News In Brief

Taiwanese President Chiang Ching-kuo, son of Chiang Kai-shek, whose family has headed the Chinese Nationalist government for more than 50 years, assured the National Assembly Wednesday that the next president will be elected as stipulated by the Constitution. Mr. Chaing said there was no possibility he would be succeeded by either a relative or a military government.

Chiang succeeded his father as President in 1978 and was elected in 1984 to a second six-year term. His health recently has become an issue.

China, Britain urge Soviets to pull out of Afghanistan

China's Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, urged the Soviet Union yesterday to withdraw its troops unconditionally from Afghanistan, declaring that the Soviets' six-year occupation has resulted in a military stalemate. And in London, British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe also called on the Soviet Union to set a firm timetable for a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Lebanese militias reported to agree on armistice

State-run Beirut radio said yesterday that Lebanon's three most powerful militias had reached agreement on a peace pact designed to end the 10-year-old civil war and will sign it before year's end. The breakthrough was confirmed by spokesmen for Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party, Justice Minister Nabih Berri's Shiite Amal movement and the Lebanese Forces Christian militia.

No details of the accord have been released.

Congress reports economic erosion of families

The economic well-being of families with children has worsened dramatically since 1973, in part because of the increase in single parents -- usually women, according to a report by the congressional Joint Economic Committee. Families with children now account for 53.3 percent of the nation's population, down from 61.5 percent, but their share of total national income since 1973 has fallen 19 percent, from 40.2 percent to 32.6 percent.

US court finds religious intent in school `silence' law

A US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled Tuesday that a 1982 law requiring a ``moment of silence'' was enacted with a religious purpose, violating the constitutional separation of church and state.

Ford grant to help colleges improve and recruit teachers

The Ford Foundation has announced it will grant a total of $4.75 million to as many as 39 colleges to improve their curricula and help recruit teachers. The grants, to be awarded over the next two years, were spurred in part by a recent survey by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching showing that 21 percent of college teachers believe they made a mistake in choosing their career.

Israel says it won't talk to kidnappers of non-Israelis

Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, reacting to the murder of a Beirut Jew by Muslims seeking revenge on Israel, has said Israel will not negotiate with guerrillas who seize non-Israeli Jews. Beirut police on Wednesday found the body of Haim Cohen Halala, a Beirut Jew. An underground Shiite Muslim group claimed responsibility and said he was executed in retaliation for Israeli shelling of south Lebanon villages.

1 | 2

Next