to be surgeon general ignore a central point: ThoseAresponsible for the administration's policies should reflect the?President's views,  not those of his opponents.  Further, it's9not as if the Clinton Administration sought to avoid the@sensitive abortion question.  If anything, the White House went5out of its way to place Mr. Foster's experience intoperspective."7   Finally, the national daily, "USA Today", suggests:9   "[Doctor] Foster says he performed fewer than a dozenAabortions, primarily to save the lives of the mothers or to help:victims of rape or incest.  That is no reason to kill the>nomination.  As long as the abortions were legal and [Doctor]BFoster's accounting is truthful, he deserves to be confirmed.  If=[Doctor] Foster is qualified, make him surgeon general.  ButAdon't eliminate him merely because he did his job as a physicianand he did it well."@   And on that note, we conclude this brief sampling of current;editorial comments about the now controversial White House@appointment of Dr. Henry foster junior as the next U.S. surgeon	general.   ---------------   ---------------:   GROWING NUMBERS OF RWANDAN REFUGEES ARE RETURNING HOME   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA;   U.N. officials in Geneva say growing numbers of Rwandan@refugees are returning to their homes from camps in neighboringAZaire and Burundi.  The officials say security conditions inside?Rwanda are improving. But they warn it may be some time beforeAall of the nearly two million Rwandans still outside the countryare able to return.A   Officials of the U.N. High Commissioner for refugees here sayBmore than thirty-six-thousand Rwandans returned home from refugee=camps in Zaire and Burundi in January, a sharp increase overprevious months.A   The UNHCR resumed an organized repatriation program for those=in the camps in Zaire at the end of December, and launched a8similar program for the refugees in Burundi on Tuesday.B   Officials say most of those who have returned so far have done:so spontaneously, without U.N. assistance.  But spokesman:Fernando Del Mundo says the UNHCR has been monitoring the=returnees to ensure they are reaching their homes in safety:?   "We have sent several teams to monitor the situation of the@returnees.  And we have found that the situation has improved aAlot as far as they are concerned.  They are reasonably well off;9certainly better than they would be in the camps in Goma
(Zaire)."B   U.N. officials also report a continued improvement in securityBconditions inside the refugee camps in the Zairean border town ofBGoma.  They say armed supporters of the ousted Rwandan regime areAcontinuing to threaten some of the would-be returnees.  But they>say the problem has eased in recent weeks.  And they expect a@further strengthening of security around the camps when Zairean4troops begin deploying in the area later this week.>   U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali had initially@proposed a new international peacekeeping force for the refugee@camps.  But only one nation offered to contribute troops to theAforce, and the secretary-general asked the high commissioner forArefugees to work out a new arrangement with Zairean authorities.A   The result was an agreement late last month for deployment ofAsome 1,500 Zairean troops at the camps in Goma and in Bukavu andUvira to the south.B   Officials of the new Rwandan government have voiced opposition@to the plan and called on the secretary-general to make a fresh@attempt to form an international force.  But U.N. officials sayAthey have no choice but to go ahead with the Zairean deployment.>   U.N. officials estimate that at least one million RwandansAremain in Zaire, with more than half a million others in Burundi;and tanzania, and tens of thousands still displaced insideRwanda.>   Rwandan leaders have acknowledged the war-battered countryAlacks the capacity to accommodate a mass return of the refugees.AAnd U.N. officials say the pace of the repatriation program will>depend in large part on reconstruction aid for the new Kigaligovernment.   ---------------   ---------------"   GROWING FOOD SHORTAGE IN BIHAC   DOUGLAS ROBERTS
   GENEVA?   U.N. officials in Geneva are continuing to voice alarm overBgrowing food shortages in the northwest Bosnian enclave of Bihac.BHumanitarian aid is flowing largely unimpeded elsewhere in Bosnia<as a result of the new year's cease-fire.  But fighting hasAcontinued in Bihac despite the truce, and U.N. officials say the%situation is increasingly disparate.?   Only a few U.N. relief convoys have been allowed into BihacBenclave over the past few months.  And officials of the U.N. High?Commissioner for refugees here say they have only been able to=deliver about 15 percent of the food needed for the region's180-thousand civilians.@   Spokesman Ron Redmond said those figures illustrate just how&disparately the situation has become:B   "One symptom of that is a demonstration that was held in BihacBcity yesterday morning by approximately 100 people, mostly women,@who say that they and their families have not eaten for severaldays."?   Mr. Redmond said the main obstacle to the delivery of fresh=supplies to Bihac is rebel Muslim leader Fikret Abdic, whose@forces now control the northern approaches to the enclave after=driving government troops out of the town of Velika Kladusa.?   Mr. Redmond said the rebel leader is demanding that half ofAall the aid intended for Bihac be handed over to his supporters.@But the UNHCR has rejected the demand, and is now searching for?alternate routes into the enclave to skirt territory under Mr.Abdic's control.   ---------------   ---------------G   ECUADOR SENDS REPRESENTATIVE TO WASHINGTON TO DISCUSS BORDER CRISIS   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENTB   Ecuador has sent a representative to Washington to explain itsAposition on the ceasefire proposal suggested over the weekend in=Rio de Janeiro by the four mediator countries.  Ron pemstein#reports from the State Department.=   The President of Ecuador's Congress, Heinz Muellar, meets>Wednesday with Peter Tarnoff, the undersecretary of state, to@explain Ecuador's counterproposal to the ceasefire offer by the;mediators, the United States, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.A   The four countries that guarantee the disputed border betweenBperu and Ecuador agreed on a ceasefire, a separation of forces, a<de-militarized zone, a withdrawal of troops and an observer=mission to monitor compliance.  Peru agreed to the proposal.;However, Ecuador asked for more time and appears to have acounter-proposal.@   Assistant Secretary of State Alexander Watson, who took partAin the talks in Brazil, explains the approach American officials#are taking in meeting Mr. Muellar:@   "I think we will try to explain to him very carefully what's>in the document that we produced, the four guarnators and the<representatives of Peru and Ecuador in rio, to make sure heAunderstands exactly what it entails and suggest we think this is@a useful way to resolve the problem but we will also be glad to?hear him out on any issue he wants to bring to our attention."<   Ambassador Watson explains the United States understands:Ecuador's position that new information should change theBoriginal border demarcation between Ecuador and Peru. However, he?says the United States wants both sides to suspend hostilities>and to submit the dispute to longer-term conflict resolution.@   If a ceasefire agreement is signed by both sides, the United:States and the other three mediators are prepared to send?observers to the border quickly to make sure the withdrawal of@troops is carried out.  Mr. Watson insists these observers will:simply monitor compliance with the ceasefire and will not#constitute a peacekeeping mission.   ---------------   ---------------   U.S. MILITARY REDUCTIONS   ANDRE DE NESNERA
   LONDON=   With the end of the cold war and the demise of the Soviet9union, the U.S. military establishment is facing crucialBquestions about its size, strategy and future role.  U.S. defense>analyst Harlan Ullman has written a book entitled, "In Irons:>U.S. Military Might in the New Century" published by London's!Royal United Services Institute.A   Since the end of World War II, the U.S. defense establishment?has gone through four distinct periods of significant militaryreductions.B   Harlan Ullman, senior defense analyst with the Center of Naval?Analyses in Washington, DC, says the first major build-down of?U.S. forces occurred right after the end of World War II.  Mr.AUllman says following the Japanese surrender in September, 1945,:the United States was "the" superpower, perhaps even more=dominant than Greece, Rome and England had been during theirgolden years.A   The defense expert says at that time, few Americans disagreed?with the decision to demobilize. Restoring a peacetime societywas the order of the day:@   "So that force of about 12 million men and women in uniform,:plus a huge defense industrial base, was almost instantly@demobilized and reduced down literally overnight, but certainly:over several months, to a military of something under two>million, which then went down to about a million and a half."A   Mr. Ullman says the Truman Administration relied on strategy,=diplomacy and aid as the key instruments for protecting U.S.5security while at the same time reducing the defenseestablishment:A   "What is interesting about that particular build-down is that?when the Korean war started in June of 1950, we only had about>750 Americans in Korea and we had no treaty with South Korea,Bthey were advisers, military helpers.  The country (USA) had beenAcompletely demobilized, the readiness was really bad, the forces=were not really prepared for any major conflict.  And yet in>three months, we had already launched the Inchon invasion and@actually had turned the war around.  So we went from a standingBstart to a very remarkable rearmament in less than three months."@   Mr. Ullman argues the Korean war propelled the United StatesBinto a major rearmament campaign and launched a determined effortAto confront, and defeat, Soviet aggression on a worldwide basis.?   However the advent of the Eisenhower Administration in 1953>brought on a second phase of military reductions.  Mr. Ullman?says President Eisenhower felt the U.S. superiority in nuclear8weapons could check Soviet conventional military power:>   "Given his experiences during the (second world) war, as a@great war-time leader, as commander of the forces in Europe, he@had very direct dealings with the Soviets and the Russians.  So@Eisenhower was able to reduce both the size, the numbers of the=military forces and the amount of money we spent, and really+focus on a more or less nuclear strategy."?   President John Kennedy reversed the downsizing trend as theBUnited States got involved in Vietnam.  Mr. Ullman says the third@major attempt at reducing the U.S. military came from President<Richard Nixon, who was elected in 1969 promising to end the
Vietnam war.?   The defense analyst says during the first four years of theANixon Administration, military spending and power was reduced byBone-third, simply by dropping one of the United States's two main	threats::   "In those days we had a so-called 'two and a half war'?strategy.  The two wars were directed against the Soviet union=and China, the half-war was Vietnam, Korea or something likeBthat.  And with the so-called Nixon doctrine we just assumed-away@(arbitrarily dismissed) the Chinese threat, realizing that theyAwere not the military threat to us that we once thought.  Moving@to 'one and a half wars' enabled Nixon to downsize the forces."A   Mr. Ullman says the downsizing continued through the Ford andBCarter Administrations, but President Reagan reversed that trend,-considerably increasing spending on defense.A   Mr. Ullman says the end of the cold war has forced the UnitedBStates to undergo its fourth military build-down since the end ofA1945.  This latest downsizing was begun by President George Bush4and is continuing under the Clinton Administration.B   However the defense analyst says this downsizing is unlike any@other in American post-war history, because for the first time,=the United States is not faced with the threat of the Soviet@union. And that fact, says Mr. Ullman, poses major problems forcurrent defense strategists.   ---------------   ---------------   WAL-MART VERSUS MAIN STREET   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGOB   Big retailing chain stores common to urban areas of the UnitedAStates have extended their reach in recent years to small, rural?communities where residents previously had to drive perhaps anAhour or more to major shopping malls and centers.   The presenceAof big retailers in "small town America" has altered the face of=business along the main streets town centers. The change has<meant bankruptcy for some and new opportunities for others.>   The small community of Harvard, Illinois located about 100@kilometers northwest of Chicago is surrounded by Rolling Hills,@crop land and dairy farms.  It is presently beyond the reach of@most Chicago commuters seeking a rural suburban lifestyle.  ButAnew industry is moving that way, and housing tracts are bound to6sprout up on land now used to grow corn and soybeans.:   There are other changes as well.  A few years ago, theAsix-thousand residents of Harvard got a new merchant on the edgeAof town. It is a "Wal-Mart", a discount store that's part of theAlargest retailing chain in the United States.  The "Wal-Mart" is?a large store filled with a wide assortment of discount-pricedBgoods.  The clerks are friendly.  The store has long hours and isopen every day.=   Wal-Mart brought to residents of this and countless other@small towns around the United States products, services and low>prices they weren't used to getting from many local merchants?along the "main streets".  But in Harvard, Illinois, merchants>along Ayer Street, the town's "main" street of retailing, say:Wal-mart also lured away some of their business.  SeveralBattempts to interview the manager at Wal-Mart's for comments, butthe requests were declined.B   None of the Ayer Street merchants we talked with said Wal-Mart>competed unfairly. It was just that small merchants could notBafford to market their products the way the big retailer did. AndAcustomers, at first, deserted main street for Wal-Mart's parkinglot.@   But then customers started coming back.  Pharmacist Mary Fry@says her employer, "Seeley's Sons Snyder Drugs," has lured back<customers by stocking more medicines than Wal-Mart and willcustom-mix pharmaceuticals:@   "We also do compounding, and Wal-mart won't even do a simple?compound, putting things together.  And we've tried to developthat business."5   The store's pharmacy business does well, but many<counter-stocked items, such as cold syrups, toothpastes andAshampoos sell slowly because customers usually buy such products?at Wal-mart.  Other retailers in Harvard's Ayer Street central=business district offer distinctive merchandise and a higher9level of customer service not usually found at Wal-Mart.A   Kathy brady's jewelry store has been in business 30 years and#and says she continues to do well:A   "We offer personal services, help them pick it out, tell them>why this is a good piece of material that they're buying.  We@give them  an "education" too that (a) regular over-the-counter<retailer cannot do, usually.  We're educated in our area of<expertise and we try to pass that on to our customers too."@   Merchants at a hardware and a paint and decorating store did>not wish to tape record their remarks, but they said they too9have won back customers who initially flocked to the bigBretailer.  They did it by offering special services and expertiseAwhich customers found valuable and money-saving as well, because?the advice saved them from having to buy products they did notneed.B   These merchants also said, however, that some other retailers,@especially clothiers, closed quickly after the Wal-Mart opened.@But new retailers have moved in, offering specialty goods, such=as gowns and fine apparel.  Two clothiers sell garments to a9growing Mexican-American community in Harvard, Illinois.B   What's happening in Harvard, Illinois is indicative of a trend>in retailing here in the United States.  Small town merchants:must more and more view major national retailers as their<competition.  Some respond by closing their shops for good.<   According to Paul Messinger, a professor of marketing at$Washington University in St. Louis:@   "It probably is the case that many of the smaller stores areBrun by complacent owners who haven't faced that much competition.@But I would think, by and large, it's because the larger storesAhave more resources to draw on.  And I don't just mean financial>resources, but they have the ability to offer consumers more.They offer one-stop shopping."B   Business and communications consultant Don Taylor of Amarillo,?Texas is a former merchant who recently co-authored a book for>small retailers entitled "Up Against the Wal-Marts."  He says<small town businesses can co-exist and even thrive when big@national retailers like "Wal-Mart," "K-Mart" and others come to9town.  But Mr. Taylor says it takes hard work and study:A   "I think our 'main street' retail community has grown, maybe,>just a  little complacent.  They've gotten kind of relaxed inBdoing business the same way they've been doing it.  When Wal-martAcomes to town ...  Or one of the other mega-competitors ... What?they have done is effectively given the customer a choice. And?our customers today are smart.  They're intelligent people who>want to maximize where their dollars are going.  They want toBimprove their standard of living, get as much as they can for the?dollars they're spending. When given the choice, and the small@independent retailer hasn't positioned himself effectively, andBhasn't really truly given the customer a reason to shop with him,?when the customers are given the choice in the last few years,,they've been flocking to these new stores."<   As suburbia expands into rural communities like Harvard,@Illinois, more big national retailers will set-up shop in newly@developed shopping centers.  But there is growing evidence thatAsmall merchants can adapt their marketing strategies to keep old'customers and perhaps win new ones.  PB   Pharmacy technician Patricia Kyle, who  has worked 18 years in/the same store on Harvard's Ayer Street, says:A   "We see a lot of customers come back from Wal-Mart because of=the fact that they're not getting the good service.  And the@consultation that we give, we give quite a full line of serviceBhere.  Kind of the old fashioned service like you were seeing 15,20 years ago."B   Business consultant Don Taylor may have put it best by saying,="customers don't care how long you've been in business." TheBquestion they now put to merchants is, "what are you doing for metoday?"   ---------------   ---------------:   THE CASE FOR MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY BY JOHN B. ANDERSON   BY JOHN B. ANDERSON   WASHINGTON=   (Mr. Anderson, a former U.S. congressman and presidentialBcandidate, was a recent participant in the U.S. Speakers Program.BThe following article is adapted from his remarks to audiences inTanzania and Ethiopia.)?   As developing countries emerged from colonial rule with the@great on-rush of events that followed the end of World War Two,?it is understandable that the achievement of sovereign control0over their territory was an overriding concern.;   With some exceptions, the infrastructure of a genuinely=representative form of democratic rule was lacking.  In mostBcases a trained and ready civil service to administer the affairsAof government had not been bequeathed by their colonial masters.<Hence the emergence of autocratic one-party regimes was thealmost inevitable consequence.B   Particularly in those parts of the Third World where political@instability threatened because newly created independent statesBwere riven by ancient tribalism and cultural differences based onAlanguage, customs and ethnic divisions, representative democracy9seemed an improbable solution.  It would have to await a>settling-down process in which the outer limits of democraticfreedom could be probed.B   Now more than a generation of time has passed.  Some progress,Balbeit painfully slow in most instances, has occurred.  I believe?it is in the area of human rights that there has been dramatic7evidence worldwide of the inextricable linkage between>representative forms of democracy and the protection of basichuman rights.;   The blood-spattered pages of human history have made itBindisputably clear that those who are voiceless and unrepresentedAin the councils of government are those who become the victim of?discrimination, a denial of human rights and even the right toexist.@   The single party state in which a list of candidates are allApledged to support the party in power of the incumbent regime isAnot a guaranty that a multi-party system eventually will emerge.3To the contrary, it discourages such an evolution.@   There have been exceptions, of course.  In Tanzania, the man:revered as his country's George Washington, Dr. Julius K.ANyerere, voluntarily stepped down as its president.  A successor=has now announced that multi-party elections will be held in8October 1995.  However, at his insistence the Tanzanian<constitution has been amended to prohibit independents fromArunning for office.  They must seek the nomination of one of the>registered political parties, which now number about a dozen.;   It is not out of an anti-party bias, or the fact that I@personally have chosen to be an independent and once sought the?U.S. presidency as such, that leads me to the belief that in aAdemocratic state such a constitutional bar is wrong.  It offends>the important democratic principle, protected in our own U.S.>Constitution under the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights.BThere are simply some people who do not choose to join, associate/or otherwise affiliate with a political party.B   This should be their right, and as an incident of the right toAfreely assemble or associate with a group of fellow independents>in supporting a candidacy, they should not be foreclosed from@participation in the electoral process.  That was the thrust of@Justice John Paul Stevens' opinion in Anderson v. Celebrezee in?1983, in a case which I brought before the U.S. Supreme Court.7   There is an obvious reason to protect the rights of>independent candidates in nations with a history of one party:rule which are just now abandoning that system.  In those;countries, new parties are still very weak and usually not?well-organized.  They lack the developed infrastructure of the;established, usually well-funded government party with its;superior access to channels of public communication.  If a?strong, charismatic candidate cannot run without what well may?prove to be the encumbrance of a weak party which is splittingBthe vote with a dozen other parties, he will tend to be submerged.in this highly fractured political situation.@   It is also necessary to rebut another justification which is;proffered for the retention of a single party state over a>multi-party system.  It is that economic reforms must precedeBpolitical reforms.  The argument is made that that accomplishmentBrests on avoiding the inevitable divisiveness that accompanies an;accommodation of different views about economic policy.  AAcacophony of conflicting opinions will interfere with fashioning+and implementing a coherent economic plan.<   However, democratic legitimacy must be grounded in open,?honest debate when different views are held.  There is another?important reason why a ruling party should not be permitted to@stifle such debate.  It breeds an arrogance of power which thenBrefuses to either acknowledge its mistakes or be held accountableBfor its errors.  There should be watchdogs and whistle blowers in;a representative form of democratic government.  Political6parties help to perform this very important function.B   The siren song to wait for a "better morrow" before installing?these safety and warning devices reminds me of a favorite line=used with great effect by one of my former colleagues in the@Congress: "On the Street of Bye and Bye, you eventually come tothe land of Never-Never!"9   To sum up, legitimacy and accountability are the twinAsupporting pillars of a democratic form of government.  They areBbest assured by a strong and vibrant multi-party political system:correcting, challenging and invigorating the processes ofdemocratic governance.   ---------------   ---------------@   CONVENTION ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TO TAKE EFFECT IN MARCH   WASHINGTONA   The first international treaty in history aimed at preventing?and punishing violence against women will take effect early in<March, according to Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the'Organization of American States (OAS).;   Gaviria made the announcement February 3 as he receivedAVenezuela's ratification of the Inter-American Convention on the<Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence AgainstAWomen, also known as the Convention of Belen do Para.  Venezuela?became the second country to ratify the treaty, after Bolivia,8and with two ratifications in place the convention will+automatically become effective in 30 days.@   The hemisphere will then have in place a new legal weapon to@defend human rights, Gaviria noted, and a landmark for national8legislation to assist women in defense of their rights.B   The Convention, which was approved by the OAS General Assembly@in Belen do Para, Brazil, on June 9, 1994, was an initiative of,the OAS Inter-American Commission on Women.=   For the purpose of the Convention, violence against women@"shall be understood as any act or conduct based on gender that?causes death or the physical, sexual, or psychological harm or>suffering to women, whether in the public or privage sphere."@   The signatories agree to pursue policies to prevent, punish,@and eradicate violence against women, with a strong emphasis on#legal and legislative protections.;   Gaviria said the governments of the hemisphere "clearly>expressed in the Declaration of Principles and in the Plan of@Action of the recent Summit of the Americas the need to enhanceBthe role of women in society in order to improve the situation of;women in the continent and in order to promote sustainableBdevelopment.  The signing and ratification of the Convention is a4good way to put those high purposes into practice."=   In addition to Bolivia and Venezuela, the treaty has been?signed -- and is pending ratification -- by Argentina, Brazil,9Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras,BNicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, St. Kittsand Nevis, and Uruguay.A   "There will not be full democracy in the Americas until human?rights are fully observed, and this will not happen as long as?there is violence against women," said Sebastian Alegrett, the'permanent representative of Venezuela.B   He emphasized that "eradication of violence against women, andBthe granting of rights that will enhance the development of womenAas individuals with a full and fair participation in all aspects;of society, are fundamental requirements for the politicaldevelopment of our peoples."   ---------------   ---------------%   THE CLINTON BUDGET IN PERSPECTIVE   WASHINGTON<   President Clinton's proposed budget for fiscal year 1996?projects a slight increase in the budget deficit compared with=1995, but far below the levels registered from 1990 to 1993.;   The Clinton administration's newly released 1996 budget@projects a 1996 deficit of $196,671 million, 4.2 percent higherAthan the amount projected for the current year.  The U.S. budget;deficit reached a high of $290,403 million in fiscal 1992.:   The 1996 deficit will be equal to 2.7 percent of gross?domestic product (GDP), the same as the 1995 deficit.  This is?much less than the percentages seen from 1990 to 1993 when the9recession and deposit insurance payments swelled deficitAspending.  In 1992, the deficit was equal to 4.9 percent of GDP.?   The 1996 fiscal year budget's proposals and projections areBcontained in a document sent to the U.S. Congress and released tothe public February 6.>   The administration's budget proposes $1,612,128 million in=spending during fiscal year 1996, a rise of 4.8 percent over@fiscal 1995 outlays. As a percentage of GDP, the outlays should+decline slightly in 1996, to 21.8 percent.5   In his budget message, President Clinton said hisAadministration has brought down the deficit and has no intentionof letting it grow again.?   Clinton cited $23,000 million in savings from "reinventing";three Cabinet departments and two other major agencies and=another $2,000 million saved by ending more than 130 federal:programs.  Under his plan, Clinton said the deficit wouldAcontinue to fall as a percentage of GDP, reaching 2.1 percent in#2000, the lowest level since 1979.?   The major new initiative offered in the budget is Clinton'sAproposed middle class tax cut.  The budget projects that the tax@cut will cost $63,000 million over five years and will be "paidfor" by spending cuts.?   Some spending increases are proposed in areas such as crime;control, immigration control, drug programs, environmental-protection, and the promotion of technology.B   Following are additional highlights from the budget proposals:BUDGET TOTALS FOR FISCAL 1996$Receipt:         $1,415,456 million$Outlays:         $1,612,128 million+               ---------------------------$Budget deficit:    $196,671 million	DEFICITS0The deficit figures are in millions of dollars:*Fiscal year                       Deficit*1986                              221,245*1987                              149,769*1988                              155,187*1989                              152,481*1990                              221,384*1991                              269,169*1992                              290,403*1993                              255,140*1994                              203,169*1995 (estimated)                  192,506*1996 (estimated)                  196,671*1997 (estimated)                  213,091*1998 (estimated)                  196,376*1999 (estimated)                  197,446*2000 (estimated)                  194,426OVERALL SPENDINGUp $73,208 million from 1995.	REVENUESUp $69,042 million from 1995.*DISTRIBUTION OF PROPOSED SPENDING, FY1996/National Defense                    16 percent'Benefit Payments to Individuals     48  (including Social Security)'Net Interest                        16'Grants to States and Localities     15'Other                                5SOURCES OF REVENUE:/Individual Income Taxes             39 percent'Social Insurance Receipts           32'Borrowing                           12'Corporate Income Taxes              10'Excise Taxes                         3'Other                                4   DEFENSE SPENDING@   For the eleventh consecutive year, the defense budget, afterBadjustment for inflation, will decline.  The decline proposed for@1996, however, would be an absolute reduction, with the amounts>proposed for both budget authority and for outlays lower than:amounts in fiscal 1995.  The 1996 fiscal budget calls forBnational defense outlays of $262,200 million and budget authority@of $258,300 million.  The outlays represent 16 percent of total?spending.  Defense outlays as a percent of total spending have9been de creasing since 1987.  That year defense spending?accounted for 27.3 percent of outlays.  The decline is in part;due to the increase in mandatory entitlement spending as apercentage of total outlays.#   DOMESTIC DISCRETIONARY SPENDING@   The budget proposes a $6,200-million increase in outlays for<domestic discretionary programs to a 1996 level of $265,800@million, slightly more than 16 percent of total outlays.  There>are important increases in spending on crime control, slowingBillegal immigration, drug programs, environmental protection, andthe promotion of technology.A   The budget outlines offsetting cuts in discretionary spendingBand programs and continued efforts to "reinvent government."  TheAbudget message notes progress toward the goal of cutting federal@employment by 272,900.  By the end of 1994, 102,000 workers hadleft.   MANDATORY SPENDING9   Spending on mandatory federal programs such as Social?Security, health care and net interest payments on the federal=debt is projected to amount to $1,063 million in fiscal year@1996, or about 66 percent of total spending.  The components of9mandatory spending are: Social Security, 22 percent; net=interest, 16 percent; Medicare and Medicaid, 17 percent; all%other mandatory outlays, 11 percent."   DEFICIT AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDPA   During World War Two, the U.S. budget deficit as a percentageAof gross domestic product (GDP) reached as high as 31.1 percent.AThe post-1946 record high was reached in 1983.  From 1980 to the#1995 proposals, the path has been:,                                    Deficit.                                   as percent,Fiscal year                          of GDP+1980                                   2.8+1981                                   2.7+1982                                   4.1+1983                                   6.3+1984                                   5.0+1985                                   5.4+1986                                   5.2+1987                                   3.4+1988                                   3.2+1989                                   2.9+1990                                   4.0+1991                                   4.7+1992                                   4.9+1993                                   4.1+1994                                   3.1+1995 (estimated)                       2.7+1996 (estimated)                       2.7+1997 (estimated)                       2.7+1998 (estimated)                       2.4+1999 (estimated)                       2.3+2000 (estimated)                       2.18U.S. GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND RECEIPTS AS PERCENT OF GDP3Fiscal year              Spending         Receipts11989                       22.1             19.211990                       22.9             18.811991                       23.3             18.611992                       23.3             18.411993                       22.5             18.411994                       22.0             19.011995 (estimated)           21.9             19.211996 (estimated)           21.8             19.12FEDERAL DEBT HELD BY THE PUBLIC AS PERCENT OF GDPFiscal year             Debt1945                   110.91950                    82.41955                    58.91960                    46.91965                    38.91970                    28.71975                    26.11980                    26.81985                    37.81986                    41.21987                    42.41988                    42.71989                    42.31990                    44.01991                    47.41992                    50.61993                    51.91994                    51.71995 (estimated)        51.81996 (estimated)        52.1   ---------------   ---------------   A GUIDE TO THE BUDGET MAZE   WASHINGTONB   With the new budget season at hand, lawmakers, journalists andAthe general public once again face the formidable task of trying>to find their way through a maze of budget concepts and terms=that may be clear to a handful of budget office experts, but%certainly are not to the rest of us.B   The following is an attempt to provide a helpful guide to someBof the concepts most likely to cause confusion when officials and@experts discuss the fiscal year 1996 budget proposals presented6to the U.S. Congress by President Clinton February 6.   OUTLAYS OR AUTHORITY?;   The overall figures that get the most attention are the?estimates for actual expenditures for the fiscal year, or what?the budget-makers call "outlays."  When the legislative wheelsAget into high gear, however, it is the appropriations or "budgetBauthority" figures that take the spotlight, and they can be quitedifferent.A   -- Budget authority, or obligational authority, refers to the?maximum amount of money Congress allows the various government?agencies to commit, or "obligate," for various purposes in theBgiven fiscal year. In the case of salaries, the amounts obligated;are spent in roughly the same year.  Not so with the money>obligated for an aircraft carrier. The contract may be signed@this year and the total amount appears under "budget authority"Afor the current fiscal year, but portions of the total will show@up in the "outlays" column over a number of years in the future=as successive phases of the work are completed.  Conversely,Aoutlays in the current fiscal year may include amounts left over6from unspent budget authority enacted in prior years.4   Some types of budget authority are controlled by;appropriations bills. Other types, such as Social Security4payments, are not subject to annual appropriations.?   -- Outlays refers to the money actually paid out in a given<year.  The money may be paid out of funds made available in=appropriations bills enacted for that fiscal year, or out of?funds appropriated and obligated in an earlier fiscal year, orAunder some multiyear obligational authority.  In seeking to stayBwithin a certain spending ceiling for the 1996 fiscal year, then,@the president and the U.S. Congress have to take account of the<amount of unspent old budget authority that is likely to beAavailable an d used in fiscal 1996 and then estimate how much of@the newly enacted budget authority (mostly appropriations) will&result in outlays during that period.1   "CONTROLLABLE" ITEM OR "UNCONTROLLABLE" ITEM?@   While all budget items could be said to be "controllable" in@the long run, that is not true within the time span involved in1putting together and enacting one year's budget.B   -- Uncontrollable items, in the strict sense, are expenditures<required by prior contractual obligations.  Interest on the"public debt is the prime example.A   -- Many relatively uncontrollable items, in the United StatesBoften referred to as "entitlement programs," involve payments theAgovernment is obligated to pay to individuals as a result of theArules laid down by Congress for some continuing program, such as?Social Security, medical care programs, veterans benefits, and;unemployment insurance.  The costs of such programs can be?changed over time by legislation changing the way benefits are@calculated.  In the short run, however, current recipients have@in m any cases come to depend on the current level of benefits,@and any reduction for current recipients is regarded by many asBamounting almost to a breach of contract, morally if not legally.<For this reason it is difficult to make quick reductions in*expenditures for "entitlements" programs.?   -- Controllable budget items (also sometimes referred to as@"discretionary" spending programs) are those programs that live=on a year-to-year basis by the grace of annual congressionalappropriations.!   CALENDAR YEAR OR FISCAL YEAR?>   The fiscal year is named for the calendar year in which itends.B   -- Fiscal year 1995 (FY95) began October 1, 1994, and will endSeptember 30, 1995.@   -- Fiscal year 1996, the year for which President Clinton isBsubmitting proposals to the Congress, will begin October 1, 1995,and end September 30, 1996.(   ESTIMATED FIGURES OR ACTUAL FIGURES??   Most figures in the budget presentation are only estimates,Aand even with the best of intentions the actual figures reportedlater are much different.@   -- Estimated figures are given for the fiscal year for whichAthe outlays are being proposed, and for the current fiscal year,?which is not yet half over when the budget proposals go to the
Congress.A   -- Actual figures are given only for past fiscal years, after<all the results are in.  Some reasons why the estimates are"usually wide of the mark include::   -- The president can only propose a budget.  It is theBCongress that enacts the appropriations and the revenue measures.ACongress typically deviates from the presidents' recommendationson many items.<   -- Government revenues, and certain expenditures such as=unemployment compensation, are strongly affected by economic;conditions.  The budget estimates are based on a series of@economic assumptions, but it is a well-known fact that economic@forecasting is not infallible, even over a period of six months@ahead.  The fiscal year under consideration does not even begin>until more than six months after the economic assumptions andBbudget projections are presented, and ends almost two years after9these forecast s are worked out.  Economists do not take;forecasts very seriously when they reach that far into thefuture./   PROPOSED BUDGET OR CURRENT SERVICES BUDGET?@   The "current services budget" does not represent a proposal,?but helps provide an additional dimension to the proposals and counterproposals that are made.B   -- The proposed budget shows the revenue and expenditures that<would result if all of the legislation proposed is enacted.B   -- The "current service budget" attempts to project what would=happen if there are no changes in the tax laws, entitlements;programs and other laws, and if all discretionary programsBcontinue to provide the same level of services as in the previousAfiscal year.  The totals could still change from one year to the9other as a result of economic conditions, price changes,Ademographic factors, etc.  A comparison of the "current services>budget" with the proposed budget figures helps to distinguish?between changes resulting from deliberate policy decisions and&changes resulting from other factors.1   YEAR OVER YEAR OR 4TH QUARTER TO 4TH QUARTER??   These concepts usually are used in speaking of the economicAassumptions underlying the budget.  It is important to know if aAgiven percentage change is calculated on one basis or the other,Bsince the resulting figures can be quite different.  Both figures"are valuable, for different uses.@   -- The fourth quarter to fourth quarter figure is often bestBfor showing the latest trend.  Unless "fiscal year" is specified,A"fourth quarter" refers to the last three months of the calendar!year:  October through December.?   -- The year-over-year figure is usually best for historical>purposes and for showing longer term trends, since it is moreAcomplete and averages out the humps and valleys within the years   ---------------   ---------------7   BUDGET PROPOSES SMALL INCREASE FOR SCIENCE RESEARCH   JIM FULLER   WASHINGTON<   President Clinton's budget for fiscal year 1996 -- while<proposing that overall funding for research and developmentAremain about the same as last year -- would increase funding for=certain high-priority initiatives such as the development ofenvironmental technologies.B   The budget proposes about $73,000 million for all research and@development (R&D) in 1996, representing an increase of only 0.2percent over 1995.A   Under this proposal, the civilian share of R&D would increase>by 3.2 percent, to nearly $35,000 million, while military R&D8would drop by 2.4 percent to $38,000 million.  CivilianAinvestment in science and technology is on a course to exceed 50(percent of the R&D budget by next year.;   The National Science Foundation, which awards grants to>institutions for research and education, would receive $2,500>million for R&D activities in 1996, a 4-percent increase over1995.@   Several other agencies, however, including the Department of@Defense and the Department of Agriculture, are slated for major$cuts in funding for R&D activities.8   The R&D budget of the National Aeronautics and Space?Administration for FY 1996 would only increase by 0.7 percent,Aand its overall budget of $14,260 million is scheduled to be cut3by nearly $5,000 million over the next five years.:   NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin told a press briefing<February 6 that the agency has already cut its budget by 30=percent and that fundamental changes will have to be made toabsorb the future cuts.B   "Given all the cuts we've already absorbed, this cut causes us>to rethink the entire structure of the agency," he said.  "We?will revolutionize the structure of NASA.  Our workforce.  Our@relationship with our contractors.  Our facilities.  The way we=do business will have to change -- and change dramatically.">   He said the new way of thinking at NASA can be seen in theA"new millennium initiative," a program that promotes development?of a new class of smaller, faster and cheaper spacecraft.  The?initiative calls for micro-satellite missions to other planets=and the next generation of micro-spacecraft and small rocketAtechnologies.  The FY 1996 budget proposes spending $495 million?for the program, a 26 percent increase over the previous year.A   "These small, agile spacecraft will be...about a tenth of the>cost, and about a tenth of the weight of today's spacecraft,"BGoldin said. "They're like nothing that's ever been done before."A   The budget also directs NASA to begin fundamental research on?a next-generation launch vehicle designed to cut significantly@the costs of access to space.  The budget proposes $159 millionBin FY 1996 to begin research toward future development of a smallAreusable rocket that could be used to place small payloads, suchas satellites, into orbit.9   "Reusable launch vehicles should make access to space:affordable and open up the space frontier to industry andentrepreneurs," Goldin said.>   In other areas, the budget proposes that the Environmental>Protection Agency spend $192 million in 1996 to work with the5private sector to promote the development and use of@cost-effective environmental technologies and new approaches to@pollution prevention.  This amounts to a 38-percent increase inthis program over 1995.?   Also in the area of environment, the budget proposes that aAtotal of 12 agencies spend $5,500 million in 1996 -- an increase?of 4 percent over 1995 -- on R&D programs associated with suchBissues as global climate change, air quality, water resources andhazardous wastes.@   Another budget initiative calls on eight federal agencies toBspend $333 million in 1996 -- an increase of 35 percent above theBprevious year -- toward the development of an affordable car with:three times the fuel efficiency of today's vehicles.  The8so-called "clean car" initiative is being undertaken in1partnership with several U.S. car manufacturers.   ---------------   ---------------D   LISTING OF CHINA TARIFFS SCHEDULED TO GO INTO EFFECT FEBRUARY 26   WASHINGTONA   Retaliatory tariff increases against China for its failure to@enforce the intellectual property rights will go into effect on7February 26, according to the Office of the U.S. TradeRepresentative.@   In a fact sheet released with the announcement of the actionAFebruary 4, USTR said the final list of Chinese imports affected:by the increases is comprised of 35 product categories of>high-growth Chinese exports to the United States and includes6items in which the Chinese Government has substantial1involvement, such as silk products and bicycles.A   The top five categories of items on the retaliation list are:@miscellaneous plastic articles; answering machines and cellularBtelephones; sporting goods; wooden articles; and bicycles.  Other?articles on the list include: candies; mushrooms; citric acid;>rubber gloves; leather trunks and containers; greeting cards;:silk gloves, handkerchiefs and scarves; gold and platinum@jewelry; kitchen ware, and copper articles, metal furniture and*counters, and non-electric lamp fittings.A   "U.S. government agencies selected products that would have a@clear impact on China, but would cause minimal harm to the U.S.Aeconomy, its businesses and workers," the fact sheet says.  "The>size of the list is based on the estimates of U.S. government=economists on the damage done to the U.S. economy by China's?failure to protect effectively intellectual property rights --Athat is, losses suffered in China due to Chinese infringement of<U.S. copyrighted works, trademarks, and patented products."1   Following is the text of the USTR fact sheet:
(begin text)'CHINA -- INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY RIGHTSFACT SHEETSpecial 301 InvestigationBOn February 4, 1995, U.S. Trade Representative Kantor ordered theAimposition of 100 percent tariffs on $1.08 billion of imports ofCChinese products into the United States because of China's failureAto protect and enforce the intellectual property rights (IPR) ofFU.S. companies and to provide market access for intellectual propertybased products.DChina's failure to enforce the intellectual property rights of U.S.Fcompanies and its persistent denial of market access for intellectualEproperty-based products has damaged U.S. commerce and caused serious*losses to American companies and workers.CThe tariff increases will go into effect on February 26, providingHsufficient time for goods that have left Chinese ports as of February 4<to clear U.S. Customs before the new duties go into effect.FOn February 4, Ambassador Kantor met with China's Ambassador Li Daoyu>to inform him of the action the United States was taking.  InIaddition, Kantor extended an invitation to China to resume negotiations.H Ambassador Kantor identified China as a Priority Foreign Country underB the 1974 Trade Act on June 30, 1994, and immediately initiated aE Special 301 investigation into China's intellectual property rightsI (IPR) enforcement practices.  Under the statute, the investigation runsF for up to six months, with a possible three-month extension.  At theI end of the six month investigation, in this instance December 30, 1994,E the USTR made a proposed determination that China's IPR enforcementF practices are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.  InG addition, Kantor authorized publication of a proposed list of ChineseH products to which tariffs of 100 percent could be attached.  That list> was valued at $2.8 billion.   Ambassador Kantor extended theH investigation until February 4, 1995, as a result of the complexity of the negotiations.	The ListFThe final list, which will appear shortly in the Federal Register, isEcomprised of 35 product categories of high-growth Chinese exports toEthe United States and includes items in which the Chinese GovernmentFhas substantial involvement, such as silk products and bicycles.  The:top five categories of items on the retaliation list are:8                                           U.S. Imports<                                           Oct. 93-Sept. 9481.  Miscellaneous plastic articles         $465 million    (e.g. picture frames,!    baseball card holders, etc.)82.  Answering machines & cellular          $108 million    telephones73.  Sporting goods (e.g., fishing rods,    $78 million    gymnastics equipment &    surf boards)74.  Wooden articles (e.g. picture frames,  $70 million    ornaments, jewelry boxes)75.  Bicycles (with wheels 20" & smaller)   $65 millionEOther articles on the list include: candies; mushrooms; citric acid;Crubber gloves; leather trunks and containers; greeting cards; silkFgloves, handkerchiefs and scarves; gold and platinum jewelry; kitchenBware, and copper articles, metal furniture and counters, and non-electric lamp fittings.CThe final list was developed after reviewing more than 190 writtenEsubmissions and testimony presented by the public during two days ofFhearings and a thirty-day comment period.  The hearings addressed theDimpact the inclusion of particular products on the final list wouldAhave on U.S. industries and consumers.  U.S. government agenciesEselected products that would have a clear impact on China, but wouldIcause minimal harm to the U.S. economy, its businesses and workers.  ForIexample, the list minimizes, t o the extent possible, a disproportionateIadverse impact on small and medium-size firms and generally avoids itemsFfor which there is no U.S. production or alternate foreign suppliers.BThe size of the list is based on the estimates of U.S. governmentHeconomists on the damage done to the U.S. economy by China's failure toDprotect effectively intellectual property rights -- that is, lossesIsuffered in China due to Chinese infringement of U.S. copyrighted works,Ftrademarks, and patented products.  In addition, we are setting up anGinteragency group to determine the damage done to the United States byexports to third countries.U.S.-China Trade RelationsI U.S.-China bilateral trade has grown significantly since relations wereH normalized in 1979, with two-way trade approaching $50 billion in 1994F compared with $2.3 billion in 1979.  At the same time, the bilateralE trade relationship has become badly imbalanced, with the U.S. tradeH deficit with China skyrocketing from $70 million in 1983 to almost $30E billion in 1994.   China's imports to the United States during thatG period have risen 929 percent (rising from $3.1 billion to almost $38H billion in 1994) while U.S. exports to China have gone from $3 billion. to almost $9 billion during the same period.Piracy in ChinaIOverall, China has markedly improved its IPR legal regime as required byIthe 1992 U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual PropertyFRights.  China has not, however, lived up to its obligation under theAAgreement to enforce its laws and regulations.   Until recently,Genforcement of intellectual property rights has been virtually absent,Cwith piracy rates soaring in all major urban centers along China's#increasingly prosperous east coastIIPR piracy in China is rampant.  U.S. industries estimate that piracy ofIcomputer software and other copyrighted works rose sharply over the pastEyear.  Among the largest and most obvious offenders in China are theFoperators of 29 CD factories where U.S. copyrighted CDs, laser discs,Dand CD-ROMs are produced.  These factories are largely in south andHcentral China.  With an annual production capacity exceeding 75 millionICDs in a domestic market that has a capacity of 5 million, most of thoseCpirated CDs, LDs, and CD-ROMs are destined for export, and piratedGproducts are now found in Hong Kong, southeast Asia, and increasingly,in the Americas.H Piracy of other audiovisual works, particularly audiocassettes, videosD and video games in China, runs close to 100 percent -- with littleI evidence of effective controls on this piracy to date.  Piracy of otherI cutting-edge U.S. copyrighted products, particularly computer software,H runs at about 94 percent -- and 100 percent in CD-ROMs, where no majorC U.S. computer software manufacturer has issued licenses for legalA production in China.  The administrative apparatus in China forF policing copyright piracy is extremely weak.  The National CopyrightB Administration offices are located in fewer than half of China'sF provinces, and have few qualified personnel and no real authority toE take effective action against offenders.  The courts, which do haveH real authority, have yet to issue substantial judgments in civil casesC against Chinese defendants.  To date, there have been no criminal- convictions for major copyright infringers.APiracy of trademarks is also rampant, especially in south China.CEnforcement, while effective in some locales, is sporadic at best.GChina currently fails to protect well-known marks or to offer adequateFand effective protection for service marks and other U.S. trademarks.
NegotiationsE Negotiations with China have been underway for 20 months, includingC eight months under the Special 301 investigation.  The President,H members of the Cabinet, and very senior U.S. government officials haveI expressed concern at the highest levels of the Chinese government aboutA the prevalence of piracy and the damage it causes U.S. economicH interests.  Since July of 1993 we have met with Chinese negotiators 21E times, including eight rounds in 1994 -- five since the Special 301G investigation was initiated.  A nine-day round of negotiations on IPR8 enforcement concluded on January 28 without agreement.IWhile agreement has not yet been reached, the Chinese have begun to takeEaction -- both on the ground and in terms of preliminary commitmentsGthat will improve IPR enforcement over time.  In particular, China hasHlaunched a special enforcement period and has begun systematic raids inGsome regions against retailers, closing shops and levying tough fines.HChina has yet to take action, however, against manufacturers, including!those involved in CD production.What is Intellectual Property?FIntellectual property refers to a broad collection of rights relatingEto the products of human inventiveness and creativity.  It comprisesDtwo main branches: first, industrial property, covering inventions,<trademarks, and industrial designs; and, second, copyright.EPatent.  A patent is a governmental grant of a property right to theFinventor of a product or process which is new and has utility -- thatGis, it has industrial application.  A patent provides the inventor, orIthe inventor's successor in title, the exclusive right to tile inventionIfor a limited period of time.  This right generally enables the patenteeEto exclude others from making, using or selling the invention.  As aDconsequence, the patentee can also grant licenses to third parties,Cletting them exploit the invention on such terms as the patent mayEprescribe.  The Uruguay Round TRIPS agreement requires that a patentDmust be valid for a minimum of 20 years from the filing date of theCapplication.  The patent term in the U.S. is 20 years from filing.FTrademark.  A trademark is any word, symbol, design or device used toBidentify a product.  Service marks involve similar descriptors toFidentify a service.  The purpose of a trademark or service mark is toIidentify goods put on the market, thereby distinguishing them from otherIgoods and services, and to indicate their source or origin.  These marksIenable consumers to recognize products they have previously purchased so=that they can exercise their preference purchase them again.GAccordingly, trademark owners usually make every effort to maintain orCimprove the quality of their goods.  To a large extent, therefore,/trademarks have become a guarantee of quality.HProtection of a trademark means that no person or enterprise other thanEits owner may use it -- or any order trademark so similar to it thatAits use would lead to confusion in the minds of the public.  TheFTRIPS agreement, for example, provides that initial registration of aGtrademark must be valid for a period of at least seven years, and that(registration is renewable indefinitely.GCopyright.  Copyright usually refers to "literary and artistic works."DU.S. copyright law enumerates eight broad categories of protectableBsubject matter: literary works (which include computer software),Gmusical works, including accompanying words, dramatic works, includingCaccompanying music, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial,Dgraphic and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audiovisualDworks, sound recordings and architectural works.  Works that do not5fall into these categories may be protected as well.GCopyright protection means that certain uses of a work are lawful onlyCif made with the authorization of the owner of the copyright.  TheDowner of a right may generally transfer a right, or license certainHuses of the work.  U.S. copyright law grants the owner exclusive rightsGto reproduce a work, to prepare derivative works based on it (e.g., toGbase a film on a book or play), and to distribute copies to the publicHby sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending,Gto perform the work publicly (with the exception of sound recordings),@and to display certain categories of works publicly.  U.S. law,Gconsistent with the Berne Convention and the TRIPS agreement, protectsAa copyrighted work for the term of author's life, plus 50 years.(end text)   ---------------   ---------------+   POSSIBLE TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST CANADA   WASHINGTON?   U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor has begun a processBthat could lead ultimately to retaliatory trade sanctions against;Canada for denying broadcast license renewal to U.S.-ownedCountry Music Television.B   Kantor announced in a February 6 press release he had accepted=the cable television service's petition for an investigation%under Section 301 of U.S. trade law.@   At issue is the Canadian Radio-Television TelecommunicationsBCommission (CRTC) decision forcing Country Music Television (CMT)8off the air in Canada January 1 and replacing it with a&Canadian-owned country-music station.<   "The CRTC's action amounted to the confiscation of CMT's>business efforts over the past 10 years to serve the Canadianmarket," Kantor said.>   While hoping the Canadian government will suspend the CRTC>practice -- that government has reportedly asserted it has no>legal authority to do so -- Kantor said he has asked the U.S.<Federal Communications Commission for information regarding6Canadian interests in the U.S. communications market.@   A period for public comment on U.S. reaction has been set to
end March 6.?   In USTR's view, a spokeswoman said, the United States needs@not first seek dispute settlement under the North American Free>Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the World Trade Organization (WTO)#before taking action in this case.7   Kantor also threatened retaliation against Canada's@legislative proposals to deny access to the Canadian edition of=Sports Illustrated magazine by imposing an 80-percent tax on6advertising revenue of so-called "split-run" editions@(advertising and feature articles differ from region to region)6and to impose taxes on the sale of blank audio tapes.@   "Should the government of Canada choose the unfortunate path<of pursuing additional discriminatory measures against U.S.Bpublishing and copyright interests," he said, "we will again haveno choice but to respond."   ---------------   ---------------D   "IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS", A GUIDE TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE SITES   SARAH WILLIAMS   WASHINGTON, D.C.:   Many books have been published that describe important;historical locations in the United States.  But guidebooksAdepicting the history of minority groups are relatively rare.  AAnew book helps to end that disparity by exploring heritage sites<involving African-Americans throughout the U.S. and Canada.6   "In Their Footsteps: The American Visions Guide to?African-American Heritage sItes," explores the many historical?sites associated with Americans of African ancestry throughoutANorth America.  The book's author, Henry chase, says he embarkedBon the book following a decade working as a journalist in Africa.:He was hired for the project by an African-American-owned	journal.8   Author Henry Chase says while other African-AmericanBguidebooks have been published, he believes his book is the firstto provide historical details.?   "I'm perhaps not the best person to ask since I'm obviouslyBbiased, but I think the others did not have a great deal of depth@in terms of the historical background.  They were really simplyBtrying to physically locate the site and maybe spend two or three(sentences explaining its significance."B   Historical guidebooks can inspire visitors to learn more about3the facts behind a site, according to Henry Chase:?   "I'm not sure to which the extent to which a physical place?informs people.  I think it more evokes an emotional response.AIt raises their interest level, and it leads them, after they've@left the site, to look more deeply into the history behind it.">   "In Their footsteps" contains nearly one thousand heritage?sites in North America, including museums, churches, parks and>the homes of figures significant to African-American history.8The book is divided into major geographic regions, with>introductions to those areas by prominent black authors.  OneAintriguing site involves the basis for one of the most importantBbooks in American history, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."  The 19th century@novel depicted the cruelty of slavery and helped to sway public,opinion against  it prior to the civil war.B   Henry Chase says the real-life home of the person who inspired:the fictional character of Uncle Tom exists in Rockville,Maryland, a Washington suburb:A   "It's sadly not open to the public, which is unfortunate, not;so much because you can't see the site, in my opinion, butBbecause people have a misconception of the man Josiah Henson, whoAserved as the model for Uncle Tom.  The phrase 'uncle tom' today;is, of course, a pejorative, and Henson's life exemplified@several aspects that wouldn't lead anyone to think that he is a$model for a pejorative term today."@   One of the most detailed sections of the book centers on the@American south, which author Henry Chase says forms much of the2African-American experience in the United States:@   "I think broadly the African-American homeland in the states:is in the South.  There was certainly an African-AmericanBpresence everywhere, as indicated in the book, every step in this@country.  But the bulk of the historical experience has been inAthe South, and the South has been the region most transformed byBthe diaspora, the African diaspora here in the United States.  So.I found that just intrinsically interesting."A   The book, "In Their Footsteps," contains references to famous=African-American leaders such as Martin Luther King, Junior,AMalcolm X, and Frederick Douglass. But Henry Chase also includesBsites involving lesser-known figures, such as historian Carter G.BWoodson, who founded negro history week, the predecessor of blackhistory month.@   The guidebook also examines areas of the country not usually<associated with African-American history, such as the west.6   Henry Chase says the so-called "buffalo soldiers,"BAfrican-American soldiers who fought native Americans for control7of the western territories, are a fascinating subject:B   "It's not well known that during the Indian wars, one-fifth of<the U.S. cavalry was black.  And as a practical matter, the=cavalry, because it was mobile, was a principal interdiction@force.  So you can really trace the presence of black troops in>the west by following the clashes with various Indian tribes,?Cheyenne, the Arapaho, the comanche, the apache in particular.So I quite like that story."B   In addition to describing prominent historical sites connectedBwith men,  "In Their Footsteps" also examines locations involvingmany African-American women.>   Henry Chase includes sites connected with two 19th century<women who were among the most famous abolitionists, Harriet+Tubman and Sojourner (suh-journ-er) Truth.<   "Sojourner Truth, who perhaps with Harriet Tubman is theAcounterpart in terms of trendiness these days with Martin Luther=King and Malcolm X. Battle Creek, Michigan, where she lived,Bwhere she's buried, Akron, Ohio, where she gave a famous feminist@address. Maryland, of course, because of Harriet Tubman, but as?well, Harriet Tubman ended up in New York after the Civil War,Adid some work with freedmen there, and as well there are Harriet=Tubman sites in Canada since she was up there as part of theunderground railroad."@   "In Their Footsteps," reveals details about American history=that are important not only to African-Americans, but to theUnited States as a whole.   ---------------   ---------------9   BRITAIN'S "NIGHTMARE ON CROMWELL STREET" MURDER TRIAL   CHRISTINE FURNELL
   LONDON?   In Britain, the pre-trial committal hearing has begun for aAwoman accused of 10 counts of murder.  During the hearing, which@is expected to last a week, evidence will be examined to decide>if Rosemary West will stand trial for mass murder or go free.@Mrs. West and her husband, Frederick, were jointly charged with?the murders of 10 young girls, including the couple's daughter@and stepdaughter.  However, Frederick West committed suicide on?new year's day this year.  Severe press restrictions have been<imposed to limit the chances of a so-called trial by media.:   By its very nature, the West murder case has attracted<enormous media attention from the start.  As one body after>another was dug up by police in Frederick and Rosemary West's=small garden in Gloucestershire, western Britain, last year,=reporters descended on the area en masse, dubbing the story, "Nightmare on Cromwell Street."=   The committal hearing, to decide if Mrs. West is to standBtrial for mass murder, began Monday and is expected to last up to@a week.  No witnesses are to be called and all evidence will be!presented as written statements.>   The magistrate in charge of the proceedings gave a special?warning to reporters, reiterating that the laws covering trial>reporting are restrictive, and saying any breaches of the law"will be dealt with very severely.A   Media reports have been cited in previous high-profile murder>cases as prejudicing the verdict.  One such case involved two@sisters imprisoned for life on a murder conviction in 1992, who=successfully appealed and were acquitted the following year.A   Solicitor Michael Holms represented the sisters, Michelle and@Lisa Taylor.  He says their appeal was successful because media+coverage had unduly influenced the jurors:A   "Certain newspapers in particular, to my mind, decided on theBgirls' guilt before the jury ever reached their verdict.  We took@the view, and obviously the court of appeal took the same view,Bthat when newspapers launch into bold headlines and report thingsBwhich never actually happened, that this would almost be bound to:have an effect on somebody who might be trying somebody's8innocence or guilt and it is a thing which is extremelyworrying."?   In Scotland, courts are currently examining the benefits ofAtelevising certain trials.  Mr. Holms says this would be one way;to pre-empt media suggestion or manipulation of the facts:?   "Having been a solicitor now for many years and having seen?cases which I have personally been involved in reported in the9press, whether it be national or local, I sometimes have;difficulty in recognizing the actual cases when I see them?reported as against what I know I experience when I dealt withthe cases at court."B   In the case of Rosemary West, reporters are limited to stating;her name, age and address, the charges against her and the"outcome of the pre-trial hearing.B   If it is decided there is a case, the murder trial is expectedto begin late this year.   ---------------   --------------:   PROPOSED BUDGET HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON FINANCIAL MARKETS   JOE SUMMERS   WASHINGTON=   There was little reaction to President Clinton's proposedBfiscal 1996 budget in U.S. financial markets Monday.  The lack ofAreaction was partially because most of the details were known in@advance.  Many market participants regard the Clinton budget to/be dead upon arrival when it reaches Congress.A   If there was any obvious reaction in the markets, it was thatAPresident Clinton's budget does not reduce the deficit in fiscal>year 1996.  The President has proposed spending one-point-six<trillion dollars in the fiscal year that will begin October;first.  The deficit is projected rising to 196-point-seven<billion dollars from the expected deficit of 192-point-five,billion dollars in the current fiscal year.<   Bond market participants are interested in the projectedBdeficit because government borrowing needs have a profound effectBon investment decisions.  The U.S. Government will have to borrow@217-billion dollars next year, an increase of four and one-half*percent over this year's projected needs.<   But these figures suppose that the Republican-controlled>Congress will approve the President's budget.  Most financial>market participants do not believe that.  Stephen bell is the>managing director of the Washington office of the Wall Street"investment firm Salomon Brothers.@   Mr. Bell says the Republicans in Congress have had big ideasAabout cutting government spending in the past, and now that they@are in power on Capitol Hill, they are likely to implement someof their budget plans:=   "They had substantially more cuts two years ago, when the=baseline was smaller than the President has now proposed.  IBthink from a bond market perspective, what is disturbing is this:BDeficits, instead of going down, which was the projection just 127months ago, now are going to go up in a steady basis."B   Mr. Bell says Congress is going to be forced to make difficult<decisions about cutting the costs of government health care@programs, decisions he says the President is reluctant to make.;   A former director of the White House budget office, Jim<Miller, says he is concerned about what the lack of deficit(reduction will mean for interest rates:A   "This deficit number that the President has come forward withBjust gives (central bank chairman) Alan Greenspan and the FederalAReserve additional excuse to raise interest rates.  That's goingto hurt the bond market."A   Mr. Miller heads a group called citizens for a sound economy.B   The current White House budget director, Alice Rivlin, defendsAthe President's budget proposal and says more will be done laterto deal with the deficit:?   "We have put on the table what we think is the right budget?for now, balancing the need to keep the deficit under control,;with the need to keep investing in the future and allowing$citizens to share in the recovery."A   The Clinton Administration made a number of assumptions about;the nation's economy in preparing its budget proposal. The;forecast calls for gross domestic product to slowdown to aBtwo-point-four percent rate this year, compared to a four percentBannual growth rate in 1994.  The administration also assumes that<the inflation measure used in preparing the GDP report, theBimplicit price deflator, will rise by two-point-nine percent this=year. The inflation measure rose by two-point-one percent in1994.B   The economic forecast also calls for the nation's unemploymentBrate to rise slightly, to an average of six percent for the year.>Short-term interest rates are seen rising slightly during the(coming year before easing back in 1996.   ---------------   ---------------   CLINTON SUBMITS 1996 BUDGET   DAVID GOLLUST   WHITE HOUSE=   President Clinton has formally submitted a one-point-six-Btrillion-dollar federal budget plan for the 1996 fiscal year. TheAbudget faces a critical reception from the Republican-controlled
Congress.<   The President's budget, and particularly its nearly 200-=billion-dollar deficit for the coming year, is already under1heavy attack from the Congressional Republicans.A   And in unveiling the massive document, Mr. Clinton challengedAthe Republicans to give the American public details, in advance,@of just what additional program cuts they would make to furtherreduce the deficit:B   "I challenge the leadership of the Congress to do what we have=done, to provide the taxpayer with specific and real detailsAabout the  proposals that they make, and then to work with us to<get a budget that furthers the interest of all the American>people. Americans deserve to know, it is their futures, theirfamilies that are at stake.">   Mr. Clinton promoted his budget as one that includes toughBchoices, but one that protects the interests of middle-class wage?earners and families. And he said it takes another step toward@arresting a trend toward runaway deficit spending that began in@the previous 12 years of Republican control of the White House:@   "We're creating a leaner, not a meaner government, one which@offers  more opportunity to those who are taking responsibility?for  themselves, their families and their communities. None ofBthis was being done when we came here two years ago. At that time?we faced slow economic growth, inadequate investment, very low>levels of job-creation, a deficit that was nearly 300 billion?dollars and projected to go over 400 billion dollars a year bythe end of the decade."?   While the new budget projects deficits of about 200 billion8dollars for each of the next five years, administration;economists argue that the deficit,  as a proportion of the=overall U.S. economy, will actually decline, due to economic(growth, to its lowest level since 1979.?   The administration plan includes modest tax cuts for middle@class Americans and a 20-billion-dollar cut in defense spending;for the coming year to 262 billion dollars. It provides 217billion dollars for U.S. foreign aid and internationalactivities.>   Mr. Clinton promised additional cuts from his new plan, if@Congress grants him the so-called "line item veto" allowing him8to reject specific programs from larger spending bills.B   Congressional Republicans say they will not reject the Clinton@plan out of hand, but promise much larger spending cuts, to put>the government on what they call a " glide path" toward their,goal of a balanced budget by the year 2002.   ---------------   ---------------=   REPRESENTATIVE PELOSI RESPONDS TO CHINESE TRADE SANCTIONS   PAULA WOLFSON   CONGRESSB   Few areas of the United States are as strongly affected by the=current trade dispute with China as the eighth CongressionalBdistrict of California.  The district, which includes most of San:Francisco, has strong financial links to the computer and?entertainment industries in the state.  It is also the home ofAmany Asian-Americans, more than any other Congressional districtBoutside Hawaii. The woman who represents the eighth Congressional@district in the U.S. House of Representatives is Democrat Nancy>Pelosi, who will be relieved if the talks that open next week1will resolve the dispute adequately and quickly.B   Congresswoman Pelosi uses strong language when she talks aboutthe trade dispute:B   "Right now in China there is a massive rampant piracy of ideas>and software programs that are written by people in America."5   In California, with its large creative community,?"intellectual property" is big business.  Congresswoman PelosiAsays when Chinese companies produce illegal, unauthorized copiesAof movie videocassettes, computer programs, or music recordings,$the California economy is effected:=   "It has cost billions of dollars.  And every day that theBChinese stall in the negotiations, it is millions of dollars more(in the pockets of the Chinese pirates."B   This past weekend, after months of fruitless negotiations, the@Clinton Administration said it would impose punitive tariffs onAmore than one billion dollars in Chinese goods.  The tariffs are$to go into effect later this month.@   Congresswoman Pelosi, a long time advocate of tough measuresBto press China to improve human rights conditions, says its about8time the United States learns to say  "no"  to Beijing:?   "For the first time, this administration, and for the first=time ever I think, the United States is saying 'no, we can'tAstand for this.  While we look the other way on you human rights?abuses, we will not stand for you ripping off our intellectualproperty.'"<   Ms. Pelosi has been fighting for a stronger link betweenAChina's human rights performance and its trade relationship withBthe United States.  Last year, the Clinton Administration dropped?human rights conditions from China's most favored nation trade>status, a designation that enables Chinese goods to enter the>United States under the same tariffs as most other countries.>   All the same, Congresswoman Pelosi says she is not totally>surprised by the tough stand on "intellectual property."  SheAnotes both the Clinton White House and the Republican leadership;in Congress see these "products of the mind" as the key toAmerica's economic future:B   "The hope that we have about having high-paying high wage jobs?for Americans rests on intellectual property.  The billions of@dollars already lost are an indication that the Chinese see the>money in it and rather than developing their own intellectual@property, which as a closed society (is difficult because) they5don't have the freedom on expression, the freedom of9investigation into issues and ideas, they rip off ours."?   If imposed on February 26th, the rise in tariffs on Chinese?goods will represent the largest package of trade sanctions inAAmerican history.  China has already announced it will retaliate=on the same day with similar tariffs on American goods.  The>three week delay in implementation is technically designed to>deal with the problem of goods in transit.  But it also givesBnegotiators for both sides one last chance to resolve the dispute"and prevent an all-out trade war.   ---------------   ----------------   CONGRESSIONAL REACTION TO PROPOSED BUDGET   JIM MALONE
   SENATEA   Republicans in the U.S. Congress were immediately critical of;President Clinton's 1996 budget proposal which was sent to@Capitol Hill Monday.  Republican Congressional leaders say they?are willing to make the tough decisions on spending cuts which!the President apparently is not.=   The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Senator PeteADomenici, says the President's proposed 1996 budget plan may not<be dead on arrival but it is on life-support.  He and other;Republicans are disappointed that the President did not go;further in cutting government programs and in reducing the1federal budget deficit over the next five years.<   But Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole said he does see a@politically brighter side in the President's budget request. He>believes the lack of progress toward cutting the deficit will@spur public support for a proposed balanced budget amendment to@the U.S. constitution which is now being debated in the Senate:B   "And it is too bad that the administration has given up trying;to ever  get us to a balanced budget. Republicans and many>Democrats are  responding to the American people's demand for;more limited  government by fighting for a balanced budget@amendment. And I think  the fact that he sends us a budget likeBthis, it certainly may help our cause in getting enough votes fora balanced budget amendment."B   Republican Congressional leaders are criticizing the President>for not proposing cuts in costly federal health care programs?like medicare for the elderly and medicaid for the poor. Those;programs  plus the social security retirement fund make upAroughly two-thirds of all government spending and are growing at
a fast pace.@   The chairman of the House Budget Committee, Congressman JohnBKasich, says the new Republican majority in Congress is committed=to tackling tough political issues like cutting medicare and
medicaid:=   "I think that we all know that if we do not get about the=business of  balancing the budget, of making a commitment toBestablish priorities, the next generation is going to find itselfwith no future."<   Even a few Democrats like Senator Jim Exon had hoped forBdeeper cuts in the President's budget.  But Senator Exon says the9ball is now in the Republican court and he called on theBRepublican Congressional leadership to come up with a budget plan;of their own to show exactly where they would make cuts ingovernment spending.>   Senator Exon also urged both sides in the budget debate to'withdraw competing plans to cut taxes::   "I want to state today that I will oppose any tax cut,@Republican or Democrat. At a time when the deficit is projectedBto start rising once again in the near future, in my view it (tax0cut) is the height of fiscal irresponsibility."<   In addition to a stiff fight with Democrats over cutting=medicare, Republicans can also expect a fierce struggle overAtheir proposal to increase defense spending, a key part of their election Contract with America.   ---------------   ---------------1   CLINTON'S PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS FOREIGN AID 5%   ART CHIMES   WASHINGTON@   President Bill Clinton's budget proposal includes 21-billion?dollars in foreign aid.  That is a five-percent reduction from@current aid spending.  Many Americans question the aid program.A   Americans have always been of two minds about foreign aid. On=the one hand, they like to think of themselves as a generous?people, willing to share prosperity with those less fortunate;<and over the years, the United States has spent billions onAforeign military and security programs.  On the other hand, many>feel that too much aid goes to countries that do not need the<money or that are unworthy, perhaps because of human rightsAabuses.  And there is a widespread feeling that tax money shouldbe spent here at home.@   The conflict was reflected in a recent opinion survey.  MostBAmericans in the poll said the United States is spending too muchBon foreign aid programs, and they thought only about five percent=of the federal budget should be spent on aid.  In fact, five>percent would be a huge increase.  Foreign aid programs today>amount to a little more than one percent of federal spending.8Proportionately, that is less than other industrializedcountries.B   Senator Mitch McConnell, who is chairman of a key subcommittee>of the powerful Appropriations Committee, recently proposed a?20-percent cutback in aid.  And he is not the only one callingfor dramatic cutbacks.@   At a time when domestic programs are being cut back, foreign<aid critics such as lawyer and Congressional candidate FayeAWilliams say federal spending should be focused on meeting needs	at home:A   "We can not have a serious discussion of saving money for theAAmerican people unless we discuss what we are doing with foreignaid."?   Supporters of American aid programs look at it differently.?For example, the executive director of the private development;group World Vision, Andrew Natsios, disputes those who say7foreign aid is not in America's own national interest:B   "I would argue the exact opposite, that a peaceful, stable andAprosperous world is profoundly part of what should be defined in;the post-cold war world as the center of what the nationalinterest is about."A   Some of the disagreement may swirl around aid programs in theAMiddle East.  Israel is by far the biggest recipient of American;aid, getting more than three billion dollars a year. Egypt=receives more than two billion.  Together, the two countries=split about one-quarter of America's total aid budget, which>makes it a big target.  But aid to Israel, in particular, has>traditionally been considered untouchable, backed by a strong.pro-Israel constituency in the United States.   ---------------   ---------------%   "CARLOS, THE JACKAL" BAIL REQUEST   SONJA PACE	   PARIS?   A French court has denied a request by jailed internationalAterrorist "Carlos, The Jackal" that he be released on bail.  TheBFrench government says he is responsible for killing more than 80=people in attacks throughout Europe and the Middle East, but-carlos maintains he has been held illegally.?   It seemed highly unlikely from the beginning that the courtBwould agree to Carlos's request to be released on bail. And afterAbarring journalists and the public from the courtroom the judgespromptly turned down his plea.A   The decision brought an outcry from carlos's lawyers, who say@their client is not able to defend himself before French publicBopinion or in the media. The authorities here are bent on denying1the 44-year old ex-guerrilla any such publicity.?   Carlos, whose real name is Illich Sanchez Ramirez, is under?investigation for a series of bombings in France in the 1970's;and 1980's.  He was detained in Sudan last August and thenbrought to  France.@   Carlos insists he was kidnapped.  And his lawyers insist the?government has no case against him.  All his preliminary court?appearances have been behind closed doors, something the court&can order without giving any reasons.   ---------------   ---------------7   FRENCH SOCIALIST PARTY NAMES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE   LARRY JAMES	   PARIS=   The French presidential campaign took a new turn over the?weekend as Lionel Jospin was officially named as the socialistBparty candidate for the presidency.  Newspapers in Paris describeAhis candidacy Monday as energizing the campaign, which until nowAhas been a one-sided affair dominated by the contest between two?conservatives, Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and Paris mayor@Jacques Chirac.  Larry James reports from the French capital on=what the Jospin candidacy is likely to mean in the election.B   An opinion poll published Monday in the French daily Infomatin<shows that Lionel Jospin might qualify for the second round?run-off in the presidential election.  That must be considered?quite an accomplishment for the socialists and a credit to Mr.>Jospin, who was officially chosen this weekend as the party's>candidate for the presidency.  That the same poll shows him a>sure loser to either Prime Minister Edouard Balladur or ParisBmayor Jacques Chirac comes as no surprise.  What is surprising isBthat any socialist candidate could be considered a credible forcein the campaign at all.?   The internal battle among the socialists over who should be>the standard bearer has been a tough one.  Mr. Jospin was the?first to  formally announce his candidacy, doing so just after>Jacques delors, the man considered the socialists' best hope,Bdecided not  to run and left socialist hopes dashed and the party=in disarray.  Mr. Jospin's easy victory over rival and partyBleader Henri Emmanuelli and the latter's promise of support would/seem to give a big boost to socialist chances.@   French media Monday hailed the Jospin candidacy as a welcomeBdevelopment that is sure to breathe new life into a campaign that?had so far only been a popularity contest between Mr. BalladurBand Mr. Chirac.  Mr. Jospin's opponents on the left have, for the=moment anyway, made a show of unity with some pledging their@support.  On Monday, maverick Bernard Tapie offered the supportAof his center-left radical movement, a socialist faction, if Mr.AJospin addresses their concerns.  Mr. Jospin cautiously welcomedAthe gesture but warned he would  not be dictated to by anyone, aBstatement that seems to show  the unexpected unity the socialists)currently enjoy could be rather fragile.?   There are less than three months remaining before the firstBround of balloting begins April 23rd.  Whether that leaves enough@time for Mr. Jospin and the left to make a credible run for thepresidency remains to be seen.   ---------------   ---------------1   HONG KONG TO LOSE OUT IN U.S./CHINA TRADE WAR   MAX RUSTON
   HONG KONG>   If Beijing and Washington carry out their threats of trade?sanctions and retaliation, one of the places that would suffer=the most is Hong Kong, which serves as the main transhipment?center for Sino-U.S. trade. Hong Kong business people say they=worry the territory may be too vulnerable to the impact of aSino-U.S. trade war.>   Hong Kong's role as an intermediary in the Sino-U.S. trade>relationship has allowed the territory to flourish during theAlast decade, as China's economy has opened up.  But, businessmenBsay that relationship now threatens to contribute to instability,7as Hong Kong prepares for its 1997 transfer to Chinese
sovereignty.=   About 60-percent of Chinese exports headed for the United@States pass through Hong Kong.  Those goods are valued at close%to one-and-one-half-billion dollars.@   Each time the threat of a Sino-U.S. trade war is raised, the9Hong kong government calculates the potential losses theBterritory might face.  Preliminary estimates from Hong Kong trade:officials say the threatened sanctions could affect aboutAone-half-billion dollars in trade passing through the territory.=   Business analysts say the current dispute has also raised?long-term questions about the stability of the Sino-U.S. tradeBrelationship.  In response, Hong Kong's Trade Development Council9issued a statement urging manufacturers and exporters to?diversify their export markets.  The statement says that would=help lessen the impact of trade disputes between Hong Kong'smajor trading partners.?   Business people in Hong Kong say they believe there is timeBfor Beijing and Washington to avoid a trade war by settling theirAcurrent dispute over intellectual property rights.  They say the8two sides have a tradition of threatening sanctions and?retaliation during negotiations, but usually reach last minute
settlements.:   Meanwhile, Hong Kong's hang Seng share index surprised@analysts Monday by rising almost six-percent.  The increase was=widely seen as an expression of confidence there will not be<another increase in U.S. interest rates in the near future.?Analysts say the market's performance also appears to indicate@investors believe Washington and Beijing will end their current6negotiations with an agreement rather than sanctions.   ---------------   ---------------4   EGYPTIAN FILMMAKER FIGHTS CENSORSHIP OF HIS FILM   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIRO:   A leading Egyptian filmmaker, Yousef Chahine, has been>fighting a court order to confiscate all copies of his latestAfeature film, "The Immigrant".  Although it was cleared by state?censors, an Islamic fundamentalist lawyer contends the film is?blasphemous because it tells the story of Joseph, considered aprophet in Islam.B   The film tells the ancient story of a young desert nomad named?ram who goes to Egypt to learn how to farm the soil.  He gains@that knowledge and a lot of life experience along the way.  The?melodrama is done in the style of a 1950's American epic, like!Ben Hur or the ten commandments.>   The film's director, Youssef Chahine, says this is not the@story of Joseph, which appears in both the bible and the Koran.BHe says if it were it would be considered blasphemy under Islamiclaw:@   "That the picture is inspired by, well, I do not think thereAis not a story in the world, there is not any human relationship;in the world, that has not been written in the holy books.AOtherwise, then the holy books are lacking something and who can@say the holy books are lacking.  They are supposed to have said,everything that has happened in the world."A   Mr. Chahine says his first script was too close to the truth.BSo, he consulted with Islamic scholars at Al Azhar University whoAadvised him to alter the story.  Government censors approved theproduction.A   The immigrant was a box office hit, selling more than 750,000Atickets in its six-week run at Egyptian movie theaters late last@year.  Then a fundamentalist lawyer saw the film and charged itAwas the biblical story of Joseph and thus a blasphemy.  He filed8a lawsuit to ban the film and confiscate the negatives.8   The lawsuit has again raised the issue of freedom of"expression in an Islamic society.A   Two years ago, a fundamentalist parliamentarian tried to have9the culture minister fired after the ministry's magazineAreproduced a famous nude painting of adam and eve.  He called it=blasphemy. In another case, a fundamentalist lawyer tried to@force the courts to divorce a respected professor and his wife,Aclaiming he was an apostate for criticizing Koranic teachings inhis classroom.:   Egyptian Jurist Sa'Id El-Ashmawy warns religious-based=censorship can be wrongly used by extremists as a license to(attack the creative work or the artist.?   The secular Egyptian writer Farag Foda was murdered for his criticism of Islamic teachings.?   Mr. Ashmawy recalls an Islamic zealot stabbed Egypt's Nobel?Laureate Naguib Mahfouz last year after reports about Al Azhar8University having banned an early work as anti-Islamic::   "In the confession of the young man who stabbed NaguibBMahfouz.  He said that he did not read Mr. Mahfouz's books and he:will never read them.  He just got the fatwa, a religious;opinion, that Mr. Mahfouz is an apostate who wrote a novel@35-years ago against Islam, which is not true.  This is just aninterpretation."B   Still, Islamic scholars like Fahmy Howeidy argue every society3has to set moral limits and Islam is no exception:B   "So, the question is what are those limits.  We say our limits9are controlled by the Islamic values or Koranic values.">   Mr. Howeidy will not comment on the Chahine film.  But, heBargues debates about religious-based censorship are not exclusive;to islam.  He cites the controversy several years ago that=swirled around a western movie inspired by the life of jesus=christ.  The film was removed from several movie theaters inAEurope and North America after outcries of blasphemy and violent-attacks against the theaters that showed it.   ---------------   --------------->   VIOLENCE BETWEEN SUNNI AND SHIA GROUPS CONTINUE IN KARACHI   JENNIFER GRIFFIN
   ISLAMABAD@   Sectarian attacks on Sunni and Shia Islamic groups continued?late Sunday in Pakistan, leaving more than 23-dead in the port?city of Karachi.  The death toll mounted after a gunman openedAfire on worshipers at a Sunni mosque killing nine. Political andAreligious leaders say they are confused by the recent shootings.B   Unknown gunmen opened fire on a crowded Sunni mosque as MuslimAworshipers offered prayers Sunday in Karachi. Witnesses say theyAsaw the barrel of an automatic rifle poke through an open mosqueBwindow before the gunman fired.  At least nine people were killedand 18 injured in the attack.>   Observers said the mosque was packed with more people than@normal, as Muslims prayed to mark this week's start of the holymonth of fasting, Ramadan.;   Since Saturday, more than 36 people have been killed in@sectarian attacks.  Religious leaders and businessmen expressed8outrage at the government's silence over the shootings.B   No one has yet taken credit for the latest sectarian violence.AThe heads of hardline Sunni and Shia groups blamed a third force;for the weekend killings.  They say the unidentified third<force's goal is to create anarchy in Karachi and topple thepresent government.B   President of the militant Shia group Tehrik-Jaffaria-Pakistan,;Mohammad Baqar Najfi, said, in his words, the situation is<deliberately being created to create anger among the peopleAagainst religious organizations.  He said there is a third party:involved and both Shias and Sunnis are being targeted andexploited.A   Hardline Sunni leaders said the recent attacks were part of a>conspiracy to discredit Muslims and overthrow the government.BSunni and Shia leaders deny the two groups are involved in a war,Athough Sunday's Sunni mosque attack followed the weekend murdersof at least 7 Shia activists.B   Most of Pakistan's 120-million people are Sunni Muslims.  BothBSunnis and Shias have lived together in relative peace, since theBcountry's founding in 1947.  But, several hardline Sunni and Shia2groups have emerged in Pakistan since the 1980's.>   Observes say Pakistan's Sunni militants receive money from;fundamentalist groups in Saudi Arabia and Libya, while the1country's Shias are said to get funds from Iran.=   Ethnic, political, and religious violence has plagued the9country's commercial capital in recent years.  More than"75-people were killed in January.   ---------------   ---------------"   SRI LANKA: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK   MICHAEL DRUDGE
   JAFFNA@   In Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels have been fighting for a separateBhomeland since 1983.  With more than 30,000 people killed the war@has become the most violent ethnic conflict in South Asia.  The=Tamil rebellion is rooted in the island's complex ethnic and>religious makeup.  Tamils are mostly Hindus and they comprise@about one-fifth of Sri Lanka's population. Most Sri Lankans areBSinhalese Buddhists.  For centuries before European colonization,=the Tamils and Sinhalese operated separate kingdoms.  DuringABritish rule in the 19th century, Tamils were promoted to senior=posts in the colonial bureaucracy, but after independence inB1948, Tamils say they began to suffer discrimination.  Anti-Tamil?riots rocked Sri Lanka in 1983 and rebellion has followed. theBrebels hope for eventual recognition of the de facto independencethey already claim.9   My journey to Jaffna illustrates how isolated is thisBstronghold of the Tamil Tiger guerrilla movement.  The governmentAcannot provide safe transport to Jaffna town.  Which  is home tomore than 600 thousand tamils.?   Instead, a Sri Lankan navy patrol boat ferries me and three>other reporters to the Mercs Komari, a supply ship flying theBflag of the International Committee of the Red Cross.  It will beBour last contact with the Sri Lankan government until our return.@   The armed forces run an airfield and jetty on a tiny spit ofBland on the northern tip of Jaffna Peninsula at the once-thriving>village of Kankesanturai, known locally as KKS.  Nearly everyBhouse in KKS is now abandoned.  Walls are pock-marked with bullet;holes.  Many buildings are tumbled down wrecks from aerialBbombing.  Off the jetty, a ship lays on its side, half submerged,'sunk by Tamil Tiger frogmen last year.@   The supply ship sails along the coast to the fishing villageAof Point Pedro.  It travels there daily to unload rice and sugarfor the Jaffna population.;   Once ashore at Point Pedro, we are met by a Tamil tIger@representative.  A car is waiting for us, a 1950's model Austin?that runs on paint thinner and kerosene because the government*bans gasoline shipments to the peninsula.@   During the hour-long ride to town, we pass lush fields where>farmers grow vegetables and tobacco.  Upon arriving in JaffnaAtown I find a city with  no  municipal power supply or telephone6service, where a bicycle is the most reliable form ofBtransportation.  But the city is also remarkably normal with busyshops and schools.A   Jaffna is controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.@In the Tamil language Eelam means "homeland."  The Tamil TigersBclaim nearly one-third of Sri Lanka as their Eelam with Jaffna as
its capital.A   On their "Voice of the Tigers" radio station, the rebels playBtheir national anthem.  While the Tamil Tigers are best known for;their guerrilla army and their suicide squads called Black?Tigers, they also operate a police station, a tax office and acourt system.A   On a visit to a Jaffna jail.  I find three men in the lockup.AOne is accused of illegal money changing.  Another of stealing a@bicycle, and a third allegedly committed adultery, a crime that@can result in a three-year imprisonment.  The Tamil Tiger penal>code sets the age of marriage at 18 for women and 23 for men.1Convicted rapists and murderers can be executed.B   I later visit a tile-roofed courthouse where three Tamil Tiger<judges preside.  They are all in their early 20s.  They are<former combatants who have attended the local Tiger-run law	college.:   They sit under a photograph of the shadowy Tamil Tiger@commander, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, who they say chose them for@the bench.  The judges say convictions can be appealed directly<to Mr. Prabhakaran.  The 40-year-old Mr. Prabhakaran rarelyBemerges from his jungle hideout, but he commands the Tamil Tigers9with an iron fist.  His motto is:  "He who dares, wins."?   Observers say he perpetuates a personality cult and demandsBcomplete obedience.  In Prabhakaran's Jaffna rhetoric abounds anddissent is stifled.=   A member of the Tigers political wing takes me to a Tiger>cemetery, containing more than one thousand graves of what he<calls "heroic martyrs.  Most tamils are Hindus and practiceBcremation.  But my guide says the Tigers now bury fallen comradesAbecause they are, in his words, "seeds of liberation ... That in#the future will sprout and bloom."B   A foreign relief worker says the Tigers control the populationAthrough tactics mindful of the novels of George Orwell.  A local@Roman Catholic priest says people on the peninsula do not trustAeach other and are afraid to criticize the Tigers.  Both sources"ask that their names not be used.=   There is pent up desire for peace among Jaffna residents.?Crowds broke through a cordon of Tiger guards to embrace a Sri8Lankan air force helicopter pilot who flew a governmentAdelegation in for peace talks in October.  A pro-Tiger newspaper>the next day gruffed that the same pilot had previously flown attack missions against Jaffna.A   The government is in more of a hurry than the Tamil Tigers to>conclude a negotiated political settlement to the war.  Tiger;spokesman Anton Balasingham says the rebels first want theBgovernment to restore normal life on the peninsula by eliminating?the economic embargo and reopening transportation links to the6mainland.  The rebels also want an 800-million-dollar-reconstruction project to begin immediately.?   Mr. Balasingham says once the government takes these steps,<political negotiations can begin.  He denies the Tigers are>making no concessions, saying the rebels are ready to abandon>their demand for a separate state if the government will give&them autonomy under a federal system:B   "We have been fighting for the establishment of an independent=state.  Of course, we have sacrificed tremendously.  We have>sacrificed seven thousand of our cadres for this struggle for;self-determination.  But we are prepared to give in and to7consider viable (suitable) alternatives rather than an3independent state.  That is where we can concede."=   Mr. Balasingham is vague on what will become of the TamilATiger guerrillas under such a scheme.  He says that will have toBbe negotiated.  Other sources expect the Tigers will demand power=for a transition period of several years before democracy is
established.A   Mistrust is strong on both sides.  The military establishment?worries that the Tigers will use a cease-fire to rebuild their>forces and resume the war.  The Tigers warn of what they call>"Sinhalese Buddhist Chauvinists" lurking behind the scenes toundermine negotiations.?   Western diplomats in Colombo are skeptical these talks will<succeed.  They say President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who wonBelection last year on a peace platform, cannot concede all of theATigers' demands without at least an agreement to begin politicalnegotiations.?   But Jaffna University sociology lector Shanmunanagan Nathan4says the Tigers have learned the value of violence:@   "It is violence that pays.  You see, it is the violence that?pays. Peaceful marches, peaceful demonstrations are a thing ofthe past."A   Professor Nathan says this is why the Tamil Tigers have takenBsuch a tough bargaining stance.  And, as he puts it, "this is the3opportune time for us to get whatever we can get."   ---------------   ---------------&   RESEARCH ON A NEW BLOOD SUBSTITUTE   ZENNY SADLON   CHICAGO=   Forces similar to those that keep our hair and nails from>falling apart hold together building blocks of a possible new<blood substitute. The promising research into what's calledB"oxygen carrying hemoglobin microspheres" is being done by a teamBof researchers led by professor Kenneth Suslick at the University!of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.@   Half of professor Suslick's research team has been trying to@produce both modified and synthetic versions of iron-containingAblood proteins, the best known of which is hemoglobin. The otherAhalf of the team has studied the chemical effects of ultrasound,=that is high frequency sound inaudible by human ear. The two?previously unrelated projects led to the discovery of a method(for creating "hemoglobin microspheres."A   "They are hollow, says Suslick. "We have ways of making these@microspheres filled with essentially any liquid we want or withBgas. And the ones for the blood substitute would be intentionallychosen to be gas filled."B   The microspheres result from high-intensity ultrasound passing=through a hemoglobin solution. The expansion and compression?waves of ultrasound pull the liquid apart, forming microscopic<cavities or bubbles. Another effect of the ultrasound, says4Suslick, is intense localized heating and pressure.>   "Peak temperatures of that heating inside the hot spot are=about five-thousand degrees kelvin. For calibration purposes<that's about the temperature of the surface of the sun. The@compression also generates high pressures of about two-thousand<atmospheres. That's about the pressure at the bottom of theocean."9   Although the immense heat and pressure last only tiny@fractions of a second, they provide an unusual way of putting aBlot of energy into molecules, thereby allowing them to chemicallybond. According to Suslick:=   "The formation of the hemoglobin microspheres comes aboutAbecause of some of the chemical species that are produced during@this intense heating. The microspheres are held together by theAoxidation of sulphur containing amino acids in the proteins thatBform what are called disulfide linkages. These disulfide linkages;are very common in nature, they're in fact what holds hair=together, holds our fingernails together. And this oxidation?process to form disulfide linkages in fact is the same kind of>process that's used to give a permanent curl to hair. So when@someone goes into the beauty parlor and gets a perm, their hair9is undergoing a process not very different from what the?hemoglobin is undergoing when we irradiate it with ultrasound.A   The result of irradiating hemoglobin by ultrasound is a frothAof hemoglobin microspheres on top which is easily separated from:the hemoglobin water solution sediment at the bottom. The>hemoglobin microspheres, if used as a blood substitute, would-have one great advantage over natural blood:@   "The microspheres have a shelf-life of several months. We've@stored them for six months and more than three quarters of themAremained (survived) at that time. That's in significant contrast=to the usual problems one has with storing whole blood where@shelf-lives under optimal refrigerated conditions are typicallyabout a month.">   The hemoglobin microspheres can also carry 50 percent moreoxygen than real blood.=   However, before a viable blood substitute can be produced9commercially, several obstacles must be overcome. First,?long-term animal studies must determine both toxicity and real@life oxygen carrying properties of the tiny hemoglobin bubbles.BThe second challenge is a source of hemoglobin. Commercially sold=hemoglobin, produced from blood discarded by blood banks, isexpensive.B   Professor Suslick says there is research currently underway in@the western state of Colorado, in which rather large quantities;of human hemoglobin are produced by modified DNA bacteria:;   "And so in the future it's clear that any product using>hemoglobin is probably going to take advantage of genetically@engineered bacteria as the source of the hemoglobin rather than)having to depend on human blood supply."=   The only commercially available blood substitute the U.S.BGovernment's Food and Drug Administration has approved for use so>far is a fluoro-carbon emulsion, called "fluosol.". With rare@exceptions, it's used only as an additive to blood during heartsurgery called angioplasty.A   Fluosol, as well as other fluoro-carbons studied for possible;use as blood substitutes, can hold only half of the oxygen7carried by real blood. Professor Suslick's "hemoglobinAmicrospheres", carrying 50 percent more oxygen and having longer>shelf-life than real blood, therefore represent one promising7step towards making a full blood substitute a reality.   ---------------   ---------------D   MAORI ACTIVISTS INTERRUPT NEW ZEALAND'S NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION   MARY MCCALLUM   WELLINGTON=   New Zealand's national day celebrations broke down Monday?under a torrent of protest by indigenous Maori activists.  The<verbal and physical confrontation, which included one Maori>spitting at the queen's representative, ended in the official$evening ceremonies being cancelled.@   Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of a treaty 155?years ago between the indigenous Maori chiefs and the queen of>England, is New Zealand's national day but it has always been?controversial and dogged by protest.  This year's Waitangi Day*protests were the worst in over 10 years.?   The day began at three Monday morning when an arson attempt?left the treaty house slightly damaged.  When the Maori people>arrived for the celebrations, activists took center stage and>kept the governor general, who is the queen's representative,BPrime Minister James Bolger, and about 100 dignitaries waiting in@the heat while they talked.  Speaker after speaker attacked the<government for what they called its broken treaty promises.2Another activist stamped on the New Zealand flag.B   When the governor general arrived at the Waitangi celebrationsAshe was spat on by a Maori speaker.  Later one activist rituallyAexposed his buttocks to her in a traditional insult.  The policeBwere booed, the prime minister was shouted down, and official New>Zealand flag were replaced with Maori sovereignty flags.  TheBresulting uproar forced a cancellation of the official events forBthe evening.  And Prime Minister Jim Bolger says how this country3recognized Waitangi Day in future is now in doubt.@   The day celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi 155?years ago between the indigenous Maori chiefs and the queen of?England.  The agreement effectively handed over sovereignty to?the British monarch and gave her the right to buy any land the@Maori chiefs wanted to sell.  In return the maori people should@have kept their land and property and gained the protection and?rights of subjects of the queen.  This has not always been the@case, and there was added confusion in the maori interpretation;of the document.  They said they had not signed away theirsovereignty at all.B   This year, the Maori community is incensed by the government'sBlatest move to try and settle wrongs they have suffered since the?signing of the treaty of Waitangi.  Financial settlements have9been made with maori tribes for their losses of land and;resources, but just recently the government moved to put a@financial cap on those settlements of 700-million U.S. dollars.?   Maori activists have turned to earlier protest tactics withBattacks made on an ancient symbolic tree, the head chopped off anBimportant statue, and calls for the end to white rule by the year2000.   ---------------   ---------------?   NIGER PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW GOVERNMENT   PURNELL MURDOCK   ABIDJANB   Niger's Prime Minister Abdoulaye Souley resigned from his post;Monday to make way for a government from the newly electednational assembly.>   Prime Minister Abdoulaye Souley's resignation followed theBseating Monday of the new national assembly, which was elected in	January.?   President Mahamane Ousmane called the national elections to>end a three-month-long political stalemate.  He was forced to:dissolve parliament last October when then Prime Minister7Mahamadou Issoufou resigned, taking his party, and the,president's legislative majority, with him.<   Prime Minister Souley's government received a vote of no9confidence last October shortly after being appointed byAPresident Ousmane.  But the prime minister was allowed to retain6his position until a new parliament could be elected.B   A coalition of opposition parties holds a slim majority in the@new national assembly, winning 43 of the parliament's 83 seats,4while supporters of President Ousmane won 40 seats.A   President Ousmans said a new prime minister will be announcedsoon.   ---------------   ---------------E   7 MEN ARRESTED FOR PLANNING TO KILL PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT RELEASED   BILL RODGERS   SAN JOSEA   Panamanian authorities have released some of the men arrested;last month on charges of planning to assassinate President9Ernesto Perez Balladares. The men were freed for lack of
evidence.A   Panamanian Interior Minister Raul Montenegro says authorities8have dropped charges against seven policemen accused of>participating in the assassination plot.  Mr. Montenegro toldAreporters Monday the seven were freed for lack of evidence.  But8he said another six remain under arrest pending furtherBinvestigation.  The Panamanian interior minister did not rule outAmore arrests, but said the investigation has to proceed further.;   It was Mr. Montenegro who made the announcement JanuaryBeleventh that Panama's intelligence services had foiled a plot toBassassinate President Ernesto Perez Balladares and top members ofBhis government.  The interior minister said the assassins, mainlyBpolice agents and former members of Panama's now-disolved defense9force, planned to establish a junta to rule Panama.  The=assassination was to have occurred on January 13th, during a?visit Mr. Perez Balladares planned to make to the northwestern>province of Chiriqui.  Authorities detained more than a dozen$people in connection with the plot.?   News of the plot stunned Panama, especially since Mr. Perez<Balladares had been in power less than six months.  The new?president, who was elected last May, is head of the DemocraticARevolutionary Party, or PRD, which was once the political arm of$Panama's former military dictators.?   However, some Panamanians say they are doubtful a plot ever?existed.  Panamanian political scientist Miguel Antonio Bernal?suggests it was a hoax to boost Mr. Perez Balladares' flaggingpopularity:?   "This is a big show.  This was used by the Perez Balladares=government because their popularity was not at a good level,Bcontrary to what they say.  No  one in Panama, only the politicalAparties of the opposition believe in this plot.  But the popular@opinion, if you stop in the Panamanian streets, and you ask the>people they are just going to laugh.  We just smile when theyBtalk about this crazy plot, it's impossible.  They don't have any7evidence and this is going to pass very quickly here."@   But Panamanian authorities maintain the plot was real.  They<say disgruntled elements of Panama's dissolved armed forcesAappear to have been behind the plot, and also were involved in a9similar attempt two years ago against the life of formerApresident Guillermo Endara.  Authorities say these elements want-to return Panama to a military dictatorship.   ---------------   ---------------+   AUTHOR ADVOCATES PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH   PAUL FRANCUCH   CHICAGO>   In a new book just published here in the United States andAabroad by Doubleday, a noted American scholar makes a persuasiveBhistorical case for maintaining military strength in peacetime asAa way to insure that peace. But the author fears this historical!lesson often falls on deaf ears.?   Yale University history and classics professor Donald Kagan@makes the observations in his new book entitled "On the Origins;of War and the Preservation of Peace."  He draws parallels?between case studies of four wars and one near-war, namely the=1962 Cuban missile crisis.  Professor Kagan, whose scholarly<knowledge of the fifth century BC Pelopennisian War betweenBSparta and Athens rivals only that of the ancient Greek historianAThucydides (thoo-'sid-did-ees), who chronicled the war, draws on9what he believes was a shrewd observation made more thanAtwo-thousand years ago by Thucydides.  The Greek historian asked<the question, why do states seek power?  He cited three key=factors, honor, fear and interest.  Professor Kagan believesBhonor, or prestige or respect, is often most important.  He draws=an example from the second Punic war in the third century BC2between Carthage and Rome, and from World War II:B   "The Romans concluded the first (Punic) war by defeating their=opponent very thoroughly, but not attempting to destroy that@opponent, or to make it absolutely impossible for that opponent<to recover.  Then they proceeded to impose a peace that theBCarthaginians regarded as insulting, demeaning, and angering.  It?was the worst combination possible, you insult an opponent but=you don't make it impossible for him to regain his power and?challenge you again.  That's the analogy that seems to me very?good with Germany after the first world war where the peace of<versailles was a damaging peace, an insulting peace, but it@didn't have a built-in mechanism for preserving the new balance?of power.  It required the victors to keep their attention and<their effort and their ... Expenditures on maintaining thatpeace.  But they didn't."B   Referring to the example he uses in his book of the 1962 CubanBmissile crisis, professor Kagan says recently released details of?the event suggests the United States, though arguably strongerAmilitarily at the time than the Soviet Union, stood up to NikitaAKhrushchev's threat to place 40 nuclear missiles in Cuba pointed=toward the United States only after factions within the U.S.BGovernment pressured President John F. Kennedy to stand up to theSoviet leader.?   Up until that point, professor Kagan argues, Khrushchev did+not think the Americans would take action:B   "And I think that's a scary concept.  It makes you realize howAdifficult the keeping of the peace really is, if it's not enough/to be strong, you also have to be convincing."B   Donald Kagan argues that history shows peace is preserved best<when powerful nations work to preserve it.  But he says the;public, and politicians, often fail to grasp this concept:>   "They tend to take view that peace is the natural order ofBthings.   And that when the war is over you can forget about thatAstuff and  turn to more pleasant matters.  Whereas my reading of?history is that, I always put it this way, peace does not keep	itself."B   Today, professor Kagan believes there is a power vacuum in the@western world where attention is focused on parochial, domesticissues.B   He thinks perhaps the NATO military alliance could take on theAresponsibility of seeing that violence is  not the normal way to!bring about change in the world:A   "Doing something about it means trying to get as many friends>on board as share our interests and view of those things, and?then taking the responsibility, which means the willingness toBpay for the actions that are necessary and for the military forceBto make them credible.  And the willingness to use them when it's@appropriate, because if not, then they're worth nothing becauseAthey lack the credibility to deter.  And I see us shrinking from@parts of that and all of that in the same way that we did afterBthe first world war.  You know, it's astonishing to me.  It shows<you that nobody does any history at all because the lessonsBshould be so clear.  What we did after the first world war helpedBmake the second world war possible.  What we did after the secondAworld war seems to me to be very clear, which was largely a veryAresponsible course of action, and a very rare one, helps accountBfor the fact that the world is a safer place today than it was 50years ago."<   Author and scholar Donald Kagan calls what he terms "the@business of keeping peace" a "full-time, permanent job," if the.world wants a safe place in which to prosper.   ---------------   ---------------2   VIETNAM AND PHILIPPINES SIGN REFUGEE AGREEMENT   MARIE ORARA
   MANILAA   Vietnam and the Philippines signed an agreement to ensure theBreturn of non-refugees to Vietnam.  Marie orara in Manila reportsAthe pact was signed during a visit by Vietnamese Foreign ForeignMinister Nguyen Manh Cam.A   The orderly repatriation agreement deals with Vietnamese boat=people who sailed to the Philippines, but cannot qualify for=settlement in the United States, Canada, or other countries.8   The agreement allows the Philippines to give illegal@immigrants from Vietnam a deadline to leave the country if they0fail to substantiate claims for refugee status.B   The U.N. high commissioner for refugees, which also signed theAagreement, says the pact shows the commitment of the Philippines>and other countries in the region to deal with the problem offalse refugee claims.=   Since 1975, more than 300-thousand Vietnamese have soughtasylum in the Philippines.A   Twenty-four-hundred non-refugees are housed at the Philippine4first asylum camp in the province of Palawan, about@600-kilometers southwest of Manila.  Most of these non-refugees8are considered economic migrants looking for better jobopportunities.<   Under the new agreement, the Philippines can order these;non-refugees to return to Vietnam, since the they have not>substantiated claims they would face political persecution if
repatriated.=   Reports say some Vietnamese who were housed at a recently@closed refugee processing center near Manila have hidden in the$countryside to escape repatriation.>   Indochinese refugees in Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia@also have resisted repatriation, despite the improved political#and economic situation in Vietnam.<   As well as signing the repatriation agreement, the joint9commission between Vietnam and the Philippines discussedAcooperation in areas of trade and investment, as well as scienceand technology.>   Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and Philippine=Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo signed a mutual cooperationAagreement on the South China Sea and called for all countries in6the region to avoid disturbing the peace in the area.A   The Philippine delegation also said they supported Vietnam in?its formal entry into the six-nation association of South EastAsian nations.   ---------------   ---------------6   JEWISH LEADERS ASKS POPE TO DENOUNCE ANTI-SEMITISM   PEGGY POLK   ROMEB   American Jewish leaders meeting with Pope John Paul the secondBat the Vatican have called on the Roman Catholic pontiff to issueBan encyclical denouncing anti-semitism. The Jewish group hopes an>encyclical, the highest form of papal teaching, would help to@contain the new outbreak of anti-semitism that has followed the!collapse of communism in Europe.;   The pope received a delegation from the American JewishBCommittee at a private audience marking the 30th anniversary of a8historic declaration by the second Vatican Council that@repudiated any collective Jewish guilt for the death of Christ.<   The declaration, called Nostra Aetate, opened the way toBdialogue that led to last year's establishment of full diplomatic7relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel.<   The president of the American Jewish Committee, New YorkBlawyer Robert Rifkind, said his delegation raised three issues atits meeting with the Pope::   "The first was our desire and request that he issue anBencyclical on anti-semitism as the consolidation of his teachings<over his entire ministry, denouncing anti-semitism as a sinagainst man and god."B   An encyclical letter is the highest form of papal teaching and?would be addressed to the 960 million Catholics throughout theworld.A   Expressing "deep concern" over the rise in xenophobia, ethnic9hatred and anti-semitism in Europe since the collapse of<communism, the Jewish leader also asked the Pope to join in?exposing attempts to rewrite history by denying that the Nazis:killed millions of Jews in the Holocaust of World War II.?   He said that one way to fight this revisionism would be for<Catholic and Jewish scholars to make a joint study of still9secret documents in the Vatican archives relating to theholocaust period.=   The Jewish leader also sought John paul's support for his@organization's campaign to uncover the roots of terrorism, muchAof which, he said, "is being carried out in the name of religionand religious ideology."A   Mr. Rifkind said the Pope listened carefully to the proposals4and promised that they would receive careful study.   ---------------   ---------------2   TWO WESTERN SAMOA CHIEFS CHARGED WITH SEDITION   KRIS TANAHARA   FIJIB   Two traditional chiefs in Western Samoa have been charged with?sedition.  One of the two men, a former cabinet minister, says<the government charges are aimed at intimidating oppositiongroups.>   The men charged with sedition are leaders of two groups of@high-ranking orator chiefs known as Tumua (too-moo-ah) and Pule@(poo-lay).  The former parliament members are outspoken critics7of a value-added goods and services tax imposed by thegovernment.?   The charges come a year after a march in protest of the tax8was held in the Western Samoa capital Apia (ah-pia-ah).:   Observers say the sedition charges are another sign of@increasing political strife in the country.  For the past year,;the political situation has been tense and unsettled.  The8government has been accused of corruption and financial-mismanagement involving millions of dollars.5   Police Commissioner Galuvao Tanielu (gah-loo-vao-?tah-knee-eh-loo) says five sedition charges were filed against2former parliament members Faamatuainu Tala Mailei:(fah-ah-ma-too-ah-ee-nu tah-lah mai-lay) and Toalepaialii@Toesuluusulu (toe-ah-lay-pai-ah-lee-ee toe-eh-soo-loo-soo-loo).@They are scheduled to appear in the Western Samoa supreme courtnext week.>   The two opposition leaders have been charged with speaking%seditious words and seditious libel.>   They claim the charges are an act of intimidation by PrimeBMinister Tofilau Eti Alesana (toe-fee-lau eh-tee ah-lay-sah-nah).8The prime minister has called last year's tax protest a;rebellion.  Police authorities deny the court action is an=attempt to deflate another anti-tax protest planned for thisweek.<   Protesters are scheduled to march to the head of state's;residence with a 90,000 signature petition calling for the@government to repeal the tax.  Opponents last year said the tax+had led to sharp increases in food prices.;   Western samoa is located about four-thousand kilometers@northeast of Australia.  In 1962 Western Samoa became the firstBcountry in the South Pacific to gain independence.  It had been aBGerman colony, league of nations mandate, and a New Zealand trustterritory.>   The Tumua and pule formed the power base of the government@before Western Samoa gained independence.  Both groups claim toAhave ultimate authority in samoa, although neither is recognizedby the constitution.   ---------------   ---------------4   STATE DEPARTMENT'S SHARE OF PROPOSED 1996 BUDGET   RON PEMSTEIN   STATE DEPARTMENTB   The State Department's share of the federal budget is a little>more than one percent of the total budget but foreign aid and?peacekeeping activities have been the subject of Congressional&threats to cut the President's budget=   President Clinton's budget essentially leaves spending on@foreign affairs unchanged in the face of Congressional pressure'to spend more at home and less abroad.?   Secretary of State Warren Christopher says the more than 21Bbillion dollars requested is the same as last year and represents.the basic cost of American leadership abroad:B   "We have been tough minded in putting this budget together.  IAbelieve the resources that we are requesting are the rock bottom@minimum that we need to defend and advance America's interests.ALast November's elections certainly changed many things but they?were not a license to lose sight of our global interests or toBwalk away from our commitments around the world. This budget doesmaintain our commitments."B   The largest increase in the budget request is for multilateral@development banks and the International Monetary Fund.  The 436Bmillion dollar increase will be a target for legislators who have8questioned the effectiveness of developmental aid.  The:administration is also requesting 220 million dollars for=countries in transition such as  Haiti, Cambodia and Angola.B   The Secretary of State has already heard questions in CongressBabout aid to Russia because of the violence in Chechnya. However,<Mr. Christopher told reporters reform in Russia needs help:A   "This investment in Russia and the other states of the former@Soviet Union remains the least expensive investment that we can=make for our long term security. Russia's indiscriminate andAexcessive use of force in Chechnya has certainly dealt a setbackAto reform in that country but it has not altered our fundamental;interests in helping Russian reformers build a nation that4finally is at peace with itself and its neighbors."?   The Secretary of State says assistance for Israel and EgyptAwill remain unchanged in the new budget but the State DepartmentBwill not  release figures for particular countries until later in>the week.  Funds for United Nations peacekeeping show a sharp>decrease but U.S. officials explain supplemental requests are6usually made during the year as circumstances change.   ---------------   ---------------:   N.Y. BOMBING CONSPIRACY DEPENDENT ENTERS PLEA BARGAINS   CHRIS SIMKINS   NEW YORK>   A key figure has pleaded guilty in the trial of Sheik OmarBAbdel Rahman, an Egyptian Muslim cleric, and 11 others accused of2plotting to bomb several New York City landmarks.B   Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali, a translator and close associate of>Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, pleaded guilty to all the conspiracy=charges against him and agreed to testify against his fellowco-defendants.B   Government prosecutors say Ali was the mastermind of a plot to?bomb several New York landmarks and they say he helped to planAthe 1993 bombing of the world trade center.  In an early morning?court appearance, Ali entered his plea and read a statement to=Judge Michael Mukasey (moo-casey) implicating sheik Omar andother defendants in the case.A   Prosecutors said they began meeting with Ali two weeks before@opening statements in the trial started, after being approachedAby a prison inmate who agreed to help them obtain a plea bargainAagreement from Ali.  Defense lawyers told reporters they were noAsurprised by Siddig Ali's guilty plea because this is the second5time he has agreed to cooperate with the government.>   Outside the courthouse Lynne Stewart, Sheik Omar's lawyer,=told reporters, prosecutors did not mention the pending plea?agreement with Ali before opening statements in the trial weremade:B   "The only thing we have a problem with is that all the defense<lawyers opened in this case, we all gave opening statements?giving the usual deference to a co-defendant also on trial forAhis life when at that point as known to the government he was in/fact being debriefed and was not a defendant."<   Siddig Ali, who prosecutors called the ringleader in theBconspiracy case, is a Sudanese citizen who has been living in theAUnited States for eight years.  Ali has held a number of jobs asBan Arabic interpreter, a clothing salesman, and a security guard.>Three months before his arrest last June Ali was the personalBinterpreter for sheik Omar and acted as a spokesman for the blind&cleric when he held news conferences.A   Last June, Ali had planned to be a government witness but two;months later he changed his mind.  He also reportedly sentAletters to two defendants saying he was prepared to plead guiltyBand accept a lengthy prison sentence rather than risk a trial andBa possible life prison sentence without parole.  Since that time,@Ali had been isolated from sheik Omar and the other defendants.B   Government prosecutors say sheik Omar was the spiritual leaderBof a radical Muslim terrorist organization and that he instructedBhis followers to wage a religious war of urban terror against the@United States to force the government to change its Middle East
policies.?   Prosecutors also claim the defendants plotted to kidnap and?assassinate government officials, including Egyptian PresidentBHosni Mubarak in New York in 1991.  The government's case against>the mostly Muslim fundamentalists is based partly on secretly<recorded conversations between a government informant, EmadSalem, and the defendants.>   Defense lawyers will return to court on Tuesday after theyAhave an opportunity to examine the cooperation agreement between'Siddig Ali and government prosecutors.   ---------------   ---------------D   DOLE SAYS HE WILL ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY ON ANNIVERSARY OF WAR WOUND   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON@   Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole says he plans to formally7announce his candidacy for the 1996 Republican Party's<Presidential nomination in mid-April,  50 years after being=wounded as a soldier during World War II. Senator Dole mightBconsider announcing his Vice-Presidential running mate in advance&of the party's nominating convention.A   Senator Dole says the week of April 14th, 1945 means a lot toBhim.  It was when his arm was shattered by German machine gunfire@during action as a young officer in northern Italy.  That week,=he plans to formally announce his latest bid for his party'sPresidential nomination.8   The 72-year old Mr. Dole, who failed to captured the@nomination in 1988, would, if elected, be the oldest first-termBPresident in history.  He did not rule out a pledge to serve onlyone four-year term.B   The Kansas Republican, speaking on U.S. television to reporter@Robert Novak, was asked if he might consider former Housing and=Urban Development secretary Jack Kemp as a Vice Presidential:running mate.  Mr. Kemp decided last week not to seek thePresidential nomination.=   Mr. Dole dismisses suggestions his 34 years in WashingtonBmakes him part of the problem of big-government.  He says he is a:man of experience who has been tested both in wartime andpeacetime.   ---------------   ---------------2   TENSION BETWEEN ALGERIA AND FRANCE INTENSIFIES   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIRO>   Tensions are mounting between Algeria and France following:President Francois Mitterrand's suggestion for a European=conference to deal with Algeria's political crisis. AlgerianAleaders are furious and state radio Saturday warned other states>to stay out of Algeria's internal affairs. The government has6recalled its ambassador from Paris for consultations.@   Algeria's foreign minister summoned the French ambassador in;Algiers to complain about President Mitterrand's proposal.;Meanwhile, he recalled Algeria's ambassador from Paris forconsultations.>   State radio lashed out at France and other states, warning7Algeria has not asked for and will not ask for foreign-intervention to resolve an internal problem.<   The North-African government is involved in a three-yearBbloody confrontation with Islamic radicals.  The violence erupted9in earnest after the military cancelled the 1992 general<elections the Islamic Salvation Front Party was set to win.A   Human rights monitors and diplomats in Algiers estimate up to530-thousand people have been killed in the violence.>   The government has so far rejected a peace proposal from a=coalition of eight legal opposition parties and the outlawed:Islamist Party.  President Liamine Zeroual has pledged to;eradicate terrorism and move the country out of the crisis*through new elections sometime this year.   ---------------   ---------------4   ALGERIAN REBELS CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOMBING   LAURIE KASSMAN	   CAIROB   The Arab-language newspaper Al-Hayat has published a statement4from Algeria's radical Islamic Armed Group claiming?responsibility for last week's bomb attack in downtown AlgiersAthat killed at least 42 people and injured hundreds.  The claimsBwere also printed in Algerian newspapers.  An Algerian politician*kidnapped last week has been decapitated.@   The Islamic Armed Group says the attack targeted the central?police station in Algiers because it was the center of tortureBand death.  The statement said one of the two suicide bombers wasonly 16 years old.A   The group warns that more attacks will follow even during theholy month of Ramadan.A   In another bloody incident, the state-run news agency reports>that the head of a politician was found in a railroad station>outside Algiers a week after he was kidnapped at his mother'shome in the capital.?   Radical Muslims have been battling Algerian authorities forAthree years now, ever since the military cancelled elections the@islamic Salvation Front Party was set to win.  The violence has=claimed up to 30,000 victims, including teachers, government4officials, young women, journalists and foreigners.>   Last week's bomb attack marks a change in strategy for theAradicals who have concentrated mostly on hit-and-run gun fights,knifings and kidnappings.   ---------------   ---------------*   CONTACT GROUP PRODUCES NEW BOSNIA PLAN   EVANS HAYS
   MUNICHA   The United States has announced a new agreement to foster the<new federation government of Bosnia-Herzegovinia.  The plan@announced at a European security conference in Munich calls forAthe appointment of an independent arbitrator to settle disputes.=   The new plan was worked out on short notice by the United=States and its allies in the so-called Contact Group of Five0countries.  They worked with representatives of0Bosnia-Herzegovina and the republic of Croatia.B   The agreement is designed to make the new federated governmentAof Bosnia-Herzegovina function despite ongoing tensions and openAconflicts involving its three main populations, Bosnian Muslims,Croatians, and Serbs.?   The plan was announced by assistant U.S. Secretary of State?Richard Holbrooke at the end of a two-day conference in Munich:dealing with European security issues.  In addition to an=arbitrator, whose decisions are to be binding, the plan also:calls for a wide range of assistance programs to help theBfederation develop its military and government.  Included will be>assistance teams working with the European Union to help ease%ethnic tension in local communities.@   Ambassador Holbrooke said before the plan was announced thatAhe hoped a united front displayed by Croatians and Muslims would(deter further aggression in the region.=   He thanked Germany for allowing the Bosnian talks to takeBplace at the Munich security conference.  He said that shows that8talk about security involves more than abstract issues:@   "This was not designed to detract from the European security@conference but rather to illustrate the fact that when you talk@about security you don't just talk about abstractions, you talkAabout the real world and there is  no  more dangerous problem in.the world today than the one in the Baltics."?   Ambassador Holbrooke also announced that in addition to theAplan worked out by Croatia-Bosnia and the western contact group,>that includes Britain, France, Germany and Russia, the United=States was making another contribution.  He said it would beinvolving military advice:>   "A United States announcement unrelated to the rest of the@announcements and that is that we will provide a senior retired=military officer to assist in the intergration of federationmilitary institutions."A   U.S. officials speaking after the news conference declined to/say what the new planned assistance will cost.   ---------------   ---------------   CLINTON'S 1996 BUDGET   DAVID GOLLUST   WASHINGTONA   President Clinton is preparing to unveil and send to Congress<Monday, his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. TheBoutlines of the 1996 budget are already known, and the subject ofpartisan debate.>   The President's one-point-six-trillion-dollar budget would-reduce or consolidate many federal programs.B   But due in part to middle class tax cuts proposed by the White@House, it also provides for a nearly 200-billion-dollar deficit:for 1996, a factor drawing heavy attack from the majority?Republicans in Congress pushing a balanced budget amendment tothe Constitution.B   The Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee,ABob Livingston, told television interviewers the budget suggestsBMr. Clinton has decided to opt out of the fight to reduce deficit
spending:=   "When you consider that he continues a 200-billion dollarAdeficit year after year after year with no end in sight, then inAeffect the President has conceded he doesn't want to balance theBbudget, he doesn't want to do anything about the debt, he doesn't@want to do anything about the 20-thousand dollars of debt piledAon the shoulders of every man, woman, and child in America, then=we need to make a big change over and above what he's done.">   Defenders of the Clinton budget package, however, say that@even though the nominal deficit figure will remain level in the<next few years, the size of the deficit in relation to  the?overall economy will decline, due to expected economic growth.;   Laura D'Andrea Tyson, the chairwoman of the President's@Council of Economic Advisers, said (on CBS) the deficit is only<one of many considerations in developing the overall budget	package:@   "Reducing the deficit really should be looked at in terms of:what's happening to the economy. We've tried to present aAbalanced package which includes tax relief for the middle class,>important spending on things like education and training, and>deficit reduction. And it's the package which is good for the&economy, as the past two years show."?   Mr. Clinton's middle-class tax cut plan includes 500-dollar>credits to families for each child under 13 years of age, and?credits of up to 10-thousand dollars each year for college andBjob training expenses.  Military spending for 1996 of 262 billion1dollars would be 20 billion less than this year.<   Other key members of Congress who appeared on the SundayAtelevision interview programs indicated the Republican drive for@the balanced budget amendment to the constitution may falter inthe Senate.@   Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and a senior Democrat RobertBByrd, said the future of the proposed amendment will come down to;a razor-close vote in a few weeks. Senator Byrd called the?proposal bad economic and constitutional policy, and warned he@would do everything he could, including delay tactics, to blockit.A   Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici conceded  thatAthe effort to line up the required two-thirds vote in the Senate"is as he put it: Getting tougher.   ---------------   ---------------:   ISRAEL CABINET VOTE TO EASE WEST BANK AND GAZA CLOSURE   PATRICIA GOLAN
   JERUSALEMA   Israel's cabinet Sunday voted to ease the two-week closure on:the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  But the government took no=decision on lifting the ban which keeps tens of thousands of'Palestinians away from jobs in Israel.A   The cabinet had been expected to approve a gradual lifting of;the strict closure, imposed since the suicide bombing near8Netanya which killed 21 Israelis.  Tens of thousands ofBPalestinian workers in Gaza and the West Bank are being prevented$from reaching their jobs in Israel.B   The cabinet ended its discussion on the closure without makingAa decision, although some restrictions will be eased for what is<termed "humanitarian reasons": Doctors and teachers will beAallowed into Israel, as will some produce.  Government ministersAinterviewed after the meeting said the cabinet is deeply dividedover the issue.>   Palestinian leaders have repeatedly condemned the closure,"calling it collective punishment.9   Israeli media reports say some security officers haveArecommended against lifting the closure, calling it an effective<way to decrease friction between Israelis and Palestinians.=Others warn that a protracted closure serves radical IslamicAgroups by further weakening the authority of Yasser Arafat, head(of the Palestinian self-rule authority.?   The decision  on the closure is being left to the scheduled?meeting later this week between Israeli Prime Minister YitzhakRabin and Yasser Arafat.   ---------------   ---------------.   BUSINESS REACTION TO CHINA TRADE SANCTIONS   VICTOR BEATTIE   WASHINGTON?   The Clinton Administration's decision to impose stiff trade?sanctions against Chinese exports in a dispute about copyright?violations has won strong backing from the business community.@But, many business organizations recognize a price will be paidin a prolonged trade war.<   The president of the International Intellectual Property=Alliance, Eric Smith, applauded the decision.  He says ChinaBshould use a three-week interval before the sanctions take effectBto reconsider its position and enter into an acceptable agreementwith the United States.A   Trade representative Mickey Kantor says Beijing has failed to=prevent the pirating of U.S. copyrighted material, including@movies, musical recordings and computer programs.  The pirating.is costing U.S. business billions of dollars.:   China retaliated against the U.S. sanctions by putting+100-percent tariffs on certain U.S. goods.A   Herb Linnen of the telecommunications giant AT&T acknowledges>there will be a cost to both sides in a protracted trade war:=   "In the coming years, before the year 2000, we will spend=nearly 40-billion dollars on telecommunications equipment to@upgrade its (china's) internal network. So, that is a very lush@(lucrative) market.  So AT&T hopes both sides can resolve theirAdifferences, because it does impact AT&T directly and, we think,American jobs."<   Nintendo of America also welcomed the U.S. announcement,@calling China's policy of ignoring intellectual property rightsoutrageous.9   U.S. Motion Picture Association Chairman Jack Valenti=expressed hope a solution to the problem will soon be found.:But, he called on China to close down factories producingcopyright-violating goods.   ---------------    FREE TRIAL SUBSCRIPTION;   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.  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